The two-day shutdown comes at a time of record-breaking extreme heat across the globe, with July poised to be the hottest month in history.
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What do they mean “poised to be?” Its august 2nd.
I’d imagine official verification and so forth is yet to come.
And August could be hotter.
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While that is hot, it ain’t newsworthy hot. In Texas it’s considered normal summer weather. Helps to have A/C.
Many Iranian cities and towns have suffered from temperatures above 40°C /104°F in recent days, while the oil-rich southwestern city of Ahvaz hit 50°C/122°F on Tuesday.
- OP articleHere in Texas, the month saw several cities shatter heat records, with some parts of the state seeing sustained temperatures over 37°C/98.6°F for days on end.
- Thirsty and exhausted, Texans feel the heat - BBC posted 1 day agoIt is newsworthy hot in both places. The difference is, Iranians are getting some relief from their government instead of having their water breaks rescinded.
Texas is especially atrocious.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/29/us/texas-prisons-heat.html
The department operates 98 facilities, of which 31 are fully air-conditioned and 14 have no cooling at all. The rest have air-conditioning only in certain areas. The department has been adding air-conditioning each year and now has more than 43,000 “cool beds” — about a third of those in the system — according to Ms. Hernandez. The department has discussed plans to eventually air-condition all prisons at a projected cost of more than $1 billion, but still needs the funding.
OK, so most Texas prisons are only partially air conditioned. It’s so hot that inmates feel like they’re getting cooked. Even showers don’t provide relief because the water which comes out is already warm to hot. It can’t be worse than that, right? Oh wait…
The current cost of bottled water is now $7.20 a case. Before, it was $4.80 a case. An individual bottle now costs $0.30 as opposed to $0.20.
As triple-digital heat continues, Dr. Amite Dominick with Texas Prisons Community Advocates pointed out that the price increase could not come at a worse time.
“Oftentimes, the primary breadwinner is the person who is incarcerated. So that’s an additional financial strain, and then they are forced to purchase things like water,” Dominick said.
The TDCJ pointed out that inmates still have access to non-bottled water at their units for free, but Dominick said many Texas prisons are old with outdated pipes.
“The tap water is filthy. It’s simply filthy,” Watson said.
I considered touching on that, but the user’s post history led me to conclude prisoners are not people they would choose to empathise with.
The situation for humans of all kinds is dire in the States, and prisoners are definitely exposed to some of the worst of it. How convenient for the rich that they are unlikely to experience the same consequences of crime as the poor.
Wtf is wrong with America?
Oh no doubt there, fuck Texas. I thought Texas would be hotter, actually. I’m in CA and we’re looking at 107 this weekend with some low 100s before and after, which isn’t bad compared to the 4-5 days in July when it was north of 110. But we mandate water breaks and so forth, like the big government lovers we are. Again, I’d imagine the availability of AC plays a role, 100+ where I am is mostly fine, but 90 in the bay area where a lot of home don’t have AC is a rougher.
Texas is definitely hotter than that. I’m in Central texas, terrible drought right now and we’ve been seeing consistent 104f days for weeks. I think we had a few days that were 98f but it’s been hotter than normal, even if just by a few degrees. My car always registers as 110f or above while driving. It’s crazy.
Gross. What’s the night time temps for you like? And is it humid 100s or dry 100s usually in CA?
I sleep with a giant fan pointed at me in summer in Australia, but the A/C I have is way too power hungry to leave on overnight. My last apartment had no A/C, terrible insulation and would regularly get no cooler than 27°C/80°F at night in peak summer, it was awful.
Not who you asked but I’m in the desert area of SoCal, it’s usually super dry (15-30% unless cloudy) and it’s been consistently over 100 for a few weeks now. One of the absolute best things about California is that it always cools off at night, down into to the low 60s most of the summer and 70s during the peak. It can be really hard to dress for sometimes, especially since the sun is so much hotter here than other states I’ve been to. 105 with a real feel higher than that during the day, maybe 62 with a breeze at night, that’s a huge temp variance lol. I appreciate it though, it could be like other places in the country and the world where it’s not getting below 80 at night.
The most humid places in Cali are also usually much cooler, due to being near the beach. But it kinda comes out in the wash depending on the day haha. Most of my knowledge is SoCal though, NorCal might be a lot different. California is massive, with tons of different climates, so it’s impossible to talk about it without being specific about locations.
You have it worse I promise, that sounds miserable. I’m in northern California, but what the other reply you got said is accurate here as well. Lows in the 60Fs (15C), maybe even the upper 50s, when it’s really bad lows are in the mid 70s. Most days I have a fan in the window to cool things off overnight and even if not it gets cool enough that the AC won’t work itself to death overnight. I get up early so open all the windows, fans everywhere, and I try to get my place down to 70f (21c), close it all up by 9am, then try to ride it out without ac until the lows drop again. Humidity is very low where I am too. This Sunday it’s now saying 105 (41c) for a high and 66 (19c) for a low if that gives you an idea.
High humidity will keep air temperatures low. If you want to compare cities in different biomes, it would be better to look at heat index values. I’m showing Ahvaz at 10% relative humidity right now, so the air temperature will be close to the heat index. In Houston, the air temperature can be 100, but with 50-60% humidity factored in, the heat index could top 122.
I struggle to find much difference between 42°C dry vs 35°C wet in terms of personal coping ability, for sure. Dry heat would always be my preference.
I think it’s worth noting as well that in the article it lists 42°C as the temperature humans start to have things go wrong with their bodies. Both Texas and Iran are dangerously close to semi-regular 42°C, no matter the humidity. We’re going to see lots of blue-collar workers forced into retirement, or worse, around the world pretty soon.
You think that’s hot, you should see the center of the sun! Now that’s hot!
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I wonder when Texas will get its head out of its arse and connect to the rest of the nation’s grid. It’s literally killing people to not have that connection.
I was kind of surprised, where I am those are pretty normal temperatures, not for weeks on end but it can hit like that for a few days in a row. We’re expecting higher temperatures this weekend.
Many Iranian cities and towns have suffered from temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Degrees Fahrenheit) in recent days, while the oil-rich southwestern city of Ahvaz hit 50 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. [122F]
The capital city of Tehran experienced temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.
I just checked and their nightly lows are in the high 80sF so that sucks for sure. That 122F high is bonkers though, that’s pushing death valley territory. But overall it’s not worse than Arizona has been going through for like more than a month, highs above 110 and lows in the 90s. Greece’s heatwave seems like it is about on par to what Iran is going through, and I don’t remember hearing about them shutting down the country, just limiting outdoor work and deliveries during peak heat hours.
But like you said, A/C might be a difference maker. I don’t know what Iran’s climate control availability is like, and this article didn’t say.
This is a climate catastrophe! If you still drive a petrol car, you are the problem! Those poor Iranians…
Stop putting the blame on the individual when corporations easily account for over 70% of global emissions and pollution. My gas powered car isn’t gonna change shit.
This guy is a gigantic troll, look at his profile.
Maybe a troll, but not wrong.
Your gas guzzler was manufactured by a big corporation. You chose to buy it and keep polluting with it.
I shouldn’t be made to feel guilty for living my life in this hellscape that were forced to live in. I’m not going to inconvenience myself and make own life harder while the elite fly around in private jets and are more wasteful in a day than I could ever be in my entire life. I care about the environment and want things to change, but I’m not the problem. And if you are trying to make the common person bare the guilt for climate change, you’re part of the problem. I do what I can when I can. But to inconvenience myself or spend more of what little money I have to make a negligible difference compared to what a corporation or a single billionaire could do is not gonna happen. Simple as that.
We are all collectively guilty and we will collectively pay the price. Every little decision we make today echoes far into the future,. Being conscious of our mistakes can lead to better habits. Inaction is no longer enough, we mmdemand positive corrective action today! No one is perfect, but it is an option to live without a vehicle. Billions of people manage to live without the convenience of personal transportation. It is a privilege not a right.
Okay are you going to buy me an electric car then?
The thing about being a radical is that you actually have to do something, not just spout bullshit online.
I live a simple eco-conscious life, so I don’t have the resources to afford any transportation.
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This isn’t a matter of individual, personal responsibility. The change necessary needs to happen at the government level.
Government is the collective will of the people.
In theory, yes.
You’re trolling, right? Can’t possibly be this delusional…
It appears, the username, does check out.
Unbelievable. The data is right in front of you. Not hard to analyze. You don’t need to process high temperatures!
Those poor Iranians
I suggest you try to analyse the data. Iranians have a very high energy usage per capita - at least as high as any EU country and probably higher. The country is a major oil and gas producer, and the population is accustomed to cheap petrol prices due to heavy subsidisation by the government. You won’t find many Iranians opting to use public transport for the good of the environment. Like Americans, they would rather sit in their own air-conditioned vehicles in interminable traffic jams.
You won’t find many Iranians opting to use public transport for the good of the environment.
Lack of choice and potential lobbying from the car industry might also be factors here. I can’t imagine anyone who would drive if there was cheap and plentiful public transport available.
Like Americans, they would rather sit in their own air-conditioned vehicles in interminable traffic jams.
I’d say the same for the Americans. A century of pro-car policy removes the illusion of choice.
Um, excuse you, the climate catastrophe is a GLOBAL phenomenon! We are collectively guilty for killing our mother. Are you a Zionist agent, gaslighting us with anti-Iran propaganda? How are they supposed to switch to renewals when their economy is crushed by US sanctions at the behest of Israel???
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They are becoming smarter the further climate change progresses!
Big yikes. As long as the grid that you plug your EVs into is based off of fossil fuels, you’re not solving anything.
My grid is based off of wind. Yours could be too. Demand it, importantly demand the laws that allow it be built . Many areas have outlawed them, or may as well because of all the red tape. They are standard these days and so permits should be shall issue in request for a standard design.
I switched to paper straws so I think that makes me carbon neutral now.
Great! Every bit helps!
Good point, I’ll just commute 2 hours both ways by bike then. Thanks for your contribution. /s
Yes, thank you for doing your part. Stick to bike paths when available. As another user pointed out, cars also contribute to local air pollution with brake dust and microplastics from the four big tires.
/s means sarcasm. I’m not going to abandon my life by commuting 4 hours a day. And I don’t have any money to buy a new car
You are killing our shared future! Small sacrifices today are an investment in a greener tomorrow.
This guy . . .
The sacrifice you demand is not small.
Compared to the annihilation of our environment? Hello! It’s reaching 55 degrees quite regularly if you’ve failed to notice!
The sacrifice you demand is life-ending. From the perspective of the person you demand it of, it is not better than the alternative.
It also is not a solution. Even if cars stopped being a thing across the world right now, it would only slow global warming down a little, not stop it.
I’m not going to have kids so I feel like I can drive whatever because my carbon footprint ends with me. I’m also fairly fatalistic about climate change. Humans are too stupid to stop it and when enough of us die the problem will solve itself.
The main culprits are the big oil companies. They made the carbon footprint term to make us feel guilty and shift the blame from the biggest polluters.
Yep! And I bet it’ll turn out in a few decades that it will come out they were also behind the Doomerism we’re seeing a lot of on social media these days. “Well it’s too late so why try?” Is much more comfortable than “We have to sacrifice a lot of comfort, but if we all try really hard we can do it.”
Weird thought, you ever think oil executives have nightmares about a global collective wanting to bring them to the guillotine?
They made the decisions that got us here, they have the power to turn this around, but we are to sacrifice everything while they continue to live in luxury and do nothing to help? Does this seriously seem reasonable to you?
The main culprit is likely the US military, except that they don’t allow themselves to be monitored.
Aren’t there really any numbers on this? I’d really like to know how aircraft carriers and container ships and other vehicles compare
That’s the point. There aren’t any numbers because the military does not allow oversight.
Look at this shit about the Abrams Tank and consider that armor is a small part of our military
The M1 Abrams tank has a fuel economy of 0.6 miles per gallon. Variants of the Abrams tank weigh between 60 and 70 tons and are powered by a 1,500-horsepower turbine engine. An armored division of the Army can use as much as 600,000 gallons of fuel a day. A cargo vehicle like the M-1070 semi-trailer (designed to haul tanks) gets approximately 1.2 mpg. The M1 Abrams tank consumes about 60 gallons per hour while traveling long distances and can travel approximately 250-300 miles on a single gas tank.
This doesn’t even take into account active devastation caused by munitions testing
Indeed they corrupted the narrative to avoid blame, to maintain profits.
But who are they selling the oil to? Us.
We are all sinners in this
All sinners, yep. Cool story buddy.
I said in the first place that the companies hid the impact of pollution to maintain profits so fuck off with that.
Do you think oil companies just make the oil products, emit the pollution and pump it back below the surface of the earth?
No. We drove the cars that used it, we used the plastics, we asked for more and more and cheaper and cheaper and they said “sure thing bud 🤑”
I don’t get the fatalist viewpoint. Yeah, a lot of people are actively resisting change for one reason or another. But at the same time, there has been progress towards the necessary goals. Civilization will end up worse off than without climate change, but we’re not going to be thrown back into the Stone Age or anything.
Most pollution from cars comes from the tires, not the gas burning. If you drive any car at all, you’re the problem
Citation needed… tires are a problem, but gasoline is farm worse pollution overall. Unless you cherry pick pollutant.
I believe most of the microplastics that are in everything we consume come from car tires. So probably less a climate change problem, but still an issue.
I did not know that. I wonder how much that attempted tire reef fuck up contributed to microplastics in the ocean and therefore our seafood.
