Photo of the Earth over the horizon of the moon,

by Bill Anders from Apollo 8, December the 28th, 1968

When the astronauts are looking at the Earth from the space, they see a blue sphere, covered with a layer of clouds, and between them the shapes of the continents. But what they do not see are the borders of states as we know them from political maps. Today, when we face a climate crisis, nations must be able to work together across borders. Industrialized nations have the largest share of emissions, but the effects of climate change are felt particularly in the global south - those who bear the least responsibility.

 

In 1969, John McConnell designed the Earth Flag to celebrate the Earth Day. Since then, many others have tried to design a universal flag for the blue planet. However, neither of those was universally accepted.

The flag of the Earth based on first proposal of John

McConnell from 1969, created for the Earth Day.

The Flag of the Blue Planet you see in front of you is based on McConnell's proposal. But at a place where the Earth image should be, there is a round hole. The sky, visible through the hole visually reminds of the Earth seen from space. Instead of the unchanging picture, the flag is always different, depending on the weather and so it reminds us of the fragility of the natural systems that we have disturbed as humanity.

See more about climate crisis: https://nestracajmecas.sk/no-time-to-lose/