A note from the creative director Juanjo Trujillo
We had been trying to publish this special issue for some time , our first ever focused on forest fires . And after much effort we have succeeded , thanks to the solidarity , contributions and the support we have received from our collaborators . Forest firefighters , environmental technicians and volunteers have given us their support . To thank them infinitely is an understatement .
Almost the entire Iberian Peninsula is at " extreme " or " very high " risk of fires , and we have just entered spring ! The color red invades the alarm cartography that adds to a long-lasting drought . Tens of thousands of hectares have already burned before the indifference of an impassive and uninformed population . Climatologists call this situation " the alarming changes in the European climate " which are here to stay . The Copernicus Climate Service informs us that Europe is the fastest warming continent . Meanwhile , governments speculate , act with reckless short-termism and with an irresponsibility that society is unaware of . Faced with them , forest firefighters have risen up in struggle , demanding that administrations stop looking the other way , asking them to resolve a situation that is inefficient and unfair both to the natural environment and to the contractual requirements of professionals in the sector .
In the OTWO editorial office we have been remembering for months the fires of Pedrogoa Grande , the most terrible in the history of Portugal , or the one close in time and space of Sierra Bermeja , in that fateful September 2021 . Or those that have devastated this year in Castellón , Lugo or Asturias . Close , always dangerously close , the criminal hand of man . By bad political conscience , citizen negligence or directly provoking it for spurious purposes . And there are still those who deny climate change and speculative interests .
We want to show our appreciation to Sarah Birch , Anthony W Pitaluga , Mercedes Barranco , Coamba , Francisco Moreno , Juanlu González , Javier Martos , Rafael Galán , Carlos Llonin , José Luis Zabala , Fernando Rodríguez , Verdemar Ecologistas en Acción , Alfredo Valencia , Raquel Collante , Juan Carlos Bohorquez and Gonzalo Gil . And to all those who could not be present due to work and time constraints , of which there are many . How can we thank our unconditional Alex Fernández . Reader and subscriber of our magazine , fellow environmental activist and forest firefighter , without whose list of contacts it would have been impossible to publish this special issue .
All my appreciation to Vanessa for allowing me to write this editorial , she is organizing together with the OTWO team an important environmental awareness project , the Green Week Gibraltar to be held in early June . One of the few alternatives we have left , that citizens are aware of the problem and that we act accordingly . Hopefully the wish of the unforgettable and necessary Bruno Latour will be fulfilled when he hoped for the emergence of a social class aware of the planet . To make the current social order react , so inoffensive and gentrified . It is no longer a question of protecting a species on the verge of extinction , or of saving a habitat in the Amazon , what we are playing for is the survival of the Earth .
OTWO 46 / MAY 2023 7