A
Message From Dr. Edgar Mitchell
Edgar Mitchell Sc.D., Apollo 14 Astronaut,
6th man to walk on the moon, and founder of The Institute
of Noetic
Sciences, has joined our Board of Advisors. Read his letter
to the Board regarding his insights about the present state
of the earth and the importance of sustainability and protecting
the environment.
Edgar D. Mitchell, Sc.D.
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On January 31, 1971, I embarked
in Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon. As magnificent
and moving as that historic
event was to mankind it was also extremely moving to
me as an individual. As I returned to earth, I had
a chance to reflect on my experience and our home planet
in a way that very few humans have been able to do
before. As a result, I was both euphoric and despondent. Euphoric
because my view from space convinced me of the amazing
accomplishments we have achieved as a species and despondent
because of the incredible folly and self centered behaviors
exhibited by so many of our citizens on our home planet
earth.
Perhaps of most concern to me is the way humankind
is treating our fragile planet with its huge but finite reserves
of natural resources. Many of my colleagues and I believe
that our global civilization is on an economic path that
is environmentally unsustainable, one that is leading
us toward economic decline and eventual collapse. This grim
path is not something that will happen in the distant
future,
but is something that will likely happen within our lifetime
if drastic actions are not initiated soon on a global
scale.
Our planet is under incredible pressure with a whole
host of global issues. These range from the reduction of
biodiversity, shrinking renewable and non-renewable resources,
and continued
environmental degradation. Perhaps one of the biggest
problems confronting us is the unrestrained population growth
by
the developing and underdeveloped nations. This growth
is a problem even for western countries with otherwise
declining populations. Our global situation is incredibly
challenging today because of the adoption of the western
economic model (e.g. materialism, consumerism and throw-away
mentality) throughout much of the developed and developing
economies of the world.
Resources that have accumulated over
eons of geological time are now being consumed in our present
lifetime. In
1900 the earth's entire population was estimated to be
approximately 1.5 billion inhabitants. By 2006 it has
increased to 6.5 billion and is expected to reach 9 billion
by 2050,
a six-fold increase in a short 150-year span. Many studies
conducted recently indicate that the ideal population
level for the earth is approximately 2 billion to sustain the
life style we have today in the west. Humanity is now
crossing
natural thresholds of which the general public is unaware.
These limits are determined by nature and are not politically
or economically negotiable.
Our incredible rate of population
growth, environmental degradation, and excessive resource
consumption is being
linked to many types of problems: shrinking forests;
eroding soils; falling fresh water supplies; more frequent
crop
withering heat waves; collapsing fisheries; expanding
deserts; increasing pollution; more powerful storms; shrinking
resource
reserves; and melting glaciers planet wide. The same
maladies, belief systems and cultural conditioning that are
plaguing
us individually are also having a profound negative effect
that is greatly impacting our planet.
It is imperative
that adults and children are made acutely aware of this situation.
Only a global grassroots effort
can hope to grab the attention of our political, economic
and institutional leaders. We, as a planetary society,
need to generate the appropriate attention to these critical
problems now through our individual economic and political
choices before it is too late. Unfortunately many people
are not yet convinced of the need for economic restructuring.
Every
adult citizen of the planet and their progeny have a stake
in our ability to recognize, confront and initiate
the changes that are necessary for our very survival.
Because
of these grave issues, I am embarking on a new collaborative
mission in cooperation with Visionary Alternatives,
Inc. Through our combined efforts, my colleagues and
I will help educate our global citizenry by providing the
knowledge and tools necessary to affect change both personally
and globally.
We recognize that the type of change in
thinking and action needed can only come about by initiating
a massive global
grass roots educational effort since many of our political,
business, and institutional leaders have no interest
in projects that do not further their economic interests or
influence. With your help and as a first step, we plan
on producing educational information (videos and collateral
materials) and distributing them widely to influential
organizations and individuals throughout our global society.
This program will help inform as to the steps that must
be taken to move our planetary society onto a sustainable
path.
In the future we intend to offer many additional
programs covering selected areas in more depth such as: overpopulation;
global climate change; environmental issues; excessive
use of renewal and non renewable resources; pollution;
decline of biodiversity; changing belief systems (personal,
societal, cultural). For each program, we will include
the issues, their impact, implications on society, and
recommended actions that can be taken at the grass roots
level.
Please join me in supporting this effort. No less
than our entire planetary civilization as we know it is at
stake!
I urge you to share this information with your friends,
colleagues, business associates and acquaintances, write
to your elected officials, and vote via your purchases.
If you would like to do more, please write to us or call
my partner organization in this endeavor, Visionary Alternatives,
Inc (VAI). VAI is always seeking sponsors, contributors,
donors, and volunteers to make this program a reality.
Please
for additional information email VAI at Jane@visionaryalternatives.org or visit their web site at www.visionaryalternatives.org.
Thank
you in advance for your help and support in these very critical
issues.
Sincerely, Edgar Mitchell
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