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Humanity marks Earth Day’s 50th anniversary on a worldwide lockdown, as nature’s fury asserts itself through one of the smallest known particles of life, the novel coronavirus. Many argue viruses aren’t alive, relying on host organisms to replicate. Whether living or dead, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is driving us inexorably to a “new normal,” forcing us to adjust to its looming presence, at least until treatments and a vaccine become available. There are thousands of coronaviruses, though; defeat one, and another that jumps from bat or bird to human can smite us just as easily. As humans penetrate habitats of other species, decimating forests and other wildlands, zoonotic transmission–the transfer of a virus from animal to human — increases. The onrushing climate catastrophe promises unrelenting extreme weather events, more severe and frequent. This “new normal” demands that we radically realign our relationship with Nature, and that we do it now. Waiting fifty years is not an option.
Rebuilding will require containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. Global solidarity will be essential. “Stay at home, save a life,” is the prescription. But staying at home is a privilege. The life-saving practice of social distancing is out of reach to hundreds of millions of people.
Take India, for example, the world’s second most populous country. “Millions of ... Read More →
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