Steph MangoldCheryl Wagstaff
There is nothing that I hate more than driving in city traffic with no air conditioning during the summer. The smell of car exhaust and the lovely sticky feeling that comes over you from sweating due to the lack of air movement in stop and go traffic. Then just when you think it is all over and you get to the comfort of your own home and it is just as hot and sticky there.
It is impossible to relax if you are not comfortable, and lets face it people who are not comfortable can get quite cranky. So why would one want to sit in a pool of their own sweat rather than the comfort of crisp cool air conditioning?
Now most people who know me are probably wondering why I am in favor of air conditioning because it seems as though I am always cold and bundled up. However, on those hot summer days I need to cool off too. I am not one of those people who have my air conditioner set very low, I just want to be able to rest comfortably.
Not only do I use an air conditioner to keep myself comfortable, but when I am around other people I want them to comfortable too. Not to mention the body odor that comes as a result. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand body odor, and being in a confined space like a car and having to deal with a foul stench is not my idea of fun.
It is my personal opinion that air conditioning benefits everyone. Sure it is nice to smell the clean summer air from time to time, but lets be honest how often do you drive down a nice country road all by yourself just taking in the sights. When I get in my car I don’t drive to the middle of nowhere, so the smog of car exhaust is unexcapable.
Alexis Strizziere
Think back two weeks ago when we still saw the lingering traces of snow on the side of the road and the lower athletic field. Now two weeks later spring is finally here, the sun is warm, the days longer and of course there is no need for winter coats any more. After one of the longest and most brutal winters we have seen in recent years, it is time to put down the windows and let the sweet breezes of summer engulf us.
Imagine going to bed on a nice summer night with the windows of your bedroom open and waking up in the morning with a cool morning breeze blowing in on your face. There is something nostalgic and comforting about putting the windows down and letting the air blow as nature has designed it to do. As a child I can remember sitting outside on my front stoop at night enjoying the tranquil peace of the evening breezes and looking forward to going to bed consumed by the breezes of the night circulated by my fan.
Air conditioners are so typical of the modern world. As we do with most things in life, when something isn’t exactly to our liking we fix it or get rid of it. When the air gets a little warm we automatically reach for the air conditioner because we cannot stand to be inconveinced. Years and years ago when there was no such thing as an air conditioner, people simply opened the windows. The concept of opening the window to “air out” the house has completely, well, gone out the window.
Come to think about it, many people do not have air conditioners or they are broken or they simply do not like the idea of processed air. Air conditioners are expensive to own and upkeep, not to mention the fact that they pollute the earth. In a technology driven world there is a simplistic treasure in opening the windows and letting the smells of spring, summer and fall come through your windows. The cool breezes and scents of a rain fall and distant sounds of a passing train are all things that can be smelt and heard with the windows open that remind us of how simple life can be without the constant buzz of an air conditioner.
