Letters to the Editor: New law to keep rental units cool may prove to be counterproductive

To the editor: Rising temperatures attributed to climate change have driven Los Angeles County leaders to mandate that landlords in unincorporated areas keep their units below 82 degrees (“Rental units in unincorporated L.A. County must stay cool under new law,” Aug. 5). This will require more air conditioners, which will spew more hot air out of buildings and into the streets, increasing the urban heat island effect. Meanwhile, the additional required A/C units will consume more electricity, which is still at least partially produced by burning fossil fuels, and thus will produce more carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, which will further heat the planet.

What a brilliant solution our county supervisors have cooked up! Can they rewrite those pesky laws of physics for us next?

Jack Debes, Santa Monica

An earlier version of this story said electricity is still “largely” produced by burning fossil fuels. While this is true on a national scale, most electricity in California in 2023 was non-fossil. In unincorporated L.A. County, the electric mix is even more fossil-free.