Jane Goodall: We can learn from this pandemic

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This is Scientific Americans, 60 Second Science. I am Steve Mersky.

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“And with this Coronavirus, the hopeful thing is how communication communities and individuals scope have gotten together and by helping each other.”

That is Jane Goodall during the a teleconference last week. Wednesday, April 22nd, is the 50th Earth day and on Wednesday Goodall will take part in daylong programming on the National Geographic channel. During the teleconference last week she was asked, what gives her hope during this pandemic.

“The incredible courage of the people on the frontline, the doctors, the nurses risking and sometimes losing their lives, and of course we shall get through this, and the big hope is that this time we will pay attention to the cores cause of the pandemic, which is our disrespect of nature and the animals and the destruction of the environment, forcing animals in the close into closer contact with each other, some of them with humans. The trafficking, the hunting, the killing, the wet markets, the intensive animal farms, domestic animals and all of that is creating conditions for a virus to jump from one species to another.”

Goodall was also asked how she hoped the world might change because of the pandemic.

“How I thought hope it will change and how it changes could be are two different things sometimes in this particular case. I think hopefully probably millions of the people, especially those living in cities, have experienced for the first time what it’s like to breathe fresh air and to see the stars at night, and even see wild animals are close to at closer quarters and I see think those people will, --- and I think other people to too -- have seen this is as a wake-up call that we have disrespected the nature. we've got to start changing the way that we’ve act, and we’ve got to rethink the way we live. We've got to get away from consumerism and appealism materialism that puts economic development ahead of environmental protection which is damaging the future generations of humans and animals. The fear still as to whether this will make a big sea change, the fear is we have so many political leaders around the world right now, and I fear that they will want to get back to business as usual as quickly as possible and even we redouble it to make up for lost times. 

From Scientific American, 60 Second Science. I am Steve MerskyMirsky.

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Dictation audio source & transcript: https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/jane-goodall-we-can-learn-from-this-pandemic/