Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
W
BTW, the US records far more deaths from heat than cold every single year.
No
Quote:
Federal mortality statistics show 800 more people die every day in December, January, and February than occurs on an average day during the rest of the year. The winter months kill 72,000 more U.S. citizens than the spring-summer-autumn average.
U.S. death rates from extreme cold weather 1979-2006 were 50.1% of all extreme weather event deaths;
U.S. death rates from extreme heat weather 1979-2006 were 27.1% of all extreme weather event deaths;
U.S. extreme cold weather death rates averaged 2.7% between 1979-2006 for all causes of death;
U.S. extreme heat weather death rates averaged 1.5% between 1979-2006 for all causes of death (ibid.);
Four times more people die from excessive cold weather than die from excessive hot weather according to National Center for Health Statistics Compressed Mortality Database 2005.
I was mainly looking for personal opinions on a general age when many people yearn for the proverbial house in Florida, whether or not they can afford to do it or want to leave their hometown, ever. But that seems to have been lost in the shuffle. This could be one that's impossible to answer, or should be asked in a medical forum. My apologies for riling the herd.
Hmmm I think that is two different questions, mostly personalities I guess. I've never really felt "at home" anywhere I've lived... I've always considered myself more of a wanderer and have set my life up in order to be able to explore more of the world through moving to different cities, or, travel.
Many of my friends don't even like staying in one city for a year and are more or less constantly "on the move".
I've also lived in Florida with no a/c due to hurricanes...as well as overseas tropical climates which had no A/C whatsoever, sleeping every night inside mosquito nets or a tent. People are generally outside far more in the warm weather for prolonged periods of time than they are outside in cold weather.
The problem is usually exertion induced rather than just being hot unless you are already not healthy. The heat is not going to kill you unless you physically exert yourself more in it, or fail to find a water source. The cold will actually kill you if you are outside in it or cause frostbite.
Yes spending a lot of time being indoors will solve this, I hate being cooped up inside too long personally.
Certain body types and genetics and acclimation are of course going to effect how you cope also.
The more athletic you are, the easier you can cool yourself and get rid of body heat. One advantage that fat people have is to keep more body heat as well, so if you have more body fat, you'll stay warmer in the cold weather more easily. They can of course, also float in water better.
Being taller with longer limbs or shorter with shorter limbs will also determine how well you do with particular weather. Difference in surface areas to alleviate heat as well as distance of extremities from the heart, extremities are the first to get cold (hands/feet)
People who are born in colder environments have different nasal passages, and this is also genetic from centuries of adaptation, smaller nasal passages will warm up the cold air more effectively before it hits the lungs, where as somebody with wider nasal passages is going to get more of that burst of cold air which can be painful in your lungs.
Heck, I moved up here for the winters, and I'd still like to spend November and December in Florida. A lot of people up here go away for a month or more in the winters but have other reasons for staying here permanently. Maybe they do so more as they get older, but people also tend to have more money and freedom as they get older as well. You don't see a lot of snowbirds in their 20s-40s because they either don't have the money or vacation time or they're raising kids.
But everyone has different preferences, as well. I have some friends who, once they were semi-retired, moved from here (with relatively mild temps but 30 feet of coastal snow) to Fairbanks (with very cold temps but only 5 feet of dry snow) because it's so much easier for them to deal with extremely cold temps than massive amounts of snow, and they have personal reasons for wanting to stay in the state. Neither of these climates are typical in the US of course, but it just goes to show that individual preferences vary a lot.
Location: Pittsburgh (via Chicago, via Pittsburgh)
3,887 posts, read 5,517,350 times
Reputation: 3107
Quote:
Originally Posted by ca_north
By "cold" I don't just mean cool; I assume that was clear. I could do a separate question on hot weather, which is also a drag. But cold is the topic here.
"Cold" = when the temperature gets low enough for months or weeks at a time that you can literally freeze to death if you get stranded somewhere. Temperatures well below 20F tend to fit that category. I've experienced that for several weeks on trips to the East coast and was wondering how older non-retired people (who don't have the luxury of always being inside) can handle it. It seems like a straightforward question, assuming an audience with some level of medical sophistication.
the heat affects the elderly much more than the young, too (at a more fatal cost). the heat is more dangerous than the cold. you could ask the same question and reverse it. to answer YOUR question...medically, it is very dependent on the person. there are elderly in all climates, and unfortunate things happen everywhere, but there is no certain age. I've seen 60 year olds in much worse condition than many 80 year olds. Bad circulation as a result of aging may put them in more risk of frost bite and cold related ischemia, but that's kind of it. Again, not really a certain age.
The right vehicle makes a good bit of difference. I have a Subaru which is pretty standard for the Snow Belt and mountainous regions of the US and I have no problems getting around.
The right vehicle makes a good bit of difference. I have a Subaru which is pretty standard for the Snow Belt and mountainous regions of the US and I have no problems getting around.
It can still be too arduous to enjoy, even if you succeed in getting where you need to go on time. Needing to scrape windows on winter mornings or do some shoveling constitutes, for some people, too arduous to enjoy. Given a choice of driving in winter or summer conditions, I would not choose winter just for the sheer delight of the driving. I didn't say it can't be done, I said it is too arduous to enjoy as much as summer driving.
The Heartland Institute is a conservative think tank that shilled for Phillip Morris when they were trying to make a case that second hand smoke doesn't pose a health risk. They currently make a handsome income by receiving funds as a leading advocacy group for global warming skepticism. Likewise, Paul Taylor of the LA Examiner is a regular columnist who rails against environmental regulation and is a noted skeptic of global warming. Neither article offers scientifically peer-reviewed research, but it is easy to see how the claims made in them support their political agendas.
I personally don't know if heat or cold is more responsible for more deaths, but in reality, this is a sideshow not related to the actual premise of the thread. In this day and age, most people have climate control and therefore the risk from death in either extreme is relatively low. At any rate, I'd venture to guess that fear of death from exposure is not likely to drive many people's decisions on where to hang their hats.
I would take those two "sources" with a grain of salt:
The Heartland Institute is a conservative think tank that shilled for Phillip Morris when they were trying to make a case that second hand smoke doesn't pose a health risk. They currently make a handsome income by receiving funds as a leading advocacy group for global warming skepticism. Likewise, Paul Taylor of the LA Examiner is a regular columnist who rails against environmental regulation and is a noted skeptic of global warming. Neither article offers scientifically peer-reviewed research, but it is easy to see how the claims made in them support their political agendas.
Paul Taylor of the LA examiner basis his conclusion from the National Center for Health Statistics Compressed Mortality Database 2005. The raw numbers I gave are from them, not him. In what way do you think those statistics are incomplete, misleading, or inaccurate?
Quote:
I personally don't know if heat or cold is more responsible for more deaths,
It's actually common sense that the cold kills far more than the heat does. i wouldn't bother even googling it if not so many posters just stomped their feet to 'heat is more dangerous.' Most of these same people who say it's easier to adjust to the cold are setting their thermostats to 60-70 F in the winter, wearing many layers, and spending very little time outdoors when it's very cold. But your body temp is 98F. The hottest it gets is 120-130 F while the coldest it gets is about -60/70. Which is a larger deviation from body temp? Where did we evolve? Again common sense says the cold is a lot more dangerous.
Quote:
but in reality, this is a sideshow not related to the actual premise of the thread. In this day and age, most people have climate control and therefore the risk from death in either extreme is relatively low. At any rate, I'd venture to guess that fear of death from exposure is not likely to drive many people's decisions on where to hang their hats.
it's a sideshow inasmuch this thread is about cold but the person who brought it up was trying to say better cold than hot. And while most people have heat in the usa, many (and probably most) don't have AC (I for one never had AC even when i lived in puerto rico but i did have heat!). Heat is considered a requirement to life while AC is a luxury for housing standards. ponder that when you need to ask which kills more people.
Paul Taylor of the LA examiner basis his conclusion from the National Center for Health Statistics Compressed Mortality Database 2005. The raw numbers I gave are from them, not him.
Regarding the bolded point: No they are not. You linked to an article that referenced a study. I have no doubt the full scientific study is much more thorough and nuanced. Paul Taylor is clearly an anti-golbal warming ideologue. It is common practice for ideologues (of either pursuation) to lift only parts of data which support their views.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PosterExtraordinaire
It's actually common sense that the cold kills far more than the heat does.
Not really. To me, common sense dictates there are more senior deaths from people trapped in un-air-conditioned inner city apartments than die due to cold weather. After all, as you even state:
Quote:
Originally Posted by PosterExtraordinaire
And while most people have heat in the usa, many (and probably most) don't have AC
AC is a luxury for housing standards. ponder that when you need to ask which kills more people.
Regardless, we agree on this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by PosterExtraordinaire
it's a sideshow
As such, I have no further interest in this topic. Perhaps you will find others interested in continuing to debate with you on this matter, however.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
