Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Nuestro planeta necesita que cuidemos el medio ambiente y pensemos en el cambio climático. - Our planet needs us to take care of the environment and think about climate change.

Nuestro planeta necesita que cuidemos el medio ambiente y pensemos en el cambio climático.

Our planet needs us to take care of the environment and think about climate change.

Breakdown of Nuestro planeta necesita que cuidemos el medio ambiente y pensemos en el cambio climático.

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Questions & Answers about Nuestro planeta necesita que cuidemos el medio ambiente y pensemos en el cambio climático.

Why do we use cuidemos and pensemos instead of cuidamos and pensamos?

Cuidemos and pensemos are in the present subjunctive, not the normal present indicative.

They are subjunctive because they depend on necesita que:

Nuestro planeta necesita que cuidemos…
Nuestro planeta necesita que pensemos…

In Spanish, when one subject expresses a wish, need, recommendation, or influence about what another subject should do, you normally use:

[main verb] + que + subjunctive

Here:

Main clause: Nuestro planeta necesita (our planet needs)
Subordinate clause: que cuidemos… y pensemos… (that we look after… and think…)

Using cuidamos / pensamos (indicative) would sound ungrammatical here, because it would break that pattern of necesitar que + subjunctive.

What exactly are the tense and mood of necesita, cuidemos, and pensemos?

necesita
- Tense: present
- Mood: indicative
- Person/number: 3rd person singular (he/she/it needs)
- Subject: Nuestro planeta
cuidemos
- Tense: present
- Mood: subjunctive
- Person/number: 1st person plural (that we look after)
pensemos
- Tense: present
- Mood: subjunctive
- Person/number: 1st person plural (that we think)

So the structure is:
[Present indicative] + que + [present subjunctive]

Why is it necesita que cuidemos… and not necesita cuidar…?

Both structures exist in Spanish, but they are used differently:

necesitar + infinitive (same subject)
- Necesito descansar. = I need to rest.
  Here, I need and I rest → same subject.
necesitar que + subjunctive (different subject)
- Necesito que descanses. = I need you to rest.
  The subject of necesito is I; the subject of descanses is you.

In your sentence:

Subject of necesita = Nuestro planeta (the planet)
Subject of cuidemos / pensemos = nosotros (we)

The subject changes, so Spanish uses necesitar que + subjunctive:

Nuestro planeta necesita que cuidemos… y pensemos…

If you said Nuestro planeta necesita cuidar el medio ambiente, it would literally mean:
“Our planet needs to look after the environment” – as if the planet itself could perform the action, which is not what you want.

Why is it cuidemos el medio ambiente and not cuidemos al medio ambiente or cuidemos del medio ambiente?

The verb cuidar is normally transitive, so you say:

cuidar algo / a alguien

The rules here:

No preposition with things in general
- cuidar el medio ambiente (look after the environment)
- cuidar la casa (look after the house)
Personal a with people (and often animals)
- cuidar a los niños (look after the children)
- cuidar a mi abuela (look after my grandmother)
cuidar de also exists, but has a slightly different or more formal feel:
- cuidar de los enfermos (take care of the sick)
- cuidar del jardín (look after the garden – a bit more formal/literary)

With el medio ambiente, the most natural and standard form is:

cuidar el medio ambiente

Cuidar al medio ambiente sounds wrong (we use a mainly with people/animals).
Cuidar del medio ambiente is possible and understandable, but less common and a bit more formal than cuidar el medio ambiente.

Why do we say el medio ambiente and el cambio climático? In English we normally say just “environment” and “climate change” without “the”.

Spanish uses the definite article (el / la / los / las) with general concepts much more often than English does.

So in general statements, Spanish usually says:

el medio ambiente = (the) environment
el cambio climático = (the) climate change
la educación = (education)
la libertad = (freedom)

In English, you often drop the in this kind of general statement. In Spanish, using el / la here is the normal, natural way to talk about these concepts in general.

You could omit the article in some specific contexts (for example, in titles or slogans: Cuidar medio ambiente), but in normal sentences el medio ambiente and el cambio climático are what you should use.

Why is it pensemos en el cambio climático instead of pensemos sobre el cambio climático?

Both pensar en and pensar sobre exist, but they’re used a bit differently:

pensar en = think about, have in mind, consider
- Piensa en tu futuro. (Think about your future.)
- Siempre pienso en ti. (I always think about you.)
pensar sobre = think about as a topic / have opinions about
- ¿Qué piensas sobre esta ley? (What do you think about this law?)

In your sentence, the idea is “to think about climate change / keep it in mind / consider it”, so:

pensemos en el cambio climático

is the most natural choice.
pensemos sobre el cambio climático is grammatically correct, but it sounds more like “let’s reflect on / have opinions about the topic of climate change”, a bit more formal or academic.

Could we say Nuestro planeta necesita que cuidemos el medio ambiente y que pensemos en el cambio climático? Is the second que necessary?

Both versions are correct:

Without repeating que (your original):
- Nuestro planeta necesita que cuidemos el medio ambiente y pensemos en el cambio climático.
Repeating que:
- Nuestro planeta necesita que cuidemos el medio ambiente y que pensemos en el cambio climático.

When the two verbs share the same subject (nosotros) and the same main verb (necesita), Spanish often omits the second que for style and brevity.

Repeating que is not wrong; it just sounds slightly more deliberate or emphatic, as if you were underlining that they are two separate obligations.

Who is the subject of cuidemos and pensemos? Where is nosotros?

The subject is nosotros (we), but in Spanish subject pronouns are usually dropped because the verb ending already shows the person:

–emos ending in cuidemos / pensemos = 1st person plural (we)

So:

cuidemos = (that) we look after
pensemos = (that) we think

You could say que nosotros cuidemos… y pensemos…, but adding nosotros is only necessary if you want to stress we (as opposed to someone else). In neutral sentences, you omit it:

…que cuidemos el medio ambiente y pensemos en el cambio climático.

Why do we say Nuestro planeta instead of just El planeta? Are both correct?

Both are grammatically correct, but they have different nuances:

Nuestro planeta = our planet
- Emphasises that it’s our home, that we are closely connected to it and responsible for it.
El planeta = the planet
- More neutral or impersonal; it can sound a bit more general or distant.

So:

Nuestro planeta necesita que cuidemos el medio ambiente…
suggests: Because it’s our own planet, we have a responsibility.
El planeta necesita que cuidemos el medio ambiente…
feels slightly less personal, but still correct.

Could we rephrase this as Tenemos que cuidar el medio ambiente y pensar en el cambio climático? What’s the difference in meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Tenemos que cuidar el medio ambiente y pensar en el cambio climático.
= We have to look after the environment and think about climate change.

Main differences:

Focus / point of view
- Nuestro planeta necesita que cuidemos…
  Focuses on the planet’s need; it presents the obligation from the planet’s perspective.
- Tenemos que cuidar…
  Focuses directly on our obligation (“we must…”).
Grammar
- Nuestro planeta necesita que + subjunctive
- Tenemos que + infinitive

Both convey a similar overall idea (we should/need to do these things), but the original sentence sounds a bit more stylistic and rhetorical, because it personifies the planet as “needing” our actions.