Is COVID-19 a “green” virus?
In Spanish Is COVID-19 a “green” virus? by Miquel Gonzalez-Meler, Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory, in conversation with Adeline Marcos Talva, Scientific Journalist.
The COVID virus pandemic has caused huge decreases in transportation and industrial activities which has resulted in decreases in air pollution levels and greenhouse emissions. Just in April 2020, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were reduced by 17% globally. Yet, the highest levels of CO2 ever recorded were 417.1 parts per million in May 2020. This is because of past winter emissions and the fact that carbon dioxide can stay in the atmosphere for many decades. Lower transportation use has reduced car emissions of pollutants that contribute to ozone gas formation, particularly during heatwaves. Ozone is a hazardous gas that mostly affects people with respiratory conditions, coinciding with the high-risk population to COVID-19.
Besides changes in human behaviors, governments have taken action that can help or hurt the environment. Many governments have relaxed environmental regulations, have weakened climate policies, are fostering development in forested areas like the Amazon, or have postponed the Climate Paris agreement. Single-use plastic has skyrocketed during the pandemic due to the use of masks and protective equipment. Also, more people are thinking of relocating to less densely populated areas in response to the pandemic which will increase traffic, energy use, or the demand for food and services. At the same time, people are reconsidering lifestyles and have decreased consumerism, which should reduce our environmental footprint and they may have renewed faith in science and expertise.
PRESENTER/PANELIST Miquel Gonzalez-Meler received his PhD in 1995 from the University of Barcelona and The Smithsonian Institution for his work on the effects of climate change on coastal marshes in the Chesapeake Bay. He continued his work at Duke University in North Carolina, where he studied the effects of climate change in natural ecosystems exposed to atmospheric conditions expected by 2050. He joins the faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in the year 2000. At UIC, he has continued to investigate the effects of environmental change in managed and natural ecosystems and how ecosystems can help mitigate environmental change. His work expands from the tropics to the Arctic and has published more than 100 articles and raised over $15 Million USD in research funds. He has also served as consultant for the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Franklin Institute and other national and international organizations.
Adeline Marcos Talva has worked in the French, Canadian and Spanish media. Since 2008, she has been the scientific journalist in charge of the Natural Sciences area at the Scientific News Agency (SINC). In addition, she has been a collaborator since 2010 with the radio program Adamientos de Gigantes de Radio Nacional de España. In 2017, Marcos Talva was awarded the II Transfer Award for her report The women who tamed the mist to quench the thirst of the Berber.
