Good News Worth Sharing: Clearer Skies And Returning Wildlife Offer Hope On The 50th Anniversary Of Earth Day

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and with it comes 72 hours of digital action to promote tackling of the climate crisis. Amid plunging oil prices, less polluted skies and wildlife returning to newly clear waters, the side effects of lockdown have given a glimpse of what the world could look like.

In fact, last night, skies were so clear over London the Lyrid meteor shower dazzled in the sky and was lit up with 15 shooting stars each hour. A welcome break from the bleakness of the world right now, it was one of many environmental wonders that have occurred since many countries around the globe went into lockdown.

In the UK, pollution fell by 60% in some cities in the two weeks after lockdown was announced and across China, Europe and the US, carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are said to hit a record drop of 5% this year.

Not only this, but in the weeks after lockdown took hold around the world, dolphins returned to Venice canals, lions were spotted lounging on roads typically used for safari in South Africa and bears and coyotes were seen making their way through Yosemite national park in California.

Lockdown has sent the oil industry into complete disarray, with barrels of crude oil plunging in price to -$40 this week, an unprecedented low. With eight in 10 flights cancelled globally, the world is essentially engaging in the biggest air pollution experiment of all time.

It was a scenario environmentalists could only have dreamt of a few months ago. Of course, there are now questions about climate change action once life starts to return to normal.

‘It’s the worst possible way to experience environment improvement and it has also shown us the size of the task,’ Michael Gerrard, an environmental law expert at Columbia University told the Guardian. ‘A key question will be do we have a green recovery, do we seize the opportunity to create jobs in renewable energy and in making coastlines more resilient to climate change?’

The reaction from the world has also indicated that if health is at stake, people are very willing to change their lifestyles. ‘You wonder if people will want to go back to what it was like before,’ Gina McCarthy, former head of the US Environmental Protection Agency in the Obama administration, said. ‘The pandemic has shown people will change their behaviour if it’s for the health of their families. This has been the lost message on climate, that it’s a human problem, not a planetary problem.’

Given that a number of researchers have indicated the human destruction of biodiversity is what creates conditions for viruses like Covid-19, it stands to reason that people may be more climate conscious after this ends. ‘We invade tropical forests and other wild landscapes, which harbour so many species of animals and plants – and within those creatures, so many unknown viruses,’ David Quammen, author of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Pandemic, wrote in the New York Times. ‘We cut the trees; we kill the animals or cage them and send them to markets. We disrupt ecosystems, and we shake viruses loose from their natural hosts. When that happens, they need a new host. Often, we are it.’

Will we see a rise in climate action, veganism and wildlife protections post-pandemic then? If we want the environmental good that’s come from lockdown to continue, we may have to.

In response to an overwhelming news cycle, Grazia will collate good news stories from all corners of the internet to give our readers (and ourselves!) a break from the constant barrage of worrying news.

We can’t hide from what’s happening, in fact we’ll still be covering the news on site and social and staying informed about the latest developments, but our Good News Worth Sharing series will be a safe haven and a place to spread some positivity.

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