Why did we decide this “sew your own face mask” activity was relevant? 

  • You can never have too many face masks 
  • Sewing is an important life skill everyone should know 
  • Single-use PPE from COVID-19 has increased the amount of plastic waste throughout the world, specifically in our oceans  

What do masks do? 

Masks are a simple barrier to help prevent respiratory droplets from traveling into the air and onto other people when the person wearing the mask coughs, sneezes, talks, or raises their voice. 

Why should everyone wear a mask?  

  • COVID-19 spreads mainly among people who are in close contact with one another
  • The CDC recommends that people wear masks in public settings, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain
  • Wearing a mask helps prevent spreading the virus to others (you could be positive and not know it!) 
  • Masks are most likely to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when they are widely used by people in public settings 
  • Please visit the CDC Website for more information  

How has COVID-19 Impacted the Environment in General? 

Positive Impacts 

  • A reduction in CO2 and drop in air pollution due to fewer people traveling and less industrial activity
  • In Venice, water in the canals cleared and experienced greater water flow
  • Decreased demand for fish and fish prices→ there are signs of aquatic recovery
  • In the United States, fatal vehicle collisions with animals such as deer, elk, moose, bears, mountain lions fell by 58% during March and April
  • Sea turtles spotted laying eggs on beaches they once avoided due to the lowered levels of human interference and light pollution

Negative Impacts 

  • The UN’s COP26 climate change conference which was set to be held in November 2020, has been postponed
  • More people are shopping online which increases the amounts of packaging and individual’s carbon footprints
  • US Cities are pausing recycling programs because they don’t think it counts as essential work
  • A decrease in carbon emissions has led governments to divert attention away from green issues  
  • Increase in poaching (specifically in Africa) because people have no alternative sources of income
  • Increased illegal deforestation in the Amazon  

In conclusion, COVID-19 has brought temporary changes to our lifestyle providing evidence that actions can be taken to decrease the threat of climate change. However, these benefits are not significant enough to mitigate climate change all together. There is no doubt that something needs to be done about climate change and now we have actual proof that our actions can positively affect the issue. We need to prioritize climate change because it is coming faster than we may think! 

Here are some more sources incase you want to learn more about how COVID-19 has/will affect the environment!

Articles 

  1. What the Coronavirus Means for Climate Change
  2. The Coronavirus and The Climate Movement
  3. Coronavirus set to cause largest ever annual fall in CO2 emissions
  4. A ‘mass experiment’ for the climate
  5. Cities Wonder Whether Recycling Counts as Essential During the Virus

Videos 

Seen from space: COVID-19 and the environment

Why Coronavirus won’t save the environment | COVID-19 and climate