On Earth Day, California must remember how coronavirus and climate change are related

In the darkness of this collective moment, there have been some unexpected silver linings. As we stay home, our environment is experiencing some rejuvenation. In Los Angeles, an influx of wild animals has claimed our emptier urban sprawls and we have the clearest skies in generations. Elsewhere, we’ve seen reports of dramatically reduced air pollution in Europe and China – and in the Central Valley. Wildlife is roaming normally tourist-packed parts of Yosemite.

All in time for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

The current crisis stands as a reminder of the myriad dangers of environmental degradation and also serves as an opportunity for us to think about how to restart our economy in a way that is more sustainable over the long-term.

First, we have to confront the likely interconnection between the pandemic, climate change and environmental quality. Climate change is often deemed “a threat multiplier,” since it worsens existing problems or facilitates the creation of new ones. We’ve already seen climate change affect nearly every realm of our lives, increasing drought risk and adding ferocity to our wildfires. The inception, spread and mortality rates of this virus are likely to be no exception.

Studies in recent years have found connections between the effects of climate change on animal populations and the subsequent creation and spread of disease. Habitat destruction increases our contact with animals. Shrinking animal populations inhibit the normal genetic diversity that helps control disease. Researchers have found a measurable nexus between climate change and the genesis of novel diseases.

Extreme weather events, such as prolonged periods of drought and floods, have been connected to the outbreak of many zoonotic diseases -- those that transmit from animal to human like the novel coronavirus. And, unfortunately, we can expect to see more of these extreme and unpredictable weather patterns as a direct result of climate change in the years to come.

Environmental quality affects our ability to fight off these diseases, too, making this arguably one of the worst times for a series of sweeping rollbacks of environmental regulations. And yet, earlier this month, the Trump administration continued its destructive work in this area by lowering fuel economy and emissions standards for the automotive industry, citing requests by automakers to accommodate for impacts of the coronavirus. That was followed by a loosening of the enforcement of compliance regulations. Last week, the Trump administration further gutted another Obama-era rule that required coal plants to reduce emissions of mercury and other health hazards.

The irony of the Trump administration using the COVID-19 crisis as an excuse to roll back air quality standards should not be lost on us. Recent studies have found that, in areas with higher levels of concentrated air pollution, death rates from the coronavirus are much higher.

If this virus has shown us anything positive about ourselves, it’s that we clearly have the ability to make rapid adjustments to help protect each other when we are in need. In California, there are initial promising signs that our rapid call to action has begun “flattening the curve.” It’s my hope that we can harness that same sense of urgency to address other global crises that threaten humanity’s future in ways that are far more existential than the current one.

We need to double down on our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and come up with more sustainable ways to live, move around and produce. Climate change is an existential threat, and the solutions to addressing the climate crisis are far less onerous than those we have experienced in flattening the coronavirus curve.

A related environmental crisis is that of plastics pollution. Plastics begin as fossil fuels and produce greenhouse gases from their creation, and as they break down into smaller and smaller parts, polluting our oceans, waterways and beaches. We are close to passing the landmark California Circular Economy Pollution Reduction Act. If signed into law, it would provide comprehensive rules for producers, retailers and wholesalers of single-use packaging. It would require most single-use packaging to eventually be recyclable or compostable.

On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, let’s reflect on one of the few positives this unprecedented crisis is demonstrating: our ability to make positive, lasting societal change. We have an opportunity to emerge from this crisis better than before. By creating a healthier world, we can beat both current and future threats to our families and our communities.

This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 9:07 AM with the headline "On Earth Day, California must remember how coronavirus and climate change are related."