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Future Earth
Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22, to demonstrate support for environmental protection and represents a day of action to shift human behaviour and provoke policy changes. The very first celebration took place in 1970, and by now it grew to a staggering global event with celebrations in more than 193 countries involving over a billion people.
Given the urgency of the shared challenge we are facing on Earth, the main objective of this webinar was to present the link between environmental issues and the current health crisis (COVID-19). The emphasis was on two main drivers: i) rapid urbanization and ii) loss of biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as the consequences: hotspots of zoonotic diseases. The conversation addressed how population density, population size, and airline connections explain the rapid spread of COVID-19, and also touched on the ways the global response is providing evidence that coordinated environmental interventions (such as climate or pollution mitigation efforts) can be effective. Moving forward with the reality of a world in which COVID-19 plays a central role, the discussion also focused on cities and how mapping vulnerable populations can be instrumental for decision making.
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