Boris Kingma of Maastricht University has published, in Nature Climate Change, a study on central heating and cooling  The study shows that in offices across the Western world, the standard thermostat has been set since the 1960s to suit the metabolic rate of an 11-stone, 40-year-old male. The ideal temperature for the average woman is 24.5°C; while men, who burn energy faster, prefer 22°C.

This, publicized in Britain, caused a storm from the ladies in the media.  Catherine Bennett wrote a furious article in The Observer saying, “We live in a “man-made world”: everything from building layouts to the 40-hour week to “pointlessly confrontational” news interviews are designed with the male in mind”.  This included office temperatures.

But  the furore conceals a serious problem.  As the climate warms, the amount of power used for air conditioning goes up, undoing all the good things people are doing to reduce emissions in other ways.

Epicureans have to be totally behind what was agreed in Paris with regard to climate change, imperfect  though it is.  We are bequeathing potential chaos – the food, water and flooding problems , political upheavals, mass migration – to future generations.  Like the politicians, we too are imperfect when it comes to changing our habits and outlooks, but a pleasant life will be impossible if we don’t do our best. Most people are too preoccupied and busy to think about it.  Epicureans can set an example.