To Till and to Tend

This week, hundreds of world leaders gather in Poznan, Poland to discuss the ongoing global response to the imminent threat of climate change at the UN Climate Change Conference.  The meeting will set the stage for next year’s Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, where the successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol will be drafted. Poznan presents yet another critical opportunity for the U.S. to step up to the plate on climate issues and make amends for our failure to take a meaningful role in past international negotiations. As a global superpower and the historic leader in CO2 emissions, we have responsibility to come to the table prepared to act.

The good news is that Senator Kerry (D-MA), incoming Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will lead the U.S. delegation to Poznan, joined by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and others. Kerry’s decision to make the trek to Poland is critical because the Foreign Relations Committee will be the first to pour over any international treaties that come out of Copenhagen. As Kerry and others outside the Committees that typically address environment issues (Energy and Commerce in the House, Environment and Public Works in the Senate) become active on climate and energy, the opportunity expands for robust debate in Washington, and U.S. leadership on this issue.

Less encouraging is the decision of the Obama transition team not to send anyone to Poland, despite repeated promises to make this a priority issue when the President-elect takes office in January. Disappointing to me, on a personal level, is the lack of Jewish presence at the Conference; while several Christian denominations and other faith groups sent representatives to monitor the negotiations and hold faith events on climate, there is no formal Jewish participation in the event. The Jewish voice on climate is steadily becoming louder and more articulate but we as a community, like our nation as a whole, are still far from leaders on this issue.

While no new treaties are expected to emerge by the time the conference closes next week, Poznan is a critical step along the path to global action to confront the climate crisis. Without serious U.S. engagement and leadership, the possibilities for a meaningful global response to climate change are severely limited. And without participating in these conferences, our Jewish voice on this issue will be dampened as well.  Politicians and faith leaders alike deserve praise for braving the cold and making the trip, and leaders who are not participating need to hear from their constituents (read: all of us!), urging them to keep climate change in the forefront.

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.

After more than two decades as a vegetarian, I scarcely think about meat. We have a kosher home and I do most of the cooking. My husband (to his great regret) is a “vegetarian by marriage.” But last week, he kindly offered to cook dinner. To my dismay, my four-year old loved Daddy’s grilled chicken breasts. Gone was the child we typically cajole to eat two bites of his veggie burger or tofu curry. 

He paused from eating only long enough to query, “Mommy, where does chicken come from?”

“Where do you think chicken comes from, dear?”

My son paused for at least 20 seconds before retorting, “…Pigs?”

I had clearly failed as a Jewish mother: my kosher, near-vegetarian child was eating something he thought was a pig. And he’d asked for seconds.

I recovered from this double affront and launched into a thoughtful discussion about why mommy doesn’t eat meat. I chose my words with care. I hope my son eventually chooses to become a vegetarian. But I also don’t want him to condemn his father. I had little to fear. At the close of my careful monologue, my son declared, “I’m a T-Rex. You’re a stegosaurus.” And he took another bite.

Last Thursday, millions of Americans celebrated Thanksgiving—no doubt consuming a significant share of the roughly 270 million turkeys raised in the United States this year. And while turkey is far less energy-intensive than other forms of meat, it is, nonetheless, still responsible for significant carbon emissions. A British analysis found that a “typical” holiday meal for a group of eight produces the equivalent of 20 kg of carbon dioxide emissions—with the life cycle of the turkey alone credited for 60 percent. [Reader: take some comfort in the fact that British imports of cranberry sauce from the U.S. account for roughly .5 kg.] Combined, British revelers consume the carbon equivalent of 6,000 car trips around the world or 300 return car journeys to the moon in a single holiday. I hesitate to do the math for the U.S.

Of course, turkey is not the worst offender. Nonetheless, the UN reports that meat production (of all kinds) accounts for nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, raising cattle is worse for the environment than driving cars. And global meat consumption is poised to double by mid-century.

Unfortunately, according to Scientific American, keeping kosher doesn’t necessarily help. While Jews don’t traditionally eat pork (despite the perceptions of my four-year old), we don’t necessarily replace these calories with “low-carbon” veggies. And, replacing pork and shellfish with beef will only increase emissions.

This year, I was spared the angst of witnessing my son’s rapture for turkey. We shared Thanksgiving with our dear friends in Boston—who don’t keep kosher. And so, it was wild rice and brussel sprouts for Kefer and kin.

[For low-carbon vegetarian alternatives, visit Gentle Thanksgiving.]

[If you do choose to eat meat this holiday season, visit www.kolfoods.com to learn why you needn’t choose between keeping your values and keeping kosher.]

[Click here to determine the carbon emissions of your meals.]

It’s hard to ignore the growing financial crisis.  It dominates the headlines and our dinner table conversations.  It’s also dominating the political space – to the detriment of action on climate change.

Even before our economic situation reached its current low, US leaders declared action on climate change would drive the US economy over a cliff.  And last month, the Guardian reported that the European Union may “renege on climate change commitments” because of the financial crisis.  To “save money,” European officials have hinted they may not require polluters to purchase emission permits.  Yet climate legislation is the key to generating money needed to help refuel a struggling economy.  The Lieberman-Warner bill that the Senate considered last spring promised to generate $300 billion for research and development in renewable energy and $800 billion to help defray the costs of climate change legislation on the poor.  And while many celebrated President Elect Obama’s declaration last week that climate change was his “number two” priority (after, of course, the economy), this again ignores the fact that the two problems are one and the same: addressing climate change is the key to getting us out of the economic crisis.  Or, as Thomas Friedman queries in his October 21 Op-Ed, “Bailout (and Buildup)“: “Is the economic crisis going to be the end of green? … Or, could green be the way to end the economic crisis?“

Van Jones, author of the Green Collar Economy, clearly believes going green is the way to saving green.  In his words:  “If we were to weatherize and solarize America, we could power our way through this recession, we could cut carbon, we could increase the value of people’s homes and we could show that green solutions don’t cost more. They actually save people money.”  Though these initiatives may require an up-front investment, we’ll be able to pay the government back through energy savings.  And the up-front investment will create jobs. A lot of jobs.  Such spending will create more jobs per dollar invested than tax cuts, military spending, or oil and natural gas.  In fact, green investments could generate four times as many jobs as similar investments in the oil industry. 

So, if Congress really wants to stimulate the economy, it should start the green revolution by investing money in renewable energy and building retrofits.  A post-election poll sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation suggests the American public is finally recognizing these connections, with a majority of US voters agreeing that clean energy initiatives can help the economy.  There’s no doubt that our economy is floundering.  But, as Pete Altman at NRDC writes, the green revolution may be “just the stimulus we need.”

Today is a very big day.  Like me, I suspect each of you has been anticipating today’s election for months.  For the past two weeks, I have awoken with the same eager anticipation I experienced as a child on the eve before a trip to Disneyland.  Each morning I wake up with the jittery, giddy feeling that something really big is about to happen.  And something big is about to happen: because no matter who wins today’s election, we can bet that our country’s historic indifference about climate change is about to end. 

Voting is at the heart of Jewish tradition.  More than 2000 years ago, Rabbi Yitzchak taught that a ruler cannot be appointed without consulting the community. (Talmud, B’rachot 55a).  As Al Gore explained in his inspirational webcast last week, voting gives each of us the power to help shape the future of our nation.  I hope each of you takes advantage of this opportunity.  But this power – and obligation – to guide our leaders does not end with the simple act of casting our ballots.  Unlike a trip to Disneyland, we can’t simply pack up and scrapbook our memories when the polls close tonight. To the contrary, as Liore and I have previously written, our fight for a sustainable future is “a marathon, not a sprint.”  And the election does not mark the finish line.

Rather, the real work begins after the final ballot is counted.  That’s when we need to work with the new President to ask him to follow through with his campaign promises and help secure a more sustainable future.  That’s why I recently joined hundreds of other leaders from a broad spectrum of American society to sign a “Letter to the Next President,” calling on our leaders to “take bold and rapid action to address the daunting challenge of global climate change.”  And that’s why Betsy Taylor, founder of the 1-Sky Coalition will be leading a national organizing call at 12:00 EST tomorrow (Wednesday November 5) to talk about how grassroots action in the first 100 days will be essential to move beyond gridlock. [Call in: 1-218-486-8700, passcode 020509]

In his Prayer for Voting, Rabbi David Seidenberg recognizes that our vote has implications long beyond election day.  Seidenberg asks G-d to empower “all the people of this country” (and presumably our elected leaders) for:

[T]he strength and the will
to pursue righteousness and to seek peace as a unified force
in order to cause to flourish, throughout the world, good life and peace

For those of you who have already voted this morning, congratulations – you have taken an important first step in shaping the climate policy for our nation.  For those of you who haven’t, stop reading – and Go Vote! And tomorrow, don’t forget to remind our new leaders why you voted for them.

[Click here to print Rabbi Seidenberg's Prayer for Voting, a moving prayer for the voting booth]

[Click here to read and sign the Letter to the Next President demanding decisive action to address climate change]

[Click here to find your polling place]

The Jewish environmental movement rarely provides us with the opportunity to sing.  But Rabbi Arthur Waskow from the Shalom Center has tweaked an ol’ favorite to inspire awareness around Global Scorching, as he calls it. As he says, the song is updated for the 21st Century and the Global Climate Crisis. Melody and some words, traditional;  remainder by Rabbi Arthur Waskow Copyright (c) 2007, 2008 by Rabbi Arthur Waskow. All rights reserved.

God said to Noah, The earth’s getting hotter, hotter, God said to Noah, The earth’s getting hotter, hotter, Yet she is My (clap) beloved daughter, daughter — Children of the Lord.

CHORUS:

Rise and shine and give God your glory glory Rise and shine and give God your glory glory Rise and shine and (clap!) give God your glory glory Children of the Lord!

People are making My air too smoky, smoky People are making My air too smoky, smoky Fix it now! and (clap) don’t be pokey, pokey — Children of the Lord.

If you won’t cool down each auto and furnace, furnace, If you won’t cool down each auto and furnace, furnace, The heat and smoke will (clap) start to burn us,  burn us Children of the Lord.

CHORUS

The ice it will melt so there’s gonna be a floody floody Yes!  — God said to Noah there’s gonna be a floody floody Get My children (clap!) out of the muddy muddy Children of the Lord

For the rest, please click here. 

This weekend, as Jews around the world greeted each other in a Sukkah built to honor our relationship with our earth, the environmental community commemorated a different kind of annual event: the anniversary of the Clean Water Act, signed into law on October 18, 1972. Along with the Clean Air Act and Endangered Species Act of 1973, the Clean Water Act is considered a cornerstone of our national environmental policy. Under the Act, more than one billion pounds per year of toxic pollutants have been removed from our nation’s waters, moving us far along the path to make all rivers, lakes, and coastal waters in the United States ‘fishable and swimmable,’ the original goal of the Act.

This year however, debate over the Act reminds us that the fight for a healthy environment is never fully won, and that we must continually engage in the effort to preserve our natural resources for ourselves and our children. Progress on water issues is in danger following a series of federal court cases that restrict protection by narrowing the definition of waters that fall under the Act. In response to the 2006 Supreme Court decision on the definition of ‘navigable waters,’ 22 Senators and 177 House members are co-sponsoring the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA). The CWRA ensures that the Clean Water Act can be effectively enforced to protect all of the nation’s waters from pollution. Since clean water is the backbone of the healthy ecosystems that provide barriers against natural disasters and climate change, a strong Clean Water Act is more important today than ever before.

Clean water is essential to us all, both as users of the public water supply and as Jews.  The history of the Jewish people- dating back to the Great Flood and the Exodus from Egypt and continuing with the modern struggles of Israeli society to adequately hydrate its people and its fields – is the history of our relationship with water.  The Baal Shem Tov, the Jewish mystic and scholar, explained, “If we were to walk in the woods and a spring appeared just when we became thirsty, we would call it a miracle. And if on a second walk, if we became thirsty at just that point again, and again the spring appeared, we would remark on the coincidence. But if that spring were there always, we would take it for granted and cease to notice it. Yet is that not more miraculous still?”  If we stop to appreciate the miracle of water, we realize that we must also act to ensure that we keep our water clean and safe for us and for generations to come.

Many experts fear that the next great resource wars will be fought over water, as millions around the globe still lack access to safe, drinkable water.  While we cannot fix this problem with national legislation alone, we can start facing it by fighting for clean water here at home, and raising awareness about water issues. As we celebrate the harvest festival of Sukkot, take action by supporting the Clean Water Restoration Act and speaking out on the importance of water issues in your community, in our country, and in our 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 Monday. This, and all of Rachel’s entries, can also be found on the Religious Action Center blog.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This Saturday, Jews around the world will read Moses’ challenge in Deuteronomy: “I place before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. … Choose life that you and your descendants shall live.”  (Deut. 30:15-20) These words are both our Biblical mandate to respond to the climate crisis – and instructions for the nature of that response.

People will die because of climate change.  Last year, the IPCC predicted declining rainfall could reduce agricultural yields in parts of Africa by 50% by 2020.  One third of the world is already considered “water scarce” – and the World Resources Institute projects that this number will double by 2040.  Indeed, the crisis in Darfur can be largely attributed to conflicts over scarce water resources – resources made scarcer because of climate change.  As Jews, we must “choose life” to avert these dangers.

But how?

The answer is in the same remarks.  A commentary in a well-known translation of the text notes that “life” actually refers to “livelihood.”  Thus, Moses exhorts the Jewish people to find employment so that they can sustain life.  But what if that employment itself both saved life – by averting the climate crisis – and sustained life by providing a livelihood?  Green jobs do exactly that.  By training American workers to retrofit buildings to make them more energy efficient, expand out transit system, and support an emerging system of wind, solar and advanced biofuels, we can build a green economy and lift millions of Americans out of poverty.

Last month, the Center for American Progress (in partnership with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst) released a report entitled “Green Recovery: A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy,” finding that the United States could create two million jobs in only two years by investing in a rapid green economic recovery program.  This green stimulus plan would create nearly four times more jobs than spending the same amount of money within the oil industry and 300,000 more jobs than a similar amount of spending directed toward household consumption. Last week, in testimony before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Bracken Hendricks of CAP testified that August unemployment was at a five-year high, new housing construction continues to slow, and housing values have plummeted by nearly a third from the same time last year.  Clearly, the time couldn’t be better for investment in green technology. 

More than 3,000 years ago, Moses implored the Jewish people to “choose life.”  Today, we must make the same request of our government: help the American people choose a green, sustainable livelihood – so that we and our descendants may live.

[This weekend – on the very day when Jews around the world read Moses' command to "choose life," 1Sky, Green for All, the We Campaign, and tens of thousands of Americans are mobilizing for Green Jobs Now. People of all backgrounds will organize Green Jobs Now events, with a special focus on low-income communities and communities of color.  Click here to find an event in your community and to download an organizers toolkit. For more information, contact Josh Lynch (josh@greenforall.org/ 510-663-6500 x314) or Adi Nochur (adi@1sky.org/ 301-270-4550 x22)].

I have an exercise bike in my basement.  It has sat idle for months – years even.  It’s not that I don’t exercise – I go to the gym regularly. However, I find it difficult to motivate to ride a stationary bike in the solitude of my own home.  But take me to a gym – and I’m in the front row of my spinning class.  These “peer pressure” exercise classes appeal to my competitive nature, I suppose.  I work out better when surrounded by others who are also working out.  This same philosophy, I’m afraid, extends to more than just exercise.

My husband first noticed my “competitive environmentalism” when we bought our hybrid a few years ago.  For months, he refused to drive if I was in the passenger seat – because I would badger him incessantly about his mileage stats.  Whenever his fuel economy “plunged” from 45 to 44 miles per gallon, I’d tell him to slow down.  If we drove fewer than 550 miles on a full tank, I’d make him recount everywhere we drove that week to figure out where the missing gas had gone. 

A few months ago, a colleague referred me to a passage, which convinced me that I’m not alone.  In an article titled, “My Mileage is Better than Your Mileage,” Bill McKibben writes:

… [Do] I pay inordinate attention to the gas gauge? Absolutely. And is it because I’m obsessed with global warming? Not really. True, that’s why I bought the car in the first place…. But if you thought about global warming all the time, you’d be nuts. When I’m behind the wheel, I’m an American—competitive, score-keeping, out to win.

And this competitive streak does not stop with hybrid cars and fuel economy.  In fact, a recent study in the Journal of Consumer Research reports that only 37% of hotel guests choose to forego a fresh towel when their hotel bathroom simply urges them to “help save the environment,” while 49% of guests make the “green choice” when confronted with a customized sign indicating how many previous guests had done the same.  Another article in the New York Times reports that people dramatically reduced their electricity use when their electric bill listed the average consumption in the neighborhood – and included a frowning face on households with an above-average bill. 

Jewish tradition offers some insight for these behaviors.  As Ira Stone explains in A Responsible Life, human beings live in a constant struggle between the “evil inclination” (in Hebrew, yetzer hara) and the impulse to do good (yetzer hatov).  Humans are inherently competitive. We must strive, however, to transform the evil inclination to do good.  As Jeffrey Spitzer writes, “[w]hen properly controlled by the yetzer hatov, the yetzer hara leads to many socially desirable results.”

Herein lies the future of the American environmental movement: we must look at pride and vanity, competition and shame – and redirect these values to reduce our impact on the Earth.   Can peer pressure really be the answer to climate change?

I’d love your thoughts about ways public scrutiny can inspire green behavior.

[for more on the power of public opinion, read "On Dolly Parton and Climate Change" and "Visualizing a Changing Climate: How to Know when You've Used 'Enuff'"]