Let the Earth Breathe

In March 2020, the world stopped. There was a kind of time lapse. Many streets in the world were either empty or nearly empty; no cars, no coaches, and no motorbikes. The Earth could (once more) breathe in clean air. It had been a long time since she’s had such good air.

Earth, the most important thing we have, is often taken for granted. Because of this, we have to focus, now more than ever, on how to preserve that wellness. How do we do that? It’s a matter of welcoming the change and adopting new better habits. The key to successful behavioural change, most of the times, is to start small.

Tangible changes

In Italy, for example, from March to May 2020, citizens avoided travelling some 46 million kilometres. That is the equivalent of nearly €4 million saved. There was also a reduction in emissions and pollutants that the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) estimated at 8,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂); 1.75 tonnes of 10-micrometre or smaller inhalable particulate matter (PM10); and 17.9 tonnes of nitrogen oxides (NO₂).¹

Here are three examples of things we can do to help the Earth breathe better and the possible impact of not acting:

1. Avoid driving your car and take your bike instead or walk, or simply work from home. Can you imagine the kind of change in the carbon footprint that is possible if everyone does this?
2. If it is not necessary to print documents from work or otherwise, view them on screen. Paper use equates to cutting down trees, which produce oxygen from CO₂. Additionally, a printer can consume up to 63 kilowatt-hours of energy per year, the equivalent of 50 kilogrammes of CO₂.²
3. At winter time, use hot water sparingly. Long hot showers release large amounts of CO₂. A prolonged shower can release up to 350 grammes of CO₂.³ If you need warmth, get that blanket you have locked away in your wardrobe!

Time is of the essence

According to the ‘Climate Clock’ in New York, Earth has just seven years left. This newly installed clock counts down the time we have to act to reverse global warming and increase the amount of renewable energy we use.

‘Humanity has the power to add time, but only if we work collectively and measure our progress against well-defined goals’,⁴ the official website of the initiative says.

Let's work together to invert the trend of pollution. Let’s do it for Earth, our health, and for future generations.

References:

1. https://www.agi.it/cronaca/news/2020-05-04/enea-smart-working-pa-co2-8512015/
2. https://www.nonsprecare.it/risparmio-energetico-stampanti-spreco-carta
3. https://www.asja.energy/zlist-no-home/giornata-tipo/
4. https://www.lastampa.it/esteri/2020/09/28/news/quanto-manca-alla-fine-del-mondo-ce-lo-dice-il-climate-clock-di-new-york-1.39358829