Venice’s canals are clearer with tourism decimated, but many viral stories about it are false
It should come as no surprise that bringing human activity to a grinding halt would mean that some pollution would decrease. That’s just common sense.
But reports that quarantines are helping nature “hit the reset” button are mostly fantasy – or just flat-out false in many cases.
It’s hard to be an optimist without sounding crass – or downright clueless – amidst so much human suffering. But there’s nothing wrong with pointing out the ways in which the environment has changed with humans off the streets and out of work.
Venice, Italy made headlines this month because, amidst their calamitous outbreak, citizens have been driven inside into homes and hospitals. The streets are empty, the famous waterways are void of gondolas, the factories are closed, and no one is driving around – so of course the air and water are clearer.
But clear and clean are two different things.
On Thursday, March 19, Italy surpassed China as the nation with the most COVID-19-related deaths. The day before, it saw a mind-boggling number of people test positive for the disease as cases are nearing 50,000.
On Friday, nearly 6,000 new cases and a devastating 627 deaths were reported. There aren’t enough coffins. There won’t be funerals. Hospitals are having to choose who lives and dies.
Meanwhile, people are more willing than ever to share false stories just to go viral. Even when those stories are supposed to be positive, it’s a dangerous game.
Venice’s water has long been filthy because it’s sometimes used for sewage disposal. Tourists are often surprised by the smell, especially in the summer.
It’s true that the water is now clearer. People can see fish swimming around.
But is it “crystal clear”? No. And is it cleaner? Also, no.
Representatives from Venice’s mayor’s office recently told CNN that even though the water is clearer that does not mean the water quality has improved.
“The water now looks clearer because there is less traffic on the canals, allowing the sediment to stay at the bottom,” a spokesman said. It’s because there is less boat traffic that usually brings sediment to the top of the water’s surface.”
They have reported improvements in air quality though:
“The air, however, is less polluted since there are less vaporetti and boat traffic than usual because of the restricted movement of residents.”
Of course, since people will do anything for attention, some took to social media with false photos to try and show that the canals had improved so much that swans and even dolphins had taken up residence.
That’s all false.
“The swans in the viral posts regularly appear in the canals of Burano, a small island in the greater Venice metropolitan area, where the photos were taken.”
Meanwhile, those dolphins everyone is so excited about were filmed hundreds of miles away from Venice’s canals, at a port in Sardinia.
But that didn’t stop the Tweets from going viral and news outlets from repeating the story over and over again.
Sure, we all need some good news right now, but it’s more important than ever that that news be accurate.
Venice’s canals have been especially problematic recently as they experienced the worst flooding in 50 years in November of 2019, which did millions of euros worth of damage. That’s partly due to over-tourism.
So don’t put it on your bucket list just yet if you’re going to see some dolphins.
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Source: The Hill, CNN, National Geographic