Low Tech Ways to Keep Cool

According to NASA, 2010 is the hottest year on record so far. Summer temperatures are starting to soar, and many of us are looking for ways to keep cool without turning on the air conditioner. Here are a few low-cost and low-carbon ways to stay cool gleaned from around the world:

South America: Dampen a sheet, and hang it in the window like Mexico City tenement dwellers. The water evaporates in the breeze, cooling the room in the process. Another method is to place frozen 2-liter bottles of water in front of a fan for instant a/c.

Egypt: Egyptian nights stay in the 90s. Dampen a bedsheet, and use it as your "blanket." Evaporation does the trick.

China: Keep a bamboo mat between your skin and a hot or hard surface like a car seat or chair. The bamboo allows air to circulate and keeps bare skin from sticking to hot plastic.

Bahamas: In humid climates, people often dress down and get wet. Getting wet reduces your core body temperature by three degrees and will last up to an hour. If you wear clothes that can get wet, as well, the cooling effect will last for longer. You don't have to have a pool — a water hose, faucet or misting bottle will work.

Bedouin: You can actually stay cooler in arid climates by covering up your skin. Picture desert dwellers in their turbans and flowing white garments. The white reflects the sun, and the natural, loose fabrics shade the skin where there is no shade. Bedouin cultures often wear two layers in the heat of the day. Skin exposed to direct sun is hotter than skin insulated by clothing. Turbans and bandanas shade the eyes, and soak up sweat from the head, which evaporates and helps cool you off.

New York City: Apartment dwellers in major cities often move bedding onto the fire escapes to sleep in the cooler night air. Rural counterparts can sleep on screened-in porches or outdoors. Another trick is to fill your bathtub with cold water and take periodic dips to keep cool. If you live on the top floor, turn on the ceiling fan (or attic fan) and open the windows to draw out the hot air. If possible, go downstairs to the basement in the heat of the day. Turn off incandescent lights, as they generate 90 percent heat and 10 percent light. Use compact fluorescents or LEDs, instead.

West Indies: Spicy foods make you perspire more, which cools the body. Spices also help stop foods from spoiling as quickly and give you an endorphin rush that feels good in any temperature.

Italy: Train grapevines over window trellises to provide shade in the summer and let in light in the winter. Slightly opening windows on the bottom floor and fully opening upstairs windows maximizes Mediterranean breezes through your villa.

Southern Comfort: Front porches are part of the cooling system of a Southern home. Sitting in a lawn chair or rocker that has slats or openings (for air flow) on a shady porch with iced tea is a Southern tradition. You hold the iced tea against your neck to cool the blood to your brain and on your pulse points in your wrists. Blow into the iced tea and cool air will rush around your face and neck. In temperatures over 105 degrees, soak your clothes then sit in the lawn chair with iced tea.

Women's wisdom: Women in hot climates always carry a folding fan in their purses. Another secret is to dampen a handkerchief and tuck it into your cleavage. It is very cooling and keeps sweat from running down your chest. Southern women often spritz with rubbing alcohol then stand in front of a fan. Follow that with a sprinkling of baby powder at your pulse points, and you're cool as a cucumber.

Shawn Dell Joyce is an award-winning columnist and founder of the Wallkill River School in Orange County, N.Y. You can contact her at Shawn@ShawnDellJoyce.com.