Coronavirus and the Global Climate

 By Ally Da Costa

These past few months with the Coronavirus spreading has left people in a panic and the economy to shift drastically. So far in the US there have been five hundred, thirty four deaths and has been doubling every three days. With calls to close businesses and having people stay in their homes unless it is totally necessary. Everyday crowded places like Times Square are becoming ghost towns while people quarantine inside to hopefully slow the spread of the virus. It is almost as if the world stopped and humans disappeared to try and fix what's going on in the world. So far we've been able to see what a big difference people spending less time in their cars outside and have every business and factory running has on the environment.

Ever since people have been told to stay inside unless they need to go outside the effects are starting to be seen more clearer. Like we've seen for recent natural disasters many are trying to come to the aid because of this disease. The reactions from the government and people have been huge. Almost every other commercial you see on tv is about what you can do to stop the spread of the coronavirus, it has gotten so much attention so quickly because it is affecting our day to day lives right now. 

But issues like global warming which affect us both now and later don't get nearly enough attention as the pandemic has been getting. Many have stated that if we approach topics such as global warming as we do the coronavirus we would see more results and the impact would be so much greater. Political scientist Leah Stokes spoke out saying that using aggressive steps to reduce planet-warming emissions “such as investing in solar and wind power, switching to electric cars and requiring more efficient buildings(Roth 2020).” would not disrupt people's daily lives nearly as much as the quarantine people must go through with coronavirus. So why is it not being implemented into our lives to help the planet if it won't disrupt our daily lives? 

With less travel by plane and car and having businesses that are deemed unessential closed down, we are seeing positive effects on the environment. Air pollution is down in major cities due to this decrease in work. Other examples of changes we are seeing: in Venice the “water canals are clear due to no boat traffic and you are able to see the fish(Newburger 2020).” “Air pollution in China has plunged(Newburger 2020).” But experts are saying that these results are only temporary because when life starts up to how it normally is everything returns to how it has always been. 

If people paid closer attention to the scientists’ warnings, then we would be able to see a change for the future of global warming. Pandemics are often fast moving and everyone is rushing to stop it, but that same speed isn't taken with global warming. We can learn by being unprepared for this pandemic to prepare for the future of the climate which may be slower moving but still can affect us day to day.

One thing that the coronavirus is teaching us is that we may not be ready to deal with a climate based emergency, which is why we should care about climate change now rather than later when we have no time left. If we experience a climate emergency then people, like animals, will be “forced to migrate, likely in paralleling other animal species: away from extreme weather phenomena and warming regions towards higher altitudes(Zhang 2020).” When this happens people will be near others that may not have the same body systems as them and have been exposed to what they have in their original living areas, thus bringing things like diseases to areas that could be fatal to people or animals. 

People have not yet realized that this is an issue that we have to deal with now rather than later before we have no options because we waited too long. Though the coronavirus has brought numerous negatives, hopefully one positive is that people now see that the US has to be more prepared for the future and that global warming is one matter that can't be put off too long. 

        

       

                                                  Bibliography 

Roth, Sammy. “Here's What a Coronavirus-like Response to the Climate Crisis Would Look Like.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2020, www.latimes.com/environment/story/2020-03-24/what-coronavirus-like-response-to-climate-crisis-would-look-like.

Newburger, Emma. “Air Pollution Falls as Coronavirus Slows Travel, but Scientists Warn of Longer-Term Threat to Climate Change Progress.” CNBC, CNBC, 22 Mar. 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/03/21/air-pollution-falls-as-coronavirus-slows-travel-but-it-forms-a-new-threat.html.

Zhang, Jennifer, et al. “Coronavirus Response Shows the World May Not Be Ready for Climate-Induced Pandemics.” State of the Planet, 27 Feb. 2020, blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2020/02/24/coronavirus-climate-induced-pandemics/.