A Glimpse of the Clean Future
“…the biggest cities will shed their pudgy layers of smog. Life will once again occur in clear 4K visibility as intended… Rolling down your window in traffic will actually be a breath of fresh air”
This quote comes from the first Cleantech Rising newsletter four years ago.
We always try to understand the progression of clean technologies to envision a clean future. Now, life in the time of COVID-19 offers us a glimpse of how the world will change as the environment veers back toward homeostasis.
Serendipitously, the 50th Earth Day was smack in the middle of the lockdown.
A Present For Earth Day
With almost everyone around the world staying home instead of firing up internal combustion engines to get from A to B, pollution has dropped significantly. Sprawling cities with swarms of daily vehicles on the road are getting a breather and its leading to some unprecedented scenes.
Take Los Angeles for example. Long known for its air pollution from terrible traffic, LA was graced with its best air quality in 40 years.
The second part of the one-two punch to pollution comes from a significant decrease in carbon-emitting energy generation caused by the slowdown of economic activities. Check out the graphs below of the first three weeks in March to see the drop in electricity consumption:
In the above charts, did you notice the slightly delayed ramp-up electricity usage in the morning hours? It seems like people, not being obligated to get to work at a certain time, are waking up later.
Overall electricity use has declined 25% in Italy, 20% in France, 12% in the United Kingdom.
Have a look at the before and after shots in the city with the worst air pollution in the world, New Delhi:
Nature’s Comeback
Another bonus from everyone quarantining indoors is seeing the resiliency of nature manifest.
On a beach void of humans in north-east Brazil, scores of endangered sea turtles were able to hatch on the sand:
Deer began roaming the streets in Poland:
On the Italian island Sardinia, Dolphins were spotted frolicking in a port that typically has too much traffic to allow sea creatures to swim safely:
Goats ventured into a town in North Wales:
Working collectively as global citizens towards the goal of environmental sustainability will give us many more uplifting, healthy, and natural moments to enjoy. For all its hardship, the COVID crisis has given us this glimpse into the clean future.
