SHARING: ON NATURE AND THE LACK OF IT

 

DRAMEDY: THE CONSCIENCE OF A CONSERVATIONIST

 

Dr. Who: Episode 23U, “The Conscience of a Conservationist”

 

By Ron Sala

The Unitarian Universalist Society in Stamford

September 19, 2004

 

ANNOUNCER (JANET): Hello and welcome to Channel 13’s Dr. Who Marathon! If you’re not familiar with the series, it stars a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. Apart from having 13 lives and two hearts, he’s otherwise quite similar to a human, though a bit of an eccentric one. He travels though time and space in a device called a TARDIS, which looks like an old, blue English police call box. In the following episode, the Doctor and his human companion, Sarah Jane Smith, fight to save earth’s future. And now, our program! Keep those pledge calls coming!

 

DOCTOR (RON): Well, Sarah Jane, where shall we point the old TARDIS this time?

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): How about Earth, 2004?

 

DOCTOR (RON): Homesick?

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): Just little nostalgic.

 

DOCTOR (RON): Earth it is! … [Adjusts imaginary knobs, pushes imaginary buttons]. Hello? Wait one minute!

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): Oh, no! It’s not another technical malfunction in the TARIS again, is it?

 

DOCTOR (RON): Well, the old girl did get us to earth. Just the date’s a bit off.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): How off is “a bit”?

 

DOCTOR (RON): Well, 50 years, give or take. It’s 2054.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): Oh, well. It’s still earth. Let’s go have a look!

 

[They exit the imaginary TARDIS. Both are suddenly stricken as if from a bright light from above].

 

EARTH WOMAN 1 (CONNIE): Hey, come in out from there! What are you crazy! The sun will kill you!

 

DOCTOR (RON): Hello, what that?

 

EARTHWOMAN 2 (JANET): Don’t talk, come inside, quick!

 

[The Doctor and Sarah Jane run into the invisible house where the earth women are].

 

EARTH WOMAN 1 (CONNIE): Oh, my. It’s another case of sunstroke.

 

EARTH WOMAN 2 (JANET): Yes, every year somebody thinks they can go out and fetch the paper without putting on their protective gear. Then they’re out a couple minutes longer than they should, and the heat gets them. Then, they just wander around till the UV rays finish them off.

 

EARTH WOMAN 1 (CONNIE): It’s a good thing we got these two in time. Their skin isn’t even red yet.

 

EARTH WOMAN 2 (JANET): [To the Doctor and Sarah Jane]: So, where do you two live?

 

DOCTOR: Oh, all over really. We popped in from the planet Gallifrey just now.

 

EARTH WOMAN 1 (CONNIE): [Aside to EARTH WOMAN 2]: They’re delirious from the sun! Just humor them. [To the Doctor and Sarah Jane]: Maybe you should lie down.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): Why do you need protective gear to go out in the sun?

 

EARTH WOMAN 1 (CONNIE): Why to protect you from the heat and the solar radiation, of course.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): Since when?

 

EARTH WOMAN 1 (CONNIE): Years now, since global warming got out of control and the ozone layer disappeared. You’ll remember once you cool off from that heat prostration.

 

DOCTOR (RON): You mean human actions have destroyed the planet? …

 

EARTH WOMAN 2 (JANET): Yes, dear. The scientists say it’s only a matter of time till the surface of the planet is like the boiling surface of Venus. Meanwhile, cancer from the pollution and infectious disease from the climate change are at epidemic proportions. Earth is a doomed planet. After all the time we’ve know that, it’s still hard to say it….

 

EARTH WOMAN 1 (CONNIE): When it all started, no one seemed to pay much attention. They accused each other of casting doom and gloom and of being environmental freaks. If only they could have seen how things would end up. First, the Alaskan permafrost thawed out, then the polar caps melted and sea levels rose. Hundreds of millions of people were displaced. Species went extinct faster than they could be counted. Fossil fuels became too scarce to sustain the infrastructure of the developed world. Wars broke out between nations to capture the last bits. As the planet heated up, crops failed, and societies broke down. High government and corporate figures left to colonize Mars. The rest of us are stuck here with no way out.

 

DOCTOR (RON): If only we could find a way to fix it!

 

EARTH WOMAN 2 (JANET): You mean, If only we could have found a way to fix it. It’s too late now.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): You don’t understand; he has a time machine.

 

EARTH WOMAN 2 (JANET): [Patronizingly]: Of course he does….

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): But, Doctor, even if we do use the TARDIS, how would we know what to do? The problem’s so big. … Doctor?

 

DOCTOR (RON): [Pausing in reflection]: A thousand li!

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): What do you mean, Doctor? What’s a “li”?

 

DOCTOR (RON): About a third of a mile.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): What does that have to do anything?

 

DOCTOR (RON): Not “anything”, Sarah Jane, “everything”!

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): Doctor, sometimes you really lose me.

 

DOCTOR (RON): It’s something my old friend Lao Tzu used to say.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): You knew Lao Tzu, the ancient Chinese philosopher?

 

DOCTOR (RON): Yes, yes. We got along famously, back in the sixth century BCE. He said it over tea.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): What was it?

 

DOCTOR (RON): Green tea, as I recall.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): [Growing exasperated]: Not the tea! What did he say?

 

DOCTOR (RON): Oh, that! He said, “A journey of a thousand li begins with one step.” In our case, we just have to find out who made that first step—or missed it, as the case may be.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): But, Doctor, how can we find a single step in such a big problem?

 

EARTH WOMAN 2 (JANET): Everyone knows who’s to blame.

 

DOCTOR (RON) AND SARAH JANE (KAREN): Who?

 

EARTH WOMAN 1 (CONNIE): Ford!

 

DOCTOR (RON): Henry Ford, the original mass producer of the motorcar? I never did trust him!

 

EARTH WOMAN 2 (JANET): Not him.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): President Gerry Ford? He wrecked the planet.

 

EARTH WOMAN 2 (JANET): No, not that Ford.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): Harrison Ford? With all his fame he might have been able to warn people.

 

EARTH WOMAN 2 (JANET): No, not him, either.

 

DOCTOR (RON): Which Ford, then?

 

EARTH WOMAN 2 (JANET): Bob Ford.

 

DOCTOR (RON) AND SARAH JANE (KAREN): Who?

 

EARTH WOMAN 1 (CONNIE): Our next-door neighbor.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): How did he do it?

 

EARTH WOMAN 2 (JANET): Scientists in the physics lab at UConn figured it out shortly before the lab was destroyed by looters. They proved it was Bob Ford because he was the last person we needed to wake up and change the way he lived before it was too late.

 

DOCTOR (RON): Of course! Critical mass!

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): Doctor?

 

DOCTOR (RON): It’s like an atomic bomb in reverse. Once you get enough people doing something, everyone starts to do it.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): You mean this Bob Ford missed being the crucial part of the critical mass? That’s why things got out of control? We need to find him!

 

DOCTOR (RON): [To Earth women]: When did the scientists say this critical mass didn’t happen?

 

EARTH WOMAN 1 (CONNIE): In 2004.

 

DOCTOR (RON): [To Sarah Jane]: Come on!

 

[They race to the TARDIS].

 

EARTH WOMAN 1 (CONNIE): Stop! You can’t go out there!

 

DOCTOR (RON): We’ll be quick! [Once in the TARDIS], Right! 2004! [Adjusts controls]. Here we are, 2004. Come on! [Exits TARDIS, spots Bob Ford (Bob Nixon) walking along]. Excuse me, but would you happen to be Bob Ford?

 

BOB FORD (BOB): What’s it to ya?

 

DOCTOR (RON): Well, it’s just that, just that….

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): You see, we work for an environmental organization and …

 

BOB FORD (BOB): Damn hippies! Go away!

 

DOCTOR (RON): No you don’t understand, it’s very important!

 

BOB FORD (BOB): I’m busy. [Opens a soda bottle and throws the cap on the ground.]

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): [Picks up bottle cap. To Doctor], We’re going to have our work cut out!

 

DOCTOR (RON): [To Bob], Say, might you consider driving a less polluting vehicle?

 

BOB FORD (BOB): My Hummer is just fine. Besides, my brother-in-law already has a Hummer 2. I have to keep up!

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): How about walking or biking for short trips?

 

BOB FORD (BOB): You’ve gotta be kidding.

 

DOCTOR (RON): How about limiting the amount of hot water you use? Buying more local produce? Recycling?

 

BOB FORD (BOB): No, no, and no.

 

DOCTOR (RON): Hello! Look at the size of that Ford Explorer!

 

BOB FORD (BOB): Where?

 

[Bob turns to look. Just then, the Doctor gives him a karate chop. Bob slumps backwards, and the doctor and Sarah Jane maneuver him into the TARDIS. Bob starts to come to.]

 

DOCTOR (RON): Sorry, Bob. It was the only way. I have to show you something.

 

BOB FORD (BOB): [Rubbing his neck.] What is this place?

 

DOCTOR (RON): Time And Relative Dimensions in Space.

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): It’s a time machine.

 

BOB FORD (BOB): So, you don’t work for an environmental organization at all….

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): No.

 

DOCTOR (RON): We’re here to show you the year 2054 and what you’re actions could have helped prevent. Take a look out there.

 

BOB FORD (BOB): [In shock]. That’s what happens to the earth! That sun-baked desert, covered with garbage and chemicals?

 

DOCTOR (RON): I’m afraid so.

 

BOB FORD (BOB): This is a time machine, right? Can we stop this from happening?

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): That depends on you. Are you willing to get involved and do your part?

 

BOB FORD (BOB): Yes, of course I will. Anything!

 

DOCTOR (RON): [Closes door.] Right! Back to 2004. [Adjusts controls].

 

BOB FORD (BOB): Thank you! Thank you both! [Runs out the TARDIS door.]

 

DOCTOR (RON): Shall we go back to 2054 and see what happens?

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): Let’s.

 

DOCTOR (RON): [Adjusts controls.] Here we are, 2054. What do you think?

 

[Sarah Jane and the Doctor look out with beaming faces].

 

SARAH JANE (KAREN): It’s … beautiful!

 

DOCTOR (RON): Well, we did come here on holiday didn’t we? Come on!

 

[Sarah Jane and the Doctor walk off.]

 

 

ENVIRO-QUIZ

Janet Cory

 

ABOUT GREEN SANCTUARIES

The Rev. Ron Sala

 

As you can see from our sketch and our quiz this morning, the environment is never just someone else’s problem. We all need to do our part to face the challenges that confront us. But, we don’t have to do it alone. Many faith communities, from across the religious spectrum, are beginning to see our behavior vis-à-vis the planet as a central justice issue.

Indeed, as many of us who were delegates at our General Assembly this year reasoned, if we don’t have a sustainable environment, what other opportunities can there be to do anything? That’s why we chose climate change as the issue to ask our congregations to study and take action on for the next two years.

But even before that historic vote, concerned Unitarian Universalists got together to form something called the Seventh Principle Project, named after the last of our official Principles, “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” One of the most important activities of the Seventh Principle Project is called the Green Sanctuary Program.

Similar to the Welcoming Congregation program, which we joined a few years ago to show our acceptance of people who are sexual minorities, Green Sanctuaries is a way that we can express our commitment for our earthly home.

It requires that we form a committee of people willing to educate us about environmental issues, do an audit of how we use energy and resources here at the society, and take steps to improve our individual and collective stewardship of earth’s beauty and goodness.

 

“ALTER” CALL

 

As a symbol of each of our willingness to do something, we will now have an “alter” call. Mind you, it’s not the kind of altar call you’d see at a Billy Graham crusade. It’s the kind that says you’re willing to alter the way you do things. It could be anything: walking more and driving less, taking care to buy products with less packaging, buying energy efficient light bulbs and appliances, or being willing to serve on the Green Sanctuaries Committee. If you’re willing to change something about your life to protect our mother earth, I’m going to ask you to come to the center as we sing. If getting around is difficult for you, you can stay at your seat and raise your hand. For those of you coming to the center, please bring your order of service, so you can keep singing. When you get to the center, why don’t you place a hand on the shoulder of someone near you? That way, we’ll be a living “interdependent web” of people ready to make a difference. Come on down! Let’s sing!

 


“Not As I Am” (Lyrics by R.W.S.)

 

Not as I am, but I would be,
Since this green world, the skies, the sea,

Need those who care, like you and me,

O planet earth, I come, I come.

 

  

1