Dangerous timesI'm writing this post on Thursday 26 March, the first day of New Zealand's national lockdown designed to curb, curtail or kill the escalation of the coronavirus pandemic. It's come early in the cycle. We only have 200 cases, plus or minus, and no deaths. But the government has hit fast and hard. It's a real lockdown, no question! Four weeks minimum. The picture below shows Wellington's northern motorway today, at it's normal go-to-work busiest time. Perhaps the police car has stopped the other vehicle to demand to know where its going and why. Such power is granted under the state of emergency that has also been enacted. EverywhereWhen I upload this post tomorrow I'm guessing that you who read this, wherever you are, will also be locked down. Countries seem to be moving day by day to ever tighter restrictions in desperate efforts to break the chain of community transition. The worry, the fear and the suffering is huge. But there is a side of me that thinks the arrival of this onslaught is timely because it is having some good results. Emissions easeCarbon Brief is a UK based website given over to all sorts of climate news stories. A week ago under the heading: 'Coronavirus: Air pollution and CO2 fall rapidly as virus spreads', it said: 'BBC News reports on “significant drops” in levels of air pollution and CO2 over some cities and regions, where the coronavirus pandemic response has affected work and travel. It says researchers in New York found levels of carbon monoxide, which mainly comes from car exhausts, had dropped by nearly 50% and concentrations of CO2 over the city had also fallen “sharply”, by 5-10%.' Various other media report much the same, although they all caution that once the height of the pandemic falls away, most countries will ramp up their normal way of life and thus emissions will rise again. But won't we learn?If you read my last week's post you'll remember these sentences from a climatologist commenting on what we are doing to combat the pandemic: "Some of the things we're having to do are exactly what's called for." [to reduce climate change] "The way people are reacting could be seen as a kind of model for how we think of an early response to climate change." HopeI just hope that when this pandemic recedes, as it is doing now in China, we (governments and people) will take the same urgent action over climate change that we've taken over this virus. Look what happens when we stop flying, work from home and drive less. Emissions go down. Does it sound harsh or unfeeling to say that climate change is so much more dangerous that this pandemic? I know some will think so. Yes, many of us will get sick from the virus. Thousands of us around the world are dying and more will die yet. And because of my age and a couple of medical conditions, I am in the most vulnerable group. Nonetheless, I think the disaster that will occur if the world heats up – and the seas rise and the fires burn and hurricanes worsen – is a far greater disaster than short term population death. Laugh!After all the seriousness I've written, here's a bit of light relief to make lockdown more tolerable. It's from an Australian (not a New Zealand) TV show. If you haven't seen it yet, just turn on your sound and click the arrow. □ John McInnes Friday 27 March 2020 ##########
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