March 21, 2020
While the risks and dire consequences of the current pandemic are difficult to overstate, I do think there are effects as a result of our lives being lived closer to home that are worth pointing out. Though retired myself, many of my neighbors commute to work, some for quite a distance. More and more of my neighbors are working from home these days, to avoid contagion. In doing so, they have ceased producing dangerous amounts of greenhouse gases with their cars. Whether we can see or measure it, the atmosphere we breathe is becoming cleaner with every passing day. The benefits to humankind and wild creatures alike will, no doubt, one day be quantified. In the meantime, I feel safe in stating we're all enjoying a boost to our cardiopulmonary health. Given that the need for social isolation may last indefinitely, I think it's safe to say scientists will have numberless effects of this fossil fuel hiatus to study, probably for years to come. Just imagine what we may learn!
Another result, this time of the need for alternative forms of entertainment, will, I'm guessing, be an increased interest in spending time outdoors. Can you imagine the numbers of eyes that will, at last, see the cornucopia of wonders waiting for people just outside their own doors? Do you want to hazard a guess how many now-homeschooled children will spend time studying science in their backyards - or beyond? There are insects, plants, trees, birds, wild animals, and rocks, all waiting to be discovered. And once they've been discovered, an attachment inevitably forms to one or more of these aspects of nature. It is then that the idea of not having these wonders to enjoy creates indignation in the naturalist's heart. The environment will be rediscovered as our home. It is only natural to want to protect one's home.
I think it is entirely possible we may witness a Great Shift in our perspective during the coming months: more shopping at farmers' markets, with an accompanying increase in respect for the people who grow our food; more growing of our own food, more quiet time for pursuits like reading and listening to music (as well as time to feed our growing addiction to all things technological), more time to spend in any variety of ways with family, more time to feed our growing awareness of the natural environment. Won't it be interesting to look back and discuss what happened during this time of great uncertainty?
While the risks and dire consequences of the current pandemic are difficult to overstate, I do think there are effects as a result of our lives being lived closer to home that are worth pointing out. Though retired myself, many of my neighbors commute to work, some for quite a distance. More and more of my neighbors are working from home these days, to avoid contagion. In doing so, they have ceased producing dangerous amounts of greenhouse gases with their cars. Whether we can see or measure it, the atmosphere we breathe is becoming cleaner with every passing day. The benefits to humankind and wild creatures alike will, no doubt, one day be quantified. In the meantime, I feel safe in stating we're all enjoying a boost to our cardiopulmonary health. Given that the need for social isolation may last indefinitely, I think it's safe to say scientists will have numberless effects of this fossil fuel hiatus to study, probably for years to come. Just imagine what we may learn!
Another result, this time of the need for alternative forms of entertainment, will, I'm guessing, be an increased interest in spending time outdoors. Can you imagine the numbers of eyes that will, at last, see the cornucopia of wonders waiting for people just outside their own doors? Do you want to hazard a guess how many now-homeschooled children will spend time studying science in their backyards - or beyond? There are insects, plants, trees, birds, wild animals, and rocks, all waiting to be discovered. And once they've been discovered, an attachment inevitably forms to one or more of these aspects of nature. It is then that the idea of not having these wonders to enjoy creates indignation in the naturalist's heart. The environment will be rediscovered as our home. It is only natural to want to protect one's home.
I think it is entirely possible we may witness a Great Shift in our perspective during the coming months: more shopping at farmers' markets, with an accompanying increase in respect for the people who grow our food; more growing of our own food, more quiet time for pursuits like reading and listening to music (as well as time to feed our growing addiction to all things technological), more time to spend in any variety of ways with family, more time to feed our growing awareness of the natural environment. Won't it be interesting to look back and discuss what happened during this time of great uncertainty?
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