As a Geography professor, this is one of the lines of research in my work. During that lecture, someone asked me to speak about the environmental dangers facing nature, for which humankind is ultimately responsible, and here are some points I shared with my colleagues.
We live in a world of contrasts. On the one hand, humanity has reached unprecedented levels of technological development and knowledge. On the other, this same progress has unleashed a series of dangers that threaten the delicate balance of life on Earth. We face not one, but multiple intertwined crises that jeopardize our future and that of countless species.
The most pressing and omnipresent danger is, without a doubt, the climate crisis. The burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and intensive industrial activity have altered the composition of our atmosphere, trapping heat and causing global warming whose consequences are already visible. This is not a distant problem; We suffer its effects in the form of scorching heat waves, prolonged droughts that devastate crops, torrential floods that wipe out entire communities, and the intensification of extreme weather events. This climate disruption not only destroys ecosystems, such as vulnerable coral reefs, but also generates food insecurity, forced migrations, and conflicts over increasingly scarce resources.
Intimately linked to this crisis is the massive loss of biodiversity. We are witnessing the Sixth Mass Extinction, the first caused by a single species: our own. The destruction of natural habitats to convert them into farmland or urban developments, the pollution of soils and water with plastics and chemicals, and the overexploitation of fisheries and forest resources are decimating animal and plant populations at an alarming rate. Each species that disappears is like a rivet that comes loose from the fuselage of an airplane; The ecosystem may continue to function for a time, but its structure becomes more fragile, to the point of possible collapse. We lose not only the inherent beauty of life, but also vital services such as crop pollination and water purification.
Furthermore, we cannot forget the dangers we ourselves create for our own species. The air pollution we breathe in large cities shortens the lives of millions of people. The accumulation of waste, especially plastics, floods our oceans and enters the food chain, reaching our own plates. Soil degradation turns fertile lands into unproductive deserts.
In short, the danger is not a meteorite from outer space. It is us. Our model of unbridled consumption, our thirst for energy, and our conception of nature as a mere resource to be exploited are the root of the problem.
Reflecting on this is the first step toward understanding that the survival of life, including our own, depends on a profound change in our relationship with the planet that sustains us. It's not about saving the Earth, which has survived far greater cataclysms, but about safeguarding the conditions that make our civilization possible and the astonishing diversity of life that accompanies us on this journey.
Note: The images are my property.
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