November, 1974 85. The Physiology of Cold At temperatures around 50 degrees, a naked man's limbs begin to stiffen. At zero, he will freeze to death within a few minutes. With the help of clothing and food and the body's adaptive mechanisms, though, most of us should get along fine this winter. Like all other warm-blooded animals, man takes along his own internal climate wherever he goes. Under normal circumstances, this carefully maintained microdimate rarely varies more than a few degrees <from 97 to 100 degrees) at the tropics or at !he pol<!s. When the body i;; ccnfr~il!d with suc!rl~n co:d, nci.idy all perspiration stops; inhibiting the cooling effects of evaporation, and the blood vessels near the surface of the body constrict, slowing·the flow of heat from deep inside the body to the surface. (This is why our hands and feet get chilled in cold weather.) When ext-:rnal temperatures drop still further, our bodies call on two other heat-creating internal defenses: shivering, and a squirt of the hormone epinephrine. Man also has a longer-term ability to acclimatize to a colder environment. Scientists studied a group of Norwegian students camping out in skimpy sleeping bags in below-freezing temperatures. At first, the campers shivered so much they couidn't sleep, but gradually they ceased noticing the cold. Six weeks later, they were measured against a control group of unacclimated campers. As outside temperatures drop· ped, so did the body temperatures of the con\rol group, while the acclimated campers remained warm. Weather Modification U.S. Dept. of Interior is working on plans to modify the weather in the Rocky Mountains in order to increase the amount of water in the Colorado River. METROMEX On-going study of the effects of urban area on weather patterns. St. Louis, Missouri. "For instance, downwind of St. Louis there are more days of heavy rainfall in the summer than there are upwind of the city. Also, rainstorms last longer and cover greater areas. Individual rain cells that have developed or passed over industrialized areas of St. Louis have dumped as much as 200 to 300 percent more water than those cells formed in areas unaffected by the city." Dr. Reid Bryson, U. of Wisconsin climatologist, is reminding folks that 1975 will be the midpoint of the 22-year draught cycle which brought us the dust bowl 44 years ago. If the pattern of the draught cycle holds true, as it has for 8 times previously, dry spells could last from 3 to 8 years. Wearing Your Ears on Your Hands. Stuart Anstis, at York University, Toronto, spent 6 days with a microphone attached to each ear. When a fly buzzed around the microphone on his left hand, he involuntarily swatted at his left ear. €VHOLE SYSTEM~ Page 23 r~~ ~=~~-~~-~y~~~-ftWe~~ lwoD5 AND ~RVI(~S &CAUSE: nl 11<; f'MING rCR MOR( ThNKlR'\ 1 1 1 01t. RIG'> (NGINW~'l 'P11't LINE') : . I ilD GET rHt. f.NEOF<:GY 10 MI>XE: ; I H( G::CC>~ ' ::£ l<l;iC.C " ) . see also Recycling POSITIONS-SITUATIONS Wanted: Oregon Environmental Position Contactjohn Taylor, 2215 E. Edison, Tucson, Ariz. 85719. (602) 327-1137. M.S., Env. Science, Wash. St. U. Exp: Asst. Prof. Env. Sci. Research, teaching, museum experience. Wanted: Pacific NW Env. Education Position. Dr. Tom Abeler, College of Env. Science, Univ. of Wisconsin, Green Bay, Wis., 54302. Ph.D., Univ. of Louisville (chemistry). Asst. P.rof., College of Env. Science. Teaching, research, writing exp. Rutan's Research Station I am presently building a Quonset building of which one section will house 500 chickens, the waste from which will be washed down daily into a digester-which will be open for public viewing at an admission price-which will in turn feed a greenhouse with heat and nourishment from the slurry. The greenhouse section will have panels that close at night to conserve heat. The Quonset hut shape makes this easily engineered. The digester end of the project will be open for viewing beginning the week of 20 Oct., 1974. -Al Rutan 983 Riverside Drive Billings, Mont. 59101 Have information about current minicomputers and peripherals, ... and design for a community or network text-information processor. Looking for software/hardware design collective, with funding, in the Puget Sound area. -Bcb Wallace New World Computer Services, Inc. P.O. Box 5415 Seattle, Wash. 98105 Living in the Ozarks Newsletter. is a regional newsletter for people in and interested in the Ozarks. Subscriptions $5 for 12 monthly issues. Joel and Sherri Davidson, Pettigrew, Ark. 72752. The Energy Information Center, Washington state, is looking for informa- 1 tion/analysis of energy efficiency, par1 1 ticularly with regard to the construction industry. (206) 753-5420. Soil Association Roy Thompson, Star Route, Box 148, Naches, Wash. 98937. Forming a NW branch of this long-existing organic gardening and intermediate technology association.
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