Positive Pandemic?

In a time where the structure and normality of living their life has completely changed for most people, and with the horrible incline in death across the globe, environmental positives are occurring all around us.

Air Pollution levels are declining, and although this may be a short term positive, the impact on the environment for both humans and wildlife is important to discover. Transport makes up about 23% of all global carbon emissions, and as most have been enforced or advised to stay at home when possible and work from home when they can, the emission levels have dropped in the short term at least. The change in air quality overall has become a major positive in the long term for some people, especially in China. Marshall Burke, a researcher at Stanford University, calculated the improvements in air quality recorded in China may have saved the lives of 4,000 children under 5 years old and 73,000 adults over 70. Another amazing statistic states that 67 million fewer passengers flew in the first three months of 2020 compared to the year before, showing that the pandemic has forced airlines into producing less air pollution from planes.

EcoSystems are at risk during the pandemic rather than being positively effected. This is because, in many countries, environmental protection workers such as conservation zones and national parks are being urged to stay at home. This means that the zones and parks are being left unsupervised and has led to a high rise in illegal hunting, illegal fishing and deforestation. Another positive is that most of us are now using our time outside to go for walks or taking the dog out for a walk, meaning that we aren't taking the outdoors and environment for granted. Studies have shown that natural environments have a positive impact on our mental health, helps us feel more emotions and helps control our stress levels.

However, in contrast to all of the positive news, there are in fact a lot of things that still need to be changed in order to save our beautiful planet. Some people have seen images and reports of the emissions over huge cities vanishing and automatically assuming that greenhouse gases were evaporating too, which is not the case. The virus occurrence has seen a decrease in certain gases, however there hasn't been any reduction in CO2 emissions which is a dangerous gas that can stay in the air for centuries. So scientists predict that when we get back to normality, the levels will increase again.

Upon reflection, although there will be positives and negatives at the end of the pandemic, everyone will need to know that the battle that the world with have with the human race will be back on, and we will have to continue to work towards the goal of saving the planet and the wonderful species that belong on it.

Jake