'We did it to ourselves': scientist says intrusion into nature led to pandemic
by Phoebe Weston from Science | The Guardian on (#52N0R)
Leading US biologist Thomas Lovejoy says to stop future outbreaks we need more respect for natural world
The vast illegal wildlife trade and humanity's excessive intrusion into nature is to blame for the coronavirus pandemic, according to a leading US scientist who says "this is not nature's revenge, we did it to ourselves".
Scientists are discovering two to four new viruses are created every year as a result of human infringement on the natural world, and any one of those could turn into a pandemic, according to Thomas Lovejoy, who coined the term "biological diversity" in 1980 and is often referred to as the godfather of biodiversity.
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