It was a summer much like this one that riots broke out in urban areas like Detroit and Newark. That was 1967.
And it's a surprise that wide-scale violence hasn't overtaken U.S. cities during the hothothot summer of 2018.
Instead there are micro incidents of road rage, an uptick in domestic disputes, and a fall-off of attention by some at work.
The Washington Post refers to current heat conditions as "red hot planet."
If the heat is really a result of climate change and this summer is not atypical, then we will see macro change.
For example, I predict thriving business-centric southwestern Arizona will gradually become Ghost Town.
Yes, right now there is the surge of new residents pouring in from a California they can no longer afford.
But, if extreme heat becomes a standard condition, then the plus factors associated with the area will be reduced.
Among them are the great outdoors which will be too hot to enjoy most of the year and the low cost of living which will be wiped out by the air-conditioning bill.
Before I migrated to Tucson, Arizona, from the New York Metro area, in April 2014, of course, I did my due diligence about the climate conditions.
My internet research and interviews with residents already in that area indicated that there were a few months of elevated temperatures in the afternoon. To manage that, just do outdoor chores in the AM and PM. And, then spend the other 9 months enjoying the beautiful scenery and low-cost of living.
They were right - for the first year I was there.
Then the heat, reaching 122 degrees, hung on and on. There seemed to be no fall or spring. And winter was unusually mild. In addition, the low cost of living became undermined by the population surge. No fools, businesses boosted prices for just about everything, ranging from lease renewal to gasoline.
First, the dog couldn't take it. He would only take his walk before 7 AM or after 11 AM. Then I got it that I couldn't take it. As one neighbor observing my distress put it, "You're not a desert rat."
At the end of August in 2016, as the temperature was rising to what would be a scorcher, the dog and I pulled out of Tucson, heading toward a more moderate climate, with all four seasons.
So far there have been no extreme weather conditions in Eastern Ohio. Because of a stable population with no significant influx of newbies, the cost structure remains low.
Should there be a series of horrific winters or if a cunning real estate developer parachutes into the region that could all change. But, for now, I feel mighty lucky to just live a normal life after the bizarre conditions in supposed paradise.
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