The Environment and COVID-19

Taylor Wilson, Conservation Tech and Outreach Assistant
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​The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a new routine and outlook on our lives and daily activities. For some, the changes have come as a welcome relief from some stressors of life. For others, this situation has increased their uncertainties and burdens. Likewise, the human response to COVID-19 has had some surprising benefits as well as drawbacks toward the natural environment. Here are a few:

​Pros: 

• Carbon emissions in the United States are down 7% for the year, the greatest decrease since WWII 
• In China, lockdowns and other measures resulted in a 25%  reduction in carbon emissions 
• Generally water quality has increased—at least temporarily. Turbidity in water has decreased giving wildlife more sunlight and visibility.  
• Gardening is on the rise. With extra time at home and food shortages at the grocery, many decided to start gardening or increase their garden activity. Self sustainability was a big topic of discussion during the months of March and April. See the search trends below.
• Decrease in over-overfishing as the demand for fish has decreased worldwide. Overfishing has huge ecological implications from fish depletion to plastic pollution.
• Scientists finally have a chance to study the impact of atmospheric aerosols 

Cons:

• Increase in litter from disposable masks, gloves, and sanitation materials (wipes, plastic containers, etc)
• The rate of decrease in air and water pollution is not sustainable for the future
• Some feel good stories, like the dolphins returning to Venice, were unfortunately untrue. Here’s information on what really happened.
• There has been a spike in illegal logging  in Tunisia, Brazil, and Indonesia due to the lack of ecological law enforcement in these areas during isolation.  
• The loss of atmospheric aerosols may be causing  damage to certain ecosystems. With time, these studies will be conducted and released.

Google search frequency of the term "raised beds" with a large spike in April of 2020. Similar trends are seen with the phrases "garden" "gardening" "how to garden" etc.

The biggest takeaway, from an ecological standpoint, are that the world did achieve all of the pros listed above. Through a forced experiment, we have demonstrated that it is possible to change the environment and quickly assist in its recovery. The trick now is to find a way to maintain this while not entirely changing people’s chosen lifestyles. Like stated before, many of us may have enjoyed the peaceful solace of COVID. Now is a great time to take those lifestyle changes, make them work for you, and commit to them for a greener future.
  
Note: These are not the findings of the Hamilton County SWCD, but instead a compilation of different fact sources.