Keeping Our Eye On the Ball
Like more than 90 percent of Americans — and nearly half of the global population — I’ve been adjusting to life under “lockdown.” Part of that adjustment includes coming to terms with a new set of emotions brought on by the pandemic: Deep gratitude for having a job I can do remotely, and for friends and family I can continue to connect with virtually; frequent fear and worry for my loved ones who are heathcare workers, who are stretched thin, and exhausted, and continue to put their health on the line every day; and sadness for all those who have lost their lives, and for the 16 million Americans who have filed for unemployment since the pandemic began.
On top of all that, I can’t help but feel angry. Angry at the Trump administration’s early and ongoing mismanagement of our nation’s response to the pandemic. And, given my line of work, particularly angry about the Environmental Protection Agency’s deregulation-at-all-cost attitude during a global health crisis. At a time when the agency should be doing all it can to protect us, it is moving ahead with its rollback of environmental regulations while simultaneously pulling back on enforcement activities. As a result, American communities — particularly low income communities and communities of color — may find themselves burdened with yet more pollution, even as we are learning more about the close links between air quality and Covid-19 death rates.
That’s why here at the Journal we will continue to keep our eye on the ball even as we shelter in place. We’ll keep holding our governments and industries to account. And we will keep bringing you news, essays, and analysis teasing out the many links between the pandemic and the environment so that as we recover, we might start to move away from the systems that brought us here in the first place.
Zoe Loftus-Farren
Managing Editor, Earth Island Journal
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