Cofounder, Atlas Ai
Search every verified Marshall Burke interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Marshall Burke, an assistant professor of Earth system science at Stanford University and cofounder of Atlas AI, discussed his research on air quality improvements during the COVID-19 pandemic in an April 2020 interview. Burke said that as the epidemic developed in China, he observed "massive economic disruption" and became interested in its impact on air quality. He reported that he pulled data from air quality monitors and measured a "substantial improvement" of about 20% in air quality in places like China, and then attempted to measure the health benefits of those improvements, which he described as "quite large." Burke stated that these calculations help illustrate "the hidden costs of the status quo" and expressed hope that lessons from the epidemic could lead to maintaining environmental quality improvements. He noted that his own personal carbon footprint was expected to be down about 80% that year due to canceled travel, and as someone who studies climate change, he called that "a really good outcome." Burke said he hoped that the forced experimentation during the pandemic would lead to changes in personal behavior.
“As the epidemic was developing in China, we saw massive economic disruption. And I got interested in the impacts of that economic disruption, and it was actually showing up very clearly in changes in air quality in China.”
“So I pulled data from air quality monitors, measured the substantial improvement in air quality in places like China — air quality improved 20% — and then I tried to measure the health impacts, or the health benefits of those improvements in air quality; it turns out they're quite large.”
“These calculations help us understand the hidden costs of the status quo, what our economy does to our environment, and to our health absent an epidemic. I hope that coming out of the epidemic we can learn these lessons and keep these improvements in environmental quality that we've seen.”
“So my own personal carbon footprint is, I think, going to be down about 80% this year, relative to last year, given all the travel canceled.”
Assistant Professor of Earth System Science Marshall Burke is researching air quality health benifits due to sheltering in place during the COVID-19 crisis. For more Stanford COVID-19 research: Sync ID: MB018BRKIZODMGR
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