Earth Day Goals


Nerd Alert. (This whole blog post, just be on alert for some science nerd commentary.)

I have always made a special note of Earth Day, being a former science teacher (majored in Earth Science). I take great interest in the power of processes and the changes that happen on the surface of the earth and deep within. Plate tectonics, ocean currents, cold fronts, and the rock cycle-- all miracles of how the earth formed and how it looks now and how it continues to be an oasis in the vastness of the universe for human life. (Yes, it is very hard to get 8th graders to get exited about the miracle that is the rock cycle).

San Andreas Fault in California

One of my favorite books is "A Short History of Nearly Everything," a non-fiction account of tons of sciency topics written with a healthy dose of humor. A quote that I think about every once in awhile:

“Consider the fact that ... every one of your forebears on both sides has been attractive enough to find a mate, healthy enough to reproduce, and sufficiently blessed by fate and circumstances to live long enough to do so. Not one of your pertinent ancestors was squashed, devoured, drowned, starved, stranded, stuck fast, untimely wounded, or otherwise deflected from its life's quest of delivering a tiny charge of genetic material to the right partner at the right moment in order to perpetuate the only possible sequence of hereditary combinations that could result -- eventually, astoundingly, and all too briefly -- in you.” (Bill Bryson)

While this focuses a little more on the biology side of science, it's true. We are all a miracle just being here, being us. The earth is also a miracle, just being here, being itself in 2024 with all of us travelers riding around the sun, doing our thing each day. I am not sure how someone can look around at the earth, the solar system, the humanity here, and not think there is an almightly creator that had something to do with it. The complexity and interwovenness of it all is unable to be comprehended by men and women.

On Earth Day, while we appreciate it's beauty and function, we should be reminded this is just a moment in time. While we are here on earth, we are called to work for something beyond this rock in space.

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.

                                                                                                                                    -CS Lewis

I love this quote much more than "aim for the moon and if you miss you'll land among the stars." (One, that's scientifically untrue. Stars are WAY farther away than the moon. Traveling to the moon takes roughly 3 days; at the same speed, it would take us 79,365 years to get to the nearest star.) Two, if we aim for heaven, we will get the earth. Aiming for heaven includes being good stewards of the earth. Taking care of God's creations, including the animals we share the world with: “Through the greatness and the beauty of creatures one comes to know by analogy their maker” (Wis 13:5). Taking care of our environment from pollution to climate change to equal access to clean water. Pope Francis's Encyclical Letter Laudato Si' urges us to care for our common home, the earth.

A part of Catholic education that I love is that we can talk about aiming at heaven. We have high expectations for academics. We have high expecations for behavior. We have a championship mentality when it comes to athletics. We expect excellence in all we do. All of these earthly things will mean nothing if we do not infuse our faith in each goal. We demand integrity and empathy. We insist on good character and dedication to our school, our parishes, our families. Through our acts and good works, we show love and compassion to all of God's creation. 

This Friday, we will have our annual Father John-Michael Lavelle Service Day. Students will travel to 12 different locations to care for the earth and God's creations. Some will do work with the Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, readying a community garden. Others will work at the Animal Welfare League. Some will work at St. Vincent dePaul making meals for those in need. We take this pause from our daily grind to give our time to those who may need a helping hand. This is part of our mission.

So on this Earth Day, take a minute to think about how the moon is exactly in the right place to create our tides and how the trade winds and the gulf stream work together to regulate global temperatures, and the Ring of Fire shrinks the Pacific Ocean while the Mid-Atlantic Ridge makes the transatlantic journey further by a few centimeters a year and just when you think it's too much to keep straight, think about how lucky we are that if we aim for heaven all of the earth will get thrown in. 

Aurora Borealis "the Northern Lights"



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