Desert dilemma

Evaporation technology is the simple answer to summer in the Sonoran Desert. Easy to use and effective in all but the most extreme temps, it's a fun solution to keeping cool outside. In fact, they were the only thing that made it possible to barbecue in the backyard yesterday.

So what's not to like? Well, it depends on who you ask:

Shawn Green, a 22-year-old recent University of Arizona graduate, likes misters but feels guilty about them. He was eating lunch recently at Chipotle inside a barrier of mist keeping the afternoon heat at bay. "They definitely work, but I know that it's wasting a valuable resource, especially in Arizona, so it makes me feel extravagant," Green said.

Critics complain about how much water misters use. Bill Nugent, owner of the Shanty Cafe Inc., tried a do-it-yourself misting kit. He took it out after two weeks because customers got wet, his water bill went up and he weighed the moral pros and cons of spraying water to stay cool." I think psychologically people think they're doing something, ... but overall I don't think they're very effective," Nugent said.

"And it really sends the wrong message. It's Arizona in the summertime. To try to cool the outside is ludicrous."

Do the math; evaporative cooling can cool the air temp up to about 20 degrees. Even in extreme-over-110-degree heat, that offers a modicum of relief. Of course, only in Arizona is 95-degrees considered comfortable.