Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Necesitamos un equilibrio entre nuestra comodidad y el cuidado del medio ambiente del planeta. - We need a balance between our comfort and caring for the planet’s environment.

Gender:
- equilibrio is a masculine noun in Spanish, so it takes un (masc. singular), not una.
Indefinite article vs definite article:
- un equilibrio = a balance (non‑specific, one possible balance among many)
- el equilibrio = the balance (a specific, known balance)
  In this context, we’re talking about the general idea of achieving some kind of balance, not one specific, defined balance, so un is natural.
With or without article:
- You could say Necesitamos equilibrio entre…, which would sound a bit more abstract or general, like “We need (some) balance” as a concept.
- Necesitamos un equilibrio… sounds more concrete and natural in everyday speech: “We need a (proper) balance…”.

Is entre always used with y like entre A y B, or could we say un equilibrio de A y B?

The standard pattern for “a balance between A and B” is:
- un equilibrio entre A y B
entre literally means “between / among”.
Saying un equilibrio de A y B is not idiomatic here and would sound odd or unclear.
So the natural constructions are:
- un equilibrio entre nuestra comodidad y el cuidado del medio ambiente…
- un equilibrio entre X e Y (use e instead of y before words beginning with i- / hi- sound)

Why is it nuestra comodidad and not nuestro comodidad?

comodidad is a feminine noun in Spanish: la comodidad.
Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su, nuestro/a, vuestro/a, su) agree in gender and number with the noun possessed, not with the person who owns it.
Since the noun is feminine singular, we must say:
- nuestra comodidad (our comfort)
  and not nuestro comodidad.
Other examples:
- nuestras casas (our houses – houses are feminine plural)
- nuestros coches (our cars – cars are masculine plural)

What exactly does comodidad mean? Is it the same as English comfort?

comodidad can mean:
- physical comfort (not suffering discomfort, having a comfy life)
- convenience or ease (things being easy, not requiring much effort)
Examples:
- Viajamos con mucha comodidad. – We traveled very comfortably.
- Lo hace por comodidad. – He does it out of convenience.
There is also the word confort (from French/English), but in everyday Peninsular Spanish:
- comodidad is more common and more general.
- confort is often used in marketing/technical contexts (e.g. car features, hotel descriptions).
In this sentence, nuestra comodidad refers broadly to our comfort and convenience in daily life.

Why do we use el cuidado del medio ambiente (a noun) instead of a verb like cuidar el medio ambiente?

Spanish often uses a noun phrase where English might use a verb with -ing.
English: “between our comfort and caring for the environment” (verb)
Spanish: “entre nuestra comodidad y el cuidado del medio ambiente” (noun)
el cuidado = the care / the act of caring / looking after.
Both are possible in Spanish, but they’re not parallel structures:
- entre nuestra comodidad y el cuidado del medio ambiente (comfort vs the care of the environment)
- entre nuestra comodidad y cuidar el medio ambiente (comfort vs to care for the environment – less natural stylistically here)
Using two noun phrases (nuestra comodidad / el cuidado) makes the sentence nicely balanced and is the most idiomatic.

What does medio ambiente literally mean, and can you just say ambiente?

Literally:
- medio = environment / surroundings / setting (in this collocation)
- ambiente = atmosphere / environment / surroundings
Together, el medio ambiente is the fixed, standard expression for the environment in the ecological sense.
You usually would not say just el ambiente when you mean “the (natural) environment” in this global/ecological sense; el ambiente on its own more often means:
- the atmosphere (in a room, city, party)
- the social scene (e.g. el ambiente nocturno = the nightlife scene)
Other options in more technical or formal registers:
- el entorno natural – the natural surroundings
- el entorno – the surroundings / environment (broader sense)
For “environment” as in ecology, el medio ambiente is the most common and clear choice.

Why do we say del medio ambiente del planeta? Isn’t repeating del strange or redundant?

Grammatically, this is a chain of two “of”-phrases:
- el cuidado del medio ambiente del planeta
- the care of the environment of the planet
In Spanish, each noun that takes de + article keeps its own de / del / de la. You can’t “share” one de for both.
So you must repeat it:
- ✅ del medio ambiente del planeta
- ❌ del medio ambiente el planeta (wrong)
Stylistically, some speakers might consider del medio ambiente del planeta a bit heavy and prefer to simplify to:
- el cuidado del medio ambiente
- el cuidado del planeta
- el cuidado del medio ambiente de nuestro planeta (if you really want to specify “of our planet”)
But repeating del is completely normal and correct Spanish when you stack de-phrases.

What exactly is del here? Why not de el?

del is the standard contraction of:
- de + el → del
You must use the contraction del whenever de is followed by el (masculine singular definite article), except in very rare cases (e.g. quoting a word).
So:
- del medio ambiente = de + el medio ambiente
- del planeta = de + el planeta
With feminine nouns or plural nouns you do not contract:
- de la ciudad (feminine, singular)
- de los océanos (masculine, plural)
- de las personas (feminine, plural)

Why is it del medio ambiente del planeta and not something like del planeta medio ambiente? How does word order work here?

In Spanish, when you want to say “the X of Y”, you normally use de:
- el medio ambiente del planeta = the environment of the planet
You don’t usually turn the second noun into an adjective right before the first noun (like English sometimes does: “planet environment”).
del planeta medio ambiente is incorrect; Spanish doesn’t stack nouns in that English way.
The normal pattern is:
- [head noun] + de + [modifier]
- el medio ambiente de la Tierra
- la economía del país
- el futuro del planeta

Why is the verb necesitamos in the normal present tense? Could this be a subjunctive form?

Necesitamos is the present indicative, 1st person plural of necesitar:
- (nosotros) necesitamos = “we need”.
The sentence is a direct statement about what “we” need, so the indicative is the normal choice.
The subjunctive would appear in a subordinate clause, for example:
- Es necesario que encontremos un equilibrio…
  - It is necessary that we find a balance… (encontremos is subjunctive)
You cannot say “necesitemos un equilibrio…” as a main clause on its own in standard Spanish; that form needs something before it that triggers the subjunctive.

Are there more natural or common alternatives to this whole sentence in Peninsular Spanish?

The original is perfectly correct and natural. Some equally natural alternatives (with slightly different nuance) might be:

Tenemos que encontrar un equilibrio entre nuestra comodidad y el cuidado del medio ambiente.
- More like “We have to find a balance…” (stresses the process of finding it).
Debemos buscar un equilibrio entre nuestra comodidad y el cuidado del planeta.
- Shortens del medio ambiente del planeta to del planeta, clearer and less heavy.
Es importante lograr un equilibrio entre nuestra comodidad y el cuidado del medio ambiente.
- “It’s important to achieve a balance between…” – more evaluative.

All of these would sound natural in Spain.