How COVID-19 Affects the Environment
Saee Risbud
I decided to write about current events, and what could be more current than this? The coronavirus has had a far reaching impact on our lives and has hurt many people around the world. Not only has it affected people, businesses, companies, the economy, travel, healthcare systems, and so much more, but it actually has had a surprising effect on the environment as well. First, I'll explain the role of any virus in the environment, according to The Conservation. A virus is an infectious agent that can exist outside of a living agent (people, animals) in particles "too small to be seen with some microscopes." Different environments can affect different viruses, and each virus responds to the environment differently.
COVID-19
The Conservation says that the environment has played a key role in previous disease outbreaks, although coronavirus is not as well studied, therefore nobody truly knows what its impact it. However, scientists do know that certain environments are pathogen carriers, and that different environments affect the way viruses survive outside of living hosts. Previous strains of the coronavirus have been known to survive on metal, glass, plastic, and one strain even could survive in the air for two weeks. This is why it is important to clean frequently used surfaces.
Empty highway during outbreak
According to Scientific American, the shutdown that has been going on in many countries can also reduce carbon/greenhouse gas emissions. Falling oil production and decreased air travel means that in China, it is “25% lower than normal.” The article also says that this has been a repeated trend in history (carbon emissions dipped after 2008) and is not very surprising. However, this is not necessarily clear cut, so while people are driving/using public transport less, the effects are not fully clear at this point in time. This is because people could be using more energy at home, or when this pandemic ends, factories will overproduce to compensate. NASA’s Earth Observatory says that in China, NO2 concentrations have decreased, but that does not mean that the air is clean. And while carbon emissions are down, there is no telling how much it has actually benefitted the environment.
Image from NASA’s Earth Observatory
Personally, I think that COVID-19 has had impacts that we are not aware of, and that the world was ill prepared for such a pandemic. The scientific community is scrambling to make sense of the virus, and while they have made tremendous progress in a short amount of time, it is still too new and its rapid spread means that countries are scrambling for short term solutions that can protect people. Much more research is needed to truly understand its effects on the environment, and whether they are short or long term. Of course, the coronavirus has much more immediate and pressing concerns and the main priority is saving lives, so concerns about the environment are not getting countries' full attention. However, the environment will be affected in one way or another, and only time will tell how.
Questions:
- Do you think the coronavirus will have more positive effects on the environment or more negative effects?
- What are some other potential effects the coronavirus will have on the environment that you can think of?
- How severe of an impact do you think the coronavirus will have on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions?
29 comments:
So far, I’m not really sure what to expect with the corona virus. I’m still surprised by the impacts it has on our lives everyday, and the fact that the situation is ever changing makes it unpredictable. As of right now, I see the positive effects in the environment more than the negative ones. These effects such as decreased carbon emissions are especially evident right now since cruises and planes, some big carbon emitters, have stopped making trips. I’ve even seen pictures showing that canals in Italy are clearer than they have been in a really long time and that swans are coming back to those canals. As of right now, I see the corona virus as mostly positive for the environment and while the total effects are still unknown, I think it provides a much needed break for the planet.
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I think COVID-19 will have positive affects for the environment. Pollution levels are lower than they have been in recent times thanks to less vehicles on the road as well as less factory emissions. As Erin stated, there are reports that Italy's canals are cleaner, and I have no doubt that this will be a similar case elsewhere in the world. Additionally, I have seen reports that animals are returning to their natural habitats—for example, dolphins are returning to the Italian coast because of the lack of cruise ships in the water. While this outbreak has had a severe impact on the human population, I also think that the environment might be slightly better for it.
A pretty grim and scary topic. I think most of us thought the situation would never escalate to the point it has now. While the negative effects of the virus are clear it is also important to address the silver lining. The polluted air in Wuhan, China is now clearing for the first time in years and birds are returning to the area. Additionally, the carbon emissions in America are at a low. While I think such things are very temporary I think it could lead to people being more enlightened toward how we can come together to change the course toward climate change.
Concerning the environment, the coronavirus will have more positive effects on the environment because people are staying inside their homes, allowing environments to thrive without human interference. Evidently, pollution has significantly decreased and specifically, in Italy, animals have come back to streams and the waters have cleared up. Well, the coronavirus has escalated recently, so it has decreased greenhouse gas emissions from places all around the world.
In a way I think Corona can have a positive and a negative impact since if people can't leave the house less electricity would be used and more factories would be closed down but a negative impact because the pollution in China. The pollution level is worse than it used to be. I see Covid-19 as a help to the air pollution, because of the virus our air pollution is slowly getting better.
The coronavirus will have more positive effects on the environment. As the world has is essentially standstill, pollution throughout the world has naturally decreased. Less transportation can be seen as one of the main causes of this decrease in pollution. I believe that the coronavirus will have a massive impact on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Mainly, it will contribute to decreasing both of those.
From an environmental standpoint, the coronavirus will have more short term positive effects than negative. With families forced to stay at home, human intervention on the environment will be drastically decreased. Moreover, pollution from factories will also be decreased as a result. Lastly, greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced, resulting in the slow down of global warming.
I think the coronavirus will have more positive effects on the environment because of the drastic cut in greenhouse gas emissions. One definite effect of the virus is improved air quality. Furthermore, habitat fragmentation from roads and highways are detrimental to wildlife; in the U.S, about a million animals are killed on roads each day. With less people driving, biodiversity can increase. The world is becoming less busy because of the coronavirus, and perhaps this is a good thing. The true effects of climate change are becoming prominent, for people are seeing how the reduction of carbon emissions is helping the world.
If we are looking at the effects strictly on the environment and nothing else, the virus’s effects are definitely very positive towards the environment. But if we look at everything, i believe that the negative effects greatly outweigh the positives like how the national and even global economy is plummeting. I have been seeing a lot of pictures circulating social media of how the environment around the world has been changing like much clearer waters and the reintroduction of animals into their natural habitats. I believe this will continue to happen as airlines begin to limit their flights especially transcontinental flights which produce much higher carbon emissions than their national counterparts which will continue to run. I think that this virus and the problems that it is bringing will stay for months, but we should look at the bright side, and admire the environment going back to what it should be.
I think that, environmentally speaking, the Coronavirus has more positive effects. Overall, the coronavirus has been a negative in other aspects such as human safety and economics and health, but for the environment, many problems have been reduced during this time, such as greenhouse gas admissions and the improvement in air quality. One potential environmental impact that I think the coronavirus will have is overall reducing our carbon footprints. Most of our carbon footprints are so huge due to the fact that we drive everywhere and rely on cars. However, since we have all been quarantined inside, the use of cars has decreased tremendously. This means that all of our carbon footprints have shrunk, which helps the environment because our unsustainable practices that we incorporate into everyday life such as the emission of greenhouse gases into the air from driving has been reduced. I believe that the coronavirus will be more positive for the environment in the long term because the halt of greenhouse gases can help other problems in the future such as global warming. Our Earth is gettin a break from all of these unsustainable practices, which will help increase biodiversity because our environment is not in danger as much, so species can thrive without the interruption of human life.
As of now, I believe that this pandemic will have an overall positive effect on the environment. As humans stay out of wildlife for the time being, wild animals and plants are able to return to an equilibrium state where they are not constantly disturbed. Additionally, the fewer carbon dioxide emissions for the time being will allow nature, such as bird populations, to heal.
It’s hard to tell the full effects that the corona virus will have on the environment. But if I had to predict, I would say that it would have both positive and negative effects long the environment. For starters, it will have a positive effect because the virus is indirectly lowering our carbon footprint. We are not driving around as much and factories are not producing as many products due to the small amount of people that are comfortable to come to work. So, there is not as much carbon being emitted into the air as before the virus spread. However, like stated in the article, after the pandemic is over people will drive around everywhere and factories will over produce to make up for the lack of production during the outbreak of the virus. Another effect on the environment that corona will have is the slowing of deforestation. This is because almost all of the schools in the United States and around the world have been canceled or moved to online. Students will be using technology for all of their classes, so the overproduction of paper will not be necessary. Thus, many forests will be able to thrive and live longer. I think it will have a severe effect on the environment because this is such a huge pandemic. As I mentioned earlier in my comment, the amount of gas being emitted into the air has decreased, but it will heavily increase after the pandemic is over.
I think that the corona virus will have more positive impacts on the environment that negative. I think that the virus will decrease pollution in the world due to less people traveling. Due to the fact that multiple countries are in quarantine there are less people traveling and using transportation. This causes a decrease in air pollution and will lead to a cleaner environment.
I think as of right now the corona virus has had a more positive impact on the environment considering there are less people driving cars, factories are shut down, and more. However we do not know fully if this impact is even positive and as you said in your post after this all ends people and businesses will go back to their normal routine which will revert these effects. I think an overall effect of the corona virus is the environment being more calm. There are less disturbances by humans which results in animals and nature being more healthy. Like I said before as of right now the corona virus is lessening air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions however I believe it will go back to how it was once people resume their normal routine.
Generally as a human being, we believe that Corona is one of the biggest threats for both environment and people. However, I believe that seasonal viruses are necessary for couple of reasons. First, seasonal virus decreases the human population, which will control the carbon footprint and pollution. Last but not least since people are aware that those viruses are contagious, they will likely stay at home and avoid any outdoor activities. In fact, Boeing Company nearly went bankrupt because people started to avoid riding airplanes. <— Social Distancing
I think the corona virus will have a more positive effect on the environment than a more negative effect on the environment due to the decrease in social interaction and the closing down of factories such as in China. Many countries have gone into lock-down leading to the shut down of certain factories and companies which then led to the decrease in factory pollution, and in the first time showing blue skies, and good air quality in the environment.
While long term effects of the coronavirus on the environment are yet to be seen, the current effects the virus is having on the environment are seemingly positive. The coronavirus has led to a decrease in carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. Based on its immediate environmental impacts i would say that it is fair to assume that it will have more positive effects on the environment than negative ones. I would expect that the coronavirus has also cut down on deforestation due to logging companies being considered “nonessential”. While I hope the virus dies down very soon I believe that it will have a big impact on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced, which is a good thing.
I don't really know what to expect about the outcome of this virus. The whole thing has completely shocked me and I remember thinking it wouldn't be a big deal at first. CO2 probably has decreased in the atmosphere, but I doubt it will make that big of a difference overall once this whole thing blows over and people are travelling again. I also agree with you on how factories will use more energy once this is over to compensate for the time they were shut down.
As far as the environment goes Covid-19 seems to be providing rest for our planet. Due to the outbreak human activity has significantly decreased and that has shown positive signs for the environment. I think Covid-19 is decreasing the effects of air pollution and greenhouse gases just because of the fact that it has led to a decrease in human activity. I find it kind of sad that we need a pandemic to happen in order for our planet to take a sort of "rest" it just shows how far gone we really are.
I’m not gonna lie I don’t feel like there’s gonna be a huge positive or negative effect on the environment in the long run. The virus could definitely temporarily cut down emissions for like a few months but right after this is over everything is probably gonna go right back to normal, and then we might have to overcompensate for this small dip. So in conclusion I don’t really think it’ll have a ginormous impact on greenhouse gas emissions.
Coronavirus will definitely leave a positive impact on the environment but only for a short amount of time. Right now there are fewer emissions of gases from our cars and we are decreasing our ecological footprint. However humans will go back to their overconsumption of goods and unnecessary travels. Our earth will flourish due to the outbreak because there will be less human interference.Air pollution and greenhouse gases will go down due to limited exposure outside. There will be a significant impact because millions of people around the world are staying inside and avoiding any contact with the outside world.
In regards to the environment specifically, I believe that the Covid-19 virus will have more of positive impact. The reason for this is that the virus has drastically reduced air-pollution, as it has cause a majority of the worlds population to stay at home and not use both private and public transportations. Additionally, the virus has also caused many factories to shut down, which has drastically reduces the amount of toxic waste being disposed.
I personally don't think that the enviornment is going to be all that affected by the coronavirus. However, that depends on how long the quarantine lasts, if the quarantine is only about a month I couldn't imagine there being a great effect, however if it was six months then maybe it would. I personally don't think it's going to last for more than three months and that is not really enough time in my opinion to help the enviornment all that much.
Social Distancing was planned for controlling the spread of Covid-19, and ideally lessening the loss of life. In any case, this change has likewise prompted some unforeseen outcomes. As enterprises, transport systems and organizations have shut down, it has returned an unexpected drop carbon emissions. Contrasted from this time a year ago, levels of contamination in New York have diminished by almost half due to measures to contain the infection. In China, outflows fell 25% toward the beginning of the year as individuals were told to remain at home, production lines covered and coal utilize fell by 40% at China's six biggest force plants since the last quarter of 2019.
The earth seems to be "breathing" better do to the virus. This is mainly because our anthropogenic activities have decreased drastically in the past couple of weeks with everyone stuck in quarantine and all. I do believe that some organisms, however, may overpopulate as a result of the extent to which Covid-19 has spread. And although it may have more positive impacts on the environment, it will definitely hurt us more than help.
I feel COVID-19 will have a positive effect on the environment because people will be indoor and emit less carbon emissions. Also, people will not be littering the streets, and animals will be untouched for a period of time. Due to humans not interacting with animals some species may overpopulate. This could lead to some issues in the future. COVID-19 is providing benefits and problems for our environment.
Because of the global government-enforced lockdowns and quarantine of public areas and activities, I believe the environmental impact from COVID-19 will be in favor of healing. Due to many of our industries being halted from the virus, industries that produce many carbon emissions will be paused and likely will help areas with over pollution like in Hong Kong and New Delhi, where a familiar smog plagues the streets day after day. I believe this kind of "pause" will truly help metropolitan areas to recover and help locals acknowledge the benefits of cleaner air. Some other benefits that I believe may happen are the relocation and growth of wildlife populations due to the decrease in human interactions. However, the reverse is also possible for animal life in cities, such as raccoons, rats, opossums. These city-dwelling animals rely on human waste for food, and with less activity, I think their populations would decrease.
Currently, COVID-19 is having mainly positive impacts on the environment. We can see that marine animals are returning to areas that were once overrun with humans such as the canals in Italy are seeing a return in dolphins. After COVID-19 passes, I think there might be a boom in energy consumption as people will run to get tasks done because they were not able to with the governmental lock downs. Possibly, after this pandemic passes people might move away from being around animals and eating certain animals.
I personally believe that the coronavirus will have more positive effects on the environment since it is effectively shutting everything down. For instance, pollution levels in China and India have substantially decreased. Furthermore, in the Indian state of Punjab, you can finally see the mountains that border the land (when, in the past, it had been obstructed from view by pollution). I think that, if it can transfer to animals, the coronavirus can have a potentially deadly effect on wildlife. Since, once more bringing into the notion that it can transfer to animals, I believe animals would experience the same deadly effects humans would.
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