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By Matthew Impelli
Life & Trends Reporter
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Extreme weather patterns across the U.S. have resulted in most Americans seeing their electricity bills soar in price.
A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that roughly 70% of Americans say extreme heat over the past year has impacted their electricity bills, with a range from minor impact to a major impact.
This past summer, millions of Americans have faced waves of extreme weather conditions and unprecedented heat waves. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found how these weather patterns are changing electricity bills and everyday activities.
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The survey found that approximately 70% of Americans have personally experienced extremely hot weather or heat waves in the past five years. This makes extreme heat a more prevalent issue than other natural disasters such as wildfires, major droughts, and hurricanes, which have affected up to one-third of U.S. adults.
Roughly 40% of Americans said in the survey that recent waves of extreme heat have also affected their sleep schedules, their pets and their exercise routines.
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While speaking with the AP, 54-year-old Jim Graham, a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, explained that he has a single-level home and keeps his thermostat at around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, for his central air. Due to the high heat in the area, his electricity bills reached $350, which is much higher than what he has paid in the past.
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"This year it seems hotter than usual," he said.
The survey also found that roughly 40% of Americans say their utility bills have increased over the past year due to different weather patterns, such as storms, flooding, wildfires and extreme heat.
The European climate change agency Copernicus reported that the Earth is currently 2.66 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it was in preindustrial times. While some may view this increase as minor, the uneven fluctuation of temperatures across the globe poses significant risks to human health. This summer, several U.S. regions shattered all-time temperature records. Notably, Las Vegas soared to a blistering 120 degrees Fahrenheit (48.9 degrees Celsius) on July 7.
Mario Cianchetti, a 70-year-old Arizona resident also spoke to the AP and explained how he installed solar panels on his home to help with the rising cost of electricity bills.
"When you retire, you're on a single fixed income. I didn't want to have to deal with rising energy costs," Cianchetti said.
"It's not that I don't believe in climate change, yeah I believe we're going into a hot cycle here, but I don't believe that it's man-caused."
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