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by CodeGlitch 1807 days ago
Are we going to have to start living underground? I went to Beer Caves [0] in the UK recently, where I was told that no matter the outside temperature it was always a consistent temperature within the caves (which was great for mushroom farming in the caves).

Obviously living in a cave is not great, but properly built underground habitats?

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Quarry_Caves

2 comments

Flooding is a major problem with underground construction. Not the best as the ocean level rises. Air circulation is also a mess, because CO2 is heavier than oxygen. Evacuating a tall building is relatively easy; most people can go downstairs without a huge issue. Fleeing upstairs, on the other hand, is something fewer people can do. And once you get a blockade of people who can't make it, even the healthiest can get trapped.
Underground does sound promising but doing it at scale for a large number of people… I wonder how viable that is, and if it’ll cause structural issues at the surface. Also in this specific case they may need dehumidifiers.

The other option is heat pumps that exchange heat with the ground. These are slowly becoming more popular in the UK, for instance, but aren’t cheap.