… on Inauguration Day 2013

Today, in his inaugural address, President Barack H. Obama said:

“We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms. The path toward sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult, but America cannot resist this transition. We must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries. We must claim its promise. That’s how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure: our forests and waterways, our croplands and snow-capped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God.”

To celebrate his inauguration, mark his words and remind all of us how heartbreakingly beautiful and fragile our precious planet is, GNN invites you to view the exquisite video below — five minutes of time-lapse photos of our beloved Blue Marble shot from the International Space Station as it passes in low orbit over Earth.

Learn more about this prayer for our planet here and here. See more images and videos here. And thank you to NPR’s Robert Krulwich for bringing this beautiful video to GNN’s attention by including it in a recent, disturbing post about the fracking boom in North Dakota, where drillers are flaring off so much gas that the flames are visible as a splotch of light in a dark, undeveloped part of our country and planet when viewed from space at night. Read Krulwich’s post and see more images and video here.

President Obama, remember your promise. Keep your word.