It shouldn’t surprise us that the human tendency to trash our surroundings follows us – and sometimes even seems to precede our arrival – where ever we go.

Thus this news item from NASA: Human Trash Discovered on Mars

No human being has yet set foot on Mars, but something has preceded us. 

NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover announced on its Twitter account Wednesday that it had encountered a piece of human-generated litter on the Red Planet.

“My team has spotted something unexpected: It’s a piece of a thermal blanket that they think may have come from my descent stage, the rocket-powered jet pack that set me down on landing day back in 2021,” the rover tweeted.

The only word we would question in this account is “unexpected.”

The World Economic Forum has explored this in an episode of their ongoing “World vs. Virus” podcast. Here is some of what their experts said:

“The evidence we have is pretty clear that people who have been living in places that are more polluted over time, that they are more likely to die from coronavirus.”

That’s the stark assessment of Aaron Bernstein, the director of the Center for Climate, Health, and Global Environment at Harvard University.

Researchers in Cambridge came to a similar conclusion, with a study that found more cases of COVID-19, and resulting deaths, in areas of England with high levels of air pollution.

While the studies are ongoing, the initial findings come as no surprise to Maria Neira, an expert on air pollution at the World Health Organisation.

“We cannot prove any correlation between air pollution and the mortality caused by COVID-19, but it’s clear that, if you smoke or if you are exposed to air pollution for a long time, your lungs will be more vulnerable and you will be more vulnerable to any type of respiratory diseases,” Neira told this week’s World Vs Virus podcast.

Check out the full episode below or read more here.