Caring for the scale

2023/11/15 STEAM-Hezkuntza (Elhuyar Zientzia)

• Komikiak
• STEAM-hezkuntza

It is not easy to understand the dimension of the consequences of the climate emergency if they occur far from us and do not suffer directly. For example, it is difficult to scale the drought famines in Africa as a result of climate change. To become aware of the consequences, it's more effective to use examples that you can feel closely.

For young people in particular, distant examples are often abstract and it is more effective to use cases they can see to connect with reality. The consequences they feel on their skin make them see the gravity of the situation and lead them to act responsibly. Therefore, when talking about environmental emergency, it is better to give local examples of problems and consequences.

However, when proposing solutions it is important to have the capacity to change scale. Because emergency has a planetary scale, and the one that serves locally does not have to serve globally, and vice versa. The same question has different answers depending on the scale, and the proposals must take into account all the cultures, ecosystems and socio-economic situations of the planet for the solution to be effective.

For example, what is proposed from Euskal Herria does not have to serve for those who live in the Amazon rainforest, or the policies developed in the Basque Country itself, in the Northern Basque Country (either in the field of cultivation, in the construction of houses, in the Basque Country…) do not have to be valid in the South. At the same time, what is proposed from the urban-centric point of view does not serve rural areas and vice versa.

In addition to people of high socio-economic status, the needs and realities of people of low economic status must also be taken into account. Do not forget that the postal code of people conditions more than the genetic code itself, for example, in health. From Bilbao la Vieja to Indautxu, for example, there are six years of life expectancy among men and three years among women.

To delve into the contents click here.

This project, promoted by Elhuyar, is supported by the Department of Economic Promotion and Strategic Projects of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.