Climate Change From The Eyes Of A Gondola
What we didn’t learn about climate change during the Covid-19 pandemic
“I’m floating, this place is different. Ancient beings are back, life is back. Look at there, a swan, I haven’t seen one for a long time. The Lagoon has changed for some time now. No more rumbling and clattering, no more vociferation and confusion. The canals are free, the water is clean, I can see the seabed. There is a sense of peace. I can feel I belong to this planet, again. I am part of it. My wood. I’m floating, and I love it”
I imagined these could be the thoughts of a gondola during the past lockdowns in Venice. I believe they might sound something like this, a feeling of surprise, combined with a sense of excitement and hope.
During the first months of lockdown in 2020, in fact, Venice saw a sort of natural rebirth, like other cities in the world. Nature has reclaimed its space, purifying the territory.
However, while most of us were fascinated by the new images of a blue Venice, I’m afraid we haven’t got the point on what nature was telling us. We might have lost a valid chance to rethink, revise, reshape our progress.
Many satellite observations on the planet’s conditions are clear. While people were confined in their houses due to the global pandemic, the planet started a cleansing process. Fresher air, cleaner water, and more abundant animals in our yards and cities.
This was also highlighted by the Earth Data Covid-19 project by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The initiative monitored and measured system changes and potential socio-environmental impacts during the pandemic.
In all monitored cities the quality of landscapes, waters, and air improved without any doubt. Greenhouse gases (GHG) with a lower permanence, like nitrogen oxides (NOX), decreased drastically during the period of lockdowns, mainly due to limited economic activities and transportation.
Also, at a global level, lower concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) have been registered in the second half of 2020, as stated in the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — if you want an overview on the last IPCC’s assessment report I suggest you read the article “The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report In 5 Minutes” by Beth England.
Unfortunately, it seems that some months have been sufficient to return to pre-pandemic levels.
In Venice, the impacts of the anti-contagion policies set by the Italian government on the 10th of March 2020, led to interesting changes in the environmental conditions of the city and its lagoon. According to a recent study supported by the nonprofit organization Venice Lagoon Plastic Free, the most famous city on the sea has seen a reduction in marine litter, solid waste, and sewage release during the first period of restrictions in the country.
The study reveals that 17, out of 40 contaminants that were usually present in the lagoon water disappeared after restrictions, and many faced an unprecedented reduction in concentration. These important contractions of polluting substances were mainly caused by lower polymer debris in seawater, lower tourist presence, and lower water traffic.
This reduction in contaminants in Venetian waters is not a single case of the positive effects that lower anthropogenic activity has on the planet. During the several months of lockdown around the world, it was not uncommon to see images of cleaner sky and waters, but also of wild animals venturing into rural and urban areas where they have not been seen for many years.
However, some skepticism exists on the long-term effects of the restrictions. Nowadays, most of the industrial activities are in motion and tourists are back to crowding the squares, the beaches, and the alleyways of our cities, without any change from the pre-pandemic “business-as-usual”.
What is most worrying, is the fact that the vast majority of countries seem to be most worried to be back on track with their industrial activities as soon as possible, rather than taking the opportunity to set new, and more sustainable pathways for social and economic progress.
If we don’t immediately take action against climate change and biodiversity depletion, we’ll head towards a — very possible — catastrophic future.
Soon, there will be the new Climate Change Conference (COP26) by the United Nations in Glasgow. I hope that politicians will rethink the recent pandemic in an optic that considers the ubiquity and severity of human impacts on the planet.
In the meantime, Siberia is still on fire, like Sicily and Turkey, another oil tanker lost its cargo in the sea, and we still lose a handful of biodiversity every day. Moreover, the blue water of the Venetian lagoon, and swans in the canals of the city are now only a memory.
“I’m sad. Was it really just a dream? For a moment, in these waters I hold so dearly, I hoped. I hoped for you. I’m floating, and this place is as usual”
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