Pale Blue Dot and Carl Sagan

I remember seeing Carl Sagan often, it seems, on the Johnny Carson Show back in the seventies and eighties. He had an announcer's voice and a huge smile. Sagan's popular draw, however, was as a highly respected scientist who could interpret the vast complexities of the universe in amazingly simple terms. He wrote extensively and produced a TV show.


As the artist of this video clip states, Sagan's words are succinct and potent.  Adam Winnik explains his inspiration:

"I've been enrolled in illustration at Sheridan College for the the last 4 years and this is my final thesis project. I have always thought of Carl Sagan's writings as "scientific poetry" since they lack the cold touch that science is often cursed for having. I think Sagan's words resonate more than ever, and will continue with each generation until the human species "wakes up". The first time I heard this excerpt from his book "Pale Blue Dot" it literally changed my life, and I hope it does for you too. Enjoy."

 Written and Narrated: Carl Sagan

Music: Hans Zimmer "You're So Cool"

Art and Animation: Adam Winnik

Play a second time for the words only. Consider, again, finiteness.

Pale Blue Dot - Animation from Ehdubya on Vimeo.

On The Line, Off The Grid

As with most activities needing a change in habit, taking the time to slow down is part of the formula. I know...most of us don't do slow. Slow may not be part of the daily vocab. I have expounded on slow before. But if we will be encouraged culturally to do slower in the future, we'll need to practice how to efficiently infuse slow into daily life. Incidentally, slow does not mean a void in productive time. 


There's a website for everything. Fact. When I came upon the Laundry List site I was amused, but aware of the impact of the message. These folks promote taking one home task and removing a huge amount of energy by eliminating the electricity involved. The clothes go on the line, not in a heating machine. 


Line drying is one of those "entry energy activities." As energy conservation measures become new habits in one's home, we find that many require little sacrifice and usually very little time. But they reduce the carbon output significantly...easing into a lighter footprint.


The Laundry List folks propose that you pledge to hang 80% of your yearly dirty laundry out to dry!  They also promote all aspects of laundry art, writings and poetry!

Hanging it out 76 times in Madison 2010

I can gloat a bit about this one. For the past two seasons, from April through October, we have used the backyard line almost exclusively. Seventy-six times this past summer. So, the clothing is as fresh and clean as I remember as a kid. (I know I didn't appreciate this at the time.) If there's a breeze, most clothes are dry in an hour. Do they sometimes brittle-up a little in the sun? Yup. Does rain creep in? Sometimes. Do you wake up in the middle of the night wondering if the laundry was brought in? Often. Oh, well...


Other perks? Hanging clothing keeps me tuned to my yard - a yard where there are gardens, both flower and vegetable; a yard where there are insects and birds; a yard where my dog gets a bug up her butt and tears around like she's crazed. It's called being o-u-t-s-i-d-e. 


Unfortunately, there are places in this country where this activity is actually banned. The Laundry List people also spend time advocating for the repeal of these restrictions. (Hail suburbia.) Someone we all know couldn't resist creating a sketch on this issue.  As usual, the absurdity is hilarious. Please enjoy a quick segment of the Colbert Report.

Today, August 21st, We Begin This Year's Earth Deficit

It’s like the Tax Freedom Day; sort of… 

  

You undoubtedly know about the designated day every year when you have earned enough money to pay for the taxes you will owe. It’s called Tax Freedom Day, and it varies from state to state.  Alaska and Louisiana, for instance, have the least tax burden of the fifty. Their Tax Freedom date this year was March 26, or 85 days from January 1.  Connecticut, on the other hand, came up on April 27, or 117 days into the year!  (Wisconsin was @ 102 days, on April 12.)

There is a similar type of calendar point for global sustainability. It has a much more serious implication. Today, August 21, is officially Earth Overshoot Day.  It is a single global date that has been steadily moving on the calendar, but moving forward from December 31.

The Global Footprint Network was begun in 2003 to develop a measure of human impacts on Earth relative to its optimal balance for sustainability. The measure is the Ecological Footprint. 

Like a bank account statement, the Footprint analyzes resource consumptions against the planet’s ability to renew them. This is a budget. A Nature budget.  Are we, then, underbudget or overbudget relative to planet sustainability?

As the (fuzzy) graph shows, the number of days in a year with a deficit budget (overshoot) has gone from zero in 1976 to nearly 140 in 2010. The approximately 140 days from today to December 31st are, technically, days where the planet’s population is operating beyond its resources for the year. Hence, the Earth Overshoot Day.

Another way to look at the imbalance of resources to consumption is to estimate the current number of Earths needed for human sustainability. Because we have an overshoot day that falls at less than a complete year, we must need more than one Earth’s resources to reach December 31st, right?

Consequently, the planet’s occupants currently consume at a rate of 1.4 Earths per year. The United States, of course, consumes everything possible at a higher rate than any other country.

  “If everyone lived the lifestyle of the average American we would need five planets.”

Using the carbon footprint to determine your affect on the Earth is not an unknown concept.  But applying this concept to the population as a whole reveals the over-consuming that is wearing the planet thin. 

Take some time to wander through the Global Footprint Network site.  Be mindful of the fact that we are running an ever higher deficit, beginning today.