COVID-19 vs. air pollution
I read an article on a French news broadcast which I haven’t come across in U.S. news, that describes surprising findings about the effects of COVID-19 on air pollution in China during January and February this year.
According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), release into the atmosphere of CO2 was reduced by at least 25% in February due to a dramatic reduction in burning of coal, 70% reduction in domestic air flights and a decrease in the production of oil.
In a study by Marshall Burke of Stanford titled, “COVID-19 reduces economic activity, which reduces pollution, which saves lives,” he estimated that the reduction in pollution caused by the coronavirus saved 20 times more lives than those lost to the virus. In two months of reduced pollution in China, Burke calculated conservatively that 4,000 deaths of children under 5 and 73,000 adults over age 70 were prevented.
Obviously COVID-19 cannot be used as a tool to fight air pollution, and these numbers do nothing to diminish the devastation that this pandemic has caused. We must use all resources to defeat it.
I see several lessons here. One is that the numbers graphically illustrate the horrendous lethality of pumping CO2 and particulates into the atmosphere. The World Health Organization attributes 7 million deaths annually worldwide to air pollution. What would the numbers look like if the pollution were reduced by 50%? Also, unlike COVID-19, we already understand much about air pollution and have many tools to reduce it. What we need is the will to attack it with the same fervor with which we must attack this pandemic. Both issues demand a global approach, thus offering a path toward greater international understanding and cooperation.
Tom Waggoner
Farmington