We Only Have One

I read an article a few weeks ago and was informed that observers have discovered a distant planet that seems to have the same properties as earth. It seems this planet can sustain life. It appears to have the same oxygen and nitrogen mix in the atmosphere as well as water on the surface. There is just one small issue. The planet is 450 million light years away. 450 million light years; can you imagine such a voyage? And, the planet may no longer exist. The image that was seen and caused all the excitement is 450 million light years old. For all we know, the planet could have been sucked into a black hole and is no longer there. A wasted trip, maybe?

I welcome exploration and the gaining of knowledge, so don’t misunderstand what I am about to say, but, looking to the stars for salvation to the mess we have made of this planet is a fool’s errand. It has been said that we know more about space than we do of the oceans around us. Why? Are we afraid of deep water?

I start this new blog as I feel I have outgrown my old one. I start this blog in the hopes and with the determination to say something to help awaken us to the need to take care of what we have. We are past the days of blaming someone else, be that someone a country or government or business. We are past the days of sitting back and waiting for someone else to clean up our mess. The petty disagreements of years past need to stay there, in the past. If we are to save our planet, our home, it will take most of us, if not all. And all of us can do something. We just have to decide to clean up our own mess.

Stop using one-use plastics as best you can. Carry your own shopping bags that can be reused. Ask your favorite coffee shop to fill your personal cup instead of the drink from once and discard they use as a rule.

I can quote the statistics of the waste we create and maybe I will someday, but all of us know we are killing our planet. This is not a forum to lay blame or call names. This is a place, where, I hope we can share thoughts and ideas on how to clean what we have been given. In the weeks ahead I will share information about the damage, as well as the beauty of the oceans and the waters. I will share photos and videos of the visits I make there. I intend to be interesting as well as informative. I hope you will join me.

In the movie “Independence Day”, of a few years ago, the invading aliens were presented as a swarm of locus that devours all it finds and leaves only ruins in its wake. They were ugly and for the most part acted without individual thought as they were controlled through one central director. Sadly, they are us, or we are them. We blindly go through our lives believing only what is pumped into our heads by our leaders, our media, and sadly, even our schools. We devour resources without more though than what personal gain can we get from it. The list of plants and animals we have endangered is too long to list at one writing.

Sadly, we expect government or organizations or business to fix our problems. They will not as they do not have the desire to. It will take us, people, citizens, families to do what must be done if the world we leave our children and grandchildren will have any resemblance of what we know today.

I do not have the answers; I’m hoping we can find them together. Thanks for joining me.

Another earth? 450 million light years away? We only have this one.