THE COMMON GOOD OF THE THREE ECOLOGICAL Rs (CHAPTER 0)

Who doesn’t want the world to be better? Less poverty, less violence, less injustice, more opportunities, more health, more happiness. But sometimes, well, many times, the most common attitude is to wait for others to change the world. We forget the old adage: “If I change, the world changes” or Mahatma Gandhi himself saying: “Be the change you want to see in the world”.

In this month dedicated to the theme of the Environment it is necessary to recognize yourselves as subjects of change, as the same nature that is constantly regenerating and giving life. Do I want to be an entity of life or death?

“Today I have given you a choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I make heaven and earth witnesses to the choice you make. So choose life, that you and your descendants may live”. (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Below, we describe some terms that can help us to express our ideas more clearly and correctly:

Nature: Set of beings and elements that exist in the world, which are produced or modified without human intervention.

Creation: “Creation”, with article and capital letter, is a term with spiritual and religious connotations, where it is assumed that everything that exists is the work of a superior entity, God.

Ecosystem: Biological system constituted by a community of living beings that interact in the same natural environment.

Environment: Set of physical and biological circumstances or factors that surround a given group of living beings.

Ecology: Relationship between living beings in a given area and the environment in which they live.

Ecological: Defending and protecting the environment.

We see that some terms are more neutral and objective in the description of the reality they define, nature, ecosystem, ecology. Others, on the other hand, have an intention and a position in front of this reality: Creation, Environment, ecological. The use of all of them is legitimate and important when addressing the issue of how to improve the world we live in. And how to improve it? With the three R’s (3R), REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE. Others even speak of the five R’s (5R).

 Marisa Folgado