and it's not just los angeles. from a shockingly smog-free new delhi in india, to unusually clear waters in the canals of venice, the world is suddenly learning what can happen if humans stop polluting the environment. >> but if things go back to normal a week from now, that will be a distant memory. the air will be just like it would have been. >> reporter: stanford environmental scientist rob jackson says there is historic precedent for that. global greenhouse gas emissions dropped about 1.5% during the 2008 economic crisis. but within two years, they bounce back and kept growing. he fears the same thing could happen again. >> what if when the economy is hurting we no longer care or care to safeguard the environments? >> senate will come to order. >> reporter: although there are signs that's already happening in washington, jackson is optimistic about the number of people and companies learning how to telecommute. >> if we drive less, it will

save time and make things healthier. it doesn't have to be shelter in home or clean air. it can be clean air every day. >> reporter: in the meantime, while some crucial climate field science in places like greenland is being disrupted, the unprecedented shutdown ofjç>s m cities is also proving to be a boon for other science as well. >> it has allowed us to really look at certain scenarios. >> reporter: gaby fister is a climate scientist now studying our environment in conditions no one ever thought would occur. >> as cars are taken off the roads, what would happen to our climate and our air quality? i mean, this is to be something we can only test in our numerical models, but then we don't have observations, though now we do. >> reporter: armed with this new data, scientists hope when we do return to our pre-pandemic life styles, we'll do so with lessons learned during the crisis.

>> it has shown us that there are ways that we can make a significant change in the human footprint on our atmosphere and our nature. >> reporter: jamie yuccas, los angeles. >> mark phillips spent the golden anniversary of earth day at london's royal botanic gardens. he had the place to himself. >> reporter: if you had to choose a place to self-isolate during this covid-19 crisis, you can do worse than here. these are the royal botanical gardens in west london. a place where they hve been studying the health of the planet for about 250 years. and never has their work seemed more vital than now. >> it's not a bad backyard that you've got here. >> it's exceptionally beautiful, but it's tragic to see these beautiful gardens 330 acres here rg at world heritage site, to see them empty. >> reporter: normally there would be 10 or 12,000 people strolling about q gardens on a

glorious spring day like this. but in the post virus world, there's only us. richard deveral is director of q gardens and actually lives on the property. not a bad perk. do you see a relationship between what's going on now, the whole covid-19 crisis the world is experiencing and the kinds of things the q has been trying to do for the centuries? >> i think humanity faces some really fundamental challenges unless we start to treat the natural world better. >> reporter: but is there anything about the current situation that makes you think the lesson may, in fact, finally hit home? >> i don't know, but i hope so. i hope that we will listen to scientists and experts more carefully, both the politicians and i hope, too, that we'll realize that actually the cost of preempting a problem, mitigating it is a fraction of the cost dealing with it when it engulfs you. >> reporter: q gardens is not just a pretty place. it's been a research center, too, going way back. >> specimens arrive every week

from scientific workers and collectors all over the world. >> reporter: and over the years they've learned one thing. >> 6 or 7 million specimen. >> if you abuse the natural world, bad things happen, including bad things to people. >> reporter: but if you treat the world with respect, it pays you back. >> and the simplest level, plants provide us with oxygen, rain for our crops, they provide us with food about a quarter of medicines derive from plants and fun guy. they deliver many things to humans. >> reporter: than they're above a little tinkering with nature here trying to help plants cope with the warming world. right now among others, it's coffee, a crop that is threatened as we found out ago. not enough rain, too much sunshine, bad fruit. >> yes. to produce bad fruit. >> reporter: at q they're trying to find varieties that are more tolerant. >> perhaps some have greater heat tolerance.

they can be bred into the commercial crop to preserve the future supply of coffee. >> reporter: this is also a time for deeper thoughts. what happens one this current crisis is over? >> we have a situation today where 4 1/2 billion people are in lock down. that's extraordinary. so i hope, if nothing else, this covid experience has given us a dose of humility, actually. we are just one species of many, many millions and we need to play our role alongside the others in a beautiful way. >> reporter: you have a beautiful place to think about it it. >> i do. >> reporter: q garden is a place where science meets. a place for quiet reflection. never quieter than now. i'm mark phillips in q gardens, london. to america's frontline responders, thank you.

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head on me" feels almost like a global group hug. ♪ don't be afraid >> so, this song almost sounds like it was written for this moment in time, but it wasn't actually. >> that's a coincidence. we'd written it -- we wrote it last year. >> reporter: it's the first collaboration between major laser, the dance music trio led by diplo and marcus mumford of the folk rock band mumford and sons. they had a different video planned, but suddenly that changed. >> what happened was, of course, the quarantine. ♪ lay your head on me >> reporter: all the performances were shot at home over the last month. marcus, when did you actually shoot your part of this? >> a couple weeks ago in lock down. my wife shot the whole thing. she was the camera operator.

>> reporter: mumford's wife is the actress kerry mulligan. did you get it all in the first take? >> no. the problem is i didn't. we came across everyone at home has barking dogs and crying children. so we had a few cracks at it. it was good fun actually. >> reporter: it looked like you were sitting on your kitchen table. >> i was at one point, yes. my kids came in. what are you doing? that's against the rules. you know that's against the rules. >> reporter: the other performers were recruited from around the world. the more than 200 artists included drummers dorothy taylor in michigan. and jacksonville florida, a navy vet who played with her son julian. and students from the dream catchers academy in nigeria.

>> these are kids that we knew from nigeria that dance, they sing. it's a preschool for kids who empower themselves and learn about music. >> there is a whole spirit to the whole video. try it and see what happens. i think that was the spirit that got through to everyone. just try it. if you make a fool of yourself, that's fine. >> reporter: how are you both doing in quarantine? >> i'm trying to look at the positive, take advantage of every moment i have, concentrate on things i wouldn't otherwise. play the guitar better, whatever i can. paint. >> reporter: marcus, have you found any new hobbies while you're at home? >> i've been working, man. i'm in the studio here. ♪ i said it's okay, it's all right, some day we will be fine ♪ >> at the time i thought it was a smart idea to build a studio at home. now i regret it. >> reporter: rogers and hammer steen's "you'll never walk

alone." ♪ and you'll never walk alone >> reporter: and diplo. has been dejaying on instagram and other social media. >> i'm trying to pretend i have a job, so i'm dejaying every thursday, friday, saturday. i work with dancers a lot. this is the one time there's nowhere for that to go. people can't go to bars. they can't dance, they can't go to festivals. so, just to keep that part alive for young people, have some fun. >> reporter: what do you want folks to take away from this video that you're putting out? >> i think the message in the song marcus wrote, it got better every time. he changed it ten different times. little parts of the verse where the message was really clear. it'sbout, you knowwi someme supo can. >> i feel lia celeof thepit. s day ieo home, dancing, with their neighbors. spreading the message we love in this song we've done together. yes, i think it's a celebration

of people at home. i love it. ♪ ♪

looking for love in the time of the coronavirus can be difficult, but not i mpossible. here again, jamie yuccas. >> reporter: love really is in the air in new york city. last month, jeremy cohen turned to his drone to get the attention of tori signorella after he spotted her dancing on her building's rooftop across the street. >> i went out to my balcony and i said hi. and she waved back and said dra and flew it over. >> reporter: since then there's been a rooftop dinner. a second date in person with cohen in a protective bubble. and a special romantic gesture for tori's birthday. courtesy of an old-school boom box. >> obviously built this bond just over this crazy scenario.

we also get along really well like humans and individuals. >> reporter: many americans have the spread of coronavirus. some people, like jamie shapiro, are embracing the change. the single mom of three is using her new free time to facetime. >> i'm in a single parent group on facebook. a lot of people are saying i'm not going to date right now because what's the point? this is the point. this is the time. >> reporter: so far she's met several potential matches. but she's also facing the same frustration some experience in real life, including getting stood up. >> i had some makeup on and very minimal, you know. but i still had my pajamas and then he didn't show. and i was actually kind of mad, like i just like put on lipstick for you? >> i think it's the first time in a lot of people's life where they felt prevented from contact with others. >> reporter: daniel jones is the editor of the new york times column, modern love.

do you have advice for people who might want to go down this road? >>i think inhibitions can fall away and you can ask the deep questions and learn about their past and learn about their fears and learn about their hopes for the future. >> reporter: and now dating apps like bumble and tinder are pushing users to video chat instead. bumble says video chats increased 56% in late march. and those video dates are lasting on average more than 20 minutes. do you think you could get interested in someone over video and be in it for a while until you can meet each other? >> i mean, i've done movies about this stuff, like there's -- it's possible, it really is. >> you know, after awhile, like a video pen pal. at some point you're like, what are we really doing here? >> how does the song go looking for love in all the wrong places? this is the right place for the

♪ ♪ captioning sponsored by cbs >> o'donnell: tonight, the fight for life versus the fight to reopen. doctors inside a new york hospital are still overwhelmed by the battle against covid-19. >> it's been a nightmare. we have a volume of sick people like you can't believe. in one shift, i pronounced six people dead. >> o'donnell: meanwhile, across the country, the protests and pressure to get america back to work, but tonight, the new research used by the white house about when it will be safe. and one thing that needs to be in place: governor cuomo says he needs thousands of people to track the infected. >> this is going to be a massive undertaking. >> o'donnell: and the new technology: could this drone be a tool to stop the spread? the scientist silenced: did the trump administration reassign the na