By Jens Erik Larsen
We are in a historically unique period that none of us have experienced before. Each of us is affected differently and at the same time we have to accommodate a community both national and international in a new way, but we must not meet physically.
I live alone in the countryside and there is less work than there usually is. I have started preparing the kitchen garden until it is warm enough to sow, and then I have had time to scan slides, something I have considered many winters to start with.
Last night I saw a corona related initiative on television, it was ment to be that people sing the same song together, but staying home, but did not sing along. There is no balcony where you can stand and wave to others. I am tired of opening on TV-News and seeing all the corona issues that are now worldwide. It really is reminiscent of a war.
I took a walk in the woods today thinking about how these creepy images affect us and how we get creative in the unusual situation, and not least how the world will look afterwards. Something good might come of it, e.g. a solution to the climate crisis.
First, the whole world is burning. I came to think of the Babel Tower in the Bible, where all people went to the same place and overcrowded the area. Therefore, God separated them by giving them different languages. In our day – until a short time ago – we did travel around the world. The news from all over the world is a daily diet in our living rooms. If we had not traveled so much, the corona infection would not have followed – it’s crazy that it’s now in every country around the globe, in such a short time. Maybe that’s
not what we should do in the future.
After the health crisis, the economic crisis quickly followed, and its consequences are unknown at the moment, but there are indications that it will end with some of the worst we have ever seen. After all, there
is an automatic system in our social system that there must always be growth in the economy, ie. more production, more consumption, etc. It must probably stop when this crisis is over, we must redefine the concepts so that the only happiness is not increased GDP.
It may also help in the climate. It is good to talk about green growth and that technological development can do a lot, but we do not have to turn down a bit to reach the desired climate targets with a 70% reduction of
CO2 emissions by 2030. The Corona crisis may contribute at various points. Many have now become accustomed to working at home. Private and public companies have seen that this is possible, so we must be able to save some highways and some emissions in the future. Politicians have become accustomed to holding video meetings, so they do not have to fly to Brussels all the time. Yes, many others now only attend meetings on Skype etc. In private, various virtual dinners, Friday beers, the mentioned community song, etc. have also been invented. I have just learned how to download
e-books at the library so I do not have to move there.
Nevertheless, we need the economy to start again, so hopefully it can happen in a way that supports the green transition. Setting up charging stations for electric cars across the country, solar cells and wind
turbines, as well as energy renovation of the older housing stock are options that fulfill both.
But what will we be missing when the crisis is over? Sure we should meet again and hug each other as well as for communal dinners at libraries and in assembly houses, for football, etc. We will probably find out, but
the rush hour traffic and air pollution in cities, we will drop it
