"What was most significant about the lunar voyage was not that men set foot
on the Moon, but that they set eye on the Earth''. This statement, by Mr.
Norman Cousins, Editor of the Saturday Review, summarizes the most signific
ant aspect of the first departure of humans from the environment in which t
hey were born, and in which they must survive. Looking back at the Earth fr
om the Moon, the view is both splendid and overwhelming. This small blue ba
ll in the vastness of black space, dotted with millions of marvellous stars
, is an oasis that we must understand and protect. For, if one searches the
heavens, one will find no other island for life as we understand it. If we
humans do not protect and nurture this environment, it will disappear - ju
st as quickly as the Earth will disappear from behind an outstretched thumb
of a man on the Moon. Everything that has meaning disappears: science, his
tory, music, poetry, art, literature, all of it on this small, fragile, and
precious little spot out there in the vastness of the universe. From the M
oon, we see many new and fascinating visions of the Earth. These views chan
ge not only our perspective of the Earth but our value system as well. As a
n example, from the Earth, we see the Moon track across the sky from horizo
n to horizon, always the same face, always the same features. But from the
Moon, we see the Earth at the same point in the sky, day after day, but alw
ays turning, showing us new faces and changing features as the hours pass.
We become aware of how much the physical features of the Earth are interrel
ated. And in a sense, we can "see the future'' as the Earth turns in our vi
ew. From the Moon we see the Earth as a "whole'' - we see no borders, we se
e no boundaries, we see all humankind together and interrelated on this sin
gle small sphere. This perspective from the Moon makes us realize that the
Earth is dynamic and alive and evolving for the human presence - and we rea
lize that if we care not for the life of the Earth itself, we care not for
the life of its inhabitants. With this new perspective of the Earth and its
place in human life, we must think of bold and visionary ideas to preserve
our so limited and fragile environment. Temporary solutions to the problem
s of our times must be replaced by permanent solutions for future generatio
ns. For our generation did not inherit this marvelous environment in which
we live, we borrowed it from our children, and children's children. We owe
them the best we can achieve; we owe them a conscious and substantial retur
n on their investment in us.