The ever-changing landscape of America | Northeast Notes – Colorado Springs Gazette

In recent years, scientific data about global warming has become more prevalent in the news.

In India and China, dangerous levels of air pollution prompted people to wear masks as they went to work. Plastic bottles and other trash in the ocean have led to new inventions for collecting debris and people have organized volunteer efforts to collect trash from beaches. Rising sea levels are a reality rather than speculation and melting glaciers alarm scientists in Antarctica. Just as astronauts have described Earth as one planet, everyday citizens understand that environmental conditions affect more than just their own country. Air pollution flows across the borders of countries as if those borders are nonexistent. Now, we are witnessing the connectedness of people around the world as the coronavirus spreads from region to region.

Before January, most young kids werent familiar with the term pandemic and many adults wouldnt have known the difference between a surgical mask and an N95 mask or respirator. The number 95 refers to the fact that N95 masks filter out 95% of the particulates in the air, protecting the individual from dangerous particles such as air pollution, bacteria or viruses. Yet, for construction workers, dentists, nurses and physicians, these items are part of a typical workday. Painters, firefighters and teams who clean up hazardous waste areas are often required to use masks for their own protection.

As coronavirus spread from China to Europe, it was only a matter of time before cases appeared in the United States. It spread faster than some people expected, although many medical researchers and health care professionals werent all that surprised. There have been predictions of pandemics for many years in medical journals as well as in some governmental emergency response departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In early March, headlines described shortages of medical supplies like N95 masks and ventilators and some predicted dire shortages of hospital beds in large cities such as New York. Companies instructed employees to work from home, public schools closed, and restaurants and many stores have followed. Grocery store shelves have emptied out, toilet paper has become a sought-after commodity, and take-out is the new go-to at many restaurants. Families are cooking tried-and-true traditional family recipes and kids are calling their grandparents more often.

Parents and volunteers have sprung into action to provide meals for schoolchildren because in many parts of the country, meals at school are the only food they consume each day. College administrators have told students to de-densify by moving out of dormitories and traveling home, much to the chagrin, and sometimes delight, of their parents. Through the end of the academic year, these college students will be finishing their classwork online and participating in discussions through Zoom.

Just after elbow bumping became the craze, most people decided to stop any type of physical contact. Social distancing has become an art, while running outdoors is more popular since gyms have closed. Things keep changing quickly as we collectively hunker down and adjust to new routines.

Good-news stories, however, are plentiful on Facebook. In Denver, a 7-year-old girl made a Get Well card for a state legislator who was diagnosed with coronavirus. The girls dad delivered it to the legislators home along with some candles, which cheered her up the legislator is quarantined at home while her family takes care of her. In the front yard of a home in downtown Colorado Springs, there was a table with dog treats and home-baked cookies for passersby to enjoy. In Ohio, two siblings took their cellos to their front porch and played music for the neighbors. The pandemic has even affected animals routines, such as the penguins at Chicagos Shedd Aquarium, who were let out of enclosures to wander around near the fish tanks.

With the exception of walking our dog and grocery shopping, we havent left our house. Jigsaw puzzles, decks of cards, and the kids laptops from college sit near Lysol wipes and Kleenex boxes. From a distance of six feet or more, we wave at neighbors and thank postal service workers delivering the mail. I hope weve all learned something in this time of dramatic change. Maybe more people will appreciate health care professionals and first responders who have been working even longer hours than usual taking care of patients. I hope theres a deeper appreciation for things we took for granted, like hard-working grocery store cashiers, schoolteachers, waitresses and busboys.

No one is getting through this alone or getting by without some help. Only a fool on April Fools day would think they could do it on their own. It takes a village and even more apparent, that village is global.

Julie Richman is a freelance writer, project manager and consultant. She and her family have lived on Colorado Springs northeast side for 21 years. Contact Julie with comments or ideas for her column at woodmennotes@pikespeaknewspapers.com.

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The ever-changing landscape of America | Northeast Notes - Colorado Springs Gazette