By Annie Vertin
Almost completely devoid of its infamous traffic, Los Angeles has experienced its best air quality in almost 40 years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency data for March. Across China, levels of nitrogen dioxide, an air pollutant produced by burning fossil fuels, are down by as much as 30% since January, based on NASA satellite readings. Venice canals are cleaner; New York’s carbon monoxide emissions are down by 50%; and in Nairobi, a capital city typically notorious for its air pollution, Mount Kenya is suddenly visible from 85 miles away—a sight that many residents have never witnessed in their entire life.
Fueled by the coronavirus-related lockdowns across the globe, these prominent reductions in emissions and pollution, coupled with the abundance of wildlife returning to cleaner habitats, have created an environmental silver lining in the midst of tragedy. A few months ago, scientists and environmental activists could only daydream about such an idealistic scenario. However, considering that the source of the silver lining is a pandemic that has devastated much of the world, this green new reality is little cause to celebrate. “It’s the worst possible way to experience environment improvement and it has also shown us the size of the task,” remarks Michael Gerrard, an environmental law expert at Columbia University.
Equally concerning, the environmental benefits of this shutdown could easily be reversed by efforts to revitalize economies. For instance, Li Shuo, senior climate and energy policy officer at Greenpeace in Beijing, worries that in attempting to revamp China's economy, the government might promote more permissive regulations, resulting in drastic steps backward for climate efforts. Highlighting the role of the individual, Gina McCarthy, the head of the Natural Resources Defense Council, observes, “You wonder if people will want to go back to what it was like before. The pandemic has shown people will change their behavior if it’s for the health of their families...It’s a human problem, not a planetary problem.”
While the short-term alleviation of global pollution amid COVID-19 is a glimmer of hope, it’s also a vital reminder of the imminent threat of climate change, a seemingly invisible danger that could have extensive, catastrophic repercussions if the world fails to unite and rechart the course of environmental destruction.