Daniel Gittelman- "While You Were Quarantined, National Parks' Air Was Getting Cleaner" (Outside Reading)

For this blog post, I decided to learn about how American nature is strengthening due to the coronavirus pandemic. While people may not be able to spend time on trails and at national parks like they were before the coronavirus pandemic, the world is recovering.

One incredible feature of this pandemic-ridden world that Adam Roy notes in his article, “While You Were Quarantined, National Parks' Air Was Getting Cleaner”, is that “in the Smokies, ozone dropped to 43% below the average; the Grand Canyon recorded a week straight of good air quality, a marked difference from previous years” (para. 3). It’s truly incredible how air pollution is reducing as people stay home. Unfortunately, once the pandemic ends, people will return to factory work and introduce more pollution into the atmosphere.

Another statistic that Roy points out is that in 2019, the Grand Canyon Ozone level was a horrendous 48.8, but it has been reduced to 41.6 in 2020 (figure 1). This is incredible, and I really hope that we could continue in this direction after the pandemic subsides.

This needs to be a lesson for humanity. Relating this back to our class, nature is sacred because of its ability to help people, specifically hikers, become immersed in 'flow' and have experiences while reflecting upon their surroundings. This is in part why I am arguing in my research paper that nature is the most crucial factor for hiking being therapeutic. Nature engages people and creates a sense of peace, but it won’t be able to do that if the world returns to the path it was taking prior to the pandemic.

If pollution levels continue to rise, there won’t be nature for hikers to become immersed in. The air will be too difficult to breathe, and plant-life will suffer. The natural world has healing and spiritual powers, but they are threatened by the selfish decision of mankind.