In an episode of Aprendamos Juntos 2030 (BBVA), Guillermo Prieto “Pirry” answered a question about the oceans and proposed a shift in perspective: it's not about saving the planet, but rather recognizing that we depend on it for survival.
Pirry noted, “I feel like if the ocean is telling us anything, it’s not ‘help me,’ ‘save me.’ No. It’s… ‘I can exist without you, you can’t exist without me.’ The ocean produces 50% of the oxygen we breathe… The ocean is in a critical state, but the ocean will recover.”
He added: “The planet doesn't need saving. The planet has been here for millions and millions of years… We can launch all our atomic weapons, and with four bacteria left, this will turn green and blue again. It's not about whether we're going to save the planet, it's about whether we're going to save ourselves.”
The talk also provided insights into the time scale: while descending Angel Falls in Venezuela, Pirry contrasted formations two billion years old with an estimated human presence of just 200,000 years, leading him to emphasize that we are just a moment in geological history.
Other sessions addressed the relationship between humanity and nature: observing mountain gorillas in Virunga and the surrounding deforestation, performing emergency surgery on an elephant injured by poaching in Africa, and coming into close contact with whales in Tonga—experiences that reinforced his belief that natural law is balance, not morality.
Pirry concluded by recalling the international moratorium on whaling in the 1980s and the recovery of these populations as proof that when humanity agrees on priorities and acts decisively, life responds.