5 min read
California seems to be a different place today compared to fifteen years ago, when I moved here from Moscow. The contents of my closet back then were roughly the same for all four seasons. The warmest thing I had back then was probably just a trench coat. I don’t recollect hearing about devastating wildfires either. I am sure they happened, but not to the scale we have them now.
In 2017 my best friend Ksu, an environmentalist and a nature photographer, packed her bags and rushed to Santa Rosa, CA to photograph the aftermath of the Tubbs Fire. It was one of the worst in California history, destroying nearly 7,000 structures and affecting more than 110,000 acres. Ksu came back from her trip, depressed and devastated. Santa Rosa and Sonoma county are popular destinations for wine lovers, just an hour drive from San Francisco and Silicon Valley. As I looked at Ksu’s pictures of devastated neighborhoods, burnt buildings, cars and houses, it finally struck me: climate change is real. In fact, it was much more present and pressing than I thought.
Photo credit: Kasimira Photography
Since then, California wildfires have been getting worse and worse each year. Moreover, winters are now so cold that I wear similar winter jackets, similar to what I had back in Moscow in sub zero temperature, and summers are getting hotter and hotter. In August of 2020, we had to pack our bags as the fires got within 15 minutes drive from our house in Cupertino. We were lucky this year and the fires never reached us. But for weeks after I could hear wild animals - coyotes, deers, mountain lions roaming our neighborhood at night, seeking food and water. Some of the hikes and parks we regularly took our kids were burnt down, and some people I knew lost their homes. Will it be different in 2021? I doubt it.
Human activities have been the key driver in climate change. According to NASA, the average global temperature on Earth has increased by a little more than 1° Celsius (2° Fahrenheit) since 1880. With warmer temperatures, the Arctic is likely to be ice-free at the end of the summer in just a few years. Ocean heat has been steadily increasing for decades now, and global sea levels have been rising. Glaciers and snow covers have been melting globally, putting water vapor into the air and causing even more global warming. Air temperature over land has been increasing at an even faster rate than that of the oceans. Our beautiful planet has been signaling that its patience is about to run out, and if we don’t start changing course, it will forcefully evict us.
Photo credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Climate change is a complex problem on a global scale. The solution will require both a globally-coordinated response and local effort on the city and regional level. We need new business ethics that puts the environment, not ever increasing profits, as the highest priority.
Fossil fuel companies will not stop selling oil in any way they can, even if they have to resort to green washing and misinformation campaigns. But it’s in our power as consumers to explore a more minimalist lifestyle, to make better choices about our food, transportation, clothing, and digital habits.
In my next post, we’ll talk about connecting the dots between climate change and consuming and designing digital products. Becoming more aware of the environmental impact of our social conduct is the first step on the path of becoming a conscious digital consumer and designer.