(Photo Illustration – MetroCreativeConnection – Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Corner)
I was born in 1955, at a time when the USA was entering a new age of technology characterized by the dawn of computing, and when we were first attempting to get a satellite into orbit. This was accomplished in 1958, and in 1961 President John F. Kennedy announced the initiative to put a man on the moon before the decade was out. Like a lot of kids in the 1960s, this convinced me that I wanted to be an astronaut. My grandma gave me my first telescope when I was in fourth grade. Back then, Americans were glued to our black and white TVs watching each step the USA took towards landing on the moon, and those scientists were our heroes. I never became an astronaut, but I did become a research chemist.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), created by President Eisenhower and Congress, took the lead to get Americans into this new frontier. The main competitor in this space race was the former United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). On Aug. 2, 1955, the USA announced their intention to launch an artificial satellite. The USSR responded with its intention as well, and in 1957 they launched Sputnik I into orbit.
On Feb. 20, 1962, John Glenn, a local Ohioan, became the first American to circle the Earth; making three orbits in his Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft. President Kennedy set the USA’s goal of getting a man on the moon by the end of the decade a priority. We achieved that goal, when on July 20, 1969 we watched Neil Armsorng step out on the surface of the moon and utter his famous declaration, “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”
One unique thing about every astronaut that has landed on the moon, or watched our planet from space, is their realization that in space, Earth is just a fragile blue marble, lacking geopolitical boundaries. This is what is known as the “overview effect.” U.S. astronaut Ron Garan, who spent 178 days on the International Space Station, said this, “I saw the unbelievable thinness of our planet’s atmosphere. In that moment, I was hit with the sobering realization that that paper-thin layer keeps every living thing on our planet alive; we should be a lot more concerned about global warming, deforestation, and biodiversity loss.”
In 2021, 90-year old actor, William Shatner, famous for his role on Star Trek as Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise, went into space on Bezos’ Blue Origin. He said this, “I discovered that the beauty isn’t out there (space), it’s down here, with all of us. Leaving that behind made my connection to our tiny planet even more profound.”
He said, “It (being in space) was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered. The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness. Every day, we are confronted with the knowledge of further destruction of Earth at our hands; the extinction of animal species, of flora and fauna, things that took five billion years to evolve, and suddenly we will never see them again because of the interference of mankind. It filled me with dread. My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral.”
Contrary to what some billionaires might believe, colonizing Mars is not going to happen in our lifetimes, if ever. This means the urgency to protect that fragile blue marble is even more important. Yet, at a time when the U.S.A. needs real, cutting-edge science to combat the biggest threat to life on Earth, climate change, the current administration has done everything in its power to curtail research, including defunding universities and cutting federal research programs.
The Trump administration has ended the federal funds for plugging orphan wells. This will result in more climate changing methane gas entering the atmosphere and more water pollution from brine wastes. The Environmental Protection Agency stated in an April 2021 report that there could be as many as 3.4 million abandoned oil and gas wells nationally. West Virgina had put aside 212 million federal dollars to plug some of the over 6000 known orphan wells, but close to $90 million of those dollars may be cut, leaving West Virginia citizens to pick up the tab. Ohio has documented over 20,000 orphan wells, but the $4.7 billion orphaned well program created under the Biden Administration was paused in early 2025 by the Trump administration.
Ohio’s politicians have fallen in step with Trump and his failure to address climate-changing emissions. The state has gone as far as “dubbing” methane gas “green energy”. SB294 declares it to be state policy that Ohio will “employ affordable, reliable, and clean energy sources,” which includes hydrocarbons from the state (fracked gas). The bill’s sponsors (Senators Romanchuk and Lang) are not climate scientists. If they were, they would know that methane gas cannot by any means be considered “clean energy.” True green energy such as solar and wind have all but been banned in Ohio via anti-renewables legislation like SB 52.
Trump and Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum recently introduced us to the new pro-coal mascot “Coalie,” in an effort to “unleash beautiful clean coal” while West Virginia communities are still dealing with over 8000 streams contaminated with acid, iron and sulfur from coal mining. Many towns still have no access to potable water sources.
Facts still matter. Coal is not clean or beautiful. Fracked gas is not green energy. Climate change is not a hoax. We need science-literate politicians, not pro-corporation mouth pieces who care nothing about the citizens or our planet as long as there is money to be made in back-room deals. We need to listen to the scientists.
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Randi Pokladnik, Ph.D., of Uhrichsville, is a retired research chemist who volunteers with Mid Ohio Valley Climate Action. She has a doctorate degree in environmental studies and is certified in hazardous materials regulations.