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Even as birdsong filtered more clearly than ever through the world’s quiet streets this spring， there was a healthy scepticism around the idea that nature was in fact “returning”.
The #WeAreTheVirus hashtag， which early on in the Covid-19 lockdowns noted the natural world’s apparent reset， was quickly repurposed. Users instead added it alongside doctored or nonsensical images to humorously undermine the original meme’s own anti-humanity and over-simplification： dinosaurs returning to Times Square， cows returning to the sea.
This switch was rooted in a sense that， far from removing environmental challenges， the pandemic may make them even harder to solve.
As one Instagram user put it to me： “Capitalism is the virus that needs to be changed， not humans as a whole.”
And as parts of the world begin to pull themselves out from under the first wave of infections， much of the scepticism surrounding nature’s apparent recovery now seems justified.
Not only is the Arctic literally on fire， but the pollutants that ravaged our atmosphere before Covid-19 are likely to return with a vengeance as soon as its spread is curbed. Oil demand is set to bounce back in 2021. Airlines have successfully lobbied for an amendment2 to their climate targets. According to the International Energy Agency chief， the world only has six months to stave off3 climate catastrophe.
Biodiversity is also suffering. In Brazil， deforestation has soared during lockdown， with a government minister suggesting the pandemic’s distraction should be used to increase deregulation. In Kenya， there has been an alarming rise in bushmeat4 and ivory poaching. Even within the UK， badgers may have been saved by a reduction in road use—but birds’ eggs have been eaten by rats owing to the absence of conservationists to protect them.
Nor do many governments yet seem equipped to meet the challenge. A new report from Britain’s Committee on Climate Change5， assessing the British government’s progress towards its climate goals， finds the government has failed against 14 of 21 sectoral indicators of progress. In the US and China， the rush to rescue their most polluting sectors is not yet pursuing anything like a green stimulus6. And while the EU says it has put fighting climate change at the heart of its Covid-19 recovery plans， its current proposals leave in place existing support for dirty industries.
“A world of clean air and good green jobs is there for the taking7. There’s no guarantee we’ll take that path， though，” Rosie Rogers， head of green recovery at Greenpeace UK， told me. “For all the voices backing a green recovery， the emergence from lockdown could still see us locked further into polluting systems. We’re already seeing a rapid bounceback in carbon emissions as public transport remains off limits and car use increases.” It doesn’t have to be this way， however. In last week’s CCC report8， the body urged the UK to “seize the opportunity” for a “green recovery”， such as through bringing forward car bans and raising subsidies for electric alternatives. Around the world， calls for Green New Deals are growing， with governments both under pressure to create and spend money， as well as to tackle rising unemployment. South Korea has already gone some way to taking the plunge9.
Wildlife scientists are also hoping to use data gathered during the lockdowns to quantify humanity’s impact on nature better. And among all the painful disruptions the pandemic has brought， there is a small silver lining10 of increased engagement with the natural world—both locally， through visits to parks， and more widely， in the surge in numbers tuning into wildlife cams.
In ways such as these， the lockdowns perhaps bring to mind the words of the Welsh poet William Henry Davies11： “What is this life if， full of care， we have no time to stand and stare.” Yet while coronavirus has given some people more time to pause and appreciate the natural world， it has also highlighted the increasingly urgent need to save it.
今年春天，全球各地的安静街道上，鸟鸣前所未有地清晰。然而即便如此，对于大自然是否正在“回归”的看法，我们仍然有所怀疑，而这种怀疑合乎情理。
疫情封锁之初，社交网络上“我们才是病毒”的话题标签论及自然世界显而易见的复苏，但是转瞬之间这个标签下的内容却转变了画风：人们转而发布合成的或者荒诞不经的图片，以诙谐方式冲淡标签本身反人类、过度简化的一面——在这些图片中恐龙重回时代广场，奶牛回到了大海。
这种转变源于一种观念：疫情非但没有消除各种环境挑战，反而使其愈发难以解决。
一位照片墙用户对我说：“需要变革的病毒是资本主义，不是全人类。”
随着一部分地区开始摆脱第一波感染高峰，此时，不少针对“自然环境明显好转”的质疑现在看来也是有凭有据的。
北极地带确确实实地着了火，不仅如此，疫情暴发前破坏大气层的各种污染物很有可能一等到疫情得到控制就会卷土重来，且势头强劲。2021年的石油需求必定会反弹。航空公司已成功游说修订了他们的气候目标。根据国际能源署署长的观点，世界只有6个月的时间来避免气候灾难。
生物多样性也正经历劫难。巴西的森林砍伐活动在封锁期间愈演愈烈，一名部长甚至提出，应该趁疫情分散媒体注意力之机更多地放宽采伐管制。在肯尼亚，变本加厉的野生动物猎食和象牙盗猎令人震惊。即便是在英国，獾或许因为道路交通的减少而保下了小命，然而鸟蛋却因为没有环保人士开展保护行动而落入鼠口。
很多政府似乎并未做好准备来应对这种挑战。英国气候变化委员会近日发布了一份新报告，评估英国政府气候目标的进展。报告指出，在全部21项指标中，英国政府有14项未能完成。中美两国都在急于挽救污染程度最高的经济部门，却尚未采取行动刺激绿色经济。欧盟宣称已将应对气候变化置于新冠疫情后经济恢复计划的核心，然而其当前提案保留了对高污染工业的现有支持。
“有清新空氣和绿色工作的世界就在眼前，却没人能保证我们一定会选择这条道路。”英国绿色和平组织绿色复苏部门的负责人罗西·罗杰斯对我说：“尽管有这么多声音支持绿色复苏，但在解除封锁后我们却有仍可能被进一步禁锢在污染作法中。由于公共交通停运，私家车出行增加，我们已经看到碳排放在迅速回升。”
然而事情本不必如此。上周的气候变化委员会报告中，委员会敦促英国“抓住机会”来促成“绿色复苏”，诸如推行汽车禁令，以及提高电动汽车补贴。全球范围内，对“绿色新政”的呼吁与日俱增，而各国政府同时面临着创造财富和刺激消费的压力，还要应对日益增长的失业问题。韩国就已经为此采取了一些果断行动。
野生动物学家也希望利用封锁期间采集的数据来量化评估人类对自然的影响。疫情带来了种种伤痛和破坏，但是也带来了一线希望：人类与自然界的关系更加密切——这既包括发生在我们居住地的行为，比如逛公园，也包括更大范围的情况，比如通过网络摄像头看野生动物视频直播的人数激增。
通过上述这些方式，封锁或许让我们想起了威尔士诗人威廉·亨利·戴维斯的诗句：“生命为何物？倘若愁肠满腹，却无暇驻足细睹。”新冠疫情为一部分人带来了更多时间，让他们暂停脚步来欣赏自然界，但也让我们意识到保护自然的日益紧迫性。 □
（译者单位：西南大学含弘学院）
The #WeAreTheVirus hashtag， which early on in the Covid-19 lockdowns noted the natural world’s apparent reset， was quickly repurposed. Users instead added it alongside doctored or nonsensical images to humorously undermine the original meme’s own anti-humanity and over-simplification： dinosaurs returning to Times Square， cows returning to the sea.
This switch was rooted in a sense that， far from removing environmental challenges， the pandemic may make them even harder to solve.
As one Instagram user put it to me： “Capitalism is the virus that needs to be changed， not humans as a whole.”
And as parts of the world begin to pull themselves out from under the first wave of infections， much of the scepticism surrounding nature’s apparent recovery now seems justified.
Not only is the Arctic literally on fire， but the pollutants that ravaged our atmosphere before Covid-19 are likely to return with a vengeance as soon as its spread is curbed. Oil demand is set to bounce back in 2021. Airlines have successfully lobbied for an amendment2 to their climate targets. According to the International Energy Agency chief， the world only has six months to stave off3 climate catastrophe.
Biodiversity is also suffering. In Brazil， deforestation has soared during lockdown， with a government minister suggesting the pandemic’s distraction should be used to increase deregulation. In Kenya， there has been an alarming rise in bushmeat4 and ivory poaching. Even within the UK， badgers may have been saved by a reduction in road use—but birds’ eggs have been eaten by rats owing to the absence of conservationists to protect them.
Nor do many governments yet seem equipped to meet the challenge. A new report from Britain’s Committee on Climate Change5， assessing the British government’s progress towards its climate goals， finds the government has failed against 14 of 21 sectoral indicators of progress. In the US and China， the rush to rescue their most polluting sectors is not yet pursuing anything like a green stimulus6. And while the EU says it has put fighting climate change at the heart of its Covid-19 recovery plans， its current proposals leave in place existing support for dirty industries.
“A world of clean air and good green jobs is there for the taking7. There’s no guarantee we’ll take that path， though，” Rosie Rogers， head of green recovery at Greenpeace UK， told me. “For all the voices backing a green recovery， the emergence from lockdown could still see us locked further into polluting systems. We’re already seeing a rapid bounceback in carbon emissions as public transport remains off limits and car use increases.” It doesn’t have to be this way， however. In last week’s CCC report8， the body urged the UK to “seize the opportunity” for a “green recovery”， such as through bringing forward car bans and raising subsidies for electric alternatives. Around the world， calls for Green New Deals are growing， with governments both under pressure to create and spend money， as well as to tackle rising unemployment. South Korea has already gone some way to taking the plunge9.
Wildlife scientists are also hoping to use data gathered during the lockdowns to quantify humanity’s impact on nature better. And among all the painful disruptions the pandemic has brought， there is a small silver lining10 of increased engagement with the natural world—both locally， through visits to parks， and more widely， in the surge in numbers tuning into wildlife cams.
In ways such as these， the lockdowns perhaps bring to mind the words of the Welsh poet William Henry Davies11： “What is this life if， full of care， we have no time to stand and stare.” Yet while coronavirus has given some people more time to pause and appreciate the natural world， it has also highlighted the increasingly urgent need to save it.
今年春天，全球各地的安静街道上，鸟鸣前所未有地清晰。然而即便如此，对于大自然是否正在“回归”的看法，我们仍然有所怀疑，而这种怀疑合乎情理。
疫情封锁之初，社交网络上“我们才是病毒”的话题标签论及自然世界显而易见的复苏，但是转瞬之间这个标签下的内容却转变了画风：人们转而发布合成的或者荒诞不经的图片，以诙谐方式冲淡标签本身反人类、过度简化的一面——在这些图片中恐龙重回时代广场，奶牛回到了大海。
这种转变源于一种观念：疫情非但没有消除各种环境挑战，反而使其愈发难以解决。
一位照片墙用户对我说：“需要变革的病毒是资本主义，不是全人类。”
随着一部分地区开始摆脱第一波感染高峰，此时，不少针对“自然环境明显好转”的质疑现在看来也是有凭有据的。
北极地带确确实实地着了火，不仅如此，疫情暴发前破坏大气层的各种污染物很有可能一等到疫情得到控制就会卷土重来，且势头强劲。2021年的石油需求必定会反弹。航空公司已成功游说修订了他们的气候目标。根据国际能源署署长的观点，世界只有6个月的时间来避免气候灾难。
生物多样性也正经历劫难。巴西的森林砍伐活动在封锁期间愈演愈烈，一名部长甚至提出，应该趁疫情分散媒体注意力之机更多地放宽采伐管制。在肯尼亚，变本加厉的野生动物猎食和象牙盗猎令人震惊。即便是在英国，獾或许因为道路交通的减少而保下了小命，然而鸟蛋却因为没有环保人士开展保护行动而落入鼠口。
很多政府似乎并未做好准备来应对这种挑战。英国气候变化委员会近日发布了一份新报告，评估英国政府气候目标的进展。报告指出，在全部21项指标中，英国政府有14项未能完成。中美两国都在急于挽救污染程度最高的经济部门，却尚未采取行动刺激绿色经济。欧盟宣称已将应对气候变化置于新冠疫情后经济恢复计划的核心，然而其当前提案保留了对高污染工业的现有支持。
“有清新空氣和绿色工作的世界就在眼前，却没人能保证我们一定会选择这条道路。”英国绿色和平组织绿色复苏部门的负责人罗西·罗杰斯对我说：“尽管有这么多声音支持绿色复苏，但在解除封锁后我们却有仍可能被进一步禁锢在污染作法中。由于公共交通停运，私家车出行增加，我们已经看到碳排放在迅速回升。”
然而事情本不必如此。上周的气候变化委员会报告中，委员会敦促英国“抓住机会”来促成“绿色复苏”，诸如推行汽车禁令，以及提高电动汽车补贴。全球范围内，对“绿色新政”的呼吁与日俱增，而各国政府同时面临着创造财富和刺激消费的压力，还要应对日益增长的失业问题。韩国就已经为此采取了一些果断行动。
野生动物学家也希望利用封锁期间采集的数据来量化评估人类对自然的影响。疫情带来了种种伤痛和破坏，但是也带来了一线希望：人类与自然界的关系更加密切——这既包括发生在我们居住地的行为，比如逛公园，也包括更大范围的情况，比如通过网络摄像头看野生动物视频直播的人数激增。
通过上述这些方式，封锁或许让我们想起了威尔士诗人威廉·亨利·戴维斯的诗句：“生命为何物？倘若愁肠满腹，却无暇驻足细睹。”新冠疫情为一部分人带来了更多时间，让他们暂停脚步来欣赏自然界，但也让我们意识到保护自然的日益紧迫性。 □
（译者单位：西南大学含弘学院）