The heatwave in the Pacific Northwest for three days last week was something to behold. First, the knowledge that it wasn’t the hottest on record (119ºF in August 1898 in Oregon) didn’t make it feel any better. That won’t shut up the man-made global-warming-climate-catastrophe crowd, however. Second, the fact that the temperatures are usually taken at airports (where the “heat island effect” skews the averages) means that comparing heatwave temperatures over time is problematic. Third, the environmentalists who relish future rolling blackouts (looking at you, California) and hate air conditioners now want to buy air conditioners for some people. Equity, you understand. Fourth, the supposed cool kids who came to Seattle, Portland, and their environs to be baristas, bartenders, donut makers, and rioters are a bunch of wimps.
People in the Pacific Northwest usually can’t stand anything more than 90º because the humidity that comes with the high temperatures makes it most uncomfortable. But the “heat dome,” also known as a high pressure system, holding in the heat last week took the lives of more than 120 older people in both Oregon and Washington. British Columbia suffered nearly 200 more deaths.
The sun sets on the hottest day in Seattle history.
Let’s not do this again, folks.
(Image from @HallieTerrell88) pic.twitter.com/9UVTb3jSMl
— Seattle Weather Blog (@KSeattleWeather) June 29, 2021
Surprisingly, a large number of businesses with air conditioning were nonetheless closed due to the heat.
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Restaurants with air conditioning were closed. A beer tasting room was closed. A note pinned to the front door said, “Closed early. It’s too f!%$ing hot! Bob will be back soon. Thanks.”
Thanks, Bob. We were looking for a cold one.
A Washington State waterfront resort canceled the water activities for guests because the heatwave made it too hot for employees to hand out air mattresses and water toys or something.
Rather than suffer PTSD from being cooped up again in homes following COVID-19 lockdowns, people in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) heatwave sought camaraderie and air conditioning elsewhere. But many businesses were closed – an easily attainable default position when you try to run a business on the commie Iron Coast.
At Portland landmark Voodoo Doughnuts, where local lore claims a donut maker used to deep fry in the nude, eleven employees walked out of the air-conditioned store because it was too hot … and they’re trying to unionize the store.
Voodoo is expanding waistlines and the locations of its iconic brand. Couples renew vows in the crammed Portland location. Customers line up on skid row, where the Portland location is located, to wait for the chance to buy a few Captain Crunch, bacon, or horchata confections. People walk in to Voodoo Doughnuts, they don’t walk out.
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Not surprisingly, crime did not take a powder during the heatwave. Near Voodoo Doughnuts, a man who kindly put out a water-filled kiddie pool in the shade for Portland’s homeless people to cool off got stabbed and killed at the location the next day.
A day after Tyler Morlock put together a pop-up pool to provide comfort to the homeless during a record heat wave, he was fatally stabbed in police-defunded Portland.https://t.co/m1foBgZhjl
— LawEnforcementToday (@LawEnforceToday) July 6, 2021
Bluster and politicking also did not take a heat holiday. In fact, on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown explicitly blamed the heat deaths on inequity and the heat on man-made global warming. Because she said so.
We have been working to prepare for climate change in this state for a number of years. What was unprecedented, of course, was the three days of record-breaking heat, and it was horrific to see over 90 Oregonians lose their lives. And we have to continue with our preparedness work. That includes working with our health partners that provide healthcare to vulnerable Oregonians to make sure that they understand that there are resources available, for example, to buy an air conditioner if they have certain underlying health conditions. [emphasis added]
The governor conflated the the heatwave in 2021 with the 2020 wild fires, caused by, among other things, forest and brush mismanagement by her administration.
[T]his is a harbinger of things to come. We literally have had four emergency declarations in this state at the federal level since April of 2020. [On] Labor Day last year, we had horrific wildfires. […] And we have to center the voices of Black and brown and indigenous people at the forefront of our work as we do emergency preparedness.
These are the same climate change disciples who advise the Third World to not get air conditioners because they’re bad juju for the environment while they simultaneously shut down energy pipelines. We guess it’s OK for them to buy a few AC units for only the vulnerable people of certain politically-favored groups who fit the Left’s equity profile. But sorry, sub-Saharan Africa! Sorry, Burkina Faso!
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The Washington Post opinion maven, Eugene “I have air conditioning in my tony manse but you shan’t” Robinson said ixnay on the air conditioning-ay.
Does this mean that Alaskans and Norwegians should all run out and buy air conditioners? No, and in fact that would be counterproductive, since it would create new demand on the power grid, and much of that demand would be met by burning more fossil fuels. But it does mean that northern cities should develop robust plans for protecting vulnerable residents if an extreme heat wave — and, perhaps, accompanying wildfires — should strike.
WaPo columnist @Eugene_Robinson advises against air conditioning for hot weather because it contributes to global warming.
Instead:
"Northern cities should develop robust plans for protecting vulnerable residents if an extreme heat wave."
— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) July 6, 2021
The “science” crowd is OK with air conditioning but only for those whom they choose – in the name of equity. They will also continue to cut off energy to all Americans to save the environment.
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