What On Earth?

Deepti Sam
Sep 3, 2018 · 2 min read

I was reading about some of NASA’s recent space explorations. As I was reading, I couldn’t help that NASA spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on its research programs aimed at demystifying the realm beyond our earthly boundaries.

Information of such mystical quality is highly appreciated by science enthusiasts, and is often received with unquenchable voracity and insatiable curiosity. However, as I was reading on, a queer thought entered my mind and I was left wondering…what’s the point of all of this after all?

What difference does it make to our earthly existence if a certain something from the outer space streaks across the galaxy and crashes into a certain something in its neighbourhood? Or how does the number of moons around the Saturn affect our subsistence on earth?

Apart from reinforcing the idea of an awe-inspiring power beyond our reach, these discoveries have no real impact whatsoever, and are substantially inconsequential.

And this when we have far more pressing needs here on earth.

Like, say, a more terrestrial issue like the issue of climate change, or the extinction of endangered species, or improving the efficacy of renewable sources of energy. Climate change is real. Petroleum resources are fast depleting. Extinction of endangered species will topple the food chain and breed catastrophe.

These issues are closer home, bear greater consequence on human life and are in dire need of immediate attention. And personally, I would prefer the idea of living on a more hospitable earth over the idea of moving to Mars. I mean, if we are incapable of preserving our own home planet, could we hope to do any better elsewhere?

Indeed, the chaos we see all around us is the result of the long-standing neglect of the mankind towards its environment. The question is how long can we afford to go on like this before we are buried under the debris of our own misdoings?

It is time to re-focus our attention on things that really matter, bring out our brooms and clean up the mess we have made of our home planet. And make earth our number one priority before time gets the better of us.

Isn’t this a more serious matter of concern than delving into the facts and figures orbiting a star some 2500 light years away from us (Kepler-9, of course!)?

If only these causes were better funded and taken more seriously, my home state in India would not have been reeling under the worst floods that the last century has seen.

Concrete and concentrated measures need to be taken to preserve this generous gift that has been freely given to us through no merit of our own. So let’s get our priorities straight, invest our eggs in the right baskets, and let the universe mind its own business.

Deepti Sam

Written by

An amateur poet who hopes to make a difference through the written word | My Blog Page : www.tothelittlethingsinlife.blogspot.in

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