Despite the societal and economic collapse and the harrowing losses of life that has brought with it this unprecedented pandemic, it has been noticed by the environmentally concerned that there is a bright side to this story that is worth illuminating and sharing. With countries going into lockdown and the reduction of industrial activity and motorised transportation, there has been a noticeable change in the emissions of nitrogen dioxide and drastic drops in pollution rates have been reported throughout the continents of Europe and Asia. Moreover, some of the countries in lockdown have been experiencing a return of animals to areas which were previously too overcrowded with tourists or moving vehicles.

Environmental experts have been referring to this phenomenon as an unexpected large scale experiment that can inspire us to rethink the directions in which society can progress towards after the coronavirus pandemic. Air pollution professor Paul Monk shares his positive perspective with The Guardian:

Are we looking at what we might see in the future if we can move to a low-carbon economy? Not to denigrate the loss of life, but this might give us some hope for something terrible. To see what can be achieved.

Perhaps this is what is inspiring people to pick up environmentally related reads during their time in self-isolation, and the reason why nature titles are being recommended in ‘top 10 books you should read in quarantine’ lists. As author Lucy Jones has voices, nature isn’t just a method to alleviate the strains of coronavirus on our mental health, but can also become the ‘symbol of renewal and regeneration we need at the moment.’

With one of the biggest worries in our current times being the impending doom of an economic and societal collapse, our personal experiences with our immediate natural surroundings, alongside the ideas shared in books such as Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything and George Monbiot’s Feral can help us reimagine and reshape the structural foundations of our capitalist society. This, in turn, can lead us to – when the time of crisis and caution has passed – renew our current economic structures and build a society that is fairer to the natural resources and spaces available to us and which will lower our impact on habitat and biodiversity loss.

Self-isolation, although boredom and anxiety-inducing, is giving us the opportunity to dedicate more hours of our leisure time to reading. If we all took this time to better inform ourselves on the ecological crisis facing us – arguably a pandemic on equal or larger proportions to the one we are currently facing – it would challenge us to think about what kind of future we want to live in moving forward. ‘Could we start to see the trees in our stockpiled loo roll?’

Sources:

Coronavirus pandemic leading to huge drop in air pollution (The Guardian)

‘Nature is taking back Venice’: wildlife returns to tourist-free city (The Guardian)

In times of uncertainty, let nature be your refuge (The Guardian)