Winter in Chicago is Not That Bad Anymore, and That’s a Problem
Winter and Chicago are inextricably linked in the minds of most of the city’s residents. While we bask in the sun of the summer, we know that we are only a few short months away from the brutal cold that is the winter in this city. The winter defines much of the symbolism that makes up this city, but this winter has been different. From some of the coldest temperatures recorded in the city to the rare occurrence of freezing rain, this winter has run the city’s population through a gauntlet of extreme weather. This winter is important in terms of the idea of what Chicago is to its residents.
Most people agree that global warming is a major crisis facing the world today. The causes of it seem directly related to humans, and the effects of it endanger our survivability on this planet. Despite a large amount of scientific data in support of the existence and danger of climate change, many people still do not believe in its existence. That is because of an inability from climate change activists to connect the theoretical dangers of climate change to the real world. In spite of this, this winter marks the first winter where Chicagoans can begin to see the real world effects of climate change.
Snow is bothersome, ask any Chicagoan this and they’ll agree. It gets into every nook and cranny it can, and makes driving a hassle. From dark brown to pure white, compact to mushy, it comes in many different shapes and sizes throughout the city. Snow is Chicago winter. It covers everything in sight from October to March. It makes the winter much more of a hassle, but it is what creates the aesthetic of the city in winter. This winter has changed that.
Think about what your typical view has been this winter. It is most likely grey skies and salt, but I doubt it is snow. Sure, you have seen plenty of snow this winter, but it never sticks around. It will come down in full force one day, but within a week it has melted away save for a few ice spots that have a tendency to stick around. This is because of the fluctuating temperatures seen during this winter. In previous winters it would rarely get warm enough to melt away snow, but this winter has been the exception. Every week the snow will come down for a couple of days but quickly disappear. These drastic changes in temperatures have made it so there is no consistency within the weather, thus leading to the temporary nature of the snow this winter. This leaves a new aesthetic of the Chicago winter, death.
Death is all around us during the winter, but it is usually hidden by the snow. The dead trees and dead earth are typically covered in snow throughout the winter, leaving a picturesque view of winter, but now it is different. Without the snow, all we see is the death. Through the barren trees to the dead grass, brown has replaced white as the dominant color of the winter. While this may seem like an unimportant aspect of the effects of climate change, it is huge. Look up “Chicago winter” on Google Images, and the defining characteristic of all of the photos is snow. In the coming years, this aesthetic will become false, and all tourists will be met with is the view of death. This view affects how we feel as residents of this city. The snow may be bothersome, but it depicts a serene city. Without it, we are met with the view of death and brown.
The snow is not the only thing affected by the dramatic change in weather. The actual weather itself is important for how we feel as Chicagoans. I, as well as many of you I am sure, have experienced walking outside this winter and realizing that you are wearing far too many layers for the current temperature. While this is a feeling of relief and joy, it quickly turns into dismay as you realize that this is not a consistent thing. The temperature will most likely drop the next day, and you must return to the layers you hastily discarded earlier. This dramatic shifting in the temperature changes how we think about the city. No longer are stores and El trains havens from the cold. No longer do we have to huddle around the heat lamps at the El stops. The actions, and thus mentality, of the city shifts as the temperature does, only for it to shift back when the temperature drops again. While the cold is oppressive, at least it used to be consistent, and this consistency defined an important aspect of the winter in Chicago.
Climate Change is a serious issue that we should be doing everything we can to combat. The issue with arguments for Climate Change is that they do not look at the personal effect of it. We are always told how many degrees the average temperature is going to rise, or how the polar ice caps are melting, but these arguments are meaningless to your everyday citizen. Most people are never going to see the ice caps, so we must reframe the arguments. We need to show how this existential threat is beginning to affect our everyday lives. By looking at this volatile winter in Chicago, we can begin to see global warming, not as some worldly crisis, but as a tangible aspect of our lives. I do not want the ice caps to melt, but I also want to see a return to the Chicago winters we all know. They may be brutal and oppressive, but they are Chicago.
