I believe we live on the most extraordinary planet in the universe. I'll bet our Earth sparkles like a sapphire from space. A marvelous Blue Planet uniquely designed to sustain life.

It is nothing less than a miracle that our landscapes and ecosystems provide us with clean water, fertile soil, and life-giving oxygen. The heavens shower us with moisture and our mountains chill our drinking water and provide a steady flow to our fish-bearing streams, draining into an ocean rich with food--it is a home unique unto itself.

For millions of years this ecological marvel has provided a perfect environment to support life. With the Sun, the Earth controls feast or famine, hot and cold, wind and rain, hunger and thirst. She makes our existence possible by feeding us from birth to death with air, food, and water.

Her magnificent and varied landscapes might have been created by an artist they are so beautiful. I look at Mt. Rainier and see not only a majestic peak, but also the headwaters of the rivers that flow from her flanks to hydrate our farmlands and float our boats.

Nature is a wonder--nothing less. This I believe.

That we are here in this time and on this planet is a miracle too. Each of us is giving and taking the natural gifts the world has to offer. Some of us are champions for the protection of clean water, pure air, and safe foods. Others of us use our rivers and oceans to dump industrial waste. There are among us farmers who love the land and grow our food taking special care to keep it pure--and there are others who regularly spray our food with poisons to improve its appearance. Some will see the essentials of our existence as sacred and others will never in their lifetimes consider other generations or how lucky we are to be living on this incredible Blue Planet.

For each of us there is a choice: to be among those practicing wise judgment and reverence for our Earth, or to follow those who lead us down a path of destruction. For me it is as simple as this: I am going to be a person who is a humanitarian. I will turn a wise eye to benefit the whole human family. I will promote peace, spread love, and be a lightening rod for the protection of our precious home. This is what I know; this is what I believe; and this is how I will spend my life.