missing winter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/img_1602.jpeg\")
my san jose home. (kay jewler)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nmy best friend throughout elementary school lived on the hill near our school. as temperatures cooled each winter, i would giddily wait to see her car drive into school with several inches of fresh snow packed neatly on top. while it didn\u2019t snow in my suburban neighborhood, it was a reliable treat to see those glistening five inches of snow atop her car each year. by my senior year of high school, however, no cars were arriving in the parking lot with that delightful symbol of winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
when a slight dusting of powder drifted down onto the hill that year, everyone i knew took off immediately after school to play in the anomalous, pitiful excuse for a seasonal luxury. we stomped around in the icy dirt, giggling at the unfamiliar crunching sound, and threw half-frozen snowballs at each other. the warming that has resulted in such pitiful winters is set to continue<\/a> as current greenhouse gas emissions will likely cause the state to experience warming by more than 6\u00b0 f by the year 2100.<\/p>\n\n\n\nrising smoke<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/img_3635.jpeg\")
standing in a sheet of slush with my friend during high school. (kay jewler)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nrising temperatures in the southwest have also led to increased wildfires in the region. according to the fourth national climate assessment<\/a>, the area burned by wildfires across the western us from 1984 to 2015 was found to have been twice what would have burned without climate change. as 2022 has been the driest year in san jose<\/a> in the past 128 years, the area is now, more than ever, increasingly susceptible to wildfire. according to calfire<\/a>, six of the seven most destructive california fires since 1932 have occurred since 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\none day in fifth grade, my friends and i were dismayed to learn that we were not allowed outside during lunch or recess due to the smoke levels from a nearby wildfire. eight years later, after returning to california from college due to the pandemic, the intensity of my already isolated quarantine escalated when smoke from the scu complex lightning fire cast a warm orange tint over the entire bay area for a week. i began my virtual classes staring out my window at the endlessly red sun and my ash-covered car parked outside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
planning for a new climate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
the stark comparison between the climate when i first moved to california and when i left 10 years later paints a clear image of how rapidly climate change has affected the lives of many in the area. san jose has been working to reduce its own carbon footprint on the environment, launching the climate smart<\/a> plan in 2018. the plan aims for the city to be carbon-neutral by 2030, despite its rapid population growth. the city has partnered with over 34 local organizations and stakeholders including mothers out front south bay, the committee for green foothills, and the santa clara valley audubon society to establish their community-centered plan. by creating climate-friendly infrastructure from the outset, including all-electric appliances and community layouts that reduce miles traveled by vehicles, san jose hopes to reduce its impact on the globe. <\/p>\n\n\n\nbelow:<\/strong> a thick shroud of smoke engulfs my neighborhood during the scu lightning complex fire, in 2022. (kay jewler)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
my best friend throughout elementary school lived on the hill near our school. as temperatures cooled each winter, i would giddily wait to see her car drive into school with several inches of fresh snow packed neatly on top. while it didn\u2019t snow in my suburban neighborhood, it was a reliable treat to see those glistening five inches of snow atop her car each year. by my senior year of high school, however, no cars were arriving in the parking lot with that delightful symbol of winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
when a slight dusting of powder drifted down onto the hill that year, everyone i knew took off immediately after school to play in the anomalous, pitiful excuse for a seasonal luxury. we stomped around in the icy dirt, giggling at the unfamiliar crunching sound, and threw half-frozen snowballs at each other. the warming that has resulted in such pitiful winters is set to continue<\/a> as current greenhouse gas emissions will likely cause the state to experience warming by more than 6\u00b0 f by the year 2100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n rising temperatures in the southwest have also led to increased wildfires in the region. according to the fourth national climate assessment<\/a>, the area burned by wildfires across the western us from 1984 to 2015 was found to have been twice what would have burned without climate change. as 2022 has been the driest year in san jose<\/a> in the past 128 years, the area is now, more than ever, increasingly susceptible to wildfire. according to calfire<\/a>, six of the seven most destructive california fires since 1932 have occurred since 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n one day in fifth grade, my friends and i were dismayed to learn that we were not allowed outside during lunch or recess due to the smoke levels from a nearby wildfire. eight years later, after returning to california from college due to the pandemic, the intensity of my already isolated quarantine escalated when smoke from the scu complex lightning fire cast a warm orange tint over the entire bay area for a week. i began my virtual classes staring out my window at the endlessly red sun and my ash-covered car parked outside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n the stark comparison between the climate when i first moved to california and when i left 10 years later paints a clear image of how rapidly climate change has affected the lives of many in the area. san jose has been working to reduce its own carbon footprint on the environment, launching the climate smart<\/a> plan in 2018. the plan aims for the city to be carbon-neutral by 2030, despite its rapid population growth. the city has partnered with over 34 local organizations and stakeholders including mothers out front south bay, the committee for green foothills, and the santa clara valley audubon society to establish their community-centered plan. by creating climate-friendly infrastructure from the outset, including all-electric appliances and community layouts that reduce miles traveled by vehicles, san jose hopes to reduce its impact on the globe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n below:<\/strong> a thick shroud of smoke engulfs my neighborhood during the scu lightning complex fire, in 2022. (kay jewler)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nrising smoke<\/h2>\n\n\n
planning for a new climate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n