While the COVID-19 crisis and the climate crisis aren’t directly related, there are indeed a few connections between them. The Herald’s recent article, “Your backyard bonfire could put those with COVID-19 at risk,” May 23, highlights one of them: health risks from air pollution. Backyard bonfires pose a risk, but so does living near a freeway or other busy road. Many of us in our urbanized Pugetopolis live or work near such roads. And how about the time we spend driving on such roads or sitting stuck in traffic? I hate being stuck behind a diesel in a traffic jam and having to breathe its exhaust.
And now with COVID-19, the consequences of this air pollution are higher. As the article said, “air pollution contributes to conditions that make someone more prone to contracting COVID-19 as well as decreasing the body’s ability to fight off infection.”
I’d like to see much greater use of electric vehicles, so that those of us who live, work or spend time near freeways and busy roads will enjoy cleaner air and better health.
I really, really hope the COVID-19 crisis passes quickly and that the virus never appears again. But if the virus doesn’t disappear, the benefits for clean air will be bigger than ever. And that would be one more reason to accelerate our transition to a clean energy future.
David Foutch
Seattle
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