Tomás Padrón had a dream. Optimistic and committed to his land, he dreamed and believed in a project that would allow the island of El Hierro to be self-sufficient in energy matters to prevent the people of El Hierro from being held hostage from abroad. And that desire, in which very few believed, but which he wove with the patience and wisdom of a man faithful to his responsibility, is today a reality: the "Gorona del Viento" hydroelectric plant.
Just three days after the Supreme Court overturned, by a narrow margin of three votes to two, the appeals demanding the cessation of oil exploration in the Canary Islands, we have witnessed the birth of a project that represents the clearest example of the path we must take if we want our Islands to be a sustainable model and an example for the rest of the world, as the El Hierro plant already is.
Two antagonistic and incompatible models have been put on the table in the Islands: the one represented by the hydroelectric plant, whose objective is for the Island's consumption to be covered with energy from renewable sources, and the exploitation of fossil fuels a few miles from the beaches of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Between both options, El Hierro has opted for the most sustainable, least costly and least dependent path.
Víctor Hugo said in the middle of the 19th century that "it produces immense sadness to think that nature speaks while the human race does not listen to it." And that is the impression that all Canarians have regarding the explorations. Nature puts endless clean energy in our hands, but those who do not listen, as the author of "Les Miserables" complained, insist on drilling the seabed in a crusade in which they have only needed the support of the State Government and a legislation alien to a sick planet that externalizes its pain through the traces left by climate change.
Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, which are intended to be punished with their inclusion in the cursed world atlas of black gold, would also like to be like El Hierro. There are projects drafted by different specialists, among them our colleague Javier Morales, another visionary from El Hierro, to which we are obliged to give an opportunity, promoting the legislative changes and political decisions that are necessary, so that our acts serve to mark an agenda that culminates in the same way that Tomás Padrón's dream concluded.
"The present is only a stepping stone towards greater perfection, the preparation for a more perfect life. Therefore, whoever is capable of giving a letter of nature with a new ideal to this hope in the moral progress of humanity becomes a guide for his generation" (Stefan Zweig). Tomás became a guide for El Hierro and it is up to us, those of us who participate in politics and the entire Canarian society in general, to take the correct steps to "prepare ourselves for a more perfect life" to which Zweig refers.
The sun, the wind, the waves and geothermal heat are inexhaustible sources of energy. Others, such as the one that the Ministry of Industry intends to extract from our seabed, have their days numbered. If we do not respect the laws of nature and refuse to see the effects of a policy that irritates the planet, we will be contributing to the death of the territory.
Therefore, despite the Government's efforts and judicial resolutions, we must move forward. Lincoln said that "the probability of losing in the struggle should not dissuade us from supporting a cause that we believe is just." Tomás Padrón was showered with criticism when he presented his 100% sustainable project, but the disdain of those who branded him as naive did not intimidate the one who did know how to listen to his own nature.
And a final warning for the Ministry of Industry and the oil company Repsol: "if you think the economy is more important than the environment, try to hold your breath while you count your money" (Janez Potocnik).
Ana Oramas, deputy of Coalición Canaria
