Happy Earth Day!
I know it’s not actually Earth Day. I missed it. Then again, every day is Earth Day for me.
The fully edited version of my forth novel, A Woman’s World , is available when you sign up for my newsletter, which can be done on the home page of this website.
I wanted to discuss this amazing planet we call home.
It’s crazy to think that there are children in India
who had never seen a blue sky until COVID-19.
After only six weeks of non-essential business shut-down, she restored clean air to many major cities around the world. This is most noticeable in highly polluted areas like India (above) and China (below). I noticed on my morning hikes that the air quality in Tucson was noticeably cleaner during lockdown.
This means more than just clean air for your lungs. It also means cleaner soil which translates to healthier foods to fuel our bodies. Thus increasing our immune system and helping us to better fight off the COVID-19 virus (Ian Somerhalder, Instagram Announcement, Earth Day, 2020).
Now that things are opening back up (at least here in Arizona) I fear that our carbon footprint will not remain this low. Yet, I’m hopeful that places like China and India will be reminded that the sky is supposed to be blue and they will be motivated to make changes toward more sustainable living. (I.e. quit mass producing cheap plastic crap for the U.S.)
COVID-19 is Mother Earth sending us a message. At first I thought it was a very dark message;
“If you continue to kill me then I will do the same in return.”
Rather morbid, right?
But thankfully I was wrong. She created a super virus that kills a small percentage of us. It could have been so much worse, like the apocalyptic plagues of Medieval Europe; in which the black plague wiped out 2/3’s of Europe's population in some regions. So we are relatively lucky today, with only a small percentage of humans dying of COVID-19. The virus could be so much more deadly.
However, Mother Nature is still accomplishing Her goal which is to get us to stop our industrial polluting ways, to stop burning fossil fuels at high rates and to hunker down and think about what really matters.
I’m not worried about Mother Nature. I’m worried about humans. Mother Nature is powerful and we don’t stand a chance against Her. She brought us to our knees with something so tiny we can’t even see it.
She has always and will always restore balance and we are NO match for Her. If She so chooses, She will wipe us out in the blink of an eye. She has so many ways, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanos and yes of course (the number one killer) diseases. She has so many weapons at her disposal.
Hopefully She doesn’t want us gone. Perhaps She’s only reminding us that we need to live more sustainable lives. COVID-19 may be proof of this. It’s a reminder of how powerful She is. She can bring our economy to a screeching halt and She can heal Herself.
Don’t forget She is our home, the land and water we need to survive.
We are 100% reliant on Her and She doesn’t need us. As She’s proven, She can restore balance to the ecosystem more quickly than we might have thought. She’s the ultimate superhero with the coolest powers.
How Should We Move Forward?
If people want to continue to inhabit this planet then some major changes are required. Humans have been over polluting and over-populating the world — misusing Nature’s abundant resources. If we don’t want Her to continue to go to these extreme measures to send us warnings then we need to change. They don’t have to be major sacrifices. Small things help.
Here are some simple steps we can take to make Mother Nature less mad at us …
· Consume less products that come in plastics, a start might be to stop drinking water from disposable water bottles.
· Bring your own re-useable coffee mug to your favorite coffee shop (when this is allowed again).
· Use cloth grocery bags (be sure to wash them if you carry raw meat in them).
· Try to buy products that come in compostable containers, such as milk in cardboard containers (rather than plastic).
· Look into buying an electric car. Nissan and Chevy have affordable models and they get a much better range now-a-days.
· If you live in a sunny state there could be GREAT deals on solar installation. Many states like Arizona offer free installation of solar panels.
What Might Life Look Like After COVID-19?
Will we go back to the way things were before?
No.
But that is not a bad thing. We will create a NEW NORMAL. It will look different compared to life before COVID-19.
There are many predictions about what life will be like. Many of us will be more cautious about hand washing and social distancing.
People with compromised health may always wear masks in public and/or stay home more. So we will continue to see masked people on a regular basis.
We may become less global and rely more on producing what we need at home or at least in our own countries. So we may become more isolationist. Which will reduce pollution, through less transporting of goods across oceans.
Isolation has its downsides, such as decreasing cultural awareness thus leading to less tolerance of people from other countries. Hopefully we can prevent that from happening.
My hope for the future is that humans take major steps toward living more sustainable lives. India and China will not be able to enjoy the beautiful blue sky for long if we go back to our old ways. It would be great if they can find a way to keep their air clean. We can all do our part.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
— Gandhi
Our relationship with the Planet will depend on how adaptable we are. If we continue to abuse Her, She will continue to take extreme measures. If we can figure out ways of meeting our economic needs, without creating industrial amounts of pollution then our future may be less turbulent than what we’re going through now.
I’m reminded of the story of a man who lost his job because of the invention of a machine that could do his work. He then learned to repair the machine that took his job, i.e. he adapted. Not to mention he was happier not having to do monotonous work.
We need to give up on coal and nuclear powered energy plants. If the coal and nuclear workers adapt they can put what they know into the future of power, which includes greener sources, such as solar and hydro-powered electric.
What do you think the long-term changes of COVID-19 will be, if any?
What will the world look like as it recovers from COVID-19?
What tricks do you have to decrease your carbon-footprint?
We hope to have solar installed at our new home within two months. Financially it’s a NO BRAINER. It will save us hundreds of dollars a month. It’s worth looking into in your area. Note: that some areas are more solar friendly than others. But here in Tucson we are having our system installed for free and once we pay it off, we will have free electricity most months out of the year.
I also recently switched to greener laundry detergent. Every bit helps!
Please help me to make everyday Earth Day.
As always I look forward to hearing from you!
Lynne Hill-Clark, Author
P.S.
Fiction Predicting Real Events
In my Lords and Commoners Series vampires are the cause of plagues across Medieval Europe. The series ends with vampires taking over the world as a means of restoring balance to the earth. Human populations and the accompanying pollution had grown out of control leading to an apocalypse. Sound familiar?
If you missed my previous newsletter on this then you can find it on my blog titled “There Have Always Been Plagues”. It can be found