Shatner looking down at that thin green layer of life. That’s all there is!
He pulled off an amazing feat of dexterity! Without embarrassing or putting on the spot his generous host, Jeff Bezos, who was quite naturally using Shatner’s presence on the space flight to promote his Blue Origin exploits, Bill deftly turned the focus to what he saw down below from up there; the fragility of that gentle planet, the tipping point of where the Earth is precariously balanced in the void. And so he subtly turned the conversation around from being about space flight and the wonders of modern technology, to a focus on the preciousness of our Earth and how we need now to collectively put our greatest efforts to saving our one and only living space.
In one enormous burst of emotion Shatner morphed from being a fictional captain of a space ship, as beloved as that character is, to being the captain of the real life mission to reverse global warming and saving our home planet. Those words about arguing over a “few billion dollars” rang true for all of us, not just those whose wealth is legendary. And they were repeated over and over again throughout the world. Talk about a wake-up call to take action – now.
What he was focused on was that very thin layer of the Earth, illustrated by the top line below.
One Thin Green Layer
A geologist once explained to me how incredibly thin that layer is by comparing it to a green apple. He said take that apple and peel off the layer of green all around it. What you have left in your hand is the entirety of the planet, minus the part you peeled off, that thin green layer where we spend our entire lives. We have no choice but to live there because that is the atmosphere where we must breathe and grow and find nourishment. Not only is it a very thin place to inhabit, but we know of no other place in the entire universe that comes close to it. In looking up into the black above, Shatner commented that there was nothing out there but death.
Yet this thin green layer is what we continue to fill with carbon dioxide and a multitude of other poisonous gases and particulate matter, killing off the oceans and coral reefs, destroying the massive forests whose irreplaceable contribution to our lives is the converting of carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen, and the open pit mining in most areas of the world that destroys habitats for animal and human alike. And what’s the driving force behind all this? Greed for more wealth by a tiny fraction of humans who continue with their outrageous behavior, at the expense of the welfare of everyone else.
Thank You World Leaders
As the editorial cried out the other day in reaction to the pathetic performance of our ‘world leaders’:
We are killing ourselves with carbon.
We are treating nature like a toilet.
We are brutalizing our biodiversity.
We are digging our own graves.
And what do the most powerful countries in the world do, those leaders of the G20 nations that account for 80% of global emissions? They toss a token coin into the Trevi Fountain. Good luck with that, world!
Well we the people of this world, seven and a half billion strong, can no longer stand back and take this anymore. The powerful – world leaders and major corporations and mega billionaires – have tossed tokens to the masses for the last time. There is no time left to save our planet. It will take extremely serious action right now, or it’s all over. Back to the stone age, if we’re lucky.
In 1517 Martin Luther nailed a list of grievances on the church door in the small town of Wittenberg, Germany. Little did he suspect that this simple act of frustration at the deaf ears of the Church authorities would soon lead to the Protestant Reformation which would revolutionize not only Europe, but reverberate around the world.
Today we say, no not say, but we shout with crystal clear tenacity, to the G20 and the COP26 gatherings of those who are mostly responsible for the devastation delineated above, that we will no longer be silent partners in this global destruction. Appropriately enough, we have taken our list of things that must be addressed and nailed them to the door of our one home, Earth.
Stand up. Join us. Fair warning has been posted to the door.
Gerard Fournier