As usual when I do a themed week, I end up with more ideas for posts than I can use. So here are some warmed up leftovers on the subject of refrigeration.
If you have been struggling with the heat, here’s Low Tech Magazine on why you should fit a ceiling fan before thinking about air conditioning. And why, if it’s really hot, it’s much more effective to use both together.
Teachers: Practical Action have lesson plans and downloads for teaching about food preservation and osmosis using a Zeer Pot, a zero-energy cooling device that looks ancient but was invented in 2001.
The 3D printing design studio Emerging Objects have created a printed ceramic brick that is designed to hold water and cool the inside of buildings through evaporation.
As Frank Trentmann argues in his book Empire of Things, consumerism runs on new habits as much as it does on new things. This article makes a similar point in discussing why fridge sales have been so slow in China: “A device like a refrigerator has to fit within a web of habits, conditions, and behaviors. But then again, maybe it fits best when it changes those habits, transforming them into new ones.”
This week I’ve read The Straits Times – the kind of quality international paper you’d expect from Singapore, though many of the longer features are behind the paywall. Next week it’s back to Germany for the news from national broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
I’m off camping this week, so you may not get immediate replies to comments – thanks!
The Earthbound Report 