The Earth

June 30

I am thankful for the Earth. There is so much natural beauty put on our planet. It is the only place we currently have so we need to take care of it. There is such a diverse type of scenery available on the earth: waters, plains, mountains, desserts, swamps, forests, and beaches. There is such a diversity of climates: tropical, freezing, warm, temperate. It runs the gamut.

I was reading the other day about the trip to colonize Mars that people are signing up for at $75 a pop for a chance at a one way ticket. Something like 80,000 people have signed up for a chance. Now's your chance if you want to be a reality TV star, which the MarsOne company will use to finance much of the mission. It sounds like a great adventure, but to leave the Earth permanently? The Mars atmosphere contains almost no oxygen and high amounts of carbon dioxide, the gravity is only 38% of Earth's, and it gets very cold there. The need to live in small pressurized containers is a requirement. Conversations with your loved ones on Earth will take between 3 and 23 minutes to cross the space between the planets and sometimes there is a blackout for up to 2 weeks because of the sun getting between the planets. So even communication with Earth will be difficult. Not for me. I love it here! Sorry that I digressed to talking about Mars colonization during my blog about the Earth. But the purpose was to make us realize how precious Earth is. Mars appears to be the most logical place to colonize in our solar system. But it comes woefully short when compared to the Earth. It's likely there are other inhabitable planets in the universe but they are probably so far away as to make colonization nearly impossible.

The photo above is of a globe that I saw in Denham Springs at an antique shop. I've been looking for one to use for my Earth blog and presto, there was one. Another photo I include below is of one that is at the Baton Rouge Zoo. It is a water fountain, with the water supporting the globe, and the golbe spinning freely on the water.

June 30b

earth

one world

one earth

one place

one birth

caretakers

we find ourselves

entrusted servants

protect it

serve it

defend it

from ourselves

love it

enjoy it

caress it

imbibe it

absorb it

replacement

there is none

no upgrade

there is only one

we may find

it is too late

for its repair

when left with

only despair.

© rt tulley