| Posted by Carnacki
The photo above isn't much to look at and at first glance probably seems insignificant.
In the band of light on the right, about halfway down and barely noticeable, is a pale blue dot.
Here is how astronomer and author Carl Sagan described the photo, taken by the Voyager 1 of our planet shortly before the spacecraft left our solar system.
On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there - on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
This is our only pale blue dot floating in an infinite sea of space.
We can either take action to protect the environment or we can bury our heads as our actions create catastrophic changes to the climate. The consequences of inaction are very real and only going to get worse.
From the Pentagon report "An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security":
There is substantial evidence to indicate that significant global warming will occur during the 21st century. Because changes have been gradual so far, and are projected to be similarly gradual in the future, the effects of global warming have the potential to be manageable for most nations. Recent research, however, suggests that there is a possibility that this gradual global warming could lead to a relatively abrupt slowing of the ocean's thermohaline conveyor, which could lead to harsher winter weather conditions, sharply reduced soil moisture, and more intense winds in certain regions that currently provide a significant fraction of the world's food production. With inadequate preparation, the result could be a significant drop in the human carrying capacity of the Earth's environment.
Since the release of that 2003 report, the indications are that the pace of climate change is accelerating.
This will have long-term, terrible consequences on our children and their children. Our short-sighted leaders, including Senators Joe Manchin and Jay Rockefeller, need to understand that inaction or even worse hindrance of those attempting to protect the environment is condemning future generations to a horrifying future. |
