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.
I doubt climate has a big direct impact on politics, but indirectly I'm sure it has. In the US, climates that were suitable for plantation crops like cotton and sugar cane produced slave societies that have had a very lasting conservative impact. Climates suitable for small-scale agriculture (individual family farms) probably fostered greater liberalism. Those that were only really suitable for very large ranches encouraged conservatism as a few people would have a huge amount of power. So I think it's more to do with the industries that climates supported than the direct effect of the climate.
Because most people don't seem to give a flying airport about Alaska or North Dakota or Montana. If there really are more cold lovers than heat lovers, then why don't some of them move up to Alaska so that I could build big cities there like I have dreamed of for a while? And put up attractions there.
I really don't know why, but it looks like a lot of people have some kind of issue with Alaska. Minnesota has a few people in it, but even they sometimes have more complaints about cold weather than heat.
Some of the northern states (Montana, Alaska, Minnesota, Vermont, and Maine) have more relaxed laws and slightly better economy than some other states. A couple of states with economy issues I can think of are maybe Nevada, California, or New York, and recently, Illinois (in terms of losing $ and budget cuts). Even though Minnesota is one of the top highest states for good education.
--------------------------------------------
As for the OP: I'd say it could be likely, since most of the southern (warmer) states are usually red states during elections, and many republicans tend to be conservative and conventional.
Thats because those states are rural and/or rugged and mountainous, not because of the cold alone. And Minnesota has 5,000,000+. Not Texas or California but 5,000,000 is a lot of people.
The Great Lakes, and Northeast have a lot of people too.
I don't think I can tie the case of politics to climate without a lot more thought and research, but I don't think I'd have to work hard at all to show that far more people (ie...more common) prefer to be warm/hot than cool/cold.
For one, just look at our language/lexicon, which of course over time is tied to how/what we think. Someone who is friendly and inviting, typically considered good qualities, is called "warm". A beautiful/handsome person, typically considered a good quality, is called "hot", an unfriendly and standoffish person, generally considered a less desirable quality, is described as "cool" or "cold". Do you think those descriptions were just arbitrarily decided, or do they really reflect what people consider desirable (hot/warm) and undesirable (cold/cool) ?
Secondly, being from Minnesota, the land of frigid winters and relatively cool summers in most areas, I personally know dozens of people who have lived here their whole life, born here, raised here, employed here and when they retire, they spend the cool/cold months in....wait for it, a warm/hot place. We call them "snowbirds". I'm honestly not sure I've yet met a native born Arizonian, or Texan or Floridian, who comes up here to relatively cool/cold Minnesota to spend the Summer and escape the heat of their native state. We all know what a snowbird is....is there even an equivalent word for those escaping from hot/warm places and going to cold/cool places in the summer months ? if there is such a word, it's not nearly as common as snowbird, which is of course another telling little detail.
I do know one gal, a native Arizonian, who met her husband, a native of Minnesota, but in Arizona for school, married him and he dragged her up here to live. I met her 34 years ago when she first arrived in cool/cold Minnesota, and she's lived here that entire time....and I know she loves her husband dearly, but still frequently tells me she wishes they lived in warm/hot Arizona.
So, in summary, I think it's fairly easy to make the case that most people prefer to be warm/hot, maybe at the beach in flip flops, or riding around town in the convertible, as opposed to being cool/cold and building a snowman or downhill skiing.... if given a viable choice.
If its any consolation, I'm a Floridian who lived in Texas as well... and guess where I am Idk if its "escaping the summer heat" though, cuz it gets hot here too.
If its any consolation, I'm a Floridian who lived in Texas as well... and guess where I am Idk if its "escaping the summer heat" though, cuz it gets hot here too.
I am also a Texan that is in Minnesota right now. I know another Texan as well that is here too. I certainly like the climate here better and they do too. That is with this harsh winter with a few -30F and even colder mornings. Heck, it was like -25F at 3 PM or something here one day, but that is extremely rare, and the actual high for the day was something like -10F at midnight I think. Most days have been in the 10s with decent sun so it doesn't feel too cold really. Average days aren't bad, warmer days are amazing, and the cold days are bearable. Although, I am in the northern part of the state.
To go further along, I do have pretty leftist views compared to most people and I do prefer the cold, but I can handle heat well-enough, if not better than the cold maybe. I just hate the feeling of heat when it is humid mostly.
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.