“While human-induced global warming is not going to turn present-day Earth into present-day Mars, global warming is dire enough that our most distinguished scientists recently concluded that as many as 1 million species on the planet could be extinct by 2050 if affairs do not change.” — Jay Inslee

When Jeanine and I moved into our house 14 months ago, we immediately ripped out all the ceiling fans in the bedrooms during our first round of renovations. Midway through our second summer, we’re convinced the fans were a necessity although an aesthetic eyesore in our opinion.

In Newport Beach, most of the older homes do not have air conditioning. Typically, the temperature hovers in the mid to high 70s during the summer and aside from a brief heat wave now and then, the weather is perfect. We just went through a hot spell and it forced us into one of the spare bedrooms. Together. The only trouble in paradise is the weather right now.

We’re calling it our summer in the West wing as this is the bedroom with the best night time breeze. Ironically, the master just has French doors and only windows in the bathroom, so there is little ventilation. When its 89 degrees during the day, the house heats up and feels like an oven. At 10 o’clock at night the master is still cooking.

So we’re getting ready to start Phase 2 of the house renovations and wonder what the least expensive options are. Do we break down and install central air? Or do we reconfigure the master and cut in windows? But then this would require patch and paint on the outside of the house and the outside was going to be Phase 3 and not Phase 2.

Regarding renovations, the experts say that, “A good rule of thumb is not to leave too much of your own lifestyle in the house.” Is ventilation just our personal preference or will we really get a return on our investment when we go to sell? And we’ll likely sell. We like fixing them up and then moving on to the next one.

Tim Townsend at The Wall Street Journal Online wrote: Which Renovations Return The Cost of Investment? He explains, “The biggest error people make is to put in improvements that are very customized to their own wants and needs. Building a hot tub into a deck is not a good idea from a resale standpoint. Not everyone wants a hot tub, so it’s unlikely you’ll get your money back.”

But does the general public want air conditioning? I think it feels very retro and eco-sustainable to live without it. But this would solve our problem. So now I’m researching the air conditioning route and funny what I come up with from PlanetFriendly.com

Alternatives to Air Conditioning: “A few tips — short term/immediate relief: most important: fans in each room — preferably ceiling fans.” What were we thinking??? Their suggestions continue: “Also, try closing windows and curtains on the sun-side. At night, have a window fan suck air out through one window, with all bedroom windows and doors propped open.” Ahhh, now there’s an aesthetic solution? Okay, I admit it… we made a mistake.

Until we decide to reinstall our ceiling fans, we’ll be vacationing in the summer suite. Trying to stay cool.