April 16, 2021

An Update On Climate Change

By Lila Potter

One thing that this year has put into perspective for all of us is the importance of our surroundings––and in a bigger sense, the importance of our world. The debate on climate change continues to rage with contradicting messages that highlight both the reduction of travel emissions and our continuous record-breaking highs in temperature. We have seen the effects of climate change play out around us, in the form of storms, wildfires, and cold snaps. These effects will only worsen in the future. With these developments, innovation continues to search for ways to save our planet. 

An important aspect of the climate crisis is how it appears to the public eye, as this impacts business and policy decisions. Here, awareness of climate change is growing. Recent media has put the scale of this crisis into perspective, such as the documentary Seaspiracy on Netflix, or Bill Gates’ new book, “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” in which Gates advocates for net 0 carbon emissions and shares his opinion on how to get there. Events like the cold snap in Texas have shown the public that climate change is real and unavoidable. At the same time, Biden has announced lofty goals to fight climate change. The compilation of all of these influences has led to surprising results in a study by the Pew Research Center on America’s views on climate change: a clear majority of Americans think that climate change needs to be a more serious issue in government. Clearly, the crisis of climate change continues to grow in the public eye. This is an important piece in the fight against the climate crisis, but it does not account for everything. 

COVID has influenced the climate in unprecedented ways. Obviously, air pollution has generally lessened with travel restrictions. An article by Martha Henriques for BBC outlines this new development in detail. She found that New York levels of pollution have been reduced by nearly 50% since last year as a result of COVID-control methods. Globally, we see similar trends. In China, pollution has lessened to give the country 11.4% more days with “good quality air” than the year before. This, accompanied with lower water pollution and also less tourist impact on natural spaces, paints a picture of COVID’s environmental benefits. 

Unfortunately, though, we know that these flowers are almost always accompanied with showers. Medical waste has grown exponentially: Wuhan, China is producing 190 metric tonnes more medical waste per day than it was before COVID, a trend that is replicated many times over in different cities. Household waste has also increased with improper disposal of face masks and gloves. Online shopping and food delivery have contributed to this waste. Unfortunately, many countries have paused their recycling activities to limit COVID transmission. In fact, the US limited recycling programs in 46% of cities. Finally, the application of disinfectants on surfaces can be harmful to the local environment, especially when they drain into waterways. 

In American news, there have been multiple developments on climate change that will be interesting to watch. First, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2021 reached the House of Representatives on April 1. This act would put a price on carbon pollution, and will hopefully put the US on track to reach net 0 emissions by 2050. In a surprising change of face, the American Petroleum Institute has similarly endorsed putting a price on carbon pollution. This would force companies and factories to be more mindful of their pollutant practices.

Finally, increasing numbers of start up companies and research have been hitting the news with innovative ways to fight climate change. For example, a recent study found that putting seaweed in cattle feed reduces the cows’ methane emissions. Solar geoengineering has also been an important topic of debate. This is the process of spraying particles into our atmosphere that reflect sunlight and hopefully reduce our quickly warming temperatures. Obviously, this is a controversial plan, as tampering with the natural environment in any way is risky. 

Clearly, the solution to climate change is complex, and will involve many spheres including public, political, and innovative ones. This moment in time is important, as we are in the process of defining our future relationship with the environment through political means; it will be interesting to monitor these developments in the time to come. 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200326-covid-19-the-impact-of-coronavirus-on the-environment 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7498239/#:~:text=The%20global%20 disruption%20caused%20by,parts%20of%20the%20world. 

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/21/how-americans-see-climate-chan ge-and-the-environment-in-7-charts/

Edited By Chava Makman