4/5/2020
Photo caption: Goats walk through Wales city ( https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-show-nature-is-reclaiming-urban-areas-amid-coronavirus-2020-4 )
Recently everyone around the world has been effected by the Coronavirus. Everyone is staying inside and they are not allowed to go about their normal day, and it's got most people feeling down. It's hard to stay positive in a time like this, but when you find an article like this, it helps. It seems like every piece of news we see is talking about all the bad things going on because of coronavirus, but this is is just the opposite, it talks about how corona is helping. This article is about how wild animals are roaming around the now empty streets of the once busiest cities and other ways the coronavirus is having a positive effect.
The article starts by saying the cities around the world have already reported significantly lower air pollution due to all the people staying inside. The article has a lot of photos in it to support the topic. The first image is a comparison of china before and after coronavirus, with the air pollution highlighted and it is very easy to see that almost all of it has disappeared. The next image is of the Los Angeles sky looking very blue and clear. LA is usually very smoggy and it is hard to see through but that has changed now. There is also a tweet included from someone who said something similar. The article also mentions how the air in Rome, NYC, Seattle and San Francisco had gotten better due to coronavirus and the lack of cars driving through the city. Next the article shows a real neat photo of Venice and talks about how the water in the streets have cleared up and even fish are seen swimming in them now. The next few pictures show animals roaming around cities in Wales, Japan, Barcelona and California. Some of the animals seen walking through the streets are deer, mountain goats and turkeys. During these times its very important to look at the bright side, and cute things like animals walking around cities is the perfect thing. We spend a lot of time in class talking about how big of an effect humans have on nature and on the animals and it is so cool to see what happens when humans are taken out of the equation. The animals are probably having a field day!
I think that articles and news pieces like this are the most important during these times and they are often a good way to cheer yourself up. I hope that everyone is staying healthy, safe, and positive in these corona times and I hope cute articles like this can help to brighten your day.
Citation:
Rogers, Taylor Nicole. “LA's Skies Are Smog-Free and Venice's Canals Are Clear. Photos Show How Nature Has Returned to Cities Shut down by the Coronavirus Pandemic.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 3 Apr. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/photos-show-nature-is-reclaiming-urban-areas-amid-coronavirus-2020-4.
It is highly encouraging to hear that there have been some positive side effects of Covid-19. The reduction of air pollution is one of the issues that really stood out to me. It will be interesting to see if things return to "normal" after the virus has been terminated. This may also inspire new reform since the positive effects seem to be widespread and have an impact on many different environments. Perhaps once people see the good changes that have come about they will be more inclined to embrace policies that combat pollution.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to see positive things come from something so horrible. I think that the earth is getting such a break from pollution and just human activity in general and it is thriving because of it. I'm beginning to see new articles everyday highlighting this positive side effect and it is nice to see.
ReplyDeleteI understand you mean to bring some positivity and that you do not mean harm by posting this. However, I have seen positive posts like this justify that coronavirus is a good thing, that humans are the virus and taking us out of the equation is good. That is not okay; thousands of people dying is not okay regardless of the environmental impact. Cherry picking "positive" environmental impacts also is not okay either. This link is a fact check to the very article you shared: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/03/25/fact-check-coronavirus-crisis-benefiting-environment/2908300001/ . Additionally, there are many species negatively impacted as they have become reliant on ecotourism, such as monkeys starving in Thailand, and rats starving in NYC because restaurants are shut down. I am not trying to diminish positivity, we desperately want something positive out of this. However, we need to be realistic and not spread false information just because it makes us happy.
ReplyDeleteI thought the photos you attached were really interesting! I've been seeing a lot of photos in cities especially where the streets are completely empty, which is something we never see.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great topic and I am glad due to a shutdown that nature can then go back to flourishing. Human interaction is what causes harm to nature so this can be taken away as a positive.
ReplyDeleteSuch an eye-opening topic. We often forget that we are a species among many and that everything we have created and the after-effects of it, didn't exist at one point in time. We've affected this planet positively and negatively over the course of our evolution. We've created things unimaginable and done things that once seemed impossible. However, we have also claimed the world as our own. We've created roads through important habitats that if animals try to cross, they can be harmed. We built cities that must be avoided by most species (except for the disease-ridden rats we apparently must feed) and have claimed land containing important habitats as our own and if we feel the wrong species steps back upon it, it can lead to us harming them out of fear or the inconvenience they create. Occurrences like this show us the true effects we've had on this planet and that they outweigh the positives for the wellbeing of our ecosystems and the species within them. We've destroyed and affected many things and I for one think an article like this not spreading false information. It's showing the positives that come out of our lack of presence and is subtly pointing out or flaws. Life and other species have moved forward before us and will continue to do so long after we're gone.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see one positive outcome of the current situation. It's pretty crazy to see what a few months of decreased human interaction and less pollution can do for the environment.
ReplyDeleteWow Jepp love this. I feel like you did a very good job covering this topic and made it interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt's really interesting topic. Currently, coronavirus is affecting negatively in many people's lives but it's nice to see that the virus is affecting positively to the animals and to the environment.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that this is a great way to see positives in such a negative time. It isn't fun to be locked in our houses or quarantined, but it is having an incredible impact on our environment. There is always something good to come out of hard times. Thank you for the positivity!
ReplyDeleteThank you for choosing this article. It definitely brings light to the current situation. I find it really cool to read about how nature is coming back in different places around the world due to stay at home conditions.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great thing that came from a very unfortunate situation. Thank you for sharing this and showing that even though many people are suffering during this time that animals and our wildlife is thriving. It really shows how large of an impact we as people have on our environment and the animals living in it.
ReplyDeleteCrazy how much we humans impact other ecosystems, even more so when our presence is diminished. It's just another interesting impact that these lockdowns due to Covid-19 have caused. Only time will tell what will happen next, hopefully things will get better and that as a society we learn that we need to be more proactive in taking care of nature.
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