COVID-19 and Climate Change
Covid-19 and Climate Change have more things in common than we think, COVID-19 has devastated many lives and has changed our world in so many ways, and although Climate Change has been impacting people since the late 1900’s we have started to all feel the effects more in the last decade and we know that the worst is yet to come. COVID-19 and Climate Change are both worldwide problems that affect every person in one way or another and are both based in science; science that proves they are real and are dangerous to the future of humanity. It is in this way that they, I believe, are starkly similar. COVID-19 and climate change have taken many lives, affecting BIPOC communities in the U.S. and poorer countries the most. COVID-19 and Climate Change are both the responsibility of those in political power and the responsibility of individuals, and cannot be dealt with effectively without the effort of everyone.
Worldwide Problem
COVID-19 and Climate Change have taken the lives of people all over the world and both have affected all of us in one way or another. The rich and the poor have been all touched by the effects of climate change to mansions being taken out by forest fires in Malibu, California to islands drowning while sea level rises. In the same way, COVID-19 has spread to all corners of the world and has left a wake of loneliness, isolation, sickness and possible death in our lives and the lives of people we love. Countries around the world have handled both crises in. different ways, some creating stricter laws while providing financial relief to citizens, while other countries fail to protect the health and safety of citizens. This, in turn, fails to protect their economies — the one thing they seem to value above all else.
Based in Science
COVID-19 effects and prevention has been published in multiple scientific journals and used by the CDC to help the public know how to protect themselves. Likewise, climate change was first recorded in the 1890’s and since then has led to many research studies being conducted on its negative effects for the world and what can be done to prevent it from getting worse. Yet, there are people who deny the science and choose to live their lives in ignorance without believing that they can be the one to prevent COVID-19 from spreading and/or they can be a part of the change for a better future for our planet.
Race Issue
COVID-19 and Climate Change have taken many lives, affecting BIPOC communities in the U.S. and non-white countries the most. The 2020 Black lives matter protests in the states not only started with videos and stories being released of police brutality against George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, Ahmaund Arbery, but also with the statistics that more black people were being infected and dying from COVID-19 then white people. And not only is the black community most affected by police brutality and the pandemic, but also by the effects of pollution and climate change. This is environmental racism, where. Black Americans are more likely to live near coal/power plants that are releasing toxic air, factory farms that are polluting the groundwater, and food deserts that lack access to healthy fresh food options. Environmental racism is also seen in the agriculture industry, where Latinx Americans are exposed to toxic chemicals and work in unsafe conditions due to our rising global temperatures. Indigenous communities are also at the forefront of environmental racism with the plans of drilling in the Arctic Refuge and the Keystone XL oil pipeline which have both been halted thankfully due to measures that President Biden has taken stepping into office. COVID-19 and climate change affects everyone, but due to the societal systems that are still in place in America, it affects the BIPOC communities the most.
Political and Personal Responsibilities
We all know that the personal responsibility of wearing a mask and washing our hands can stop the spread of COVID-19. In the same way, most of us know that driving less, eating less meat, and using less plastic can reduce the effects of climate change. And although most people practice good hygiene, social distancing and mask wearing we still see the rise of COVID-19 especially in the U.S. That is because climate change and COVID-19 are not only personal responsibilities, but the responsibilities of our elected government. Trump not only failed to protect people from the pandemic, but also failed to protect the earth. Keeping local, state, and federal politicians accountable to protecting our earth is so important so that we can ensure that we all can have a sustainable future. Although we know that our government is not directly working with COVID-19, we do know that many senators and congresspeople are directly working with fossil fuel lobbyists. Therefore, it is so important to make sure that we do our research when we vote and help others make the right choice when voting for our own health and for the health of our planet.
There is Hope
Hope came this year in the form of the vaccine and a new president. And although our country and world still has a long way to go until we can reverse the effects of climate change, we can see the end of the tunnel for COVID-19. What we saw with the vaccine is that if you get the world’s smartest minds together with an unlimited amount of resources a vaccine can be engineered in record time. Climate change can seem hopeless at times, but we do have a couple of “vaccines” that could work to alleviate the symptoms, such as the green new deal and the Paris Climate Agreement. What’s amazing about the Green New Deal is that it aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by creating millions of jobs to secure a sustainable environment to promote justice and equity for all people. If we could inject the Green New Deal into America today we could create a better economy and a cleaner planet for all people especially the people groups that have been historically oppressed in America. We have a solution, and I hope for the sake of the planet and for people that we don’t wait to have another worldwide natural disaster to make us change the direction we are going.
