|
To: letters@nytimes.com Re: Apollo 13 and Spaceship Earth Date: Wednesday, 13 April 05 |
|
|
|
|
|
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thanks for reminding
me! (On
this day: On April 13,
1970, Apollo 13, four-fifths
of the way to the moon, was
crippled when a tank
containing liquid oxygen
burst).
Just like the crew of
Apollo 13, we all depend on
the life-support systems of
"Spaceship Earth ".
Granted, Earth is a
petty big spaceship, but with
a very large crew (approaching
7 billion of us) - who
are placing ever increasing
demands on its finite
resources and carrying
capacity.
Because of the vast
difference in scale, what took
just seconds to become
apparent on Apollo 13 when its
life-support systems were
damaged is taking decades
aboard Spaceship Earth. For
those with eyes to see,
however, the signs are now
clear enough.
James Lovell's (or
was it Fred Haise's?) immortal
words, "Houston, we have
a problem " apply even
more urgently to us aboard
Spaceship Earth, because
unlike the Apollo astronauts,
we have nowhere to get back
to. Either we solve our
problem (creating sustainable
economies and ways of life for
7-9 billion people) on board
ship, or we perish.
Yours sincerely
Roger Hicks
|
|
