In an open letter to Jovanotti, noted geologist and scientific popularizer Mario Tozzi calmly but very clearly (and with scientific data in hand) explains why the Jova Beach Party should be stopped and completely reconsidered. Will Jovanotti accept the criticism this time and question himself?
© Lorenzo Jovanotti Cherubini / Facebook
Just yesterday, in an article about the Jova Beach Party, we said that it seems to us that in defense of the tour, which stops at the most beautiful (and fragile) Italian beaches, there was only Jovanotti himself and the WWF to take care of the “Environment” part of the event. Also read: Yes, we are “eco-Nazis” and at the Jova beach party we prefer “The Sounds of the Dolomites”
Now he has interfered in the question Mario Tozzi, well-known geologist and science writer who announced via his Facebook profile that he had written an open letter to Jovanotti. Letter published in La Stampa, the title of which says it all: “Dear Jovanotti, this time you are wrong”.
However, Mario Tozzi, who doesn’t know Jovanotti personally, would like to write him this letter to share his position on the many controversies surrounding the Jova Beach Party, and he really does a certain grace and style.
The letter begins with an important premise: the geologist states that he has been following the singer with sympathy since “Serenata Rap” at the latest, so, as we at greenMe have also repeated, it is by no means a concrete and targeted stance against the singer .
There is no evidence of bias in my analysis
Tozzi clarifies, who then gets straight to the point: he too loves to combine nature and culture, music and landscape and has always taken part in events in certain places such as the Castellana caves or some beaches in Sardinia, but – because it there is a but:
The problem is not in the event itself, but in the impact, which as can be clearly seen in the photos of the JBP (Jova Beach Party ed) from above, is disruptive simply for the number of people attending. One account includes 100 people, another 50,000.
but Tozzi’s strength lies in speaking – scientific data in hand – about what really happens on every beach “ambushed” by people, a very little-known aspect:
A recent Cnr study estimates that every bather who spends a day at the beach takes away 50 to 100 grams of sand from the beaches of the Maddalena Archipelago National Park, whether they like it or not. The study was developed for the famous Budelli beach, which was systematically plundered of its pink sand and closed to access precisely because 10 swimmers – unknowingly – carried with them at least a kilo of sand a day. Multiply that number by your 10,000 or 50,000 population and see what mountain of sand you get, not to mention dancing and shaking that adds erosion to erosion.
The first criticism of Tozzi therefore refers to the really high number of participants in the show. Numbers which are explained very clearly and which are considered absolutely untenable by any natural system, especially if it is fragile.
But that’s not all, Tozzi also remembers:
The coasts are the most sensitive in the world and are particularly at risk in Italy. Today our sandy shores often erode. (…) In Italy, about 40% of the beaches are subject to constant erosion and the result of this process is that they risk being lost unless effective measures are taken.
Then the expert talks about the unhealthy use of beaches in Italy and the situation of the dunes:
The dune has now been wiped out on almost all ten thousand kilometers of the sea border. (…) Only 29% of the Italian coast, about 2200 hectares, is free of settlements and can be described as an intact landscape. 60% have already been the subject of intensive use, which has led to the lifting of dune and scrub and replaced by carpet constructions. (…)
The coasts are a heritage we take for granted
Perhaps the most beautiful passage in Tozzi’s letter to Jovanotti reminds us of something extremely important:
The coasts are a heritage that we take for granted but that is being lost without us even realizing it. Planning ahead of the event or imposing a mega stage doesn’t seem like one of the best ideas of this size, with all the temporary but heavy labor it requires.
Tozzi also debunks the myth that we can compensate for what has been done previously, a justification Jovanotti (and those who support him) often cited to defend his event:
Compensation work is relatively useful because only resilient ecosystems withstand impacts and in Italy they are depleted, especially on the coasts. While WWF has given assurances that the impact will be mitigated – as both municipalities would have approved the events anyway – as a member of the Scientific Council I have to tell you that along with others I have expressed my concerns.
Perhaps too little attention is paid to another aspect that Tozzi emphasizes in the letter: the transformation of natural sites into scenarios for mass events could give the impression that humans can do as they please and change the landscapes at will may necessary needs.
In short, the negative message is that we can always do whatever we want at the expense of the environment. Veiled but not too much, Tozzi reminds us that there are certain places where music can be made that can also be gigantic, like stadiums, palaces and squares.
The geologist then does not miss the opportunity Answer for lines even the much disputed ones definition of eco-nazis, given by Jovanotti to all those who criticize his tour and in particular the environmental impact it has on the places where it takes place:
You don’t have to believe that there is a militant patrol of what you called eco-Nazis out there out of social envy to destroy your initiative. (…) There are longtime ecologists like me who study the environment from a scientific perspective and who have seen enough to suggest that you abandon this project and redesign it by tying it to real environmental offsetting initiatives.
The? Tozzi gives concrete examples:
- Tree planting followed and certified
- Restoration of Posidonia dunes and meadows
- Defense of bird life and sea turtles
Finally, Tozzi reminds us of this the importance of every living thing on this planet, how small or even annoying (like mosquito):
Could you tell me, ‘who cares about the plover or the sea turtles?’ but you would make a mistake. In this world there is a place for a mosquito and a place for a bat, a place for little brother and a place for a jellyfish. Only we Sapiens take the place of everyone else, overbearing and invasive as we are. What we don’t know is that the extinctions are one type of dominoes and sooner or later the others will also become extinct.
An answer, point by point, really exemplary. Don’t you think so?
Dear Jovanotti, Mario Tozzi has now told you quite clearly that this time you are wrong! We are waiting for your answer.
You can listen to the full letter at this link.
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Source: Mario Tozzi Facebook / La Stampa
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