To Till and to Tend

Four Thanksgivings ago, I was in India. Though a rare day went by that I was unaware of my blessings (I didn’t need Thanksgiving for that) it was the foods of Thanksgiving that I craved. I love Indian food (there, as the joke goes, it is just called “food”), but sub-tropical climates just don’t produce my beloved winter squashes and cranberries, nor do its people prepare the dishes of the New World.

The culinary tendencies of America are diverse, yet most gather around a similar Thanksgiving table. Though my family table has never (in my memory) been graced by a turkey (nor a tofurkey, for that matter), I know that people across America will chow on pumpkin bread, corn bread, sweet potato pie, cranberry relish, mashed potatoes and apple pie! (I am also happy to share my recipe for any of the above…. just ask!)

One does not have to look far into the Thanksgiving story to understand why: On Thanksgiving, we commemorate a meal centuries old, before industrialized and imported produce disconnected us from the ways, seasons and places our food is grown. More critically, it was at this meal that Native Americans introduced the Europeans to the foods appropriate to their newly inhabited land. In the Northeast, all of the above dishes’ main ingredients are either just coming into season or were just harvested, stored for the long winter ahead: hard squashes survive the change of season, cornmeal is ground from the summer harvest, potatoes outlast the first frost, and apples fill the trees as the leavers of other trees fall.

But the United States has changed since that first Thanksgiving meal. We now inhabit the extreme dessert and tundra of America. For those in Phoenix, roasted squash on Thanksgiving is as unnatural as a white Christmas.

Even if we can’t prepare a locally grown and “traditional” Thanksgiving feast, we can embody the core of the tradition. Wherever you are, be like the Pilgrims: Meet and eat from local farmers. Remember the land and people from where you left, learn from the land and people where you joined.

 Environmentalists must be doing something right – Dixie, the maker of standard disposable plates is fighting back.  People are increasingly becoming aware that our garbage gets piled into a landfill and are consequently making conscious decisions to find alternatives.  Whether it’s vowing to never use disposables again, switching to biodegradable plates or simply using disposables less, people are finding alternatives to standard Dixie products. 

For the last four months, I have been training for the big day: preparing my body to run 26.2 miles in the ING NYC Marathon.  On many of my weekly long runs, I wondered whether I could use the marathon training analogy to inspire budding environmentalists.  Becoming an environmentalist, like a marathoner, doesn’t happen overnight.  Like all personal achievements, these take time.  One needs to decide that they are willing to put the physical and mental energy into the effort.  Sometimes, one even needs to commit a bit of money into the cause, like new shoes and wind-sourced electricity.   

One of the most frequent comments I get to my marathoning is “wow, I could never do that.”  I always respond in the same way: you start with one mile, then work your way up to three.  Soon enough, you’re comfortable doing 5, try for 6 – and you realize you have it.  It’s a gradual process, but anyone can do it.  So goes with environmentalism.  Start with a simple action – one that you could imagine getting used to doing on a regular basis.  Once you have that down, add another, then another.  It takes time, but soon enough you’ll start living in more eco-friendly ways. 

Surprisingly for some, marathoning can be a bit easier than becoming an environmentalist.  After all, I have spent only 4 months training and, after Sunday, I’ll be done.  A commitment to environmentalism is a commitment for life.  Hopefully, it will play a role in everyday actions and decisions. 

And then there are the fans – on Sunday, thousands of New Yorkers (and my friends and family whom I appreciate enormously) line the streets of the five boroughs to encourage us runners on.  Their cheers and support ease the challenge of the marathon.  Personal challenges are rarely so encouraged by our friends, let alone strangers.

This week, my “challenge” is to not overwork my body, carb-load, and wish for good weather (not so hard).  Sunday I put in my all for a few hours and then I rest, a satisfied person.

But our environmental challenge keeps going.  Though there is no finish line in sight, each environmental success is a great one.  And though you may not hear fans screaming your name as you recycle yesterday’s paper, we’re out there, cheering you on.

I recently returned from a camping trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and sadly put my tent away for the season.  I was inspired, though, by words at the end of the Yom Kippur service, “Open for us a gate, in this time of closing gates.”  As the season for camping ends, the time for Jewish outdoor activity begins. 

As the first full moon of autumn approaches, Jews everywhere are stepping outside and building temporary huts called Sukkot.  Traditionally, these huts (or may I even say tents) have a twofold meaning (like all biblical holidays, as I wrote for Shavuot) – they remind us of the temporary huts we made in the fields at the peak of harvest and the ones we lived in through our Exodus journey.

On Sukkot, Jews around the world go outside and face the elements of nature!  (If you know the same type of Jews I do, this is no small deal.)  If it’s cold, we put on more layers.  If there are bugs out, we light citronella candles and wish for the best.  Even if it rains, we stay outside long enough to say the blessings over the wine and bread, and to bless the act of sitting in the sukkah. 

In this modern world, it’s easy to move from your climate controlled house, to your climate controlled car, to your climate controlled office or to the shopping mall. 

But during Sukkot, we step back thousands of years to the tents of our ancestors, leaving many of our modern luxuries behind.  The funny thing is, most everybody enjoys it. 

Whether or not every Jew will use the experience of Sukkot to join America’s Jewish outdoor club or hike from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) to the Mediterranean isn’t the point.  Still, every outdoorsman/woman knows that the first step to enjoying the outdoors is stepping outside.  At the beginning of this new year, I hope each of you finds pleasure in the beauty of the Sukkah and the curiosity to adventure in the wonders beyond.        

Chag Sameach!

When I was 12, I joined my friend for a daring swim in the beautiful, albeit jellyfish infested waters of the Mediterranean.  Back then, the Israeli coast would get an annual, two-week bout of jellyfish.  I wasn’t there long enough to wait it out, so my friend and I jumped in and were undeterred by the mild stings on our bodies.  Then, I had an encounter with a jellyfish that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy – it and I met as I dove under a wave.  It, and more importantly, its tentacles, hit my face, leaving a scar that lasted years.  (Fortunately, the family I was with knew not to pee on me.)  Though painful beyond words, it was a reality of sharing an ecosystem. 

But the tides have turned – more and more people are sharing my story.  And we have climate change to thank.

As mentioned in a recent NY Times article, “(jellyfish) are the cockroaches of the open waters.”  Jellyfish thrive in weakened environments.  Scientists say that, thanks to climate change and overfishing of jellyfish predators (like tuna), populations of jellyfish are proliferating.  Not only are beaches around the world closing, but the New York City Triathletes had to deal with (and one maybe died from) the stings of this maritime beast.

Jellyfish aren’t the only living creatures that are enjoying the CO₂ filled, warming planet that humans are creating.  Already, populations of poison ivy, superweeds and disease-carrying mosquitoes are increasing, yielding greater incidences of itchy children, resistant weeds and malaria.  I am lucky enough to be non-allergic to poison ivy’s oils (so far) and the organic “farm” on which I “work” has minimal weed problems.  Still, the spread of malaria scares me – more than half the world’s population lives in malaria infested regions – and you may have gathered that I don’t like jellyfish?

Each of us will undoubtedly feel the ramifications of climate change differently.  I am fortunate that I have few to mitigate.  Yet, the global poisons of climate change exceed the stings of jellyfish, and it is for those reasons we need to act.

With baited breath, people around the world have been waiting for this week to arrive.  This Friday, representatives from 205 countries around the world will make their grand entrance into the Olympic Stadium.  But this year is not like all other years. Being that the 2008 summer Olympics will be held in Beijing, China, I am sure there will be extra fireworks, magical dragons and beautiful masks galore.  Being that the 2008 summer Olympics are being held in Beijing, China, some of the athletes will be wearing masks, too.  But these masks aren’t so beautiful, they’re functional.  By wearing the masks, athletes hope to keep their lungs clean of the heavy pollution and particulate matter that covers Beijing.

The International Olympic Committee knew that China’s pollution was a concern, but awarded the honor to China with the understanding that it (and issues like human rights and freedom of press) would be fixed.  Jacques Rogge, the president of the IOC, was even reported in the NY Times as saying he was confident the air would be clean because Chinese officials “are not going to let down the world.”  Meanwhile, China surpassed the US and took the gold for annual carbon dioxide emissions and China’s air and water continue to be one of the most polluted in the world.  Needless to say, since the IOC awarded China with the 2008 Olympics, little has been done to alleviate anyone’s concerns. 

So, with the Olympics nearing, China did what any nation might do: forcibly shut down nearby factories, discontinue construction and shove half the city’s cars off the road.  Though air quality did improve, it hasn’t been enough.  Now they’re attempting to alter the weather.

With the worlds’ eyes on China, solutions needed to be found and implemented years ago. But they started too late, pollution concerns remain, and China is being publicly embarrassed. 

The Olympics will come and go, but will the world learn the lesson?  Last year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Sir Nicholas Stern and even some American politicians have said that we have until 2050 to reduce our carbon dioxide by 80%.  Like cleaning China’s air, such reductions in CO₂ emissions is an enormous challenge; and like China, if we wait too long it will be impossible to achieve.

67% of Americans who say they care about the environment do so because it’s “God’s creation.”

Almost 50% of Sierra Club members go to a house of worship at least once a month.

Whoa.

I hope that it’s no surprise to any readers that there is a strong faith-based environmental movement. The National Religious Partnership for the Environment – made up of Jews (COEJL), Catholics, Protestants (NCC Eco-Justice) and Evangelicals (Evangelical Environmental Network) – has been around for over 15 years. Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) is an environmental initiative with over 25 state chapters. To these organizations and many of their affiliated houses of worship, connection between Earth stewardship and faith is clear.

Sierra Club has recently noticed this powerful movement and published a report: Faith in Action: Communities of Faith Bring Hope for the Planet, which includes the stats mentioned above. Beyond an introduction which delves into the power of faith-based action, it shares stories of 52 communities of faith – one for each state, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico – where their faith propelled them to critical ecological and sustainable action. As the report notes, the environmental movement has been secular, shying away from “values” and, dare I say it, “creation.” Never before has a study like this been done. But the environmental (and political) significance is enormous!

Though there is a clear danger in grafting “God” with “politics,” (I hope I don’t need to explain) even Sierra Club can’t ignore its wonders. 86% of the world’s population affiliates with a religion. The report notes that all the religious environmental initiatives “coalesce around a few key broadly shaped principles: stewardship, justice and concern for ‘the poor,’ and concern for one’s neighbor and future generations.” Agreement on these principles may not bring world peace. Frankly, slight variations of interpretation continue to yield devastating wars.

If we can harness the energy of religious faiths to the issues of earth stewardship, then we might just have a chance.

I wish that I were creative enough to have created this term on my own, but alas, I must be honest, it was King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan. In catching up on my National Geographic magazines, I read an article entitled “Bhutan’s Enlightened Experiment,” and I think I had a little bit of enlightenment myself.

In the 1960’s, Bhutan began to open its borders and peered into the wonders and challenges of modernity and globalization. Proud of their Buddhist culture and simple ways, the Bhutanese sought an entry into modernity that included good health, education and infrastructure, while maintaining the beauty and serenity of the land. To accomplish this, the King stepped away from the normal quantifier of prosperity, net dollars earned called Gross National Product.

Instead, he chose to measure his country’s success by the four pillars Gross National Happiness: (1) sustainable development (2) environmental protection (3) cultural preservation and (4) good governance. Consequently, since 1982, Bhutan has reduced infant mortality rate by 75%, increased literacy rate by 600% and life expectancy by 23 years. Meanwhile, it appears that nothing has been lost: most of Bhutan remains virgin forest and Bhutanese culture, tradition and identity remain strong. Sustainable emersion, growth and perspective in its truest form.

While there is much to learn in the brilliance of others, we can also learn from that which already rolls off our tongues.

Jewish tradition doesn’t have the clarity of the four pillars of GNH, but we do have Torah. As we sing each time we read from the Torah as a community: “Eitz chayim he lamachazikim bah, vetomcheha me’ushar. Deracheha darchey noam, vechol netivoteha shalom.” It is a Tree of Life to them who hold fast to it, and all who embrace it will be enriched. Its ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths lead to peace.
- Proverbs 3:17-18