The Coronavirus, Climate Change, and the End of Seasons as We Knew Them
Author: Paul Elie
September 9, 2020
Writing in a "Daily Comment" for the New Yorker, Senior Fellow Paul Elie explores our changing relationship to seasons in the age of the coronavirus pandemic and climate change. Elie considers how quarantine measures and global warming have changed how many Americans experience the passage of time, especially as students and parents area still working from home as the 2020-2021 school year starts. By the time a COVID-19 vaccine is available, argues Elie, a cultural change long in the making will have taken hold: There will be an outdoor season and an indoor season. Ultimately, Elie suggests the four seasons will not be reflected in everyday life and instead only experienced only in music, poetry, and literature.
