What an amazing year!

2020 will go into the annals of history as the year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many people have seen their lives disrupted, gotten sick or worse and suffered from mental health issues due to isolation and loneliness. All the mayhem caused by the pandemic, though, easily makes us lose sight of all the good things that happened this year.

The first, most obvious, one is the fact that the digital transformation of industry and society took a step function improvement. We’re all much, much better at conducting our work online and even if many of us would really want to travel more and meet people in real life (and actually shake hands or hug), we’re getting things done. Teams and individuals that were convinced that they needed to be onsite and in each other’s face to be able to do their job are now operating remotely and working from home.

One of the advantages is, of course, that the environment is doing better as air pollution levels are lower in many parts of the world. This is especially advantageous in areas that have snow in winter, as the whiter snow reflects more sunlight. Also, there are several reports of improved water quality in rivers and lakes. The reduction in carbon emissions and pollutants, according to a Wikipedia article, saved 77,000 lives over two months.