Dr. Jane Goodall isn't just the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, but also one of our most famous environmental science advocates, and the owner of one of those perfectly genteel, old-fashioned voices that makes you feel like everything's going to be OK.
Joining Jimmy Fallon over video chat on Wednesday with her longtime fluffy companion Mr H, Dr. Goodall says she's busier now than she is even on her regular speaking tours, dialling in to read about animals in those soothing British tones to children all over the world. The 86-year-old has often told the story of being a little girl growing up during WWII who followed her fascination with chimpanzees into a groundbreaking career — and with kids around the world stuck at home during another global crisis, she's encouraging them and their parents to follow their own curiosity about the world.
But Dr. Goodall also had a gentle yet stern warning for the adults: respect the natural world, or (and I'm paraphrasing here) nature will fuck you up.
"[The coronavirus pandemic is] a time for reflection and thinking about the part we want to play in the future of our planet," she said. "This pandemic was predicted, and people have not heeded the lessons we should have learned from previous epidemics and pandemics. And that is because we have disrespected the natural world, disrespected the animals who live there, taken away so much habitat, crowded the animals together, viruses spilling over from one animal species to another... It's not only wild animals, but also how we treat domestic animals in our intensive farms. That's caused epidemics in the past and will again in the future."
OK, so it looks bad written out like that — but trust me, when she says it, you'll believe we can fix it.
