Lockdown Observations, Thursday 7th May 2020

COVID-19; Is this nature's revenge for the ruthless negligence we, the intelligent ape, have inflicted on the only world we have?

I would never describe myself as an "eco warrior", a "nature lover", I'm not the "tree hugger" type, I eat meat and vegetables, (I've often wondered about vegetarianism, veganism, each to their own and I'm sure there is some merit in each chosen lifestyle) I would say that I have a considered and intellectual approach to our environment and the natural world, I've seen the good and the bad approaches to nature conservation; we all have differing views!

My point, well it is abundantly clear that an unintended, (or was it?), effect of the Covid-19 virus across the world is one of self repair, nature is proving that given the opportunity it will repair the damage inflicted, in the main, by us the intelligent race.

Of course the human cost in all of this cannot be ignored, and my heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones as a result, directly or indirectly, of the Covid-19 virus; economically there is and will continue to be suffering across the world, but with resolve and cooperation there will be recovery. 

An interesting point was made by one travel pundit yesterday, how many people will now realise they don't need to travel across the world to attend a meeting, they can get as much work done using the internet, and even at a local level if employees can be as productive working from home as they would travelling to a central place of work will this be the new "norm"?

What will annual holidays look like in the future, I wager that the rest of 2020 will be more "stay local" and less driving to an airport, (although I have a growing urge to see my friends on Lesvos and Gran Canaria, but they will still be there in 2021, I hope) we need to make considered choices.

Air quality is vastly improved, a major contributor to human wellbeing, across the world nature is having a break from the injurious activities of man, (well unless you are on the path of the HS2 scheme or unlucky enough to be the victim or unscrupulous land owners and wildlife criminals). I understand that many international illegal wildlife markets are either closing down or under scrutiny, I do believe that it is more likely that the virus has made the biological leap from non-human to human, not as some leaders would have us think that the virus was made in a laboratory, although if it was I shudder in horror at what may come next.

At a local level nature seems to be enjoying the break from human and domestic animal interaction, whilst only temporary there is a point to be made, give the natural world room to breathe it will repay us in heaps.

We only have one place to live in the vast universe of space, we've messed it up enough let's all take a lesson from this pandemic