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Editorial

IN MEDIO STAT VIRTUS

di Cesare Patrone *

oday it is difficult to engage in a serious debate on water without run-
ning the risk of there being only two voices being heard, those very two
T voices which are the favourites of certain types of sensational journal-
ism, which love to oversimplify important matters. One of the two main voices
chants: “All is well”, while its opposite retorts: “Everything is going wrong”.
In view of what is at stake, this extreme simplification, this flat and boring duet,
does not allow any broader scope, nor the interplay of different voices, and may obvi-
ously prove dangerous and does not really reflect in any way the problem’s complexi-
ty. In spite of this, it remains the well-worn path chosen by the majority of commu-
nication processes, which aim to stimulate emotional reactions rather than to inform.
As is often the case, a rather rigid dichotomy often characterises great issues, par-
ticularly those concerning the environment. In the case of the water debate, some-
times dubbed “the blue gold”, this duality is quite strong, and can generate a para-
dox which you rarely find in other fields. The paradox is this: at the most extreme
positions of the debate, the two furthest points between which the imaginary pendu-
lum of the debate swings, you will not find two exact opposites, such as black and
white, but rather two different shades of one same colour: one is a very dark shade,
the other slightly lighter. There is no trace of a different colour, or rather very few
traces, at times hardly recognizable.
To summarise, this means that even though one may not want to believe apoca-
lyptic predictions, one must admit that there is a problem concerning water, and that
problem is an important one. But as the Latin maxim goes, in medio stat virtus,
which roughly translated means: “Virtue lies between the two extremes”, which is
also the title of this editorial. The middle ground is where Silvae stands in the pres-
ent debate. Silvae’s outlook does not pander to sensationalist catastrophism, nor sup-
port irresponsibly optimistic views, but rather aims to present different views and the
Anno
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* Head of Corpo forestale dello Stato
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