SHARING: ON NATURE AND THE LACK OF IT
DRAMEDY: THE CONSCIENCE OF A CONSERVATIONIST
By
Ron Sala
The
Unitarian Universalist Society in
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.