The Coronavirus' Effects on the Environment

Summary: Having been published a few weeks ago, when the virus was primarily seen in China; this article goes into specifics regarding the environmental pros and cons of the epidemic in regards to their circumstances, rather than what is now to be considered a worldwide crisis. Being the case, the article starts by saying how, in response to this virus, the people of China have had to change their everyday behaviors and patterns as a ways to contain and eliminate this said virus (COVID-19). Thus, with these changes made by the citizens in their society, inevitably decreases in industrial, transportation, and business activity resulted. Therefore, this had ultimately meant reduced levels of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) as well as a decrease in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by as much as 25 percent over China, compared to in 2019.

How the Coronavirus Is (and Is Not) Affecting the Environment

Response: While in the chaos of it all, and with many of us experiencing the overwhelming downsides that have come with this outbreak of the Coronavirus, it may seem as if there is not hope in any positive things coming out of this shutdown of society. However, with this now having become a worldwide pandemic, in which is not only affecting a certain region of the world anymore. I believe, as a whole, if we were to step back for a second and not view it as something that has taken a toll on our personal lives, we can see that as a result, it has quite benefited our environment. With saying this, I do not mean that this is a tactic in which we can adopt for a long period of time, but rather something we should appreciate and abide by, for the benefits to both our health as well as the planet's health, as a result of us all participating in this quarantine.



Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 28, 2020 at 9:39 AM

    I really don't think in any way the corona virus can be looked at in a good light. The reality is that when this passes and we return to our normal lives the transportation and use of greenhouse gases will once again rise. The couple months of reduced use of these will do nothing to benefit the environment, for this is only a second in the grand scheme of things. In reality if we are ever going to return the environment to a better state habits like these would have to preformed for hundreds or even thousands of years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousApril 7, 2020 at 9:01 AM

      It's not that I entirely disagree with you, however, wouldn't you think that during this time it is a great idea for us to better focus on how exactly we are affecting the environment around us and cultivate better habits to take into the future. I am only trying to be optimistic, but I mean from what I've seen, companies are making great leaps at trying to lessen their carbon footprint. Not to mention when transportation starts up again, I have a feeling that there's going to be a dramatic shift in demand of certain resources. Why do you think companies that are pushing out eco-friendly cars, like Tesla's, stocks are predicted to climb?

      Delete
  2. AnonymousMarch 30, 2020 at 6:03 AM

    While reducing atmospheric nitrogen dioxide and carbon dioxide emissions at the time, once the virus passes they will resume. Once they resume they will rise higher since people will be able to leave their house after being quarantined. It will only be a matter of time until the emissions are back to their normal levels.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 31, 2020 at 10:22 AM

    I believe the corona virus is helping our world while also destroying it. I agree that this virus has helped limit pollution because less factories are operating during this time. We also have seen changes like birds being heard and seen in bigger cities in China and the canals in Venice are clear and you can see the fish in the water. This virus is also killing thousands of people around the world which is seen as a con. I hope that once everything is back to normal people will notice that we need to take better care of our world.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousApril 17, 2020 at 11:41 AM

    I agree that the virus is destroying our world, while slightly helping it at the same time. It is killing so many people and shutting down businesses, while putting perfectly healthy people in danger. The virus shut down many factories and have limited people being outside, so there has been a huge decrease in pollution.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dual-fuel vehicles

A recent study shows that dual- fuel vehicles are benefiting the population but, turns out they are costing the environment. While substituting gasoline for ethanol gases, it causes an increase of ultra fine particle matter, with a 30% increase of atmospheric concentration. The problem is that they are less then 50 nanometers in diameter. The nano particles are also not track or regulated by the environmental agencies. We inhale these gases everyday, inhaling ethanol. The most practical way to reduce greenhouse gases is using electric, hybrid and biofuel care.   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170828124546.htm
Read more

Acid Zone in Chesapeake Bay Found

     According to the University of Delaware, the Chesapeake Bay is becoming acidic as it has gone to 7.4 pH from an average of 8.2. The oxidation of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide may be the factor that is leading to the higher acidity levels in coastal oceans, but it can eventually lead to more of open oceans. Naturally the waters of the Chesapeake Bay have a regulatory system that holds back the increase of acidity levels in the area, and this works as the dissolving of living shells, non-living aragonite, and calcite minerals. Though nature has a path to keep the waters in the Chesapeake Bay, humans should take more care of our Earth as we have a role in polluting the water and rising the acidity levels in coastal oceans. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170828093737.htm
Read more