A timely publication from six Geography and Environmental Sciences faculty titled “Pandemics and the future of human-landscape interactions,” appeared August 27th in the journal Anthropocene. While early reflections on COVID-19 from the academic community have tended to target the microbiology, medicine, and animal science communities, this article articulates a viewpoint from a perspective of human interactions with Earth system, highlighting the link between rising pandemics and accelerating global human impacts on Earth. Contributors Anne Chin, Gregory L. Simon, Peter Anthamatten, Katharine C. Kelsey, Benjamin R. Crawford, and Amanda J. Weaver developed the paper from content created at a spring panel series held during lockdown.