If there is one thing that has benefited from the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic and the community quarantine it caused, it is the environment. In the four months that this lockdown and its modified forms have been in effect, especially in the first few weeks, we have seen that the air was cleaner, plants and flowers were flourishing, and more birds were flying overhead. There was virtually no traffic on the streets of Metro Manila (and I presume other cities in the Philippines), and crowds practically disappeared after shopping malls and other commercial establishments were forced to close.
While the quarantine has also been a subject of complaints, as people, especially seniors, were forced to stay home to avoid catching Covid-19, I do not intend to belabor this, although I must admit I “caught” cabin fever. Instead, I want to discuss the importance of loving our environment and why there is growing concern over what would happen to Mother Earth, our only home.