Give climate crisis same urgency as coronavirus

COVID-19 has forced us to rapidly, and with global effort, shape-shift the way we function as a society. The structural pillars that have held up our day-to-day lives (education, businesses, health care...) have rapidly grumbled in the face of an unparalleled global crisis.

There is still another, even bigger, crisis looming in the shadows: Climate change will uproot our lives in more ways than we can imagine.

One of the big contributors to the issue is something that has only gotten more prevalent in our “new normal:” Single-use disposable plastics. From gloves to masks to takeout containers, single-use plastics have been crucial in getting us past this epidemic, as they should be. Plastics shine at a time like this.

Times were not always like this. Even when we were not avoiding contamination, we were living with a throw-away mentality. In the United States, 22 billion plastic bottles are thrown away yearly, 100 billion plastic bags are used yearly and, worldwide, 73 percent of all beached litter is plastic.

We witness innovation rising from the ashes of coronavirus with various businesses who have the production capacity switching their manufacturing lines to masks, sanitizers and other health care tools crucial in the fight against the virus. The same kind of creativity has been rising as a response to climate change with alternatives to plastic straws, plastic packaging and plant-based meat substitutes. We must amp up our response to climate change with a similar sense of urgency.