How, in the days before refrigeration, before electric fans, beforeair-conditioning — did people make it through summer in NewYork?
在没有冰箱的日子,在有电扇、空调之前,纽约人是怎么熬过夏天的?
The short answer is: A lot of them didn’t. Nearly 1,500 New Yorkersdied during a heat wave in 1896, and nearly 700 fell victim toanother one in 1901.
简单说来,很多人没有熬过夏天。有将近1500名纽约人1896年的时候死于热浪,另有将近700人1901年的时候被热天害惨。
There were
2000年至2006年间,城市约有600例中暑身亡,专家预言气候变化会导致接下来数十年中暑人数飙升,但现代生活的便利意味着其实也不会像以前那么危险。
Air conditioners
20世纪30年代,空调成了公共设施,20世纪中叶,普及到私人住宅。空调数量激增,中暑身亡的风险也稳步下降。
But the lack of AC also gave ourrecent
但我们的先人们没有空调也有优势:他们更耐热。
Our reliance on air-conditioning is actually making the worldhotter; residential cooling uses such a massive amount of energy,that AC use has climate researchers worried.
事实上,我们依赖空调也让世界变得更热,住宅制冷所需能量之多引起气候研究人员的担忧。
But on a psychological level, it’s also making the air outside feelhotter: The more air-conditioning you have, the more you need it tofeel good.
但从心理学角度说,这也确实让外面空气更热。你越使用空调,离开空调你就越不舒服。
Scientists call this the “adaptive comfort model”: the idea thatour ideal temperature depends in part on whatever temperature we’verecently been exposed to.
科学家门层次为“适应型安抚模型”:我们理想的温度某种程度上取决于我们近日所处的温度。
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