In his speech inaugurating Earth Day in 1970, its founder, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson noted, “Ecology is a big science, a big concept, not a narrow one. It is concerned with all the ramifications of all the relationships, of all the living creatures, to each other and their environment.” Taking Nelson’s words to heart, it’s impossible to think about the future of our planet on Earth Day’s fiftieth anniversary without considering the long-term effects of COVID-19. The well-being of our planet depends on the well-being of the people who inhabit it.