Our Work Together Has Just Begun
Top of the Crop
This has been a difficult week, but it is reflective of an even harder year and decade. Thirty representatives who supported the climate bill were voted out of office. The fact that analysts are debating how the failed climate bill impacted this election was a result of the failed climate bill makes one thing clear – our work together has just begun.
In our Governance Committee meeting this week, we discussed what the elections results might mean in terms of climate policy and how the big picture affects COEJL’s Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign. We returned to our core mission – Protecting Creation, Generation to Generation and raising energy awareness in Jewish life today.
Our need for energy security and independence tells us we can’t afford despair in the face of challenge. We must renew our own Jewish Energy so we can advocate for renewable energy!
Here’s how you can build a more hopeful world with COEJL.
- Support the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Join us in this important campaign to urge Congress to preserve our natural resources upon their return on November 15th.
- Protect the Clean Air Act.While comprehensive legislation on energy and climate policy might be stalled, greenhouse gases are still being emitted. That’s why we must support the EPA in doing its job now.
- Sign the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign pledge. While watering the grass, we must also grow the trees. Please join us for the long haul today.
- Make a contribution now. Like a tree, COEJL also needs nurturing. Your support will help us grow tall and strong together.
Sustainably yours,
Sybil Sanchez
Director
From the Hill
Climate Watch Post Elections. Prop 23 dies at the hands of the voters of California on Tuesday, but Prop 26, dubbed the “Prop 23’s evil twin” passed silently in the night. Prop 26 could undermine how cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are implemented by changing the definition of environmental fees.
How Conservation fared on Election Day. Voters across the country yesterday overwhelmingly approved a variety of measures for land conservation, generating a total of $2 billion, according to results tallied by the Trust for Public Land, a national conservation organization. There were 35 proposals for conservation funding, and 28 passed, for an approval rate of 80%. We hope that Congress follows the lead of the voters and approves full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund this year.
Community News and Views
COEJL Director On Judaism as a Green Religion – Philadelphia Area This Weekend. On Friday, November 5th, at 7:30PM, COEJL Director, Sybil Sanchez will speak at B’nai Jacob synagogue in Phoenixville. On Shabbat morning, November 6th, at 12:15 PM Ms. Sanchez will also speak at Beth Sholom Congregation, Elkins Park. She will discuss the topic of Jewish environmentalism today, energy awareness in the Jewish community, and how Judaism is inherently a green religion.
Save the date for COEJL meeting in Washington D.C. on March 9th, 2011.
NRPE Names New Executive Director. COEJL’s major partner the National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE) has named Matthew Anderson-Stembridge as its new executive director. Anderson-Stembridge has previously held posts with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the National Council of Churches and Faith in the City. The NRPE is comprised of four major religious organizations and alliances, including COEJL, which together serve tens of millions of Americans.
Several Jewish Greening Programs Accepting Applications. The Jewish Greening Fellowship and Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center are launching their second year of the Jewish Greening Fellowship, which trains staff at Jewish summer camps, synagogues and JCCs in the New York area. COEJL is represented on the fellowship’s board. For more information, click here. In a similar effort for teens, the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan, ICCY, and Hazon are accepting applications for the Teen Greening Fellowship. For more information contact Yael at 646-505-4413 or gavronsky@jccmannhattan.org. Funding for this program has been provided by UJA Federation of New York.
Jewish National Fund and Greenfaith present: Judaism and the Environment Webinar Series starting Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010. Judaism and the Environment is a unique series of webinars designed to educate and equip Jewish leaders for environmental action. Join JNF for a unique and practical educational experience that will strengthen the Jewish community’s environmental leadership, help synagogues attract new, younger members, and reduce synagogue and other community institutions’ operating expenses. Registration is available at http://www.jnf.org/greenfaith. For more information, contact JNF at: education@jnf.org or 212-879-9305 x263.
After the Spill: Interfaith Community Launches Long-Term Gulf Restoration Project. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism has launched After the Spill: Religious Communities Restoring the Gulf, an online project of the Religious Action Center, COEJL, and over 15 other Jewish and Christian partner groups and faith communities in the Gulf and across North America committed to long-term Gulf restoration following the BP oil spill disaster. Go to Afterthespill.com and check out this recent Huffington Post article by RAC Sustainability Program Coordinator Rachel Cohen for more information.
