To Till and to Tend

1. Input the ISBN number and the book will pop up. 
2. Check out the price for “used and new books for sale”.  Many vendors other than Amazon itself sell new books on Amazon.  What you need to know is the LOWEST price, so you can lowball it.  That way your book is most likely to sell.  At this point you can decide if it’s worth the hassle.  If the resale value of the book is only a few dollars, you may not want to bother.
3. If you go ahead, click on “Sell Yours Here” and follow all the prompts.  Remember to ignore what they tell you the book is worth, if you want to actually SELL it. 
4. When your book sells, you’ll receive an email.  You then need to go into your Amazon Book Seller account and bring up the info. 

My father was not a particularly religious man.  Yet, growing up, my family was the first to arrive at synagogue on Kol Nidre, the evening before Yom Kippur.  The plaintive cry of the Kol Nidre prayer (performed here by Yo Yo Ma) spoke to my father as it speaks to Jews around the world; its heart-wrenching melody reminds each of us of human imperfection.  On this, the evening of the holiest day of the year, Jews join together and declare that any vows or promises they make in the coming year are “absolved, released, annulled, made void, and of none effect.”  It’s a powerful tool – a proactive apology that forgives broken promises before they are ever made.  This device has particular significance in an election year.

Certainly, what candidate wouldn’t be delighted to learn of an ancient formula explicitly designed to erase all promises that are made in order to curry favor or support?  Whoever our next president is, he will have made promises to the American people about addressing climate change, promoting energy independence and jump-starting our economy with green jobs. As citizens we must take these commitments seriously, holding our elected leaders to their promises on energy and climate, and not allowing other competing issues to detract from the importance of this initiative.  To ensure that our leading candidates hold true to their promises to address climate change in the next Administration, I recently joined hundreds of influential scientists, environmental activists and public policy in signing a “Letter to the Next President” as part of the Presidential Climate Action Project.  I encourage you to read the letter and add your signature.

Campaign promises are a serious matter – and the Kol Nidre prayer does not offer an easy out.  To the contrary, Kol Nidre only applies to vows made between G-d and man; it does not absolve promises made between two people.  “For transgressions between man and man, Yom Kippur brings no atonement, until the injured party is appeased.”  (Mishna Yoma, Chapter viii)  Such appeasal require an express apology.  An apology I, for one, will not be inclined to accept.

Homes and offices that run on the sun’s rays. Trucks and buses powered by used grease from the local McDonald’s. Cars that plug in like kitchen appliances to a cell phone provider-like network.  All of these ideas may sound as futuristic as the time traveling DeLorean but, in fact, all are possible with current technology. Innovators around the world are taking action to solve the climate change and energy crises one step at a time and, in the process, changing the way we live.

One especially exciting innovation is the next generation of plug-in hybrid automobiles. We have all grown accustomed to the Prius, but these new cars are different. The Chevy Volt, which is predicted to be “fully charged” by 2010, will run entirely on battery power for the first 40 miles, will plug into a conventional outlet to charge, and will get the equivalent of up to 150 miles per gallon in optimal conditions. Yes, 1-5-0. Forget the 35 miles per gallon CAFÉ standards that Congress passed last year. Forget the 50 miles per gallon range of current gas-electric hybrids. This is real progress.

The major obstacle for the truly electric car is infrastructure; without a network of stations to charge cars during long trips, hybrids must revert to gasoline power after traveling a certain distance. Not to worry. Shai Agassi, an entrepreneur from Israel, is currently touring the world to promote his BetterPlace project—an initiative to establish a global grid of plug-in stations that will allow hybrids and full electrics to completely replace the traditional automobile. Israelis have long understood the intersection between energy, security, and economics. Now, it seems Americans are beginning to see it too; the economic bailout passed last week includes $25 billion dollars in loans for Detroit to spur the next generation of cleaner, more efficient cars. Auto- and policy-makers hope this money will provide an impetus for real and rapid progress. As one Chrysler exec explained, “It’s a way for us to accelerate technology so you can get it in the hands of people faster and so they can afford it.”

In this country, one third of our carbon emissions come from transportation. It is unlikely that Americans will stop driving anytime soon, though we can and should drive less. However, the plug-in hybrid and other projects like it can take us on the path to a cleaner world and a more secure energy future without requiring revolutionary changes in the way we live. This is innovation at its best, and technology to keep an eye on as these new cars roll off the factory floor and onto our roadways.

As Al Gore and friends remind us, working together “WE” can solve climate change. And when I see innovations like the Volt, I believe it too.