On the windy and snowy Greenland, in a small raised snow pack.
The lone explorer sat cross-legged in front of the campfire, greedily absorbing the heat.
After all, the second fire was easier than the first with charcoal. After Bi Fang cleaned up the snow, strengthened the arched snow roof, and lit the fire again.
Baking his frozen limbs.
[I remember last time, didn’t I say that if you have frozen fingers or something, you can’t just grill them over the fire?]
"The principle is this. Rapid heating will cause the temperature of the cell fluid to rise rapidly, which will eventually break the cell wall and cause a wound, forming a large area of necrotic cells. Slow heating will restore the cell wall to its proper toughness. There will not be much of a problem, but
It was obviously severe frostbite."
"I haven't reached that level yet, so I can rest assured."
Bi Fang stretched out his fingers to grab a few handfuls and seemed to have returned to normal.
Before the fire, Bifang's fingers were slightly swollen and red, but they didn't look serious.
If the swelling is severe and your fingers are red, and every cell is accompanied by a feeling of pain and numbness, as if there are countless ice crystals scratching the cells, it is very dangerous. Under the microscopic view, the cells are swelling and bursting one after another, and finally
A clear tissue fluid is left behind, enough to make the scalp numb.
"Leaving aside the southern end of Greenland, the northern end is indeed not suitable for human survival."
"According to "The Great Collapse - The Future of Human Society?", 'the five frameworks that will lead to social collapse all apply to Greenland. Climate: cold, changeable, windy and foggy, the Vikings tried it, but
Failed."
"Because climate change affects farming and animal husbandry, the Vikings mainly relied on livestock to survive in Greenland, but they did not raise enough and had to hunt wild animals."
"The Vikings spent a lot of effort raising cattle in Greenland, but cattle were not adapted to the cold climate. During the lean period, the Vikings had to rely on wild animals to survive, mainly reindeer and three types of seals."
"The Vikings also destroyed Greenland's environment and destroyed natural vegetation. Due to climate conditions, Greenland's vegetation grows very slowly. Without forests, the Vikings could not obtain enough firewood to make fires, and unlike the Inuit, who knew how to use whale blubber,
Waiting for the leviathan's fat to make fire for light."
Bifang can use bushes to make a fire, that's because he is the only one here. For a group of people, scattered bushes are completely insufficient and cannot support the needs of making a fire.
"There is also damage to soil and turf. Greenland soil is formed from volcanic ash and is very fragile. It has lost the protection of vegetation and has serious soil erosion. The turf is cut for wall building and fuel."
Anyone who has studied biology knows that the fewer biological species there are in an ecological environment, the lower its ability to resist risks. The extinction of a certain tree species may lead to the ecological destruction of the entire island.
Greenland is undoubtedly like this. Its proximity to the pole and simple biological relationships make its ecology extremely fragile.
"There are only Vikings in Iceland, while there are Vikings and Inuit in Greenland. The Inuit are a polar people and know how to use the environment. They build igloos, sealskin boats, etc., and are masters of hunting on land and sea. The Vikings think of themselves.
He was so tall that he didn't bother to learn from the Inuit, and finally disappeared on the island."
Bi Fang looked around and looked at the cave he dug. This is actually the wisdom of the Inuit people.
"But even the Inuit only exist in the form of a very small number of tribes. Most of them are based on family units, which is far from being a complete society."
Several families living together cannot be called a society.
"Fortunately, I am only one person, and my life is less stressful than that of the Inuit."
Bi Fang smiled. Taking the family as a unit, adult male Inuit people undoubtedly have to bear more family pressure on their children and wives.
Men's physical fitness is undoubtedly stronger than that of women. This is determined by the laws of nature, so they undoubtedly have a great advantage in hunting.
In harsh environments, children and women naturally rely on male Inuit to survive.
It is not a problem to bring a family with you, but it is theoretically possible for Bifang to do it alone, and it will even be easier. Of course, the premise is that he is not injured or weakened below the health line.
Once you are at a disadvantage, family structure can help your body recover, but if you are alone, you can basically just wait to die.
"This is the only way we can survive for the next two days." Bi Fang sighed.
The blizzard blocked the roads and restricted his range of activities.
Even if it is to dig a snow trench, it will take at least half an hour. However, staying in a snowstorm for an hour may cause necrosis of the limbs, basically making it impossible to move.
I hope there are enough mosses and lichens in this more than 5,000 square meters of land.
There is no doubt that in the next few days, he will be like today, looking for firewood for food, gnawing bark and eating grass.
Bi Fang tore up the lichen he found, stuffed it into a kettle, and then roasted it on the fire. When the water boiled, he blew on it and took a sip.
The lichen that has been cooked on one side is no longer as dull as ice cubes. A faint plant astringency spreads in the mouth. It is definitely not delicious, and there is even a bit of earthy smell, but this
A warm current warmed Bifang's whole body, bringing a long-lost comfort.
At least we have the most basic food guarantee.
The small fire emitted faint gray smoke and floated out of the exit above the cave, while the surrounding area was obviously dark.
The temperature in the entire cave has risen again, and it is warmer than when body heat dissipates heat alone. The temperature reaches about minus five degrees.
This is almost the same temperature as winter in the south. Those with stronger bodies really don’t need cotton-padded jackets.
However, these few bushes cannot sustain burning for too long. Boiling two pots of water is probably the limit that one bush can burn.
Three Peng, which is a little more than an hour, and the rest of the day is still difficult.
On the second day of the blizzard, Bi Fang had to continue to tie the rope and continue to go out to search for fuel and food.
This time Bi Fang found a lot more lichens and moss than yesterday. Unfortunately, not all of them are edible. Only one kind of moss can be eaten. After being cooked and eaten in the stomach, there is an indescribable satiety.
Stomach feeling.
This kind of food is quite difficult to digest compared to other foods.
It is difficult for the human stomach to digest long fiber, and God did not give us this skill.
If you force yourself to eat, not only will it not provide much energy, but it will also cause abdominal distension and abdominal pain.
The blizzard lasted until the third day, and the raging situation became much smaller.
It didn't stop completely until noon on the fourth day. Counting the night before the snowstorm, Bifang had already eaten turf for almost five days.
Eat turf four days a week.
Bi Fang urgently needs higher energy food, he needs meat.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Human blood contains a type of fat called triglyceride, which is made up of three atoms: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Releasing excess fat requires unlocking the atoms in the triglyceride molecule through a process called oxidation. By tracking the human body
The path of each atom, a team of scientists from the University of New South Wales in Australia found that when 10 kilograms of fat are oxidized, 8.4 kilograms of fat will leave the body in the form of carbon dioxide through the lungs.