The coronavirus has captured the headlines and is affecting our society in ways we haven’t seen. But if there is a silver lining, it is the environmental improvements that are occurring around the world because of reduced human activity.
Under self-quarantine and practicing social distancing, the new norm is blocking out this inept President and listening to the scientist. But taking a back seat through this crisis are environmental and climate issues and of course, Republicans won’t listen to science when it matters.
There are interesting stories coming from all parts of the globe that don’t detail more cases of Covid-19 or more fatalities, but instead are proving the scientists right regarding climate and the environment.
There are rumblings coming from the White House because science is speaking up and the buffoon-in-chief is more concerned about the economy then human life. So why would anyone think this President would listen to science now?
In both China and Los Angeles, air quality has changed for the better since the pandemic. In Northern India, people can see the Himalayan mountains for the first time in 30 years. And of all places to find a positive story on climate change, Fox News ran an article on how the water has cleared in Venice, Italy.
It will be interesting to see how science is greeted by these turns of events on the other side of this pandemic. While cleaner air seems to be the most prevalent at this time, I’m not educated enough on particulate matter (PM) and Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) so I’ll leave it to the scientists.
So behind the storm clouds of the Covid-19 crisis is a ray of light focused on the environment. Hopefully we as a planet can learn from this, understand the evidence that is there to be seen, and act accordingly.
An important step will be to remove the science-denier sitting in the oval office in November and elect a president who will be committed to keeping our sky blue and our air and water clean.