To Till and to Tend

This Week’s Crop

While environmentalists may be feeling somewhat listless and down-in-the-dumps on this 100th day after the Gulf disaster began due to the loss of an opportunity to put forth comprehensive energy and climate legislation, there may yet be hope on the horizon. Though it may not come to fruition until after the mid-term elections in November, President Obama pledged on Tuesday to keep pushing for legislation to fight climate change despite a move in the U.S. Senate to focus energy reform more narrowly on offshore drilling. “I want to emphasize it’s only the first step and I intend to keep pushing for broader reform, including climate legislation,” he told reporters in the White House Rose Garden after meeting with congressional leaders. “We can’t afford to stand by as our dependence on foreign oil deepens, as we keep on pumping out the deadly pollutants that threaten our air and our water and the lives and livelihoods of our people,” he said. While the President tries to push forward with the core environmental issues of climate change and energy legislation, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled a bill for energy and oil disaster measures – the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Spill Accountability Plan. Read the COEJL statement on the legislation here. A rough outline of the proposed legislation suggests that it will remove the current $75,000,000 cap on the liability of responsible parties owning or operating offshore facilities. It creates a $5 billion “Home Star” energy-efficiency program to incentivize home retrofits. It also provides incentives for natural gas vehicles and transportation, and boosts funds for the Land and Water Conservation Fund back to its intended levels of $900 million annually for the next five years. And in 2016, $500 million will be made available from the LWCF, without further appropriation, with additional amounts available if appropriated. This much needed effort was originally established in 1965 and is now finally set to be revitalized. Learn more about the LWCF here.

Other positives, the bill will also not provide major incentives for coal and nuclear power, nor will it eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases. These provisions in combination will likely help stimulate growth in the energy efficiency sector while providing needed relief for those hurt by oil spill environmental and economic damages and help conserve important natural resources. However, the bill does lack the coveted renewable energy standard (RES)  and the climate piece dictating carbon caps and creating a market for trading carbon emissions sought by environmental leaders. While the legislation will not make the U.S. a 21st century economy, as President Obama says, it is a “first step” along the way and is expected that Democrats will uniformly support it. (Grist)

States continue to lead (NY Times) on the issue, despite Congress’ resistance to creating a federal carbon cap. We hope to see climate policy that caps carbon-dioxide introduced in the fall and we’ll all do our part to make it happen. (Bloomberg). Click here to go to the Religious Action Center to take action and write your Senators.

The Slick – Day 100

The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection held a hearing on Tuesday, July 27,  2010 to explore the damages suffered by the tourism industry in the Gulf region and the process by which the independent Gulf Coast Claims Facility will evaluate tourism-related claims. Ken Feinberg says BP is holding up payments to economic victims (CNBC) of the disaster. Feinberg, speaking to reporters at a town hall meeting in southern Alabama said, “I have a concern that BP is stalling claims. Yes, BP is stalling. I doubt they are stalling for money. It’s not that. I just don’t think they know the answers to the questions (by claimants).”

Hayward out – Dudley In. BP announced yesterday that CEO Tony Hayward will be stepping down on October 1st, 2010 and replaced by American, Robert Dudley. (CNN) Speaking of Tony Hayward, “No Golden Parachute for Hayward,” demands Rep. Ed Markey (MA). In a letter sent Tuesday, Markey says outgoing BP chief Tony Hayward should not get his reported multi-million-dollar severance package until all the damages of the gulf spill have been paid.  “At a time when BP should be devoting every possible resource to ending the spill, cleaning up the Gulf and fully compensating the residents who have had their livelihoods impacted, I find it extremely troubling that BP’s board would consider providing such a large severance package to Mr. Hayward,” writes Rep. Markey to Carl-Henric Svanberg, Chairman of BP. “BP should be dedicating its resources to compensating the residents of the Gulf Coast who are the victims of this tragedy, not handing out multi-million dollar golden parachutes.” (Read Markey’s Statement)

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean
On another front, it is fortunate that Tropical Storm Bonnie petered out over the weekend and clean-up efforts were expected to return to their full capacity today. (Wall Street Journal)

Another Oil Leak Spotted in the Gulf
Just when you thought the oil spillage in the Gulf might be coming to an end, another oil leak (NY Times) was spotted in the Gulf. A wellhead in southeastern Louisiana was spewing oil up to 20 feet into the air on Tuesday morning, local officials said. This is at least the third unrelated oil leak in the area since the Deepwater Horizon spill began 100 days ago.

Community News and Views

Rabbis Converge on High Holiday Environmental Programming
On August 9th, COEJL will host four rabbinic leaders from all four of the major Jewish religious streams Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Conservative and Reform in a conference call to discuss environmental program ideas for the coming high holidays and parshat Noach to engage their communities on environmental and energy issues. Rabbinic leaders are invited to join in the call to express their ideas, success stories and experiences. For those rabbinic leaders who would like to attend the call, please contact COEJL’s Program Director, David Marks: dmarks@coejl.org

A Day of Prayer for the Gulf
This Friday, July 30, communities of faith throughout the Gulf region will host a special day of prayer and reflection on the oil spill disaster. Visit the Religious Action Center (RAC) and Canfei Nesharim websites (Canfei Nesharim) for resources on Jewish values and the Oil Disaster.

Nashville Eco-Challenge
On Sunday, August 1st, 2010 from 1 to 4 PM the Nashville Jewish Community will host a free event to kick off the Nashville Eco-Challenge, which will be held in partnership with COEJL’s Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign. Participants will pledge to complete a personal checklist of six simple and effective ways to reduce their ecological footprint and conserve resources, such as signing up for the TVA In-Home Energy Evaluation (IHEE) program and always using reusable shopping bags at stores. The sponsoring organizations will sign a pledge as well.

United On Ending U.S. Reliance On Foreign Oil
Rabbi Steve Gutow, President and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, expressed his thoughts in the Jewish Week on energy independence from the standpoint of the JCPA and the Jewish community at large. “The American Jewish community is a large, complex group, likened to a family with many and sometimes divergent interests. We strive in our own ways to build a strong foundation for our community’s future, work to build a better America, advocate for Israel, and focus on tikkun olam, repairing the world. It is easy to see our concerns as self-contained, each occupying its own space in the communal and national discourse. We have multiple perspectives regarding the world around us and pursue different solutions.’…’the purpose of our initiative is to convey the Jewish community’s broad belief that America becoming energy independent is a matter of vital national interest.” Read the full article at the (Jewish Week).

This Week’s Crop

This week the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee cleared six energy bills and sent them to majority leader Harry Reid for consideration in crafting a broader bill for the Senate. The next few days will be crucial in getting anything done prior to August recess and mid-term elections this fall which has been a goal of the Democratic leadership for months. Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), however, cautioned today that he does not know what Reid’s true plans are, given the few remaining days that the chamber is expected to be in session before heading home for the August recess. “Senator Reid has not announced what he is going to bring to the floor,” Bingaman said. Even with all of the issues on the table concerning energy, carbon emission caps, heat waves, alternative energy,  nuclear, and the Gulf Oil Disaster, the U.S. Senate leaders are still struggling to get energy and climate legislation done.

But time is not on our side. The Gulf disaster is but one peril of our global addiction to energy an oil. China now uses more energy than any other nation on the planet – most of it in high-sulfur “brown coal” which creates acid rain producing sulfur dioxide. (Wall Street Journal) Despite  their  leadership in renewable energy resources development, this means China is on the search for energy and that means oil – and they don’t have a problem getting it from places like Iran and Somalia and other governments not sympathetic to U.S. and Israeli interests. Just to make energy security matters more problematic, China now has its own oil spill. (BBC) Oil spilled into the sea in north-east China after two pipelines exploded on Friday night, resulting in a fierce fire. At least one person has died during the clean-up operation, after being thrown from a ship by waves and drowning in the oil.  The environmental group Greenpeace told the BBC the oil was up to 20cm thick along parts of the coast near the city of Dalian. Shipments of oil from the north to the industrial belt in the south have been disrupted since the accident.

But perhaps there is still hope. China is also a potential leader in creating low-carbon economies.  “We have substantive hopes in China, to be honest, that China will take the lead … to make the low-carbon economy, the high energy efficiency economy a reality in the coming years,” said Stephan Singer, the head of energy policy for the World Wildlife Federation. “That’s not the case in the U.S., unfortunately,” he said. “We would need to see similar or even stronger targets there” in the U.S.  Let’s hope Harry Reid gets it right next week and sets the U.S. on the right path and in time. (NPR)

Updates from the Hill

Reid to Senate Dems: Climate change bill will wait until fall Hopes for a more comprehensive approach on capping carbon seem to be dashed – for now. Harry Reid is now saying they’ll move next week on a bill focused on the Gulf oil spill that will include energy provisions that can get bipartisan agreement, but it will not include a cap or a renewable energy standard or anything controversial. Aides insisted Reid’s decision is a nod to the packed floor schedule the Senate faces before it leaves in two weeks for the August recess, and that he has not abandoned plans to try and bring up a broader climate and energy plan later in the year. (The Hill)

The Slick

Jewish communal leaders responding to the oil spill disaster have been speaking out in several ways. National religious leaders Rabbis David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Julie Schonfeld of the Conservative Movement’s Rabbinical Assembly toured the Gulf Coast area (Jewish Week) to personally view the destruction and to determine the best ways for their respective institutions to respond. They spoke to the COEJL community last Friday on national conference call. Rabbi Saperstein also captured some of the briefings they received on video, which can be seen on YouTube. On Friday, July 16th COEJL held a national conference call with Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Julie Schonfeld of the Conservative Movement’s Rabbinical Assembly, and Rabbi Ethan Linden of of Congregation Shir Chadash in New Orleans, about their recent trip to the Gulf of Mexico region. They shared their experience and helped us better understand the ongoing impacts of the oil disaster and what we can do as Jews to help. Visit the COEJL home page to download an MP3 of the call. Several Jewish organizations joined others in writing to President Obama providing a set of recommendations in response to the oil spill crisis. And finally, this past week, several resources appeared connecting the oil disaster and its relationship to Tisha b’Av (JTA) and our remembering the destruction of the Temples.

On Tuesday, the three-month anniversary of the oil spill and Tisha B’Av, dozens of protesters stood outside the Capitol (JTA Article) to denounce Congress’ handling of the BP oil spill while commemorating the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem centuries ago. “Tisha B’Av is when we mourn the destruction of the Temple,” said Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of the Shalom Center. “The earth is the sacred temple of all communities and all life forms. Jewish tradition teaches the temple was a microcosm of all the earth.”

A new cap is on and the oil stopped but seepage on the seafloor could re-open it. After days of no oil leaking from the BP well in the Gulf and watching the pressure in the well rise to reasonable levels, seepage of hydrocarbons has been detected, (NY Times)  indicating that it may have to be reopened soon to avoid making the situation worse.

Support for Land and Water Conservation Fund Growing. The House Natural Resources Committee voted 27-21 to pass legislation that would allocate $900 million worth of oil revenues annually toward protecting open spaces through the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Here’s a NY Times Op Ed from July 19th on the Land and Water Conservation Fund for a good perspective. (NY Times) These funds were mandated in 1965 to be spent on natural resource protection, yet Congress continues to underfund the effort. With a focus on regulations in relation to the oil spill disaster, the CLEAR Act (Newswire)  (Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009, HR 3534) was introduced last year by Representative Nick Rahall (D-WV) and does several things, including provide permanent and full funding for land and water conservation. Support for full allocation to the fund and using oil revenue to preserve natural areas, clean water, and access to outdoor recreation has grown in light of the recent Gulf oil spill, according to a new Zogby poll.

Community News

July 30: A Day of Prayer for the Gulf

Next Friday, July 30, communities of faith throughout the Gulf region will host a special day of prayer and reflection on the oil spill disaster, and we hope Jews across North America will join in solidarity. We encourage you to incorporate reflection and prayer on the Gulf oil spill disaster into your community’s Shabbat services on July 30 and 31. Here are a series of prayer resources to help. (RAC) (Canfei Nesharim)

Nashville Eco-Challenge

On August 1st the Nashville Jewish Community will be hosting a FREE event to kick off the Nashville Eco-Challenge. They will be working in partnership with the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign. Taking the Eco-Challenge involves making positives changes in your home and community.  Participants pledge to complete a personal checklist of six simple and effective ways to reduce their ecological footprint and conserve resources, such as signing up for the TVA In-Home Energy Evaluation (IHEE) program and always using reusable shopping bags at stores. The sponsoring organizations will be signing a pledge as well.

Place: Gordon Jewish Community Center

Date: Sunday, August 1, 2010

Time: 1-4 p.m.

Visit the Nashville Eco-Challenge website for more information.

This Week’s Crop

Yesterday was the beginning of the Jewish month of Av. This period, known as The Nine Days, is one of more intense mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem or the “Beit HaMikdash.” “As Av enters, we diminish our joy.” This statement from the Mishna manifests in many laws and customs observed during this time. Many abstain from playing music, buying clothes, taking pleasure trips, giving gifts and even performing normal hygiene practices and marital relations. It is a time for us to step back from material pleasures and mourn the loss of the place where our ancestors worshiped, witnessed and connected to God.  In this time of mourning the loss of the Temple, we are also mourning the loss of life, nature, and livelihoods due to the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Recently, an interfaith contingent of religious leaders from around the country met in New Orleans to personally witness the destruction and to offer prayers and to better understand  what is needed for our communities to help those in need. (Huffington Post)

This coming Friday, July 16th at 12 PM (EST) two of the leaders who attended the event, Rabbis David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Julie Schonfeld of the Conservative Movement’s Rabbinical Assembly, will be sharing their experience and helping us better understand the ongoing impacts of the oil disaster and what we can do as Jews to help. Please join us in this timely and important call. Here are some well written thoughts on the nine days ahead from other Jewish leaders.

Think: Read the Sermon for Shabbat Pinchas: A Present Tragedy by Rabbi Alexandra Wright, Senior Rabbi at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St. John’s Wood, London, England. (RAC Article)

Learn: In his article in Zeek online Jewish journal entitled Eicha for the Oil Spill: A Tisha B’Av for the Earth, Rabbi Arthur Waskow asks, “What can we do to prevent the disaster in the Gulf from ever being repeated-from becoming a model of disaster for all Earth?” And, “suggest(s) drawing on ancient midrash and our own good sense to see Tisha B’Av this summer as a framework for grief, vision, and especially for action on behalf of the sacred Temple of our day – the great round Earth.” (Zeek Online)

Donate: The Union for Reform Judaism and the Jewish Funds for Justice are collecting funds to support grass roots organizations working to recover and restore communities and ecosystems in the Gulf. Donate online or by check (instructions on the Union’s Disaster Relief page).

Updates from the Hill

Is a small cap a good cap? A climate bill being developed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) would impose carbon caps on electric utilities but would achieve far fewer emission reductions than more comprehensive proposals under consideration in the Senate. The bill would cut emissions by 2020 from regulated sources by 17 percent from 2005 levels and 42 percent by 2030. Utilities that emit more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent per year would be under the cap starting in 2012, and large manufacturers could opt-in to the program. The concept of a cap on carbon is imperative. However, COEJL would favor a broader societal carbon cap approach. The Bingaman draft is just one of several climate measures circulating in the Senate as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) prepares to assemble an energy and climate bill for floor debate this month.  (NY Times)

The coming four weeks will have the Senate quite busy with an ambitious legislative agenda. With one of the main priorities being energy legislation, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to meet with committee chairmen this week to prepare for a floor debate, with many options for how the chamber body will proceed with the limiting of greenhouse gas emissions. (NY Times)

Utilities are facing major decisions on energy sources due to EPA regulations and market forces. According to a new report authored by Navigant Consulting for Ceres, a Boston-based coalition of institutional investors and environmental groups, “The business landscape for electric utilities is shifting quickly,” due to the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 80 percent by 2050 and policies in many states are making it costly to build more fossil fuel-based electric generation facilities. Most utilities are beginning to look to natural gas and alternative energy options for electric generation. Though gas burns cleaner and more efficiently than other fossil fuels, extraction of natural gas presents other serious environmental considerations. Coal, according to this report, also faces an array of challenges. New EPA regulations may force older coal-fired power plants off line. The Navigant report cites a March 2010 study by Bernstein Research, stating the EPA regulations will likely force the retirement of about one-quarter of U.S. coal-burning generation by 2015. (NY Times)

The Slick

BP puts a new cap on the well. After days of preparation and numerous problems, BP’s effort to replace the leaking cap that has been collecting oil for the last few weeks with a new sealing cap appears to be successful. On Monday evening, a new cap was installed, raising hopes that BP will finally be able to either seal off the well entirely, ending the leak, or at least contain all of the oil flow over the next few weeks by sending it upward to several surface collection vessels.  (Newsweek)

The House Natural Resources Committee voted 27-21 to pass legislation that will provide permanent and full funding for land conservation including the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009 (CLEAR Act, HR 3534), would ensure that the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), the federal government’s principal means of buying land, would receive its full $900 million annually. Amendments offered to weaken and strike the LWCF amendment were defeated. (Newswire)

Just after the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the federal government’s appeal, Ken Salazar  issued a new moratorium on Monday. The new moratorium will last through Nov. 30 and unlike the previous moratorium, which applied to waters of more than 500 feet, the new one applies to any floating facility with drilling activities. (NPR.org)

Community News:

Hear National Rabbis Report Back from the Gulf. Please join us Friday, July 16th at 12 PM EST (9AM PST) for a call with Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Julie Schonfeld of the Conservative Movement’s Rabbinical Assembly about their recent trip to the Gulf of Mexico region. They will share their experience and help us better understand the ongoing impacts of the oil disaster and what we can do as Jews to help.

Please RSVP to dmarks@coejl.org
Please call in as follows:
Dial Conference Telephone Number: (507) 726-4200
Use Participant Passcode: 160219#

An Interfaith Petition for the Gulf. The Religious Action Center has created an interfaith petition written to President Obama to express the profound concern about the ongoing oil spill disaster in the Gulf. The letter calls on President Obama to focus on several points of action. Go here to read and sign your name to the letter.  (RAC Letter )

Shalom Center Tisha B’Av Vigil. The Shalom Center is organizing an interfaith gathering for lament, hope, and environmental action in Washington D.C. on July 20th. For more details, click here.

Donate to COEJL
The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life’s mission is to deepen the Jewish community’s commitment to stewardship and protecting the Earth through outreach, activism and learning. The Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign is focused on conserving energy, increasing sustainability, and advocating that officials implement policies to increase energy efficiency and security. Check out our new blog, To Till and to Tend and Facebook® page, “COEJL Talks”. We’re out there advocating an urgent response by Jews on energy every day. As we are now in Day 85 of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, we can’t afford to wait to be efficiently energized. Donate to COEJL today. Together we’ll succeed.

Get Efficiently Energized. Sign the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign Pledge today!
www.coejl.org/covenant

During these Three Weeks preceding Tisha B’Av, we consider the collective evil that dwelled within the whole of the Jewish people at the time of the Temples, and the wreckage it engendered. Putting ourselves in the shoes of our ancestors, we ponder our responsibility to stop it from happening again. Relating this important part of our history to modern times calls us to consider the morality of our own actions today, specifically our use of energy and how our dollars end up in the hands of those that oppress the marginalized and seek the destruction of the Jewish people and state.

We know that short-sightedness and ignorance about energy consumption in an oil-centric economy have contributed to the destruction in the Gulf region, the local economy and the environment, while at the same time fueling the fires of rogue states and the terrorist organizations they support. Yet, we still rely on oil to provide more than one third of our energy, with the U.S. consuming more than 30% of the total global oil supply. The connection between oil tyranny and the Gulf oil disaster lies within us as consumers of that oil. What then can we do personally and communally as Jews to stop environmental and human tragedies from recurring?

As we contemplate such questions over these Three Weeks and each day, we must keep the interests of future generations and our security in mind. We must seek alternative methods of producing energy, be more energy efficient in our daily lives, and take actions today that will allow us to achieve energy security while preventing further destruction of our environment. The Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign provides us a way to personally make a difference and leave a healthy energy legacy for generations to come. We urge readers to join us in committing to energy efficiency today by signing the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign Pledge: www.coejl.org/covenant.

The Wildlife Report
One of the greatest tragedies of this extraordinary oil disaster is the vast effects it has had and will have on the wildlife in the Gulf region. Hundreds of birds, turtles, dolphins, whales and countless fish have been affected.  Here is a sampling from several of the reports the surveillance teams have sent back to National Wildlife Federation and updated on July 6th, 2010.

Fish and Wildlife Service Missed the Boat
In 2007, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal agency with the primary directive to protect endangered species, signed off on the Minerals Management Service’s conclusion that deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico posed no significant risk to wildlife because the chances that deepwater drilling would result in a spill that would pollute critical habitat was “low.” Deborah Fuller, the endangered species program coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service’s office in Lafayette, La., led the team that reviewed the minerals service’s biological assessment. “We all know an oil spill is catastrophic, but what is the likelihood it will happen?” Ms. Fuller asked. She added, “Obviously, we are going to relook at all these numbers for upcoming consultations.” The assessment considered only the risks to wildlife based on spills of 1,000 to 15,000 barrels, as opposed to the 3.5 to 4 million barrels to date and counting in today’s oil disaster.

27,000 Gulf Oil Wells Out-of-Sight, Out-of-Mind
Not only did the Fish and Wildlife Service and Minerals Management Service get in wrong, they also ignored the facts. More than 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells sit quietly corked up in the hard rock beneath the Gulf of Mexico, an environmental time bomb that has been ignored for decades. No one — not industry, not government — is checking to see if they are leaking, an Associated Press investigation shows. Yet, similar wells on land and sea are known to need routine repairs so often that the terms “replugging” and “reabandonment” have been coined to describe the work.

EPA Rule Would Cut Power Plant Pollution
The EPA is finally putting pressure on Congress to act on energy/global climate legislation by proposing pollution-reducing rules that would affect power plants in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Responding to a 2008 decision by the US Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., the EPA proposed sharp cuts in emissions from some 900 coal, natural gas, and oil-burning power plants. By 2014, combined with other EPA and state level actions, the rule would reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by 71 percent over 2005 levels and nitrogen oxide emission levels would drop by 52 percent to bring the federal government into compliance with the court ruling that overturned the Bush administration’s national Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). This could force Congress to act now before the rules go into effect and before mid-term elections to avoid political ramifications.

EPA and Coast Guard Set the Rules
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Coast Guard issued a directive to BP on how it should manage recovered oil and any other waste from cleanup operations. BP will be held accountable for approved waste management plans and its efforts will be overseen by the EPA.  Waste sampling will continue to be conducted to ensure that waste is being properly handled and in compliance with EPA standards.

Oil Coming Ashore? The Answer is Blowing In The Wind
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has modeled historical wind and ocean currents to project the likelihood that surface oil from the spill will impact US coastline.   The report states, “Whether or not oil comes ashore will depend upon wind and ocean currents at the time. In addition to these and other natural factors, booms and other countermeasures could be used to mitigate the actual coastal contact.”  The model shows where oil may be likely to travel, thereby giving coastal states and communities information about potential threats of shoreline impacts. According to the report’s modeling, the oil is more likely to move east than west and the coastlines most like to be impacted extend from the Mississippi River Delta to the western panhandle of Florida where there has been and will likely continue to be oil impacts.

More Updates on the Gulf Oil Disaster from the White House
www.whitehouse.gov/blog/issues/Deepwater-BP-Oil-Spill

In the Jewish Week: Jewish Organizations Countering Oil Dependency

Sybil Sanchez wrote a counter Op-Ed piece in the Jewish Week in response to their Editor’s column from June 25, “A Way Out Of Our Oil Dependency” in which Gal Luft, executive director of the Washington-based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security says, “The Jewish world’s involvement has been “quite disappointing” because it has done little to advance the issue beyond slogans and ads.” Sybil Sanchez expressed the position of COEJL and other Jewish organizations on our collective environmental mission and disputed any lack of momentum or interest from the Jewish community on the subject.

Upcoming Events

Shalom Center Tisha B’Av Vigil

In his article in Zeek online Jewish journal entitled Eicha for the Oil Spill: A Tisha B’Av for the Earth, Rabbi Arthur Waskow asks, “What can we do to prevent the disaster in the Gulf from ever being repeated-from becoming a model of disaster for all Earth?” And, “suggest(s) drawing on ancient midrash and our own good sense to see Tisha B’Av this summer as a framework for grief, vision, and especially for action on behalf of the sacred Temple of our day – the great round Earth.”

The Shalom Center is organizing an interfaith gathering for lament, hope, and environmental action in Washington D.C. on July 20th more details, click here.

Community News

Calling Energy Activists and Communities!!
Let us know what you’re doing so we can feature you! Community Relations Councils and partner organizations now have an opportunity to feature their environmental and energy work through COEJL’s Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign. We would love to share what you are doing with the broader Jewish community through our weekly. Send an email to David Marks, COEJL Program Director at: dmarks@coejl.org with news about your community. Check out the new COEJL Talks fan page on Facebook®. We look forward to keeping working with you to build our shared network of energy activists.

This Week’s Feature Community: St. Louis Jewish Community Relations Council Jewish Environmental Initiative

This week we are featuring the St. Louis Jewish Community Relations Council, participants in the Jewish Energy Covenant campaign, and their Jewish Environmental Initiative (JEI). They have a number of green programs in place including a teen group who speaks to area congregations and other Jewish groups about how to “go green” They also recently started a column called “Planet Jewish” in the online Jewish e-zine, “Jewish in St. Louis,” to publicize ways the entire Jewish community can live a more eco-friendly life. Check it out here.

For more information about what the St. Louis Jewish Community Relations Council is doing about green issues and energy, contact Gail Wechsler, Director of Domestic Issues/Social Justice at: 314-442-3894 and gwechsler@jcrcstl.org