Environmental Losses Fueling Pandemic Dangers
September 13, 2020
A new report detailing how humanity’s footprint has intruded into the natural world and its wildlife populations notes that the resulting “spillover” of viruses from animals into humans—the reputed source of the coronavirus pandemic—is increasingly common and should be viewed as “an SOS signal for the human enterprise.” In an Issues online exclusive and webinar, a conservation scientist has proposed ways to fight such environmental destruction and the spread of animal-borne diseases, including forming a global organization to spot and stop the riskiest human practices.