Last evening I watched Ron Howard's documentary,
"In the Shadow of the Moon"
with my eight-year old son. He loved every second of it and I found
myself sitting rapt in absolute awe at what we, as a nation
accomplished nearly four decades ago. In truth, I sat with eyes more
than damp and with a lump in my throat. This movie is a remarkable
testament to bravery, resourcefulness, and abilities of people
confronted with a worthy goal, great challenges, and capable
leadership. It is also a story that left me sorrowful yet more than a
little hopeful about our current situation.
"Space travel was a risky
business, but it was a time that we made bold moves,"
--Apollo 8 and Apollo
13 Commander Jim A Lovell Jr.
These men of the early space program risked it all to do the seemingly
impossible. For the crew of the Apollo 1 mission, it meant that they
gave their lives in the pursuit of a goal which all thought worthy of
great effort, great sacrifice, and ultimately, great pride. For
commander Lovell and the rest of the Apollo 13 crew, the risks became
frighteningly clear when an oxygen explosion crippled their spacecraft
two days into their moon bound flight. The emergency sent NASA
technicians, astronauts, and engineers into a furious four-days of high
level improvisation that has never been equaled.
Following the successful Apollo 11 moon landing in which Neil Armstrong
and Buzz Aldrin placed the first human footprints on an alien world,
pride in the accomplishment was not only held by the United States, it
was shared globally. The moon landing was a human achievement. When the
Apollo 11 crew traveled internationally in the months following their
mission, they encountered wide acclaim that "we" had done it. That "we"
the crew heard was always inclusive no matter the nationality of the
speaker. Humankind had done it. "We" were all of us.
We are capable of such greatness. Yet I can't help the feeling that we
have truly lost our way in the years since the Apollo missions ended.
So many stupid mistakes committed for the right reasons, so many missed
opportunities, so many decisions made out of avarice rather than
generosity of spirit and wealth.
The Apollo moon mission program had been conceived during the
Eisenhower administration, but languished in uncertainty for years. The
idea took traction in response to a national challenge set forth by
President Kennedy in 1961 that we would land a man on the moon by the
end of that decade. The reasons for Kennedy's challenge were complex,
but were largely born of fear. At the turn of the decade superiority
over the Soviet Union was the topic that consumed the U.S. leadership.
Fear of the "Red Menace" was never far from the mind of most Americans.
We had already lost the race to space and we were not about to let the
Russians beat us to the moon. We had a goal. We had unity of purpose.
We had leadership to see us through. We made it, all of us.
Today's
Challenges
Today we face a threat far greater and more sinister than any we saw
during the cold war--global climate change. Going through the litany of
evidence that the earth's weather is growing increasingly erratic would
serve little purpose here, but it should suffice to say that the
effects of global climate change are real and easily seen in most areas
of the planet.
The price of not taking action far outweigh damaged national pride.
Climate change could result in death or property destruction for vast
numbers of our world population, elimination of species, and a
degradation of living standard for billions.
We have a great challenge before us, yet we have not taken the needed
action. In fact, many Americans have taken no action to address the
issues and until recently denial was the most common stance on the
global climate crisis.
We have the same tremendous ingenuity that existed during the 1950s and
1960s, the heyday of the space race. We have the ability to change our
patterns of behavior, our laws, our ways of doing business and our
expectations.
Clearly, we need a worthy unifying goal and we desperately need
leadership.
The need is great, but the wind is shifting. Meaningful action is
increasingly taking place and the behavior and expectations of the
public are slowly moving toward cleaner fuels, alternative energy,
resource efficiency, healthy food, and clean water. Our leaders are
slowly recognizing the demand for them to take responsibility for their
actions and their decisions regarding our planet.
Resistance is still strong, but the need for great action, bold moves,
ingenuity, and creative improvisation is becoming ever more evident.
Our reliance on cheap fossil fuels and a society of disposable goods is
slow to curb, yet it is happening.
I am far from the first to call for a space-race style approach to our
climate crisis. It has become a common rallying call from politicians,
commentators, and scientists alike. Watching Ron Howard's documentary
on the moon missions brought the appropriateness of the call truly home
for me. We have got employ ingenuity, unity of purpose, our talent for
improvisation, and the willingness to make bold moves--all talents that
we have already proven to be a part of the American way of life.
We are in a time of great challenges, but it is also a time of great
opportunity. The need is upon us for clean tech, creative solutions,
game-changing ideas. Like the space race, the pursuit will likely
result in technological rewards far beyond any we now expect.
We have met and overcome
great challenges before. We, the inclusive "we," must deliver this time
as well. The price of failing to act is simply too great.
