Covid-19 - The silver lining (Positives!)

[sem34090]

As the pandemic sweeps through nations, I am increasingly trying to think of possible positive results and outcomes from the current situation. The most obvious one is the increased time available to devote to railway modelling, but surely there must be others - in almost every situation something good can result eventually.

 

Thoughts?

[jimwal]

Retail closures and lockdowns should improve the 'green' credentials of the country.

[The Stationmaster]

Since Friday we have been 'enjoying' one of our regular stints on the Heathrow inbound flight path, which means aircraft turn within a mile or three either side of us or directly overhead onto their final approach track and drop into the correct separation for landing.  And for once it has been most enjoyable - we can actually hear ourselves talking when we're out in the garden and instead of the various 'rush hour' periods with aircraft coming over at 2 minute headways we have a lot of the time being counting the number of inbound flights in an hour in single figures.  Same with the outbounds some of which are a few miles south of us - definitely fewer.  And those passing over at higher altitude and leaving contrails have been replaced for once by clear blue skies on sunny days.

[Ozexpatriate]

There is a substantial drop in air pollution with people sequestered at home. This was observed in China and we can anticipate it in other places as well.

 

Reduced vehicle traffic should reduce total CO2 output as well.

[sem34090]

And with that hopefully some people will be able to maintain that long-term.

[Cunningham Loco & Machine Works]

(The usual disclaimer that this is purely in jest)

[runs as required]

Will working from home reduce face to face meetings and decentralise life?

Justify the NHS once and for all?

Save the BBC ?

 

[Dava]

Populist govts on both sides of the Atlantic have been unable to respond effectively. Their credibility is shot.

 

We see certain 'business leaders' in their self serving greedy true light: Tim Martin of Wetherspoons being just one. 

 

The economy has to take second place to the health & wellbeing of the people.

 

The environment has a breathing space.

 

We have time to think and don't want to go back to how it was.

 

Dava

[big jim]

hopefully my commute down the M6 to work in the morning will be a quiet one!

 

 

[Reorte]

Any means effective at reducing coronavirus (pre-vaccince) will also reduce the number of all sorts of other diseases. They may be less serious but a period with significantly fewer colds and norovirus and so on will be nice.

 

Edited March 25, 2020 by Reorte

[Ozexpatriate]

2 hours ago, Cunningham Loco & Machine Works said:

(The usual disclaimer that this is purely in jest)

I appreciate that it is meant humourously but I genuinely don't get the joke.

 

Certainly no one is talking about climate change right now, but once this pandemic burns out, we will have to confront it again.

[PatB]

Vastly reduced travel will lead to lower CO2 emissions.

 

Plenty of opportunity and motivation to improve remote working technologies and protocols.

 

Introverts and social outcasts finally recognised as having important skills and mindsets.

 

Western societies may find out exactly who is really important, so at least some minimum wage or underpaid occupations might get a little more respect.

 

A proportion of the population learn to do more with less.

[Ozexpatriate]

51 minutes ago, PatB said:

Introverts and social outcasts finally recognised as having important skills and mindsets.

I thought comic book movies, Star Wars, Dr. Who, "The Big Bang Theory" television show, "The Lord of the Rings" movies and various incarnations of Comicon and cosplay had already accomplished that?

Edited March 25, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[Andy7]

The big one for me as mentioned by PatB is, if people are now working from home and still achieving results then this should become the norm. This leads to a lot less journeys to work bringing less harmful CO2 and potentially more family time together as travelling time removed and flexible working hours utilised. There will be many other benefits centred on this as well.  

[Phil Bullock]

For me resolution of the issues in economies which allow the environment from which this - and other - viruses have emerged to flourish - wet food markets - is key. 

 

And how about appreciation of local, short food chains here rather than the often tortuously long ones we currently have?

 

Improved social cohesion as a result of the "We are all in it together" spirit would be good too - but that needs to include social care of the needy and vulnerable, and at the moment that is sounding very flaky.

 

 

[MGR Hooper!]

On 25/03/2020 at 05:18, sem34090 said:

As the pandemic sweeps through nations, I am increasingly trying to think of possible positive results and outcomes from the current situation. The most obvious one is the increased time available to devote to railway modelling, but surely there must be others - in almost every situation something good can result eventually.

 

Thoughts?

 

Indeed there's a lot of positives...

 

- more modelling time
- more time to play trains
- more time to sort out the collection
- more time to think about how much money we spend on trains
- more "me" time...coz yes I've not had enough of my nonsense
- drastic drop in pollution levels
- clear blue skies
- perfect time for photography from the safety of your own home
- as a designer, I now have a lot of extra time to work.

- lot's of time to catch up on YouTube videos and tutorials
- less noise pollution in the bigger cities
- lot's of time to learn something new, I've personally taken up a few cooking classes and guitar lessons from the other half

- as an artist I now have a lot of time to paint and so on.
- take out the model aircraft collection and give it a good clean
- stare are model trains all day
- starer at model aircrafts all day

The list goes on...

 

On a more serious note than before. I appreciate all those who are working on the frontlines trying to take care of people and fight this virus. Starting first with doctors and nurses and then going on to the others who make our day to day lives possible be it postmen, train drivers, pilot, cabin crew and so on. 

Edited March 26, 2020 by MGR Hooper!

[Edge]

For me, it’s an appreciation of the more remarkable people and businesses out there. I ordered some warhammer stuff from Games workshop on Monday afternoon - they immediately closed down on Tuesday in response to the order for non essential businesses to shut, but gawd bless them, they had somehow managed to pick and dispatch my order in the meantime. 
 

for those not in the know, GW is a company approximately the size of Hornby, so I can imagine that they had a small number of orders to get through to achieve this

[big jim]

Silver lining.......No one had mentioned brexit for weeks 

[jcm@gwr]

2 minutes ago, big jim said:

Silver lining.......No one had mentioned brexit for weeks 

 

And they've cancelled Eurovision!

[ELTEL]

4 minutes ago, jcm@gwr said:

 

And they've cancelled Eurovision!

Hopefully for ever 

[gordon s]

Got my money back on a GWR Advance ticket to Taunton.....

 

A week ago there were no refunds on Advance tickets.

 

https://firstgroup-refunds.fastrailticketing.com

[Damo666]

8 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

There is a substantial drop in air pollution with people sequestered at home. This was observed in China and we can anticipate it in other places as well.

 

Reduced vehicle traffic should reduce total CO2 output as well.

 

 

8 hours ago, Cunningham Loco & Machine Works said:

(The usual disclaimer that this is purely in jest)

 

 

6 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Certainly no one is talking about climate change right now, but once this pandemic burns out, we will have to confront it again.

 

You are correct, but I fear that the environmental issues will be ignored by governments for many years to come.

 

Initially I thought one of the good things out of all of this is the huge reduction in air pollution from factories (the China example being one) and from the airline industry.

 

But with the severe impact on the world economy, on individual countries GPD and the large compensatory packages being offered by some governments, once this Coronavirus is over it'll be full steam ahead (pun kinda intended) with getting the economy back first and the public purse filled again. The environment will be way off the agenda.

 

In keeping with the spirit of this thread, then yes, there will be a benefit to the environment (but it'll be short-term).

[Legend]

I think this is a bit of a Reset button .  Maybe the Ctl-Alt-Del for the world .

 

For us I think there's much more appreciation of the NHS

I do think the country is generally pulling together - look at the way people are coming forward for the NHS, healing the tedious BREXIT wounds

I wonder if people working from home will become more the norm when all this is over . Do we need so much travel, do we need so much expensive central office space.

Carbon footprint got to be reduced .

 

Maybe its just caused us to pause and really think what our priorities are . That cant be a bad thing

[Blandford1969]

Even though I'm still working (albeit from home) there are positives

• As others have said, less pollution
• Quiet without the road noise
• 2 hours of the day normally spent in a car back
• The house is getting cleaner and tidier by the day, normally there is not enough time with a wife with underlying health conditions that limit what she can do and 2 young children
• A kind expression which has sprung up 'stay safe'
• And hopefully some more modelling time if i can kick the children out of the study to get near the bench, lol

[eastglosmog]

As mentioned on the Panic Buying thread, my Milkman is having a bonanza, order books full and overflowing.

Also, my cat is getting her dinner earlier than usual (she usually gets fed when I get home form work) which is good news from her point of view, anyway!