It is easy to succumb to despair if we read or listen to news about climate change, terrible droughts, devastating storms, excessive consumerism, deadly pollution, senseless wars. According to the reports, we seem like monsters that devour everything in their path and threaten to leave nothing alive on Earth. There is no shortage of people who say that we are our own enemy, the reason for the problem, the plague of the world. But I think that rather than throwing in the towel and folding our arms, we can start doing things that make the world sustainable and good.

I have always believed that even small things, done daily, make a difference. That is why, from our own space, however small, we can begin to transform the world. In my daily life, for example, I try to respect, nurture, and protect the environment: I don't like leaving the water tap running, I turn off the lights when they are not needed, I use natural waste as fertilizer for the plants. Maybe these actions seem insignificant, but they are meaningful, such as using a cloth bag for grocery shopping to avoid plastic ones. At first, I did it because supermarkets in my country charge for plastic bags, but later I adopted this habit because I find it more practical and less polluting.

I have the same approach with clothing. Nowadays, I not only give away or donate clothes that I no longer need or that don’t fit me. I have also started visiting second-hand stores, where I can find nice, affordable, and good-quality clothing. Giving our wardrobe and accessories a second life is giving our planet one more day of life.

As a professor at a public university, I not only promote ecopedagogy but also quality education for the less privileged social strata, the inclusion of minorities, tolerance, and respect for differences. With this, I try—hopefully successfully—to create a fair world of opportunities, with social mobility, where work, perseverance, and excellence help you achieve your goals and your background is not an obstacle.

In that same sense, I like to instill in young people honesty, solidarity, humility, and the understanding that there are things more valuable than money. These are the young people I seek first to raise awareness, to move, to transform, and to initiate the great difference. Ultimately, the world we are building is for themselves.

Finally, I try to persuade my family and friends circle, not with speeches, but with actions, that if we come to an agreement, our world could be more livable and sustainable, and that although the world is wounded at this moment, we still have time to save it.