Thread by @People_Of_Space

Time for my third book in this series on space books by women: Spaceship Earth (1966), by Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth - a pioneer in the philosophy of sustainability and social justice #Space4Women #WSW2020

https://twitter.com/People_Of_Space/status/1312881938131152896?s=20

The concept of 'Spaceship Earth' is usually associated with Buckminster Fuller and his 'Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth' (1969) - but Barbara Ward published her book 'Spaceship Earth' in 1966. #Space4Women #WSW2020

The origins of 'Spaceship Earth', however, actually pre-date the Space Age! In 1879, the US economist Henry George wrote: 'It is a well-provisioned ship, this on which we sail through space'. More history here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceship… #WSW2020

These days space is all about sustainable development, and Barbara Ward was one of the first people to articulate it. Let's find out a bit more about her. iied.org/100-years-barb…

Sadly I have not read 'Spaceship Earth' by Barbara Ward yet but I really want to! I did, however, find another of her works, so will delve into that presently. #Space4Women #WSW2020

In 1973, Barbara Ward wrote an essay called 'Only One Earth'. It makes for remarkable reading in the light of what we know now. Let's look at what she said. #WSW2020 #Space4Women #SustainableDevelopmentGoals

Just five years after astronaut Bill Anders took the famous Earthrise photo as Apollo 8 orbited the Moon, Barbara Ward talked about its impact on how we think about Earth. #WSW2020 #Space4Women

Before the present era (said Ward, writing in 1973) no-one ever thought that it was possible for human activities to put the planet at risk. All our waste has nowhere else to go. #WSW2020 #sustainability

Ward is critical of the idea that so-called 'developing nations' just need to follow-the-leader in economic growth and all will be well. Limitless expansion is not possible. Trickle-down economics DOES NOT WORK. #wsw2020 #SustainableDevelopmentGoals

'What are the priorities', asks Ward, 'a decent human environment for the whole human species or riches for some and squalor for the majority?' #WSW2020 #SustainableDevelopment

I don't know if Ward coined the term 'planetary justice' (I'm sure someone knows more about this and can tell us) but it is certainly a powerful concept, which she talks about in the 1973 essay One One Earth. #WSW2020 #SDGs

What would planetary justice look like for other planets, other worlds? #WSW2020

Here's Barbara Ward talking about sustainable development, from the 1972 film 'Survival of Spaceship Earth' #WSW2020 #Space4Women