coronavirus

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‘Tip of the iceberg’: Is our destruction of nature responsible for Covid-19?

by John Vidal, The Guardian Highlights: As humans continue to encroach on wildland for development, the exposure to more zoonotic diseases increases, which could cause more pandemics:  As more people log, mine, and develop roads and towns in tropic forests and other important wildlife habitats, humans increase their chances of contracting diseases and unknown viruses … Read more

Categories Public Health
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Traffic and pollution plummet as U.S. cities shut down for Coronavirus

by Brad Plumer and Nadja Popovich, The New York Times Highlights: Major cities across the United States are experiencing decreases in traffic and, subsequently, decreases in air pollution due to self-isolation mandates in various areas. Nitrogen dioxide emissions have dropped dramatically and traffic jams have virtually stopped in Los Angeles. Traffic was reportedly moving 71 percent faster than … Read more

Categories Public Health Transportation
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How changes brought on by coronavirus could help tackle climate change

by Glen Peters, The Conversation Highlights: Carbon emissions are dropping due to reduced energy consumption, but previous financial crises and events have led to lower emissions only temporarily. At best, a financial crisis delays emissions growth a few years.  So far forecasts still indicate the global economy will grow in 2020. For example, the Organization … Read more

Categories Business Network Public Health
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Why the coronavirus outbreak is terrible news for climate change

by James Temple, MIT Technology Review Highlights First and foremost, the whole point of addressing global warming is to avoid widespread suffering and death, so climate activists should keep this lens Greenhouse gas emissions rebound is likely after the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19), as history tells us for several reasons: If capital markets lock up, it’s … Read more

Categories Business Network Fossil Fuels