Online Shopping and Greenhouse Emissions
Online Shopping Can Be Worse for the Environment than Physical Purchasing. This headline popped up in my Google news feed, and I could not help but drop everything to read it. The article highlights that the eco-friendliest manner of shopping is through going to physical stores because people tend to buy everything in bulk. Online shopping compels people to buy fewer items, translating in more packaging materials that emit more greenhouse gases. Additionally, more goods are dispatched from different locations leading to more emissions (Kavilanz, 2020). This news comes at a time when the Coronavirus pandemic has prompted more online shopping due to curfews and lockdown globally. Moreover, environmentalists are thrilled by the effect of the virus on the environment due to reduced vehicles and industrial emissions (Watts, 2020). Currently, online shopping is a necessity due to safety measures like social distancing, making this development a significant concern for science.
Kavilanz, P. (2020, July 07). Online shopping can be worse for the environment than driving to a store. Retrieved July 13, 2020, from https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/26/tech/greenhouse-gas-emissions-retail/index.html
Watts, J. (2020, April 09). Climate crisis: In coronavirus lockdown, nature bounces back – but for how long? Retrieved July 13, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/09/climate-crisis-amid-coronavirus-lockdown-nature-bounces-back-but-for-how-long