How COVID-19 could save America's National Parks

The case for permanent visitor caps

A hiker.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

Among certain environmentalists (and definitely among directors of the "attack of the 50 foot whatever" genre), there is a romantic belief that if mankind disrespects nature long enough, nature will eventually fight back. Some have even taken to describing the COVID-19 pandemic as such a form of ecological retribution: Pope Francis wondered aloud if the disease was "the revenge of nature," while Prince Harry mused that "it's almost as though Mother Nature has sent us to our rooms for bad behavior to really take a moment and think about what we've done."

Such takeaways tend to be pretty simplistic, and veer dangerously close to arguments about "overpopulation," which, in turn, segue pretty quickly into "racism, xenophobia, or eugenics" ("it's almost always, ahem, particular populations that need reducing," Vox further points out). But although Prince Harry was rightly criticized for his armchair ecological philosophizing, he's not necessarily wrong about the part where he describes the pandemic as a chance to "think about what we've done." Or, I might propose, to think about how we can do better in the future.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.