“Okay, Houston…we’ve had a problem here”, were the exact words stated matter of fact by Astronaut Jack Swigart of the Apollo 13 mission upon discovering that an explosion had crippled their space craft.
It has been said that humanity’s greatest scientific conquest was journeying to the moon.
But 56 hours into the third flight back to the moon an oxygen tank exploded, and Astronaut Swigart uttered those fateful words. That explosion not only threatened the ability for the crew to breath but also to generate electricity.
But Americans being who Americans are, deeming the situation a lost cause was never for one moment even a fleeting thought nor an option. On the ground, a cast of thousands of scientists and technicians and engineers immediately thrust themselves into the task. 200,000 miles away the three astronauts rapidly implemented repairs and procedures and adaptations that created a pathway for the stricken craft through the heavens and back to earth.
Every breath of oxygen and every milliwatt of electricity and every ounce of human endurance suddenly became critically important. Everyone worked under intense pressure and mind warping time constraints. There was not a moment to spare for exasperation or resignation. From the moment of the explosion aboard Apollo 13 on April 13, 1970, until the astronauts safely returned to Planet Earth on April 17, the safe return of the stricken crew became a raging scientific and logistics battle.
Truly this was the finest hour for both American scientific achievement and American determination, retrieving three doomed souls from the cold dark abyss.
Today it is far more than three souls who are facing crisis, it is humanity. The climate of our planet is warming. We are rapidly approaching a tipping point, a potential point of no return.
No doubt the previous paragraph will alienate many and make them turn away. But let us put our personal views and polarization aside for just a moment and look at this from our uniquely American perspective.
There is no doubt that the planet is warming, the atmosphere is becoming less hospitable, the oceans are becoming more acidic, and species are going extinct at an accelerated rate. Let us accept that the 2019 review of scientific papers found consensus on the cause of climate change to be 100% (papers that disagreed either contained fundamental errors or the results that could not be scientifically replicated). Let us not argue how we got here, let us simply agree that we are at a crossroad. We can then approach this problem in the old fashioned problem-solving American way rather than in the presently fashionable argumentative and polarized state of stalemate and stagnation.
Let us accept that there are tremendous economic gains to be had in emerging alternative energy technologies and products. Whether one believes in the virtues of alternative energy or not, there is a tremendous global demand. Wouldn’t our collective focus be better brought to bear addressing these needs and resultant markets rather than arguing the silly talking points vomited forth from dim-witted talking heads on the Boob-Tube? Why concede the opportunity to sell a product to a willing buyer?
Let us accept the fact no matter how intelligent we believe ourselves to be, our most well-informed opinions are just that, an opinion and not necessarily fact. Let us learn to put our opinions aside and look reasonably at facts, and when necessary, defer judgement to the majority or even a theory or practice we do not understand.
In 1916 William Butterworth was the president of a corporation that manufactured agricultural implements. Horses were still the prime source of power on the farm and the emerging tractors were viewed by some as a waste of resources and a luxury rather than a necessity. “I want it plainly understood that I am and will remain opposed to our taking up the manufacture of tractors…”, Butterworth sharply proclaimed to his board of directors. In time Butterworth put his views aside and his company began manufacturing tractors. History has proven that him eventually placing trust in others rather than his own opinion turned out to be a very good business move for Deere and Company and the John Deere brand over the following century.
Now more than ever is the time for critical thinking.
Let us accept that what makes America great is her people. Our melting pot not only welcomed the huddled masses but also tapped their collective intellect and work ethic into our uniquely American form of genius. The collection of hands and minds from every corner of the planet and of every level of education and from every walk of life produced a rich and vibrant national mindset and motivation eager to delve into the problems of the day and not only solve them but excel over the more pedestrian solutions offered by the more single-minded societies of the world. We still enjoy that intellectual vibrancy.
Let us accept science. Science is telling us that Planet Earth has warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius (1.9 degrees F) since 1880. For most of human existence the atmosphere has maintained the human-friendly “Goldilocks level” of 280 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 but that has skyrocketed to 412.5 ppm since 1960. The oceans pH levels have dropped from 8.21 to 8.1, meaning the ocean waters are now significantly more acidic. In the last 200 years species are going extinct at rates that previously took thousands of years to reach. Let us accept the overwhelming warnings of the serious scientific community that we are racing towards the tipping point away from the planet being hospitable to human existence.
Let us accept that through action and deed each can make a difference. Any contribution, whether great or small is a step in the right direction. There are also tremendous economic advantages to making that difference, as money saved in reduced energy costs and consumption, or money saved by reducing waste is money in the bank.
Let us accept our responsibility to pass forth a planet nurturing of human existence to our children and grandchildren and their children and grandchildren. We are now at the point where it is moot to argue how we got to this point. We now simply must use our uniquely American genius to solve the problems and offer forth a healthy planet to those who follow. There is also tremendous business opportunity and the opportunity for profit in our doing the right thing.
In facing this challenge, will America argue and blame and vilify and warp reality to match a particular point of view? Or will we reembrace the rather old-fashioned American way of coming together and rolling up our sleeves and working together towards the common good? The path we choose could not only be the path towards reestablishing American exceptionalism, but also the path towards America’s finest hour and the greatest achievement of saving humanity and civilization from an arduous and grueling demise.
Happy Earth Day.
“This we know. The Earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the Earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all: man did not weave the web of life; he is but a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” Chief Seattle, 1852
The Unexpected Minimalist 