Neil Nathan

While COVID-19 continues to besiege the human population, it has had a positive impact, at least temporarily, in some of the most polluted areas on our planet. Images from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA) pollution monitoring satellites show the stark contrast in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels over China before and during their quarantine (when transportation and industries were largely shut down). Nitrogen dioxide is a noxious gas emitted by motor vehicles, power plants, and industrial facilities. Imagine what would happen if we were able to stop polluting the planet, filter pollutants out of the environment, and focus our efforts on restoring healthy ecosystems in air, land, and water. Within a matter of years, we would see a big improvement in the environment overall. In just a few decades, we would start to notice increasing populations of diverse plants and animals as balance was […]