ABSTRACT
Legambiente became in the space of a decade probably the most influential environmental Italian association, and counts among its founders Giovanni Berlinguer and Barry Commoner. His great contribution lies in his ability in matching economic and social rationality, technological progress, and the minimization of environmental impacts. That is to say, the finding that at the basis of the processes involving the destruction of natural resources, there is often an irrational behavior, which is technologically and economically disadvantageous. The target, which Barry indicated much before the United Nations’ report, is instead the finding of a balanced approach to development, where both factors, humans and nature, have their own advantage. An Italian poet-philosopher of extraordinary importance, Giacomo Leopardi, defined nature as a “stepmother,” for the promises she makes when she gives life and for how violently she takes everything back.
