A Treehugger Plea for These Hot Days

Seattlest just got back from a road trip through some of the hottest places in the country. Our partner's mother's souped-up SUV clocked the temperature at Lake Mead, NV, to be 130 degrees on July 5th, so we had to chuckle when we arrived home to a rash of weather that makes our fellow Seattleites whine and head to the Homo Depot for a new window-unit a/c.

Please don't do that. Really. Each year, the amount of time Seattle spends blaringly, unbearably hot, measures somewhere in the one-to-two weeks' zone. If you're not going to purchase an umbrella to help you deal with the months and months of rain we get, spending money on a gross polluter air conditioner seems a little ridiculous, no?

Our trip to the blazing hot Southwest taught us a few things about staying cool in the face of excessive temperatures, without polluting our beautiful green Earth. We care about you, so we thought we'd share:

1. Drink a lot of water. This is a no-brainer. You can, apparently, drink too much water, though. So be careful not to go insane. Staying hydrated, in any circumstance, is a key to healthy survival. For environmental and health purposes, also, please make sure the water comes from your tap and travels through a filter. Buying bottle upon bottle of disposable water containers is bad for the environment, and that water probably just comes from some tap somewhere, anyway.

2. Get wet. Swimming at one of the area's fine lake beaches is an excellent way to stay cool. We'll do another post this week about what beaches we'd recommend. Another way to get wet is to splash some cold water on your face. The folks at the Grand Canyon recommend hikers dip their hats in water and hike with a wet hat to keep your head cool and, consequently, decrease the rest of your body's temperature.

3. Hats, glasses and sunscreen. You'd be amazed at how much a wide-brimmed hat can do to keep your body heat under control. Sunglasses don't just protect your peepers from harmful light rays, but they also keep your eyes from heating up. Nothing is worse than the sting of eye sweat. Gross! Do we even need to school you on the various reasons you don't want skin cancer? Get a 30 SPF sunscreen. Anything more than that is a hack operation and will give you barely any extra protection.

4. Stay inside. We know you're not going to do this, but it's a good idea. Open your windows, put a box fan in the living room, and kick back with a cold beer (but drink as much water as you do alcohol--a good tip to avoid hangovers and heat-induced dehydration). These are the lazy, hazy days of summer, after all. Eating a lot of fruits and vegetables is also good for your overall health and coolness, but try to get them from a local farmer's market or co-op.

5. If all of this is a little too tree-hugger for you, then get thee to the nearest 7-11 store, where today only, slurpees are free (in honor of 7/11/07).