Earth Day reminds us that we borrowed the earth from our children

A statement by Natural Justice reflecting on the relationship between humanity and nature during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that the environmental recovery observed during lockdowns demonstrates the failure of formal climate policies and the need for a shift away from anthropocentric economic priorities.

• The author argues that humanity has entered the Anthropocene, an era where human activity, rather than natural forces, is the primary driver of planetary change, resulting from a historical drive for growth and a desire to dominate nature.
• The document asserts that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns revealed the inadequacy of international environmental governance, noting that nature restored its balance more effectively than decades of formal agreements.
• Observations during pandemic lockdowns indicated a temporary improvement in environmental quality in several locations: air purity in the Paris region reached a 40-year high, pollution decreased in China, and the Himalayas became visible from 200 km away for residents of Punjab.
• The author calls for environmental protection programs to be implemented with the same urgency and boldness as economic and monetary policies, moving beyond 'grinding procrastination'.

APA

Martens, C. (2020). Earth Day reminds us that we borrowed the earth from our children. Natural Justice. https://naturaljustice.org/earth-day-reminds-us-that-we-borrowed-the-earth-from-our-children/

Chicago

Martens, Claire. Earth Day reminds us that we borrowed the earth from our children. Natural Justice, 2020. https://naturaljustice.org/earth-day-reminds-us-that-we-borrowed-the-earth-from-our-children/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Martens |first1=Claire |title=Earth Day reminds us that we borrowed the earth from our children |publisher=Natural Justice |date=28 April 2020 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/earth-day-reminds-us-that-we-borrowed-the-earth-from-our-children/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{martens2020earth, author = {Martens, Claire}, title = {{Earth Day reminds us that we borrowed the earth from our children}}, publisher = {Natural Justice}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/earth-day-reminds-us-that-we-borrowed-the-earth-from-our-children/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }