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REINHOLD
MESSNER
The world's greatest mountaineer
THE LEGENDARY ITALIAN
ALPINIST IS THE FIRST
PERSON TO CLIMB ALL THE
SUMMITS IN THE “DEATH
ZONE”, ABOVE 8,000
METRES. | O ΘΡΥΛΙΚΟΣ
ΙΤΑΛΟΣ ΟΡΕΙΒΑΤΗΣ ΑΝΕΒΗΚΕ
ΠΡΩΤΟΣ ΟΛΕΣ ΤΙΣ ΚΟΡΥΦΕΣ
ANΩ ΤΩΝ 8.000 M.
You once said that consumerism is one of
the biggest problems today. What’s your
take now?
We face problems like global warming that
make difficult to give people enough room,
food, water. We will also face the great
challenge of water shortage within the next
decade. Just think the Chinese; they are
trying to block the big rivers for irrigation,
but nothing is left for them. I don’t see how
humans will be able to coexist in the next
50-60 years, when they will reach 10 billion,
without fighting; that possibility could be
the end of humanity. We should learn the
Buddha’s profound lesson from 2500 years
ago: reduce consumption. Consuming
means you need more and more, a lot of
stuff you don’t really need. It only dominates
your space and time without giving you
satisfaction and freedom.
Can you recall an exciting moment as an
alpinist?
I think the best moment was when I went to
the Dolomites. I was very young, 16-17 years
old but I was able to climb a huge vertical
wall. To me, rock climbing is like an art work.
In the beginning you only see a line on a
huge wall, a thousand or more meters, but
once you climb it, this line gets real, although
nobody else can see it as it exists only in your
mind. Therefore we are artists, we produce
nothing but that makes us happy.
What your experience as an MEP tought you?
When I decided to run for a seat in 1999,
I was not sure if this would turn to be a
good idea. I was offered to join the list of
the Green Party in Italy. I decided to say yes,
but I didn't join the party, never become a
member of it. I decided to go on with my
own campaign and spoke my own language.
I’m a practical person and during these
years I didn’t make the world go round.
126
MESSNER
The world's greatest mountaineer
THE LEGENDARY ITALIAN
ALPINIST IS THE FIRST
PERSON TO CLIMB ALL THE
SUMMITS IN THE “DEATH
ZONE”, ABOVE 8,000
METRES. | O ΘΡΥΛΙΚΟΣ
ΙΤΑΛΟΣ ΟΡΕΙΒΑΤΗΣ ΑΝΕΒΗΚΕ
ΠΡΩΤΟΣ ΟΛΕΣ ΤΙΣ ΚΟΡΥΦΕΣ
ANΩ ΤΩΝ 8.000 M.
You once said that consumerism is one of
the biggest problems today. What’s your
take now?
We face problems like global warming that
make difficult to give people enough room,
food, water. We will also face the great
challenge of water shortage within the next
decade. Just think the Chinese; they are
trying to block the big rivers for irrigation,
but nothing is left for them. I don’t see how
humans will be able to coexist in the next
50-60 years, when they will reach 10 billion,
without fighting; that possibility could be
the end of humanity. We should learn the
Buddha’s profound lesson from 2500 years
ago: reduce consumption. Consuming
means you need more and more, a lot of
stuff you don’t really need. It only dominates
your space and time without giving you
satisfaction and freedom.
Can you recall an exciting moment as an
alpinist?
I think the best moment was when I went to
the Dolomites. I was very young, 16-17 years
old but I was able to climb a huge vertical
wall. To me, rock climbing is like an art work.
In the beginning you only see a line on a
huge wall, a thousand or more meters, but
once you climb it, this line gets real, although
nobody else can see it as it exists only in your
mind. Therefore we are artists, we produce
nothing but that makes us happy.
What your experience as an MEP tought you?
When I decided to run for a seat in 1999,
I was not sure if this would turn to be a
good idea. I was offered to join the list of
the Green Party in Italy. I decided to say yes,
but I didn't join the party, never become a
member of it. I decided to go on with my
own campaign and spoke my own language.
I’m a practical person and during these
years I didn’t make the world go round.
126
