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Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World
Losing our Cool shows how indoor climate control is colliding with an out-of-control outdoor climate. In America, energy consumed by home air-conditioning, and the resulting greenhouse emissions, have doubled in just over a decade, and energy to cool retail stores has risen by two-thirds. Now the entire affluent world is adopting the technology. As the biggest economic crisis in eighty years rolls across the globe, financial concerns threaten to shove ecological crises into the background. Reporting from some of the world’s hot zones—from Phoenix, Arizona, and Naples, Florida, to southern India—Cox documents the surprising ways in which air-conditioning changes human giving a boost to the global warming that it is designed to help us endure, providing a potent commercial stimulant, making possible an impossible commuter economy, and altering migration patterns (air-conditioning has helped alter the political hue of the United States by enabling a population boom in the red-state Sun Belt).
While the book proves that the planet’s atmosphere cannot sustain even our current use of air-conditioning, it also makes a much more positive argument that loosening our attachment to refrigerated air could bring benefits to humans and the planet that go well beyond averting a climate crisis. Though it saves lives in heat waves, air-conditioning may also be altering our bodies’ sensitivity to heat; our rates of infection, allergy, asthma, and obesity; and even our sex drive. Air-conditioning has eroded social bonds and thwarted childhood adventure; it has transformed the ways we eat, sleep, travel, work, buy, relax, vote, and make both love and war. The final chapter surveys the many alternatives to conventional central air-conditioning. By reintroducing some traditional cooling methods, putting newly emerging technologies into practice, and getting beyond industrial definitions of comfort, we can make ourselves comfortable and keep the planet comfortable, too.
While the book proves that the planet’s atmosphere cannot sustain even our current use of air-conditioning, it also makes a much more positive argument that loosening our attachment to refrigerated air could bring benefits to humans and the planet that go well beyond averting a climate crisis. Though it saves lives in heat waves, air-conditioning may also be altering our bodies’ sensitivity to heat; our rates of infection, allergy, asthma, and obesity; and even our sex drive. Air-conditioning has eroded social bonds and thwarted childhood adventure; it has transformed the ways we eat, sleep, travel, work, buy, relax, vote, and make both love and war. The final chapter surveys the many alternatives to conventional central air-conditioning. By reintroducing some traditional cooling methods, putting newly emerging technologies into practice, and getting beyond industrial definitions of comfort, we can make ourselves comfortable and keep the planet comfortable, too.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
2 people are currently reading
353 people want to read
About the author
Stan Cox
13 books21 followersStan Cox is author of Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World (The New Press, 2010) and Sick Planet (Pluto Press, 2008).
His op-ed columns have appeared in the Denver Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kansas City Star, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, San Jose Mercury-News, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, Wilmington News Journal, Burlington Free Press, and the Progressive Populist. In addition, they have been in scores of smaller papers in 26 states.
Since 2003, he has written regularly for AlterNet.org and CounterPunch.org. Many of those articles have been reprinted by papers such as the Chicago Sun-Times, the Hartford Courant, Los Angeles Alternative, Fort Worth Weekly, Illinois Times, Albany, NY Metroland, and other papers. They have also been published by the journal Capitalism Nature Socialism, the Green journal Synthesis/Regeneration, the Indian national publications The Hindu and The Week, and the expatriate monthly Inside Mexico.
He contributed a chapter (and photos of his front yard) to Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Yard (Metropolis Books, 2008 and 2010)
His op-ed columns have appeared in the Denver Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kansas City Star, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, San Jose Mercury-News, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, Wilmington News Journal, Burlington Free Press, and the Progressive Populist. In addition, they have been in scores of smaller papers in 26 states.
Since 2003, he has written regularly for AlterNet.org and CounterPunch.org. Many of those articles have been reprinted by papers such as the Chicago Sun-Times, the Hartford Courant, Los Angeles Alternative, Fort Worth Weekly, Illinois Times, Albany, NY Metroland, and other papers. They have also been published by the journal Capitalism Nature Socialism, the Green journal Synthesis/Regeneration, the Indian national publications The Hindu and The Week, and the expatriate monthly Inside Mexico.
He contributed a chapter (and photos of his front yard) to Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Yard (Metropolis Books, 2008 and 2010)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
May 14, 2011
very interesting historical and cultural analysis of air conditioning. Describes clearly the scope (e.g., we in the US use more electricity for air conditioning than the people of all of Africa use for all purposes), relative recency (in 1960, the year before I was born, only 12% of US households had any a/c, and this was mainly in the form of window units rather than central -- by 1980 55%, and by 2005 82%, mainly central air), and myriad effects (wasted gas as we cool our idling cars, pollution, climate change, migration to the Sun Belt, etc.) of the rise of air conditioning.
My kids are always amazed that I grew up in the DC area without central a/c. This is one instance in which I can confidently say we knew what we were missing. I didn't know what the solution would be or when it would come, but I knew it was darn hot much of the summer. Before cell phones, I don't recall college students sprinting across campus to get to a pay phone because they couldn't stand to be out of touch -- the availability of the technology has created its own demand. But a/c definitely filled a void we had felt.
That said, the book makes exquisitely clear its wonders come at a huge cost.
My kids are always amazed that I grew up in the DC area without central a/c. This is one instance in which I can confidently say we knew what we were missing. I didn't know what the solution would be or when it would come, but I knew it was darn hot much of the summer. Before cell phones, I don't recall college students sprinting across campus to get to a pay phone because they couldn't stand to be out of touch -- the availability of the technology has created its own demand. But a/c definitely filled a void we had felt.
That said, the book makes exquisitely clear its wonders come at a huge cost.
August 21, 2011
Highly recommended. Seriously, read this book.
I read this book and write this review with the perpetual sound of the neighbor's air conditioner going on and off. Even on nights when the temperature is 65 with low humidity, every 15 minutes or so the compressor turns on, and the whining drone takes away the very occasional peaceful quiet one gets in a city neighborhood. I have never once seen the windows in the house open. The people who live there are very nice, have great kids, and like to entertain. But I pretty much don't approve of their environmental choices. (Two luxury SUVs... can't cope with it.)
We have created a world in which central air conditioning controls our choices and our future. We have built cities in the desert and the swamp but have no interest in actually inhabiting those environments. By using more energy to run air conditioners and drive cars, we warm up the planet, which in turn requires us to use more energy. We rely on vast buildings full of powerful servers to give us our information and run our economy, all of which must be kept cool to keep processors running efficiently. Saying "turn off the air conditioner" just isn't possible. It's how the world runs.
This is a grim book, but I think the message is really important. It makes it clear that on a macro level, there is absolutely no way to keep this up forever. For instance, we would have to build 8000 nuclear power plants worldwide to support future energy needs. We still have no idea how to actually deal with the radioactive waste this creates other than by sweeping it under the carpet more or less. And when natural water temperatures (such as in rivers or lakes) grow too hot during heat waves, nuclear plants must be shut down because they can't be cooled properly. This is of course peak time for air conditioner use as well.
On a micro level, it is clear that individuals can make choices for their own households about how to live and what energy to use. There are energy efficient solutions--but they require new thought patterns, such as not leaving the air conditioner on without a break from April to October no matter how efficient it is. But as a society, we have to realize that we have made a series of unsustainable choices. There doesn't seem to be a way to solve them, but sooner or later hard truths will be forced upon us.
I read this book and write this review with the perpetual sound of the neighbor's air conditioner going on and off. Even on nights when the temperature is 65 with low humidity, every 15 minutes or so the compressor turns on, and the whining drone takes away the very occasional peaceful quiet one gets in a city neighborhood. I have never once seen the windows in the house open. The people who live there are very nice, have great kids, and like to entertain. But I pretty much don't approve of their environmental choices. (Two luxury SUVs... can't cope with it.)
We have created a world in which central air conditioning controls our choices and our future. We have built cities in the desert and the swamp but have no interest in actually inhabiting those environments. By using more energy to run air conditioners and drive cars, we warm up the planet, which in turn requires us to use more energy. We rely on vast buildings full of powerful servers to give us our information and run our economy, all of which must be kept cool to keep processors running efficiently. Saying "turn off the air conditioner" just isn't possible. It's how the world runs.
This is a grim book, but I think the message is really important. It makes it clear that on a macro level, there is absolutely no way to keep this up forever. For instance, we would have to build 8000 nuclear power plants worldwide to support future energy needs. We still have no idea how to actually deal with the radioactive waste this creates other than by sweeping it under the carpet more or less. And when natural water temperatures (such as in rivers or lakes) grow too hot during heat waves, nuclear plants must be shut down because they can't be cooled properly. This is of course peak time for air conditioner use as well.
On a micro level, it is clear that individuals can make choices for their own households about how to live and what energy to use. There are energy efficient solutions--but they require new thought patterns, such as not leaving the air conditioner on without a break from April to October no matter how efficient it is. But as a society, we have to realize that we have made a series of unsustainable choices. There doesn't seem to be a way to solve them, but sooner or later hard truths will be forced upon us.
August 2, 2018
I found the first few chapters of this frustratingly muddled and full of tangents, but hang in there and the writing grows more focused. Cox provides a fascinating look into how air conditioning impacts every aspect of modern life--and why this is a problem. He's weaker on the solutions front--there's a lot of good discussion about alternate technological means for air conditioning (and the footnotes go into even greater technical detail), but also an open acknowledgement that even the most efficient technological alternative won't really address the long-term energy (or social) issues. The end result is a much stronger indictment of capitalism as a system than I was expecting from a light summer read about cooling technology; I guess it would be a bit much to expect Cox to be able to provide a viable path out of our entire economic system.
Particularly interesting to read while I was vacationing in Europe during a heat wave and already pondering the cultural differences between European and American approaches to cooling. The problems with nuclear reactors in high temperatures are in the news again today (and heavy in my mind as I floated down the Rhine past nuclear plants), but I don't remember hearing about the subject before, so reading Cox's take on it from almost a decade ago was useful historical context.
Particularly interesting to read while I was vacationing in Europe during a heat wave and already pondering the cultural differences between European and American approaches to cooling. The problems with nuclear reactors in high temperatures are in the news again today (and heavy in my mind as I floated down the Rhine past nuclear plants), but I don't remember hearing about the subject before, so reading Cox's take on it from almost a decade ago was useful historical context.
October 5, 2010
While visiting the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas this past summer, the geologist there told Ruth and I about an air-conditioning book. The author of the book happened to live in Salina and I jotted down the information to track the book down later. Suffice it to say that Salina is super hot - while we were there, we camped at a campground and were the only people camping. In fact, when Ruth entered the campground office, one of the employees asked her if she was planning on going in the tent that night. It was well over 100 degrees and the comment seemed to imply, "are you nuts?" Anyway, we camped and it was swell. So I figured the book would be an interesting read.
And it is, though it's another brain candy book. You will find out lots of interesting details about air-conditioning, about the massive amounts of energy AC uses (particularly in cooling the data computers needed to run google's operations and the internet in general), the important role air conditioning played in aiding the population increases of Florida and the Southwest, etc.
And it is, though it's another brain candy book. You will find out lots of interesting details about air-conditioning, about the massive amounts of energy AC uses (particularly in cooling the data computers needed to run google's operations and the internet in general), the important role air conditioning played in aiding the population increases of Florida and the Southwest, etc.
May 8, 2013
A very interesting (if not exceptionally written) overview of how air conditioning is both unsustainable as a planet, and how it has drastically changed our nation. I felt it lacked any real concrete answers on a personal level-- how do *I* get by without air conditioning? A book that piqued my interest to read more on the subject.
September 25, 2022
A little tedious, but a thorough and convincing case against air conditioning.
August 18, 2018
I expected this to be a guilty pleasure: a rant that I agreed with. It turned out to be an information-packed survey of the intertwined history, architecture, and economics contributing to the way we use air conditioning (with no ranting). It didn’t provide a lot of practical solutions, but the more people who think about the assumptions made in making and using buildings, the better chance the assumptions can change over time.
October 3, 2010
"Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World (and Finding New Ways to Get Through the Summer) is an interesting read that ties together electricity use, fossil fuels, global warming, and the fate of our planet as it relates to the use of air conditioning. Most of us probably don't even give a second thought about turning on the air conditioner in our living room or bedroom during the hottest or most humid days of summer or even to turning it on in our automobiles as we drive (alone) to and from work and errands. It is an invention for human comfort that is often used and not so often thought of. Until author Stan Cox wrote this book.
Maybe people will read and dismiss his arguments as incorrect or overreactionary. Others just won't read the book at all. But for those of us who do take the time to read this short, compact book, it will be hard not to think about the impact air conditioner use has on the electricity power grid, carbon emissions, and our environment (soil and drinking water) from leaking refrigerants.
I admit that I wasn't too overwrought with emotion nor was I called to action to save the planet from the perils of air conditioning overuse (although I don't use the ac in my car nor did I have one in the window in my home this summer). I did enjoy the way Mr. Cox intertwined the history of the air conditioner in America to major changes in our society. His documentation and analysis is intriguing and definitely thought provoking. I always enjoy a book that takes something like air conditioning and shows me how it impacts me, my environment, and society more than I could have ever dreamed of. The author did this. That is why it gets three stars.
Maybe people will read and dismiss his arguments as incorrect or overreactionary. Others just won't read the book at all. But for those of us who do take the time to read this short, compact book, it will be hard not to think about the impact air conditioner use has on the electricity power grid, carbon emissions, and our environment (soil and drinking water) from leaking refrigerants.
I admit that I wasn't too overwrought with emotion nor was I called to action to save the planet from the perils of air conditioning overuse (although I don't use the ac in my car nor did I have one in the window in my home this summer). I did enjoy the way Mr. Cox intertwined the history of the air conditioner in America to major changes in our society. His documentation and analysis is intriguing and definitely thought provoking. I always enjoy a book that takes something like air conditioning and shows me how it impacts me, my environment, and society more than I could have ever dreamed of. The author did this. That is why it gets three stars.
August 5, 2015
Fascinating history and research, sadly not very well laid out or explained. Heavily overburdened with statistics and boring prose.
It did make me aware of how very much AC costs in terms of energy & pollution (both chemical and heat pollution), and the advantages of not over-using AC, or using it unthinkingly. I love my whole house fan, it lets us shut the AC off soon after sunset, and draw naturally cool outside air inside. We live on the edge of a field that slopes down with a rush of cool air at night (not in an asphalt or concrete maze), and in a temperate climate where the humidity isn't horrible the whole summer, which helps a LOT.
I kind of want to re-write this whole book to make it more accessible and appealing. Some pictures and more info on alternative cooling methods would be good, too - there's just a little on swamp coolers, shade trees, awnings, etc.
Interestingly, computer servers and our burgeoning IT needs require lots of AC.
It did make me aware of how very much AC costs in terms of energy & pollution (both chemical and heat pollution), and the advantages of not over-using AC, or using it unthinkingly. I love my whole house fan, it lets us shut the AC off soon after sunset, and draw naturally cool outside air inside. We live on the edge of a field that slopes down with a rush of cool air at night (not in an asphalt or concrete maze), and in a temperate climate where the humidity isn't horrible the whole summer, which helps a LOT.
I kind of want to re-write this whole book to make it more accessible and appealing. Some pictures and more info on alternative cooling methods would be good, too - there's just a little on swamp coolers, shade trees, awnings, etc.
Interestingly, computer servers and our burgeoning IT needs require lots of AC.
November 13, 2013
This book was a true bitch to get through, it was both overly technical and overly fuzzy. And a lot of the stuff it said was obvious, but some of it was worth hearing again. And I agree with its basic premise whole-heartedly. You can't keep trying to make new fixes to what is basically a self-imposed problem that was supposed to be a solution in the first place. Build better ventilated buildings, smaller houses, use air-conditioning wisely and for people who really need it. But this will just maybe fix it. Just maybe. It was definitely a labor of love for Cox, he looks at both sides of every problem carefully, and I appreciate it. But I think I wanted a little more of a cool guy's manifesto. But I read it! And the AC was on less here in our Texas summer than it was in our Indiana apartment. So perhaps I learned a small thing.
September 2, 2012
I currently live in an area with mostly mild weather and I do not have an air conditioner. I was amused that the book opens with info about Phoenix Arizona USA, during the exact time I happened to be living there! I don't remember specifically "July 15-16, 2003, when the city 'cooled' down only to 96° [35°C] by early morning... and hit 117° [47°C] on the afternoon of the 16th"... but I do know that I hated the sun and the heat, and that's exactly why I moved to Oregon!
There are a lot of stats in this book. So many that I want to tease the author: "I'm pretty sure every single sentence in this book has a number in it!" ha.
I was reading mostly for the "Finding New Ways to Get Through the Summer". But it's all common sense stuff, that I already do. And beyond that, there's info about building houses and systems, which is important, but not to me.
There are a lot of stats in this book. So many that I want to tease the author: "I'm pretty sure every single sentence in this book has a number in it!" ha.
I was reading mostly for the "Finding New Ways to Get Through the Summer". But it's all common sense stuff, that I already do. And beyond that, there's info about building houses and systems, which is important, but not to me.
September 17, 2010
TCPL - on order as of 13 Jul - placed on hold - checked out 7/25
Interview w/ author on Marketplace on NPR 12 Jun
This book will probably give you a guilt trip, especially if you read it during one of the hottest summers in the last several years, as I did, after having bought a larger house with an aging AC system to boot.
Lots of sobering facts & figures - well-written, tho I hesitate to say enjoyable (see guilt trip above). I wish there had been more of what the subtitle promised - suggestions on how to reduce one's cooling footprint other than swearing off AC completely.
Interview w/ author on Marketplace on NPR 12 Jun
This book will probably give you a guilt trip, especially if you read it during one of the hottest summers in the last several years, as I did, after having bought a larger house with an aging AC system to boot.
Lots of sobering facts & figures - well-written, tho I hesitate to say enjoyable (see guilt trip above). I wish there had been more of what the subtitle promised - suggestions on how to reduce one's cooling footprint other than swearing off AC completely.
February 23, 2011
Like most other reviewers, I found the book dense and often bogged down by Cox's obsession with academic studies and opinions. The subject matter is brilliant, and Cox often makes strong points regarding the dichotomy of a green world and the almost pathological need to cool everything. "Losing Our Cool" is a frustrating science book, because it's such a good idea that goes undelivered. More anecdotes - even those using citations - would make this a compelling read.
January 19, 2011
Despite high hopes, tortuously dry. I started skimming after chapter two, and, after ditching it for a COSMO (Cosmo! Dislike!) during the longest wait evah at the doctor's office, I knew it was time to give up. Maybe there was potential if I'd been patient, but there are too many other good books waiting for me to suffer unnecessarily.
January 20, 2018
This is an interesting book but I would have liked more discussion about physical adaptations to heat and how we might retrain ourselves to tolerate higher temperatures without A/C. After all, humans are a species adapted to be hot, yet we all seem to think we can't be happy without tons of air conditioning. Overall worth reading and exploring our relationship to climate control.
June 14, 2022
A good in-depth look at what air-condition how allowed us exist in places & that humans have never done before. And then how that false environment allows us to make more choices that go against rhythms of nature and our bodies. It was sometimes hard to stay engaged with all the data & sometimes hard not to be depressed at what we're doing to the earth & ourselves but overall I appreciated all the stories and illustrations of the data as well as the hopeful tone towards the end that suggests we may be realizing the harm we've done to ourselves and learning to work with our environments instead of constantly fight against them.
May 6, 2022
This book has much technical information about the impact of Air Conditioning on the global use of fuels and the warming of the planet. The language of the text was easily understood, and many solutions presented regarding how both individually and collective the impact of carbon emissions can be curtailed. Many "myths/truths" about energy saving were debunked and/or explained. This was a worthwhile read.
I will pass this book along to the library.
I will pass this book along to the library.
May 20, 2025
While the data is from no later than 2009, the concepts are not time sensitive. After giving a history of air conditioning and its impact, the author focuses on alternatives, including varying ways to cool indoor air and ways to adapt and appreciate variability of conditions.
Excellent reading for building designers, engineers, environmentalists, climate change adaptors, and all other human beings!
I highly recommend reading it.
Excellent reading for building designers, engineers, environmentalists, climate change adaptors, and all other human beings!
I highly recommend reading it.
April 18, 2023
Good information with history of air conditioning of why and how we got to where we are now. How the world's resources are intertwined. Spatial cooling vs people cooling. Wearing sweaters in offices in the middle of summer. Greed. Living with the rhythms of nature. As well as present (published 2010) and future thoughts/solutions.
September 27, 2018
Good but not easy to read.
November 23, 2019
Or how America depends on something we often disregard and created the world we live in
April 8, 2020
It was okay. It had some useful and interesting information in it but was overall way too political.
December 28, 2024
Nerd alert. There’s a lot of history here and I learned so much about how AC shaped America. I found it really interesting but most others would probably be bored.
September 1, 2010
An absolute plethora of information, the writing and organization are by no means bad but not quite up to par for a book with this much technical, sometimes dense material. More diagrams would have been preferable to some of the descriptions, and I’m not entirely convinced Mr. Cox delivered on the second part of the subtitle. I was impressed at the relatively neutral position Mr. Cox took in writing the book and found the book to be, overall, an interesting and informative read. Nevertheless, I find myself hesitant to recommend it as it is a dry read, and I can’t quite shake the feeling that a much shorter article on the same subject (with graphics) would be a better use of time. Quasi-recommended.
May 7, 2014
I had to read this book for an assignment for my Participation in Government class in school. At first, I picked it out because I found the cover kind of intriguing. The content in the book itself is definitely not about an issue I would expect to be so controversial. Air conditioning? Who would expect that? Cox really shows the statistics and numbers but I didn't like how one-sided it was. I understand that most people write from a one-sided point of view and what they know best but it would have been nice if he had done a little research into the other side to help allow the reader to form their own opinion. Read this if you are against air conditioning or want to know why some people are against it.
September 9, 2012
I thought it a bit strange, a whole book on Air-conditionning. But the author makes it an example.
When I studied in environnemental studies, one teacher told us that Energy was the ultimate pollution, and this book demonstrates this very well.
It's a good reflexion on how more efficiency is sometime not a solution (more efficient is often less expensive and brings bigger machines, more demand)
It brings to light the feedback loop on some new technology. On how some technology add up to bring a way of life that is less sustainable and less healthy.
It's a really good read to start a reflexion... if it doesn't depress you too much.
When I studied in environnemental studies, one teacher told us that Energy was the ultimate pollution, and this book demonstrates this very well.
It's a good reflexion on how more efficiency is sometime not a solution (more efficient is often less expensive and brings bigger machines, more demand)
It brings to light the feedback loop on some new technology. On how some technology add up to bring a way of life that is less sustainable and less healthy.
It's a really good read to start a reflexion... if it doesn't depress you too much.
June 6, 2011
Full of interesting information about the impact air-conditioning has had on development and life in the United States since its widespread implementation and about the ways air-conditioning has been received worldwide. Some of the statistics regarding the carbon output solely from our air-conditioning usage were stunning. I also got some useful tips regarding our goal to not have to put the window unit in this summer, though I wish there had been more information on that. This book definitely had an impact on the criteria we're going to use for house hunting, as well.
October 31, 2011
This book was more statistics and less story than, say, Freakonomics, but still readable. Humans are capable of adjusting to temperature (within a range) but the trend has been to keep a steady temperature year-round. It vindicated my thought that trees help shade your house, deciduous being particularly good because it lets the sun through in the winter, as well as increasing the curb appeal. I didn't know, though, that Energy Star compares only like models. It doesn't tell you that any basic fridge model might use less electricity than an fancier model, Energy Star rating or no.
September 1, 2011
An interesting look at how air conditioning has shaped our communities and work places and its effects on society, economic development, and the environment. I appreciate that the author is not advocating that we simply suffer though hot and humid conditions, but look at how our de facto policies shape things, and that there are alternatives that will keep us cool, if we devote the attention and effort that they will require to implement.
June 18, 2012
I read this book almost two years ago, and it's still a book I talk about more than just about any other nonfiction piece I've read in that same time period, so I'm boosting my review up a notch. I still wish that the book dealt more with what to DO about the problems it talks about, but I still really appreciate the background that it gave me on the topic.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews