As I park my car in the summer heat, I
look around and, as I roll my windows down bit to allow excessive heat
build up to escape while I'm gone, I note that almost all other cars are
sitting in the blazing sun with their windows cranked all the way up.
Then I put up my windshield sun block to reduce the greenhouse heat
gain. I make it a point to park facing into the sun as much as possible
in order to minimize the heat gain; but, if I cannot, I add little sun
block screens that attach with suction cups to the other glass. When I
get back in my car, the car is very warm (but not hot) and my A/C has
the interior cool and comfortable in a very short time.
I muse
that no wonder people are unwilling to do anything about global warming
when they're so unwilling to even take care of their own personal
business in such a simple and easy way as taking
a moment and a little foresight to take better care of themselves and
their cars.
Note: When I trade in my cars after 10+ years, the
salesman salivates when he sees a dashboard not cracked from long term
over exposture to the sun's rays and upholstery that is still viable
because of protection from blistering heat. He knows the car will be a
easy resell. And when he sees my maintenance record of regular oil
changes and then he test drives it and feels the steady purr of an
engine that's not been abused by lead footed driving, he knows that
their company's one year limited warranty on used cars is unlikely to be
used.
In short, it's a win-win in beating the heat.