Why dont more people live in antarctica (daycares, construction)

[MoMark]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

Bet that bonfire heated the air you must have been warm standing by the fire. Were you worried the fire could spread and burn the whole forest? Are you going to plant new trees to replace those that died? How do people tolerate minus temperatures if 15f is cold enough to make you frozen and miserable?

We watched the fires carefully and purposefully chose their locations to prevent any possible spread. I stood as close to the fire as I could quite a few times, but the wind came high out of the north so the only way to catch heat was to stand downwind of the fire which was too smokey...
As for new trees. No, nature seeds the oaks and hickorys. I'm always mowing new sprouts in the summer. However, so much of the tree cover is gone and I expect so much more sunlight in the summer that I'm thinking I may plant an apple tree and a pear tree near the house I love apples!
You tolerate low temps for short periods dressed in protective clothing and layers. Staying out in it for long periods is dangerous and you have to be careful and realize when you become core cold and must go inside to get warmed...which can take an hour or more if you're thoroughly chilled. Wind makes everything worse. I had a thick wool scarf wrapped around the OUTSIDE of my hood to protect my ears which were getting numb even covered up, and I also had another scarf wrapped around so that it covered my mouth and most of my nose so I could breathe without the air freezing the inside momentarily. You can feel your mucous membranes actually freeze briefly inside your body when you breathe such cold air. It's not pleasant!

[Need_affordable_home]

Let me start another thread for this kind of topic. I want to stick to discussing antarctica here. I already know the cold can be unpleasent, then I ask why do people put up with living in Alaska, north Canada and Siberia? Could they have a reason for antarctica?

[j33]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

How do people tolerate minus temperatures if 15f is cold enough to make you frozen and miserable?

I'll tell you Monday, it is supposed to be -10F here Sunday night (it is currently 7F) probably about the time I'll be out on the street trying to get a taxi home (but if we win the superbowl I won't care

As far as tolerate it? You just do because you have no choice, you just put on every stitch of clothing you have and the complain when you get to work about how your scarf froze to your face walking down the street (or is that just me?). People are adaptable. But as I stated before, and as have others, it is all about infrastructure, Canada, Alaska, and Sibera have close by land-based infrastructures (Northern Canada has southern Canada, Alaska has southern Canada as well, Sibera has Russia and China, Antarctica has nothing).

[Need_affordable_home]

Let me know how long you can stay out in -10 before you start shivering and how long before it gets painful. Is it really dangerous to be out for long in -10, especially if theres some wind in the mix? Antarctica has nothing but whos to say they cant start their own infrastructures? Theres going to be 10 billion humans on earth and not enough land for all!

[fuzzymystic]

There will be plenty of land, if you did a little research, you would know this, not to mention the fact that there are ultra rich people who have nothing better to spend their money on than building their OWN islands-so, we could always dig up the oceans and use that land for making new islands(JOKE) and leave Antarctica for the few species on this planet who can survive there.

[Ronzou]

Well since the new thing is global warming, until my land melts right under my feet I wouldn't mind it.

The penguins and some other critters would be my neighbors. I like penguins. They make me giggle. So that's all good.

Now if they could just do something about the no plumbing, no electricity... And the lack of drinkable water. It's all around you yes, but it's frozen and being cold and trying to drink frozen water will surely end your life faster than you would expect.

[pioti]

I believe the company that does the support services is Raytheon Polar Services Company. The National Science Foundation is the main client. I got to work there back in the 80s for a summer. Fascinating, great people and an experience of a lifetime. I got to go through New Zealand on the way. I saw that the South Pole has all new facilities since I was there. I suggest you apply for a job and visit. Better way than going as a tourist and less expensive.

[MidniteBreeze]

Yes, people do (and have) lived in subarctic/arctic regions like Alaska, northern Canada and Siberia. But NO ONE has ever permanantly lived on an ice cap. As cold as the above named places are, there are at least enough plants, animals and sea life to sustain small groups of people living a traditional, nomadic lifestyle.

As we got into the modern age with "stick" homes, televisions, indoor plumbing, etc., those places that were already populated kept up with the times, but not without cost. If you live in bush alaska, you have to have EVERYTHING shipped in...sometimes even your drinking water. (I even saw an online recruting video for a rural Alaska school district that warned people about some of the houses not having indoor plumbing...you have to pee in a bucket go to the school to shower!)

Anyway, the point that I and everyone else is trying to make is it's just not logistically or fiscally feasable to build any kind of permanent settlement in a place as isolated and harsh as Antarctica.

[CandyApple]

(I even saw an online recruting video for a rural Alaska school district that warned people about some of the houses not having indoor plumbing...you have to pee in a bucket go to the school to shower!)

It ain't just rural Alaska. Just a few miles north of Fairbanks, in the Goldstream Valley, most of the houses have no plumbing, and for those that do they have to bring their water in to fill up their water tank. You can't have a well because the water is contaminated, and you have to do your duty in the outhouse. Even when it's -40 outside. A lot of college kids live there because the rent is cheaper, as do people who want a place where they can keep their dogs. There's LOTS of dogs in that area.

I'm willing to pay a little extra to have a warm bathroom to do my business in, so I lived in town.

There's been times I've gotten cabin fever bad enough that I HAD to go outside, even in the middle of the night at 40 below. I think I was out for a half hour or an hour before I needed to go back in. My legs were quite chilly when I came back- cold to the touch actually. I never got long johns until I had to deal with Fairbanks weather, I tell you.

[sunrico90]

On one hand, Antarctic activities are conducted under the political and legal umbrella of the Antarctic Treaty by international governmental agreement. The Treaty guar-antees freedom of scientific research under the freezing of territorial claims. On the other hand, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research is a nongovernmental scientific organization under the ICS (International Council for Science), established to facilitate the cooperation and coordination of significant and effective scientific research in the Antarctic. SCAR has provided expertise on many problems such as protection of the Antarctic environment in response to requests from the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in cooperation with COMNAP (Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs), as well as scientific advice. Many of NIPR scientists work as members of SCAR, its standing Working Groups, or as ad hoc groups of specialists.