Daria put the mask on the window sill, tied up her purple hair and closed the window.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
Suddenly Rudy crossed the door: he was out of breath, more than usual, after climbing all the stairs.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
He had walked down to the Sri Lankan grocery right beyond the square to grab a few things and, on the way, he had taken a chance to observe the roofs all around. He had been thinking about \u200b\u200bplacing an aerial to set up a radio there, <\/i><\/span>b<\/i><\/span>ut <\/i><\/span>t<\/i><\/span>hen an imperial army patrol started chasing him. He sought shelter in a doorway for more than an hour, fearing some resident-spy would report or film him with a smartphone.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00ab<\/i><\/span>Fuck it, this feels like a video game<\/i><\/span>\u00bb<\/i><\/span>, I think to myself.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00abW<\/i><\/span>e were worried about you, Rudy<\/i><\/span>\u00bb<\/i><\/span> says Maz, scratching his scaly arm with his fingernails. For the first time today he takes his eyes off the screen.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
Let’s agree we are a gang, but everyone is free to do whatever they want. He cares about this aerial, I support him. We have collected some stuff but we aren’t sure enough about the best way to send it around. He’s just trying to get us out of this situation.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
Daria reads what I wrote this morning, but she doesn’t seem convinced; she stands up without a word, takes the mask and goes to the window sill to look outside. Maybe <\/i><\/span>s<\/i><\/span>he sees things we can’t see, or she’s just anxious about Rudy not coming back.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
The silence in the room only is broken by the irregular breath of Rudy, who’s trying to recover and by Maz, tapping on his keyboard.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00abRead me what you wrote\u00bb – he says, standing up from the desk and wearing the mask – \u00abbut read slowly or I can’t make it out what you say\u00bb<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
I show him my middle finger and light a cigarette.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Back in the days, to describe an event over which we had no control or responsibility, we would have used the concept of “atmospheric phenomenon”. The acceleration of climate change in the last few years and all the consequences related to human action require us to rethink this expression.<\/span><\/div>\n
In the same way, we believe it is very difficult to lay the blame for the propagation of the CoVID-19 epidemy on strictly “natural” elements.<\/span><\/div>\n
In light of what we currently know, this human self-absolution is completely inappropriate, since the pandemic is the result of the aforementioned exploitation of the planet.<\/span><\/div>\n
Collective considerations on what gravitates around us have not been easy. Our gang had to wear masks and wander among conspiracies about the birth and spread of the virus (of which, by the way, we could have reported a hilarious anthology, if there weren’t thousands of deaths involved)<\/span>,<\/span> confusing news spread collective paranoia and the only consolation was their digital nature, which, at least, avoids further, unnecessary waste of paper and ink.<\/span><\/div>\n
While WHO identified the new disease as CoVID-19, the International Commission for Virus Taxonomy named the virus SARS-CoV-2. <\/span>T<\/span>he virus is in fact very similar to SARS, but two characteristics: it is more contagious and has luckily, a lower mortality rate. This distinction is required as the disease is often mentioned and confused with the virus. This premise also explains why we are now part of the debate on SARS-CoV-2 from which we had kept away. Th<\/span>e<\/span> debate about this virus-disease seems to make\u00a0 impossible to reason about everything sorrounding the epidemic, such as prison riots or wildcat strikes in factories and warehouses: the watchwords remain “<\/span>Stay<\/span> at home”.<\/span><\/div>\n
CoVID-19 came to humans through animals, l<\/span>ike many other diseases of the last decades: they are therefore called zoonoses. Viruses can survive inside animals for decades without causing their death. The history of zoonosis begins when the virus seizes the opportunity to infect a new species: this event is called “spillover”.<\/span><\/div>\n
Rabies, leptospirosis, anthrax, SARS, MERS, yellow fever, dengue, HIV, Ebola, Chikungunya, Coronaviruses and the most common flu, just to name a few. By simply reading the above ex<\/span>a<\/span>mlpl<\/span>e<\/span>s we realize they all are familiar. The reason is simple: they all are zoonosis. More than 70% of those diseases who have been affecting humanity in the last 30 years came actually from animals and it is expected to get worse. In 2018 WHO gave warning about a probable zoonotic pandemic. Neverthenless, Italian governments (and all Parties) kept on dismantling our public health-care system instead of strengthening it to face a new upcoming emergency.<\/span><\/div>\n
But that being said<\/span>, <\/span>then <\/span>we could ask: if all these desease come from animals, what kind of responsibility does the human being have? To reply, we need a clarification. We can\u2019t give the<\/span> whole<\/span> responsibility to human beings<\/span>:<\/span> we need to talk about the production system, <\/span>which<\/span> helps developing the conditions to let virus <\/span>spread<\/span> from a species to another.<\/span><\/div>\n
Here the conditions.<\/span><\/div>\n
The main reason of the progressive spread of zoonotic disease is, in fact, the destruction of the planet.<\/span><\/div>\n
Deforestation and urbanisation are reducing the habitat of animal species which are virus carriers and oblige them to have contacts with people. In the same way the ecosystem<\/span> perturbation<\/span>, which allows the disappearance of entire species, \u201cforce<\/span>s<\/span>\u201d the virus to find a new body<\/span> to live<\/span> in<\/span>, and<\/span> human<\/span>ity<\/span>, with his 7,7 billion of\u00a0 on the planet, is for sure an easy target.<\/span><\/div>\n
Changes <\/span>in <\/span>the soil and destruction of natural <\/span>environment <\/span>are <\/span>held<\/span> responsible, at least<\/span>,<\/span> of <\/span>half <\/span>the <\/span>emerging zoonoses.<\/span><\/div>\n
The <\/span>uncontrolled <\/span>urbanization of forest<\/span>ed<\/span> areas has been associated to virus transmitted by mosquitoes, but not only. It is believed that<\/span> millions of species<\/span>, unknown to science, are living in tropical forests<\/span>. Between these millions of unknown species there are virus<\/span>es<\/span>, bacteria, fungus and many others organisms, <\/span>many of <\/span>which are parasites. Ebola, Marburg, Lassa, Monkeypox and the forerunner of HIV are a tiny sample of the myriad of virus<\/span>es<\/span> which are not discovered yet. Also melting glacier<\/span>s<\/span> will bring back<\/span> old bacteria and virus<\/span>es<\/span> we are not vaccinated<\/span> against<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
The latest analysis show that virus <\/span>SARS-CoV-2 <\/span>has mutated into two strains, dubbed \u2018L\u2019 and \u2018S\u2019 types. We don\u2019t know w<\/span>here<\/span> the origin of the older \u2018S-type\u2019<\/span> lays<\/span>, while the <\/span>latter<\/span>\u2018L-type\u2019 , spread in the<\/span> sadly<\/span> famous <\/span>animal <\/span>market <\/span>in<\/span> Wuhan. Markets are becoming the<\/span> main<\/span> places where the spread of infections and spillover start,<\/span> and<\/span> mostly<\/span> those<\/span> markets<\/span> where<\/span> exotic<\/span> animal me<\/span>a<\/span>t <\/span>is sold, considered as luxury good and symbol of social status. Although this is absolutely true, <\/span>let’s not<\/span> forget that some disease, which infected men in the recent past, such as Swine Flu and Avian Flu, started from intensive breeding. In the same way, the massive use of drugs in intensive breeding of livestock brought to salmonella\u2019s strains. In general, intensive zootechnical practices can facilitate <\/span>pathogen to<\/span> “<\/span>spill<\/span>–<\/span>over<\/span>“<\/span>, leading to new and dangerous zoonoses, like SARS and new strains of flu.<\/span><\/div>\n
Therefore, when the emergency will be resized and the <\/span>grip<\/span> on<\/span> peddlers and markets<\/span> will be loosened<\/span>, <\/span>by placing side by side<\/span> \u201csocial decorum\u201d <\/span>and <\/span>\u201chealth\u201d, by using them in a t<\/span>hreatening<\/span> way, please remember that the most of the meat we eat come<\/span>s<\/span> directly from those intensive breeding systems.<\/span><\/div>\n
In summary: deforestation, global warming, extinction of tens of thousands species, melting glaciers,<\/span> ocean<\/span> pollution, intensive exploitation of animals and soil are all causes of the spread<\/span> o<\/span>f <\/span>virus<\/span>es <\/span>from animals to men. These short and simple examples show the clear urgency of a route change to avoid what scientists called <\/span>“<\/span>Big One<\/span>“:<\/span> an epidemic of unimaginable proportions, only <\/span>comparable <\/span>to the Black Death, that during the Middle Ages, reduced European population by one third.<\/span><\/div>\n
The urgency of this route change is even more obvious if we consider what IPBES<\/span> (Intergovernamental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services of ONU) says. IPBES report use<\/span>s<\/span> the word \u201cunprecedent\u201d to explain the destructive action of human being on the nature. <\/span>A<\/span>ccord<\/span>ing<\/span> to the report, the 75% of the soil and the 66% of the marine environment have been modified in a severe way and, as never before in the history of humanity, about one million of animal and plant species are at risk of extinction.<\/span><\/div>\n
As we said in the premises \u2013 Maz suggested me to add this part \u2013 <\/span>everything<\/span> is happening because of <\/span>someone<\/i><\/span> who is <\/span>the brutal<\/span>ly\u00a0<\/span> explo<\/span>i<\/span>tin<\/span>g<\/span> the planet and all his inhabitants. It is quite evident, in fact, that the production system we live<\/span> in<\/span>, <\/span>takes possession of<\/span> human beings and earth, with the same brutal arbitrariness, without worrying about the survival<\/span> of either of them<\/span>.<\/span><\/div>\n
We need to stop thinking that the catastrophe, the destruction of the planet, will<\/span> suddenly<\/span> happen on a fateful day X. The catastrophe is already before our eyes. Climate changes, extinctions and pandemics represent our reality. The catastrophe is in progress.<\/span><\/div>\n
Now we have no other choice: <\/span>to <\/span>put an end to capitalism or put an end to humanity.<\/span><\/div>\n
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