Rus: How Climate Impacts Rus Culture

Every aspect of life is impacted by the Winter climate as it is by the Summer climate. Winter affects where & how long people live & work, types of crops grown ,& where they are grown. There is no part of the Rus that has a year-round growing season. It is the length & severity of Winter combined with the sharp fluctuations between Summer & Winter temperatures that imposes special requirements on many sectors of the economy. In regions of permafrost, buildings have to be constructed on pilings, machinery must be manufactured of special tempered steel & transportation systems must be engineered to perform at extremely low & extremely high temperatures. Additionally, during extended periods of cold & darkness, there are highly increased demands for energy, health-care, foods & textiles.

Close & enclosed living spaces combined with socio-cultural crowding in homes, places of social gatherings, etc. produce an ideal breeding & exchange media for the microbial causes of illness. This especially true for such nasties as influenza, pneumonia & the various myriads of rhino-viruses that we lump together and call, colds. Other health problems occur caused exacerbated by the climate/weather. Rheumatic & arthritic problems increase in intensity. Cardio-vascular problems are affected by the these climatic conditions as well. The demand for high-fat foods & quick energy-producing foods also has negative effects upon the body as much as it has positive.

Social customs vary in Winter. More alcohol is consumed, more deaths by freezing while inebriated, more fights & violent social reactions, more vehicular accidents due to loss of control, loss of portions of limbs due to frost bite & more are attributable to the cold. More babies are conceived during cold periods than during hot periods. Bathing, washing clothing & bedding, airing out of footwear, etc. are curtailed & thus enabling the conditions that produce such health concerns as lice, scabies, dermatitis of various types, fungal infections such but not limited to athlete's foot & jock itch, pink-eye just to catalog a few.

Socially families get closer & share more with each when forced by climatic conditions to remain in close proximity to each other. Social gatherings are more appreciated & less apt to avoided or missed. The very games that people play are vastly different. Soccer also called football is played outdoors. Hockey is difficult to play without an icy surface. Fishing is done in a different way. Camping is not an option

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