The generation of digital youngsters is far from disconnected from reality. They are on the front lines defending the Planet through the web. The story of Aran Cosentino.
Green like hope, but also like the environment and youth. Despite stereotypes portraying them as prisoners of social networks and virtual reality, a new generation is emerging across the Planet that does not hesitate to put itself on the line to protect the Earth. In an era defined by climate change, against which world leaders struggle to make decisions equal to the gravity of the situation, the young men and women born in the third millennium are now raising their voices. The demand is for greater commitment from those "grown-ups" who, to quote sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg, "are not mature enough to tell it like it is". And who offload onto future generations the consequences of unsustainable development.
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Although he does not enjoy the worldwide fame of his Swedish peer, in recent weeks Aran Cosentino from Friuli has won his own personal battle: the hydroelectric power station on the unspoilt Alberone stream will not be built. At the end of December, the deadline granted by the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region — prompted by the local committee founded by the young man — for submitting supplementary environmental impact documentation related to the project expired. The withdrawal by the company holding the licence therefore brings to an end a tug-of-war that lasted nearly three years. Or at least, that is what the residents of Savogna hope — the small municipality on the border with Slovenia where Cosentino lives with his parents.
"Yes, I think this time it's for real. Nevertheless, we will keep watch, because back in the spring of 2017 the matter seemed to be settled too. And then, a few months later, came the cold shower: with a few modifications, the company had resubmitted the project," recalls Aran, who was just 14 years old at the start of the mobilisation and was about to begin his arts high school.
"For the tenacity and passion with which he defended, using modern communication tools, an asset that transcends time: the Alberone stream he has always watched flowing through his valley." The award of the "Bandiera verde – Buona pratica nel territorio alpino" recognition, presented to him in July 2017 by Legambiente's regional president Sandro Cargnelutti, neatly sums up Aran's battle. "I grew up surrounded by woods and above the river: in the Natisone valleys, where my family lives, the Alberone flows just outside the front door. In a sense, the stream is a familiar presence and an integral part of our daily lives," the young man explains.
Although he prefers the woods, Aran is equally at home in the jungle of the internet. It was while browsing the Region's website that in August 2016 he discovered the existence of a plan to build a mini hydroelectric plant on the stream, with the water intake to be placed just downstream from his own home. "I was completely gobsmacked! The flow of our stream is modest and irregular, entirely unsuitable for feeding even a small power station. But above all, the Alberone is one of the few streams still unspoilt along the entire Alpine arc, so much so that it is home to the European river crayfish and other protected species that have become extremely rare elsewhere," he continues.
Aran shares the discovery with his parents, neighbours, friends and anyone he can reach. The existence of the project comes as a surprise to the entire community living at the foot of Matajur. "Nobody knew anything about it, and nobody was in favour of it being built. So I created a Facebook group to coordinate the defence of the stream. It was the embryo of the Amici del torrente Alberone committee," he recalls. In the weeks that followed, membership of the group grew rapidly, so much so that newspapers — first local, then national — began to take an interest in the story.
Meanwhile, Aran Cosentino gets in touch with other committees engaged in the same battle all along the Alpine arc. He also launches, with passion and determination, a petition to be delivered to the regional council, symbolically closed at 390 signatures — the number of inhabitants of Savogna. In May 2017 the company withdraws its application and the Region shelves the project. However, the celebrations last only a few months, as in January 2018 a new chapter of the story unfolds. "I found out about the new project from a Google Alert notification. I had even forgotten I'd set up the alert," Aran smiles. With the technical input of geologists and naturalists, the committee lodges a petition that is promptly accepted by the Region, which orders the company to submit supplementary documentation within six months. "During that period I checked the Region's website every day with anxiety. It was such a relief to read 'case closed' the day after the deadline: the company had given up!" the young man recalls.
"I don't want to be misunderstood: I am in favour of hydroelectric energy and I think we should invest more decisively in renewable energies, for example by upgrading the large plants that already exist," Aran argues, adding: "However, there is a big difference between building a power station along an artificial canal and building one on a high-mountain stream. We are destroying the last unspoilt places left in the Alps for a pitiful amount of electricity. If it weren't for the subsidies, nobody would invest in these mini power stations."
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In the hope that speculative designs on the stream have definitively faded, the Amici dell'Alberone will nonetheless continue to keep watch over their valley. "The committee is not disbanding: we have launched a new petition that has already gathered over a thousand signatures, calling for the stream's natural state to be preserved. We were also among the organisers of the climate march in Udine last 8 December," concludes Aran, a child of the digital generation who has very clear ideas about the future of the Planet.
