SUN JOURNAL • March 28, 2020
Since the lockdown started on March 9, the levels of toxic nitrogen oxide in northern Italy have plunged dramatically. When China closed down its industry and told residents in the infected areas to shelter in place, the satellites noted a large drop-off in China’s air pollution. This is a call for the world’s industrialized peoples to breathe deeply and think: Smog causes lung disease. And a byproduct of cleaning the air is a lowering of planet-warming gas emissions. An economy in deep recession is bad for people’s health. But reduced pollution gives us a window into what we could experience daily were the environment cleaner. ~ Froma Harrop