This week marks a momentous anniversary in human history. At 9:32 AM Eastern Daylight Time on July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Apollo 11. Four days later, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history by (becoming) the first humans to set foot on the moon. Their historic accomplishment was the culmination of more than a decade’s worth of work in science, engineering, and human achievement. The images that the astronauts of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs beamed down from space captivated all of humanity; while capturing the fragility of our planet, these images helped to inspire a generation to act in defense of the environment.
Like most young Americans, watching Armstrong and Aldrin take their first steps on the moon inspired me to want to become an astronaut. As I grew older and knew that I wasn’t necessarily going to be an astronaut, I realized something else about those images that was burned into my memory. They made me realize how fragile our planet is. Images like “Earthrise” and “The Blue Marble” showed me how truly precious and unique our planet is. Hearing astronauts talk about how insignificant they felt once they reached the vacuum of space and were able to look down at the place they called home while orbiting the earth at close to 17,000 mph made me realize that this planet needs to be protected.
Was it a coincidence that the moon landing took place in July of 1969 and then the first Earth Day was the following April? I don’t think so. I think that mounting pollution problems such as smog events in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles and the Cuyahoga River fire along with Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, combined with the first photographs and videos of our planet taken from outer space galvanized the environmental movement into action.
In December 1970, eight months after the very first Earth Day, under increasing pressure from the newly energized environmental movement along with massive public outcry, Congress passed, and President Nixon signed, the National Environmental Protection Act, creating the Environmental Protection Agency. Shortly thereafter, the crew of Apollo 17 took one of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century, “The Blue Marble”. The first time I saw it I was awestruck. I realized that everything that I hold dear is encased in this spinning ball of rock, gas, and water, and all that keeps us alive is the thin layer of atmosphere.
So what do these technological achievements have to do with environmentalism? Everything. When humans glimpsed upon the earth for the first time from space, we realized the fragility of our planet and its relative insignificance in the universe. When we look through the Hubble Space Telescope and gaze upon the millions of galaxies and nebulas that are millions and even billions of lightyears away, we are looking back in time. Just as when John Muir first came upon the Giant Redwoods and Sequoias and the massive rock formations in the Yosemite Valley, we look up to the stars in wonderment of their creation. We can only ponder the meaning of our existence and the universe that we inhabit.
John Muir advocated for the preservation of the Yosemite Valley because of its inherent beauty. We must do the same. Not for just one single place, but for the entire planet and on behalf of all mankind. It is incumbent upon us to leave this world in better condition than we found it. As David Brower once said, “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
(All Images Courtesy of NASA)
Jason Brand
Political Intern
Sierra Club Maryland Chapter
jason.brand@mdsierra.org
301-277-7111