The New
Normal
As COVID19 appears to have no intention of beating hasty retreat, lifestyles have changed.
What about the environment?
As COVID19 appears to have no intention of beating hasty retreat, lifestyles have changed.
What about the environment?
Kolkata – Five months down the line and with a clear end is not in sight to the COVID19 pandemic, a lot of things are beginning to feel familiar.
• The dread as you step out of your home for essential supplies, face covered and eager to avoid everyone, especially your chatty friend from the next block.
• Your shopping expedition would be just for essentials – no frivolous shopping – leave alone window shopping – at the mall.
• And, of course, you’ve resigned yourself to the fact that your spouse, surly and determined will be pounding away at the laptop all day; taking calls in a voice the next building can loudly hear.
• If you have children... less said the better – though their recently started Zoom classes and emailed homework time gives you a much needed respite from the chaos of a group trapped in a small urban space.
That’s the new normal for the human condition - masks, social distance and existential dread. What about the environment?
• There is less rumbling on the surface as people are on lockdown and the wild animals are coming out of their hideouts.
• There’s less air pollution as factories are closed and no cars in the street.
• City soundscapes are changing, you can actually hear the birds
• The oceans are probably quieter, too.
The pandemic has resulted in numerous impacts on the environment and the climate. The severe decline in planned travel has caused many regions to experience a drop in air pollution. In China, lockdowns and other measures resulted in a 25 percent reduction in carbon emissions, which one Earth systems scientist estimated may have saved at least 77,000 lives over two months!
Manufacturing has come to a standstill, as the demand for non-essentials fell. Car sales have been zero in Kolkata and elsewhere, and 90% of the existing fleet is garaged.
Everyone has heard how India's capital - one of the world's most polluted cities – has clear blue skies today and people can see the Himalayas from Chandigarh… hundreds of miles away. In Hooghly River, the South Asian River Dolphins have made a comeback.
All this is an unexpected upside of the coronavirus crisis that has proved global air quality can be dramatically improved - and fast. The change has been created by lockdowns that have grounded flights and shut factories. But environmentalists warn it could be temporary.
Negatively, the outbreak has also disrupted environmental diplomacy efforts, including causing the postponement of the 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference, and the economic fallout from it is predicted to slow investment in green energy technologies; and there are fears countries could prioritise human and economic welfare before that of the environment.
That only leaves one hoping that we don’t go back that much to the old normal. Can we keep consumption low – demand only what is truly necessary? Can we travel more electronically, work more remotely (as all the zoom meetings work at home have proven can be done?) and give more generously? Then we’ll generate less waste, spew less pollution into the atmosphere and be the kinder less demanding souls we have become in the time of the Coronavirus. If this can’t be a lasting new normal, at least let’s not just go back entirely to the old one.
About the author:
Cintiya Dempta loves the natural rhythm of Nature. Given the chance she'd only do her writing on some tropical island paradise. But there must be good food,
EARTHUS SAYS!
“The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.”
-Lady Bird Johnson [Tweet This]
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