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Let's talk about the environmental impact of COVID-19. The masks. The paper masks. They need to go. I am so disgusted by the amount of paper masks being strewn about on the sidewalks, on local hiking trails, and in waterways. The flimsy film is not biodegradable and the straps are choking our sea creatures. Something needs to change or we're never going to recover from this pandemic. I saw this mask on the floor when I was taking a walk back from the dining hall. I was so upset. I couldn't even pick it up because I ran out of hand sanitizer. I'm going to invest in a trash picker at this point. I'm sick of it. I don't care if people call me gross or make fun of me for picking up litter. This is our planet, people; and we need to take better care of it. The rubber gloves. First of all, as of right now, wearing gloves has been deemed ineffective for fitting off COVID-19. We need to ditch the rubber and just start washing our hands! On top of that, we need to stop discarding of rubber gloves. Here's a suggestion: if you're so concerned about wearing gloves, why not invest in reusable cloth ones? Although they are ineffective as of today, at least cloth ones won't pile up in a landfill (the same thing goes for masks). I am outraged at the human race right now. Not only are we selfish, but we are sloppy, too. We must do better. I may go around campus this weekend and pick up garbage. I am so shaken by this behavior. I'm sure our planet is shaken, too.
August 22, 2020
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
Coronavirus has affected me in significant ways, like not taking in-person classes, not being able to see my elderly family members (being Hispanic, this means a lot,) having to become a teacher to my eleven years old son, etc. However, I think that the more bothersome ways are the little things that we have to do every day like, making sure to have a mask every time we go out, remembering not to touch anything that we don't have to touch, washing our hands all the time, etc. They are like little stones in your shoe, they might not be a big deal at the beginning, but now you have bruised feet and can't walk. The fact that my husband has to work every day and come home not knowing if he somehow got infected is distressing. Anyway, I feel I can't complain. Although my husband was out of work for two months and we are NOT receiving any government help due to our immigration status (it's complicated), we had enough savings to pay rent for those two months. The local food pantry (run by another person with a "complicated" immigration status also) helped us survive. So although I am very bitter towards the Trump administration and everything it did to dehumanize me and mine, I am very grateful to my community and neighbors that have been there for us. Now, this week has been a good one. I received a notification that my son's school might be returning to in-person classes. Also, spring is in the air. We have roses in our rosebush, and there has been intermittent rain which is great here in California. I feel hopeful of the future and can't wait to see my elderly aunt (I hope she never finds out I called her elderly.) She received the last dose of the vaccine two weeks ago, and this weekend is her birthday. I am so looking forward to seeing her!
March 11, 2021