Today is the 14th anniversary of the death of Carl Sagan, a Global Citizen before his time. Nearly a decade-and-a-half since his passing, Sagan remains one of the most recognizable public faces of science. His books remain as popular as ever, and his groundbreaking 1980 documentary series Cosmos is still one of the best productions of its kind.
Sagan was an outstanding scientist, making important contributions to our understanding of Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Titan, and also putting forward intriguing speculations regarding the evolution of the human brain and the origin of life on earth. But he is best known for his unrivalled ability to popularize science itself, taking complex scientific concepts and making them easily understood and spiritually thrilling for ordinary people.
The impact of Sagan's work in popularizing science is hard to overestimate. No doubt, there are thousands of working scientists today who would not have become scientists had it not been for Carl Sagan. And millions of people all over the world better understand the universe in which we live thanks to the work of this dedicated Global Citizen.
But Sagan's work did not end there, for he was more than a scientist and educator. He was also a passionate advocate for nuclear disarmament, using his fame as a scientist to draw attention to the urgent need to abolish weapons he feared were a threat to the continued survival of humanity. More than any other individual, Sagan helped publicize the dangers of nuclear winter. He was twice arrested while participating in the civil disobedience protest at the Nevada Test Range in the mid-1980s, when the United States was continuing nuclear test explosions despite a voluntary moratorium on such tests by the Soviet Union.
Sagan also helped organize opposition to President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (also known as "Star Wars"), correctly seeing it as a technological impossibility and fearing that it would make impossible the termination of the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. He was right; the 1986 Reykjavik Summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev came close to an agreement to gradually abolish nuclear weapons altogether, and only failed because of Reagan's stubbornness regarding the Strategic Defense Initiative.
Sagan was also one of the earliest public figures who sought to bring public attention to the problem of global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer. Sagan's studies of Mars revealed to him what could happen to the surface of a world that had no protection from ultraviolent radiation, while his research on Venus told him similar stories about what happens to a world experiencing a runaway greenhouse effect.
Sagan was also a tireless advocate for a strong and comprehensive space program. He co-founded the Planetary Society, which is today the world's largest space advocacy organization in the world. He lobbied on behalf of space exploration missions, and also suggested that a joint human expedition to Mars might have the side benefit of improving relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Sagan worried over the disturbing rise of pseudoscience and other irrational belief systems in Western culture. One of his most famous books, The Demon Haunted World, explores and effectively debunks such beliefs as astrology, UFOs, creationism, and other such things. In studying all questions, Sagan stressed, it is imperative to adopt a rational attitude, and apply the scientific method in all relevant questions.
So, on the anniversary of his death, let us remember the life and contribution of Carl Sagan, a model for Global Citizens in all times and places.
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