The Globe Digest #60
Can We Cool the Planet Without Heating It Further?
As the world warms, our growing dependence on air conditioning risks becoming part of the problem. But a Harvard-born startup is taking a bold leap with a low-energy solution that could transform the future of cooling—starting with a filter thinner than a human hair.
Today, systems that cool buildings account for as much as 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. That may seem like a small fraction, but it’s significant: double the emissions associated with all air travel, for example.
As the world gets hotter due to climate change, the need for cooling is set to rise substantially. Air conditioning demand is expected to soar by up to 40 percent by 2030. Energy use, and the associated climate-warming emissions, will balloon along with it.
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