The Georgetown Environment Initiative and Office of Sustainability are collaborating to mark the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day virtually, sharing resources to help foster connectedness and care — for each other and for our planet — during these unprecedented times.
For information and guidance from the University related to COVID-19, please visit:
“Everything is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society.”
– Pope Francis, Laudato Si’
At Georgetown, our community addresses critical environmental and sustainability challenges through research, education, activism, and operations. Our mission for a healthy and flourishing planet for all is rooted in our Catholic and Jesuit values and commitment to the common good.
Opportunities to engage with the environment in a time of physical distancing:
Associate Professor
History
“Anthropogenic warming is without precedent in the history of human civilization. Yet Earth’s climate has changed meaningfully over that history, and societies have struggled to cope. It may be that more societies successfully endured those changes than declined or collapsed because of them. This should give us hope for the future – if we’re willing to accept their lessons.”
Student
COL ’20
“I am working to improve food systems by starting Slow Food Georgetown. I started this club, a chapter of Slow Food USA, to bring conversation and action to campus around building regenerative, sustainable and just food systems. I want to build a greater consciousness of individual connection to food, because it has the ability to nourish us, and the ability to nourish our planet.”
Director
Outdoor Education
“I believe one needs to connect first and then act. Get off campus, walk and sit in the woods – make the connection. Then get busy being an advocate in a way that makes sense for you.”
Tropical forests cover less than 7 percent of Earth’s landmass but are home to about 50 percent of all living things on the planet.
Agricultural Emissions could be reduced by as much as 70% by adopting a vegan diet and 63% by adopting a vegetarian diet.
Georgetown’s campus has four green roofs that provide homes for local pollinators as well as increase efficiency of heating and cooling of the buildings they are located on.
Experts Ponder Effect of COVID-19 on Future of Sustainability and the Environment
April 15th, 2020
With a commitment to sustainability and the environment rooted in its Jesuit values, Georgetown’s experts in science, history, international affairs and health say COVID-19 has not only deeply impacted our physical and financial well-being, but also the world’s carbon footprint. …
