THE MESSAGE

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/05/02/the-message-2/

Maulana Tariq Jamil’s reading of the message behind covid-19 in which he blamed ‘shameless’ women and as a result of that God’s wrath for covid-19, is sheer nonsense, but that a message has been exposed as a result of this viral episode is unmistakable. That message is that humankind has made a hash of the earth’s environment. Now that covid-19 has taken centre stage, the most positive thing that has occurred is that the earth is getting a chance to recover from the damage caused to it to by us, at least until we humans come out of our homes again, return to our businesses, and go back to causing destruction. Until that happens the skies have cleared, and distant mountains that were cloaked as a result of pollution have become visible again. Best of all, animals that had taken cover from man’s rampant domination of the earth have come out of hiding. In Pakistan mountain lions have been seen. In other countries bears, deer, kangaroos, birds and other wildlife have all come into the open. It should cause us, if it has not already, to hang our heads in shame. So where did we go wrong?

One of the effects of mankind’s unrestrained careless activities on earth has been the production of dangerous levels of greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse gases (water vapour, carbon dioxide CO2, methane CH4, nitrogen oxide NO2 and Ozone 03) are a normal result of decomposition, agriculture etc. But they can reach dangerous proportions if these activity go unchecked by laws and regulations. These gases are produced because of over-industrialistaion, overuse of chemical pesticides, and so on. The gases then produced have harmful effects on the environment, including unbalanced levels of radiation. Just one result of this has been the appearance of ozone holes over the Arctic and the Antarctic. In fact a new ozone hole, the largest ever, opened up very recently over the Arctic.

The ozone holes reached alarming proportion, as did the harmful greenhouse gasses, and these have contributed to higher temperatures and melting glaciers, and higher sea levels. A decade ago the Secretary General of the UN actually warned that the world was “heading towards an abyss,” saying that the higher sea levels would flood cities. He specifically mentioned Pakistan and Karachi, and some other countries, as being at very high risk of flooding, famine, wars and death.

But things have changed, at least temporarily ever since covid-19 took centre stage. Factories have either shut down or brought down their production all over the world. Air travel has almost ceased. There are substantially fewer cars on the roads. And what do you know, the largest ever ozone hole that opened up so recently, has suddenly closed.

According to Dahiya and Butt in the CREA journal, comparing data from before to after lockdown, NO2 pollution in Pakistan has dropped 35 percent in Karachi, 56 percent in the twin cities, 49 percent in Lahore, 20 percent in Multan and 45 percent in Peshawar.

NO2 is responsible for thousands of cases of asthma which would not otherwise exist and is the main factor behind the production of PM2.5, which stands for particulate matter. The greater the particulate matter in the air, the higher the atmospheric pollution. This impacts on lung and heart health and significantly decreases mortality.

Deaths from covid-19 in Pakistan are officially at 417 on Saturday morning. If you believe official figures regarding covid-19 deaths (although they’re almost certainly much more than that) it means that environmental pollution kills many, very many more people in this country than covid does, as it does around the world. So pollution across the world must be controlled once things are back to normal.

China may be the largest industrial nation in the world, but the USA is right behind it at number two.

The election of Donald Trump as leader of the second most industrialised nation has been a huge disaster for many reasons, most certainly for the environment.

The following data has been taken from the National Geographic, from a list of the impact the POTUS has had on the environment.

President Obama had placed restrictions on the dumping of mining waste into waterways. Mr. Trump revoked those restrictions. His fellow Republicans called the restrictions ‘redundant and onerous.’

The Keystone XL pipeline has been approved by the Trump Administration. The previous government had rejected the pipeline amid fears that it would produce much greater carbon emissions.

The Trump Administration has made massive cuts in scientific research and environmental programmes designed to protect air and water.

In 2017 the Trump Administration cancelled laws to prevent endangered whales and turtles from getting snagged in nets on the US West Coast.

The same year the USA pulled out of the crucial Paris Climate Agreement which brings together a group of 194 countries that have agreed to work towards curbing greenhouse gas emissions that lead to global warming.

The US presidential election is a matter concerning the American people, but its impact is felt around the world. If the administration of the second largest industrial nation has no understanding of environmental issues, then it does not bode well for the rest of us. Just as much as if our own government were to fail in that respect, which it too has.

A lot has been written about the subject, but it is astounding how it took a microscopic organism to bring the matter into sharp focus.