LitCovid-sentences  

PMC:7158772 / 54-12727 JSONTXT 13 Projects

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Id Subject Object Predicate Lexical cue
T2 0-140 Sentence denotes It was New Year's Eve when Chinese authorities alerted WHO that several cases of an unusual pneumonia appeared in Wuhan (Huang et al. 2020).
T3 141-339 Sentence denotes The COVID-19 was still unknown at that time but, in the first months of 2020, its outbreak has infected millions of people, killing (directly or indirectly) hundreds of thousands of them (WHO 2020).
T4 340-522 Sentence denotes The panic related to the pandemic distribution of the virus shut down whole regions (in China, Iran, the United States, etc.) and even entire countries (Italy, Spain, Austria, etc.).
T5 523-822 Sentence denotes Although it is not the worst microscopic killer humanity has ever known (for instance, think about the casualties due to the Black Death and the HIV; Wainberg et al. 2008; Haensch et al. 2010), this coronavirus is already changing our state of mind and impacting on our lifestyle, at a global scale.
T6 823-909 Sentence denotes But its expanding virulence should not be the scariest issue related to this pathogen.
T7 910-996 Sentence denotes COVID-19 is evidently a symptom of how sick of us is Gaia, our planet (Lovelock 2007).
T8 997-1140 Sentence denotes No need to invoke here even the existence of contended superorganisms, neither to argue in favour of teleological revenge (Boston et al. 2004).
T9 1141-1365 Sentence denotes What I fear is that the systematic and long-term impacts we are having on our Earth is, and will continue to, challenging our modern lifestyle, just as dangerous prolonged habits impair a body's health (Cazzolla Gatti 2018).
T10 1366-2080 Sentence denotes Our massive emission of carbon stored into the ground during millions of years in just a few centuries (Steffen et al. 2007), our deep degradation of forest (Betts et al. 2017) and marine (Worm et al. 2006) ecosystems that threatened their integrity and resilience, our increasing urbanization (Seto et al. 2012) and pollution that contaminates even the most remote areas of this planet (Cozar et al. 2017), and our immense pressure on other species that is leading the world's biodiversity towards the sixth mass extinction (Barnosky et al. 2011; Ceballo et al. 2017), cannot do anything else than harm the global system and trigger dangerous feedbacks (simply, negative adjusting reactions; Cazzolla Gatti et al.
T11 2081-2102 Sentence denotes 2018) on our species.
T12 2103-2211 Sentence denotes In a few words, we are too many, travel too often, and consume too much on our planet (Cazzolla Gatti 2016).
T13 2212-2463 Sentence denotes These are the conditions when, in ecological systems, population growth is constrained by the environmental carrying capacity (Cohen 1995) and threatened by infective diseases (Jones et al. 2008), which spread easier and faster in overpopulated areas.
T14 2464-2610 Sentence denotes It is not a coincidence that the likely origin of this coronavirus is in the human-animal relations that occurred in China (Poon and Peiris 2020).
T15 2611-2799 Sentence denotes Although it is not clear yet if either the interaction with seafood, bats or bushmeat played a role in the emergence of this virus, most agree that it crossed from animals to human beings.
T16 2800-3285 Sentence denotes As for many other infective diseases such as HIV, which was likely transmitted by chimp meat consumption (Hahan et al. 2000), malaria and dengue fever, which are very sensitive to deforestation and climate change (Yasuoka and Levins 2007; Colon-Gonzalex et al. 2013), meningitis, which can spread out after prolonged drought (Molesworth 2003), etc., the overexploitation of habitats and the huge impact we have on wildlife facilitates the sudden appearance of new dangerous sicknesses.
T17 3286-3445 Sentence denotes All this, associated with the unstoppable human population's growth and fast-moving dispersal of its individuals, creates the perfect conditions for pandemics.
T18 3446-3534 Sentence denotes As I said: the planet is sick of us and makes us sick; it's a natural negative feedback.
T19 3535-3663 Sentence denotes As usual, we try to take care of the symptoms once they appear whilst we had time for, but ignored, a more efficient prevention.
T20 3664-3902 Sentence denotes I am afraid that we can put all our efforts to stop COVID-19 during the next months but, if we will not immediately change our national policies and personal lifestyles, other unpleasant surprises will wait behind Gaia's door to humanity.
T21 3903-3941 Sentence denotes Our responsibility is clear (Fig. 1 ).
T22 3942-4149 Sentence denotes In the last months of the virus outbreak, China has reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by about 25%, which means more than 200 million tons of carbon dioxide compared with emissions levels in 20191 .
T23 4150-4307 Sentence denotes Nitrogen dioxide and small-particle air pollution, ubiquitous in big Chinese cities in which vehicular traffic and industry are heavy, decreased about 40%2 .
T24 4308-4496 Sentence denotes A similar situation is in Pianura Padana, Italy, where satellite images of the most air-polluted European region show a drastic decrease of atmospheric contaminants in the last days3 , 4 .
T25 4497-4599 Sentence denotes Many airlines recently announced plans to cut flights by more than 30% globally for the next months5 .
T26 4600-4773 Sentence denotes Airplane traffic has significantly dropped worldwide and, because it accounts for about 3-5% of total GHG emissions, this change could have a major impact on the atmosphere.
T27 4774-4983 Sentence denotes Similarly, forecasts for oil demand in 2020 has been lowered by energy agencies6 because coronavirus forces people to stay at home, leave cars in the garage, reduce the shopping, and save energy and resources.
T28 4984-6130 Sentence denotes Figure 1 The impact of coronavirus outbreak on atmospheric pollution and resource/energy consumption: a) the decline of mean tropospheric NO2 (μmol/m2), a major air pollutant, in Eastern China from January to February 2020 (adapted from NASA2); b) the drop of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) over Italy, particularly in Pianura Padana, seen from the Sentinel-5P satellite between January and March 2020 (adapted from ESA3); c) the reduction of air-particle (PM10; μg/m3) over Lombardia and Milan (Italy) in just 10 days after the area shut down (adapted from ARPA Lombardia4); d) the variation in 7-days moving average of commercial flights from 2019 to 2020 detected by Flighradar245; e) the daily coal use by six main power companies before and after the Chinese New Year (dashed red line) has not recovered in 2020 after the holidays, when most business close down, as in the period 2014-2020 (adapted from CREA1); f) the global oil demand (historical; grey histograms) from 2011 to 2019 is expected in 2020-2025 to show a decreasing trend (dashed red line) due to 2020 negative consumption (in thousand barrels of oil per day, mb/d; adapted from IEA6)
T29 6131-6251 Sentence denotes In this scenario of a broad global spread of the COVID-19, modelling says that economic growth will be halved in 20207 .
T30 6252-6337 Sentence denotes Despite this being bad news for world affairs, it may actually be a panacea for Gaia.
T31 6338-6508 Sentence denotes It might also be true, as analysts recently suggested, that decreased travelling, consumption, and energy demand will limit money and political will from climate efforts.
T32 6509-6608 Sentence denotes Then, carbon emissions are likely to rise again as soon as the economy restarts its foolish growth.
T33 6609-6751 Sentence denotes Projections, however, do not take into account a life lesson we are all learning these days: we cannot stop traveling, reproducing, consuming.
T34 6752-6799 Sentence denotes But we have to do it sustainably and ethically.
T35 6800-6910 Sentence denotes The economy, as well as our population, cannot continue growing indefinitely in a sustainable and ethical way.
T36 6911-7117 Sentence denotes The myth of sustainable development, greenwashed by the green economy and certification labels, cannot persist in a planet threatened by only one species, which created the condition for its own extinction.
T37 7118-7202 Sentence denotes We can only sustainably de-grow, creating an open space only for qualitative growth.
T38 7203-7368 Sentence denotes Sustainable degrowth and qualitative growth may still look fancy and utopian ideas but they are what many people are experiencing these weeks of compulsory sobriety.
T39 7369-7711 Sentence denotes Humanity may rediscover the pleasure of a slower life, spending more time at home with family, reducing useless travelling towards offices when teleworking can be a win-win solution, giving more value to time and more time to values, getting back to nature, spending more time in local, creative purposeful pursuits such as growing food, etc.
T40 7712-8023 Sentence denotes Our species may also understand that it does not actually need to buy and accumulate cheap, polluting, useless stuff, which are not essential in a pandemic-risk world, and that local groceries and productions are the only life jackets in a globalized world, during an emergency landing to its localized origins.
T41 8024-8159 Sentence denotes In a time of moderation, we may realize that most of our previous needs and habits, which we thought as unavoidable, were just trifles.
T42 8160-8246 Sentence denotes A frivolousness for us that multiplied by billions represents a serious risk for Gaia.
T43 8247-8417 Sentence denotes Think about fish: do we really need to overexploit the stocks in oceans on the other side of the planet to savour sushi in all-you-can-eat restaurants all over the world?
T44 8418-8584 Sentence denotes Think about palm oil: do we really need to harass Southeast Asian forests and their unreplaceable biodiversity to fill our cars and our junk-food with a tropical fat?
T45 8585-8640 Sentence denotes Nowadays, these answers are within our reach: we don't!
T46 8641-8796 Sentence denotes We can live without these unnecessary “privileges” and this will not be an enormous limitation in our lives but represents a gigantic relief for our Earth.
T47 8797-8997 Sentence denotes This pandemic condition makes us clear that human activities and well-being strongly dependent on the health of the global environment and are fully integrated with ecosystem functioning and services.
T48 8998-9140 Sentence denotes We need to rethink the way we model and manage our ecological and economic systems to better address the sustainable use of natural resources.
T49 9141-9288 Sentence denotes The ability to predict the ecological consequences of the way we manage natural resources is now essential to address policies and decision-making.
T50 9289-9459 Sentence denotes Although in the past, ecological models did not often contribute to such predictions (Schuwirth et al. 2019), there is now urgency to use them for practical applications.
T51 9460-9679 Sentence denotes The current epidemiological crisis, linked to global environmental degradation, shows us that indiscriminate exploitation and poorly supported management can be detrimental to ecosystems, other species, and our society.
T52 9680-9908 Sentence denotes Nowadays, humanity has available several modelling approaches (e.g. machine learning, mechanistic and statistical models, etc.) that can be used to predict the response of ecosystems to anthropogenic impacts (Getz et al., 2018).
T53 9909-10212 Sentence denotes Nonetheless, theoretical models unsupported by empirical data and field validation frequently led to either poor predictability or over parameterization, which resulted in catastrophic Nature degradation and misunderstanding about the actual utility of ecological models (Pilkey and Pilkey-Jarvis 2007).
T54 10213-10350 Sentence denotes If anything, ecological research that employs models should be able to answer practical and critical questions, besides theoretical ones.
T55 10351-10474 Sentence denotes More efforts should be put on the variable selection to improve the understanding of causality between actions and impacts.
T56 10475-10606 Sentence denotes Big data should not be tortured, without preliminary hypothesis, until they confess something useful only to publish flawed papers.
T57 10607-10778 Sentence denotes They should, instead, improve model elaboration to align them with the management decision-making, quantifying uncertainty, in order to have enough predictive performance.
T58 10779-10872 Sentence denotes Similarly, advanced computing resources should not be wasted in purposeless data exploration.
T59 10873-11087 Sentence denotes They should, instead, increase the sensitivity and validity of our analyses, to better understand the adequacy and importance of models in improving forecasting, solving management problems, and advancing theories.
T60 11088-11420 Sentence denotes A trans-interdisciplinary holistic approach, which merges the knowledge of theoretical and field biologist, ecological modelers, environmental decision-makers and research, educational, political, and healthcare institutions, would improve our capacity to reduce our impacts on Earth's systems and live more sustainably within Gaia.
T61 11421-11976 Sentence denotes Improved and reliable ecological models can, for instance, help our species to better protect biodiversity and halt its loss, plan habitat and endangered species conservation, assess and preserve ecosystem services, manage and contrast the spread of alien species, decrease deforestation and overfishing, reduce air, water, and soil pollution, adapt to and limit climate change, and – eventually – enhance our species’ health, reducing the risk of pandemic diffusion of resistant viruses and bacteria caused by our mistreatment of wildlife and ecosystems.
T62 11977-12205 Sentence denotes This can re-establish the importance of ecological modelling in fostering the transfer of theoretical scientific knowledge into practical everyday problems and in enabling environmental policymakers to adopt sustainable actions.
T63 12206-12308 Sentence denotes Nowhere it is written that economic growth and environmental exploitation should restart as they were.
T64 12309-12418 Sentence denotes We are receiving warning messages from Gaia, some of the strongest and clearest of all our evolutionary time.
T65 12419-12466 Sentence denotes If we ignore them, we can blame only ourselves.
T66 12468-12502 Sentence denotes Declarations of Competing Interest
T67 12503-12673 Sentence denotes The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.