There has been a heat wave in Europe this summer. Not too bad. It is 99° in Rome, not even 100°, which is basically a nice cooling relief for those of in Arizona. But for the Europeans, it is deadly, literally, with more people dying of heatstroke in Europe ever year than Americans of gunshot. Why? Because you can’t have A.C. units in Europe to save the climate.
This is a result of European Union and national government regulations to reduce emissions to save the Earth. I wish there were a term for a worldview that worshipped nature and made human sacrifices for it, maybe paganism or something like that!
But worry not. The high commissioners in the European Union’s Brussels office remain atheists. They have kept the A.C. on for themselves. Here’s a story from Politico Europe:
The European Commission’s headquarters was forced to shut down its air-conditioning system on Friday due to the heat wave.
The 13-story building is home to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, her 26 commissioners and about 3,000 staff. Von der Leyen works on the 13th floor, and most of her commissioners’ offices are housed on floors eight or above.
“It’s like feudalism,” a Commission official working on a lower level of the Berlaymont, granted anonymity to speak freely, told POLITICO on Friday, referring to the fact that upper floors housing commissioners got to keep their AC on. A second official agreed it was a “disgrace.”
The peasants at the headquarters and rest of Europe must make sacrifices, but not the higher ups! It is the same as John Kerry who would burn jet fuel flying private around the world to lecture people on not causing emissions. Which brings me to America.
Every bad idea that originates from Europe eventually finds its way into America through the New York Times opinion page.
Two years ago, the New York Times published a disgrace of an op-ed, entitled: “I Swore Off Air-Conditioning, and You Can, Too.” Stan Cox, the author, had written a whole book about how he and his family do not use air conditioning at home, and the rest of America should stop too:
When it gets too hot, we lightly spray water on our arms, legs and faces; the water helps dissipate a lot of heat. A quick, cold shower or a little time spent with that all-American favorite, the lawn sprinkler, also can bring relief.
To each their own, I suppose, but I thought that the op-ed made a stronger case that this guy is abusing his children, and we should call child services.
This type of piece has been popping up in left-wing American journals, from The Nation to Time, every year, and it might not be too long before the Democratic Party, which is being taken over by the Democratic Socialists of America, embraces it.
I know, I know. What am I thinking? No political party is so stupid as to adopt an extremely unpopular position among Americans, without any science to back it up, out of pagan beliefs, only to satisfy a very small section of its voters. And even if they pay lip service to it, it would never become government policy.
It’s not like the Democrats ever did such a thing, except during Covid; encouraged school children to become transgenders and ask for genital mutilation surgeries while making it illegal for schools to inform their parents; or threatened to use terrorism charges against parents who did not like their kids’ school curricula. Oh wait, the Democrats did all that just in this decade! So yes, banning A.C.s is so stupid and unpopular that you can bet it is going to be a Democratic Party policy soon, especially after being approved by the New York Times opinion pages.
A lot of center-left Democrats are saying that the right is turning the A.C. into an American culture war and making an issue out of nothing. That is because we have seen this story before. Sure. If the Democrats adopt this policy, they will lose in the next election. But I’d rather not live without an A.C. for four years spraying water on myself until Republicans win again. Would I love it when Republicans win 500 of the 435 House seats in the next midterms? Yes, but not enough to forgo my A.C. unit.
If these center-left Democrats want me to believe that the Democrats are pro-air conditioning, they should get all Democrats on the record that they are. I also would have thought that Democrats would never encourage child genital mutilation until they did. So, unless Democrats promise that they are not against air conditioning, I remain skeptical.
