UN turns up thermostat, relaxes dress cipher for global warming

For the month of August, the UN’s New York headquarters will be trying out a new method to address climate change — ditching the business suit. Starting Friday, the building’s AC will be set at 77°F instead of its usual 72°F on workdays and the switched off on the weekends. To mitigate the expected heat — not that 77°F is precisely sweltering — members are encouraged to wear their national dress, suit jackets optional.

The pilot program is called Cool U.N. and it probably won’t be very popular since the building is

notoriously drafty and uncomfortable. Despite the fact that it was designed by a coalition of the world’s top architects, the building is apparently an energy sinkhole. That’s why the UN’s environmental gurus have come up with the initiative — it’s additionally why the building is set to be renovated next year.

While it should save some energy, you have to wonder: with the sensitive nature of some of the negotiations going on in that building, do we really want to manufacture these society angrier?

[Source] Josh Loposer

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