Los peligros de la ignorancia científica
Hasta ahora he considerado a La Vanguardia como un periódico serio. Sin embargo, en los últimos tiempos están dando cobijo a una serie de personajes que propagan sus ideas pseudocientíficas en sus venerable páginas.
Lo último que me ha llegado, se publicó el pasado 30 de mayo. Una entrevista a un ¿divulgador? y ¿agricultor ecológico? que afirma «Estamos comiendo petróleo«.
Claro, leí el titular y pensé que la entrevista se la estaban haciendo a un microorganismo extremófilo, de esos raros que son capaces de comerse las porquerías que dejó el maldito Prestige (sí, ese; se acuerdan, el de «los hilitos» que dijo un tal M. Rajoy Brey) en nuestras costas gallegas; y que esa afirmación estaba dirigida a sus congérenes, y otras especies relacionadas, devoradoras de hidrocarburos.
Pero no es un bichito de esos que le gustan a mis amigos los (micro)biólogos. Al menos por la foto de la entrevista, no es un microorganismo; sino que es, aparentemente, un individuo de nuestra especie (homo ¿sapiens?). Bueno, pienso «ha sido una exageración del periodista que ha querido sacar un titular de una frase inocua del entrevistado«.
¡¡¡Pero no!!! Este tal señor agricultor ¿ecológico? y ¿divulgador? lo dice en la entrevista. A continuación reproduzco literalmente la pregunta y la respuesta:
P.: Incluso hay productos, según explica usted, que… ¡llevan petróleo!
R.: Efectivamente. De hecho, algo más del 90% de los productos de síntesis química (insecticidas, herbicidas, todo lo que no son productos agroecológicos) provienen todos del petróleo. Sin saberlo, estamos comiendo petróleo. Evidentemente, te lo comes tan disgregado que no te lo parece, pero lo estás haciendo.
Como se ve, no hay lugar para la duda.
Y esa respuesta demuestra que este individuo es un profundo ignorante científico. Y que conste que lo de ignorante no es insulto, sino que es el significado del diccionario de la RAE para «el que no tiene noticia de algo«.
Y este señor agricultor ¿ecológico? tiene una profunda ignorancia de química. No voy a darle ninguna lección de química (que se compre un libro para aprender), sólo decirle que la química es la ciencia de la transformación de la materia y que cuando A se transforma en B; A y B son dos sustancias químicas distintas (como si fuesen dos letras distintas del alfabeto) y, por consiguiente, sus propiedades (químicas, físicas, biológicas, tecnológicas) son también distintas.
Le voy a poner un ejemplo sencillo, que usted, señor agricultor ¿ecológico? puede entender.
El hidrógeno es un gas, explosivo por más señas. Si respiramos hidrógeno, morimos, al menos asfixiados, aunque podríamos tener una muerte aún más cruenta.
El oxígeno es también un gas. Es esencial para nuestra vida; pero, eso sí, mezclado con otro gas (el nitrógeno) en una proporción aproximada de 4 a 1 (exactamente 78 a 21) formando el aire (el 1% restante es mezcla de otros gases). Aunque el oxígeno es fundamental para nuestra existencia, en estado puro es un veneno potente para el ser humano y si lo ingerimos puro y en cantidad, tendríamos una muerte segura, y además espectacular (más o menos como una falla valenciana).
Pero, ¿qué ocurre si mezclamos estos dos gases (hidrógeno y oxígeno) tan peligrosos? ¡Se forma agua! Un líquido, no tóxico y esencial para la vida. Una reacción química hace que dos gases extremadamente peligrosos se combinen dando lugar a un ¡líquido esencial para la vida!
Espero que este ejemplo aporte alguna luz a su ignorancia química y se dé cuenta de que una vez que un derivado del petróleo se transforma químicamente, las propiedades de lo que se obtiene no tiene nada que ver con el material de partida y, mucho menos con el petróleo que antes de estos procesos se somete a una destilación para separar componentes.
Para su información, los compuestos químicos más sencillos que se encuentran en el petróleo son el metano y el etileno. El metano da poco juego en la preparación de sustancias químicas sintéticas; aunque sí para proporcionarnos energía, que este señor agricultor ¿ecológico? usará; pues no creo que se caliente con la madera de sus bosques o no encienda ni una bombilla en su casa.
El etileno es un material de partida importante para la industria química de la que el señor agricultor ¿ecológico? se beneficia; o ¿es que va desnudo por la vida o no usa un simple bolígrafo para escribir o un ordenador o un teléfono móvil? cuando enferma ¿qué toma?
Las interrogantes en agricultor ¿ecológico? no son un error de mi teclado. ¡No! Son intencionadas. No voy a entrar con discutir a los defensores de una cierta manera de cultivar los campos (para eso están Mulet o JAL); pero sí me molesta que se falsee la terminología. Agricultura ecológica es un oxímoron, pues desde el momento en que un campo se cultiva (es decir, se hace agricultura) se deja de hacer ecologismo al estar manipulado por la mano del hombre. Por lo tanto, la agricultura ecológica no existe.
Este hombre tiene una propuesta curiosa. Propone que todos debemos plantar un huerto (por ejemplo, de lechugas; aunque es más ambicioso y propone variedad de cultivo) en nuestros balcones y terrazas. Si estáis interesado en esta ideas (no voy a entrar a valorarla para que no me dé un ataque de risa) u os preguntáis como se puede alimentar una familia con esta ¿abundante? cosecha, recomiendo leer la blanda entrevista.
Yo voy a seguir con lo mío: la QUÍMICA (¡con mayúsculas!) y por desgracia con la ignorancia del señor agricultor ¿ecológico?
Propone plantar huertos ecológicos en los balcones de las viviendas para de esta manera «no tener que comer petróleo». Teniendo en cuenta el escaso conocimiento químico que este señor agricultor ¿ecológico? ha demostrado, no esperaba de él un mínimo conocimiento bioquímico.
Le digo a este señor agricultor ¿ecológico? que cuando coma la lechuga de su huerto (perdón, balcón) también está comiendo petróleo. Si este señor agricultor ¿ecológico? está leyendo este post se le quedarán los ojos como platos. «¿Comer petróleo? ¡¡¡Si todo es super-mega-ultra-ecológico!!!«, me responderá.
Si, señor agricultor ¿ecológico?, según su conocimiento de química, usted está comiendo petróleo cuando se come su lechuga. «¿Por qué?» Me preguntará el señor agricultor ¿ecológico?. La respuesta es sencilla. Usted se come la lechuga; principalmente está comiendo carbohidratos (y otras sustancias químicas) que se han sintetizado (sé que la palabra le horroriza, pero es verdad) por las células de la planta. Y usted me contestará «que todo es muy natural, muy eco y muy bio» Yo le contestaré «¿Y sabe usted de dónde procede el carbono de los carbohidratos de la lechuga que se está comiendo?» Teniendo en cuenta sus conocimientos de química, su respuesta será «No» y en ese momento yo le contestaré (con una media sonrisa) «Del CO2, también conocido como dióxido de carbono o anhídrido carbónico» Y este señor agricultor ¿ecológico? se echará a temblar, pues le he nombrado a una de sus bestias negras, el CO2. Y además, le digo que ese CO2 procede de la combustión de derivados de hidrocarburos en automóviles o centrales térmicas; es decir, del petróleo.
Por lo tanto, sintiéndolo mucho, señor agricultor ¿ecológico?; usted también come petróleo de su huerto (perdón, balcón). Sólo tiene una alternativa, no comer. Claro, así seguro que se muere pronto (eso sí, sin estar químicamente contaminado); o más fácil, no vuelva a exponer su ignorancia científica en los medios de comunicación.
Nota tras el post químico. Aunque he preferido centrarme en los aspectos químicos de la entrevista, ésta no tiene desperdicio. Como cuando dice que hay que cortar el cesped cuando la Luna esté en la constelación de Gémini (triste es que un periódico serio publique esto, que parece una broma) o como le gusta observar la actividad sexual de insectos en su huerto (perdón, balcón) o que, como ocurre con mucho iluminados, él conoce la planta que cura el cáncer (¿todos? ¿los más 300 tipos de enfermedad que se clasifican con el epígrafe cáncer?).
Bernardo Herradón García CSIC b.herradon@csic.es
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