I’m not ready to move to Mars; are you?

In 1972, a humanity-changing photo was taken. That image, from the Apollo 17 mission, became known as the “Blue Marble.”

We’ve all seen it and, I bet, most of us feel a stirring of awe and perhaps even fragility while looking upon our round house in full illumination, suspended within the black cosmic ether. As Carl Sagan said about such a view of our tiny, life-filled orb: “Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.”

What can’t be challenged is how we choose to live on the globe. This is within our control, and the inception of Earth Day in 1970, just two years before the Blue Marble photo, directed our attention to taking care of our house, especially as we began to witness and understand the troubling effects our actions were having on the environment.

While religious beliefs, science-fiction fantasies, and technological aspirations might offer hopes that transcend life here and now, and an escape from our planetary connection or responsibility, the Blue Marble (and its sun) is all we have got, plain and simple. It is the ground we are standing on; it supplies our oxygen, water, food, and a sublime cast of landscapes and other species.

In reading a recent article in Time magazine about the audacious Mars One venture that proposes to send people on a one-way trip to Mars, I found the response from one of the finalists, Sonia Van Meter, to be insightful. She’s been interested in other life forms since she was a little girl watching Star Trek (which I can relate to). She also believes exploration and colonization of space represents humanity’s next big advancement.

Here I differ. I feel there is still so much to learn and appreciate about Earth, along with much to do to keep it in good shape for the next round of earthlings. This is our next big advancement. I couldn’t conceive of leaving, which requires agreeing to the statement: “You don’t get to come home.” Unlike my urge to travel occasionally and experience new places, which typically makes me more fond of the red rock desert and the community, I never get tired of being on this planet. Seeing the Blue Marble photo is sufficiently rewarding space travel for me.

Getting back to Earth Day, I don’t for a moment believe that celebrating the Earth one day a year is going to cut it. It needs to become something we don’t even think twice about. It comes through how we treat our air, water, plants, animals, insects and soil. But anything to remind us of how delicate and preciously fortunate life on Earth is – well that’s useful in refocusing our awareness and intentions.

Since we aren’t Martians, at least not yet, go ahead, tomorrow let your earthling flag fly.

Kristine Crandall is a resident of Ivins City.