Our Planet Earth
Our journey to care for our planet earth!
Featured Articles
The Leaf, A Miracle To Behold!
Plants have leaves which may grow on a tree, shrub, wildflower, vine, vegetable (e.g., lettuce) or a blade of grass. There are many different shapes and sizes, but if they have a green color, they contain the green pigment called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is needed for the leaf to use sunlight to put water and carbon dioxide together to produce glucose and oxygen (O<sub>2</sub>), products both plants and humans need to survive. Please review the YouTube at the end of this article on how plants accomplish the photosynthetic process.
See Full Article· 5 min readWelcome and Love to Pope Leo XIV
It is with great pleasure we welcome and show love for Pope Leo XIV. He was elected our new pope on May 8, 2025. It took the cardinals two days to decide on Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was the Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome, as our 267 th pope. Prior to Pope Francis calling him to Rome on January 30, 2023, he spent years as a missionary and bishop in Peru. He’s our first Augustinian pope, first North American pope, and second Roman Pontiff from the Americas. Pope Leo XIV speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese; reads Latin and German; and is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Peru. According to MLB.com, the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church is 'the world's most famous White Sox fan.'
See Full Article· 6 min readJesus, Make My Heart More Like Yours
Who prayed, “Jesus, make my heart more like yours?” It was the grandmother of Jorge Mario Bergoglio (later known as Pope Francis), who taught him this 7-word prayer. The pope died Monday (April 21, 2025) from what the Vatican said, “was a cerebral stroke and heart failure.” He was 88 years old, and was pope since 2013 for 1.4 billion Roman Catholics. It is the opinion of Our Planet Earth that Pope Francis will be recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, OSA, was elected as Pope Leo XIV on May 8.
See Full Article· 5 min readRecent Articles
Climate Migrants
The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) said, “Climate refugees also referred to as climate change refugees and climate migrants are individuals who have been displaced from their homes due to natural disasters and climate change. This includes floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, desertification, droughts, rising sea levels, and more. These events not only affect the safety of individuals, but can also cause food, water, and other long-term resource shortages that push people from their homes”. They also said, the term “climate migrant” is more accurate than climate change refugee because, much like internally displaced persons, climate migrants are not recognized as refugees under international refugee law. This means they do not have the same protections and rights when seeking asylum as people who have fled their home country to escape persecution based on religion, race, nationality, or political opinion.
See Full Article· 5 min readTen Eco-Commandments for Earth Citizens
For nearly three years, this column in The Message has consistently given good reasons to be less consumer- driven and more eco-friendly. It has promoted “Laudato Si’” to all people and to all religions in the world, as requested by Pope Francis - including through his “Ten Commandments for Climate Change” (See What can we do section).
See Full Article· 4 min readThe Sun
Rhett Herman, Ph.D., physics professor at Radford University in Virginia (Scientific American, 10/26/1998, How fast is the Earth moving) says, the Earth revolves around the sun in 365 days at a speed of nearly 67,000 mph, and rotates on its axis, at the equator at 1,000 mph. In addition, the sun is a yellow star made of hydrogen and helium, 93 million miles from earth, and its volume would need 1.3 million earths to fill it (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).
See Full Article· 5 min readEarth Day and the Catholic Church
Gaylord Nelson, who founded Earth Day, saw, in the 1960’s, a deteriorating environment and Anti-Vietnam War protests. Both gave him the idea for a “teach-in” about environmental issues on April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day. It’s estimated that 20 million people participated in this event, according to “The History of Earth Day, Adirondack Council.” The first two websites under “What can we do!” give ideas for Earth Day on April 22, 2023.
See Full Article· 5 min readRighting Wrongs Through Legislation
Historically, we’ve learned much about righting wrongs to promote environmental protection. Two notable authors are Aldo Leopold (“A Sand County Almanac”) and Rachel Carson (“Silent Spring”). Both were helpful in passing legislation like:
See Full Article· 4 min readRethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Restore
There are simple and economic ways to live an environmentally sensitive and thoughtful lifestyle. For instance, we could rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle and restore. Applying these five R’s will reduce our carbon footprint, promote healthy environments, increase soil fertility, and improve Earth’s air, water, and land.
See Full Article· 4 min read