The Environmental Impact of COVID-19
Welcome to the Future Hindsight blog, lockdown edition!
First and foremost, we hope this post finds you, yourfamily, loved ones, and friends in good health and good spirits.
Secondly, we hope thispost finds you INSIDE. Seriously, unless you work at a healthcare facility,pharmacy, or grocery store, please just hunker down.
Since no one can talk about anything other than the rapidspread of COVID-19 and the drastic measures nations around the globe are takingto stop it, we figured we'd hop on the bandwagon. Before everything wentshockingly sideways in the matter of a few weeks, you may remember we were inthe midst of a season looking at the causes, effects, and solutions to the mostsignificant long-term threat to humanity: climate change.
Just a couple of days ago, our host Mila sat down withprofessor and author Leah Stokes to uncover why the policies put in place bythe US since 2000 have failed so spectacularly at slowing the global emissionscrisis. If you haven't heard it yet, check it out here!
We're going to be returning to regularly scheduled blogcontent. Still, we couldn't miss taking an opportunity to investigate theglobal environmental repercussions of COVID-19 and the massive push to getpeople to stay inside.
While humans are looking at a grim couple of months as thevirus works its way through the population, the Earth is looking at some sweet,sweet relief. We humans are extraordinarilybad for the Earth. This isn't an angry criticism, it's just an unpleasantfact. Many of the guests we've on this season are working to make us less harmful,but we, as a species, are a net negative for the planet.
So, what happens when we all stay at home?
Turns out, A LOT.
First, let's start in China, the origin of the pandemic.Since December of 2019, emissionsplunged over the nation ofnearly 1.4 billion. According to Axios, emissions from China's six largestcoal plants fell 40% from the last quarter of 2019. Overall, fine particulatematter—a pollutant byproduct of China's massive complex of factories—has fallen20-30% in the same period.
Check out this amazing video taken from the European SpaceAgency's Copernicus satellite measuring pollution over China from December toMarch:
Don't get too hopeful, however. China has thankfully weathered the worst of their COVID storm, and at the time of writing, they were celebrating their first day with no new cases of the virus.
A drop in COVID cases is great news for everyone, but maybenot the planet. Already, emissionsthere are beginning to rise.
Similar stories are playing out in other parts of theworld—most notably Italy. Because of their agingpopulation and early cases, northern Italy became the European epicenterfor the virus. Now, the country of 62 million has reported moreCOVID-related deaths than China. Italy has experienced a similarfall in emissions due to reduced car traffic and industrial operations. InVenice, notoriously murky canals have cleared, although it wouldn't be 2020without somefake news about dolphins showing up in them too, right?
Closer to home, in New York City, emissions are downsignificantly, and experts expect it's going to be months before a returnto normalcy. Already, reports indicate adecrease of 50% in pollution due to vehicle exhaust year-over-year, and NewYork has months until cars are back on the road in the same way they were lastyear.
Despite the global emissions plunge, climate experts aren'tvery excited. Since this is a short-term measure, emissions are likely to riseagain once we're let out of our houses. The biggest hope is in humansolidarity. Perhaps if we can band together to overcome an existential viralthreat, we can use those same tactics to overcome what is increasingly seen asthe literal end of the world: climate change.
"The plus side is, if there's a sense of socialcooperation that emerges from this in response to a threat, that could be avery good sign for communities and leaders to come together," said MichaelLazarus, U.S. director at the Stockholm Environment Institute, inan article for Inside Climate News.
Will COVID-19 be the catalyst we need as a global society tostart enacting dramatic measures to stem the flow of carbon dioxide into ouratmosphere? Only time will tell.
Until then, stay indoors.
WORKS CITED
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Baggaley, Kate. “How LongWill COVID-19 Last?” Popular Science, Popular Science, 17 Mar. 2020,www.popsci.com/story/health/covid-19-coronavirus-duration-time/.
BALL, Sam. “Clearer Water,Cleaner Air: The Environmental Effects of Coronavirus.” France 24,France 24, 20 Mar. 2020,www.france24.com/en/20200320-clearer-water-cleaner-air-the-environmental-effects-of-coronavirus.
Boynton, Sean. “AirPollution Plummeted in China Due to Coronavirus. It's Starting to Go up Again.”Global News, Global News, 20 Mar. 2020,globalnews.ca/news/6704818/air-pollution-declined-china-coronavirus/.
“Coronavirus Live Updates:Italy's Death Toll Surpasses China's as State Dept. Warns Against TravelAbroad.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Mar. 2020,www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/world/coronavirus-update-cases.html.
“Emissions Drops Seen asNYC, Global Traffic Levels Dive amid COVID-19 Fears.” UPI, UPI, 19 Mar.2020, www.upi.com/Science_News/2020/03/19/Emissions-drops-seen-as-NYC-global-traffic-levels-dive-amid-COVID-19-fears/5371584630146/.
Gearino, Dan, et al.“Coronavirus 'Really Not the Way You Want To Decrease Emissions'.” InsideClimateNews, 12 Mar. 2020, insideclimatenews.org/news/10032020/coronavirus-climate-change-economy-emissions.
Geman, Ben. “TheEnvironmental Impact of China's Coronavirus Shutdown.” Axios, 18 Mar.2020,www.axios.com/coronavirus-china-carbon-emissions-3453d9a1-1ae9-4789-8a41-3ed257946dbd.html.
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Simon, Matt. “Why theCoronavirus Hit Italy So Hard.” Wired, Conde Nast, 17 Mar. 2020,www.wired.com/story/why-the-coronavirus-hit-italy-so-hard/.
Srikanth, Anagha. “As ItalyQuarantines over Coronavirus, Swans Appear in Venice Canals, Dolphins Swim upPlayfully.” TheHill, 19 Mar. 2020, thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/488286-italys-coronavirus-lockdown-shows-what-nature.
Westcott, Ben. “TheCoronavirus Pandemic Began in China. Today, It Reported No New Local Infectionsfor the First Time.” CNN, Cable News Network, 19 Mar. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/asia/coronavirus-covid-19-update-china-intl-hnk/index.html.
“The World Factbook:China.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 1 Feb.2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html.