As one of the 4.5 billion people on earth currently under some form of coronavirus-related lockdown, I have seen a lot of my local area recently. This has mainly been while walking / scooting with my wife and two small children. During a recent jaunt, we noticed how clear the birdsong was on our road. This was due to three factors: More birds in early summer, virtually zero traffic noise and the fact that we ourselves were not racing from A to B in the car. A little further up the road, a question popped up: Does this situation look anything like a ‘low-CO2 future?’
The Last Word
How long until the end of the coronavirus crisis?
The early answers are starting to emerge about when to expect the coronavirus crisis to end. After all, we all want to get back to ‘normality’ as soon as possible.
The economics of fear... and the importance of effective action
In his inauguration speech as 32nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt said the following: “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyses needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” His New Deal - a muscular package of public spending and make-work programmes aimed at the Great Depression - dragged the country out of the economic doldrums and back into robust economic health during the next six years.
Ever tried ‘stone soup’?
One of my New Year’s Resolutions was perhaps a strange one: If there is a moment at which I could either shake someone’s hand, or not, then I should default to shaking their hand. We have all been in such situations, where it could go either way - either a nod of the head or an actual contact. Furthermore, and it might be going a bit far, but if I’m alone and someone else is alone, then let’s try to be less alone, together. Despite the Coronavirus outbreak, I’m opting for contact.
The end of demand?
It has been said that supply creates its own demand, and if you were to build a cement plant in the middle of nowhere, as sometimes happens, then the locals would start to use more cement. On the other hand, demand creates its own supply, in the capitalist system at least. Profit-seekers will always provide a good or service if a profit can be made.
