To Till and to Tend

With all the headaches and pain, the loss of life and livelihoods, and the sheer destruction over the last few months due to environmental disasters, one may actually begin to glean some hope that perhaps now the time has come for us all as Jews and citizens of the world to awaken and realize our immediate actions are needed to improve the state of the global environment, not only for ourselves, but for our future generations. We must ask ourselves, “What kind of future do we want for our children and grandchildren?” We must also ask ourselves,“What kind of world do we want to live in now?” This year even before we hear the shofar blasts, there is a ringing down from the heavens that clearly calls to us to change our ways of living this minute: disastrous oil spills, gigantic deadly floods, tremendous forest fires, remarkable loss of glaciers and habitat, widespread droughts, and the highest global temperatures ever in planetary history are shouting out their voices. This should be our wake up call. This should be the time we, the Jewish people – the chosen people – seek Tikkun Olam, the correction of the world, for ourselves and for our children.

The coming High Holy Days provide time for reflection of who we are, what we have done in our lives, how we treat others, and a means to seek forgiveness for our actions. Perhaps this year we will also consider our impact on the well-being of the planet in our personal deliberations to be forgiven and inscribed in the book of life. Perhaps this year we will also consider how we will provide a safe, healthy environment for our families and the future generations. Perhaps this year the shofar will indeed wake us from our slumber so that we, the Jewish people, may embody the task given us by God to be the light unto nations.

Let’s Start Here

Rabbis Across Spectrum Energize Communities Environmentally for High Holy Days. On August 9th, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) convened a national conversation involving rabbis from five Jewish religious streams – Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Reform, and Renewal – discussing Jewish environmental resources and sermon materials for the High Holy Days and parshat Noach. COEJL has created a collection of resources from the call for distribution to all rabbinic leaders and communities as part of its broader Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign (www.coejl.org/covenant).  The full resource sheet is available at: http://www.coejl.org/TISHREI_5771.pdf. Go to www.coejl.org for more information and resources.

‘Big-Picture Eco-Judiasm’ – or, ‘What I Did on (One Day of) Summer Vacation’
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb delivered a beautiful and uplifting dvar at a recent COEJL Governance meeting, on August 11th, 2010. Below is an excerpt. Click here for the full text.

“Sunrise is always a ‘spiritual’ moment.  It is somewhat richer since I have the liturgical language of the “Yotzeir Ohr” blessing for it – but “wow,” or for that matter awed silence, also [does] the trick quite well.  (It happens that even my experience of “wow” is deeper since I have A.J. Heschel’s language of “radical amazement” for it, though the experience itself remains more powerful even than his rich description of it).  Many folks in my orbit know “Yotzeir Ohr”; many don’t.  Yet all know “wow,” all know stunned stillness.  In our Jewish environmental and educational efforts, we must do more to touch the folks who don’t know from Yotzeir or from Heschel, but do know from some aspect of our wide-ranging Jewish civilization”…

“…What we too often fall back on — a few texts shared around an indoor table with folks from the vaunted minority which is already plugged into some facet of our work and our network – may be helpful and even uplifting, but it won’t break us out.  Our recent past has been spent in a relative cloister, mostly within established institution, reaching “institutionalized Jews.”  But the whole Jewish world (kol ha’olam kulo, the whole world, actually) needs what we of COEJL have to offer.  And we are uniquely positioned to bring it not only to the decision-makers within the organized Jewish community, but also to the many influential Jews outside of the ‘four cubits’ of the agency world.”

Help for Pakistan
One fifth of the entire land mass of Pakistan is  under water, which according to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, (UN.org) comprises at least 160,000 square kilometers and is an area larger than more than half the countries of the world. According to government estimates, 15.4 million people are affected, with at least 6 million in need of food, shelter, clean water and health care and 1,600 confirmed dead. Secretary-General Ban has stated, “That is more than the entire population hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Kashmir earthquake, Cyclone Nargis and the earthquake in Haiti, combined.” Climatologists are now openly saying that this devastating flooding is likely the worst natural disaster to date attributable to climate change. Express your Jewish voice on climate change by joining COEJL’s Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign www.coejl.org/covenant , and by contributing relief support for Pakistani flood victims via the websites of the American Jewish World Service and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

BP Gulf Disaster – Day 128
Debate continues over a controversial government report regarding the long-term effects of the BP Gulf Disaster and how much oil is still in the ocean.  The report claimed that 3/4 of the oil “evaporated or dissolved” but other scientific research teams claim that the numbers were greatly exaggerated.  (NY Times) Just last week, Representative Ed Markey (MA) held a rare August recess hearing about the report.  Bill Lehr, a top NOAA scientist, said the report was not peer-reviewed and that in fact about 3/4 of the oil is still in the environment. (Mother Jones) Charles Hopkinson, Director of Georgia Sea Grant, said “One major misconception is that oil (that) has dissolved into water is gone, and therefore, harmless.  The oil is still out there, and it will likely take years to completely degrade.” (Politico) An oceanographer from Florida State University used satellite imagery to measure oil slicks and found that only 10% of the oil has actually been removed from the ocean. (Wall Street Journal) Meanwhile, new evidence shows that a 22-mile-long (35-kilometer-long), 650-foot-high (200-meter-high) pocket of oil has persisted for months at depths of 3,600 feet (1,100 meters), according to a team from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts. (National Geographic) For the latest on the BP claims process, click here: MSNBC

1Sky Open Policy Letter
On August 6th, “The Skywriter” 1Sky.org’s blog posted “An open letter to all people and organizations working to combat global warming.” It is an open policy letter that explains where we are as an environmental movement, why we have not been able to succeed according to our goals thus far, and what we need to do to move forward towards success. http://www.1sky.org/openletter

Green Israel Summit 4: Green Renewal Shabbat!
(Green Zionism)

When: Shabbat Noach, Oct. 8 — 10, 2010
Where: Eden Village Camp, just north of New York City
Who: Young Jewish environmentalists, ages 18-40 *

As we read about the Biblical flood and the renewal of the earth on Shabbat Noach, we will learn how to renew ourselves and the environment. Celebrate Shabbat Noach with stories, lectures and discussions in a welcoming, pluralistic setting. Explore the Jewish back-to-the-land movement and what Zionism means today. Learn about energy conservation, population growth, suburban sprawl, Negev preservation, and environmentalism during a time of war. Meet other young Jewish environmentalists from across North America. Green Israel Summit (GIS) 4 is run by the Green Zionist Alliance and co-sponsored by COEJL, the American Zionist Movement and Hazon.

Hazon Bike Ride
Hazon is hosting the 10th Annual New York Jewish Environmental Bike Ride on Labor Day Weekend, September 3-6, 2010. The NY Ride Jewish Environmental Bike Ride is more than a ride on a bike – it is a four-day event that includes a Shabbat retreat at Workmen’s Circle’s Camp Kinder Ring, a trip to Camp Eden Village, the new Jewish environmental summer camp is also included. More importantly, the event raises money for cutting-edge Jewish environmental projects in the United States and Israel.  Learn more here. (Hazon)

Arava Institute for Environmental Studies “With Earth and Each Other: A Virtual Rally for a Better Middle East,”
On November 14th, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies based at Kibbutz Ketura (www.arava.org) is hosting “With Earth and Each Other: A Virtual Rally for a Better Middle East,” with top speakers and performers, celebrating AIES’s groundbreaking work and its larger commitment to both ecological and communal coexistence.  Visit  www.withearthandeachother.org for more information.

Energizing the Jewish community at large to speak out and act on behalf of the environment is something we work towards every day at COEJL. Perhaps one way to address this is to look at the way our culture thinks about speaking out for the environment and how we can make a difference as Jews. For example, have you ever seen someone throw a cigarette butt on the ground and think, “I didn’t know the world was your ash tray!”? Or maybe you witnessed someone dumping anti-freeze into the sewer drain on the street or even leaving an old TV along the side of the road. Didn’t that make you angry? Then why didn’t you do or say anything about it? Most of us don’t for a variety of reasons, but mostly because it is not culturally acceptable to do so. But that needs to change. We need to speak up for the environment and make it culturally acceptable to let someone else know what they are doing is not right, just as it is acceptable to ask someone not to smoke in a public place. In a recent OpEd piece in the Baltimore Sun, COEJL friend and leader at The Sisterhood 50, Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, speaks up for the environment and tells us why we all need to do the same, for the planet, for our health, and for the sake of future generations. Read her piece here and don’t be afraid to speak up for the environment next time.

Pakistan – A Sad New Benchmark in Climate-Related Disasters

U.N. officials and climatologists are now openly saying that the devastating flooding that has swamped one-fifth of Pakistan and left millions homeless is likely the worst natural disaster to date attributable to climate change. Estimates put the number of displaced people at somewhere between 15 million and 20 million, and the government believes about 1,600 are confirmed dead. 6.5 million people need food, drinking water and medicine. If ever there was a wakeup call for the Jewish community and the world to speak up and act on climate change, this is it. (NY Times)

States Push Their Own Cap-And-Trade Due to EPA Pressures and Congressional Inaction.

States in the west and the northeast are moving ahead with their own cap-and-trade initiatives reacting to the EPA’s regulatory plans and lacking leadership from congress. EPA plans to tighten restrictions on interstate air pollution from power plants under its planned “transport” rule, and its regulation on greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired generators, based on its endangerment finding on the threat posed by man-made greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. (Reuters)

Blueprints for the Western Climate Initiative, the planned cap-and-trade system in the west, (http://www.westernclimateinitiative.org/) were released on July 27th just before Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s legislation to set up a federal greenhouse gas emissions trading system was delayed indefinitely. The WCI’s blueprint was crafted out of an initial set of recommendations published in 2008 and refined with the input of stakeholders, advisers and experts. Like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) (http://www.rggi.org/home) in the northeastern U.S., the WCI was conceived by a handful of state governors to develop a common greenhouse gas reduction strategy in the absence of comprehensive federal legislation to address climate change. The WCI includes: Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Utah, as well as four Canadian provinces. By joining the WCI, the states and provinces agreed to collectively reduce their greenhouse gas emissions 15 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020. The central feature of the WCI is a cap-and-trade system, which would cover 90 per cent of the region’s economic sectors when fully implemented in 2015.

Democrats Under Pressure to Move on Oil Spill Regulation While Relief Well Drilling is Suspended

Lingering concern among voters about BP’s massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico means that efforts to tighten regulations on offshore drilling will continue in the U.S. Congress. This has put pressure on the Democrats to get something done soon, where waiting until after the elections could make for an uphill battle considering their fears of losing valuable congressional seats. (Reuters)  Democrats who control Congress have made clear that when members return in mid-September from a long recess, an oil spill response bill will be high on their agenda. Some 69 percent of Americans said they wanted stricter regulations on oil drilling, according to a poll for the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press conducted July 29-August 1 (Pew Research), two weeks after BP said it stopped the massive oil well leak.   Retired Coast Guard admiral Thad Allen issued a directive Saturday for BP to suspend drilling of a relief well (USA Today) to conduct more pressure testing on the blown out well in the Gulf of Mexico. “We’ve asked them to give us options to control the pressure,” Allen told reporters during a briefing. “We will kill the well. It is just a matter of finishing up tests so we understand the conditions moving forward.” For another take on oil spill accountability and where some of the funds from oil revenues can go, you can read about the Land Water Conservation Fund (Flathead Beacon), which uses profits from oil companies to protect natural resources.

Rabbis Across Spectrum Energize Communities Environmentally for High Holy Days. On August 9th, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) convened a national conversation involving rabbis from five Jewish religious streams – Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Reform, and Renewal – discussing Jewish environmental resources and sermon materials for the High Holy Days and parshat Noach. COEJL has created a collection of resources from the call for distribution to all rabbinic leaders and communities as part of its broader Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign (www.coejl.org/covenant).  The full resource sheet is available at: http://www.coejl.org/TISHREI_5771.pdf. Go to www.coejl.org for more information and resources.

1Sky Open Policy Letter

On August 6th, “The Skywriter” 1Sky.org’s blog posted “An open letter to all people and organizations working to combat global warming.” It is an open policy letter that explains where we are as an environmental movement, why we have not been able to succeed according to our goals thus far, and what we need to do to move forward towards success. http://www.1sky.org/openletter

Green Israel Summit 4: Green Renewal Shabbat! (Greenzionism)

When: Shabbat Noach, Oct. 8 — 10, 2010
Where: Eden Village Camp, just north of New York City
Who: Young Jewish environmentalists, ages 18-40 *

As we read about the Biblical flood and the renewal of the earth on Shabbat Noach, we will learn how to renew ourselves and the environment. Celebrate Shabbat Noach with stories, lectures and discussions in a welcoming, pluralistic setting. Explore the Jewish back-to-the-land movement and what Zionism means today. Learn about energy conservation, population growth, suburban sprawl, Negev preservation, and environmentalism during a time of war. Meet other young Jewish environmentalists from across North America. Green Israel Summit (GIS) 4 is run by the Green Zionist Alliance and co-sponsored by COEJL, the American Zionist Movement and Hazon.

Hazon Bike Ride

Hazon is hosting the 10th Annual New York Jewish Environmental Bike Ride on Labor Day Weekend, September 3-6, 2010. The NY Ride Jewish Environmental Bike Ride is more than a ride on a bike – it is a four-day event that includes a Shabbat retreat at Workmen’s Circle’s Camp Kinder Ring, a trip to Camp Eden Village, the new Jewish environmental summer camp is also included. More importantly, the event raises money for cutting-edge Jewish environmental projects in the United States and Israel.  Learn more here.

Arava Institute for Environmental Studies “With Earth and Each Other: A Virtual Rally for a Better Middle East,”

On November 14th, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies based at Kibbutz Ketura (www.arava.org) is hosting “With Earth and Each Other: A Virtual Rally for a Better Middle East,” with top speakers and performers, celebrating AIES’s groundbreaking work and its larger commitment to both ecological and communal coexistence.  Visit  www.withearthandeachother.org for more information.

This Week’s Crop

As the dog days of summer wind down, Elul unfolds and Tishrei is on our minds and our desktops, we begin thinking ahead for useful ways in which we can connect our communities to the liturgy and themes of the upcoming holidays, and to the real world that we all inhabit. In our effort to energize all of Jewish life to be more meaningful, we offer you a full set of green-tinged resources for the upcoming Yamim Noraim, Sukkot, and Parashat Noach at www.coejl.org/TISHREI_5771.pdf.  There you’ll find thoughts, texts, sermon-starters, chomrei lidrush and potential programs, edited for clarity and utility.  These resources were largely generated on COEJl’s Rabbinic Conference Call on August 9^th, 2010 where the ideas and resources were put forward in a glorious conversation.  Below is a quick sampler of some of the themes and ideas in the full document.

• Rosh Hashanah: Hayom Harat Olam connoting both celebration and judgment vis-à-vis Earth; focusing on memory, in our lives and regarding the Gulf of Mexico tragedy, on Yom HaZikaron
• Yamim Noraim generally: This is the season when it’s OK to instill fear in our folks, regarding what we’re doing to ourselves and to Creation; consider too Israel and the environment
• Yom Kippur: Mourning what we’ve done to our environment; outdoors for the Avodah service
• Sukkot / Shmeni Atzeret: Centrality of water themes in the chag & the new “Tikkun Mayim”; the arba minim as a reminder that we must relate to nature as if it’s truly ours to steward
• Shabbat Beresheet: A drash to help folks reduce their footprint without feeling guilty
• Shabbat Noach (on 1 Heshvan): Numerous Climate Healing Shabbat resources that weekend; overlap with secular 10/10/10 efforts; ensuring that seedtime and harvest continue b’zmanam
• General Resources and Considerations: COEJL’s covenant campaign; “To Till and to Tend” blog entries solicited; timely legislative update; other great groups and their excellent work

Listen to the Call (COEJl’s Rabbinic Conference Call on August 9^th, 2010) Considering how the oil spill and Gulf tragedy have dominated headlines for a full season now, yet comprehensive energy and climate policy remain an ongoing battle on Capitol Hill, what Jewish perspectives can we bring to energy issues during this important time on our calendar? Listen to the full rabbinic conversation here.

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Word on the Hill

Senate Recess – Time to Regroup on Comprehensive Energy/Climate Policy.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced last week that a vote on oil spill legislation will be delayed until September. Advocates were left concerned about whether any legislation related to comprehensive energy and climate legislation will be passed in the fall. The New York Times quoted some as comparing “the movement’s plight to that of Charlie Brown, who kept kicking for the football only to have Lucy pull it out at the last moment.” Environmentalists are regrouping their efforts over the summer, reviewing their positive accomplishments but mainly focused on key lessons learned as they plot for in seeking to make progress in the fall. Carol Browner, White House Director on Energy and Climate Change Policy, told Meet the Press (MSNBC) that, “We will continue to see if we can get legislation.  We passed it in the House.  We’ll continue to work in the Senate.” She also said that bill could “potentially” be approved after the November mid-term election. Click here for what COEJL had to say about the bill when it was introduced at the end of July before it was deferred.  Meanwhile, on the international front, talks to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions through a new international treaty seem to be stalled (Washington Post) despite the growing impact of climate change.

The Slick

Final kill of Gulf oil spill set to be completed. Nearly four months after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, the struggle against the BP oil spill is nearly complete. On Monday administration officials announced that sometime late this week the teams drilling the relief well should be in position to penetrate the original Macondo well (Christian Science Monitor) shaft and seal it with cement.

Gulf of Mexico Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council. The JCPA along with a large contingent of 106 other national and international Jewish and non-Jewish organizations co-signed a letter to congress urging the formation of a Gulf of Mexico Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council. “Such a Council is necessary to effectively address the ongoing environmental, economic, health, and social impacts of the Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster, ensure the Gulf is protected from future accidents, and make certain that the Gulf can continue to play its vital role in meeting the energy needs of our nation.” Read the full letter here. (http://www.coejl.org/GOMRCAC_letter_0728.pdf)

Community News and Views

Hazon Bike Ride

Hazon is hosting the 10th Annual New York Jewish Environmental Bike Ride on Labor Day Weekend, September 3-6, 2010. The NY Ride Jewish Environmental Bike Ride is more than a ride on a bike – it is a four-day event that includes a Shabbat retreat at Workmen’s Circle’s Camp Kinder Ring, a trip to Camp Eden Village, the new Jewish environmental summer camp is also included. More importantly, the event raises money for cutting-edge Jewish environmental projects in the United States and Israel.  Learn more here. (http://hazon.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=327003)

This Week’s Crop

This week, BP finally corked up the leaking well that has plagued the Gulf of Mexico for months with cement and the oil leak seems to have come to an end. But it may not be over yet.  Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, has ordered BP to finish the job with a bottom kill just for safe keeping. Allen, the head of the government’s oil spill response, said Friday that BP tentatively expects to intercept the ruptured well through the closer of two relief wells around August 14 or 15.  (CNN) But what would seemingly be a sign of better days to come has not made everyone as thrilled as one might assume. BP has begun to pull out and cut back on the amount of workers responding to the spill and locals are worried the government will do the same. The people in the areas most hurt by the spill are asking the government, and BP alike, to stay on for the long haul to make sure the region’s economy and environment are brought back to life again.  There fears were exacerbated yesterday, when White House energy adviser Carol Browner said that a new assessment found that about 75 percent of the oil had either been captured, burned off, evaporated or broken down in the Gulf of Mexico. That leaves about 53.5 million gallons in the gulf. The amount remaining – or washed up on the shore – still is more than four times the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill. Its full effects, and that of the dispersant chemicals used during clean up efforts as well as the leaked methane gas from the spill, will not be known for decades to come.

Democrats out of “time and energy.”: Senate Democrats ran out of time in their bid to pass a narrow energy and oil-spill response package this summer. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) opted to hold off on the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Accountability Act, to allow ample floor time for the confirmation of now confirmed Supreme Court Justice Elana Kagan. The legislation is now set for revisiting in the fall after the mid-term elections. (NY Times)

Kerry’s Alternative: Having failed to advance a sweeping climate and energy bill this year, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is pushing a narrower energy package that would extend tax incentives for renewable energy, natural gas vehicles and energy efficiency. (Environment News) “While we continue the fight to bring comprehensive energy legislation to the floor of the United States Senate, it’s essential that we take action to start moving in the right direction,” Kerry said in a statement. “Providing incentives for clean energy production will drive our economy forward and take us one step closer to reducing our carbon emissions and ending our dependence on foreign oil.” Kerry’s bill would offer tax incentives for energy-efficient homes and businesses, natural gas heavy vehicles, bio-diesel, renewable diesel and energy appliances manufactured in the United States. It would also provide an additional $3.5 billion for renewable energy bonds and extend research and development tax credits retroactively for 2010 through 2012. Kerry may try to add the measure to a scaled-back oil spill response bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he plans to bring to the floor when the Senate returns in September from its month-long recess.

The Slick

Gulf Coast residents may get a citizen’s oversight council to oversee the oil industry. The Senate’s Securing Health for Ocean Resources and Environment Act mandating such a committee (Wall Street Journal) was marked up for floor debate this week, in a move to create the same kind of local community oversight that was established in Alaska’s Prince William Sound following the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill. This provision to set up Regional Citizens Advisory Councils along both the Gulf Coast and Alaska’s Arctic coast is sponsored by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D., W.Va.) It would mandate that the councils—which give communities the power to question drilling and production activities—be set up with funding from the industry, as happened when councils in Prince William Sound and Alaska’s Cook Inlet were established 20 years ago.

Community News and Views

Rabbis Converge on Green Resources for Upcoming Holidays: August 9th, 2010 COEJL will host a conversation  involving rabbis from five Jewish religious streams – Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Reform, and Renewal – discussing Jewish environmental resources and sermon materials for the High Holy Days and shortly thereafter for parshat Noach.  Considering how the oil spill and Gulf tragedy have dominated headlines for a full season now, yet comprehensive energy and climate policy remain an ongoing battle on Capitol Hill, what Jewish perspectives can we bring to energy issues during this important time on our calendar? Rabbis from around the country are encouraged to join us as we share ideas, success stories and experiences as well as to elicit input as to how COEJL can help.   The call will be chaired by COEJL Governance Committee member Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation. Rabbis planning to participate in the call should RSVP by emailing COEJL’s Program Director, David L. Marks at: dmarks@coejl.org.   Texts and resources will be shared both during and after next Tuesday’s call.