Surviving Towards Imminent Environmental Change

In recent days, weeks, and even years, we have been hearing on news, social networks and newspapers that there is no turning back: planet Earth has reached its limit, so now it is up to human beings to face the consequences of their devastating management.

Not only do we hear it, but we also live it, when have we experienced spring temperatures, even summer temperatures, in the month of October? We have had temperatures of 25 and 30 degrees in southern Spain for weeks, with nighttime lows of around 18 °C, not enough to meet in autumn.

The Earth sends us signals, which we try to ignore by continuing with our daily lives, without changing a single habit that helps alleviate the effects we are observing.

The need for a change in our way of life has been accelerated in recent months by the War in Ukraine. We touch with our fingers a country's desperation for survival and we observe in our daily lives 'The how' the world economy works.

We don't know if under other circumstances the escalation in Europe's transition to energy sovereignty, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, would have accelerated as it is today, but citizens can fear that, even so, difficult times are coming.

The first question we ask ourselves every day is what will the future hold for us? , how will we do it to live as before? Surely, not only people who care about the environment have ever asked themselves this question in recent months, is it worth going to the supermarket or paying for the electricity bill? We don't currently have the answers, but we can see where the actions are pointing.

The world is leaning towards the circular economy, the transition to clean energy (photovoltaic, wind, hydrogen...) and a model of self-sustainability. Is self-sustainability the same for everyone?

Faced with the challenges of climate change, it would be self-sustainability, to try to focus our daily actions on a model that helps planet, not that it hurts it. Without a doubt, environmental education and the individual awareness of each person play a major role. We need a model that will focus on:

• La education and awareness environmental. Not just to children, but to all age groups.
• El proper use of the resources we have, above all water and energy.
• Apply in our lives the 4R rule. For example, Reduce the generation of waste through the purchase of food according to what is going to be consumed. Reuse clothes, furniture and other items that we have at our fingertips. Take as a habit the Recycle, to think that when we recycle plastic or cardboard containers we are doing the planet a favor. And finally, Repair those objects and electronic devices that we have in disrepair and that have been damaged over time, contributing to responsible consumption.
• Creating our own energy sources at home, through the installation of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal plates. In this way, we will have our own clean energy, including economic savings on our bills. The most important thing is to find out about the financial aid that exists from the Administrations (European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)) and that make the installation quite affordable.
• Construction and adaptation of housing towards sustainable architecture. Design or adapt our homes to a sustainable model, which uses the natural resources available for the construction and operation of the house. An example would be the orientation of the house to achieve maximum daylight hours and achieve savings in electricity. Another example would be the good insulation of the house and the use of local materials. The greatest exponent of sustainability would be represented by Passive-Haus architecture.

For a better future, let us rely on our personal responsibility, technological progress and the creation of a society committed to the environment.

“Only after the last tree is cut down, only after the last river has been poisoned, only after the last fish has been caught, only then will we realize that we cannot eat our money.”
Attributed to Indian Chief Noah Sealth.

Nazareth Manzanares Zea, Sustainability