As a result of the current pandemic, life as we know it has changed.
In many ways, the human experience has been altered for the foreseeable future and beyond. No one knows for how long or what other changes are to come in the days ahead, but at Halo, we look for the silver lining and pray that all that transpires in someway serves the greater good.
From the perspective of the environment, people staying home as industry slows down has had a positive and palpable impact. The canals in Italy are so clean from decreased tourism that dolphins have returned to visit once again. Factory shutdowns in China have lowered pollution by over 90%. Satellite images reveal a massive reduction in CO2 omissions, and people in India and China are seeing stars and clear blue sky for the very first time.
The quarantine is still fairly new in the United States though we are seeing a similar environmental and social impact as well. Cancelled flights working remotely has reduced the number of accidents as well as pollution, and brought families, friends and communities closer together than ever before.
Life, it seems, it not without a sense of irony. In a time of extreme social distancing, the world has never been closer in so many ways, or united in a common experience or any single cause. In the virus itself, we may have found a cure for an ever bigger crisis called climate change. This may be a teachable moment for humanity – and perhaps critically timed, as we have yet so much yet to learn.
New environment issues are mounting, major cities are filled with latex gloves, face masks and tissues that line the streets. The waste from medical facilities may also pose a problem for us. China has been overwhelmed by the waste from treated patients, which must be approached with care so items don't find their way to the sea.
With the economy in disarray and so much still up in the air, climate change has been taken off the political agenda. In early March, the European Parliament was unable to discuss the EU’s new Climate Law due to sessions being cut short to protect members from exposure to the virus. Stimulus bills and mortgage/rent freezes are being pushed to the fore, subsequently, environmental legislation is being pushed out. In a time when we have so much data and first-hand evidence to connect human behavior to the health of the planet, now more than ever is the time for the environment to be protected and the health of the planet to remain our foremost concern.
At Halo, we hope our takeaway from this experience as a global community is that we come to see how each decision we make impacts the planet. Collectively, if we can just continue to take it slow and stay the course, we will have a positive impact on the planet in a very in a short span of time.
We take the pandemic seriously because we see the body count mounting day-to-day, in real time. Yet the threat posed by climate change isn’t taken as seriously because it happens at a slower rate yet threatens the very existence of each and every species, including our own. Once the threat of the virus was taken seriously by the public, we bound together for a common cause and very quickly made a noticeable difference on many levels.
Our hope is that, through this crisis, we may come to fully understand the impact we have as individuals and as a community on our planet and one another, and that we come to see collectively that we really do have the power to change the world.
**Sources:
- https://www.politico.eu/article/6-ways-coronavirus-is-changing-the-environment/
- https://www.france24.com/en/20200320-clearer-water-cleaner-air-the-environmental-effects-of-coronavirus
- https://www.wef.org/news-hub/current-priorities/coronavirus/