Burning Up

I had no problem keeping warm in my air-conditioned office as I read Kirsten Major’s article, “Sun So Hot I Froze to Death” [August]. In fact, I was burning up with rage, as I became nauseous at the idea of using a personal space heater in order to keep warm in an air-conditioned office. While reading Vanity Fair the author must have missed the widespread alarm raised by contemporary scientists, proclaiming that we are causing irreparable damage to our home, planet Earth. Such behavior perhaps is emblematic of her patriotic American attitude, which on a national scale wastes a quarter of the world’s energy yet ignores the Kyoto Protocol. Why carpool or use public transportation when you can drive a large SUV alone? Why ask the building’s management to turn up the thermostat when you can just plug in a heater and waste away? Well, it’s nice to have your own freedom and why not just ignore the fact that electricity is vastly inefficient at heating and sixty-two percent of it is generated by coal. Unfortunately, Ms. Major won’t be the only one going to hell; our sick lungs and children, who won’t enjoy a moderate global climate, will have to burn in hell for her fashionable attire as well.