We’ve all seen the headlines. Clear canals in Venice. Feral boars reclaiming southern European towns. Deering making use of a crosswalk in Japan. Smog filled cities suddenly clear, emancipated from chronic pollution. And anecdotal accounts are everywhere that the global slowdown due to COVID-19 is giving nature and the environment a chance to heal–to a point. There have been some positive, short-term environmental impacts of lockdowns and social distancing measures around the world, said Jeff Dukes, director of the Purdue Climate Research Center and professor of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR). On the whole, however, the effects are a drop in the bucket compared to the measures that must be undertaken to slow the effects of climate change.
May 11, 2020