$20 B for A/C

The price tag placed on air conditioning would upset both Bob Barker and NASA.  The U.S. military spends a cool $20 billion every year on air conditioning for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan NPR reports. The cost of cool is more than NASA’s budget, and even more than BP’s cost of cleanup in the Gulf. When considering the factors what makes the price of air conditioning more astronomical than NASA? Each air conditioning unit requires a gallon of fuel to be shipped to each remote outpost, then driven 800 miles in 18 days to reach its final destination. NPR reports that at the end of next year $30 billion will be spent for the 33,000 troops returning home. This numbers equate to nearly $1 million a soldier. The military reports that they started treating the tents with polyurethane foam which reduced the energy use by 92%. With these new techniques can the military go green be more efficient with their energy use? At the end of war’s Showcase Showdown, who can really say the price is right?