Images: Our Beautiful Earth
Today, representatives from around the world will convene in New York for the United Nations Climate Action Summit. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged leaders to bring "realistic plans" to demonstrate their country's commitment to a goal of "reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent over the next decade, and to net zero emissions by 2050." How important is their work? These Associated Press file photos show just a little of what we have to lose if we can't get control of what humans are doing to the planet they call home.
The Earth shines over the horizon of the Moon in this Dec. 24, 1968 photo shot by the astronauts on Apollo 8. Apollo 8 was launched from Cape Canaveral on Dec. 21, 1968.
Associated Press
A beautiful sunrise over the Sydney International Regatta Center sillouhettes a boat in Penrith, Australia, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2000, prior to the start of rowing finals.
Associated Press
A rainbow forms along the Foothills Parkway as a storm approaches over the Great Smoky Mountains on Monday, June 26, 2000, near Walland, Tenn. Vistas like this can be seen from the many viewing areas along the parkway.
Associated Press
A boater gets an early start on the day as he enters the waters of the Ohio River through a dense fog just after sunrise Thursday, July 3, 2003, near Warsaw, Ky.
Associated Press
A bald eagle is seen flying near downtown Seattle, Thursday afternoon, Jan. 22, 2004. Bald eagles, a threatened species and the nation's symbol for 202 years, continue to rebound after the government banned DDT in 1972.
Associated Press
Clouds and fog shroud the skyscrapers in the Century City section of Los Angeles, Wednesday morning, January 19, 1994, as the sun rose on the city recovering from Monday's violent earthquake.
Associated Press
Lava pours into the Pacific Ocean, Friday morning, July 26, 2002, as the Kilauea Volcano continues to erupt, along a remote coastal area located about eight miles from the community of Volcano, Hawaii. The Kilauea Volcano attracts about 2,500 visitors a day. Kilauea's current eruption began January 3, 1983, but the volcano been putting on an unusually spectacular display in the past three weeks.
Associated Press
A subzero air temperature produces fog around water fowl huddled on a pond at sunrise in Marlborough, Mass., Monday, Jan. 24, 2011.
Associated Press
Early morning visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park hike down the road toward the lava flow in this photo taken in Volcano, Hawaii, July 16, 2003.
Associated Press
Nomadic herders look on as a southbound camel caravan, heavily laden with blocks of salt, passes en route to Tombouctou, several days journey to the south, and about ten days journey from the salt mines of Taoudenni to the north, in the Sahara Desert, northern Mali, Nov. 23, 2000. Along the 720-kilometer (450-mile) long salt road, an unmarked path that can leave the unprepared lost in minutes, life looks much as it did centuries ago. But the salt road through the desert is one of the last dying vestigesof a once lucrative and vital trans-Saharan trade route.
Associated Press
Fog swirls around the Empire State Building at sunrise Friday, Jan. 13, 2006, in New York City. The New York area is experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures this week, with highs Friday expected to reach 52 degrees.
Associated Press
A horse gallops through a shroud of fog at sunrise Saturday morning, March 10, 2007 at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, LA.
Associated Press
A farmer stops working the fields long enough to work on a tractor while harvesting corn at sunset near Circleville, Ohio.
Associated Press
In this file photo from Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, a couple walks along the water's edge at Lanikai Beach in the haze of heavy 'vog' giving the sky, ocean and sunrise pink and yellow hue in Kailua, Hawaii. Part of what makes living in Hawaii so pleasant is the gentle breezes. Nowadays, these breezes, called trade winds, are declining, a drop that's slowly changing life across the islands.
Associated Press
Masses of ice up to 120 feet above the water level are seen floating near the Southern Shetlands archipelago in Antarctica during the southern hemisphere's summer season. Scientists researching the effects of global warming on the frozen continent say the phenomenon is causing the giant icebergs to loosen and eventually melt.
Associated Press
Mount Everest as seen from the summit of Gokyo Ri (5431 m) in Nepal.
Associated Press
A bison herd watches a group of hikers in Theodore Roosevelt National Parks North Unit in N.D., pass by them Saturday, Feb. 27, 2000. There are about 530 buffalo in the parks two separate units. The park is located in McKenzie County in north western North Dakota.
Associated Press
In this June 5, 1997 file photo, a view of the Badlands inside Theodore Roosevelt National Park is seen, just north of Medora, N.D. The U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service want to list about 12,000 acres of scenic North Dakota Badlands on the National Register of Historic Places to recognize an area that inspired Theodore Roosevelt.
Associated Press
Wheat stands in a field in Plano, Texas, as a combine driven by Cecilio Trevizo of Plano, approaches during harvest cutting Tuesday, June 2, 1998.
Associated Press
An alligator enjoys the warm weather in the northeast boundary of the Everglades National Park, near Miami, in this Monday, July 27, 1998 file photo. Florida wildlife officials are considering removing alligators from a list of protected imperiled species and letting homeowners deal with nuisance gators themselves.
Associated Press
A wild horse lingers at the edge of the Badlands in Theodore National Park near Fryburg, N.D., Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2003.
Associated Press
An immature Little Blue Heron lands on a branch at the Shark Valley Visitors Center in the Everglades National Park in March, 1999 in search for food. Visitors into the park are able to view at close hand many types of wading birds, otters, alligators and deer in the park which is between Miami and Naples, Fla. A 15 mile tram ride is popular with visitors who, besides seeing the abundant wildlife, are guided by National Park Rangers along the route and are given helpful information on the park and its inhabitants.
Associated Press
A beautiful sunrise was given to the 135, two member mountaineering teams near Crested Butte, Colo. during the 13th annual Elk Mountain Grand Traverse on Saturday, March 27, 2010. The race was delayed six hours due to poor weather conditions of -40 below wind chill in the high mountain pass in the Gunnison National Forest. The teams did not enter the White River National Forest this year and returned to Crested Butte for it's finish.
Associated Press
In this Sept. 2002, file photo ridge after ridge of the Great Smoky Mountains is seen from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Bryson City, N.C. The approximately 20 million visitors who travel the parkway each year could have a smoother ride when Congress passes the economic stimulus package as the plan sets aside about $750 million for national park road repairs and maintenance.
Associated Press
A surfer is silhouetted against the sea while riding a wave near Peniche, on the west coast of Portugal, Thursday, Nov. 14 2013.
Associated Press
In this photo taken Friday Sept. 24, 2010, bins of Pinot Noir grapes for Robert Sinskey Vineyards are transported after being picked in Sonoma, Calif. The recent triple-digit heat that rolled over parts of California ††answered the prayers of many winemakers, allowing them to start †harvesting grapes, albeit a little later than usual. Many farmers are anywhere †from 10 days to three weeks behind last year's harvest in a nerve-racking race †that now includes beating the cooler temperatures and rain that come with†fall. But growers may be thanking Mother Nature soon enough: the dramatic †growing season might bring one of the state's finest harvests in years and †with that, French-style wines with lower-than-average alcohol.
Associated Press
Louisiana swamp alligators swim in a swamp replication scene at Chelsea Market on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012 in New York. The recreation called "Swamp in the City," featuring live alligators, turtles and Cajun music, is a partnership of the History Channel and Louisiana Tourism to raise awareness of the "culture, music and excitement of Louisiana." It opens daily through Sunday, Feb. 12.
Associated Press
In this Monday, May 26, 2014 photo, 7-year-old male Asiatic Cheetah, named 'Koushki,' hunts a rabbit after its been released by rangers at the Miandasht Wildlife Refuge in Jajarm, northeastern Iran. Iran is conducting a campaign to rescue the Asiatic Cheetah which has disappeared across south and Central Asia except fewer than 100 remaining in Iran.
Associated Press
Palm trees are silhouetted against an early evening sky, at Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016.
Associated Press
In this photo taken Sunday, March 25, 2012, elephants gather during the night to drink at a watering hole in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya. Seeing a dire situation grow worse, the animal conservation group the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) enlisted religious leaders on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 in the fight to end the slaughter of Africa's elephants and rhinos by poachers, hoping that religion can help save some of the world's most majestic animals.
Associated Press
In this Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017 photo, two surfers carrying their boards are silhouetted against the sunset at Kuta Beach in Bali, Indonesia.
Associated Press
A baby male Francois' langur Monkey takes a bite to eat in his enclosure at the Los Angeles Zoo on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017. Two baby monkeys are swinging into view for the first time at the Los Angeles Zoo. The pair of Francois' langurs began climbing the tall trees in their outdoor monkey habitat. The acrobatic little monkeys are yet to be named.
Associated Press
Camels graze near a checkpoint as competitors nearby take part in the 33rd edition of Marathon des Sables, in the Sahara desert, near Merzouga, southern Morocco, Wednesday, April 12, 2018.
Associated Press
In this Aug. 26, 2000, file photo, the southern face of Mount Everest including Mount Lhotse, middle right, soars above the monsoon clouds at the border of Nepal and Tibet. Pemba Sherpa of the Xtreme Climbers Treks and Expeditions says American climbers James Morrison and Hilaree Nelson successfully skied down Mount Lhotse'Äôs 8,516-meter (27,940-foot) summit after scaling it on Sunday.
Associated Press
A view of the sphere of Earth as photographed from Apollo 17 spacecraft in December 1972 during the final lunar landing mission in NASA's Apollo program. Photo extends from Mediterranean Sea to the Antartic south polar ice cap. Almost the entire coast of Africa is delineated. The Arabian Peninsula is seen at northeastern edge of Africa, with the large island off southern coast of Africa, the Malagasy Republic.
Associated Press
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