Summer Of Sweat: Air Conditioning Getting Too Expensive

With the summer heat on full blast and energy costs going through the roof, consumers are cutting back on what used to be considered essential – air conditioning. People all over the country are using alternative means to keep cool because AC is getting too pricey to afford. It’s an archaic revival as fans get pulled out of storage and techniques last used by our grandparents to keep cool are being brought back in an effort to save money.

The Wall Street Journal Reports:

consumers across the country are struggling to wean themselves from the A/C. It remains to be seen whether they’ll take a cue from Marilyn Monroe in “The Seven Year Itch” and stash their undies in the icebox. But they’re trying just about everything else.

In Thousand Oaks, Calif., Adina Nack keeps the thermostat at 82 — and lets her toddler dance around the house in a bathing suit, spritzing herself with cool water from a spray bottle. Cara Cummins, in Atlanta, turns on the air conditioner only when she’s expecting guests. Otherwise, she makes do by snacking on watermelon cubes soaked in chilled bourbon.

Because many power plants run on natural gas, which has shot way up in price, utilities in every region of the nation have imposed — or are planning — big rate increases this year, some approaching 30%.

WSJ; “Pulling the Plug: Summer of ’08 Sparks Creative Conservation”