I feel a bit guilty writing about oppressive heat in the fog-swaddled San Francisco Bay Area while my friends back east and in Europe are wilting under record-high temperatures. But as someone who spent a recent Parisian summer sweltering in an attic level apartment, I feel I’ve earned my heat wave street cred. For unlike my east coast cronies who groan about triple digit days before retreating to refrigerated offices, I have had to face the heat European-style. For those of you who don’t know what this means, I’m talking about sans air-conditioning.

I should point out that I have a strong aversion to hot weather. As the mercury rises, I become dizzy, tomato-red and weak. It is not pretty. Actually, it is a little scary. And while I am well aware of the environmental damage an air-conditioning unit can pump out, sometimes comfort trumps conscience and I flip that switch.

In France, forget it. Air conditioning is not only rare, but is openly frowned upon. So when Paris was suffering through a particularly brutal heat wave one July, I took to French coping mechanisms to ride out the canicule. I survived. In one piece. And lived to appreciate the lesson, if not the heat itself.

For starters, there is nothing an oven-like apartment to get you out and about. As a writer, long days spent working at home are often par for the course. Add deadlines or engrossing research to the mix, and lunch out or a leisurely afternoon walk can easily fall by the wayside. Facing 95-degree temperatures in a seventh-floor walkup has a way of rearranging priorities. I enjoyed picnics in the city’s parks, afternoons relaxing in cafes and a late-night walk with a friend that spanned several miles and introduced me to new neighborhoods. And you know what? This new relaxed pace reduced my stress level, helping me to be more productive in the long run.

I also saw more of my neighbors and by that, I mean much more than I needed to. Parisians are generally reserved, but all modesty quite literally flies out the window during stifling evenings when fellow apartment dwellers lounge around bright rooms in various states of undress. What initially seemed like a large-scale homage to voyeurism, soon gave way to collective empathy as many people shed attitude along with articles of clothing. We were all in this together, and a friendly wave from a window across the courtyard was a welcome reminder that I was not the only one roasting in a veritable sauna.

In my bid to escape the torment I began to revel in small pleasures. Cold towels dabbed with essential oil became cherished mini spa experiences, further relaxing me.  Besides heat relief, there is something oddly sensual about lying naked across a futon at 2:00 am draped in wet, lavender-scented cotton. Pastis and absinthe daiquiris also had a surprisingly cooling, soothing effect, putting to rest a long-held wariness of licorice-flavored concoctions. Or perhaps polishing off two drinks after lunch makes you less inclined to care how hot it is.

What sticks with me the most, however, is the refrain from friends and colleagues that such heat spells, though previously rare, are becoming increasingly common. Climate experts say that a combination of global warming and urbanization will result in hotter summers in the coming decade.

My French heat wave was a reminder of this urgency. Unlike sizzling summers past when I basked in frigid blasts and quickly forgot a record heat spell, soaring temperatures are hard to ignore when your apartment has morphed into a steam room and a unit across from yours appears to have been taken over by nudists. And if my next July in Paris is anything like my last, I very well may join the party. With my lavender-scented towel, of course.

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Erin Zaleski.

Image: Al lanni

The post Voyeurism, Nudity and Absinthe Daiquiris: Surviving a Heat Wave Euro-Style appeared first on EcoSalon.

It is the tail end of summer in New York, and I’m having a hard time following the commonly held “green” recommendation to keep my thermostat set to 78 degrees. Believe me, I have my reasons.

For one thing, I am at a point in my life where estrogen is racing out of my body faster than oil out of a deep-water BP well. As a result, my inner thermostat is completely out of whack – it feels like I have my own personal furnace lodged under my pancreas, hitting me with blasts of steamy air throughout the day and night. The phrase “hot flashes” does not do this condition justice, as it implies intermittent spells of overheating followed by cooling-off periods. I have not found this to be the case. I am hot all the damn time – my face red, my clothes damp, my hair attractively plastered to my head.

I have noticed a temperamental component that comes with these mid-life changes – there is a certain moody intolerance, a cranky disinterest in the needs and opinions of others. I look at this as a positive thing: I have finally outgrown my lifelong habit of compulsive people-pleasing. Others, however, are less fond of this development and have referred to me as crabby, aggressive, and short-tempered. The phrase “meaner than a mountain polecat” has cropped up once or twice. My kids derisively refer to me as “Sunshine.” Although not, you can be sure, to my face.

On top of all this, New York has been having one of the hottest summers in recorded history, with countless days over 90 degrees and unbearable, rain forest-like humidity. Every morning it seems that the local weatherman announces another heat advisory, another day of oppressive, scorching sun.

For me, these conditions have combined to create a Perfect Storm of heat intolerance. I keep my air conditioner set to 67 degrees because any warmer than that and I might have to kill someone.

Not everyone is a fan of this practice – I am constantly being told that my house is too cold. My daughter walks around the house in sweat pants and a hoodie, with her nose running and her lips a lovely and delicate shade of blue. Guests come to my home in August wearing long sleeves and fleece vests (although given my combustible attitude, it’s a wonder they show up at all).

I feel guilty about the fossil fuels I am wasting and I try hard to make up for my eco failures this season. None of my summer barbecues have featured paper plates or disposable cups – which is a real sacrifice for someone as inherently lazy as I am. I am hoping to balance out my carbon footprint by using less heating oil during the coming winter, when I will keep my house at a lovely and arctic 63 degrees. Until then, my family is hoping for a leveling off of the weather – and my hormone-induced crabbiness.

Meanwhile, I am trying my best to ride out the summer and be more courteous to others. Book group is at my house next week and in an effort to be nice I thoughtfully sent my guests an evite that ended with some well-meaning advice: “Bundle up, bitches.”

Image: Ed Yourdon

The post Summer 2010: Ice Ice Baby appeared first on EcoSalon.

The hard working contributors, columnists and editors at EcoSalon are earning their green stripes, blazing the trails and taking their proven commitment to sustainable living beyond the daily blog. Our strides are so darn exciting, we simply can’t keep them to ourselves.

Ready, set, kvel!

Fashion Editor Amy DuFault has stepped over to the other side, opening her own eco haunt, Shift Boutique. Sure to be the next Hyannis, Mass. hot spot, the store peddles sustainable products by Prairie Underground and Dahl, to name just a few emerging green lines. Amy also hosts events through her lifestyle consulting company, Greenover. If that didn’t keep her busy enough – she is signed up in January to teach eco fashion enrichment at her local middle school, helping 12-year-old girls create recycled fashion to showcase on a catwalk at a fashion show.

Contributor Susan Chaityn Lebovits is developing and implementing ways Boston University can reduce its environmental footprint. Susan is the Communications Specialist for Sustainability at the university, and is working to launch a new website in January that will house everything from research on renewable energy to classes that touch on sustainability and energy-saving building retrofits. The site will even help visitors locate bike racks and recycling stations. Meantime, Susan is producing a 15-stop Green Campus Tour Podcast, which covers locations such as the university’s geothermal building.

Anna Brones, our newest contributor, gets all of our votes as the people’s representative for the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. HuffPost in conjunction with Hopenhagen is sponsoring the competition and voting ends December 4th, so cast yours as well! If chosen, Anna would report back daily from the conference as a HuffPost citizen journalist. Anna is the co-founder of Under Solen Media, where she develops social media marketing strategies to positively align brands, causes and adventurers. She’s also been busy helping the Save Our Wild Salmon campaign in the ongoing litigation process to come up with a scientifically sound plan for restoring Columbia-Snake River salmon.

Senior Editor Luanne Bradley will soon appear with her husband, Edwin, in a San Francisco Chronicle article on eco power couples. The feature highlights their daily work for green change. Edwin is an environmentalist and lawyer and Luanne writes the column Life in the Green Lane, a humorous look the modern family going green in the city. Luanne continues her green design consulting, having completed a teacher’s lounge with healthy fibers and vintage Mid-Century furniture.

The Green Plate Columnist Vanessa Barrington is on a daily mission to make the small changes that add up, riding her bike everywhere she can, finding “the car is merely a taxi for the dog to go on walks.” She is limiting her meat and processed food consumption and still working to get one hold-out member of her family to see the joy of giving to charity instead of “stuff” for the holidays. Her garbage can is minuscule and she only fills it once a week! She uses bathwater to flush her toilet and when she is cold, she puts on a sweater instead of cranking up the heat. Of course, she can also make a steaming bowl of delicious soup from one of her dozens of dynamite recipes.

EcoMeme Columnist Lora Kolodny is in a holiday mood, trying to knit a gift-scarf out of bamboo yarn, and looking forward to the Green Drinks holiday party Dec. 8th in NYC. She recently convinced a Manhattan restaurant manager to stop serving coffee in disposable cups by default. Now only to-go patrons get the paper. When not writing for EcoSalon and her blog at the New York Times, she also volunteers for God’s Love We Deliver.

Publisher and EIC Sara Ost has been busy building the green community at EcoSalon through Trashless Tuesday on Twitter (a la Meatless Monday), drawing chuckles and questions cruising around the Bay Area in her Smartcar, hosting Treehugger’s Carnival of the Green recently, and turning up as one of Greenopia’s Green Women We Love. Next up is convincing the neighbors they really, really need the Omlet.

Check back soon for more updates on the green goings-on from all our contributors. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!

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