Environmental education can transform societies

Studies carried out by the international organization Global Footprint Network since 1971 show that humanity consumes more resources than the Earth is capable of generating. The 1.2% increase in humanity's carbon footprint compared to the previous year has made Earth Overshoot Day come earlier than ever: July 28 is the day when all the natural resources generated by planet Earth have been exhausted in the year 2022.

Earth Overshoot Day in France and Romania.

In the same way, the ecological footprint of each city, state or nation can be compared to its biocapacity. The population's demand for ecological goods exceeded the existing local supply in France on May 5, respectively on June 11, 2022, in Romania. This means that we are living "on debt", from the resources of the years to come and that we are in an ecological deficit.

What can we do? Ecological education is the answer. Dialogue, constant information and education can change individual behaviors and encourage the adoption of a sustainable lifestyle.

Community involvement is by far the most important component of any global and local strategy to reduce the ecological footprint.

Through GuerrillaVerde.ro - an online platform dedicated to ecological education, we offer access to existing solutions in Romania and present examples of good practices from other countries. Through information and constant presence, we aim to change behaviors and generate involvement at an individual level to be part of the solution, and here the advice is multiple. First of all, let's realize that each of us has an impact on the environment, a measurable carbon footprint. This can be a starting point to gradually make improvements to our lifestyle so that it has a minimal impact on the environment – ​​from reducing consumption (of energy, water, plastic), to shopping locally and frugally, to choose an alternative means of transport (public transport, electric car, bicycle), to repairing and recycling the objects we have, before deciding to purchase new ones.

The power of education in the context of a sustainable future is transformative.

Changing each individual's behavior will benefit the health and well-being of future generations. However, the greatest potential for large-scale impact rests with governments and the private sector, which must align their policies and strategies with the reality of our finite planet. It is our shared responsibility to ensure that this happens.

Author. Nicoleta Talpes, sepember, 2022.

Article published in CCIFER magazine Présence Francaise en Roumanie / French presence in Romania, 7th edition, September 2022, pp. 10-11

➡️ The magazine can be read here: https://www.ccifer.ro/publications/presence-francaise.html