It goes something like ... "For those of you freshman just accepted to [insert your prestigious University name here]'s elite major in [insert Engineering, Pre-Med, Physics or similar rigorous speciality here], I offer a prediction. It is based on historical fact. Look to the left of you, look to the right of you. [Insert choice of 'impending doom' exclusion - One, Both or All] of you will not be here at graduation."
Perhaps surprisingly, this never made me think of the value of a good education, or even the value of a good teacher (possibly because for "my undergrad" I went to Penn State, joined a fraternity, and arguably majored in beer). But it did make me think of how lucky we are to have a planet is the "Goldilocks Zone". It's the "precious place in cosmic space" which resolves the childrens' story conundrum of "not too hot & not too cold"; a planetary zone that can support life as we know it.
This recent graphic from the UNEP/GRID-Arendal again reminded me of this blessing, our planetary orbital 'cradle' that brought us here today.
In layman's terms, to one side of Earth, we have a "freeze-dried" planet, Mars - also called the red planet from its reddish appearance yet almost inspite of its prevailing surface temperatures. Martian surface temperatures vary from lows of about −87 °C (−125 °F) during the polar winters to highs of up to −5 °C (23 °F) in summers. Summary: Too cold.
To the other side, Venus. While named for a goddess of beauty, it might as well be called the "microwave" planet. Also once called Earth's "sister" planet, it has an atmosphere that releases so little of the sun's energy that its effectively "overcooked", with an almost constant surface temperatures of over 460 °C (860 °F). Summary: Too hot.
An there in "the middle" is our beautiful, brilliant "blue marble" of Earth, hanging in the same cold void of space yet somehow teaming with life. Just right!
Now when I "look left, look right" on a planetary scale, I see what we as humans must avoid "at home" and also the future opportunity to "travel abroad". Venus stands as a global warning of atmospheric change, loudly proclaiming "beware your fragile atmosphere". While Mars is a potential path of planetary colonization in the future - for if humans know one thing, its how to warm a place up! Still a foreboding message, but one I like to ponder (often with a beer) & smile.
Full credits:
| Sources | Calvin, J. Hamilton, Views of the Solar System, www.planetscapes.com; Bill Arnett, The nine planets: a multimedia tour of the solar system, www.seds.org/billa/tnp/nineplanets.html |
| Link to web-site | http://www.grida.no/publications/vg/climate/page/3056.aspx |
| Cartographer/ Designer | Philippe Rekacewicz, UNEP/GRID-Arendal |
| Appears in | Vital Climate Graphics |
| Published | 2000 |
