Screw Obama: Crank Up the A.C.

Katherine Mangu-Ward | July 29, 2008

In today's excellent New York Times Findings column, John Tierney gives us 10 things not to worry about as we head off to the beach for vacation (if only...). Among them: Cell phone induced cancer, food miles, the Arctic's missing ice, and my favorite:

Your car’s planet-destroying A/C. No matter how guilty you feel about your carbon footprint, you don’t have to swelter on the highway to the beach. After doing tests at 65 miles per hour, the mileage experts at edmunds.com report that the aerodynamic drag from opening the windows cancels out any fuel savings from turning off the air-conditioner. 

So don't listen to Obama when he says:

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK."

In the car, at least, enjoy the sweet, cool, conditioned air, guilt free. Opening the windows is a drag.

More from my old boss Tierney on Martians and South Park in reason.