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This video was filmed wholly using natural light and with the kind cooperation of volunteers and NGOs.
The artwork has been assembled from recycled material.
We understand sustainability as a way of conceiving the world and act accordingly.
This video is an exercise in sustainability and an invitation to put theory into practice within the reality of our lives.
Nature functions as a circular system where waste is reused.
Humans, whether we like it to or not, function in the same manner.
We are born, we grow up, we reproduce and we die.
Oddly, when organizing ourselves, we decide to create a socio-economic system that is linear
and whereby we exploit the natural resources for profit.
Money that is used to buy more and more goods,
only to continue to feed into this system that sees progress
as merely access to material goods and bring us at least three serious problems.
We deplete natural resources;
We contaminate the enviornment and
we promote social inequality.
In Argentina, likewise, we form part of this unsustainable system
that contaminates and leaves millions of Argentineans straded in povery.
How did we get here?
At the start of the 20th Century more than a third of a milliion square meters of native forest land
were lost to certain unsustainable agricultural practices such as the single crop farming
of genetically modified soy and the use of agrotoxins.
Humans pay the ultimate price of this model which result in poor quality foods,
the degradation of the environment,
and the displacement of farm workers.
Another serious problem is open-pit mining,
a method of mining in which explosives are used which result in polluting the atmosphere with toxins.
The use of cyanide contaminates vast quantities of water and harm the health
and quality of life of local communities, those without a say or political clout.
We also face the same predicament in our cities where environmental degradation
and social problems incentivize this unsustainable model.
In the Matanza Riachuelo basin around five million people live adjacent to almost 300 open air landfills,
which result in a variety of issues, including a lack of access to clean drinking water.
We are getting covered in our own trash. In 2010, in Buenos Aires alone,
we generated more than 2 million tons of trash.
So you may ask, “How does a sustainable system work”?
For a system to be sustainable it is necessary for it to have political,
economic, social and ecologic conditions that not only function today but also tomorrow...
In the rural zones we can promote more small scale family farming,
where land distribution is fairly distributed to develop fair trade practices
and we can improve the environment we live in, maintaining its biodiversity.
We should defend our food and define the parameters for production
that guarantee the healthy nutrition of our population.
It is fundamental that farmers save part of their harvest as seeds to replant in the next cycle
without having to pay a bonus to multinational corprorations.
It is fundamental that farmers save part of their harvest as seeds to replant in the next cycle.
The forests are vast regulators of our climate against global warming.
We should demand the adherance to the “Ley de Bosques” and put in place wood certifications
that guarantee the responsible logging and trade practices
that help improve the lives of the local populations.
We should prohibit practices such as open pit mining, as have other provinces in our country.
Assure the development of a mine be controlled and that it does not contaminate the environment.
That it benefits the workers and local communities,
and that all be in agreement before any mining activities start.
It is critical that the “Ley de Proteccion de Glaciares”
to preserve the freshwater reserves from contaminants is adhered to and respected.
We need a national plan that stimulates green and renewable energy projects.
Encouraging the local production of energy that will save in transportation and environmental costs.
We have a vast potential resources to tap into clean energy production,
especial wind and solar power.
In the cities we can add to this the recycling, rooftop gardens
and the clean use of the water and energy.
We should encourage biking
and it is essential to count on a good transportation network.
We need to implement the adherence of the law “Basura Cero”.
The growing use of electronic devices create an urgent need to regulate electronic waste.
Manufacturers should be responsible for the entire life cycle of their products and their proper disposal.
In a sustainable society we need companies that produce without polluting.
Above all, we need to reduce waste the amount of waste we create.
In order to do so, we need to only buy what we need and to give priority to locally made
and fairly traded products.
The Law of the Environment specifically grants us the right to be heard
and to have a voice on all topics pertaining to the preservation and protection of the same.
The media should offer the tools that allow to “discuss” the issues
and give us reliable information to open up the floor for debate.
Education is the keystone for this paradigm shift.
The new education should promote the cooperation
and solidarity as fundamental values in a society.
It should include tools for critical thinking and encourage creativity.
We should fulfill the national constitution and incorporate education for the sustainability of the entire enducational system.
We propose to create a new system based on the safeguarding of life,
where happiness and respect for nature are the fundamental values.
In order to do so we need to be mindful and start deciding amongst us all
the new parameters of a sustainable Argentina.