Update: April 2020
As I’m sure is true for many of us, during lockdown, radio has been the soundtrack of my days. Where before the environment featured sporadically in mainstream news, of late, it’s barely featured at all. Of course, one crisis is quite enough to navigate; and the following in no way intends to disregard the severity of the current situation. But we must be aware that the window for environmental action hasn't shifted. True, our Earth has been offered some vital breathing space as countries have cut emissions due to lockdown; but wouldn’t this also be an ideal time to begin bringing an Environment News feature to engaged radio listeners around the UK? As sporting events have slowed nearly to a halt, might this be a time for the sport-news slot to be temporarily replaced by an environment feature? This morning, BBC Radio 4’s sport-news presenter reported that there was little to report, except for speculation over postponements. Clinging to a regular sports feature serves no purpose, particularly when other more pressing information could be dispersed during these time-slots throughout the day.
There is a wealth of simple and small-scale information that we could be sharing during this lockdown period that listeners could take forward as we emerge from the health crisis. We have time now to step back and evaluate our footprints. We must also make sure that large-scale businesses act responsibly when we emerge, and do not race to cover ground, undoing the positive impact that months of carbon reduction have had on the Earth.