Environmental crisis: Special reference to corona pandemic

Priyanka Deka

(Department of Communication and Journalism, Gauhati University. She can be reached at priyankadeka59@gmail.com)

"The environmental crisis is a global problem, and only global action will resolve it."

— Barry Commoner

Over the past few decades, concerns for our environment have become one of the major topics among the people. With the rising population, the world has become too crowded and harshly polluted. By using natural resources, people are polluting the environment with hazardous manufactured chemicals. During the 1960s, a concern for the environment commenced. It was propelled by Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring (Carson, 1963). It informed about the dangerous use of pesticides called DDT for which rivers were polluted and eggs of birds like bald Eagles were destroyed. There was no environmental protection agency, no clean air Act or clean water Act till the first celebration of Earth Day on April 22, 1970. It was started as a grassroots movement, which exploded later into an international day of awareness devoted to preserving our environment.

Nature caused an intense impact on India from 1947 to 1995 which was an outcome in a worse situation. Air pollution, water pollution, garbage domestically restricted goods, and the pollution of the natural environment are threats to India. In dealing with different issues and solving them promptly, India has made its fastest move between 1995 and 2010, reported in data collection, and environment assessment studies of World Bank experts. Still, India has a long way to go in progressing the environmental quality.

There are different laws introduced in India which include the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974, the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981 related to the environment. The Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 was enacted by India because of the Bhopal Gas tragedy. Again a set of Noise Pollution (Regulation & Control) Rules are also enacted in 2020.

Nonetheless, the world has changed in the last few months due to the rare disaster Corona Virus. The pandemic has resulted in a tragically large number of human lives being lost. As the countries already implemented necessary quarantine and social distancing practices preventing pandemics, the whole world was put in a great lockdown. Changes came into our life due to the lockdown already commenced impacting our environment in myriad ways. Both the positive and negative indirect effects of Covid-19 are reflected on the environment and the climate, presented by different researches and studies.

It is noticed there is a sudden reduction of Green House Gases (GHGs) emission as industries, transportation and campaigns have shut down. Air pollution had also decreased as the vehicles were inside the houses along with people. It was computed that nearly 50% reduction of N2O and CO occurred due to the shutdown of heavy industries, also emission of NO? from the burning of fossil fuel indicates a sign of reduction in many countries (e.g., US, Canada, China, India, Italy, Brazil, etc.) It is the key pointer of global economic activities. Acid rain is basically caused by NO? with the interaction O? and H2O for which several respiratory diseases occur. But due to pandemic, there is a deduction of all of these. In many countries worldwide flights were canceled as international travelers are restricted to enter and depart. Due to the nationwide lockdown, 96% of air travel dropped from a similar time last year globally, which has a tremendous impact on the environment. It is an enormous help to withstand global climate change for the less consumption of fossil fuels.

Furthermore, water pollution is a common disaster in countries like India, and Bangladesh where industrial, and household wastes are dumped into rivers without any procedure. But it was stopped or reduced during the pandemic as major numbers of industries were shut down. For example, Ganga and Yamuna have reached a significant level of purity in India. Likewise, there was also a sharp declaration of noise pollution and many beaches were cleaned around the world; also the animals were seen back in cities.

On the other hand, there were also negative consequences shown in the environment. During the outbreak of Covid-19, medical waste generation was increased globally, which was a threat to public health and the environment. For the sample collection of the suspected patients, diagnosis, medication, and biochemical wastes are produced from the hospitals. It became a challenge for the local waste management authorities to tackle the situation. To protect from the viral infection, a mask, hand gloves, and other safety equipment are used. But due to the lack of a proper knowledge, most people dump these in open places, causing harmful effects to the surroundings. There are direct effects on air, water, and soil pollution by increasing the rate of municipal waste (both organic and inorganic).

Moreover, the natural ecosystems and different flora and fauna are at the great risk for the lockdown ordered by different countries. Different protected areas, including natural parks, marine conservation zones and wildlife, sanctuaries, etc were left monitored as two people who worked in those places were stuck in their homes. It increased issues like wildlife hunting, illegal deforestation, and fishing activities.

Additionally, sudden shutdown of ecotourism activities in tourist destinations, and in the forest areas have increased the unemployment rate, as ecotourism is considered as the major source of an economic mainstream. However, we can also notice the role of environmental communication during this pandemic period. It mainly includes the human interaction with the environment. From interpersonal communication and virtual communities to participatory decision-making and environmental media coverage are the part of this portion. According to Alexander Flor, "Environmental communication is the application of communication approaches, principles, strategies, and techniques to environmental management and protection." For example, students and citizens from different places of India including NE, expressed their angst against the issues of saving Dehing Patkai, EIA draft on Twitter, and other social platforms. Furthermore, there were many photos of reduced smog in China, roaming of wilder animals on the streets of New York in the U.S.A and London, unpolluted canals in Italy that have been shared across the different social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, during a pandemic. Conversely, some of those images are an example of harmful misinterpretation and propaganda that has been circulated across the internet throughout the global pandemic, they have disseminated an inaccurate description of the environment, and they had brushed off the destructive environmental impacts that have arisen.

We must understand that Covid-19 is a reminder to indicate the relations between human beings and the environment. So, to prevent future outbreaks, we must address the threats to ecosystems and wildlife, including habitat loss, illegal trade, pollution, and climate change.