Flattening the curve (not only the pandemic's curve) by: Jake Ryan

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With all of the news stations talking mostly about the negatives of COVID-19, I thought it would be good to share some other good news! The major positive to social distancing is the positive effect on the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. With all of these busses, cars, trains, etc. which are constantly in use, there is a lot of negative emissions coming from them. The amount of CO2 in the air is on a fast slope upwards since the 1950s and now, this curve has the opportunity to level out!



According to the Seattle Times, "China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter followed by the U.S., saw at the height of its economic shutdown during the pandemic an estimated 25 percent drop in emissions...." This is a substantial drop in emissions in the world's greatest contributor to global warming. Similarly, in Seattle, there has also been a dramatic drop in emissions. However, this is not enough to actually flatten the curve. The Seattle Times also states that "Even a 25 percent reduction would result in only a few tenths of one part per million decrease." Even though we need a bigger drop in emissions, I think that this is a good start. Hopefully, this could put us on track to reach the goal of flattening the curve.

NASA images: China's air pollution decreased amid coronavirus measures

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 4, 2020 at 8:17 AM

    I remember reading somewhere this happened in like 2008 with the recession. Yet, after it ended, emissions shot up again. While I think we now have the ability to continue to flatten the curve, I'm pessimistic about it's longevity. I fear things will return to normal once coronavirus passes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. DanielleApril 5, 2020 at 9:48 AM

    I hope the world can learn from this and we can be better!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 20, 2020 at 6:19 PM

    This is a great positive to such a bleak situation!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousApril 26, 2020 at 9:35 AM

    I agree, hopefully this will help to put the world on track to solving global warming. I heard that some people could now see the Himalayan Mountains for the first time because the air pollution decreased.

    ReplyDelete

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