Our home is a planet where life thrives, diverse and colorful. Earth abounds with beautiful nature, a masterpiece that is a joy to experience and good to get closer to when looking for comfort, calm and relaxation. If we can turn our attention away from our current forced isolation and take our eyes beyond the walls around us, we will soon see how therapeutic nature can be and how much we need it.
While the pandemic is bringing its share of deeply negative impacts on the population and the economy, it also brought unexpected changes on our habitat. For example, the pandemic has resulted in a sudden drop in carbon emissions, in China, CO2 emission dropped by 25 % and in New York, carbon monoxide dropped by almost 50%.
In various places around the globe, people are suddenly enjoying bluer skies, clearer horizons, cleaner water, and wildlife returning to places it had once deserted. Big cities are quieter allowing birds to be heard chirping away and for the gentle spring breeze to feel cleaner and gentler. Nature is good to us when we can live in harmony with nature.
Our beautiful “pale blue dot”, as renown astronomer Carl Sagan once called it, is allowed to breathe again. In return, it offers a splendid experience at a time when our hearts and minds need the kind of solace only nature can offer.
Every year, on April 22nd, we celebrate Earth Day. Which is always an opportunity to collectively question our actions, raise environmental awareness and find ways to protect our planet. The theme this year is “climate action” because our planet requires extra care and measures to control and reverse global warming and the environmental degradation underway.
When our lockdown is over and life returns to normal, we will need to once again face that other harsh reality, and try to change our habits to protect and preserve the environment.
This pandemic is forcing us to rethink how we live our lives on so many different levels. It is proving to be a good time to reflect on our relationship with the environment, while showing us what can be achieved when we curb our pollution level.
At CAPE, we try to do our part. See some of the measures we proposed last year in our article Changing our habits one step at a time. You can also access the climate resolution that was put forward by local 524, and voted in 2018.
On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, let’s start compiling the lessons learned from the pandemic as we look for better environmental strategies going forward. But also, why don’t we keep it simple today by just taking a moment to peek outside and appreciate what nature has to offer to help heal our minds.
