World after COVID-19. There’s no turning back, only forward

1

The coronavirus pandemic is horrible. It’s even more horrible if you take into account that we’ve never been better off than now - since the last big pandemics of Spanish flu, we’ve made unbelievable advancements in science, technology and quality of life and if it would be desire of leaders worldwide, wars and famines would have ended a long time ago. We’ve enjoyed a good life for so long, that most of us are just waiting for this to be over to go back to the life before. 

2

To a life where consequences of humanity’s tendency to change the environment to worse are not shoved straight up to your face. To a life where CO2 emissions and melting of glaciers is happening somewhere far away. Sometimes it seems like there’s only two options - either we don’t have a power to affect anything or we’re suffering from megalomania of thinking we can influence the climate cycles. Truth, of course, is somewhere in the between and specifics don’t even matter - in the end, you just don’t trash your home. 

3

If the climate catastrophe is something that we’re responsible for and the question is in figuring out how to deal with, then COVID-19 hit us more like deus ex machina. And this time it hit the West, that was lucky to be not suffering the same consequences with swine flu or avian influenza. Oh, and didn’t we feel a bit arrogant watching the events in Wuhan rolling out, no-one expecting it to arrive in Europe on a scale it has hit us by now.

Compared to the climate crisis, pandemics are morally easier to bear, though. I, as an individual, haven’t done anything to cause it. Right?

4

Belief (or just unwillingness to consider the facts) is an amazing thing. Even now, we can see people ignoring their quarantine and going shopping because they don’t believe that the virus is anything to be worried about - just like smokers don’t believe lung cancer would ever happen to them. Belief plays an important role in the economy too - Italy was close to lock-down, but stock markets hit their records. Now look how stock markets and employers have responded to the crisis. Although it’s unlikely that we’d suffer famine in the developed countries, there are several layers before the rock bottom that don't really feel any different. Of course, in time, we’ll get through this. 

5

Threat is an opportunity. This one has become a real danger. We’ve seen companies turning the crisis to their advantage. We’ve seen companies postponing the necessary decisions, making this hard for them to survive. All of us have readjusted our normality - overnight, we don’t leave homes, touch people, go shopping or travel. We don’t go to offices, dine in restaurants or go partying.  Although not everything should stay that way, it has shown us that ideas considered ridiculous and impossible before, became very real and possible when needed. This gives hope for the future. 

6

A friend of mine fell down from the 3rd floor and had to be on artificial respiration for a while. Could’t smoke and actually quit for a while, but now chain-smokes again. Will we too return to our self- and planet-harming activities as if nothing happened after the crisis is over? Even better, let’s forget why it happened and repeat in a couple of years when the next and probably deadlier virus rampages around the globe. OR should we perhaps learn from this very hard lesson and change things that need to be changed? I vote for option two. 

7 

Those who voted for option two and don’t know where to start, here’s an option - join @The Global Hack on 9-12 of April and participate in combating this crisis but also the problems that the global society will face once the curve has been flattened and the world that has changed beyond recognition. More info and registration: https://theglobalhack.com/

Priit Salumaa & Vahur Afanasjev