Happy Earth Day

Over the last few years there have become two very distinct schools of thought in the United States regarding global warming; those that think that it is causing the many environmental problems that we seem to be facing and those that believe that it's a myth and that God (whatever form they choose to believe it in) is responsible for doing this to us through the natural progression of life. Now perhaps it's a bit too broad a brushstroke that I have painted these two schools but it is more or less how the two schools of thought can be perceived. But regardless of what your belief whether it is scientific or theological, the one thing that holds true is that today is the day that the Earth is celebrated.

Whether to allay any feelings of guilt we may have about the amount of pollution we put out into the air or the natural resources we are often using to the point of depletion, Earth Day was meant to be a day in which to give something back to the Earth. Many people use the day to plant trees or save electricity; they go and clean up sections of the environment or mark it as the day they will use more public transportaion or cleaner transportation (i.e., bikes and hybrid vehicles) that will help keep the environment clean. Whatever it is, at least it is a day that can help bring awareness to people about what little they can do (and how relatively easy it is to do) and how it can have a greater impact on the planet as a whole.

Let's face it. If the recent fuel crisis of the past few years has shown us anything, it's that our reliance on oil as the primary fuel for most of our major activities is probably going to make things more complicated rather than less. At the outset of hybrid vehicles it was viewed that perhaps this technology would merely be a flash in the pan but that is not the case. Actually the alternative energy vehicle market is beginning to take off and that's what is ultimately helping spur on the market and help the environment. I mean whether you choose to believe the scientific findings on the subject or not, one thing that cannot be denied is the fact that if we do end up depleting all the ability of the planet to sustain life then the need to find an alternate home somewhere in the universe becomes a more compelling dilemma.

That's why I found it a bit ironic yet interesting that this Earth Day is when scientists and astronomers in England confirmed that two planets that they had previously found Gilese 581 e and Gilese 581 d were such planets that they could be capable of sustaining life. These conclusions were reached not because astronomers looking at the planet saw human-like astronomers on that planet looking back at them (although that would have been very Hollywood and very cool) but because of the location and approximate size in relation to the star which the two planets orbit. It's significant for two reasons; firstly, it means that there are other planets out there that could sustain life but more importantly, it means that there is the possibility that there is other life out there in the universe and that we aren't such unique beings.

After all, according to scientific theory, all matter in the universe was once compacted and then exploded in the Big Bang which ultimately led to the creation of the planets and the universe and that's what led to life evolving on Earth. I would hate to think that such a small piece of uniqueness was limited to one part of the universe. I would like to think that there are similar beings to us out there somewhere. And I would hope that the desire to discover and eventually explore these places would come from the desire to answer that question rather than find a new place to live due to the fact that our own Earth is no longer able to sustain us due to environmental catastrophes.