Before I jump into this, I’m not writing today as any kind of statement about global warming or any other climate change issues. I don’t think any of us doubt bad things are going on with our climate and that we all need to be doing something about it.

With that said, this week The Washington Post ran a thought-provoking piece regarding our addiction to air conditioning. In it the author makes the statement that air conditioning isn’t considered a means to comfort and a matter of convenience anymore — it is now viewed as an essential life-support system.

“It’s no longer mentally associated with things such as toasters, refrigerators and televisions, but instead with those often-invisible systems that we take for granted until they fail, such as the electrical grid or medical implants, pharmaceuticals, and the blood supply,” he wrote.

It’s crazy to think that many of us have lived in homes that had no air conditioning whatsoever. My grandparents’ house used what was called an ‘attic fan’ that, when utilized, would suck air from outside into the house to create an air flow inside. I distinctly remember us opening the windows and turning that fan on, causing all of the curtains to rise and move in the artificial breeze created by the suction. While running, the fan was drawing the heat into the attic, where roof vents were placed to help dissipate it.

While it did make the air move, which of course is preferable to air standing perfectly still with no circulation, the issue was if it was 98 degrees outside you were pulling 98 degree air into the house. But don’t get me wrong — the ‘illusion’ of cool that the moving air created while moving across your skin beat the heck out of no cool at all.

Remember, air conditioning has only been around for about 100 years. And, many don’t know that its roots run directly to Apalachicola, Florida, to a man named Dr. John Gorrie, who invented a machine that used ice and fans to cool his patients’ rooms. His creation evolved into the foundation of the modern refrigerator and air conditioner.

Air conditioning first appeared in movie theaters in the 1920’s, then in trains, hotels and other public places in the 1930’s. By the time we got to the 1950’s air conditioning was spreading everywhere.

Before A/C, people around here had established protocol to help keep their homes as cool as possible during the even-then blistering heat of the summer. Home owners kept all the windows and doors in the house open to keep the air moving, and carpets were pulled up during the summer and put in storage. Thick screens were put on the windows to keep direct sunlight from shining into the house while allowing air to move through.

Bottom floor rooms had high ceilings that allowed the heat to rise, while upstairs the ceilings were lower. Homes had lots of windows in an attempt to let gathered hot air escape. Kitchens typically were separated from the home, usually a structure in the backyard. That kept the heat of the stove away from the house and also protected the home from fire. In bedrooms the mattresses would be changed, in winter months using feather mattresses then in the summer corn husks or corn leaves.

Folks around here simply formed their lives around the stifling temperatures. They cooled themselves with paper fans and guzzled iced tea. They swam in local ponds and rivers. It was a common practice to attempt to ‘trap’ cool morning air inside their homes with closed windows and then depend on ceiling fans for relief. Evenings were for savoring cool breezes (and colder beverages) on the porch.

With this summer being so hot, I’ve noticed while reading online that many people apparently choose to keep their A/C thermostats set around 68 or so degrees. What those folks may not know is that any A/C unit that never gets to shut down cannot run very efficiently, and I’d bet their A/C’s never get a break — but I would be willing to bet those folks also don’t really care, as long as it keeps them cool.

Some years back I was talking to Mike Woodham, who is considered the guru regarding the major league baseball farm teams that once called Thomasville home. I asked him why he thought they disappeared. His short answer? “Air conditioning,” he said. “Nobody wanted to sit in the heat to watch a game anymore, and attendance withered away to nothing. People wanted to sit in the cool in their home and watch it on TV.”

Before you set the thermostat to ice-box levels in your home, consider this: air conditioning generates about 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, twice as much as the entire aviation industry. But what many people don’t realize is that most air conditioners put an enormous amount of their energy just toward removing humidity from the air. Knowing the humidity we all know is a part of the place we call home, and it becomes clear our A/C’s are strained to the max.

I know we’re all spoiled rotten by our air conditioners, if not outright addicted to them. It’s a complicated issue we all need to be more aware of as we move forward into the future.