Zaradi delnih in popolnih zaprtij družbe ter drugih restriktivnih ukrepov smo bili – razen nekaterih izjem v kritični infranstrukturi – med epidemijo malodane vsi primorani prilagoditi svoj način delovanja ali poslovanja. Toda propadu številnih, zlasti manjših podjetij in povečanju brezposelnosti v večini držav po svetu se nismo izognili, farmacevtski in tehnološki giganti pa beležijo rekordne dobičke. Pri januarskem omizju o Epidemiji in družbi je eden od sogovornikov boj proti virusu zato označil za “eno najhujših vojn proti revnim”. Ogromno sredstev namenjamo tudi zaščitni opremi, ki pogosto pomeni izdelke za enkratno uporabo, izdelane iz težko razgradljivih materialov, nekateri vsebujejo celo sporne, potencialno toksične sestavine. Količine “epidemičnih”, okoljsko obremenjujočih in tudi potencialno nevarnih odpadkov rastejo v nebo. Človeštvo bo boj proti virusu verjetno dobilo, kaj pa okoljska in ekonomska škoda? Smo pri upravljanju epidemije in načrtovanju ukrepov upoštevali vidik trajnosti? In kakšna transformacija družbe se obeta kot posledica radikalne prerazporeditve kapitala? Se je temu sploh še mogoče izogniti?
Svoje odzive na ta vprašanja so ponudili prof. dr. Polona Domadenik Muren z ljubljanske Ekonomske fakultete, dr. Andrea Margan iz Kliničnega inštituta za medicino dela, prometa in športa (UKC Ljubljana), g. Enzo Favoino, vodja znanstvenega odbora Zero Waste Europe, in ga. Živa Lopatič, vodja pravične trgovine v Sloveniji. Omizje je moderiral novinar Gorazd Rečnik. Razpravo je simultano prevajala gospa Ksenija Malia Leban.
Due to lockdowns and other restrictive measures, we have been – with some exceptions in critical infrastructure – forced to adjust our ways of working or doing business to the pandemic. But we have not managed to avoid the collapse of numerous, especially smaller companies, and the rise of unemployment in most countries around the world, while pharmaceutical and technological giants are making record profits. In our discussion on “the Pandemic and the Society” in January, one of the panelists even described the pandemic responses as “one of the worst wars against the poor”. A lot of resources are spent on protective equipment, which often means disposable, single-use products made of hard-to-decompose materials, some even containing controversial, potentially toxic ingredients. Quantities of “epidemic”, environmentally harmful and also potentially hazardous waste are skyrocketing. Humankind is likely to win the fight against the virus, but what about environmental and economic damage? Have we taken the sustainability aspect into account in our pandemic responses? And what kind of transformation of society can we expect as a result of the radical redistribution of capital? Is this still avoidable?
Prof Polona Domadenik Muren from the School of Economics and Business (University of Ljubljana), Prof Metoda Dodič Fikfak, Head of the Instituite of Occupational, Traffic and Sports Medicine (University Medical Centre Ljubljana), Mr Enzo Favoino, Scientific Coordinator at Zero Waste Europe, and Ms Živa Lopatič, Head of Fair Trade (Pravična trgovina) in Slovenia, shared their thoughts on these issues. The discussion was moderated by journalist Gorazd Rečnik and simultaneously translated by Ms Ksenija Malia Leban.