FOSSILS ET AL.

What Does It Really Take To Change The World?

The power of Life’s Formula and the invisible forces that shape our planet

Ricky Lanusse
Fossils et al.
Published in
13 min readSep 28, 2024

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Image created by author using DALL-E

Juan is my uncle and one of my best friends. Tio Juancho, I call him. He’s only 7 years older than me, so he’s more like the elder brother I never had. Despite bouncing from one school to the other and never going to college, Juan is one of the smartest people I know, always challenging me with questions I can’t answer. And he loves stumping me, which is frustratingly easy for him.

So when I started ranting about environmental issues, he hit me with an unexpected argument: “Why do you care about CO2 in the air?” he asked, eyes glinting with mischief. “Don’t we breathe out carbon dioxide? What the hell difference does it make if it comes out of us or the tailpipe of your car?”

Boom.

It’s true, isn’t it? We inhale oxygen, it mingles with carbon-based sugars, and there it is: CO2. Chemically speaking, it’s not so different from your car burning gasoline. So, why should we care?

Little did I know this seemingly innocuous question would lead me to think: What does it really take to change the world?

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