Feature

Editor's letter: Willis Carrier's wondrous invention

The greatest invention in human history is not the wheel, and it’s certainly not sliced bread.

The greatest invention in human history is not the wheel, and it’s certainly not sliced bread. As much of the nation broiled this week in temperatures in the high 90s and beyond, can there be any doubt that our most wondrous piece of technology is the air conditioner? It was way back in 1902 that Willis Carrier created the Apparatus for Treating Air for a Brooklyn printing company—a breakthrough that, as it developed and spread over decades, changed the human condition. Today close to 90 percent of U.S. homes have AC, but I am old enough to remember when it was still a luxury. During heat waves, people barely moved, fanning themselves in an oppressed torpor. Nights were a sleepless ordeal, with sweat pooling in your hollows. From such misery did Carrier set us free. Why is there no statute of this great American among the heroes at the National Mall?

Air conditioning is not merely a matter of comfort; it has given us modern life. It keeps people—and computers—working when the mercury climbs past 90, thus boosting the economy. It’s enabled a great migration of tens of millions of people to Sun Belt states that nature intended for lizards, not warm-blooded mammals. And as the world warms, the demand for AC grows ever greater, consuming 20 percent of all U.S. electricity—and a rapidly growing share in India and China. Alarmed, some eco-warriors now suggest we all wean ourselves from Carrier’s invention and return to a more natural way of life. Sorry: I’d give up my digital gadgets, my TV, and even my car before I went back to a world without conditioned air. If they come for my AC, they’ll have to pry it out of my wonderfully cold, dead fingers.

William Falk

Recommended

10 things you need to know today: June 4, 2023
The aftermath of a deadly train crash in India.
Daily briefing

10 things you need to know today: June 4, 2023

More than 260 killed and 900 injured in Indian train crash
The aftermath of a deadly train crash in India.
Rest in Peace

More than 260 killed and 900 injured in Indian train crash

10 things you need to know today: June 3, 2023
President Joe Biden during an Oval Office address on the debt ceiling.
Daily briefing

10 things you need to know today: June 3, 2023

The Check-In: Mindful travel in Hawaii
A coconut on a beach in Hawaii
Feature

The Check-In: Mindful travel in Hawaii

Most Popular

Is Trump's wall working?
International Border Wall Between Tecate California and Tecate Mexico.
Briefing

Is Trump's wall working?

Trump's recording: Is this 'game over'?
Former President Donald Trump smiles at the camera
Talking point

Trump's recording: Is this 'game over'?

10 states sue FEMA over flood insurance rate hike
FEMA State Disaster Recovery Center after Hurricane Ian
'a natural disaster of its own'

10 states sue FEMA over flood insurance rate hike