A billion humans are already on the ventilator, breathing machine-driven air. As we’ll discover in the next three interviews, air-conditioning isn’t sustainable, and only makes the world hotter and hotter. This as America enters uncharted territory for pandemics, especially in the South, where it’s very hot, well over 100 degrees F, or 38 C. A rare dust storm from the Sahara added more respiratory problems to millions of lungs already in danger from COVID-19. In a Woods Hole seminar last week, American scientist Zach Zobel projected U.S southern states will go well beyond the zone where humans can survive outside. No problem: everyone goes inside with air-conditioning – as long as the grid stays up. If the power goes out for more than a week or so, millions could flee north. This is a best of Radio Ecoshock replay.
Guests from this 2012 show include Stan Cox, author of “Losing Our Cool”, Guus Velders, Netherlands Environment Agency, expert on ozone and climate, and Michael Sivak, from the University of Michigan.