Chris Hadfield, the astronaut whose Bowie cover fell to Earth, has penned an article for Wired about the need to treat Spaceship Earth the same way we treat other spacecrafts–with great care. An excerpt:

“The communities and countries best at using energy to optimize a micro­climate for human life are also the ones whose ­people have the longest average lifespans. Canada, Sweden, and Iceland—places with inhospitable winter weather—are front-­runners in sustaining human health and life. They have no choice but to use what energy they have in the most efficient manner. Like the careful, constant nurturing of mushrooms in a hothouse, the right application of technology and stability can lead to the greatest yield.

Earth has never fed as many ­people as it does today. From orbit, the ­gingham-quilt patterns of farms all across eastern Europe and the massive grain fields of the world’s steppes and prairies are clearly laid out. Vast fields for supply connect to roads and railways for transportation, all leading to dense hubs of consumption in the cities. When the sun is just right, you can even see the wakes of ocean-going ships imperturbably hauling bulk goods between continents.

The space station, high above, is a microcosm—an international collection of people living in a finite area with finite resources, just like the planet below. Power comes from a blend of fossil fuels and renewable energy. Air, food, and water come in limited quantities. Like Earth, the ISS is subject to unpredictable outside forces—solar flares, meteor impacts, technical breakdowns, budget cycles, and international tensions. And in both locations, lives are in the balance. Make a small mistake and people are inconvenienced, capability is lost. Make a big one and ­people die.”