What is the impact of COVID-19 on our environment?

While the world scrambles to protect itself from the pandemic, it’s time to take a look at what the impact of COVID-19 on our environment is.

By Faith Kiross

COVID-19 still is a priority for many, especially world leaders. With the many restrictions, rules and supplies needed to fight this virus, the environment easily becomes of minor importance. Having global issues such as climate change and global warming and with the knowledge that COVID-19 won’t last forever, the question forms: What is the impact of COVID-19 on our environment?

Carbon emissions going up AND down

We cause carbon emissions when we use gasoline, natural gas, coal, and wood. In this regard, having mandatory lockdowns has contributed in many ways to helping the environment. For example, kids have online classes and most of their parents are working from home as well. This eliminates the commute to and from school and the workplace. Yes, there is still the commute to places like the grocery store, but the amount of carbon emission has gone down.

Another major factor is the reduced amount of international travelling. According to research, 915 million tonnes of carbon dioxide was produced by flights in 2019.  From April, COVID-19 has helped reduce these emissions by 17%. However, in June when we began to reopen, the emissions immediately rose by 5%. Although 17% minus 5% is still larger than zero, this won’t be a permanent solution. While it is certainly a step in the right direction, a permanent solution needs to be found.

As consumers, we have choices that help us reduce our carbon footprints. These include carpooling with friends and family, riding a bike or walking on foot. We should also make a conscious decision to support companies that are taking steps to combat climate change. There are many ways that we can reduce our individual carbon footprints.

Plastic polluting our oceans

Every year, eight million metric tons of plastic waste enters our oceans. In fact, research has shown that by 2050, there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish, by weight.

Now because of the pandemic, there has been an increase of around 30% in the amount of non-recyclable materials in our oceans. Most of these materials stem from, to no surprise, take-out plastic containers, disposable face masks and disposable gloves. In short, products that have become crucial during the pandemic. Because plastic has a life span of around 450 years, it doesn’t fully break down but shrinks in size, becoming microplastic. This is harmful to marine life and hurts the ecosystem.

Fortunately, some countries such as Canada have made plans to eliminate harmful single-use plastic by the end of 2021. This is a drastic step to take for protecting the environment, especially with the pandemic at hand. Even if countries such as Canada didn’t have a plan to deal with single-use plastics, we consumers can still make the choice to stop using plastic bags, straws, forks, and many other single use products.

Quantities of food waste

Our world throws out 1.3 billion tons of food each year. This is likely to increase due to restaurants throwing out unused, expired products and the stockpiles of food being hoarded by consumers going to waste. Some people may not see the magnitude of this problem, which is a part of the problem.

One aspect is the contribution to the increase in greenhouse gases. As food in landfills rots, it produces large amounts of methane. Methane traps heat much better than carbon dioxide when kept in our atmosphere, resulting in a much larger problem.

Let’s not forget the amount of water that’s wasted. Along with the food that’s thrown out, 45 trillion tons of water is lost every year with the amount of food wasted. This accounts for 24% of the total amount of water used in agriculture. All in all, it seems ironic for agriculture to use up 70% of the world’s yearly freshwater supply, only for a staggering amount of the resulting food and part of the water to end up in the landfill.

Conclusion

COVID-19 has taken our biggest environmental issues and intensified them. It’s our job to start taking the steps to not only make the right choices for our environment but to hold our political leaders accountable for bigger environmental issues. Although we can make small eco-friendly choices such as taking transit, walking, and/or carpooling, that’s still isn’t the only solution at hand. During these times, try to make eco-friendly choices that can reduce the burden this pandemic has on our environment.