Or, Why We Need to Save the Planet (our Pale Blue Dot)
We live on a tiny planet in a huge, vast universe.
Our pale blue dot, our Earth, is totally insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Yet it’s home to every single person we know.
And that makes it worth protecting.
Take 2 short minutes out of your life and watch this quick video below.
I remember watching Carl Sagan on TV when I was a child.
His series, Cosmos, was revolutionary in its day, and it opened up a whole new world for me.
Beautifully produced, I was enthralled by the entire series.
I was lucky enough to see him present live – he captivated the entire audience.
He was my inspiration when I was asked to contribute to the wonderful book Global Chorus (which examines whether humanity can get past the current environmental crisis).
In the video above you can hear his distinctive voice, explaining how pointless wars are.
And why the Earth is worth protecting.
I think it’s a great reminder of why we need to live green, to reduce our carbon footprint.
Because no matter what we want to do with our lives, and no matter what we want for our families, there’s no hope if we’ve polluted our air so much that we can’t breathe; if we’ve stained our water so much that we have nothing to drink.
Of course, we can blame large organizations for much of the damage and pollution.
They pollute because they produce things that others want to buy.
And ultimately, we buy things that are produced.
- We want cheap clothes – but their manufacture pollutes.
- We want disposable items (bottled water, fast food take-outs, paper towels, diapers or nappies etc.) and they pollute during manufacture and cause litter problems after their short lifespan.
- We want to eat meat which causes deforestation, contributing to climate change, and pollution from animals (and often animal cruelty too).
- We want reliable power for our electronics and heating and cooling.
Yes, the organizations do the polluting – but we do the buying.
Green living does NOT mean giving up all of these things (unless you want to, of course!), but being careful and mindful of all the choices we all make, each and every day.
Cheap items come at a low cost to us, but a high cost to the environment.
The planet – our pale blue dot – is paying that cost.
With climate change a reality, we all need to reduce our carbon footprint.
We can do that easily by replacing some (or all) meat with healthy fresh vegetables, by avoiding flying where possible (there are some very attractive alternatives!), by avoiding single-use disposable items, and by buying only what we truly need in good quality built to last.
Next time you’re about to buy something, remember our Pale Blue Dot.
Warm regards,
P.S. If you haven’t already, please download your free report on individuals and climate change. And please spread the word about our pale blue dot – quick sharing buttons below and right.
