Hi Christine, All A/C systems are closed and do not polute the atmosphere, except for the energy to run them, as long as they stay that way. In reality almost all car A/C's develop leaks after about 5 years, usually in the high pressure hose. It actually starts to bubble right through to the surface. Then your A/C stops cooling, and you need to replace the defective part, and recharge the system. Freon is still available, but when it runs out, R-134a or Fridgc can be used in pre-'93 cars. Fridgc is the least costly and better coolant for those cars, but as you pointed out, the owners are likely to be lower income. There are about 110 million of those older cars.
The owners of older cars are not now required to do anything about their A/C system. When the car is junked, the junkyard is supposed to suck out the Freon for recycling. Most do because they can resell it. The key point is that virtually all coolants will eventually leak into the atmosphere. They do not occur naturally, and we do not yet know what the full consequences are. We need to use those that are most benign.
I was aware of the hot temperatures in Southern California, but I thought it was cool in the higher elevations of the Northern part.
I bet you would love to live in an adobe house, but they are poor insulators. The outer walls need to be good insulators, and brick, concrete, adobe, stone, etc., should be used on the interior for a moderating effect on the temperature. My goal is to build a house that runs totally off of the Sun, with an electric car in the garage. The technolgy already exists. It needs to be done. I want to do it.
Del |
