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"The point sticks in your head: physics rules. Virtue does not triumph unless the physics allows it."
- Larry Niven

Commuter Cooling Unit  
  A portable air conditioner for commuters.  

Richard Hnatt lives in a future Earth that is too hot. It is so hot that anyone who is forced to go out of doors is required to wear their own cooling unit for their own personal safety and well-being.

Looking out the window he saw with aversion that already it had become too hot for human endurance; the footer runnels were abruptly empty as everyone ducked for cover. The time was eight-thirty and he now had to leave; rising, he went to the hall closet to get his pith helmet and his mandatory cooling-unit; by law one had to be strapped to every commuter's back until nightfall...

He opened the door and stepped out into the hall, feeling the cool wind of the portable unit as it chugged from behind him...

Shortly, he was aboard a thermosealed interbuilding commute car, on his way to downtown New York City...

Technovelgy from The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, by Philip K. Dick.
Published by Doubleday in 1965
Additional resources -

This book was written in 1964; time enough for Dick to see astronauts carrying their own cooling units when climbing into rockets. It is a considerable leap to see how they might be used in global warming.

The notion of global warming dates from the late 1800's; scientists vary in their estimates about how much our weather patterns and global temperature vary due to our impact on the environment, or long-term changes that are normal for the Earth.

Compare to the heat suit from Sand Doom (1955) by Murray Leinster.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
  More Ideas and Technology by Philip K. Dick
  Tech news articles related to The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
  Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick

Commuter Cooling Unit-related news articles:
  - Air Warrior Microclimatic Cooling Garments Tested By Army
  - Wristify, Your Personal Cooling and Heating Device
  - Blaux Your Personal Commuter Cooling Unit
  - Sony Pocket Air Conditioner Is Phil Dick's Idea!

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Sony Pocket Air Conditioner Is Phil Dick's Idea!

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