Stepping out of the comfort zone

doi:10.1126/science.abj1417

GSTDTAP > 气候变化

DOI	10.1126/science.abj1417
	Stepping out of the comfort zone
	Gabrielle Dreyfus
	2021-07-09
发表期刊	Science
出版年	2021
英文摘要	In After Cooling , Eric Dean Wilson uses the history of mechanical cooling and the associated creation of comfort as a commodity to tell a tale of control, oppression, and destruction. The book is as much sociopolitical commentary as history of science. Wilson weaves together the story of the invention of mechanical cooling and Freon—the trademarked name for chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants—with recollections from a recent road trip with a friend, Sam, whose job it is to find, purchase, and arrange for the destruction of CFCs. The catch? Almost all the sellers are hostile to climate considerations and the concept of destroying something useful. Sam must win the trust of the sellers without revealing that the ozone-depleting super greenhouse gas chemicals will be eliminated. Readers should be aware that this history is told from a distinctly American perspective, excluding from discussion, for example, former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's assertion that air conditioning played a critical role in improving the productivity of the country's civil service ([ 1 ][1]). Wilson digs deeply into the linkages between Western desire for material comfort and racial oppression, including critiques of capitalism and profit-seeking industry. Like others before him, he blames air conditioning for turning Americans inward, away from porches and community, thus contributing to the nation's alienation and insularity. Wilson's personal experiences and thinking, which manifest, at times, in witty parentheticals, are a frequent reminder that there is no pretense of objectivity in this critique. Wilson links air conditioning in cars and homes to Americans' willful ignorance with regard to environmental destruction and the oppression and suffering of others, arguing that the technology impairs our ability to see our interconnectedness. And while he condemns systems of oppression and purveyors of pseudoscientific bigotry, he displays an unanticipated empathy toward General Motors engineer Thomas Midgley Jr., the “two-time environmental loser” who invented both the leaded gasoline that poisoned millions and the CFCs that almost destroyed the ozone layer and destabilized the climate. Rather than dwell on Midgley's denial of the known toxicity of lead, Wilson delves into the engineer's fear of obsolescence, his sudden physical paralysis from polio, and his subsequent suicide. In doing so, however, Wilson misses an opportunity to describe how close humanity came to calamity. Midgley originally identified eight elements, including fluorine, chlorine, and bromine, as potential candidates for refrigerants ([ 2 ][2]). In his 1995 Nobel acceptance speech, Paul Crutzen noted that if bromine compounds had been chosen, or if chlorine had behaved more like bromine in the stratosphere, “we would have been faced with a catastrophic ozone hole everywhere and at all seasons during the 1970s.” “Mankind has been extremely lucky,” he concluded ([ 3 ][3]). Wilson dutifully describes the incredible achievement of the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, which set the foundation for the phaseout of CFCs and the subsequent recovery of the ozone layer. He criticizes the protocol, however, for limiting its purview to the chemicals and “simple technological fix without addressing any of the underlying, psychosocial errors,” specifically “the material conditions for insularity.” One aspect of air conditioning that Wilson fails to discuss is how heat pumps—essentially, air conditioners run in reverse—are now considered by many to be critical to decarbonizing the heating of buildings. Winter heating goes beyond luxury in most of the United States. One is left to wonder whether the same piece of equipment that uses electricity and refrigerants to provide thermal comfort becomes less of a symbol and symptom of society's ills when used for heating. While making air conditioners more energy efficient and using climate-friendly refrigerants are jointly one of the biggest climate mitigation opportunities available today, such technology fixes do not alone address the need to rethink how we design, build, and live in our cities to achieve greater environmental and social sustainability. After Cooling warns of the unintended physical, social, and cultural consequences of seeking to make life more comfortable, easier, and more convenient, urging readers to reflect not just on what might be gained from new technologies but also what might be lost. 1. [↵][4]1. L. K. Yew , New Perspect. Q. 26, 111 (2009). [OpenUrl][5] 2. [↵][6]1. T. Midgley , J. Soc. Chem. Industry 56, 133 (1937). [OpenUrl][7] 3. [↵][8]1. P. J. Crutzen , “My Life with O3, NOx and Other YZOxs,” Nobel Lecture, 8 December 1995. [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: #ref-3 [4]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [5]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DNew%2BPerspect.%2BQ.%26rft.volume%253D26%26rft.spage%253D111%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [6]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2 in text" [7]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DJ.%2BSoc.%2BChem.%2BIndustry%26rft.volume%253D56%26rft.spage%253D133%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [8]: #xref-ref-3-1 "View reference 3 in text"
领域	气候变化 ; 资源环境
URL	查看原文
引用统计
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.173/C666/handle/2XK7JSWQ/334214
专题	气候变化资源环境科学
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Gabrielle Dreyfus. Stepping out of the comfort zone[J]. Science,2021.
APA	Gabrielle Dreyfus.(2021).Stepping out of the comfort zone.Science.
MLA	Gabrielle Dreyfus."Stepping out of the comfort zone".Science (2021).