Precious Planet Earth: Our Only Home
Text by Arun Toké, editor and Photographs by Paul Dix, Oregon.
A Rainbow at Sunset, Montana, the Big Sky State
Happy Earth Day 2026!
Planet Earth, our only home has been around for billions of years. Since its beginning, it has gone through many transformations and changes of all sorts—geological, ecological, biological.
Since the humble beginnings of industrial revolution and human embrace of capitalism and the subsequent growth of multinational corporations and large-scale international trade, we have added several new dimensions to the changes to our global home.
With exponentially-increasing human population, now approaching 8.4 billions in 2026, the extraction, production, and consumption of fossil fuels, minerals, plastics, and other chemicals have skyrocketed. Our carbon footprint is at its peak level and still rising at ecologically unsustainable rate! Carbondioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases are accumulating in our atmosphere and increasing the temperatures. The air, water, and land pollution is in every corner and all continents. The very ecology of the biosphere is being altered. The human-caused climate change appears inevitable; and its impact is already being felt. The clock is ticking and the destructive consequences of climate change will be felt around the globe in a matter of decades.
Unfortunately, the leaders of our governments, corporations, and businesses, either ignore the understanding gained through scientific knowledge and computer modeling, or pretend to be ignorant of its consequences. They keep on doing business as usual—growth, growth, growth. Wanting more profits and more control over the market, they go for more production, more consumption, and as a result, more pollution! The current U.S. leaders are favoring ecologically-suicidal fossil fuels—oil, fracked gas, and coal—over renewable energy like wind mills and photovoltaic (solar) power.
Emissions from a Steel Factory
Aluminum Cans and Beer Bottles in the Backyard a Bar in Montana
We don’t live on an island; everything is interconnected in nature! Planetary systems—water cycles, weather systems, ocean currents, trade winds, etc.—have made our Earth a unified system capable of nurturing diverse fauna and flora over the millions of years. But humanity, with our amazing ability to invent and create technological know-how, and then, to build huge systems to serve our ever-growing population, has reached a state where we’re able to altar the very environment that has nurtured us! We don’t realize that the planetary systems are so huge that they have a huge momentum. If we don’t act until after we see the dire results or feel the heat, we will fail to protect our only home!
In this photo essay, we offer a glimpse of our precious planetary home. But having experienced various parts of this beautiful home of ours in real life, we know the limitations of this virtual medium. This medium is unable to fully convey the multi-sensory, magnificent nature of the Planet Earth! We want all of us to experience it in real life, because we know that when we’ve experienced it, we’d love it! And when we love nature, we’d do all we can to preserve its beauty, its wholesomeness.
Wishing you a beautiful Earth Day, every day!
Nature is Priceless! A Demonstrator Raises Nature Awareness at the Oregon Coast
Mt. Aconcagua, in Argentina (elevation 22,858 ft.), is the highest peak in the Americas.
The Jirishanka Peak (almost 20,000 ft.) in the Andes, Peru, South America
Amboseli National Park, Kenya, Africa
Two Giraffes in Masai Mara National Game Reserve, Kenya, Africa
A Lioness Pride in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, Africa
Volcan de Fuego, Guatemala, Central America, is an active volcano.
Bison Roam in the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Yellowstone NP is 2.2 million acres in Size
An Intense Lightning Storm in the Big Sky State, Montana
Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood (Oregon), and Mt. Adams (Washington), an Aerial View
A Windmill Farm in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon, has a 450 MW generating capacity.
Text by Arun Narayan Toké, editor, Skipping Stones, and photographs by Paul Dix, nature photographer and world-traveler, Oregon.
Winner: Geshuang Chen and Shuchang Dong, for their photo: “The Gorgeous Ring” on Lugu Lake, Yunnan Province, P. R. China. 
Runner Up: Jadwiga Piasecka, from the UK, for her photo: “Eunice III,” an image from a sheltered place 
Winner: Kyaw Zay Yar Lin, from Myanmar. Photo: “Fishing in the Raining Season.” The photo captures the urgent feeling of being caught in a sudden downpour. The motion blur of both the fishermen and the rain make the viewer feel part of the action, caught in the sudden intensity of a tropical storm. 
Runner Up: Tamás Kusza, from Slovakia, Photo: “Path to the Heart of the Storm” 
Winner: Adrian Cruz, from the US, Photo: “Eruption of the Sky,” captured from a passenger plane flying between Washington DC, and Orlando, Florida. The photo reveals a spectacular view of a thunderstorm cloud glowing pink against a deepening blue sky.
Runner up: Ellen Ross, from the US, Photo: “Clear Skies Ahead.” 
Winner:
Runner Up: Maria del Pilar Trigo Bonnin, of the Philippines, for: “Heading Home.” 
A popular attraction is O’Brien’s Castle. Built in 1835 by Sir Cornelius O’Brien, people climb the steps for spectacular views of the Aran Islands across the Bay. There is disagreement as to the purpose of the Castle, but it has been a tourist hit right from the beginning.
There are many different one-of-a-kind geological structures on the island of Ireland. The Cliffs of Moher tell the story of the passage of time. It took millions of years to build up the cliffs, and now erosion is tearing them back down to sediment. A visit to the Cliffs will last in your memory: the contrast of colors between the murky walls and the emerald green grass; the woolly sheep grazing nearby; and the mystery of O’Brien’s Tower all add up to an amazing day by the sea. 
Spring
As soon as the British established its colonies north of Florida, the Spanish offered freedom to escaped slaves in return for serving in the Spanish militia. In 1738, 100 former slaves built Fort Mose north of the city. Sadly, climate change and rising sea levels have destroyed the old fort, but you can visit the state park today and learn how the freed slaves lived during the Spanish era.
