Just how low will you go? Sure, most of us are willing to nudge the thermostat down a degree or two for the sake of the planet. But living without heat altogether? In Baltimore? A recent New York Times piece, Chilled by Choice, highlights people willing to go to this extreme. Why? Most of the shivering subjects of the article who wear gloves and coats indoors do so out of “thrift, environmentalism, and a commitment to unique real estate.”
Thermometer

Noticeably absent from the people featured were families with babies or young children. In the United States, I’d worry that parents subjecting their children to indoor freezing temperatures would face child abuse charges. But not all countries share our aversion to extreme weather—European youngsters, for example, may enjoy communing with nature in “forest kindergartens,” which are held outdoors rain or shine (or snow).

Before I read this article, I thought I was keeping my thermostat pretty low. Certain guests with weak constitutions have been known to wear their coats inside! For the record, our house is a toasty 64 degrees during the day and a perfectly bearable 55 degrees at night. I’m really not sure I’m capable of living in forty-degree (or colder!) rooms for half of the year, though a part of me wishes I were up to the eco-challenge. What about you?