TRENT. Eco-concern, climate change, politics, activism and mountains. In the third episode of the podcastFrom here”, Martha Manzoni hosts Adele ZainiPhysics graduate, mountain enthusiast, climate and mountain activist, is about to get his PhD in environmental climatology from the University of Oslo.
What is Ecoanxiety? “There fear Generated with awareness of the consequences and damage caused by climate change”, Zaini explains. “This is a massive sensation, I first experienced it myself in 2018 and I felt like the world had collapsed on me. On the other hand, this is the reality that we young people have to live with: we will not live in the same world as our parents and grandparents, our life will be completely different. However, we must not let anxiety hold us back: we must use it as a push to activate ourselves and get out of our comfort zone.. We no longer have time to compromise.”
Unfortunately, in Italy there is a trend consider intimidation discussion about climate change. “Yes, here it is often perceived as opinion problemso much so that in some talk shows of dubious quality, people who are absolutely devoid of any knowledge in this area are invited to debate with scientists who have dedicated their lives to this topic. Like they were on the same level. This is about the same as inviting a flat earther to a solar system lesson: he is alone. counterproductive. The emergency is real, it’s not an opinion, we must stop doubting it and start acting“.
However, politics does not seem to be moving in that direction, at least not all together. President Mattarella recently warned of the need to intensify efforts in this direction, but President Meloni immediately cut funding for some of Pnrr’s climate change projects. “This is the fundamental problem of our policy: our governments think in the short term because they are so unstable that they can fall any day and therefore live in the eternal state of the election campaignpaving the way for populism. This also means that they are unable to make the long-term, unpopular decisions needed to really deal with the crisis. This should be a policy priority also because without a habitable planet, discussing the rest is completely useless“.
Someone is trying to do something, even with gestures that are sometimes considered extreme. Let’s talk about the Last Generation activists. “These are young activists who engage in civil disobedience to shake up society because climate change has been known since the 1800s and nothing has been done yet. There’s a difference between legal and legalas demonstrated in history by Martin Luther King or the suffragettes, and what these activists are doing is one and the same. They are on the right side of history. On the other hand, extreme inaction meets extreme action.“.
But let’s talk about mountain. “It is undoubtedly an ecosystem that responds quickly to climate change.just think about how fast the glaciers are melting. They are subject to both local issues (land use, systems…) and external issues that have implications for the mountain but do not occur there. What we can do? This is a question that arises spontaneously. There is no right or wrong way to be active, you just have to get active, get out of your comfort zone. Individual action is necessary but not enough, we need to do more. To put pressure on politicians to pursue a truly “green” policy; vote for decarbonization and adaptation parties; be careful when buying: always ask yourself if you really need it and if it is possible to buy used; inform yourself and inform others. Our world will be very different, we all need to act because we are all needed to counter the emergency.“.
For Adele Zaini, the future still holds a lot of activity.. “I will continue to speak on the topic, spreading information as much as possible. And if you want to mark some dates on your calendar, I will be in Val d’Ossola at the beginning of September for the general state of the climate.or meeting for create a network between activist realities in Italy and draw up a document with requests for an ecological transition. 15 instead you can find me at Global climate strike. welcome because it is on the square that we write history“.