“Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.”

Prepare to be awed:

"We are so tiny. Come on people, let's make Earth a better place, even if Earth doesn't give a damn about us and will survive happily with us extinct, thank you very much. Recycle. Don't waste stuff. Give us a kiss." –Gizmodo.

Prepare to be humbled:

Pale_Blue_Dot

"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. 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.

[…]

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."
– Carl Sagan.

Now take good care of our planet, okay?

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26 thoughts on ““Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.””

  1. This is a great reminder of our place in the unfathomable depths of the Universe. II especially like the “dot” pic – puts us in perspective doesn’t it? I daresay we are the minutest of dust specs when viewing the Universe as a single entity.

  4. Love the video. That’s something I’ve always wanted to view first-hand. Not likely in my lifetime, sadly. The dot picture from Voyager is great too. That one is still burned into my mind from when I first saw it. Truly humbling.
    Mr. Sagan was a great man with some great vision on the universe and where we are in it. I’ve often looked up into the night’s sky, when more than one planet is visible, and ‘adjusted’ my point of view to see the ecliptic. To visualize, in my head, how the Earth is orbiting along with the others, and how it’s all connected.

  5. It’s hard to look at that picture and not feel so insignificant that I become apathetic about my place in it all. Then I think about the people who have had a significant effect on me and I realize that if can do the same for someone else then it’s worth it. One moment, one day, one life at a time. I even have a grandchild, now, that makes me feel that simultaneous significance/insignificance all at once. It’s wonderful. Think you’re all that? Have kids and you’ll find out, trust me.
    “A life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” ~ Albert Einstein
    Thanks for the reality check, Wil.

  6. Carl Sagan was, sadly, never given credit for designing the Total Perspective Vortex out of sheer thought.
    That quote is full of loneliness yet unification in that loneliness. We are all in it together, clinging to our leaf in the turbulent ocean.

  8. The earth is an amazing place and if we don’t take care of it, it will definitely let us know that we’re not doing such a good job. But, that may be too late by that point.
    It’s a very humbling meditation process to think of how insignificant we really are in this VAST universe. Speck of dust, really.
    And we worry about how we look, or how much money we make, or who is in our social circle. Time for a big reality check.

  10. — Now take good care of our planet, okay?
    Nope, not gonna. And you can’t make me. 😛
    Heh… Ok ok. Ow! OWOWWOWOWOWOWOWOW! Stop it! Get off me!
    Fine! Geez…
    There. You happy now?
    🙂

  11. He also designed the Carl Sagan grill, but that bastard George beat him up in the parking lot and stole the patent paperwork….

  14. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful post. I originally came across that Earth-rise footage elsewhere on the interweb a few months ago. I was so inspired by what I saw in that JAXA footage that I felt compelled to try to sow that seed of inspiration and tried posting about that footage wherever I could. I very nearly sent that original link to you, knowing
    that it would probably knock your sense of wonder’s socks off. Ultimately I decided against it since I figured it would just get lost amid the legion of hyperlinks that you probably have to process on a daily basis. Glad you found it on your own. It’s such a beautiful illustration of what Sagan himself described as “the subtle machinery of awe.”
    How can you not feel moved being a sentient being on this good earth, looking back at yourself in that footage? Pro-fucking-found barely begins to cover it. What better day than Earth Day to regain your sense of place in the cosmic scheme of things.

  15. As a member of a species that’s produced people like Mr. Sagan, I hardly feel small or insignificant.
    Also, I don’t think we need to take care of the planet. The planet will be fine, with or without us. We need to take care of each other.

  18. I agree, I just don’t like the phrase “Save the Earth”. When in reality it’s ourselves we should be saving.
    Also, regarding Sagan’s comment “There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate.”
    I wonder if, in the (somewhat near?) future, the Earth will be much like Europe is now, and in some far flung corner of the cosmos will be an upstart colonial planet.

  20. In one of my senior history classes one of the statements I often use is: “We need to work to solve the issues of history before the issues of history solve us.” I’d say its pretty much the same in terms of our environmental issues. All natural systems have methods to remove unwanted parasites and that is what we have become. We have to prove we’re worthy of being wanted again… or at least ignored.

  21. Wil,
    Might I suggest you consider these pictures.
    http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=7314
    That’s a composite picture of earth from the back side of saturn. And we are but a tiny blip there that you wouldn’t even notice if it were not pointed out.
    I play a game called Eve Online, and playing that, you really start to feel the vastness of space.
    But really, I think we just need a new catch phrase. Instead of “Save the Earth”, we need to build a Colony ship so we can go to another planet, so we can win the game and finally stop playing and go to sleep because it’s SOOOO addicting… oh wait, this isn’t Civiliation, nevermind.
    So, save the rock we’re on, or find a new one. Explore new worlds. Boldly go where no one has gone before?
    Gonzo Granzeau

  22. Earthrise looks as cool in digital video as it did on film 40 years ago. It’s weird to think that only a lunar-orbiting spacecraft can experience Earthrise. From the lunar surface, Earth would appear perpetually stationary in the sky due to the moon never turning its back on us. Literally Earth Day every day.

  23. I am always in awe of our little Blue Planet. *sigh* I just wish we were better stewards. I would be happier about our Exploring New Worlds if we took better care of our own. 😉
    But Still “All This would be meaningless if we don’t go to the Stars” – Jeffrey Sinclair, Babylon 5.
    (Yes, I have read and enjoyed Lots of SF in TV & Books growing up, why do you even ask?)

  24. I agree that taking care of our planet is a good thing, however lets make sure that the things we are doing are actually helping the planet rather than just one large excuse to pat ourselves on the back.
    Lowering our dependance on non-renewable resources? Good for the environment. Turning off our lights for one hour a year? Meaningless Gesture.
    Responsible use of the land, replanting plantlife displaced for the use of farming, use of better safer pesticides? Good for the Environment. Buying meaningless unregulated carbon credits so we can feel better about ourselves while still polluting? Meaningless Gesture.
    Not everything labeled Green is really helpful to the environment. We should be reasonable environmentalists, not emotional ones. (Not accusing anyone on this site, just commenting on the movement as a whole)

  25. There’s some phrases in the 1979 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer that make some of us younger Episcopalians call this particular version of the prayers said right before Communion “The Star Trek prayer” and I absolutely love it for Earth Day (which we celebrated on Wednesday).
    “At your command all things came to be: the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home.”
    This fragile earth, our island home. We need to take care of it.

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