The three hottest years globally on record are 2024, 2023 and 2025. The ten hottest years on record are all in this past decade. Already this year, over 1300 excess deaths have been linked to a heat wave in Europe. Long-term projections are that this year will be a scorcher locally – and not many people will welcome more of the temperatures we’ve been experiencing. Kind of frightening is that this year may be the coolest that we will ever have again. The weather will keep getting hotter and hotter – the physics of this are now well understood.
So, what should we do about it? Many of us are fortunate enough to have air conditioning. None of us are happy to pay higher electrical bills to run our air conditioners. Four years ago, Virginia backed out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Participating in the RGGI would have increased the average electrical bill a bit, while investing in new sources of electricity production that would eventually reduce costs. This kind of investment is similar to what you do if you buy a car that gets 30 mpg to replace your old car that gets 12 mpg. There is an initial cost of purchase of course, but then you spend less every time you drive. There is no meaningful controversy about renewables eventually driving down the cost of electrical production – changes are being made all around the world. But by losing the last four years, we have raised the cost of the investment – think of the new car now costing $40,000 rather than $35,000. If we wait any longer, that initial investment cost will continue to increase. So – being in the RGGI is an example of Virginia making an investment now to help everyone going forward. New legislation also put into place a few programs that help those who most need assistance paying their bills and even get help making home improvements to better weatherize their homes. Of course, some of us will simply see higher electrical bills – driven a bit by the utility investments but perhaps more by the higher use required in such hot weather.
Those not able to afford air conditioning, or whose lives require them to be outside (for example, construction and agricultural workers) will be especially challenged by this hot weather. As we can easily see by looking to this past month in Europe – people die. Not easily counted though is how much productivity is lost. In such hot weather, how much time can a roofer spend nailing black asphalt shingles? How much time can agricultural workers spend out in the fields? And of course – how much will our crops be hurt? Weather will impact the local economy – and economic times are tough enough from inflation on the cost of groceries, expensive gasoline, and health care and health insurance. Excessive heat will put people out of work and damage our local crops, hurting everyone while shrinking the local economy.
Politicians often have real incentives to look for short-term solutions to problems – it is often called the Not In My Term Of Office (NIMTO) syndrome. Most people don’t have terms of office – so knowing that hotter and hotter summers are inevitable is important in deciding what kinds of investments to make in their homes and lifestyles. There are some new and very energy efficient cooling options now available – things that might be a very effective investment for many. We can all complain about the weather and what the higher temperatures bring, but that doesn’t help much. There are some things that can help long-term, so we actually do have some power to do something about it.
