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> "The extreme human and economic cost of the pandemic arise from a failure to manage natural capital. It has proved far more costly than it would have been to
by RcouF1uZ4gsC 6y ago
> "The extreme human and economic cost of the pandemic arise from a failure to manage natural capital. It has proved far more costly than it would have been to protect wild habitats and biodiversity in the first place to avoid such zoonotic spillover."
Actually, if you look compared to the past, this pandemic was much less lethal than those of the past. In addition, we have had much better treatment options. Finally, it was modern development that allowed a vaccine to be made in around 1 year.
It seems pandemics are more devastating on people with higher natural capital. Take for example the Native Americans exposed to the European diseases. Also, diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, affect nations with more natural capital than more developed nations.
- TheOtherHobbes 6y agoCovid isn't particularly lethal as viruses go. It's still on its way to killing a couple of million people and doing significant and lasting economic damage. Something with the lethality of smallpox or Spanish Flu would have been far harder to deal with. It's not at all obvious that - say - supermarket food delivery would have survived without a complete breakdown. It actually did break down briefly in the UK for a couple of weeks in March. Luckily supermarket logistics are mostly managed by rational adults and services recovered over the next few weeks. But I have a Covid souvenir online shopping screen grab from March which says: Number of users in queue ahead of you: 229343 Estimated wait time: at least an hour