Pritzker hard at work. Photo by Gerardo Gandy.
In the span of a few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered nearly every facet of our lives. We’ve found new ways to conduct commerce, to share meals, and to attend classes from home. We exercise differently, we continue rituals of birth, marriage, and graduations — but in far different ways. And the lucky ones who still have jobs get up each day and go about work in a strange new fashion.
But our adaptability has had unintended consequences. We find ourselves more isolated — and with that isolation, we find ourselves struggling with boredom, loneliness, and depression. When we do make it out into public spaces, we do so with a new sense of fear and a measure of distrust as we estimate the distance between ourselves and others. “Is that six feet?” We ask. “Why isn’t he wearing a mask?” Such questions make us long to be back in a “normal” world.
As we transition to a world where we must cope with the possibility of a viral resurgence on a daily basis, we can begin to see which parts of the old “normal” world will return and which parts of this new world will shape our path forward. The biggest considerations for many will be how we go back to that place we call work — or whether we do at all. In the press there’s chatter of a continuing emphasis on working from home, on redesigned workspaces, on sterilization and sanitization techniques.
But what may seem like easy or clever fixes may be misdiagnoses — solutions with unintended consequences that we need to consider as we plan to reintegrate with society. Of particular concern are the potential environmental impacts such changes may have that not only affect our continued battle with global warming but may also exacerbate the conditions conducive to viruses more powerful than SARS-CoV-2.
Hidden Costs
It’s clear, in dealing with a disease that has already left a staggering death toll in the U.S. and around the world, that we will need to make changes to prevent future crises like what we’ve seen thus far. Supply shortages, a lack of hospital beds, and an inability to impose clear, rapid measures to protect our population are preventable. We also know that crises like these disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities and people of color. It is our responsibility to not only prevent future catastrophes, but do so in a thoughtful, ethical, and equitable way which considers everyone’s immediate safety, as well as their long-term well-being.
Climate scientists wrestle with the impact that changes in our global environment may have on viral growth and disease transmission. Something as simple as a shift in humidity levels can have unforeseen consequences on the way viruses spread. Factors such as this make it vital that we consider how changes we make to deal with the virus might influence the climate.