To Till and to Tend

A slew of stories emerging from Washington and around the world are giving renewed hope to many environmentalists who have been fighting a steep uphill battle in recent years. A combination of bills in Congress, Presidential directives, and global actions indicate that the tide may finally be turning in the fight against climate change and other environmental disasters. First on the minds of most Americans, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (more commonly known as the ‘economic stimulus package’), includes billions of dollars for investment in renewable energy technologies to drive the green economy of the future. The most recent version of the recovery package includes funding for green jobs training programs, weatherization for low-income communities, and investment in ‘smart grid’ technology to encourage efficiency and conservation in homes, schools, and public buildings. The economic downturn presents a unique opportunity to make the long-term investment needed to clean up our nation’s economy and environment, and the latest version of the bill appears takes this charge seriously.

President Obama continued to lobby for the stimulus on Monday, pushing for clean energy provisions backed by strong environmental regulation as part of his strategy. To this end, the President recently issued two strong directives to his administrators at the Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency to update and strengthen standards on fuel economy and tailpipe emissions for automobiles. As American automakers face increasing unemployment and drastic drops in demand, building more efficient vehicles is the way to bring these corporations into the 21^st century and ensure the security of both American jobs and our environment. The directives demonstrate the Administration’s dedication to confronting climate and energy issues in a meaningful way.

Climate is not the only environmental issue receiving attention during the first 100 days. Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, has ordered a halt to the implementation of any regulations put in place in the final days of the Bush Administration- so-called ‘midnight regulations’- which include changes to the Endangered Species Act that were strongly opposed by many in the environmental community. Maintaining the strength of the conservation and environmental protection laws that we already have in place is a critical piece of our environmental agenda, and reexamining changes to the ESA and other environmental laws is yet another political tool to reverse our course of environmental degradation.

President Obama has clearly declared that the U.S. is done ‘dragging its feet’ on climate and a whole host of other issues, but the action this week was not limited to Washington. A recent piece by Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute discusses policies underway in China and other Asian nations to fight climate change by ending logging practices. Deforestation is a huge contributor to climate change, and the fact that developing nations are acting on this front, even absent leadership from the developed world, is beyond encouraging.

Despite this progress, the climate crisis is upon us and here to stay. Our greenhouse gas emissions are already causing droughts, floods, and dangerous damage to species habitats, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. With so many environmental challenges currently facing our planet, we are all responsible to follow the news and push for greater awareness and action (such as passing a green economic recovery package). While the new Administration brings new opportunities, it is up to all of us to begin to build a green, sustainable world.  

Rachel is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant working on environment and energy issues at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, DC. She will be a regular guest blogger on To Till and To Tend this year, posting entries every other Thursday. This, and all of Rachel’s entries, can also be found on the Religious Action Center blog.

        President Obama’s inaugural address last week touched on many themes.  One of the most noteworthy of these was the idea that the government could only be part of the response to our economic troubles; that citizens would have to participate in the hard work of national economic recovery.  After eight years in which we were blissfully encouraged to reject personal sacrifice—of paying for two wars with tax cuts, of responding to 9/11 with shopping sprees, of reacting to the end of the internet bubble with the creation and perpetuation of a vastly more destructive housing bubble, it was indeed refreshing to hear a politician actually asking something of the American people.  But what does this have to do with the environment?

Plenty, in my humble opinion.  Last year, when gas prices spiked to over $4.00/gallon, we began to see the emergence of a national consensus on the need to rethink the way we consume energy in the US.  People in mainstream America, and in Detroit, started talking seriously about creating more fuel-efficient cars and investing in research and development to cultivate new energy sources.  Though this sentiment was born out of the economic reality of high gas prices, economics were not the sole reason being expressed for why we ought to purchase hybrids or build more wind turbines.  Instead, everyday Americans spoke about greater conservation and alternative energy creations as ends in their own right.  There was a palpable momentum the likes of which I had never experienced; a momentum which, if maintained, led to the feeling that there was a legitimate possibility of enacting real change.

            The problem, though, is that gas prices have dropped precipitously since then, and people during a recession are inclined to vote with their pocketbooks rather than with their consciences.  If the market is left to its own devices (a proposition whose dangerousness has been laid bare over the past four months of economic disaster), people will not be willing to pay more for electric cars or energy-efficient home insulation but will instead continue to purchase cheaper gasoline-fueled cars and home heating oil.  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/opinion/28friedman.html  And if this continues to occur, the fledgling market for new technology cars and alternative energy investment generally will collapse.  We will be left vulnerable and exposed whenever the next energy shock occurs because we will have failed to develop the energy infrastructure needed to mitigate our reliance on foreign oil.  And we will continue to cause irreparable harm to our planet in the process.

            So what should we do?  I believe it goes back to President Obama’s inaugural address.  We need to be willing to act against our immediate self-interest to provide the incentive necessary to continue the alternative energy momentum and avoid slipping back into complacency.  There is one clear-cut way to do this—a gas tax.  Yes, I know, raising taxes is anathema in America during tough economic times.  But instituting a tax, along the lines articulated here http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/opinion/27sat1.html?scp=2&sq=gas%20tax&st=cse, will achieve what we all know is in our economic, environmental, and foreign policy long-term interests.  Though in the short-term raising gas prices will be hard on certain sectors of the economy, these sectors—like Big Tobacco before them—over time will find ways to compensate and should continue to thrive.  And we will finally stop vacillating in the economic wind about our commitment to a greener, safer, and more secure energy policy.

At a recent meeting of the steering committee of Kansas Interfaith Power & Light, on which I serve, we heard two presentations back to back, and they could not have been more different.  The first, on the most-current science of climate change, was similar in tone and content to the movie, An Inconvenient Truth; the second, by one of the two evangelical members of the committee (in a room full of liberal Christians and yours truly) was about how you can’t really talk about the science in churches, because when they hear “the science” they think “Al Gore” and “partisan politics” and won’t listen to it at all. At the time it struck me as an odd (to say the least) juxtaposition, and thought that ignoring the science in a community like mine – educated, largely secular in outlook – would have you laughed off the bima.

On the other hand, of course, we all know that you can lay science and the polar bears on people all day long and not have it affect their day-to-day decisionmaking one iota.  So maybe, after a fashion, the second presenter was on to something.

Today on Daily Kos, Meteor Blades linked to a report on a study by the Pew Research Center showing that, on a list of 20 voter concerns, the economy ranks first, addressing the nation’s energy needs ranks sixth, while “the environment” ranks 16th and “global warming” dead last. The same study shows that the concern of voters for environmental issues has declined 15% in the past year – roughly the same timeframe as the collapse of the economy.  Given the state of the economy and the fact that we’re still in two wars, this seems unlikely to change during the term of this Congress.

So does that mean we give up on addressing the environment and climate change? No, according to Pew, it means coming at the problem from a different angle – through the things people are concerned about: jobs, the economy, and energy: 

The takeaway message for journalists is that those “stewardship” frames will not be sufficient in terms of galvanizing support for clean energy. In the pursuit of public engagement, the press would be better advised to link sustainability issues to economic growth and “green” jobs.

According to Matthew Nesbit of the Framing Science blog, analyzing the Pew report and also linked from Kos:

Only by “reframing” the relevance of climate change in ways that connect to the specific core values of key segments of the public – and repeatedly communicating these multiple meanings through a variety of trusted media sources and opinion leaders- can the Obama administration and allies generate the widespread public engagement needed to move major policy action forward. (snip)

It’s also time to stop focusing narrowly on remote polar impacts, looming environmental disaster, or symbols such as polar bears. These exemplars are either not personally relevant enough to most audiences, are dismissed as remote and far off in the future, or easily re-framed as “alarmism” sending interpretations back into the mental box of lingering scientific uncertainty. …

In order to generate widespread public support for meaningful policy action, the communication challenge is to figure out how to shift the climate change focus away from the traditional frames and devices towards a new perceptual context that resonates with the values and understanding of a specific intended audience. These new meanings for climate change are likely to be key drivers of public resolve and eventual policy action.

In other words, articulating the potential remedies to climate change through the frames of what people say they are concerned about – the economy, jobs and energy independence – in an intensive, unified way, will be much more effective in getting “the change we need” than 100 slides of Amsterdam under water. That’s just effective politics, which we need a lot more of in the environmental movement, especially now that we have a Congress and president who are willing to listen to what we have to say.

And speaking of effective politics, see also this post by David Roberts on grist.com, claiming that the carbon tax, a beloved approach of climate progressives, is a dead letter in Congress, and that judging by the support it has from business and the right wing, it probably isn’t such a great idea anyway. Rather, he encourages us to return to support of cap-and-trade, which can pass this Congress, may well be more effective than a carbon tax at least in the short term, and is much more easily “messaged” (and less easily demagogued) in the ways described above.

On April 8, 2009 the Jewish community will rejoice the Sun’s return to its original place in the heavens at the precise time and day of its creation. This event is commemorated every 28 years and this year the Sun will be completing its 205^th cycle. During Birkat HaHammah we raise our heads to the skies and give thanks for this wonderful gift, the eternal light that does not only mark out time, but also makes possible all life on earth.

To honor Birkat HaHammah, and mark the Sun’s significance and indispensability in our lives, we, along with JNF, Canfei Nesharim, Hazon and AvodaArts, are hosting an art competition to encourage contemporary artists to create artwork that captures the power of this moment.

Please spread the news!  For more information about Birkat HaHammah, check out the constantly updated www.BlesstheSun.org.

Today is January 20, 2009. There are many reasons for days to be marked historic – I only wish that all were for reasons as inspirational as today.

Today, we see the end of the Bush era. We close the curtains over a period where America ruled with an iron fist and sought the best for its political and economic leaders at the expense of the poor, the stranger, the environment and our collective future.

Today, we inaugurate the first Africa American along with a dream for a better future. President Obama built his campaign on the vision that America, through strong leadership and participation of the people, can become a better place. Today, the discourse becomes action.

Today, we are not mere observers. Though we are faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges – war, economic decline, poverty, hunger, disease and global climate change, we made this choice as a nation to join President Obama, take responsibility for the direction of our nation and our personal lives, and create change.

Today, we are forced to put doubt aside, as the unimaginable has already begun to take place. Today we become part of the change we hope to see in the world. Today we say, Yes, We Can.

Today’s news from the Middle East is dominated by the fighting in Gaza. Even during trying times, and perhaps especially at times like these, it is worth reminding ourselves that our homeland stands for so much more than the security of the Jewish people. Friends who have visited Israel in recent weeks report that life continues as normal, and that Israeli society thrives as always, despite the constant threat of violence. On no front is this more evident than the advances made by Israel on environment and energy issues.

Renewable energy, innovation in agriculture and manufacturing, greening the desert- this is Israel’s environmental path- and it teaches critical lessons to the rest of the world.

Project Better Place, the brainchild of Israeli entrepreneur Shai Agassi, is moving forward with its efforts to install a global network of plug-in stations for electric cars. Better Place has recently announced plans to expand work to Australia and Hawaii, building on existing projects in Israel and Denmark. Agassi’s vision of an oil-free world is inspired in part by Israel’s quest for energy security. Despite impressive advances in automotive technology in the U.S., we are nowhere near Israel and Western Europe on fuel efficiency or electric/hybrid innovation. In this regard, Israel is a model for the kind of nation we aspire to be: one powered by renewable and stable fuel sources.

Environmental challenges and innovations are not entirely separate from conflict in the Middle East, but rather serve as a potential pathway to peace. The Kibbutz Lotan community in the Arava Valley of Southern Israel is a center of learning and environmental activism, and a model of sustainable and equitable community building dedicated to the task of Tikkun Olam. Members of the Kibbutz work towards an environmentally sustainable community, and use environmental challenges to promote conflict resolution and building bridges among communities. Students at Lotan participate in the Common Path program, twinning with youth in a Muslim-Arab Israeli community near Nazareth, and college students participate in the Peace, Justice and the Environment Semester in the Negev with American and Arab students.

In the coming months, Jews in Israel and around the world will commemorate Tu B’shvat, Passover, and Birkat HaHammah, a unique Blessing of the Sun that occurs only once every 28 years. As we engage in the ritual celebrations of these holidays we remember the value that Judaism places on our natural world by celebrating trees, commemorating the start of spring, and giving thanks for the sun and the power it provides. Israel is truly a ‘light unto the nations’ in this regard, planting trees through the Jewish National Fund and leading the world in solar power innovation. As Jews of the Diaspora, we look towards our homeland for inspiration in so many ways, including how to build a truly sustainable society.

We can and should be proud of Israel for so many reasons, regardless of where we stand on the situation in Gaza. Whether motivated by energy security concerns, a desire to protect our local environment, or the fight against global climate change, we can all learn lessons and take inspiration from Israel.

Rachel is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant working on environment and energy issues at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, DC. She will be a regular guest blogger on To Till and To Tend this year, posting entries every other Thursday. This, and all of Rachel’s entries, can also be found on the Religious Action Center blog.

 

As President-elect Obama prepares to take office next week, a lot of attention is being focused on his proposal for a huge economic stimulus package designed to shock the economy back into gear.  I admire Paul Krugman as much as the next person, but there are a couple of elements of this that concern me.  First, The New York Times reported on Saturday that the new administration’s focus on economic recovery will likely cause it to delay addressing the many other challenges that Obama addressed in the campaign – especially (for this site) the restriction of carbon emissions that cause climate change. 

 

I don’t think I need to tell the readers of this blog that global climate change is not a boutique issue that can be dealt with if and when the “real” problems have been solved.  This is an emergency – just as much as the economic crisis, perhaps even more so given the neglect or worse the issue has been dealt with over the past eight years. 

 

Obama has promised that some of the stimulus package will be used as a “down payment” on projects focused on energy independence.  I haven’t seen any details on this, which makes me think that there really haven’t been too many, which leads me to my second concern:  the focus in the stimulus package on “shovel ready” projects.  According to news reports 
 

a large portion would go toward infrastructure — highways, bridges, railways — which would make this the largest such plan since the U.S. Interstate highway system was created under President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s.

The
Minneapolis bridge collapse made it abundantly clear that there are major improvements in infrastructure needed in this country.  But even more than that, we need to move away from the whole highway-and-car paradigm that has caused so many of our current problems, and toward an increase in mass transit options, the development of more locally based economies and in general giving people more ways of doing more things without cars.  In addition, of course, to developing ways to meet our energy needs without the burning of coal. 

Given how the stimulus package is being framed as an emergency solution to the economic crisis (and we all know that Congress responds to nothing like it does to an “emergency”), and given how quickly most of these old-tech approaches can be implemented, I wouldn’t be surprised if applying stimulus money to developing new technologies will be pushed even further down the list of priorities.  And that would be a mistake – a lost opportunity to use the means of addressing our economic emergency to begin to address our climate emergency. 

Every dollar spent on fixing the highway system or other old-school tactics is a dollar not spent on the development of alternative approaches that, though harder to understand now, have much more potential for addressing our myriad needs – economic and environmental – in the long run. 

 

I’m sure we have all been invited to those holiday parties in which we are asked to give a gift for a grab bag of Hanukkah Harry (aka Secret Santa). The gift grab bag idea is a good one, as every person gets a gift without having to buy more than one. However, this good idea has been made great. Meet the White Elephant. A White Elephant gift is an item that the gifter already owns. Though I know this is not a new concept, last week was my first experience with the idea.

This past holiday season, I went to a holiday party in which guests were asked to bring a wrapped present for a White Elephant gift bag. I spent the days prior searching around my apartment for something that I don’t need and would still make a great gift. I tend to hold onto things…so there were lots of options. Picture frames, random memorabilia from travels and school and good old chatchkas.  I narrowed down the options by asking myself, what can I give to both a boy and a girl that I have not used in at least a month? I looked in my fridge and found my gift – wine that I had yet to drink.  After all, what’s more appropriate for a White Elephant gift than a re-gift? That night I went to my party with jelly donuts and white elephant gift in hand. We all exchanged our gift and got a good laugh out of them. Humorously I actually received a stuffed white elephant!  

I left the party with a stuffed white elephant and an inspiring lesson.  I really liked that idea and kept the theme going when I was trying to think of a gift to give to my best friend. She has always expressed a love for these Under Armor pants that I owned. I hadn’t worn them in nearly a year and decided they would be perfect for her. After a good laugh, she was thrilled by the gift.  This Chanukah I learned a good lesson about gift-giving.  Besides for the fact that it may be a perfect gift, a white elephant/re-gift is a great way to reduce consumption and increase happiness.

This month, I participated in a challenging and yet extremely eye-opening, conversation.  When I received an e-mail that a student-organized group at Columbia, called ROOTEd (Respecting Ourselves and Others Through Education), was dedicating one of its weekly discussion sessions to “the environmental movement,” I jumped on board.  ROOTEd, as their website best explains, is “dedicated to facilitating respectful informed discussions about diversity in the United States with regards to power and privilege issues.”

It is really no surprise that even in our environmental movement, which ideally seeks proper care of the earth so that all have equal access to a healthy life, is, like many other social movements and political systems, affected by differences in power and privilege. After all, different people are affected by the environment differently and may not have all the same resources with which to respond.

What caught my attention at this ROOTEd discussion was a sense of frustration on what the environmental movement should seek to accomplish and what traits constitute an “environmentalist.” A good majority of students was extremely agitated at the trendy consumer mode the environmental movement has taken, especially the valorization of purchasing green products when so many cannot afford them.  We discussed that perhaps those who act frugally when it comes to saving money through conserving water, electricity, and buying less are better environmentalists than those who shop in Whole Foods and wear bamboo shoes.

This idea brings up two important issues. One, should those whose socio-economic conditions force them to live frugally, be considered environmentalists? Or, is it rather a title bestowed on those who live a green lifestyle because they choose to? This week’s New Yorker Magazine mentions Van Jones, a man working to get the U.S. to establish green collar jobs for the economically disadvantaged. He relevantly states, “The green economy should not be just about reclaiming thrown-away stuff, it should be about reclaiming thrown away communities.” Perhaps then with more green-collar jobs like installing solar panels and constructing mass-transit systems, we can help others acquire better lifestyles, while enabling them to do so in an environmentally responsible way (although again, because the jobs would be provided, not chosen, does this actually make green collar workers environmentalists?). This topic is one that I cannot do justice to in this short blog, but I encourage you to think and talk about it (feel free to post your comments!).

Secondly, many of the students at the session said that although they care for the environment and try to do right, they refuse to be called “environmentalists.”  These students identified themselves as social justice advocators, often working to help feed the homeless and teach underprivileged children, yet when it comes to the environmental movement, they have not found a connection to helping people, rather they find it as a connection to money, “stuff,” and the latest trends.  This is incredibly sad and a sign that perhaps the environmental movement needs to rethink its image.  There is nothing wrong with pretty canvas bags and organic tee-shirts, but this cannot be the all-encompassing criterion for living green.

Overall, I believe that what being an environmentalist really means is first and foremost, acting to decrease one’s carbon footprint with the notion that this should have positive social affects, securing the well being and comfortable livelihoods for all.  It is about being a person who is simultaneously responsible for fellow humankind and for the environment that sustains us.

 

Itry to live in each moment, embodying the adage “it is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” As much as I enjoy the journey, ends and beginnings continue to hold greater significance.  We seize the opportunity of new beginnings, and the accompanying clean slate, to create ourselves anew.  On the other end, before we close a chapter of our lives, we have the opportunity to provide final memories for those we are leaving behind. 

President Bush has spent the last few weeks offering us actions with which to remember him by.  Mostly, he is finishing his journey on the same path on which he has journeyed the past eight years.  From infringements on women’s rights to quick sales of our natural resources, there is nothing unexpected or exciting.  But in his last weeks as president of the United States, he has added one more line to his CV –  set aside the world’s largest marine reserve for conservation.  Today, President Bush designated 195,280 square miles (an area larger than the states of Washington and Oregon combined) of islands, reefs, surface waters and sea floor as marine national monuments.  Such designation limits all forms of commercial activity such as fishing and oil exploration.  Bush’s admirable act at the end of his presidential tenure doesn’t clear his reputation as the worst president for the environment, but I hope it won’t go unnoticed, either.

With each dusk, comes a dawn.  President-elect Obama is at the cusp of a new beginning.  It is in these early stages that he has the opportunity to show us his best self.  Through his actions, he will tell us what issues he finds most critical.  His choices for energy and environment cabinet positions represented a strong commitment to environmental action (the environmental community is pleased).  But the real test begins after inauguration.

Since FDR, the first 100 days of office have come to represent the vision and potential of a new president.  It is critical that Obama addresses global climate change in his first 100 days, showing us and the rest of the world that the he will lead the United States and the world in addressing the greatest challenge of our time.

 

 

As we await Obama’s first days, we can encourage environmental action by letting his team know that we are watching and waiting. Join us in telling Obama “As a Jew and an American citizen, I urge you to stand fast in making climate change a top priority in the first 100 days of your Administration.”