If there is anything positive to come out of this worldwide pandemic, the sky is bluer, the grass is greener and the water is clearer. The Venetian dolphin story was too good to be true, but other tales of wildlife sauntering into quiet towns has happened, even if it is not completely out of the norm. However, there is no doubting that air quality has improved with more persons staying indoors. New Delhi has recorded its best air quality in years.
Most countries are allowing their citizens to enjoy the outdoors but to stay close to home. This means car traffic has decreased, public transportation has been limited, and airline traffic has ground to a virtual halt. You have to wonder why we don't do this for two weeks each year to give the earth a chance to flush out some of the filth we create.
I kind of like this lockdown. I've always preferred to work from home. When I do go out, it is nice to see less traffic on the road, as the drivers are horrible here in Vilnius. The rotaries are easy to navigate. You can go at whatever speed you want. I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time. I took my daughter for a drive to the garden house, taking the old river route, and eventually finding an empty side road where she could practice driving. When we got to the garden house, there were violets in the nearby forest. We picked some to take home with us.
It's funny to see Russia and Saudi Arabia engaged in a battle over production rates. Russia wants to cut output, which would make a lot of sense at this point, but the Crowned Prince of the Desert wants to keep production up, I guess to fund his pet projects. Trump being Trump tried to get into the middle of this by telling everyone he had talked to the Notorious MBS and that the prince was in communication with Putin. The Kremlin immediately shot this down, much to the Donald's chagrin.
However, I find myself worrying about His Trumpness less these days as he has become such an empty caricature of himself. His press conferences are no longer garnering the ratings he boasted of earlier. Apparently, more persons are tuning into Gov. Cuomo these days, who offers a more accurate picture of the situation than does our demented president, who is still peddling chloroquine as a cure all.
The only problem is that this beautiful weather makes it difficult to concentrate. I should be working on my projects, but the warmer temperatures and fresh air beckon me for a run to the park. We've been pretty lucky in Lithuania. Less than 1000 reported cases of coronavirus and only 12 deaths to this point. It seems Eastern Europe as a whole has fared better than Western Europe, in part because most countries locked down early and kept the virus from spreading. Still, one has to stay vigilant.
It's nice to enjoy this lull while we have it. All too soon it will be back to the rat race, as we battle each other for whatever little scraps are left after this lockdown. The more optimistic economists still push the idea of a V-shaped recovery, but most see a longer recession ahead. This virus was more a trigger than it was the cause for this economic downturn.
We should be thinking green, as in the environment. If ever there was a time for Natural Capitalism it is now!
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