COVID-19 On The Environment

Courtesy of DW News. Provided by Our Beautiful Earth. Background at top courtesy of Intermountain Healthcare.

what impacts does covid-19 have on the environment?

     We all are living through these unprecedented times of COVID-19 and many of us are very tired of it. Have you ever thought of COVID-19's impact on the environment? Do you think the effects are beneficial or harmful? The answer to this question is actually quite simple the effects are both beneficial and harmful to the environment. You may be wondering how is can it be both beneficial and harmful, well keep reading to figure it out!

     Some of the benefits include improvements in air quality, clean beaches, less greenhouse gas emissions, and less overall environmental noise. Weather maps also show that the ozone layer is healing up again after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. More information about the benefits and harmful effects of COVID-19 can be seen here.

      You still may be wondering if nobody has left their houses, why is COVID-19 harmful to the environment.

     Just think about it; since people are not leaving their homes as often there has been a significant increase in waste and the reduction of recycling. Disposable masks, another safety precaution for COVID-19, is also something that is greatly adding to our waste everyday. This allows us to transition to our next question; are masks adding to our trash?

Are masks adding to our trash?

     Are masks adding to our trash? This is a very obvious question, masks, specifically disposable masks, are adding to our trash. Still, every time you have worn a disposable mask have you ever thought about the impacts that these masks have on the environment?

    Everyday millions, the exact number unknown, of masks are being thrown away. Just think about how much that must add to landfills around the world. The disposable masks are made of non-woven fabric which can take anywhere between 20 and 200 years to decompose.

    I am not trying to discourage you from wearing masks; still, for the environment's sake switch to a reusable mask. Switching to a reusable mask can also take away the worry from you about running out of masks as all that you have to do is wash it after each use. Although there still may be many people using disposable masks, always remember that every effort can make a difference.

DOES THE PANDEMIC PROVE HOW MUCH WE HAVE HARMED NATURE?

Taken from Enric Sala's "The Nature of Nature: Why We Need the Wild".

You may be wondering how does the pandemic prove how much we have harmed nature. First let's start with a study done on islands in the Pacific Ocean including Kingman (an uninhabited island) and Kiritimati (an island with 5,100 people). Both of these islands are part of the Republic of Kiribati. All of these islands are close enough to share flora, fauna, oceanographic, and climate conditions. What was found was very obvious: 10 times as much bacteria was found in the waters of Kiritimati compared to Kingman. At Kingman the water was crystal clear only a harmless, small bacteria called Prochlorococcus was living which simply photosynthesizes for a living. On Kiritimati what was found included murky waters, a third of the bacteria around this area were pathogens, which included Staphylococcus, Vibrio, and Escherichia. These pathogens are extremely dangerous which result in fatal diseases in humans. It can also lead to diseases in corals which in turn lead to seaweed-dominated reefs which spur microbial blooms.

Who are to blame for this? People are. Kiritimati is simply one island with approximately 5,100 people and the effects are immeasurable.

While currently the world is busy helping those in need with COVID-19 we might as well start thinking about the future pandemics. Harming nature is a major reason why COVID-19 is impacted all of us. Instead of safeguarding our habitats, we are destroying them. When we do not protect the environment, the environment is not able to protect us from pandemics like COVID-19. The degradation of habitats makes animals more stressed which leads to them shedding more viruses. Biodiversity can dilute any viruses that emerge and act as a natural shield that can absorb the fallout of pathogens. Still, by harming the environment biodiversity continues to lessen more and more everyday. Yes, the pandemic has proved how much we have harmed nature that it is not even able to protect us. A healthy natural world is not only our best hope but our best antivirus.

*Information courtesy of Enric Sala's "The Nature of Nature: Why We Need The Wild".

will the effects of covid-19 be permanent on the environment?

As mentioned before, COVID-19 is actually doing good for the environment. In the first section "What Impacts Does COVID-19 Have on the Environment" shows this specifically. Still, would it not be great if these beneficial effects on the environment stayed forever? Well, sadly this isn't true. The effects of COVID-19 are not going to be permanent on the environment. This is because as, we as humans, return to our old ways, problems such as pollution and industrialization will come back to haunt the environment. If we stay in quarantine forever and stop all of our daily human activities then these positive changes of the environment will stay forever. We also know that this is not possible. So, don't get your hopes too high that COVID-19 will take care of the environment for us; it is only up to us to take care of the environment. The effects are also temporary. As we continue to overcome to pandemic, our lifestyle is transitioning back to normal.

What effects do the vaccines for covid-19 have on the environment

As of this writing, the vaccines themselves have no direct correlating effect on the environment. There is waste related to taking COVID-19 vaccines as the container in which the vaccines are stored are thrown away shortly after. It is also probable that before the public releasing of COVID-19 vaccines, there was probably significant waste just in the process of testing the vaccines. However, this is the case with taking any vaccine not just a COVID-19 vaccine. The effects of the vaccines on the environment should not be of much concern in comparison to deforestation, ocean acidification, air pollution, and other such issues.

what should be our reaction to future diseases such as COVId-19 Be? How should this affect our stewardship of the environment

COVID-19 is a pandemic that we, as humans, have a lot to gain from. It shows us that despite the many technological advancements in healthcare and medicine, we, as a species, are vulnerable. Although the world has dealt with many epidemics, there has never been anything as severe as the COVID-19 pandemic. As a pandemic, COVID crosses borders and its transmission is responsible for the high level of globalization today. There are three major issues that have contributed to the pandemic's high spread: climate change, international travel, and intensive farming. All three of these factors are anthropogenic, meaning that they are human-induced. But still, how should we change our reaction?

The spread of diseases such as COVID-19 is most greatly influenced by the governments around the world. Epidemics are often at a much smaller scale in comparison to pandemics and thus need less government efforts to regulate. As pandemics cross borders, governments from all around the world need to come together and make sure that the same regulations are placed throughout the world. Immigration and emigration must be heavily regulated and "quarantine" laws must also be uniform. Collective financing efforts are also essential in order to make sure that governments around the world have the means to buy healthcare resources needed during the onslaught of another pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic simply shows how essential it is to take care of our environment. Accelerated climate change is facilitating the spread of diseases such as COVID-19 and making it difficult to contain the spread of such pandemics. Our environment has a natural ability to act as immunity to such diseases. However, only with greater environmental stewardship and conservation efforts can we stop the onslaught of further pandemics such as COVID-19.

*Information courtesy of Wellcome "How to Prevent the Next Pandemic".