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May 11, 2023

At the Alberti theater the conference-event “Without limits? A comparison of men and plants” held by Professor Stefano Mancuso

The intervention of the scientist is part of the events of the awareness campaign Elogio del Limite promoted by the social cooperative CAUTO for the benefit of the Garda area.

On 4 May at the Alberti theater in Desenzano Stefano Mancuso held a lectio magistralis by title "Without limits? Men and Plants in comparison”. The intervention of the scientist at the head of the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology (LINV) of the University of Florence is part of the events of the awareness campaign and impact reduction promoted by the social cooperative CAUTO within the Life SalvaGuARDiA project.

You can watch an excerpt from Professor Stefano Mancuso's speech below.

On 4 May at the Alberti theater in Desenzano Stefano Mancuso held a lectio magistralis by title "Without limits? Men and Plants in comparison”. The intervention of the scientist at the head of the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology (LINV) of the University of Florence is part of the events of the awareness and impact reduction campaign promoted by the social cooperative CAUTO within the Life SalvaGuARDiA project.

ART THAT HELPS SCIENCE

To encourage, even before the ecological transition, a "ecological conversion”, as the professor defined it, science and art must go hand in hand: the first to allow the problem to be understood through objective data e what solutions to adopt; the second for shake consciences and, touching the strings of emotions, become the driving force behind concrete actions. The spread of a concrete ecological culture by a critical mass of people is not easy because as the Professor says "the results of reduction of anthropogenic environmental impacts they have no immediate implications”. In this sense, the concept of "limit" must not be interpreted as a limitation, but take on new meanings and, through a process of self-regulation, transform into a new approach to change understood as safeguard and opportunity to preserve the beauty of our planet.

WITHOUT LIMITS? THE WEIGHT OF LIFE

“Two billion people will not know where to live in the next 30 years due to the ongoing climate change: this is what Stefano Mancuso stated in a clear and “eco-anxiety” way during the evening of 4 May. 2021 is the year in which the "weight" of man-made synthetic materials, mostly plastic and concrete, exceeded the "weight" of all "live" organic matter on the planet. At the beginning of human civilization, about 12,000 years ago, there were 6 trillion trees on the planet, today there are half of them. If we consider animals, according to the Dasgupta report of the University of Cambridge, since 1970 there have been 70% fewer. Compared to the pre-industrial period, the temperature has increased by about 1.5 degrees globally. It is an epochal event considering that while we continue to produce, life on our planet is reduced. Failing to reduce CO2 emissions, it would be necessary to absorb at least a significant amount. According to the professor, one of the possible interventions to mitigate the effects of climate change should be “plant 1 trillion trees in the next 10 years”. In any case, if space were created to do so, it would not solve the problem, but it would give time, about 70 years more than the 30 before, to avoid the catastrophe and reverse course.

The crux of the matter is precisely this: life. Our species, that of homo sapiens, had the gift of an intelligence that certainly made a much greater evolutionary leap than the other species; but what good is this privilege if we are "self-extinguishing" much faster than other species? The marvels that we have been able to produce, just think of Dante and his Divine Comedy, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel: everything loses its meaning if continuation of life, the only one we know "due to the precautionary principle of the scientific method", mentioned by Mancuso, is not guaranteed. So the need to change our habits it's not a favor owed to anyone or a nightmare to run from, but the greatest act of love towards ourselves and, in this sense, the Praise of the Limit, expressed by the awareness campaign commissioned by Life SalvaGuARDiA still takes on a new and different connotation, that of Ode to Life. The latest stimulus launched by the Professor to the more than 400 people present in the room is to be inspired and look at "plants" as an eco-system capable of developing complex strategies to survive and thrive. The plant world investigated in its functioning mechanisms through rigorous scientific studies becomes, in the words of the Professor, an example of resilience, capable of reacting to changes in the environment, adapting and developing innovative solutions.

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