By Roksanna Keyvan
In March 2020, the world came to a halt. Lives were turned upside down in a matter of days as businesses shut down and schools closed their doors. Two weeks of what initially seemed like vacation turned into months of quarantine and isolation for individuals across the world. What sounds like the prologue to a dystopian novel was actually the onset of a global pandemic known as coronavirus or COVID-19.
Prompt and decisive health measures were taken in response to the crisis. However, their consequences sustained a profound impact on both human health and the global economy. This has significantly impacted the environment — for better and for worse.
The Good
When the world came to a halt, industry followed suit. Factories closed their doors, employees stashed away their uniforms and global pollution rates began to drop.
The decrease in industrial activity during the pandemic led to a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from factories and power plants. In 2020, The Earth Observatory at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reported that declines in GHG emissions had been observed and reported across the world. As the world ceased its daily processes, the lessened consumption of fossil fuels slowed the onset of global climate change.
The absence of industrial pollution also led to cleaner water sources, specifically in developing countries that previously dumped domestic and industrial waste into untreated bodies of water. Water bodies that were characteristically turbid or discolored, such as the Bay of Bengal and the ports of Venice, were clearer due to decreased boat activity.
While water and air pollution have visible effects, noise pollution is an invisible threat that has harmful physiological and psychological effects on humans, other living organisms and natural ecosystems. Noise pollution is unnatural sound generated from different human activities, such as construction, and is considered by the World Health Organization to be the third-most hazardous pollution after air and water pollution.
Satellite images taken by NASA during lockdown periods in the city of Wuhan, China, reveal how decreased air travel and road transportation significantly lessened anthropogenic noise pollution in China, Ireland, and major cities across the globe.
Restrictions in transportation and travel have allowed nature to heal itself. With the absence of human activity, popular tourist sites experienced ecological restoration and assimilation with the natural environment. Research findings from Eulogio Soto of Universidad de Valparaíso reported that, with the lack of human waste and disturbance, urban-coastal ecosystems displayed an ability to recover in terms of biodiversity and system functionality, dropping from high levels of turbidity with many aquatic and local species returning. Social distancing and the lack of human disturbance correlated to a decline in the frequency of forest fires in the Southeastern United States, especially on federal lands, which house popular tourist spots such as national parks and wildlife management areas.
The Bad
Although the onset of COVID-19 reduced anthropogenic waste, it fostered an increase in biomedical waste. Biomedical waste relates to chemicals from disinfectants and infectious remnants from non-biodegradable personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks and gloves. This waste now poses a major threat to public health and the environment.
Professor Ana María Rule of John Hopkins University stresses that overuse of PPE has resulted in a surge of plastic waste that will take hundreds of years to break down. Smaller and smaller microplastics from plastic waste will accumulate throughout the environment — in the soil, water and air. Invisible and omnipresent, these harmful microplastics will inevitably be consumed by all organisms – including humans.
PPE plastic and medical waste increase the risk of disease transmission to waste workers and thus require special disposal methods, like incineration. Although these disposal methods are designed to prevent contamination and reduce the volume of waste, they still harm the environment by emitting heavy metals, particulate matter and GHG. Disinfectants and surface cleaners also contain particles and chemicals with harmful byproducts. These byproducts, which take many years to degrade, are unable to be processed in water treatment plants and will resultantly accumulate in municipal wastewater across the globe.
The Ugly Truth
The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant environmental impacts, both positive and negative — but we are not in the clear just yet.
With almost all lockdowns ending and economic activity resuming pre-pandemic normalcy, NASA reported that levels of air pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide, have returned to pre-pandemic conditions.. As typical pollutant levels rebound worldwide, an imminent return to environmental problems awaits us.
As a society, it is important to assess our next steps and consider what changes need to be made to improve ourselves and our planet. Not all PPE is necessary, and its overuse does more harm than good. COVID-19 spreads primarily via airborne means, not surfaces, as the virus can only exist on surfaces for about three days. Anna María Rule, an assistant professor in Environmental Health and Engineering at Johns Hopkins recommends that it is more effective and environmentally efficient to consistently wash your hands with soap and water.
Other sustainable environmental management strategies, as recommended by Professor Tanjena Rume of Jahangirnagar University, include sustainable industrialization. This strategy focuses on investing in technologies that reduce emissions and utilizing more renewable energy sources. It also emphasizes the improvement of wastewater treatment and waste recycling while finding ways to reuse these resources. Rume also emphasizes ecological restoration and ecotourism, a measure that requires international cooperation to ensure a more sustainable future. Finally, on an individual level, we can all work toward making behavioral changes daily to be more environmentally mindful.
As we return to a pre-pandemic normalcy, it is important to consider the environmental impact of our actions. By making united efforts, we can work toward guaranteeing a more sustainable future for all.