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Heat people, not spaces (2015)

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321–330 of 335 posts

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we could all live like the hero of To Build A Fire That (and 45 degrees) are strawperson arguments against turning down the thermostat a little and putting on a sweater (and let me recommend shoes). My sense is that many people generally (I don't know the parent commenter) shoot down any individual action, because it's individual action - it's reactionary, ridiculing any 'liberal' idea.

Pretending these little moments do anything to help is not a liberal idea. It’s just as stupid as avoiding exercise and eating less to reduce your carbon dioxide output. It demonstrates a complete disconnect from the ability to contextualize real issues from things that actually help. Stopping climate change is not a “liberal idea”, at least not in the mainstream liberal sense. Airplanes are still filled with liberal…

It is liberals that do try to do something about climate change, while the right in the US still question if it even exists.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived in Shanghai, which is too warm for snow in the winter. But it's still freezing cold; when I wasn't running heat (because I didn't know how), I'd wake up in the morning with my toes suffering from frostbite. I was miserable all the time until I obtained a space heater.

I've always found the best way to stay warm when sleeping, is to wear as little clothes as possible. My best guess is that heat escapes from our hands and feet so all the warm clothes causes this huge difference in temperature in our bodies. Even here in -20 temps, I typically sleep in a t-shirt and shorts. Heat from my body warms up the little enclosed space under the blankets quite quickly and the overall temp is a…

I agree with you, but for me, maybe because I don’t have much hair on my head, adding a knit cap certainly helps.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#323
post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>A Navy shower (also known as a "combat shower", "military shower", "sea shower", "staggered shower", or "G.I. bath") is a method of showering that allows for significant conservation of water and energy by turning off the flow of water in the middle portion of the shower while lathering. Hold up - do you mean to tell me that people do not turn off the water while lathering? I've showered this way all my life, is thi…

Why would you ever do that in a developed country? You'd be saving like 3 cents per shower or less.

It's not a question of economics, it's about not purposefully wasting resources.

Perhaps you'll be surprised to hear that I also turn off the lights in rooms that I am not in, or that I don't keep cars running when I'm not using them to move around.

Counter-question: why would you ever keep the water running when you're not utilizing the water?

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#324
post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you ever do that in a developed country? You'd be saving like 3 cents per shower or less.

It's not a question of economics, it's about not purposefully wasting resources. Perhaps you'll be surprised to hear that I also turn off the lights in rooms that I am not in, or that I don't keep cars running when I'm not using them to move around. Counter-question: why would you ever keep the water running when you're not utilizing the water?

Because when you turn the water off it's cold. I would rather pay 1.5 cents to remain warm while I lather. If the resource was actually scarce, it wouldn't cost so little to use it.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#326
post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> stays warm thanks to the neighbors below me heating their apartment. So you're basically stealing the heat from your neighbors :) You can see how that strategy falls apart if everyone starts doing it?

If everyone is content with a lower temperature, they still end up heating less, and energy is haved. (Also, they are probably transferring much more heat from their own single heated room than from neighbors through walls).

But that's not what's happening here, we're talking about maintaining pretty comfortable temperature at the expense of neighbors.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#327
post #300
post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> stays warm thanks to the neighbors below me heating their apartment. So you're basically stealing the heat from your neighbors :) You can see how that strategy falls apart if everyone starts doing it?

With a sufficiently insulated apartment, you actually stay at reasonable temperatures from other sources of heat: bodies, bathing, appliances, cooking, computers, etc. A normal apartment uses a couple kilowatts of power, which generates as much heat as a couple space heaters running all the time.

Of course having more effective insulation is a good thing, but that's not the case we're talking about here: were talking about "staying at reasonable temperatures" thanks to your neighbors.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#328
post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> stays warm thanks to the neighbors below me heating their apartment. So you're basically stealing the heat from your neighbors :) You can see how that strategy falls apart if everyone starts doing it?

It's not like I have a choice here. Besides, the building charges an aggregate heating cost per year that I can't really influence with my behavior other than not turning on the heat when I don't need it. With my downstairs neighbors, I end up having to open the window as well to get the temperature in my bedroom to reasonably low levels.

Man, I have a similar problem whenever I visit my parents: my mother is after a heart attack, her blood flow is impaired so she's always cold, even when there's like 27 Celsius degrees in the room. The first thing I do when I the house is to shut down the heater in my bedroom. The whole house feels like a sauna.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we could all live like the hero of To Build A Fire That (and 45 degrees) are strawperson arguments against turning down the thermostat a little and putting on a sweater (and let me recommend shoes). My sense is that many people generally (I don't know the parent commenter) shoot down any individual action, because it's individual action - it's reactionary, ridiculing any 'liberal' idea.

I'm actually pretty progressive and do sometimes leave my sweater on after taking walk and turn the thermostat down. However I have a bunch of other "personal comfort issues", related to health. so often leave the heat at seventy while I deal with these. But even more, I do think the "liberal spirit" of trying to solve or pretending you can solve social or environmental issues with exhortations to individual action i…

It's another strawperson argument. It's not all one or the other. Reducing your energy consumption is not sufficient, and I don't know anyone who says it is.

The idea that individuals are powerless is antithetical to democracy, which IMHO is why the reactionaries push it. They say the same thing about protests (despite a long history of success) and any other individual/collective action. Democratic government is a form of collective action, and so they decry that too. They want you dependent on strongpersons and corporations, and IMHO by buying into it, you are surrendering your power and (unwittingly for most) doing nothing less than fighting agaist freedom and democracy. Collective action is quite powerful - ironically, the reactionary movement uses it heavily, and is the foundation of a free society, as is individual responsibility. (It's also the foundation of a free market and SV-style entrepenurialism - individuals doing something in their garage and changing the world.)

Communities, society, depend on everyone doing their part as individuals. You can't prevent trash on the streets in your community by obstaining from littering yourself, but we do keep the streets clean in large part by each person not littering (and we also obey the law, help people in need, etc. etc.).

Reality is quite the opposite of reactionary propaganda: Individuals acting works incredibly well. The Minutemen in the American Revolution were volunteers, who defeated the subjects of the British King. After centuries of unprecendeted success in human history, it's incredible that people abandon it simply because of propaganda.

> I'm actually pretty progressive

I don't know you, of course, and it's just one comment in one moment in your life, but the parent comment is clearly anti-progressive.

Re: Heat people, not spaces (2015)

#330
post #216
post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you can help your body regulate the temperature and even sweat. There's the old saying: "cold feet? wear a hat." dress with the right layers. I always put a layer of synthetic beneath cotton. Nice socks help your body deal with cold quite dramatically. "Darn Tough" brand merino wool socks are pretty exceptional socks that keep your feet warm and (importantly) dry.

Try wool instead of synthetics as inner layer.

I would but... itchy
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