Articles and Book Reviews
By Devra Davis
(Basic Books, 2007)
"If we want the world of the future
to be healthier than that of the past, we can start with ending the protection of
toxic trade secrets and taking more realistic looks at the combined impacts of modern
agents on our lives."
—Dr. Devra Davis
The Secret History of
the War on Cancer, by Devra Davis, COEJL (Coalition on the Environment and Jewish
Life) Board Member and Director of the first-of-its-kind Center for Environmental
Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, vividly portrays, decade
by decade, how crucial research on environmental causes of cancer has been kept
from the general public. The War on Cancer, largely run by industry leaders that
made cancer-causing products or profited from drugs that treat but do not prevent
the disease, downplayed or suppressed potentially life-saving research on factors
known to cause cancer, including tobacco, toxicity in the workplace, radiation,
or the global environment. A portion of the profits from this gripping story goes
to support research on cancer prevention.
Global warming is the defining issue of our time. The average
American uses enough energy to release about 50,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per
year! COEJL (the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life) suggests 10 ways
to help slow global warming—and save money over the long term—by reducing household
use of energy. Here are 5 of them. Click on COEJL’s website to view the others:
- Insulate
your home, tune up your furnace, install a programmable thermostat, and keep
the thermostat low.
- Look for
the "Energy-Star" label on appliances, indicating certification as
a highly energy efficient product. Energy Star, a U.S. EPA program, certifies all major appliances,
furnaces, boilers, computers and monitors, and even entire new homes.
- When purchasing
your next vehicle, select the most fuel-efficient model possible.
- Buy products
in reusable or recyclable packaging, recycle all newsprint, cardboard, glass,
and metal, and buy recycled products.
- Advocate
for strong governmental action to reduce carbon emissions, including mass transit,
stricter vehicle emissions standards, and energy-smart community planning.
Join COEJL Action.
"Preventing climate catastrophe
is an ethical responsibility rooted in the fundamental values of our religious tradition.
Like not doing unto others as we wouldn't want them to do unto us. Like not stealing
the resources of the future for our wasteful enjoyment today. Like not destroying
God's creation without regard to others who may want to use it. This isn't tree
hugging; it's Torah."
—Jay Michaelson, "Thinking Green: It's Not Just a Virtue, It's Your Jewish
Duty" (Forward)
Striving to make the country "better and cleaner, with less
dependence on gasoline and petroleum," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently
signed an alternative energy deal with Renault-Nissan to produce electric cars for
mass distribution in Israel beginning in 2011. Israel's Project Better Place will
construct a national grid of thousands of stations where the cars can be recharged.
President Shimon Peres praised the environmentally friendly electric car plan because
oil has become the "greatest polluter of our age and the greatest financier
of terrorism".
Honest
Seth
Successful Entrepreneur Steeped In Jewish Values
Seth Goldman is more than your average successful business man.
Although the 42-year-old co-founder of Honest Tea focuses on the bottom line at
his 10-year-old company, he also seeks to build communities and create an environmentally
healthful product. Honest Tea is certified organic and kosher and makes working
with fair-trade farms that practice sustainable farming and demonstrate respect
to their workers an essential part of its operations. Avodah (The Jewish Service
Corps ) named Goldman its 2007 Partner in Justice honoree, lauding him for rejecting
"conventional wisdom that business exists in a moral vacuum." Read more
about this remarkable entrepreneur, who works in an eco-friendly building he helped
design and who has infused Honest Tea with Jewish social action values.
The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) has
a comprehensive list of tips for a Lo Watt Shabbat, ranging from energy conservation
and preservation to preparing an eco-friendly Oneg. Plus suggested programs and Jewish texts to further explore the
connection between Judaism and the environment. Shabbat—a time to slow down, appreciate
nature, and take conscious actions to protect the environment.
The human being was placed in the Garden
of Eden to till it and to tend it.
—Genesis 2:15
A major focal point of Jewish social action worldwide is energy
conservation and reducing human-caused greenhouse emissions. As Rabbi Steve Gutow
of the Jewish Council for Public
Affairs points out: "The Jewish community is right to make Israel's safety
and thwarting Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons top priorities, but energy independence
and global warming are equally important in the long run and deserving of the same
level of attention....We are in a battle for survival."
What can you do to help? Check out "Take Action!" ideas
from the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish
Life and "The Heat is on 2008:
Making Global Warming a Presidential Priority", where you can sign a petition
to the candidates.
Here’s something quick and easy you can propose to your congregation
during the Days of Awe: The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL)
suggests ordering postcards that can be sent to legislators during the High Holiday
season, which state: “I changed a light bulb ...what are you doing to help stop
global warming?” Actions Matter.
"There will come a day when a carrot, freshly observed,
will spark a revolution."
—Paul Cézanne
The Jew & The
Carrot, a blog about Jews, food, and contemporary life, recently won
the Best New Blog and the Best Kosher Food/Recipe Blog in the 2007 Jewish &
Israeli Blog Awards. As the rest of the world is waking up to the notion of
sustainable agriculture, local foods, and healthy eating, so is the Jewish
community. The Jew & The Carrot, a project of Hazon, provides a lively forum for discussing
food issues—joyfully and thoughtfully—and for supporting the emerging Jewish
Food Movement.
According to a recent report by the Israel Union for Environmental Defense,
titled “The Forecast Is in Our Hands,” Israel will suffer enormously if global
warming remains unchecked—from the loss of its sea ports due to flooding to an
increase in temperatures and airborne diseases. The solution: Curb greenhouse
gas emissions now!
By RICHARD H. SCHWARTZ
Tisha B'Av is a time to consider the devastation brought on
by hunger and starvation: An estimated 20 million people worldwide die every year
because of hunger and its effects. "The Jewish people must...consider personal
and societal changes that will start to move our precious, but imperiled, planet
to a sustainable path," writes Schwartz, author of Judaism and Global Survival.
More than 280 reps of colleges nationwide joined the
American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, pledging to make
their operations carbon neutral. "We want to galvanize a national
commitment to the issues related to climate change," said David Shi,
president of Furman University in South Carolina, one of the colleges promising
to go green. ACTION ALERT: The Shalom Center is urging "Seven Lights for the Green
Menorah," seven practical policy changes—personal and at governmental
levels—to avert global scorching.
African Americans and Jews joined together to dedicate the replanting
of a section of a forest in northern Galilee, destroyed by Hezbollah rockets during
last summer's war, in memory of Coretta Scott King. Speakers praised King as a social
activist, proponent of equality, and friend to Israel. "We are continuing a
legacy of repairing damages of war [2 million trees were destroyed in the Biriya
Forest] and keeping alive the hope for peace," said Israeli Ambassador Sallai
Meridor, who was joined by members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Reforestation
is derived from the Jewish belief in tikkun olam—repairing the world. The Jewish National Fund is collecting donations
for the Coretta Scott King Forest, which will hold at least 10,000 trees.
By SIMONA KOGAN
Prince Charles, who this year won the Global Environmental Citizen
Award, insists that society has a responsibility to future generations and that
it must take care of our habitat, including what we do with our garbage. After all,
solid waste produces three percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Israel is finally
recognizing this major environmental issue by implementing recycling programs. Simona
Kogan, an American writer living in Israel, investigates recycling in Israel: its
successes, failures, and plans for the future. It's a problem that simply can't
be buried.
Hundreds of Hillel students from across the country met in March
2007 at the Spitzer Hillel Forum on Social Justice to learn how to advocate effectively,
once back at their college campuses, on life-threatening environmental issues and
Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. Hillel's president emphasized the power
of one person to instigate change, while another speaker asserted: "The country
and the world needs you now!"
Thanks to eight years of grass-roots advocacy by the Society For The Protection Of Nature In Israel
(SPNI) and a coalition of 50 groups plus individual supporters, Israel’s
National Planning Board overwhelmingly rejected a proposal for 20,000
residential units on the western hills of Jerusalem. Had it passed, the
construction project would have meant the irreversible loss of 6,000 acres of
open space, already a scarce natural resource in Israel. Read all about this
major victory for environmental activists in The Jerusalem Post.
JERUSALEM, June 23, 2006 — Delegates from The Green Zionist
Alliance made a large impact at the 35th World Zionist Congress, held recently
in Jerusalem. With just two delegates out of 350 worldwide delegates, the GZA
was able to generate important and historic results for Israel’s environment.
Environmental Justice and Jewish Values
From RELIGIOUS
ACTION CENTER
As Reform Jews, our concern for environmental justice is clearly
derived from our deep concern for justice, civil rights, and a clean
environment. Our tradition has always championed equal protection under the
law, regardless of one's economic status or racial background. As the Torah
teaches, "do not subvert the rights of your needy" (Exodus 23:6);
"do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich" (Leviticus
19:15). This is because all humans are created b'tzelem Elohim, and,
since we are all equally God's children, we should all equitably share in the
bounty — and travails — of the earth. Some other texts that support our
environmental justice efforts include:
"The human being was placed in
the Garden of Eden to till it and to tend it."
–Genesis 2:15
"You shall not stand idly by
the blood of your neighbor."
–Leviticus 19:16
"The land must not be sold
beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine;
you are but strangers resident with Me."
–Leviticus 25:23
"Therefore choose life, that
you and your descendants may live."
–Deuteronomy 30:20
"The advantage of land is
paramount; even a king is subject to the soil."
–Ecclesiastes 5:8
From WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH LEADERSHIP AND VALUES
Upon creating the first human, the Holy One said, "Do
not corrupt and destroy My world, for if you destroy it, there is no one to
restore it after you."
By RABBI LAWRENCE TROSTER
Debates over Jewish continuity have assumed that the
Holocaust, low Jewish birthrates, intermarriage, and assimilation have left too
few Jews in the world. But based on consumption levels, is the assumption true?
By RABBI KENNETH L. COHEN
"Eco-consciousness is Jewish because it underscores the
charter given to us at Eden, to exercise wise stewardship over nature. But if
the mandate given to Adam and Eve was once a matter of noblesse oblige, it is
now a matter of survival."
By ERICA BROWN
This lesson plan from BabagaNewz challenges students to use
current events and Jewish texts to debate the ethics of experimenting on
animals.
Dr. Alon Tal, creator of the Arava Institute of Environmental
Studies, a multi-disciplinary program in which students from Israel, the Palestinian
Authority, and neighboring Arab countries study side by side, was awarded the Charles
Bronfman Prize in Jerusalem. The $100,000 prize is intended to honor “those who,
through their achievements and potential for making a difference, have distinguished
themselves as leaders of the future.”
Responding to requests by numerous Arab environmental
organizations and activists, SHATIL, the New Israel Fund’s Empowerment and
Training Center for Social Change Organizations in Israel, initiated the
development of an Arab Forum for Environmental Justice; goals include
awareness raising and education, establishment of an Arab Follow-Up Committee
for the Environment and development of a moral environmental discourse for the
community of Arab activists and general public.
Need a little wilderness wisdom on Wednesdays? Then sign up
for this unique blend of environmentalism, Torah, and tikkun olam by
contacting Rabbi Howard Cohen, BurningBushAdvenures@verizon.net,
whose Burning Bush Adventures (BBA)
uses awe-inspiring wild regions as classrooms to explore Jewish life, text and
wisdom.
Reviewed by JONATHAN GRONER
If environmentalism glorifies nature, does the movement
constitute modern paganism, foreign to the essence of Judaism? This question
and others appears in a two-volume anthology that is at times incisive and
repetitive.
Reviewed by RABBI FRED SCHERLINDER DOBB
This book is a great reference for Jewish environmental
teachings and what has been called the "Jewish Earth Day."
By Jeremy Benstein, Ph.D.
Jewish Lights Publishing (January 2007)
"The Way Into Judaism and the Environment brilliantly
articulates a mandate of Jewish activism that is rooted in Jewish tradition and
speaks to the broad range of issues we face in our twenty-first-century global village.
The book moves seamlessly between Jewish texts, theology, and modern scientific
thinking....A much needed resource to the field of Jewish environmentalism."
—Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, Director, Commission
on Social Action of Reform Judaism
Dr. Jeremy Benstein is associate director of the Heschel Center for
Environmental Learning and Leadership, dedicated to creating a sustainable society
in Israel. "To retain our moorings in a period of rapid change and bewildering
trials, it behooves us to return to the Source, and to the sources, and to reformulate
age-old guidance to meet new threats and opportunities," writes the author.
Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
fellow Daniel Orenstein, reviewing the book in the Forward, asserts
that The Way Into Judaism and the Environment makes clear that "addressing
mounting local and global environmental challenges is a distinctively Jewish responsibility."
