An image of global power
BILL McKEOWN THE GAZETTEMark Joyous believes in the power of an image -- and in the power of a beach ball.
Joyous is the executive director of the Colorado Springs-based nonprofit Global View Foundation, and he hopes to put thousands of posters in schools, churches, camps, libraries and businesses worldwide.
The poster has just one striking image: a view of Earth shining brightly from the darkness of space, as photographed from a NASA spacecraft.
Joyous said the project has been dubbed EarthSeeds, an oblique reference to the work of the apocryphal Johnny Appleseed, who planted thousands of apple trees at the turn of the 19th century in the Northwest Territories.
Joyous said the seed his organization wants to plant is simple, yet profound: We all inhabit one small, fragile globe spinning in a vast universe.
The group is funding the effort by selling 10,000 beach balls that depict the Earth, made with a collage of 2,000 NASA photographs taken from space.
The group also is trying to find business sponsors to raise enough money to obtain a matching grant from a private donor.
The globe recently was awarded a Parents' Choice award for its blend of fun and education.
The organization has had 5,000 posters of Earth printed and is seeking volunteers to carry 4,000 of them to schools and churches around the world as they travel for pleasure or business.
The organization has started a related effort called Planetary PenPals, in which schoolchildren around the world will communicate with one another through a special bulletin board, using a school curriculum developed by the foundation.
Joyous said he came up with the idea of EarthSeeds while employed as a park ranger two decades ago. He said the message conveyed by the poster of Earth is nonpolitical, nonpartisan and not connected to any religion.
"People ask, 'What do you want us to feel?' I'm not telling anyone what to feel," he said. "What do you feel? Some think it's a symbol of common unity, that we all have to stick together. Personally, the ecological subtext is important for me, but I'm not trying to pigeonhole people into thinking one thing or another."
Joyous is wary of defining the scope of the EarthSeeds project with words, which he said he can limit or distort the image of Earth used on the posters.
"The beauty of the poster is that it doesn't use words," he said.
Joyous said the effort has received endorsements from Aspen-based Windstar, John Denver's organization; and from more than six astronauts, including Al Worden, an astronaut on the Apollo 15 mission, who said the picture of Earth floating alone in the darkness is the most important thing brought back from space.
"We don't have a political agenda," Joyous said. "We're trying to promote the astronauts' view.... We are astronauts on spaceship Earth, and we need to remind ourselves we're moving to a greater good."
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0197 or mckeown@gazette.com
TO GET INVOLVED
To learn more about Project EarthSeeds, go to www.earthseeds.net. To learn about a related project, Planetary PenPals, go to www.gopenpals.com/.
The organization also is looking for volunteers and interns to help distribute the globes and posters. The group is trying to establish itself in every U.S. state and in as many foreign countries as possible.
To volunteer, call 636-3637.
Copyright 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
pen pal, prison pen pal, free pen pal, pen pal for kid, inmate pen pal, international pen pal, christian pen pal, female prison pen pal, military pen pal, asian pen pal of hong kong, japanese pen pal, teen pen pal, pen pal world, philippine pen pal, woman prison pen pal, andys pen pal
findnewfriends.com Site Map