[Daisym]

Scott, you’ve hit on the solution (if there can ever be one). Increasing the cost of electrical usage, perhaps through a progressive tariff system, similar to a progressive income tax system, would make folks cut back on usage. Such a system could give lower income families an affordable rate for their modest consumption, and charge higher rates as consumption increases. This is only a solution for funding the real solution. CR must find ways to raise money to expand all of it’s infrastructure as the population and economy grows. Then it must have the political will to actually spend this money for infrastructure. Welcome to the real world, CR! That being said, as a person of modest means, I would opt for a house with A/C for several reasons. One, you need it in the coastal beach areas so you can close up the house and keep out the heat and choking clouds of dust generated by traffic on the dirt roads so common to this area. Never having visited the inland areas, I don’t know if dust is a similar problem. But even with temperatures breezy and mild, A/C sure is nice to have for the occasional heat wave. A visit to Seattle a few years ago during a “heat wave” bore this out. Most homes in Seattle don’t have A/C, and a few of the older folks actually died from the heat. Scott, this was a good, though-provoking article. Keep up the good work.

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