50 years ago, Apollo 8 launched out of Earth’s orbit to circle the moon.
Perhaps unexpectedly for us all, the ramifications of this adventure emerged from the moment astronaut William Anders announced ‘now we are going to turn the camera around and show you the Earth’. The historic image Earthrise was the first picture taken of Earth from space, showing our blue planet alive, dynamic and more beautiful than anyone could have imagined.
The awe and wonder of being able to see the Earth from space has inspired generations of humans ever since: we went to the moon but discovered the Earth. Not the intention anyone flying 250,000 miles to the stars had started out with but possibly the most important reason we did. (Its impact on astronauts is captured in this astonishing film - The Overview Effect)
The two events together triggered a new enlightened self awareness for humans: the chance to look back at ourselves and reflect on our relationship with our home planet.
A new movement of environmental global actions followed: Friends of the Earth in 1969, Earth Day in 1970; the Clean Water Act in 1971; the Environment Protection Agency; the banning of leaded petrol in 1973 and every environmental action, campaign and initiative that has followed - leading to the UN COP24 Climate Summit in Poland this December.
Planting a flag in Tooting
During the last 10 of these 50 busy, self aware years, initiators of Transition Town Tooting have been planting their own flag in terra firma here in Tooting - land of Tota the Saxon King. Their 'TTT flag’ proposed a call out to anyone interested in learning how a community can make change in how they live, where they live, to create a more sustainable, just and liveable world. Along with the rapidly growing Transition Network worldwide, they invited others to join in the ongoing experiment to see if communities could find themselves creative and capable beyond their wildest imaginings.
Here in Tooting it seemed to work
It's been a roller coaster decade doing, making and learning
together. We look back in awe and wonder to marvel at how far we
have come. We have scrolls - soon to
be unfurled once more - adding year on year not just
the events and initiatives that have happened but the points at which we
all joined in. We showed what marked our highs (and sometimes
lows) and how these have influenced our own lives and learning.
