Environmental corona

Following the epidemic, it becomes clear how environmental justice and social justice march together

After about 250 days of closure that hurt everyone, it turns out that the understanding of the world is changing and the desire to return to a normal routine is not so obvious, when the realization that the routine needs to be changed raises the question: How do we move forward?.

The year in which normality was lost made it clear how limited we are. Not only because of the uncertainty caused by the climatic changes and the environmental damage, but also because of an increase in the gap between a few privileged people and more and more people who are pushed to the margins.

The Pope recently said: "We must understand that a correct ecological approach will always be combined with a social approach. Social justice should not be separated from environmental justice. It is necessary to understand that the same reasons that cause damage to the environment and its resources are also the causes of deprivation and the destruction of the social fabric."

The worldwide lockdown has highlighted the difference between those who have and those who have not, while celebrities and the rich mourn the inconvenience of not having performances or the need to stay in their luxurious home without the possibility of going to beauty salons - hundreds of millions of people who live from hand to mouth struggle to survive and exist. The ridiculous fact that those who suffer more from the lockdown are the ones who are least responsible for the situation humanity has reached, a situation in which the weak and the poor are harmed by the consequences of extreme warming and suffer from floods, droughts, air pollution and much more, is depressing and irritating.

A disturbance in one place creates disruptions in other places as well

Human populations in the entire world are linked and dependent on each other economically, technologically, and of course environmentally and climatically, so that a disturbance in one place sends waves throughout the entire world and always hurts the poor even more. The Covid-19 pandemic made it clear how the entire human population in the world is connected, not only between each other but also and above all how we are connected to the natural world, how because of the interdependence between people in the world and between people and nature, the virus "jumped" from one species to another and caused a global epidemic.

However, as devastating as the epidemic is, there are still steps that can be taken to prevent or at least mitigate its impact. Not so the climatic threat that already today leaves vulnerable populations unable to protect their ability to survive and their lives. This is how the epidemic can be seen as the "good news of disruption" when the world enters an unpredictable period due to climate change. Agriculture around the world is affected by diseases and pests. It is known that the increase in herds of sheep and cattle is an indirect link to the infection of animal diseases (zoonotic) and an increasing risk of the spread of epidemics. In a report published by the "Global Investment System" (FAIRR) it was found that "due to negligent safety measures, 70% of milk, meat and fish production is at risk of an outbreak of animal epidemics, mainly due to overcrowding of animals and excessive use of antibiotics".

All this when climatic disasters increase and multiply.

Much has already been said and written about the fact that humanity is a part of nature and is not placed above it, therefore it is clear that humanity's dependence on nature and its resources will continue. Which makes it clear that damage to the natural environment will result in damage to the human population.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), humanity has a window of about ten years to change and contain policies and behavior that will moderate the hazards. That means there are only ten years to act to mitigate the warming and at the same time to prepare the area for the absorption of hazards in such a way that the damage is moderated or significantly reduced. Ten years is a short time to fix things and prepare for a new situation where the abnormal will become normal.

In order to avoid the terrible cost to the environment and humanity, a combined effort is needed that will change access to natural resources. Access to minerals, forests, land, water and, of course, air must change radically. So is the need to rethink the approach to production systems and the global food supply, all while taking into account the natural environment.

The epidemic and the quarantines in various countries revealed the sensitivity of the food supply system mainly in marginalized populations where about 40% of the people depend on food from sources without sanitary control. The opening of the closures lacks reference to environmental and social justice that requires change. Institutionalized discrimination and lack of policies for the poor cause gross inequality and damage to people and the environment.

Speaking to the people of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Prof. Bob Scholes said: "The foundations of the social system are changing for many reasons, but mainly because of the growing inequality and overexploitation of natural resources. It is necessary to ask: What should be changed in human-nature relations?"

Prof. Sholes added that this should be done with the recognition that humanity is the cause of failures and defects that require correction, but it can also improve the situation. "There is no magic solution in managing complex systems. Ecological, environmental and social justice will be a marker that will ensure that the changes will be made in the right way, even if not the shortest way."

And in my own way I will add that instead of controlling the environment for the sake of the human population, there should be control of the human population for the sake of the environment.

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• Three thoughts on climate change - in the light of the corona virus
• The time of the Corona, the age of the climate crisis
• It's the climate, moron