Our Planet Earth
Our journey to care for our planet earth!
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Will We Prevent the Sixth Mass Extinction on Earth?
Do you know what former Vice President Al Gore said about how we can stop climate change? “We can do this,” he said, “if we just overcome the greed and political power of the big fossil fuel polluters who have been trying to control this process. It’s time for people at the grassroots level in every country to speak up, and the good news is, that’s happening too.” To hear him, please visit the YouTube video, a link provided near the end of this article.
See Full Article· 5 min readProtecting Our Planet Earth!
Do you believe in climate change? The National Aeronautics and Space Administration says, the rate of change since the mid-20th century is unprecedented over millennia. Please see graph above. On June 8, 2024, the atmospheric CO 2 level was 427.02 ppm.
See Full Article· 5 min readYou Can Make All the Difference
Do you believe our planet is precious, and realize Earth is our only home? If so, we must be precious too including our ecosystems, plants, wildlife, land, water and air, which make our world extraordinarily splendid. Our feelings about who we are as a human race require that we approach nature with love, thankfulness, and dependency, and our intelligence forces us to change our way of life.
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