The "Cool" UN

So the UN has decided to become greener. I'm all for it.

The article is here. The details, so you don't have to read it, follow:

Under the Cool UN initiative, the air conditioning will be turned down and temperatures will rise several degrees.

The plan is expected to save $100,000 during the month, as well as cutting carbon emissions.

All well and good, my good UN. All well and good. I'm glad I'm not working there, because:

For all of August the UN building's thermostats will rise from their usual chilly 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Centigrade) up to 77 degrees (25 degrees Centigrade).

However, to discourage diplomatic tempers from growing too overheated, the building's conference rooms will only be hitting highs of 75 degrees (24 degrees Centigrade).

Chilly at 72°? 75° is too high for me. But then I'm cold-blooded (well, actually, that phrase doesn't mean what I'm taking it to mean, since if I were actually cold-blooded I'd want it to be as hot as possible, I guess).

My only question is one which I've asked before, and will probably ask again. Will they turn the heat down for the month of January?

Okay, I have a few questions, actually. I hope this is a trial run, because if it's just a symbol, and after August they'll be turning the AC back to 45°, then my dear UN, that's crap. Also, it's confusing to talk about turning air conditioners down, since air conditioners operate on temperature by lowering it. But I get what they're saying over at the BBC.

Why is it seen as a sign of weakness to be uncomfortable in the heat, but turn up the heat to 80° and you're just a perfectly ordinary person. Why, I ask you? With the obesity epidemic, you'd think we'd all be running around in the winter in short sleeves, what with the blubber we're all carrying. It is just as "green" to turn down the heat in the winter, but instead we get people giving away free oil to the poor. Does anyone give free air conditioning to the poor? No, because that would be frivolous. That's because humanity has had heating systems for longer than they've had cooling systems, I guess.

So how about it, Ban Ki Moon? Will you be turning down your heat as well? Because you'd better believe that, in today's oil market, heating is just as bad for things as cooling. Maybe more so. Will you be letting the temperature dip to... well, let's call 72° the median, shall we, so will you be setting the thermostat to a very reasonable 65°? Me, I think 70 in the winter is too hot, so maybe we could sneak the heat down a bit more, say to 63°.

If they do, they'll save lots of money, oil, carbon emissions, that kind of thing. If they don't, they are yet more of the people who are willing to turn up the heat, but not the other way around. In which case, screw them and their silly little UN. Here in America, we don't need them. We'll build our own UN, with blackjack and hookers. In fact, forget the UN and the blackjack. Eh, screw the whole thing.

It's a, I say, it's a joke, son. Nice boy, but dumb as a box of rocks.