I Finally Fell to COVID

After 2 ½ years navigating life successfully avoiding catching COVID, my luck ran out. Not only for me, but three other family members also tested positive within days. Thankfully, however, all of us recovered fairly quickly with only mild symptoms.

Having even a mild case of COVID makes one think about the virus and its global impact. I decided to poke around and was amazed at what I found.

Of course, there have been massive advancements in medical science, not only in understanding how this virus lives and mutates, but also to the amazing progress in vaccine development that will shape future research for years to come.

But more interestingly to me was the impact of stopping to do things that showed significant impacts in such things as global pollution.

Pre-COVID, the world turned on the axis of commerce. Manufacturers made things that consumers bought. Goods were shipped around the world so that shoppers could purchase things in their local stores, and for convenience’s sake, perhaps on Amazon. Office workers commuted by plane, trains, and automobiles to continue the churn of business. 

As lockdowns happened, the world first shutdown and then reevaluated what it meant to work in one location for five days a week. The immediate impact on pollution was distinct and measurable. The European Space Agency shows the impact of nitrous oxide in Europe as lockdowns spread across Europe.

Manufacturers stopped making things, people stopped doing many things including shopping in stores and commuting to the office. Obviously, when fewer activities are happening, the level of greenhouse gases is also sharply reduced. 

I don’t need much more data to believe that man does have an impact on our environment. I also see what can happen if we put our minds to making change, and that is that we can reverse the trends.

I’m not saying that we want to live constantly from one room, or home, to avoid driving our cars or flying in an airplane.  We have the need to interact with one another through live meetings and, yes, even shopping. 

But COVID showed us that we can make a positive difference in reversing the impact of pollution.  It means making significant changes from the household level, through to business, all the way up to government decisions.