“It is business that has to take the majority of the blame for being the enemy of nature, for destroying native cultures, for taking from the rich and giving to the poor, and for poisoning the earth with the effluent from its factories. Yet business can produce food, cure disease, control population, employ people and generally enrich our lives. And it can do these good things and make a profit without losing its soul.”

The beaches of Bahía in Brazil are usually crowded with sunbathers from around the globe. This time last year, however, thousands of unexpected visitors started arriving. Patagonian penguins washed up on the sandy shores, most of them were young, and already dead or fighting for survival more than 4,000km from their normal habitat.

I sat in the passenger seat of Juan Carlos’ Fiat Palio, filled with trepidation. We were on our way to Ecovilla Gaia, a community founded on permaculture principles in the pueblito of Navarro, around 120km outside of Buenos Aires. I had signed up for a sustainable life course and, while considering the environment a vital issue, felt anxious that my green credentials would not quite be up to scratch.

“If Buenos Aires continues to have the amount of rubbish that there is now, then it’s not worth celebrating World Environment Day on 5th June.” Mariana Díaz Vaccaro gets straight to the point. Levels of waste in Buenos Aires have reached alarming levels, and the government seems reluctant to combat the problem.

“Many people are ill. They are suffering from cancer of the uterus, brain tumours, anaemia, lupus, and purpura. There have been numerous spontaneous miscarriages. They say it doesn’t matter even though they are killing us. But they’re not just killing us, they’re killing the environment too. To make a few pesos they will destroy the land and our lives.” This is the voice of Corina Barbosa. Her son, like many others in her community, is ill because he has agrichemicals in his blood.

Biodiesel boasts a number of benefits; it is an alternative to fossil fuel, and it is reduced in toxicity – carbon neutral, in fact. It is renewable and biodegradable. It’s cheaper than petrol, and, if you’re really keen, you can actually make it yourself.

Most guests would agree that Home Hotel is a “home away from home”. It goes without saying that the hotel is a serene and peaceful oasis amid the lively neighbourhood of Palermo Hollywood. Along with the garden lounge, pool and spa, the exquisite taste used in the design of Home creates a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere.

“There were wars for petrol in the twentieth century,” warns Osvaldo Canziani, winner of a Nobel Peace Prize awarded for his research in climactic change, “and in the twenty-second century everyone will be fighting for water.”

Residents of Buenos Aires will agree that the thousands of buses hurtling around every street corner are quite a nuisance. Weekly reports of accidents accentuate how dangerous it can be to use these buses, but riding them is not the only danger to your health.

Shiny and light, scrunchable yet durable, cheap to produce and even waterproof, it is no wonder that plastic bags are the most popular way to transport groceries in every corner of the world. However, when the first plastic bags were born, we never imagined that 40 years on we would be facing a crisis of plastic bag over-population.