Spacemen Join Statesmen In Defence Of Earth’s Livability
Floating weightless in front of the Russian and American flags, aboard the Space Station MIR, the Commander addresses the Habitat II Conference: “While ours is a lofty position, yours is the privileged position of leadership.... We salute you, as you address one of humanity’s greatest challenges: the need to shape an urban future that is positive, humane and sustainable.” So begins the remarkable transmission, recorded live from earth orbit, to mark the opening of the Habitat II Conference. The joint broadcast captures the spirit of cooperation that is so essential to the solution of so many of humanity's critical problems.
Commissioned by Dr. Wally N’Dow, Secretary General of the Conference and supported by the Russian Space Program and NASA, the transmission reflects the unique cooperation between the two great space agencies and their governments. Aboard MIR are two Cosmonauts, Yuri Onufrienko (Commander) and Yuri Usachev (Flight Engineer), and one Astronaut, Shannon Lucid (Flight Specialist). This team of three will spend months together, working and living in harmony in the hostile habitat of space.
The transmission was made possible through the generous support, planning and efforts of Dr. Noel J. Brown, former head of the UNEP office at the UN HQ, NY, and Peter Riva, who has produced several special events on a similar scale. Said Peter Riva: “The perspective gained from a distance often allows -- and demonstrates -- a more clear truth. Seeing the planet below is to believe in our home, our habitat.”
Astronaut Shannon Lucid and Cosmonaut Yuri Onufrienko: “There is only one Earth.... 400 Kilometers above the surface... living in a home built by man’s ingenuity, pushing the frontiers of space and civilization, we are orbiting proof that, together, mankind -- scientist, explorer, leader and citizen -- can succeed. There is no end to what mankind might do on or off this earth. Let us therefore begin.” (full text attached, English)
Statement read by the joint Cosmonaut/Astronaut team on board MIR Space Station on the occasion of the Habitat II Conference, Istanbul, June 3 -14, 1996
Mr. President, Secretary-General Dr. Boutros-Boutros Ghali, Mr. Secretary-General Dr. Wally N'Dow, distinguished representatives of government, ladies and gentlemen...
From earth orbit, aboard the space station MIR, speaking on behalf of all astronauts and cosmonauts, we bring you greetings on the occasion of your Summit of the Cities. We salute you, as you address one of humanity's greatest challenges: the need to shape an urban future that is positive, humane and sustainable. This is very much in keeping with the vision of the United Nations Charter, the spirit of the Earth Summit, and the imperatives of humankind at this stage in its journey. We wish you every success in this urgent task.
We who have flown and lived in space have had the advantage of witnessing our earth as a whole - beautiful, fragile and border-less. We have also seen the unsustainable damage done to our planetary home in pursuit of traditional patterns of growth and economic progress: air and water pollution, ocean and land degradation, destruction of our forests and wilderness, ozone depletion, dangers of climate aberration, and cities so congested and overburdened that life within them will become increasingly miserable.
These things are visible to us, and while they may not be as visible to you, your reports and data clearly reveal conditions that must be remedied. That is why we appeal to you today, on behalf of peoples everywhere, to take the steps that are not only urgent but are equal to the challenges before you now. There is only one earth. While ours is a lofty position, yours is the privileged position of leadership.
Humanity has endowed you with the responsibility and authority to act on its behalf in making decisions to remedy the problems which we all have created. The cities, once the highest expressions of our civilization and a tribute to our creative genius, are now monuments to our shortsightedness and excess. Yet there is hope -- a hope grounded on our full awareness of the need for coordinated action on a global scale in a common effort to reverse urban decline and once again make cities truly humane environments.
The goals of your conference are noble, the state of cooperation and involvement of all elements of civil society and business community is truly praise-worthy. We understand that this is the last of the great global conference series began at Stockholm in 1972. It seems a fitting tribute to the end of a century when humanity began to address, in earnest, the state of our environment, and to take those actions that are necessary in ensuring the habitability of our planet for ourselves and future generations.
With every end, there is a beginning. In all communities, people must do more to assist our scientists and policy makers in taking those decisions that will provide for a sustainable urban future. We need to build new bridges and effective partnerships with all segments of civil society, including the business and industrial sectors whose energies, resources and skills are crucial to the sustainable use of Earth's resources and the creation of humane environments. We urge you to chart a new course and make this a new beginning for a civilization that will not only be sustainable but is worthy of the gifts and talents with which we are endowed.
400 kilometers above the surface of Earth, living in a home built by man's ingenuity, pushing the frontiers of science and civilization, we are orbiting proof that together mankind -- scientist, explorer, leader and citizen -- can succeed. There is no end to what mankind might do on or off this earth. Let us, therefore, begin. Thank you.
End.