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Modern technology has made more palatable to live in both extreme landscape (Canada or Australia) obviously Australia, as much as Canada, had plenty of desirable places to settle with nice weather and fertile land.
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I was responding to your comments about the desert. Of course there are coastal areas of Australia that are less hostile and more suitable for settlement. These are the areas that were settled first by Europeans of course.
I do not have personal experience about eastern Canada, but the ocean waters of BC are pretty much unswimmable year round.
Surfing is possible only in few spots on the western coast of Vancouver island (for example Tofino), wrapped in a quality wetsuit.
There are still lots of places you can swim in southern BC during the summer and where the water is warm: inlets, lakes, etc.
Ocean water in eastern Canada tends to be warmer than on the Pacific (which tends to cold all the way down to LA even) and gets over 20C in SE New Brunswick and around PEI.
There are still lots of places you can swim in southern BC during the summer and where the water is warm: inlets, lakes, etc.
Ocean water in eastern Canada tends to be warmer than on the Pacific (which tends to cold all the way down to LA even) and gets over 20C in SE New Brunswick and around PEI.
Swimming in a lake it's a way different experience than swimming in the ocean....
Sea inlets are still way too cold.
True, the Pacific on the west coast of North America starts to be swimmable in winter only south of SF.....
Last edited by saturno_v; 12-01-2014 at 02:53 PM..
I was responding to your comments about the desert. Of course there are coastal areas of Australia that are less hostile and more suitable for settlement. These are the areas that were settled first by Europeans of course.
The entire discussion started in response to Jas182 comment "In Canada you can freeze to death, in Australia you can boil to death".
I was trying to make a point that the extreme of Australia are not as unlivable, challenging and harsh as the extreme of Canada, especially with the contribution of modern technology.
Modern technology has made more palatable to live in both extreme landscape (Canada or Australia) obviously Australia, as much as Canada, had plenty of desirable places to settle with nice weather and fertile land.
Nice of you to believe in technology, but likewise technology keeps houses warm. You can't escape the basics, though: extreme heat or extreme cold, both which may be lethal.
Nice of you to believe in technology, but likewise technology keeps houses warm. You can't escape the basics, though: extreme heat or extreme cold, both which may be lethal.
Sure you can keep your house warm......what about ice and snow on the streets driving and general challenges to any kind of transportation?? Want to go for a nice walk?? Shorts, t-shirt, a hat, sun protection and a nice bottle of water beats being wrapped in several layers of clothing by a mile...extremely cold weather presents challenges to health...lack of adequate sunshine in winter...what about farming?? Livestock?? Please be realistic....
Sure you can keep your house warm......what about ice and snow on the streets driving and general challenges to any kind of transportation?? Want to go for a nice walk?? Shorts, t-shirt, a hat, sun protection and a nice bottle of water beats being wrapped in several layers of clothing by a mile...extremely cold weather presents challenges to health...lack of adequate sunshine in winter...what about farming?? Livestock?? Please be realistic....
Snow on the road is your biggest challenge? I think that's quite a minor thing. How do you think Canada functions?
A nice walk in t-shirts and shorts in 40-45C/104-115F blazing sun? You could hardly walk a mile and get severe sunburns.
Extremely warm weather presents an equal challenge to health. Why do you think people on the Arabian peninsula switch to a nocturnal lifestyle in summer?
Farming? How do you grow anything in a desert? Ever seen what a desert look like? The hot desert heat will kill your cattle in no time. Farming is definitely easier in Winnipeg in summer.
I was trying to make a point that the extreme of Australia are not as unlivable, challenging and harsh as the extreme of Canada, especially with the contribution of modern technology.
I think the most extreme of both Canada and Australia are fairly equally harsh.
It's also easier to escape the cold with basic know-how (making a fire) inside a shelter than escaping extreme heat in a shelter - you can't really cool an indoor space without electricity.
You can also dress more and more warmly by putting on additional layers but if it's super hot once you're completely naked you can't take much more off to cool off. And if there's no cool water around to jump into... well...
Snow on the road is your biggest challenge? I think that's quite a minor thing. How do you think Canada functions?
The fact it does function does not mean is pleasant or easily bearable in the least...before you say it, yes I spent one winter in Calgary and visited Yellowknife...no mas...
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A nice walk in t-shirts and shorts in 40-45C/104-115F blazing sun? You could hardly walk a mile and get severe sunburns.
40-45 are only extremes, on average, summer is below 40.....and yes, a stroll like that can be quite pleasant especially with very low humidity (typical of the interior part of Australia).....it beats a walk at minus 20.
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Extremely warm weather presents an equal challenge to health. Why do you think people on the Arabian peninsula switch to a nocturnal lifestyle in summer?
No it doesn't...the only thing you have to worry in hot weather is skin protection and drinking water adequately (same for living in an extreme cold environment)
On the other side, living in extreme winters create other issues physical and psychological...lack of sunshine, potential "cabin fever"....very low temperatures lowers the immune defense of the body to external agents....ever wondered why you tend to catch a cold in winter??
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Farming? How do you grow anything in a desert? Ever seen what a desert look like? The hot desert heat will kill your cattle in no time. Farming is definitely easier in Winnipeg in summer.
Winnipeg belongs to the part of Canada considered livable...maybe you missed the fact that the discussion was comparing extremes.
An old lady was growing water melons and tomatoes in a patch near Alice Springs.....having adequate supply of water....try to do that in Churchill....
Most of Australia deserts are not sandy dunes like the Sahara....more of rocky, red ground and scrub environment...adequate water can turn it into a decent arable land.
The fact it does function does not mean is pleasant or easily bearable in the least...before you say it, yes I spent one winter in Calgary and visited Yellowknife...no mas...
40-45 are only extremes, on average, summer is below 40.....and yes, a stroll like that can be quite pleasant especially with very low humidity (typical of the interior part of Australia).....it beats a walk at minus 20.
No it doesn't...the only thing you have to worry in hot weather is skin protection and drinking water adequately (same for living in an extreme cold environment)
On the other side, living in extreme winters create other issues physical and psychological...lack of sunshine, potential "cabin fever"....very low temperatures lowers the immune defense of the body to external agents....ever wondered why you tend to catch a cold in winter??
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We totally get that you personally prefer extreme heat to extreme cold. But both are potentially lethal (and also unpleasant) to fairly comparable degrees.
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