Human Nature vs. Mother Nature

Covid-19, a pandemic also known as Coronavirus, forced mankind to stay quarantined at home for 5-6 consecutive months, to limit social interactions with family and friends, to stockpile groceries and for many to monitor the casualties from the relative comfort of our respective living rooms. The luckiest of us still had jobs and could afford the monthly cost of meals, shelter, and utilities. Although there is now a new-and-coming vaccine, there is no timeline as to how long redistribution will take or when an effecient public policy initiative will be implemented to return to “business as usual.” Anxieties surrounding a post pandemic reality are palpable as we are for the most part confined to our homes and forced to think about things outside of our control. 

Ironically, as most people’s worlds have been reduced to less than 2,000 square feet of living space, this pandemic has allowed us, quite possibly for the first time, to experience life in a broader sense: to witness its effects in other countries of our globe and to empathize with people of the world from whom we are forced to isolate. We typically focus on our own lives-- our careers, our ambitions, our family, our friends-- but this pandemic has pushed us to broaden our horizons, to empathize with humans on a global scale rather than in local terms.

The Covid-19 pandemic goes beyond politics, business, and all other man-made constructs. The goal of this global quarantine was to protect the people who were more at risk; the elderly as well as people who have compromised immune systems. We now realize how fragile life can be and how our world is more connected by nature than by the internet. The “Me Generation” of the 1980’s is now the “Us Generation”: as a human family. This pandemic gives people a chance to reflect on the state of our planet by considering their past decisions and how each individual has a footprint that potentially impacts others around the globe. In fact, as a result, humans are growing to be less selfish and are showing an ethos of care. Covid-19 is a shared challenge and time where we transcend self, communities, and nations to stand together as one. We may be isolated, but we are not alone. 

And yet, even as we peer out the window from our confinement and fear, there is a very different image than when we were roaming the streets carelessly interacting with our surroundings. With an absence of human pollution, our planet has proven to be healing itself.

Reported scientific global data estimates that air pollution in China has decreased by 44 percent since humans began quarantining, showing how quickly a change in human behavior can impact Earth’s environment. Air pollution levels observed by NASA’S satellite have shown “strong drops in nitrogen dioxide” in industrial areas in both China and Italy. In India, people reported they could finally see the Himalayas for the first time in decades. This air quality phenomenon is happening all around the globe due to factories being shut down coupled with far less land, sea, and air travel. In Venice, canals are clearer due to less tourism and traffic in the waterways. Researchers Roberto Zonta and Davide Tagilapietra from the Italian National Research Council reported to Newsweek “In these days of quarantine the inner canals of Venice —the 'rii'—are more transparent, clearer, than usual.. Usually you cannot see the bottom of the rii even though they are very shallow, and you can see fishes just when they are close to the surface”. The evidence abounds and we must abide because our environment supports all living things. 

Not surprisingly, animals began to take back what is historically their territory. In India, a herd of deer was spotted walking down the streets, mountain goats in Wales were freely walking where they usually dared not, and monkeys gathered in many urban areas of Thailand. With the absence of a human presence, animals flourished without fear of being hunted or displaced.

Our planet is resilient when given the chance. We humans have fundamentally altered the composition of the atmosphere. When we change the natural order of things, we shouldn’t expect that it will not affect our health. This pandemic is a perfect example to show nonbelievers and generations of selfish people that we are the cause of many environmental problems that occur all around the world. In this instance, it seems what is bad for us is good for the planet.

It shouldn’t have to take a pandemic for people to alter their actions regarding the environment. In fact, in order to save our lives and future generations, we need to make sacrifices. There are a number of ways individuals can make positive contributions towards saving our planet; however, it is about how willing we are as a group to apply these changes to our daily lives.  

This is not only a time for self-reflection, but also a time to rethink the way we treat all living things. After all, our existence depends on how well we take care of the natural world. Human health is dependent on healthy ecosystems and, if we continue to exploit Planet Earth, more diseases -- both zoonotic and other -- are more than likely to emerge. There is hope and the clouds of consumerism are parting to show us a path to a healthier life. However, this reprieve of the environment shouldn’t only be a temporary change. It seems as though Mother Earth has finally warned us to learn from our actions or the next catastrophe may be even more punishing and we must view this possibility as a “big picture” issue.