What does it take to appreciate this planet we call home?
For NASA astronaut Christina Koch, clarity came 252,756 miles from Earth during her Artemis II space mission.
Koch shared being awestruck by the beauty of her home planet — and the blackness around it. “It truly emphasized how alike we are,” she observed. “How the same thing keeps every single person on Planet Earth alive.”
While few of us will get to experience the same awe as the Artemis II crew, we don’t need to leave Earth to understand its value. Even five minutes gazing at the sky or walking in nature can bring us the same wonder — and a reminder of what we’re entrusted to protect and pass on.
As we celebrate this monumental space mission, it’s important to be clear-eyed about the challenges we face at home. Right now, we’re falling short of our responsibility to care for the land and the resources that sustain us. We continue to burn fossil fuels for energy and transport, allowing heat-trapping carbon pollution to overheat our atmosphere and upset the delicate balance of the climate we need to sustain us.
This breakdown in responsible stewardship is threatening the stability of our communities, infrastructure and way of life. We see it from storms like Hurricane Helene to disruptions in agriculture and our strained energy systems.
In 2026, climate-driven habitat loss and extreme weather also continue to kill wildlife. Devastatingly, species that have long been part of our natural heritage are declining at an alarming rate.
So many of us love the backyard birds that come to the feeder or sing their morning chorus as we walk the dog or step outside with a coffee. But Cornell Lab of Ornithology warns that North American bird populations have dropped by nearly 3 billion (29%) since 1970 — an ecological crisis created by an overheating climate, alongside habitat loss, pesticides and other factors.
Whether you’ve seen “Happy Feet” or “March of the Penguins,” few could fail to feel affection for this iconic species who seem so resilient in their punishing Antarctic home. But, heartbreakingly, across the globe, melting sea ice is mass drowning Emperor penguin chicks, a direct impact of a warming world, fast-tracked by our carbon emissions.
Scientists, conservation agencies and land managers consistently warn that biodiversity loss undermines ecological and economic stability as well as threatening food systems and public health. Responsible governance means acting on that knowledge. Our ecosystems are not just resources; they’re part of something worth honoring.
Events like the Iran conflict also highlight the hard truth that a reliance on global fossil fuel markets leaves America exposed to price shocks, instability and regimes that don’t share our values. Therefore, the time has come to expand domestic, reliable energy sources — especially clean ones — to strengthen American energy independence and keep more control in our hands. As citizens, we have a responsibility to speak up about the practical solutions we want that will strengthen our energy security, economy and environment.
Collectively, we have the political power to move our members of Congress to utilize this opportunity for the U.S. to lead the next era of clean energy innovation — just as we’ve led in space exploration.
Back in Houston, Koch reflected on how her epic voyage brought home the value of being “inescapably, beautifully, dutifully linked” to her crew.
“I know I haven’t learned everything that this journey has yet to teach me,” she said. “But there’s one new thing I know and that is Planet Earth, you are a crew.”
Just like the astronauts of Artemis II, a strong crew takes responsibility for its own ship. Planet Earth is ours. It’s time to take care of the only vessel we’ve got.
Bruce Cooper of Cranberry Township is group leader of the Slippery Rock chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby.