COVID-19 and Nature

What does COVID-19 have to do with the way we interact with nature? The answer may surprise you.  A field of study known as the “Ecology of Disease” explores the relationship between diseases throughout history and their origins in our natural world.  Simplistically, human activity causes diseases to jump species, or rather, travel from nature or wildlife to humans. This certainly is an unintended consequence of our ever expanding population growth across the globe, but there are critical lessons to be learned.

Most of us never really ask where or how a disease originated.  It may be surprising to learn their origins:

• The Spanish Influenza in 1918 came from birds, which mutated to pigs and then to humans.

• Ebola was first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The prevalent theory is that it was in fruit bats, then monkey species and Chimpanzees.·        

• HIV, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus, was identified in 1983 and is believed to have
  been in monkeys and chimpanzees.  Humans contracted it when they were exposed to the blood of chimpanzees when butchering them for food.

• Measles is believed to have come from cattle and jumped to humans when they started living in close proximity.

• MERS—Middle East Respiratory Syndrome—was identified in 2012 and originated in Saudi Arabia.  It is believed that it may have originated in bats and was transmitted to camels, then humans.

• COVID-19 (the coronavirus)—It is believed the virus jumped from bats to human in Wuhan China after humans were found to eating uncooked bats.  In addition, scientists are exploring the additional possibility that pangolins sold at live animal markets also contributed to the transmission of coronavirus to humans.

Increased human populations, habitat destruction, altering ecosystems (such as with climate change), and even live animal markets all create conditions for mixing bowls for new diseases that jump from wildlife to humans.  There are a multitude of examples where diseases don’t just happen, they are a direct result of how we interact with and treat the natural world. As human populations grow and expand across the globe we are invading habitats and interacting with wildlife in ways that evolution did not intend.  Nature established natural barriers that are designed to protect us from exposure to animal pathogens, but we have eroded those barriers. One real consequence of these interactions is the exposure to diseases that we can not readily fend off.  Diseases that come from animals have higher fatality rates in humans.

So one critical lesson we need to learn is that we cannot separate health policy from
environmental policy.  If we don’t take care of nature, we are in fact, not taking care of our health.  Nature is not to be conquered by us, but rather it should be protected by us. 
When we protect our natural world, we are indeed protecting our health, our habitat and our future.

Stay Safe and End PPE Pollution!

If you’ve ventured out to a grocery store of late, you’ve likely seen a form of pollution that has become increasingly prevalent during the coronavirus pandemic—gloves, wipes, and masks littered in parking lots and throughout our communities.  Preliminary data from surveys shows that gloves are the most commonly littered Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) being found in the United States. 

Not only is this a potential health threat to those that may clean up the discarded PPE, it is creating an additional plastic pollution problem.  Gloves, masks, and wipes are all typically made with plastic. Just like plastic bags, food packaging, and straws; plastic PPE that are improperly disposed of threaten our waterways and wildlife.  Plastic does not biodegrade; instead, it breaks down into tiny pieces over time and eventually becomes microplastic pollution in our waters.  Once microplastics enter our waterways, they act as toxic sponges, accumulating toxic chemicals present in the water, including pesticides and PCBs. Microplastics have been shown to accumulate toxins a million times higher than the surrounding waters. Studies show that when fish and aquatic life consume these microplastics, the chemicals are passed up the food chain to larger fish and wildlife, and ultimately, can end up on our dinner plates. 

PPE are intended to help us fight a public health threat, not create a plastic pollution problem. So what to do if you want to be safe during the pandemic while also protecting the environment?

1)     DO NOT litter: This should go without saying, but given what we’re seeing, it definitely needs to be said.  Don’t let your used PPE become litter!  Most stores have garbage cans located just outside.  Due to this growing problem, many stores now even have signage to “DISPOSE OF YOUR PPE HERE,” making proper disposal even easier.  Another option is bring a small bag or container with you to put your used PPE into, and then throw it out when you get home (in a tightly closed garbage bag).

2)     DO NOT put PPE in your curbside recycling bin: As much as we love to recycle, when it comes to PPE, avoid “wish-cycling”.  While PPE items are often made of plastic, these materials cannot be disposed of in curbside recycling bins.  Your PPE can potentially be contaminated, which puts sanitation workers that sift through recyclable items at risk. 

Furthermore, just like plastic bags, plastic gloves can jam recycling machinery, leading to damage and delays.  We are already experiencing a solid waste crisis in this country, and causing costly and timely delays at recycling facilities only exacerbates our current recycling and solid waste woes.

There are a couple other things to consider when it comes to using plastic/rubber gloves.  We’re not doctors or infectious disease experts at CCE, so we look to those experts for some important recommendations:

 1)      Public health experts recommend that members of the public don’t wear gloves when venturing out to the grocery store. If you want to wear gloves, there is nothing inherently wrong with that, but unfortunately most people aren’t wearing or disposing of their gloves correctly.  There may be a tiny rip in the glove, you could put them on or remove them incorrectly, and using gloves could give you a false sense of safety, leading to you touching your face and causing self-contamination.

According the Cleveland Clinic, the best bet for staying safe at the store is to avoid touching your face or phone, practice social distancing, limit the amount of surfaces you touch, wear a face mask (and don’t mess with it once it’s on), sanitize your hands as soon as you get into the car, and wash your hands thoroughly when you get home.

By skipping the plastic gloves when you go to the store, not only can you take precautions to stay safe, you can reduce your use of single-use plastics!

2)      Public health experts urge you not to reuse your gloves.  As environmentalists, we are constantly encouraging reuse of products—but NOT when it comes to these plastic gloves!  Removing gloves or putting them back on without contaminating your hand or the glove is difficult.  Washing your gloves is also not recommended by health professionals.  These gloves are intended to be single-use. Washing gloves can compromise their integrity, and cause them to develop tiny rips that can lead to exposure to viruses (while luring the user into a false sense of security, and potentially touching their face before washing their hands).

Together, we can take precautions to keep ourselves safe during this public health crisis, while also protecting the health of our environment.  Long after COVID-19 is gone, we’ll still need clean water and a healthy environment.