Salina, Kansas -- With a streak of 100-degree days on the way, a Salina scientist may have an unpopular opinion on how to cope. Bare with it and keep the air conditioning off, he says, in a new book.
Stan Cox's thermostat is typically in the off position.
"We run it once a year for one day just to make sure it's still working," said Cox.
But for the rest of the year Cox and his wife are finding relief from the heat in other ways. He's the author of "Losing our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths about our Air Conditioned World." Since the book's June release, Cox has gained a lot of attention.
"We really have as a society lost a lot of our ability to deal with heat in the age of air conditioning," he said,
In his book, Cox argues that humans have changed their lives because of a global warm up. He says it is having a negative effect on our health, lifestyle and economy.
"People actually fear normal hot summer weather rather than learning to live with it and even enjoy it," he said.
Cox says he's not advocating we stop using A/C. He even says he understands the increased use for some people.
"During heat waves it can save lives of people who for reasons of age or health or other reasons are vulnerable to heat," cox said.
He and his wife turn on ceiling and box fans and open windows. They've also planted trees and other vegetation around the house to keep it shaded. The couple says breaking the A/C habit is a matter of slowly adjusting to other means of heat relief.
"We really have the capacity to cope with it. I think we're just giving our body enough time to adjust," said his wife, Priti Gulati.
Cox says he has received some criticism including death threats for his book and other articles, but he says most people have said they are willing to try other ways to keep cool.
