Four decades ago, my first piece on the environment was published. I wrote it in response to the daily spectacle I witnessed on my summer excursions. As I set out on my daily walks through natural landscapes, the same sight always confronted me. No matter the route I chose, from any direction, the path repeatedly encountered uncontrolled dumps where, scattered everywhere, lay all the waste that human memory can recall of uselessness. Broken televisions, old washing machines, outdated refrigerators, unusable mattresses, dilapidated chairs… they embroidered the paths with misery.

Even then, public opinion was increasingly convinced that the lack of due respect for nature, the unchecked exploitation of its resources, and the progressive decline in the quality of life were causing, at the very least, a sense of instability and insecurity that fostered forms of collective selfishness. The media, sowing considerable confusion and alarm, warned of the accelerated environmental degradation caused by human intervention over the past century. Meanwhile, scientists were engaged in endless debate about the greenhouse effect, the hole in the ozone layer, and the causes of climate change.

Likewise, Saint John Paul II (1920-2005), in his encyclical Centesimus Annus, considered the urgent need to educate for ecological responsibility, which, without being based on sentiment or indefinite whims, would lead to a genuine transformation in thinking and behavior, a true revision of the lifestyle of contemporary society. Its aim should be neither ideological nor political, and its approach could not be based on a rejection of the modern world or a vague desire for a return to paradise lost. He spoke of the demand for a moral imperative that would promote a healthy natural and social environment and foster a new solidarity in the relations between developing and highly industrialized countries.

Once again, the passage of time has been inexorable with this problem, so that, at this moment, the ecological crisis has undeniably become one of the world’s greatest concerns. In Spain, awareness of its magnitude has been driven by the recent natural disasters that have struck much of the country. The impact of their destructive power; the human tragedy of the dead and those left homeless; the economic magnitude of the disaster due to the loss of homes, personal belongings, vehicles, industries, businesses, offices, warehouses, fields and crops, schools, transportation infrastructure, public services… have demonstrated not only the vulnerability of our species to the unleashed force of nature, but also that its devastating presence is becoming increasingly frequent and virulent.

It is therefore necessary to commit to the conversion to “human ecology” postulated by Saint John Paul II in 1991. Pope Francis (1936-2025) also emphasized this in his 2015 encyclical Laudato si’, proposing not merely the protection of species, the recycling of waste, or simply addressing the numerous environmental problems, but rather the achievement of an “integral ecology.” This does not idolize nature, nor does it diminish human responsibility, nor is it more concerned with other species than with humans living in poverty, nor does it minimize the unique value of the person. On the contrary, it repositions that dignity within a web of interdependence and a spirituality of care, embodied in daily habits, choices, and contemplations aimed at rebuilding our common home.

Integral ecology is not limited to making major political or technical decisions. Its measures cannot be adaptive but must be transformative. Its action must be directed not at the effects but at the structural causes. This ecology is based on a new way of being in the world; it calls for an existence that—reconciled with creation, with others, and with oneself—recovers the value of connections, of territories, of everyday gestures that break with the logic of selfishness, exploitation, and consumerism. It requires a civilization centered on true life. Nothing less—and nothing more—than that!

Pedro Paricio Aucejo. Give me three minutes