Cover Your Mouth, Not Your Eyes
March witnessed a rapid escalation in the COVID-19 situation, completely changing our collective way of life. With all non-essential workers told to stay at home, many jobs have moved to virtual offices. If you weren’t working from home already, you are now.
The smoothness of this transition varies greatly across households, depending on one’s living situation and access to WiFi. This kind of unexpected adjustment is not to be taken lightly.
But it has opened up a wonderful opportunity for reflection on our environmental impact.
According to the EPA, the largest contributor of greenhouse gases in the United States is transportation. With the large commuter population off the roads, fewer cars are releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Air travel, another significant way humans impact the environment, decreases as employees who fly regularly for business find themselves making long-distance conference calls instead.
The environmental impacts of clothing production are also reduced, as employees operating out of their living room have no need to purchase specific clothes for work.
The positive environmental impacts of this global lockdown as a whole are already apparent. Satellite mapping has illustrated reduced nitrogen dioxide concentrations across Europe and China. For the first time in years, the canals in Venice are clear, due to the low water traffic.
So, what happens when this forced isolation is over?
Clearly, a continued global lockdown is not a sustainable method of mitigating pollution. But, transitioning more of the workforce to virtual offices is something to consider. As employees lower their carbon footprint, companies can lower their expenses. This is something more and more companies were beginning to implement even before the pandemic. Daniel Levine, geography graduate student and assistant instructor, hopes this situation will show more companies the economic benefits of a remote workforce.
“This is a silver lining during these hard times,” Levine said. “But hopefully once we are past this pandemic, companies will realize they can also save a lot of money on things like air conditioning and rent by switching their workforce to work from home when possible.”
This speculation comes with the disclaimer that working from home is not a viable option for every company and employee. Adequate technology and an adaptable home environment are privileges. And if anything, we’ve come to realize the value of in-person interactions.
This lockdown is serving as a reminder of the positive impact we have when we slow down, but when life returns to normal, we can likely expect things to speed right back up. Sustainability studies lecturer Dr. Jayme Walenta reminds us why we shouldn’t expect to come out of this pandemic to widespread changes in human activity.
“The capitalist system that dominates our economy isn’t concerned about clean canals,” Walenta said. “Businesses can’t wait to get back to work. Idle capital needs and wants to get back out there to grow, that’s how capitalism works.”
This health crisis won’t solve our environmental crisis. If anything, it’s highlighted even more cracks in our society.
“This crisis is underscoring the deep structural divides in our society along racial, income and gendered lines, amongst others,” Walenta said. “And laying those divides bare for especially the privileged in our country to see and read about in the news every day.”
However, as we realize what divides us, we recognize the fight we share against this virus, laying the foundation for new waves of political engagement. Walenta said she hopes the lessons we learn here can translate into political action addressing environmental and social justice issues.
As we glimpse into the outside world from our pockets of isolation, we become aware of the huge impact our actions have on the planet. Yes, this is a crisis. And it can also be a turning point.
Art by Anna Riedlinger