Earth, rise!

 

Earthrise, taken on December 24, 1968, by 
Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders

That’s our home planet pictured above. The only one we have. It’s also our “Planet B,” as in there is no place we can move to if we burn down our house. From Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, through the Silent Spring of Rachel Carson, to the multitude of reports from the IPCC on climate disruption, we have thus far failed to sufficiently respect and respond to the guidance of those who would lead us to a sustainable future.

One of the "rules of thumb” I learned long ago goes something like “the proper definition of a problem is half the solution..” I continue to fail to understand why we continue to fail to follow the precautionary principle or even acknowledge the truth of Pogo’s observation from years ago:

"we have met the enemy..." - ©Walt Kelly

Did Pogo get it wrong? I don’t think so. Another old saying I remember my mother using to describe me is “too smart for his own good.” That may well be true of all of us who don’t have enough smarts to get out of our own way and to stop choosing to follow those who place their best individual interest ahead of our collective good. No, I’m not promoting Ayn Rand. Why is it, do you think, that more of us aren’t promoting Elinor Ostrum’s work about managing our commons?

Or, you could read Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. If you’ve read it once, reread it. If you want or need something with pictures, try Bimaadiziwin Nibi - Water is Life. Why? Look again at Earthrise. That gray, lifeless area at the picture’s lower section is the moon, which is lifeless as far as we’ve been able to .tell. It’s also pretty much waterless. Have you heard about desertification? Hard to picture after the local winter we’ve had but Minnesota (and California) are undergoing a really tough solution to their recent droughts. Our weather is getting more volatile as we disrupt our climate. Now, go back and reread the first paragraph in today’s posting. How soon do you think you could move to Mars? Does that really seem like a better idea than restoring Earth?

Remember

Joy Harjo - 1951-

Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star’s stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time. Remember sundown
and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother’s, and hers.
Remember your father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the
origin of this universe.
Remember you are all people and all people
are you.
Remember you are this universe and this
universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language comes from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.