Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Elevation...the least understood "realm"?!

Intro 
We know that, while we are stuck really low near sea level, humidity can often keep us cozy at night, and increase temperature perception unfavorably, as well as keep temperatures slightly less warm during the daytime. This is known as heat index. And then, during the colder months, at least in some world areas, we must deal with the other opposite of the spectrum, or the other evil, one that is known most infamously as wind chill. And it's extremely terrible. Essentially, the slightest amount of wind chill can be like a small dose of arsenic when it has to do with your emotional well being. I know this first hand, such as when it's subzero here in Michigan, and the wind gusts bring the wind chill down to about -25 degrees, or colder. Personally, I have always wanted to get accustomed to all of these extreme changes, However, there is another deadly force out there, and when thinking about the weather, we just about never think about it. So, what is this other force?
It's called elevation. 70 degrees might seem warm to some, or cold, depending on where you are from. However, can you guess how 70 degrees degrees would feel like at say, 20,000 feet?! In this situation, were you to ascend up at a linear rate, starting from sea level and (hypothetically) not only would the temperature at the destination remain the same as your origin (sea level)... wind and humidity would be the same as well. So, I must ask... "what is the answer here?!" Things such as oxygen levels or well being are not important; everything is a distraction! And now that we have thought about this, or at least considered this very intriguing topic, then I cannot help, except to wonder...what in the world...are we going to do on Mars, where simply standing on the surface is akin to at least 100,000 feet up in Earth's atmosphere. Well, unless of course...we have space suits! (Watch as bacteria mutate and become resistant to these factors?!) Will we marvel at the fact that bacteria will change color?! Or will we man up, and become more resilient, just like them? In other words, what we should do...is make other environments, our home. If I go anywhere in the world, I expect that it would be the same as any other place. For instance, a super quick trip to the peak of Everest, or to the edge of space without any special clothes...should be no more than a storm front sweeping across. I could stand emotional fatigue, yet those kinds of limits (that we set upon ourselves here on our highly protected oasis, will certainly cause physical damage. These limits should, some day,  become nonexistent, so that we can be less at risk for anything that might come our way.

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