CORONA – A SECOND SILENT SPRING?

Lockdown and silence

The first Silent Spring – the 1962 book by Rachel Carson – became a milestone in raising global awareness on environmental issues – and an inspiration for a movement to follow.

Now – 58 years later  – we are collectively living through a second Silent Spring – a virus has grinded human activity to a halt – cities all over has gone silent – no honking of car horns – no lively discussions in a street café – no roars from a football stadium – just silence.

As time stands still, we are given a moment to reflect, to evaluate, to sense and feel  who we truly are – and what is truly important. Jialan Cai – a resident in the Wuhan province – has this to say  – being outside – after 2 months in quarantine:

“Its great to look up at the sky – and the leaves  – and to have like actual physical contact with so much life – its great. Imagine – that we don’t care about the environment – and then later we don’t have any contact with any trees, or animals or flowers. We have to stay always inside – just to be alive – just to be safe – that would be so pathetic.  When I lost the chance to visit and have actual physical connection with the world – I became so much more aware of how precious and valuable the outside world is in my life”

A gift to future generations?

Lets hope we all emerge from this collective lockdown with heightened wisdom – and a collective desire – to do what is necessary – to take care of all that is truly precious – the planet we call home – and the ecosystems that supports us both physically and mentally.

Maybe this situation is a gift in disguise for Greta Thunberg and her generation? Our response to the threat proves that when it really counts, we have tremendous ability for collective action. We prioritize life over economics – we accept temporary restrictions to help the situation. We keep optimistic and positive and help out were we can – we applaud and thank those in the front line. We show that we can when it really matters.

Climate change also matters – it moves a bit slower than the corona virus – but it is also deadly – many times as deadly – it is extinction level deadly.

So when the threat of this virus is over – lets band together and tackle the biggest threat of all – climate change – we know what to do – the solutions are here – all we need to do is act!

You can watch Jialan Cai story here.