- Aditi
Dose of STEM: The Environment in the Era of COVID-19
“Conservation is a state of harmony between man and land” ~ Aldo Leopold
As the world battles a health crisis of unimaginable magnitude, the gap between the haves and the have-nots has never felt more harrowing. Months of lockdown, social distancing, and minimal interaction with the outside world have taken a toll on people’s mental health. However, there is one hidden advantage to this — there was an improvement in some aspects of our surroundings. Be it lesser pollution, bluer skies, or better air, labouring through the lockdown did have some perks.
CO₂ Emissions
Research has found that the pandemic was intensified by air pollution. However, lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the virus have reduced energy demand, industrial activity, and road transport, temporarily clearing skies.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, emissions of carbon dioxide were rising by about 1% per year over the previous decade. A team of researchers found that daily emissions decreased by 17% — or 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide — during the peak of the confinement measures in early April, compared to mean daily levels in 2019. The energy demand disruption also temporarily reduced China’s CO₂ emissions by a quarter.
The issue here is that the drop is temporary — once things return to normal and daily activity resumes, the figures will just rebound and we will be back to square one. To prevent this, there have to be systematic changes to automobiles and other mega producers of pollutants so that the change is deliberate and not just an unintended consequence of enforced actions.
Super year for Nature
2020 was supposed to be the ‘Super Year for Nature’ with several international conferences and discussions scheduled. Nevertheless, most of these have been pushed to 2021, causing uncertainty as to how a super year for nature will look amid a global pandemic. Experts are worried the world will lose critical time to turn around alarming trends in biodiversity loss and climate change, and that the resources allocated to fight COVID-19 might mean fewer resources for biodiversity initiatives later on.
The action taken against COVID has been rapid and decisive and it is similar action that will help end the climate crisis as well. The world has come together at uncertain times and this is proof that if the necessity arises, we are capable of taking the required action, as a society. Additionally, the recent decline in global emissions illustrates that changes in human behaviour can show tangible results for climate action — even at an individual level. This, more than anything, is the silver lining; it is not beyond us to take necessary steps and brave a global crisis when circumstances demand this.
Single-use plastics
The plan to reduce plastic consumption has taken a hit during the pandemic since most items we use to protect ourselves (such as gloves and disposable masks) are made up of plastic. Overuse and inappropriate disposal of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and littering of masks and gloves have become major areas of concern for environmentalists. This exacerbation of the plastic pollution crisis comes at a time when waste management infrastructure and recycling facilities are not able to function to their full capacity.
Apart from protective equipment, the production of another medical apparatus boomed during the pandemic- syringes. The syringes used to administer vaccines are considered medical waste and so, to destroy any trace infectious agents, they are incinerated. This is beneficial in terms of a considerable reduction in the volume of the waste, however, incineration results in huge amounts of pollution so air quality surrounding the plants is further degraded, rendering people more susceptible to the virus.
The COVID crisis has been the cause of worldwide fear and uncertainty and unfortunately, immense loss of life. As we fight a pandemic together, we have come to understand how invaluable and effective combined action can be for the world, but our problems do not end with this. We have to combat pollution, the biodiversity crisis, global warming, and climate change, to name a few. But we take confidence from these times, knowing that we can put our best foot forward, especially when it is our very survival that is in question.
“The Earth is what we all have in common” ~ Wendell Berry
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Sources:
COVID-19 and the Environment (Geneva Environment Network): https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/updates-on-covid-19-and-the-environment/#scroll-nav__8
Analysis - Coronavirus Set to Cause Largest Ever Annual Fall in Co2 Mission (Carbonbrief): https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-coronavirus-set-to-cause-largest-ever-annual-fall-in-co2-emissions
The Environmental Toll of Fighting COVID-19 (Phys.org): https://phys.org/news/2021-05-environmental-toll-covid-.html
The Plastic Pandemic (Reuters): https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/health-coronavirus-plastic-recycling
