The environmental upside of the virus shows the green way ahead
In the midst of the economic and health tragedy posed by the coronavirus pandemic, there is an unexpected bright side: the marked improvement in our environment as a result of the massive slowdown. With that comes a responsibility as well — to recover and rebuild in a way that helps deal with the challenge that will persist once the virus is under control.
The environmental changes, in so short a time, are already evident and dramatic. In Los Angeles, people are home from work, but they can see the blue sky above. In Venice, the canals are not brimming with tourist-filled gondolas, but the water is running cleaner, if not clean. People are taking time to be in nature because it is the best way to get out of the house and comply with social distancing requirements. And they are reaping health benefits because pollution levels across the country are plummeting as a result of humans staying home.
Indeed, the most surprising headline recently is that the reduction in our activity that is intended to reduce the spread of the disease may have saved tens of thousands of lives around the globe — in addition to those that are saved by social distancing to avoid getting the virus. A Stanford University researcher conservatively estimates that the reduction in air pollution for two months in China saved more than 50,000 people who would have otherwise died prematurely.
But we fear that instead of appreciating what we had been missing in our consumption-driven, plastic- and fossil-fuel-addicted world, we will rush to rebuild it just as it was. If the first three stimulus bills are any indication, that is exactly what we will do. The last bill was stripped of anything deemed to be “green,” even to the detriment of our health. State and local water authorities were denied needed assistance to keep water flowing so people can wash their hands, even though the water authorities are expecting as much as a 40 percent loss in revenue. We cannot imagine why dredging our harbors (which got funded) was more important than keeping clean water flowing to homes, hospitals and essential businesses.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/31/environmental-upside-virus-shows-green-way-ahead/
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