Is it all good news?
1. BENEFIT – Reduced pollution levels and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The world ground to a halt in March and most industrial activities had a dramatic effect. Air travel dropped to virtually nothing, and satellite images revealed a clear drop in global levels of nitrogen dioxide. This is primarily emitted from cars and industry and is responsible for poor air quality in many cities around the world.
BUT sadly the reduced air travel is probably only to last for a short time. Also, you may know that reduced motor vehicle use is already a thing of the past on our roads. Can we reduce our car journeys?
2. BENEFIT – More room for wildlife and less trade
The less traffic benefited wildlife. A crackdown on trading live wildlife may be one positive thing to come out the crisis, as the global wildlife trade is responsible for pushing a number of species to the point of extinction.
3. BENEFIT – Clearer Water
Our oceans benefited with fewer cruise ships with less noise, lowering the stress levels of marine creatures and making for a more peaceful migration.
4. BENEFIT – Easier travel for those who need it
You will be aware of more room on the buses and trains as more realise they can at least partly work from home. Public transport and work places are much cleaner, with extra strong viral cleaning fluids being used.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE TWO DOWNSIDES WITH THE CRISIS
1. Plastic waste is increasing. For example at least one coffee chain stopped accepting customers’ own cups and reverted to non recyclable single use cups.
2. The climate crisis has been pushed to the sidelines. The UN climate conference has been postponed until 2021, but experts are afraid that important decisions should NOT be delayed.
These thoughts are adapted from words written in another church magazine, but the words are so true and thought provoking that I wanted to share them with you. Psalm 136 says this “Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good. By his wisdom he made the heavens, his love is eternal. He built the Earth on the deep waters, his love is eternal.”