It’s Cool To Be Sustainable: How Next-Gen Refrigerants Will Power The Economy And Protect The Environment

It’s Cool To Be Sustainable: How Next-Gen Refrigerants Will Power The Economy And Protect The Environment

A new, job-creating class of eco-friendly refrigerants will prevent food, medicine and buildings from overheating “” not to mention the Earth itself. The global economy is often compared to an engine: With adequate fuel, it revs and roars; without it, it spits and sputters. What constitutes the perfect fuel source is the subject of much debate. Energy is essential, of course. Banking and capital also are critical. And then there are workers, on whose shoulders economic output quite literally rests. If you were to inspect the pipeline that fuels the modern economy, you might be surprised by what you find. Along with oil, gas, money and people, you'd almost certainly find refrigerant. Because June 26 is World Refrigeration Day, now is the perfect time to imagine a world without it. Society as we know it would melt away, according to The Refrigeration School, an HVACR vocational school that describes a hypothetical "refrigeration apocalypse" wherein refrigeration and air-conditioning suddenly disappear: Without refrigeration, we'd be living in the Dark Ages. What makes refrigerant so valuable, however, isn't just what it prevents: the spoiled food supply chain or the industrial and office worker from being sweaty and tired; it literally creates commerce, community