As people around the world continue to shelter in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the planet has seen some unintended benefits.
Carbon dioxide emissions were down by at least 25 percent because of the drop in coal, gasoline and other fossil fuel consumption, and NASA images show how air and water pollution are dropping rapidly in cities around the globe.
Snyder, however, has not slowed down enough to see those changes.
Scurry County Texas A&M AgriLife Coordinator Greg Gruben said that thus far, Coronavirus quarantining has produced little to no visible change in Scurry County’s environment.
“I don’t think that environmentally it’s done anything,” Gruben said. “It makes perfect sense, if everyone’s trying to stay at home as much as they can and not drive, but around here most people still have to work.”
Gruben said that should Scurry County go into a shelter in place mode, we may then begin to see changes in environmental factors, although he noted that many businesses and restaurants have already closed or reduced their hours out of caution.
“I don’t know how much else they can shut down, because I think everybody is trying to be as careful as they can,” he said.
Gruben said that as of now there has been no substantial effect on agricultural processes here in Scurry County. Livestock haven’t been affected, and there hasn’t been a change in crop production.
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