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  • From: Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] An Astronaut's A-Ha Moment | UNREASONABLE.is
  • Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 02:53:03 -0400

An Astronaut's A-Ha Moment | UNREASONABLE.is
http://unreasonable.is/opinion/this-astronauts-worldview-shifted-after-seeing-earth-from-space/

"Why Give a Damn:

*We have within our grasp the resources and technology to solve many, if
not all, of the problems facing our planet yet, nearly a billion people do
not have access to clean water, countless go to bed hungry every night, and
many die from completely preventable and curable diseases.*
------------------------------
*The author of this post, Ron Garan<http://unreasonable.is/author/rongaran/>,
is a Fighter Pilot, Test Pilot, Social Entrepreneur, Astronaut, and
Aquanaut. And most unreasonably, he has helped to bring drinking water to
millions in Africa in a completely financially self sustaining way through
his company, Manna Energy Ltd. <http://www.mannaenergy.org/>*

We all have moments in our lives where something shifts, clicks into place.
For me it was in June of 2008, when I clamped my feet to the end of the
robotic Canadarm-2 on the International Space Station. With me firmly
attached to the end, the arm was flown through a maneuver that we called
the “windshield wiper,” which took me across a long arc above the space
station and back. As I approached the top of this arc, it was as if time
stood still, and I was flooded with both emotion and awareness.

As I looked down at this stunning, fragile oasis a sadness came over me and
I was hit in the gut with an undeniable sobering contradiction.

Here I was, 100 feet above the space station, looking down at this
incredible man-made accomplishment against the backdrop of our
indescribably beautiful Earth, 240 miles below. Witnessing the absolute
beauty of the planet we have been given from this perspective was a very
moving experience. But as I looked down at this stunning, fragile oasis —
this island that has been given to us, and has protected all life from the
harshness of space — a sadness came over me, and I was hit in the gut with
an undeniable sobering contradiction. In spite of the indescribable beauty
of this moment in my life, I couldn’t help but think of the inequity that
exists on the apparent paradise we have been given. I couldn’t help but
think of all the people who don’t have clean water to drink or enough food
to eat, of the social injustice, conflicts, and poverty that exists
throughout the Earth.

Seeing the Earth from this vantage point gave me a unique perspective –
something I’ve come to call the orbital perspective. And at its core is the
undeniable and sobering contradiction between the staggering beauty of our
planet and the unfortunate realities of life on our planet for many of its
inhabitants.

It is within our power
to change much – and yet we don’t.

I returned to Earth after that first space mission with a call to action. I
could no longer accept the status quo on our planet. We have within our
grasp the resources and technology to solve many, if not all, of the
problems facing our planet yet, nearly a billion people do not have access
to clean water, countless go to bed hungry every night, and many die from
completely preventable and curable diseases. We live in a world where the
possibilities are limited only by our imagination and our will to act. It
is within our power to change much – and yet we don’t.

On this second space mission, I spent half of 2011 living and working
onboard the International Space Station (ISS). And while onboard, I spent
most of any available free time I had with my face plastered to a window,
gazing back at our Earth. As I watched our beautiful planet, I wondered
what the world would be like in the next 50 years, and I pondered a
question that gnawed at me constantly: If we have the resources and the
technology to solve the challenges we face, why do they still persist?

Up there, hovering above Earth with my orbital perspective, I came to
believe that the answer to why our world still faces so many critical
problems — in spite of the ample technology and resources we have at our
disposal — lies primarily in our inability to effectively collaborate on a
global scale.

I’ll be discussing this in more depth in my next post, but I’d love to hear
from you. What are your thoughts or ideas on how we can best address these
challenges? What do you think is holding us back?

Please join me on October 11th at 11:00am ET for a Google Plus Hangout
focusing on global collaboration and data
sharing<https://plus.google.com/events/ctjihdtv5quvf23jdsl6vbsaqk0>.
My hope is that the discussion serves as a call to action – disruptive
action."



  • [permaculture] An Astronaut's A-Ha Moment | UNREASONABLE.is, Lawrence London, 09/28/2013

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