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Bard’s Felicia Keesing and Rick Ostfeld of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies address the topic of infectious disease spillovers, and talk about the pathogens that cause diseases like COVID-19. Preserving and promoting biodiversity—including reducing carbon pollution, consuming fewer animal products, and supporting science-based decision-making—is key to preventing disease transmission from animals to humans, the scientists say. “This is a really pivotal election in the United States for thinking about whether we want to have science and science-based decision-making playing a role as we go forward and rebuild—the sort of ‘build back better’ theme I think is important to bring in here,” says Keesing. “We are going to need to rebuild our economy in different ways, our energy infrastructure, our employment infrastructure, our health infrastructure, and our environmental infrastructure as we come back from this. If we’re wise, and informed by this experience, we can do a better job so that we make this less likely to ever happen again.”