Speak for the Earth: A message from outer space

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In a world poised for the long reign of algorithms, there should be a premium on romantic notions. One of these is harboured by many of us without admitting it: That the more we gaze at our planet from the great far yonder, the fonder we’ll grow of it.

And at some point, we will reach a tipping point that’ll prompt us to save it. Images taken from outer space have often been deployed by well-wishers of Planet Earth. The idea is to present the great blue ball as a marvel, unique for hosting life in an inhospitable universe.

The hope is that this sight will inspire not just awe, but also a blend of emotion and responsibility: As the species that has taken Earth to the brink of catastrophe, it’s for us to undo the damage. And the urge is to cradle the planet with captions that nudge people to take a larger view. “Saare jahaan se achcha," is what Indian spacefarer Rakesh Sharma reportedly said on catching his first glimpse of India from up there.

‘The best of all worlds.’ He might as well have been speaking of the whole globe. Why stop there? If an ode must be sung to our home planet from an unearthly vantage point, why not wax poetic in other formats? A finely made video plea to save other species has been doing the rounds of social media for years, but its count of thumbs-up and heart emojis hasn’t been able to outweigh electoral mandates that all but shrug off climate change as a threat. Could literature fare better? In a speech made after winning this year’s Booker award for her novel Orbital, Samantha Harvey urged her audience to “speak for the Earth." The title of her 136-page book hints of where it is set—aboard the International Space Station (ISS), which orbits the globe 16 times