COMMENT | Repose, renewal, adaptation. These are the more uplifting narratives coming from the tragic coronavirus updates overwhelming my news feeds.

First up, the environment. It is, at last, taking a rest from the relentless noise and emissions from human activities and the free markets that pride continual economic growth over environmental sustainability.

Yes, even scientists are detecting less vibration on the earth’s upper crust since factories are shuttered, mass transit frequency reduced, airlines grounded and people restricted to staying home.

The irony of all this? We get to temporarily breath cleaner air - through our face masks.

The coronavirus pandemic is tragic. Obviously. But, if not for the staying-home, physical distancing and global pause in economic production, we would be idling and burning up fuel in the suffocating bottleneck traffic daily. What is the solution?

I can’t see one for now, given that more than 550,000 new cars are jammed onto our three-lane roads and toll gates nationally each year, and increasing.