Opinion piece by Alfonso Callejero
Chance is sometimes capricious and gives us scenes that, when put together, make us smile in reverse, or, as happened to me this past week, leave a bitter taste in our mouths.
Let me explain. On February 28th, as I was mulling over our appointment in this opinion column, a social media post reminded me that six years ago, we woke up in Fraga to a heavy snowfall. It was indeed like that. I remember opening the window of my old house, seeing the snow cover the entire river park, and then running outside to play in it. Later, I climbed up to the castle and walked on virgin snow, seeing all of Fraga and the Cinca Valley blanketed in white. I should make a brief digression, though. Being from an island, I've only seen snow a handful of times in my life. The sight of snow fills me with joy and brings out the inner child who never got to play in the snow back in Mallorca.
This would be nothing more than an anecdote, were it not for the fact that on February 28th, as a patient was leaving my office, with no prospect of seeing her for a long time, she said goodbye with, “Happy summer.” I looked up and immediately smiled; she was right. She was wearing short sleeves, and the sun was shining brightly through the window. “Summer’s almost here,” she told me, and “it’s going to be a long one,” I added.
For this reason, climate change isn't just about statistics without context or sensational newspaper headlines that have nothing to do with our reality and won't affect us in our daily lives. Sadly, climate change has proven to be a reality that is already impacting us in our daily lives (just ask the skiers, for example, about the disastrous season they've had this year). We can all easily recall how extremely hot and long the last two summers have been. Or the drought we're experiencing this autumn and winter. Furthermore, every time we cross one of the bridges over the Cinca River, we see how little water it carries.
Undoubtedly, this is no longer the time for lamentations or invoking magical solutions, but rather for demanding that these solutions be feasible and help us, in the best way possible, to live with this climate change.
Therefore, we must be firm with all levels of government, whether regional or national, demanding laws that protect natural environments and penalize large corporations that pollute with impunity, as well as requiring them to conduct their business in a less polluting way. Furthermore, we must not forget that local councils have responsibilities; we must urge them to increase forest cover, to create more trees and parks so that we can enjoy the streets. This is essential to cope with the increasingly frequent and tedious heat.
Because this tragic reality raises two questions for me: Will the next time I say goodbye to this patient on February 28th, she'll say "Happy summer" because we'll truly be in the middle of it by then? And was that snowfall six years ago one of the last I experienced in Fraga?
