Just like a virus, the spread of ideas and behaviour from one human to another relies on contact. Exposure. At which point, the symptoms of infection in the new host begin to show. And sometimes the transmission speed of these ideas and behaviours, across a population, can be very quick, regardless of how beneficial they actually are.
Fidget spinners, for example; that saggy pant trend for young men in the early noughties; planking; supermarket shoppers (needlessly) buying toilet paper in bulk, causing other shoppers to follow suit.
Some idea / behaviour viruses manage to originate from very nutrient-poor breeding grounds. But some come from thick, gooey, rich concoctions of thorough research and thoughtful execution. Gladly, as this Coronavirus pandemic has grown over the last few weeks, a lot of what we have been seeing from people in response has been very common-sense actions, born of the latter.
The practice of elbow bumping has spread like wildfire. The act of holding Zoom sessions, instead of physical meetings, has become contagious. However, before the virus existed there was another group of issues that already required so many of these major behaviour changes we are now making. Ranging from environmental issues, to wealth inequality, to social conflict.
And climate change is defintely on this list. Of the top ten suggestions that scientists, experts and environmentalists have been making for many years to help combat global warming, a good number of them replicate those of the Covid-19 survival playbook. And the world has suddenly managed to roll out these actions in only a few weeks. We've heavily reduced our flying; minimised the amount we commute; closed down factories that churn out unessential items and successfully stopped people going into malls to buy them.
“Ah, but surely,” you say, “Covid-19 is a much more dangerous threat than climate change.” Well, not really. In relation to these environmental concerns, experts and scientists have delivered stark warnings that (best-case scenario, on our current trajectory), over the next 50 years, tens of millions of people will die as a result of water and food scarcity, extreme weather events, heat-related illness, wars, etc. due to an increase in global temperatures.
Yes, despite all these predictions, we all know there has been next to no change in the behaviour of the average person and the average government, to push climate mitigation initiatives. But I don't want to cry over spilt milk - as long as we can learn from the experience. And the last few weeks have actually taught us a wonderful lesson. That we can still get by despite a vast reduction in flying, commuting and consuming. That change is possible, and, when it comes down to it, making this change happen is perhaps not as difficult as the majority of everyone thought it might be.
Which demonstrates one crucial point, that human resilience and contentment has shown time and time again to be much more dependent on how meaningful a person's social fabric is rather than whether they can go on holiday to the Gold Coast or they’re able to buy the latest Nissan Navara. Essentially, suddenly finding ourselves outside of our normal routines and living a new lifestyle that we had previously decided would be unbearable, is actually proving to not be that bad (self isolation and the current threat of sickness and death aside) - as long as we still have each other.
Of course we all know that momentary feeling of gratification that comes with taking charge of shiny new things (I, personally, wouldn’t be caught dead buying a Navara, but I have been known to splurge on the odd tailored shirt). But the phenomenon of the hedonic treadmill has proved over and over that, measured over longer periods, our level of happiness averages out and self-moderates back down to a biological baseline. “Are filthy rich people, with every possession possible, perpetually smiling all day?”, I sometimes have to ask myself when I feel that unnecessary shopping urge. “Did people 70 years ago feel mysteriously sad all the time because they didn't have smart-phones, jet skis and TV dinners?”
So many studies have shown that meaningful relationships are a key part to longevity of life, that it’s communities with a strong focus on mutual respect, empathy and team values (rather than those that are individualist and competitive) that create fulfilment. And it's a meaningful set of common goals which make people feel satisfied about life, much more than a bigger TV could ever do.
Personally, I blame most of the world's current ecological meltdowns on rampant capitalism and consumerism and, if it wasn't for the current constant shadow of forboding and tragedy, I would be really appreciating the environmental silver linings of our changed circumstances. We are literally seeing, from space, drastic emission reductions from China and Europe. Many places which normally never see the sun, are now regularly seeing blue skies. Venice’s canals, which are usually polluted and grey from motorised tourist boats, are now running clear and seeing a marked rise in fish populations.
While highlighting all these indicators of environmental sustainability, I, of course, understand that the situation we are now in is far from economically sustainable. We have been thrown into this bare-necessities, emergency paradigm without warning and proper planning, so it’s natural that our current version of reduced consumption will have a limited life-span (for one, the government bail-outs can only last so long). The world is, undoubtedly, in a fairly mixed-up way and I definitely wouldn't want this piece to imply otherwise. It has, however, been put together to highlight that, on a personal, national and global level, we are actually able to change our trajectory, and that, if we were to sort out how to transition properly, that staying on that new path while maintaining emotional fulfilment along the way is very possible.
And so, this piece is also a call to action - to grab some of the changes we have made over the last few weeks and make them permanent (well, those conducive to green progress at least, as opposed to all that damn hand sanitising). To begin with, we are already starting to come to terms with the idea that we can get by without international flight; that so much of the travel we do around town, and the nation, for business can be replaced by video conferencing; and that being conscious of what we buy in this time of economic uncertainty and limited supply, is actually great practice for consuming less, long-term.
It’s an exciting call to action because we’ve learnt that the one thing that will bring us closer together (social distancing aside), and that science suggests will make us more fulfilled, will be the act of setting our sights on really big common goals, like mitigating climate change, and the experience of achieving those goals together.
Over the last few weeks one of the most impressive idea / behaviour viruses that have spread around the world has been the notion of sacrificing one's personal routines to help keep the wider community safe. Wonderfully, the idea that, as individuals, we should change the way we do things, even if we are young and fit and healthy, to help create a safer environment for the elderly and more vulnerable, has been hugely contagious. In a way, it’s been a pandemic of selfless global communal purpose – giving me hope that, under the right circumstances, the aspiration to deal with our planet's other dire social and environmental imperatives has the potential to spread like wildfire as well.
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