Blue skies and fair weather
Have you noticed the bright blue skies in recent weeks? This is most evident after a day or two of clouds and rain. The storms move out of our area and we are left with refreshing air and clear bright blue skies. The past two weekends were delightful and another one is promised for this weekend and into the first of the week.
A side effect of the pandemic is the reduced pollution due to decreased use of our autos, air travel and their emissions. The international Energy Agency has cited a decrease in coal, oil and gas production and use in recent months. Only renewable energy is showing any sign of growth. It is surprising that the last time we had a significant reduction in short term pollution was in the financial Crisis of 2008 when once again there was a lot less air and auto traffic.
Levels of pollution are expected to slowly increase in the coming months as the lockdown eases and activity on our roads and in the air increases. If you are looking for some really clean air, the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica has air that shows the smallest concentration of pollutants caused by human pollution. This was reported by Colorado University and they say if you visit bring a very warm coat even in the summer.
A continuing problem for our planet is the reduction in our rain forests. 2019 continued to see large areas of deforestation. Some 14,000 square miles were deforested and this continues a trend over the past several decades. Brazil burned, logged and bulldozed over half of the forested land. According to reports, this is a 3% increase over the previous year despite efforts at mitigation. With COVID-19, enforcement of forest protection laws is weakened as rural families are desperate to feed themselves after job losses in the cities. All of this plays into the global goal to curb climate change. Talks scheduled for this year by the United Nations have been postponed until late next year.
We all want to see a return to some semblance of normalcy; however, as we move forward, perhaps we can all be mindful of what our air should look like. The pictures of clean cities are pretty compelling. This can be worked into the decisions we make about leadership and our own choices in the products and things we consume as well as our activities and lifestyle.
Here in Southwestern Pennsylvania, we have made some progress over the years. I can remember the dirty air that plagued the city of Pittsburgh and the Mon Valley. The Donora smog event in 1948 killed dozens of people and sent many thousands to area hospitals with respiratory illness. In the 1970s, we lived in Pittsburgh and soot from the mills in Braddock and Homestead would fall on roofs, and, over the years, gutters would hang down from the weight of the particles and soot. Cars left out overnight would be coated with dust and small metal flakes in the morning. We were all breathing this polluted air.
Unfortunately with improvements in our air quality, we experienced the loss of jobs throughout the region as the steel industry declined. My father worked in the mill, and after 35 years, developed brown lung from the silica dust in the air that he breathed every day. Dad died early from cancer. The jobs and the mills are long gone and the Pittsburgh area has reinvented itself over the past decades.
Hopefully some of this resurgence will continue to spread into the surrounding areas as people realize that our area is a great place to live, work and raise a family.
Perhaps more blue skies are in the forecast. Enjoy the nice weather and the clean air while it lasts.