With no tourists or boats in sight, Nature reclaims what is rightfully hers and waters in Venice become crystal-clear again

If there's one positive thing coming from the madness we are experiencing right now in Europe, and the rest of the world, it's having the time to think about where our priorities as a society - and as individuals - lie. We've made so many advancements over the last 3-4 decades that we've forgotten that a world exists outside of work, entertainment, and progress. Our free time has been taken up by so many activities that time is actually moving faster than what it used to. And we haven't even noticed what kind of an impact our modern routines are having on the environment, local/global ecosystems, and the world around us. 

That is, until the Coronavirus epidemic occurred. With governments across the globe imploring their citizens to stay at home, the impact of our busy lives on the environment is slowly revealing itself in many thought-provoking ways.

via CNN

One way that's becoming increasingly more evident is how Nature is starting to reclaim again what was once hers. In Venice, the absense of boats and tourists has revealed how much damage has actually been caused to the local ecosystem. As the waters around the city have become clearer (and stiller), fish and other wildlife have begun to show their faces again. Many residents couldn't believe what 2-3 weeks of inactivity did to their city. The waters were so clear, you could actually see the bottom of the canals. These events didn't just happen in Venice, though. Fish, swans, and ducks - which had deserted cities like Venice, Burano, and Roma - had all returned as if they had never left. The residents of Cagliari (a city located in Sardegna), however, got the biggest surprise of all: dolphins came out to play!    

Once things get back to normal, it's probably true that cities like Venice and Rome, which rely heavily on tourism to sustain their economy, will see wildlife once again disappear. Hopefully, Nature's little gifts to us during this trying period will not have happened completely in vain. It might also be her way of nudging us on the shoulder, imploring us to think about what should really matter to us in life. Perhaps it's time for all of us to stop and smell the roses.