Self-isolation may be key to better air quality
Since factories and stores closed, people began working at home and everyone self—isolated, air pollution has dropped significantly in the Northeast and across the globe — from the Himalayan Mountains to the Green Mountains of Vermont.
The skies over Los Angeles are visibly clearer and smog is down 40 percent. New York City has seen a 22 percent reduction.
“People have banded together and decided a communal response to COVID was warranted,” said Curt Johnson, president of New Haven-based Save the Sound.
“A question for the Earth is — are we prepared to do something similar for our next chapter of environmental benefit?” Johnson added. “Do we have the will to do that?”
Connecticut activists with access to state data say harmful airborne pollutants, such as nitrogen and sulfur dioxide, are down as much as 30 to 40 percent.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn, said the decrease in air pollution shows improvement is possible.
“The evidence is so graphically powerful that reducing fossil fuel use, using solar and making sure we don’t subsidize the oil and gas industry — I think all of it is critical,” Blumenthal said during a virtual meeting last week with environmental advocates.
But Inger Andersen, who heads the United Nations Environment Programme, warns those gains will be temporary unless there is a global commitment to change.
“As the engines of growth begin to rev up again, we need to see how prudent management of nature can be part of this different economy that must emerge,” Anderson wrote in a recent opinion piece.
“Air pollution benefit”
The key will be having transportation officials work closely with environmental experts.
NASA satellite data from March shows a 30 percent drop in nitrogen dioxide levels over the Northeast, including New York City and coastal Connecticut.
Nitrogen dioxide comes from burning fossil fuels at high temperatures and is known to worsen respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. It’s a common byproduct of cars, trucks, buses, freight trains, factories and electric plants, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Connecticut Department of Transportation statistics show traffic on state roads during March dropped 40 to 50 percent on weekdays and 70 percent on weekends, a major contributor to less smog and soot in the air.
But the cure that’s producing those positive environmental results — the economic shutdown — is not sustainable.
“We must remind the public that weaning off fossil fuels and expanding use of renewable energy will go a long way towards protecting our health and investing in the future,” said Lou Burch, Connecticut program director for the Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
Johnson said the long term solution lies in looking at the successful components of the pandemic response, such as working at home, which removed thousands of vehicles from overcrowded highways.
He also pointed to a controversial, 13 state initiative now being studied that would place a fee on gas and diesel fuel and use the proceeds to increase public transportation, improve highways and reduce congestion.
“Those are big issues that will be available, and if we do it wisely it could continue the air pollution benefit that we are seeing,” Johnson said. “Our largest sector of carbon emissions is transportation.”
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection acknowledged significant decreases in key emissions but declined to release numbers, saying a full presentation is being prepared.
Investing in public transportation
John Humphries, director of the Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs, pointed to public transportation as a key priority. The federal CARES Act included $25 billion for transit funding.
“It’s insufficient for the level of crisis,” Humphries noted. “We will need a robust public transit system long after the pandemic is behind us.”
Chris Phelps, policy director for Environment Connecticut, said he wants diesel bus fleets to fully convert to electric power.
“Conversion of diesel bus fleets helps clean our air and realize the benefits that we have seen over the last month or two,” Phelps said. “And extend tax credits for solar and clean energy.”
Anderson, the UN official, offered some advice for the future.
“The better we manage nature, the better we manage human health,” Anderson noted.