TBC: Morning Musing 5.25.15

Well, Happy Memorial Day! Hope you all have a good day today and that you take a moment to reflect those who have fallen. And since it’s a holiday, I’ve got mostly fluff for your morning – but good fluff!

First, the non-fluff:

Catholics organize to promote pope’s climate change message

There will be prayer vigils and pilgrimages, policy briefings and seminars, and sermons in parishes from the U.S. to the Philippines.

When Pope Francis releases his much-anticipated teaching document on the environment and climate change in the coming weeks, a network of Roman Catholics will be ready. These environmental advocates – who work with bishops, religious orders, Catholic universities and lay movements – have been preparing for months to help maximize the effect of the statement, hoping for a transformative impact in the fight against global warming.

Jump!

Next up, always a great time to think about visiting some of our beautiful national parks:

America’s 20 Most Popular National Parks, Ranked

For many of us living in big cities, the sad truth is that the only time we remember there are parts of this great nation not covered in condos and fast-casual restaurants is when we’re Instagramming them from 36,000 feet. Which is also when we think to ourselves, “Wow, I wish there was a way I could see all that beauty up close and without a plane wing in my way.” Well, turns out, there is! And it’s called our National Parks System.

And as a reminder of the scope of America’s awe-inspiring natural beauty (and its 59-strong park system created by the coolest dude ever from New York), we thought it’d be fun to take the 20 most-visited national parks in 2014, add some glorious photography, and rank them in order of how much you’ll be blown away when you get there.

Finally, some stunning plankton pictures to close out this edition:

Spectacular Photograph Captures Bioluminescent Plankton And Aurora At The Same Time

Tasmania is not exactly lacking in natural beauty, but sometimes it just seems to be showing off. Last week, four photographers were attempting to capture the Aurora Australis when they came across something even more rare, and arguably more spectacular.

So how you doin’?  ðŸ˜€