As I sit here in my cool condo, staring out the steamy window at the overcast sky, I must admit that I am glad to be alive today, and not 100 years ago. I can hardly imagine what it would have been like in those archaic times. Though my family didn't get air conditioning until I was about 12, my community had movie theaters, malls, and the library to rush to on the hottest days of the summers.
My 93 year old grandmother has no problem remembering what life was like before the monotonous hum of a metal box outside began magically keeping us all comfortable. When I asked her how people dealt with extreme heat, she answered simply, "We suffered with it. I don't know how we managed, but we did because we're still here!"
According to some sources, our electrical infrastructure in the US is so decrepit, that we may soon face the torment of summers without the relief of artificial cooling again. Although the Obama administration allocated 3.5 billion dollars of the stimulus package to help revamp the grid, this seemingly hefty chunk of change will cover only 2% of the total costs. Which leads to the obvious question of who is going to pay for the rest?
As an American woman who can't imagine summers without the welcoming swoosh of cool air that greets me each time I come in after gardening, I gladly volunteer to pay my share. If we all started chipping in an extra couple bucks a month on our bills, this national problem could actually be fixed, while creating much needed jobs.
There are many added fees and taxes that I don't agree with. But listening to my grandma reminisce about the horrors of summers before the glory of air conditioning is enough to make me ask for a new charge on my bill.
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