The Environment and The Pandemic: Pollution
The pandemic had both positive and negative impacts on pollution levels. Some of these effects are fleeting; some may be long-lasting. That’s up to us.
Air Quality Improvement: As people traveled and commuted less often, air pollution lessened. Views that weren't often visible pre-pandemic came into view.
![](https://covid-19archive.org/files/large/98979a015161234276ecd7ad005cef83e0521915.jpg)
A Very Long Lonely Saturday Night
"This photo also captures something very significant to our atmosphere and that is the lack of air pollution."
Increased Waste: An increase in trash from single-use items, cleaning materials, and masks was a major negative consequence of the pandemic. Disposable materials require precious resources to produce, and the tendency of people to throw this trash out in nature had a tremendous negative outcome on the outdoors and on the animals who make their home there. Discarded masks, wipes, and other disposable single-use items will be with us for a long time.
![Two images, the top is a face mask in the water, the bottom is of a man at a beach holding a rope that has face masks hanging off of it.](https://covid-19archive.org/files/large/dbebae0dabdbcf4980d1fc7ebdb118c890af4ed0.jpg)
Protection and Pollution
"This increase in single use items are ending in the ocean, and washing onto our shores."