January 26 is World Environmental Education Day to raise awareness of the fine line between human development and the conservation of the planet.
The environment has been seen for many years as an inexhaustible source of resources, but today it is recognised that there is a delicate balance between the environment and the individual, which, if left unchecked, can have serious consequences for everyone on the planet.
That is why environmental education comes to explain and help reflect on the importance of caring for the environment, protecting the flora and fauna of their localities and joining in global initiatives.
In the encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis explains how the Earth has been “mistreated and plundered”, so that human beings must take responsibility for caring for it. A commitment that includes the elimination of misery, attention to the poor and that we all have access to the resources of the planet.
Furthermore, the papal encyclical lists all the evils of the Earth: pollution, climate change, loss of biodiversity, ecological debt between North and South, anthropocentrism, the pre-eminence of technocracy and finance and private property over the universal destination of goods. Evils that are leading the world towards a culture of discarding, where children’s rights are trampled on, older people are abandoned and many people are led into a life of slavery.
(PHOTO: @jcomp)
