The Blue Marble
Please join me in celebrating fifty years of this iconic image.
Taken from the Apollo 17 mission on December 7th 1972, this famous image changed the way we view the world. All of humanity is captured in the field of view (except for the crew of Schmitt, Evans and Cernan). It shows ourselves as others would see us, from the outside looking inwards.
It is the only world we will ever know, our home. We must look after it. Respect it.
There is no doubt that this image acted as a catalyst to the environmental movement. It lays bare how fragile and vulnerable we are in the vast emptiness. . We have filled all the hospitable corners of the planet and it is clear that there is nowhere else to go.
The image was captured while travelling between Earth orbit and the moon, where Scmitt and Cernan walked a few days later. They were the last humans to stand on an extraterrestrial body.
In the time since it was taken, there have been huge advances in satellite and imaging technology giving us the tools to observe, interpret and analyse our planet and inform decisions on how we manage it. We can monitor desertification, deforestation, floods, glacier melt and urban sprawl, to name but a fraction of our capabilities. This makes it easier to identify positive outcomes from interventions and to hold those enabling destruction to be held accountable. There is a much greater awareness of the pressures on our environment and ecosystems, at an individual level and in political and commercial circles. There is hope that we are beginning to make progress in some small ways.
In the time since it was taken, the world’s population has more than doubled. Atmospheric CO2 has increased by over 25%, with almost ⅔ of the CO2 increase since pre-industrial times having occurred (pre-industrial=280ppm, 1972=330ppm, 2022=420ppm). In the same time, around 1/6th of the Amazon forest has been lost (https://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/deforestation_calculations.html) and ⅔ of wildlife populations have gone (Living Planet Report).
So while reflecting on the fragile Blue Marble and the progress that has been made, think also about how much more is to be done. Think how you can help. Simple things like chatting about the issues with friends, family and colleagues can help us all move along to making better choices or we can give feedback to businesses we use.
We do not have another fifty years.
Original image caption:
View of the Earth as seen by the Apollo 17 crew traveling toward the moon. This translunar coast photograph extends from the Mediterranean Sea area to the Antarctica south polar ice cap. This is the first time the Apollo trajectory made it possible to photograph the south polar ice cap. Note the heavy cloud cover in the Southern Hemisphere. Almost the entire coastline of Africa is clearly visible. The Arabian Peninsula can be seen at the northeastern edge of Africa. The large island off the east coast of Africa is the Republic of Madagascar. The Asian mainland is on the horizon toward the northeast.
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