2022, World is finally getting back on track but look at the origins of COVID reveals that other forces may be in play. In the past century we have escalated our demands upon nature, such that today, we are losing species at a rate unknown since the dinosaurs, along with half of life on earth, went extinct 65 million years ago. This rapid dismantling of life on earth owes primarily to habitat loss, which occurs mostly from growing crops and raising livestock for people. With fewer places to live and fewer food sources to feed on, animals find food and shelter where people are, and that can lead to disease spread.
Another major cause of species loss is climate change, which can also change where animals and plants live and affect where diseases may occur. Historically, we have grown as a species in partnership with the plants and animals we live with. So, when we change the rules of the game by drastically changing the climate and life on earth, we have to expect that it will affect our health.
Each year, we always have to ask ourselves, how do we build a more resilient future? How do we ensure that the current generation and future generations are not “caught off guard” by existential threats? If changing rainfall patterns affect crop production or new variants of virus threaten inadequate/inefficient healthcare system, how can we envision a comprehensive change to drive us towards our desire goal?
