COVID19 VS AIR POLLUTION

In mid-December 2019, a citizen of Wuhan, China decides to buy a bat and cook it. Making way for a virus also known as coronavirus, which generates COVID-19 disease. It is well known that bats are carriers of viruses and bacteria that do not affect them at all, but if that virus is transmitted to another living being, it can directly affect it as it has been the case of Rabies (although not all bats can transmit it), Acute pulmonary histoplasmosis that is transmitted by a fungus that grows thanks to the stool of bats and birds, among other diseases.

Densidad media troposférica de NO2. Imagen y crédito: NASA/ESA

As is well known by many, COVID-19 has sickened 300,000 people worldwide with a mortality rate of approximately 4.24% (coronavirus app), creating concern for millions of people, since it is a disease that spreads easily. Keep in mind that the virus has a life of 3 hours in the air, and 24 hours on steel and plastic, making it of greater concern and it is suggested to be washing hands and products that are purchased in stores, in addition to washing our clothes we immediately get home.

The mortality rate and its easy contagion has led the governments of several countries to carry out mandatory quarantines, reducing the work of the industrialist, reducing the number of vehicles on the streets and the presence of humans, and as a positive impact has been presented a reduction of NO2 which indicates that air quality is improving remarkably in various parts of the world, but it is not the only positive, in several cities such as Barcelona or Venice there are reports of wild animals and fish, which due to the presence of humans they did not pass through there.

Center For Disease Control. cdc.gov/covid19

Although all this is news that cheers, the scientists are concerned and assure that a rebound effect may be generated since it would increase GHGs in high percentages, as happened in 2008 after the financial collapse where emissions fell by 1.4% and just one year later they rose to 5.4%. Canandell recalls that world GDP and greenhouse gases are still strongly linked, this is because when presenting a financial fracture like the one that has been witnessed these days in the stock markets, when humanity recovers from the pandemic, industries and everything type of economic activity that exists in a country, in addition to more than returning to normal production, they increase to meet the demand generated during the virus crisis.

More informatión:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms-sp.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/covid-19-air-pollution-1.5501810

FRAKING, MEANING

In order to have a clear position on whether or not fracking is good, you have to understand what that means and what is done when it is practiced.

inteligenciapetrolera.com.co

The fraking or also called "hydraulic fracture", allows the extraction of gases and oil, or also of what they call "shale", being this gas from a mosquito. This practice is implemented to cover the energy demands that the world of today asks, because conventional ones no longer manage to supply said consumption.

In recent decades the demand for oil has been increasing without giving respite to the need of humanity today, however this benefit is obtained from the mixture of organic compounds, mainly hydrocarbons insoluble in water. This is usually found among the grains of sand that form the rocks called «sandstones», which can be of marine, fluvial, glacial or lake origin. It is considered that, after its formation, the oil was expelled, due to the weight of the sediments that had been deposited on the fine-grained rocks (clays and silts) in which it had formed, towards a more porous rock, with more grain. thick, in the pores from which it could accumulate.

Oil is formed in much the same way as coal. When the plants and animals that live in the water die, they settle at the bottom of the oceans, ponds, or swamps. But while coal takes millions of years to form, oil forms in just a million years. But there is an absence of this "black gold", since hunting (sometimes controlled and sometimes not) prevents the creation cycle from being generated. Once a dead animal is seen, those who take advantage of it will get it, either for its fur or its food, preventing it from decomposing on its own, however humans do not take advantage only of that animal that dies, but so do carrion birds.

There is more than one type of oil defined by the United States Department of Energy (DOE):

° Extra-heavy (with a density of 10 degrees API)

° Heavy (between 10 and 22.3 degrees)

° Medium (22.3 and 31.1)

° Light (31.1 and 39)

° Super-light (over 39)

As these different presentations exist, it is not easy to find a company that is in charge of handling and processing, so when talking about fraking, an alternative is sought that allows more than one country to process and work with hydrocarbons and also prevent the absence of oil seeking to meet market demand.

Yes, indeed the fraking activity uses various chemicals to break the internal stone of the soil and thus obtain the oil and gas that is in the depth, however if this activity is well supervised and guarantee zero corruption in the process, in order to ensure that the impact of the area to be worked is minimal, taking care measures such as reusing the water that is used when applying pressure to avoid wasting said service.

More information: https://www.ambientum.com/enccyclopedia_medioambiental/energia/el_petroleo.asp
News:
http://www.worldoil.com/
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/occidental-petroleum-plans-to-name-former-ceo-chazen-as-chairman-2020-03-19