Covid 19 – an example of man’s dysfunctional relationship with the natural world

[Boyd Roberts]

Covid 19 – an example of man’s dysfunctional relationship with the natural world

 

One of the strongest points to emerge during the Covid 19 crisis is the relationship of humans to the natural world.

Covid 19 is thought to have crossed the species boundary from a wild mammal to man. As it wreaks its devastating and tragic impact on human populations, we have responded by going into lockdown.

One of the few upsides of the pandemic is the resurgence of nature – instances such as animals re-entering places where they are not usually found, hearing bird song as noise pollution is reduced, seeing clear blue skies as air pollution is lower.

 

And while the world addresses the global virus crisis, another crisis with devastating long-term impact – the climate crisis – is temporarily eclipsed.

 

There is much writing emerging about the need not to return to “business as usual” but to recalibrate man’s relationship with nature when the coronavirus crisis recedes.

 

Examples:

 

1. From Jane Goodall:

COVID-19 Should Make Us Rethink Our Destructive Relationship With t...

We need to chart another way forward.

https://slate.com/technology/2020/04/jane-goodall-coronavirus-speci...

 

 

2. From the World Economic Forum:

COVID-19 and nature are linked. So should be the recovery.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/covid-19-nature-deforestatio...

 

3. From the UN Environment Programme

COVID-19 and the nature trade-off paradigm

 

https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/covid-19-and-n...

 

4. From Conservation International

What does COVID-19 have to do with nature? These 5 articles explain

https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-does-covid-19-have-to-do-wit...

 

 

Websites with online resources for environmental awareness and action

 

Transform Our World: Learning from Home Resources – These resources cover coral reefs, clean air, sustainable development and food packaging, and typically involve following a PowerPoint presentation alongside other downloadable resources.

 

 

The Globe – the newsletter of Global Dimension, a UK website concerned with global issues, contains links to resources to be used during school closures and relating to various key UN days this month.

https://mailchi.mp/c576331a2c89/global-wallplanner-now-available-79...