By Deacon Tom Cervone, Ph.D., Sister Maureen Houlihan, D.C., and Nicole Cervone-Gish, Ed. M.S.
Our Mother Earth
Editor’s note: This series takes a deeper look at Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical ― On Care for Our Common Home, Laudato Si’
During a nice day, what do you see in the sky? Maybe a blue sky with drifting white clouds and sunlight striking (heating) the Earth? It’s so glorious and vast from Earth; but from space, it’s so very thin. Do you know it’s our atmosphere that contains oxygen for us to breathe, and it is our security blanket protecting us from ultraviolet rays? If we had no atmosphere, there would be no life. The atmosphere even allows us to hear.
We watched the Oct. 13, 2021, launch of Blue Origin. During this 11-minute trip to outer space and back, we heard 90-year-old William Shatner say, “This comforter of blue that we have around us. We think, Oh, that’s blue sky. And then suddenly, you shoot through it; and all of a sudden, you’re looking into blackness.” The experience of going from our Mother Earth and light to darkness (space), and then back to light and our living planet, overwhelmed Shatner.
Similarly, Astronaut Joan Higginbotham saw a thin blue line on the horizon – our atmosphere –while orbiting the Earth one morning the Space Shuttle Discovery during a December 2006 mission. She thought, “Is this the only thing that is keeping everything on Earth from extinction?” She added, “We need to take care of it;” and from her experience, she had a greater appreciation for humanity and our planet, and believed it made her a gentler, kinder person.
Our atmosphere contains 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% carbon dioxide and trace gases. It’s about 62 miles to space (above the Karman line) with 80% of our atmosphere contained in its lowest level, the troposphere, which averages 7.5 miles thick (Alan Buis, 10/2/19, The Atmosphere: Earth’s Security Blanket, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab).
Kevin Bowman of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab said, “The chemistry of Earth’s atmosphere is remarkably stable, providing a relatively safe place for animals and plants to thrive. One key to this stability is the hydroxyl radical (OH), a chemical that plays a central role in the ability of Earth’s atmosphere to cleanse itself of pollutants. Still, scientists want to know how climate change affects OH’s stability.”
Carbon dioxide (CO2), a heat-absorbing molecule in the atmosphere, acts differently. It is long-lived. “It persists in the atmosphere 300-1,000 years with half of the increase in CO2 concentrations in the last 300 years happening since 1980, and one quarter of it since 2000. The concentration of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere is now at nearly 412 parts per million, and rising. This represents a 47% increase since the beginning of the Industrial Age. Atmospheric CO2 is the principal human-produced driver of climate change” (Buis, Alan, October 9, 2019, The Atmosphere: Getting a Handle on CO2, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab).
Monitoring atmospheric content comes from orbiting satellites like the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite. It can even recognize carbon monoxide levels from fires burning in the Amazon basin and Africa (Alan Buis, October 30, 2019, The Atmosphere: Keeping a Weather Eye on Earth’s Climate Instabilities, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab).
What can we do? Visit:
https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2914/the-atmosphere-earths-security-blanket/
https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2915/the-atmosphere-getting-a-handle-on-carbon-dioxide/
Our atmosphere is a gift from God, and we have no Planet B. Live simply so others may simply live (Mother Theresa). Earth is what we all have in common (Wendell Berry). Pray for peace in Ukraine.
Dr. Tom Cervone is a deacon at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Evansville, Indiana with 50 years of experience in ecology. He graduated from St. Bonaventure University, a Franciscan University. His email address is [email protected]. Sister Maureen Houlihan, D.C. is a support sister on the Seton Harvest Farm started by the Daughters of Charity in response to the Communities - Care of Mother Earth. This CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farm grows all natural produce for shareholders and the poor. Nicole Cervone-Gish, Ed. MS. is an award winning ELL (English Language Learner) teacher, who lives in Evansville, Indiana with her family.