Long Term Virtues

"The smoke from the Saar Valley may pollute half a dozen other countries, depending on the direction of the wind. We all know that, but it must be seen to make an indelible impression, to produce an emotional impact that makes one argue for long-term virtues at the expense of short-term gains...Anyone who has viewed our planet from afar can only cry out in pain at the knowledge that the pristine blue and whiteness that he can still close his eyes and see is an illusion masking an ever more senseless ugliness below." [NASA photo.]
--Astronaut Michael Collins