By Mavis Bates
We are flying through space, together, on a spaceship that has everything we need to thrive: Food, water, shelter, clothing, and safety. Just like any spaceship, our needs must be met from inside this defined space. We can’t stop at the local cosmic grocery store and buy more clean air to breathe or clean water to drink! And we certainly can’t stop at the local cosmic garbage dump to drop off our trash.
Once upon a time, the Earth was a pretty empty place. Only a few residents were on our planet; so, we could all live like cowboys riding through an empty prairie, leaving an empty can of beans here, an old worn out saddle there along the trail, ignoring our own impact on the environment. A little bit of pollution or a little bit of garbage from each person didn’t seem to matter very much.
But time has passed, and now the Earth is filled up with almost eight billion persons! So, we definitely need to realize that the Earth is not an infinite, wide-open space that can continue giving to us without limits, but a finite Spaceship Earth, with everything we need, as long as we take good care of her and the Sun keeps shining.
R. Buckminster Fuller said, our Spaceship Earth did not come with an instruction manual. We all know how to take care of our cars, how to put gas in the tank, or plug it in, and when to change the oil. But we are only now starting to understand how to take care of the Earth, how we all need to stop polluting, protect the atmosphere to stop climate change, and reuse, reduce, and recycle. We all need to think just like astronauts on a spaceship, use everything carefully, waste nothing, dispose of waste properly, and protect our quality of life for everybody.
Every Earth Day is a reminder that we must take care of our Planet Earth so she can continue taking care of us. We must ensure our impact will keep our Spaceship Earth in tip-top shape for us and future generations.
Mavis Bates, member, Kane County Board, District 4, and chairperson, Energy and Environmental Committee, in the newsletter Kane County Connects.