Thank God for air conditioning.

Consider, though, this one episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” that I saw. The Enterprise discovered this planet where the ecosystem was completely destroyed. They talked to the few people who still lived on the planet to find out what happened. As it turned out, their race had polluted the planet to the point of destruction. The only way the remaining people survived was through the aid of a machine which kept their living complex hospitable. The twist at the end was that the machine itself was polluting their planet. Years earlier they began to have problems or whatever and built a machine to keep themselves comfortable, but the machine was what drove their planet to total desolation.

Brilliant! Do you see the parallel to air conditioners? Where does the heat go as it’s removed from your house or car? Into the air outside. I bet on a hot day air conditioning adds 5-10 degrees to the state of NJ. When I run my AC it’s like saying “screw you” to everyone who doesn’t use it. But hey, I’m hot so what are you going to do about it?

Thank you, Star Trek, for allegorical social lessons.