ABSTRACT
On December 7, 1972, as the crew of Apollo 17 left Earth’s orbit for the moon, they took the first ever photograph of the entire planet. In the instant the camera shutter was released, a new holistic paradigm was unleashed, manifest in the image of Earth as one continuous sphere, undivided by boundaries, political or otherwise. It took the Apollo 17 crew a short five hours and six minutes to arrive at this vantage point, but it has proven a lengthier and less calculated journey for those on Earth to unpack the meaning of this image, and ultimately begin to address its implications in terms of environment, equity, and economy.
