The Beautiful State of Alaska, Essay Example

Alaska is one of the most wonderful places to live.  The cities there are very seldom crowded with large numbers of people.  The citizens of Alaska are rarely fighting for space because this state literally has more land than any other state in the United States.  The lengthy winters are the best place for any winter sports in the country, not to mention the beautiful landscapes that are filled with myriad wildlife and wonderful mountains year-round.  Even the Alaskan government has a “Permanent Fund Dividend” that they pay to its permanent residents of Alaska for all dividends paid in government-owned resources, such as crude oil.  These amounts usually average between $1,000 and $3,000 every year (Haack, 2004, par. 2).  When the government literally pays you to live in such a wonderfully open, beautiful area, why would anyone not want to live in Alaska?  Not only this, but the people of Alaska have a very close-nit community where everyone is cared about and accepted.

Unfortunately, the people in Alaska do have to deal with very difficult situations, despite the wonderful landscape and beautiful mountains in the state.  For instance, the people that live there have to undergo the problems associated with the polar night and midnight sun.  Polar night is where the sun does not shine there for most of the day, up to 24 full hours.  This is the case beginning in September and ending sometime in December.  Likewise, the same thing applies during the summer, which is called the midnight sun.  Many movies and stories talk about the midnight sun where the sun never sets, or rarely sets.  Many people undergo very serious psychological problems when their environment changes as drastically as this.  Insomnia and other disorders can develop when the sun never sets or rises in Alaska.

Furthermore, the Alaskan populations have many different problems that are necessary to deal with year-round.  First of all, the Alaskans must wake up and go to work in temperatures that are often 40 degrees below zero.  These temperatures take their toll on the people’s automobiles and homes.  For instance, the wheels of an automobile are square when they are driven on for over the first three miles of a trip.  This can make maneuverability very difficult and cause many problems when driving a truck or care.  Likewise, people must start their vehicles at least forty minutes before the car can be driven to let it heat up properly.  Without doing so, the car can break down or cause the driver many visibility problems or maneuverability problems, which make taking a simple trip to the grocery store a very arduous task.  Finally, the inversion is very problematic in Alaska for the people that inhabit the state.  The air quality is very bad and causes very serious problems for people being able to breathe properly.  This can be very dangerous for people with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the winter months.  It is clear that the dangerous living environments can make survival and living very difficult for people that are not prepared for these special circumstances.

Alaska is often portrayed as a beautiful living environment that is very similar to scenes that are shown on the discovery channel.  Wonderful pictures show the amazing wildlife than inhabit the state and the excellent landscape that is second to none in beauty.  Still, the area can be very dangerous for the people that live in Alaska.  The cold weather causes many difficult problems for automobiles, visibility, and can also reduce the ability for some people to breathe properly.  Alaska may not be the best place in the world to live as shown in the pictures and videos that represent the state; however, there is no doubt that it can be a perfect place for the right person or family.  As long as people are able to live through the difficult issues that the environment has in store for them, then it can be a great place to live, not to mention very lucrative with the permanent fund dividends paid off to permanent residents.

References

Haack, P. (2004, August 01). Alaska. we’ll pay you to live here. Retrieved on October 22, 2009, from Web site: http://haacked.com/archive/2004/08/01/alaska-we-will-pay-you-to-move-here.aspx