As People Stay Home, Earth Turns Wilder and Cleaner
2020-04-23
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1Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
2American Gaylord Nelson launched the first Earth Day in 1970.
3His aim was to urge local action and increase people's understanding of our planet and its environment.
4The creation of Earth Day is widely considered the beginning of the modern environmental movement.
5As climate activists marked the event this year, an unplanned experiment is changing the planet.
6Many people continue to stay at home to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
7As a result, people are making less pollution, and the air has become cleaner.
8Smog stopped covering New Delhi, one of the world's most polluted cities.
9Nitrogen dioxide pollution in the northeastern United States has dropped 30 percent.
10Air pollution levels in Rome have dropped 49 percent compared to a year ago.
11Stars seem more visible at night.
12People also report seeing wild animals in unusual places.
13Coyotes have been observed walking in downtown Chicago and near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.
14A puma was seen in the streets of Santiago, Chile.
15Goats entered a town in Wales and showed no interest in leaving.
16When people stay home, the Earth becomes cleaner and wilder.
17Stuart Pimm is a scientist at Duke University in the United States.
18He says the stay-at-home orders worldwide are "giving us this quite extraordinary insight into just how much of a mess we humans are making of our beautiful planet."
19Pimm told The Associated Press that the situation is providing a chance to "see how much better it can be."
20Scientists, stuck at home like the rest of us, say they are interested in studying unexpected changes in plants, insects, weather, noise and light pollution.
21Researchers have been observing sharp drops in traditional air pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide, smog and tiny particles.
22These kinds of pollutants kill up to 7 million people a year worldwide, says Dan Greenbaum, president of the Health Effects Institute.
23Cleaner air has been most noticeable in India and China.
24On April 3, people living in Jalandhar, a city in north India's Punjab, woke up to a sight not seen for many years: snow-covered Himalayan mountains more than 160 kilometers away.
25Cleaner air means stronger lungs for asthmatics, especially children, said Mary Prunicki.
26She is a doctor and director of air pollution and health research at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California.
27She noted early studies have linked coronavirus severity to people with weak lungs and those living in more polluted areas.
28In Australia, police shared a video of a kangaroo on social media.
29It showed the animal jumping around a mostly empty neighborhood in downtown Adelaide.
30Several wild jackals recently occupied a city park in Tel Aviv, Israel.
31We are not being invaded, Duke's Stuart Pimm noted.
32The wildlife has always been there, but many animals only come out when people are not around.
33Human activity usually makes it difficult for sea turtles to leave their eggs on sandy coastlines.
34Nesting turtles need to be undisturbed.
35After they come out of their eggs, baby turtles might have problems finding their way to the water because of bright lights, said David Godfrey.
36He is executive director of the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
37But with lights mostly off and people in their homes, the sea turtle nesting seems much better this year -- from India to Costa Rica to Florida, Godfrey said.
38"There's some silver lining for wildlife in what otherwise is a fairly catastrophic time for humans," he added.
39I'm Ashley Thompson.
1Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. American Gaylord Nelson launched the first Earth Day in 1970. His aim was to urge local action and increase people's understanding of our planet and its environment. 2The creation of Earth Day is widely considered the beginning of the modern environmental movement. 3As climate activists marked the event this year, an unplanned experiment is changing the planet. 4Many people continue to stay at home to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. As a result, people are making less pollution, and the air has become cleaner. 5Smog stopped covering New Delhi, one of the world's most polluted cities. Nitrogen dioxide pollution in the northeastern United States has dropped 30 percent. Air pollution levels in Rome have dropped 49 percent compared to a year ago. Stars seem more visible at night. 6People also report seeing wild animals in unusual places. Coyotes have been observed walking in downtown Chicago and near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. A puma was seen in the streets of Santiago, Chile. Goats entered a town in Wales and showed no interest in leaving. 7When people stay home, the Earth becomes cleaner and wilder. 8Cleaner air 9Stuart Pimm is a scientist at Duke University in the United States. He says the stay-at-home orders worldwide are "giving us this quite extraordinary insight into just how much of a mess we humans are making of our beautiful planet." 10Pimm told The Associated Press that the situation is providing a chance to "see how much better it can be." 11Scientists, stuck at home like the rest of us, say they are interested in studying unexpected changes in plants, insects, weather, noise and light pollution. 12Researchers have been observing sharp drops in traditional air pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide, smog and tiny particles. These kinds of pollutants kill up to 7 million people a year worldwide, says Dan Greenbaum, president of the Health Effects Institute. 13Cleaner air has been most noticeable in India and China. On April 3, people living in Jalandhar, a city in north India's Punjab, woke up to a sight not seen for many years: snow-covered Himalayan mountains more than 160 kilometers away. 14Cleaner air means stronger lungs for asthmatics, especially children, said Mary Prunicki. She is a doctor and director of air pollution and health research at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California. She noted early studies have linked coronavirus severity to people with weak lungs and those living in more polluted areas. 15Animals take over 16In Australia, police shared a video of a kangaroo on social media. It showed the animal jumping around a mostly empty neighborhood in downtown Adelaide. Several wild jackals recently occupied a city park in Tel Aviv, Israel. 17We are not being invaded, Duke's Stuart Pimm noted. The wildlife has always been there, but many animals only come out when people are not around. 18Human activity usually makes it difficult for sea turtles to leave their eggs on sandy coastlines. Nesting turtles need to be undisturbed. After they come out of their eggs, baby turtles might have problems finding their way to the water because of bright lights, said David Godfrey. He is executive director of the Sea Turtle Conservancy. 19But with lights mostly off and people in their homes, the sea turtle nesting seems much better this year -- from India to Costa Rica to Florida, Godfrey said. 20"There's some silver lining for wildlife in what otherwise is a fairly catastrophic time for humans," he added. 21I'm Ashley Thompson. 22The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English, with additional materials from the Learning English archives. George Grow was the editor. 23_________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25smog - n. fog mixed with smoke : a cloud of dirty air from cars, factories, etc., that is usually found in cities 26asthmatic - n. relating to or suffering from asthma (a physical condition that makes it difficult for someone to breathe) 27park - n. a piece of public land in or near a city that is kept free of houses and other buildings and can be used for pleasure and exercise 28nest - v. to build or live in a nest 29undisturbed - adj. not moved, changed, touched, etc., by anyone or anything 30catastrophic - adj. a terrible disaster 31silver lining - idiomatic expression. something good that can be found in a bad situation