2020 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. It’s also the 5-year anniversary of Laudato si’. To mark the anniversaries, the Diocese of Greensburg is undertaking project Energy Smart 2020.

Caring For OurCaring For Our Common Home Common Home

THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF LAUDATO SI’

Laudato si’, the pope’s letter on caring for the earth, is considered by many to be a worldwide wake-up call. Pope Francis is asking the young faithful to protect the earth as an act of faith.

Look inside to see how the young faithful can help to care for our world!

ENERGY SMART 2020ENERGY SMART 2020

CLEAN UP: If all the students in your class use 2 plastic water bottles every day until they are 85 years old, how many water bottles would be used?

POWER DOWN: iPhone users unlock their device an average of times a day. Hint: iPhone users do this about 5 times an hour between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., or about once every 10 minutes.

HARNESS YOUR ENERGY: An endangered species is a type of organism that is at risk of extinction. Leopards, gorillas and sea turtles are among the most endangered animals in the world. What are some reasons why?

Bishop Malesic asks you to be Energy Smart:

The Diocese of Greensburg wants to see how young people are being Energy Smart in 2020. Enter the video, poster or essay contest today!

www.dioceseofgreensburg.org/energysmart

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God made the world and called it good, entrusting humans to care for it and give it as a gift to future generations.

BISHOP MALESIC

More than 90% of PLASTIC WASTE is not recycled and most doesn’t biodegrade, so one water bottle, a single straw or a plastic grocery bag could exist in a landfill or ocean for hundreds or even thousands of years.

ONE MILLION PLASTIC BOTTLES are bought EVERY MINUTE around the world — and that number will top half a TRILLION by 2021. Less than half of those bottles end up getting recycled.

More than 500 million PLASTIC STRAWS are used in our country every day, enough to circle the earth twice.

100 BILLION PLASTIC BAGS are used by Americans every year. Tied together, they would reach around the Earth’s equator 773 times.

If plastic production isn’t curbed, plastic pollution will outweigh fish pound for pound by 2050.

In the first book of the Bible, we hear how God made the whole world, from the stars in the sky to the deepest oceans. People, creatures, land, water and mountains are all part of God’s wonderful creation, and we have a responsibility to look after it all. The earth is God’s gift to us; it’s full of beauty and wonder. And it belongs to everyone on the planet to share.

A reading from the Book of Genesis:“Then God commanded ‘Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit.’Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds.Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life, wild, large and small.And now we will make human beings; they will be like us.God looked at everything he had made and was very pleased.”The Word of the Lord.All: Thanks be to God.

2020 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and the fifth anniversary of Laudato si’, a letter from Pope Francis to the world about caring for our common home.

Laudato si’ was addressed to every person on this planet, asking us all to protect our common home ... the Earth. The letter was translated into 9

different languages and sparked interest among young people around the world.

In the letter, Pope Francis described our common home as being hurt and mistreated. Oftentimes, people treat the earth like it has an unlimited supply of resources. The stories of cutting down natural forests and polluting water, land and air are real. Despite these problems, we are not slowing down on how

much we consume and throw away, leaving a trail of waste and destruction.

GOD’S GIFT 2020 FACTS ABOUT PLASTIC

HARNESS YOUR ENERGYYoung people in our parishes and Catholic schools are encouraged to harness their own energy to do God’s work, in the classroom or anywhere in their faith community, to limit their reliance on natural resources and save energy where they can. Finding scientific solutions to environmental problems can help all young people become Energy Smart. When he was younger, Pope Francis himself was a scientist.

POWER DOWNEnergy Smart also means taking the time to power

down. Sometimes the only way we can hear God’s voice is to tune out all the other

noise. Turning off cell phones, computers and other electronics enables us to spend

quiet time in prayer. Pope Francis speaks often about hearing God’s call to a different

vocation. During his first year as a priest, the world saw its first Earth Day, April 22, 1970.

CLEAN UPOur land, air and water are affected by pollution. Exhaust from cars, chemicals in oceans and streams, and growing piles of garbage can be detrimental to God’s creations. In Laudato si’, Pope Francis discusses a “throwaway” culture that wastes food that could feed the hungry and clothes that could warm the poor. He adds that sometimes people and relationships are treated as being disposable. He encourages us to clean up not just our world, but our relationship with God and all his creation.

SOURCES: earthday.org, usccb.org, laudatosi.com

2020 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. It’s also the 5-year anniversary of Laudato si’. To mark the anniversaries, the Diocese of Greensburg is undertaking project Energy Smart 2020.

Caring For OurCaring For Our Common Home Common Home

THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF LAUDATO SI’

Laudato si’, the pope’s letter on caring for the earth, is considered by many to be a worldwide wake-up call. Pope Francis is asking the young faithful to protect the earth as an act of faith.

Look inside to see how the young faithful can help to care for our world!

ENERGY SMART 2020ENERGY SMART 2020

CLEAN UP: If all the students in your class use 2 plastic water bottles every day until they are 85 years old, how many water bottles would be used?

POWER DOWN: iPhone users unlock their device an average of times a day. Hint: iPhone users do this about 5 times an hour between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., or about once every 10 minutes.

HARNESS YOUR ENERGY: An endangered species is a type of organism that is at risk of extinction. Leopards, gorillas and sea turtles are among the most endangered animals in the world. What are some reasons why?

Bishop Malesic asks you to be Energy Smart:

The Diocese of Greensburg wants to see how young people are being Energy Smart in 2020. Enter the video, poster or essay contest today!

www.dioceseofgreensburg.org/energysmart

1.

2.

3.

“”

God made the world and called it good, entrusting humans to care for it and give it as a gift to future generations.

BISHOP MALESIC