By ERNIE NEUFELD
Just under 36 years ago (it seems less), on July 20, 1969,
U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the barren surface
of our moon. The words he transmitted at that moment to his fellow
earthlings were these:
"That's one small step for a man, one great leap for mankind."
Slightly longer ago - about 513 years - in summer of 1492, a lookout reportedly shouted down excitedly to the deck below, "A light! A light! At last, a light!" At least that's what our grade-school history books told us, and may be outdated by now.
The importance of the shout was that it meant somewhere nearby lay land, and instead of being doomed to tumble off the edge of the world, they now had found (they believed) Asia, supporting the radical theory of a round world.
This cry of discovery was so momentous it has remained with us for centuries. The light may have been extinguished within hours, but its viewing and the shout that followed could be considered paired elements in a footprint on human history, to be perceived and acknowledged for its significance a millennium later.
Whatever indentation left on the moon's surface by Armstrong's boot as he took that one step may have been swept away by uncaring winds within hours. But the great leap for mankind will remain, also for centuries to come, as a metaphoric footprint that gainsaid the naysayers who maintained the stories of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon were for the minds of gullible children with no portent of future reality.
The lecture of Dr. Dennis O'Hara of Toronto's St. Michael's University I heard recently mentioned neither Columbus nor Armstrong, but dealt also with deemed footprints reflecting an ominous warning.
Most of his lecture was devoted to the emergence and development of our universe from the moment - 18 billion years ago or whatever - a tiny speck in an unmeasured void emitted in a few seconds all the energy that ever has or will be employed or expended in and by our universe.
It is believed to have taken another five billion years for any tangible matter, such as rock or the stuff of planets, to form. Earth, our planet, Dr. O'Hara told us, was formed about 4 1/2 billion years ago, the first life forms about 425 million years ago, and primitive humans "only" 26 million years ago.
Millions of species had developed and disappeared in that time, and would continue to do so in the normal course of events. But then he surprised us by unexpectedly throwing a moral at us.
He turned, finally, to the profligate use and abuse of our planet, perpetuated by current human generations with too little concern for the effect on our environment of our activities and wants.
He told of a North American at an international conference blaming overpopulation of the world for the situation. A woman from Brazil had asked him how many children he had. Only two, he proudly answered. She admitted she had 12, but pointed out her dozen consumed among them only one-third of the North American's pair.
She termed human use, absorption or waste as footprints.
I suppose there are many footprints. Footprints of accomplishment and discovery like those of Columbus and Armstrong. There are also footprints of hatred, love, thoughtfulness, imagination, inventiveness, neglect and many others leave their distinct traces.
Among the most important now are the footprints of consumption and abuse of the environment that bodes devastation for the human race.
Yes, millions of species have become extinct over the eons and have been replaced. Today, however, they are disappearing in alarming numbers, because of humanity's uncaring footprints.
Dr. O'Hara assured us our planet is not likely to become extinct in the foreseeable future. There is a good chance, however, that continued exploitation of our planet's wealth might lead to an environment unable to support human life. Something to think about.
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