Sir, – Your recent editorials ("The Irish Times view on global warming: There can be no return to normal", April 17th; "The Irish Times view on nature in a time of crisis: The call of the wild", April 18th) have hit on an important theme regarding our relationship with nature.
As you highlight, the global shutdown has revived an appreciation of our surroundings and an understanding of the fragility of our existence when the natural balances evolved over millennia are disrupted. In coming out of this period of reflection, it is critical we do not accelerate a return to “business as usual” but take stock of where we want to go as a species.
We are inhabiting a unique home that is losing its ability to sustain life. However, the current pause allows a rare opportunity to design a new sustainable and equitable economic model.
We have seen during this period that we can make drastic changes in our lifestyles for the greater good.
Similar, but less drastic, lifestyle changes will be needed when we come out of this crisis as the climate and biodiversity emergency will need to tackled head on. The challenge will be getting alignment on a way forward, and some of the signs are not promising.
The stimulus package in the US has prioritised the usual suspects, the fossil-fuel lobby and its dependents. The opportunistic undermining of environmental protections during the Covid-19 crisis by both the Bolsonaro and Trump regimes suggests a significant challenge lies ahead in trying to get Brazil and the US on board.
The coming US presidential election is hugely significant in this context but provides some realistic hope if the US can make the right choice and dump the current White House incumbent. – Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH,
Blackrock,
Cork.