Over 100,000 Europeans will die heat-related deaths this summer. That’s up from the usual summer toll.

I’m sure there are worse ways to die but I have this vision of an old man alone in his boxer shorts in his apartment, simmering and sweltering, fanning himself, wishing one of his daughters would call, and finally keeling over from heat stroke.

Days later, neighbors find his rotted remains when the stench wafts down the hallway.

The main reason for this tragic carnage is that Europeans disapprove of air conditioning. They say it uses too much electricity. Producing that electricity requires the burning of fossil fuels which contribute to . . . you know where this is headed . . . global warming.

Too much global warming, and you’re likely to die of . . . you know where this is headed, too . . . heat stroke.

When it comes to heat stroke, the Europeans apparently believe it’s better to die now in the discomfort of your own un-air-conditioned home than later in a warmed globe.

This Luddite loathing of air conditioning means that only about 20% of European homes and offices are air conditioned and habitable during a heat wave. That compares to about 90% in America.

Air conditioning does indeed use electricity, and generating that electricity does indeed burn fossil fuels (though not always – France generates two-thirds of its electricity with nuclear reactors).

But the cost of air conditioning is more than merely a matter of life and death. It also involves money. A recent study found that the productivity of workers during a European heat wave drops significantly. That drop could be avoided if air conditioning were common. In short, air conditioning would largely pay for itself.

Ah, but there’s another big cost to adding air conditioning to homes in Europe, a hidden cost.

About 85% of the heat-related deaths in Europe are elderly people. Think of all the money that is saved by discarding those unproductive old folks. The Eurocrats have certainly thought of it.

In short, Europe’s lack of air conditioning costs lives but saves money. Lengthened life spans for the elderly is a problem. Roasting them is a solution.

Next, they’ll also think of an economically effective use for the corpses. Soylent Green, anyone?