Economy is mortal and will die with us. Good luck to humankind for trying to immortalise it beyond the existence of the species. It will never be enough.
Jog your memory
I see this as the final call. Not long back our feed was inundated with pictures of Earth’s lungs- the Amazon- burning. Then Australia ablaze. 1 billion animals perishing.
Remember Avatar- Invading other worlds for their riches, slaying the natives for defending themselves, coercing our purported civilised manner on them and mocking their pristine establishments? Such other worlds have been ravaged on this planet already.
Well, guess what, Nature has now pulled a Human at us.
Darkness of ignorance
As an environmentalist, this is a gist of my experience so far. Every time you were told to turn the tap off, you rolled your eyes. You giggled when we tried to tell you why turning that light off saved the planet’s resources. You look at us like we are maniacal conspiracy theorists as we explain to you the environmental and health hazards of plastic, processed food, synthetic agrochemicals in food, cosmetics, microbeads etc. Every time we talked about conscious eating, you considered us hapless, primitive vegetarians who would love the creatures on your plate the moment we tasted it!
And oh, the ignorant and disinterested smirks you give to us when we explain to you the facts of global warming and climate change. You were more interested in short-term ‘economic’ benefits and superficial luxuries then.
Well, your economy isn’t mattering too much now, is it?
The world has stopped, and so have you. The rivers are cleaner; skies clearer; emissions lower; and more of other creatures alive as quarantined and frightened humans are at home, eating healthy and unintentionally choosing lesser environmental destruction.
Colonising Mars, conquering Sun, mobilising armies, invading lands, your neighbour’s skin colour, or their religion are least of your worries now.
100% infection rate- Contagion
The problem is we measure danger with its contagiousness. Hear this out, lucid and loud. All environmental destruction and consequent climate change is contagious- 100% infective. We are made of the same elements as Nature; and what kills Nature, kills us unfailingly. Fatal air, toxic water, microplastics and carcinogens in food and surroundings, health crises are all Nature getting back at us.
This pandemic is Nature healing itself and lessening the burden we subject it to. The Nature-enforced quarantine did halt our hogwash for a while, didn’t it?
How Does This Relate With Pandemics?
Health effects of environmental destruction range from heat stress; parasitic diseases like malaria, dengue, Zika, Chikungunya; anaemia, malnutrition; cancers (genetic mutations abound with environmental carcinogens) to threats of ancient fatal diseases due to permafrost melting. You can read about the reasons here.
All concern that pollution receives is conspicuously, painfully inadequate. If it were enough, everything else would be halted to deal with the chemically-altered, non-breathable air, and toxic, plastic-ridden water and food. Speaking of plastic-ridden food, have you ever heard the media inform you of the enormous amount of carcinogens you consume every time your hot food is delivered in its typical plastic packaging?
The current COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola 2014-2016 epidemic, intermittent Nipah outbreaks, SARS, MERS, or the ongoing HIV epidemic etc. are viruses coming in humans from animals (usually when they are consumed or their habitats destroyed). The irony of calling our species civilised and then living like primal hunters is astounding. Does the media ever show you the dark truths of wildlife trade and poaching or the undergoing sixth mass extinction? Or even of abysmal food consumption in parts of world where it begs education?
Do not shrug off your responsibility calling it the Chinese Virus. China is not the sole consumer of meat, nay wild meat. You may want to read these staggering statistics of meat consumption yearly. And another on the alternatives. These on wild meat. You can also often find famous, white connoisseurs savouring such local cuisines!
Hubristic Choices You Must Recognise
It’s your hubris that you choose destruction and avarice over quality of life. It’s your choice to not change your wretched disposable habits; to vote for wrong people; to ignore how we only burn, destroy and threaten all other life forms. Selling your own health and life to a few rapacious tycoons is a deadly choice, but a choice nonetheless. And your champions are people like Donald Trump who disregarded this pandemic as a Democratic/Chinese hoax and is now grappling with it severely. You do know what else he denies vehemently like this, don’t you?
We have already been paying for these choices. You are oblivious of them due to the absence of regular mortality and morbidity statistics, owing to environmental destruction's direct and indirect effects, in newspapers and on TV screens.
Why Media Never Shows This?
They are pawns at the hands of lobbies that run the machines, literally and figuratively. So are the governments. They fill their coffers and desire power until eternity. But human race is on borrowed time and at Nature's mercy, even if the illusion of currencies and intelligence enshrouds our ephemeral comprehension.
Importantly, the response to pandemics like these proves that all can be done when acted upon together globally, if considered important enough. Contrarily, we still debate the truth of environmental destruction. You must know what this means.
What you must be reminded is that we do not control Nature. We cannot fix every damage, other than rectifying our own errors. Nature will forever be in control. It made us. It will demolish us when needed. If you make it through this pandemic and remain unchanged on the other side, it’s a choice again. Do one thing, stop worrying about the planet. It’ll be fine. The planet will heal itself. Only think about what kind of end we envisage for our deuced species, or existence for that matter.
This indeed is a final call…
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