Iran, Your Pool, My Tea August 1, 2007January 6, 2017 IRAN David Mixner thinks Bush will bomb Iran and recommends this recent Economist editorial, along with the special report it links to, to really understand what’s going on – and how badly the world needs to find a better way. HEAT EXCHANGE Stewart Dean: ‘Here’s an even better freebie than free swimming pool heat: free air conditioning or free hot water (take your pick; you have to pay for one of them). You get it from a residential Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH). It’s a heat pump (air conditioner) that takes the heat out of the air and puts it into water. In my old house, I had one. In the winter, I heated my hot water with the oil-fired furnace; in the summer, with a HPWH . . . and got some free air conditioning in the process. Making hot water during the summer by running your furnace all the time is VERY inefficient, so it was a three-way win. Furnace was turned off, HPWH was turned on, which stored the hot water in an electric hot-water heater that ‘turned off,’ and I got some free cooling. There’s a comprehensive report on them here.’ HONEST TEA Bill Graves: ‘Re yesterday’s item – doesn’t your tea have the same environmental problems as bottled water: i.e. the bottles?’ ☞ Yes! But it does not run from the tap. I live for the day that it does. FREEMAN DYSON – WARMING Osborne Lytle: ‘When I suggested that you should be more even handed in your discussion of global warming you responded by saying that there were no reputable scientists on the other side. Regarding political efforts to reduce the causes of climate change, Dyson argues that other global problems should take priority: I’m not saying the warming doesn’t cause problems, obviously it does. Obviously we should be trying to understand it. I’m saying that the problems are being grossly exaggerated. They take away money and attention from other problems that are much more urgent and important. Poverty, infectious diseases, public education and public health. Not to mention the preservation of living creatures on land and in the oceans. ☞ But he doesn’t doubt the likelihood of human-affected climate change. If we ever propose some hugely expensive dubious thing to fix it, by all means let’s be cautious. But what harm in cutting energy for lights 75% with CFLs or tripling automobile mileage to cut gasoline consumption by two-thirds? (Or drinking tap water from the tap, instead of bottling it first?) These kinds of things, and many others, just make us more efficient and prosperous and profitable and secure. Stewart Dean: ‘The Union of Concerned Scientists has put out a report on climate change in the Northeast. A shocker.’ MY VAST FORTUNE David Triche: ‘What is your net worth?’ ☞ Less than I’d like, more than I deserve. Keep buying those books.