Day: January 15, 2013

Welcome to the Year of Action! Following up on our Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment, this year we will be focusing on actions to save energy and reduce food waste, practical actions called for by the Jewish mitzvah of bal tashchit. This program concluded in January 2014. You can learn more about our shared actions below! The Year of Action was a project of Jewcology, in partnership with Canfei Nesharim and in coordination with the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), along with many other Jewish environmental organizations and initiatives, and with the support of the ROI Community.  The actions of this project were suggested, researched and drafted by the following members of the Canfei Nesharim and Jewcology teams:  Sarah Bedder, Ruchama Cohen, Jacob Schaperow, Dr. David Goldblatt, Josh Keyak, and Dr. Daniel Weber.  Thanks to the team! Here are the actions we took: Actions to Save Energy [view all]  #1: Assess energy use in your home #2: Replace 3 Incandescent Light Bulbs with ENERGY STAR certified compact fluorescent light bulbs #3: Tighten Your Home #4: Make Friends with the Trees #5: Just How Much Difference Do 2 Degrees Make? #6: How You Get There Matters! #7: Use Efficient Appliances #8: Turn off the TV #9: Unplug Energy Vampires #10: Cold Water Wash #11: Eat Less Meat #12: Save Energy on Heating and Cooling Actions to Reduce Food Waste [view all] #1: Track your food waste for a week #2: Save the Perishables! #3: Plan Ahead! #4: Eyes Bigger than Your Stomach? #5: Plan a Picnic! #6: So Much Bread #7: Stock Up on Ingredients #8: When Life Gives You Leftovers #9: Keep Food Fresh Longer #10: Plan Ahead to Use Your Bread #11: Rescue Aging Fruits #12: Cook in Bulk Learn more about the Year of Action, including program results and links to the Jewish Energy Guide.

On Shabbat we began the Jewish month of Shevat, sometimes thought of as the "green" month in the Jewish year. The Jewish "New Year of the Trees" falls this year on Shabbat January 25-26, in less than two weeks! Tu b'Shevat is a great time to learn and share with your community about Torah teachings on protecting the environment. Don't miss this great opportunity to learn and educate your family, friends, and community about our Jewish responsibility to protect the environment! Planning a program in your community? Interested in sharing Torah learning with your audience? Want to do some special family learning and maybe your own personal seder on Friday night? Canfei Nesharim has a wealth of resources to help you. Many great resources available here: http://www.CanfeiNesharim.org/TuBShevat/ Back by popular demand: free ecoprinted haggadot! Get up to 25 free by joining our "Celebrating Tu b'Shevat with Canfei Nesharim" community on Jewcology and posting your request there. Deadline for free haggadot: Wednesday, January 16. Learn more about this opportunity here. Wishing you a green month and a meaningful Tu b'Shevat! P.S. It's a busy, busy time at Canfei Nesharim, as we're finishing up our Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment and getting ready for the Year of Action. Stay tuned for more info soon! If you're ready to get your community engaged in the Year of Action now, let us know!

(reprinted from The Associated: Jewish Community Federation Sustainability TIPS) Did you know? One of the top categories of energy consumption in an office is from office equipment. What can you do? Although you may not control what kind of equipment is on your desk or in your office space, there are several things that you can do to reduce consumption and conserve resources. It’s as easy as changing a few settings! Computer Intelligence Save energy by turning off your computer off when not in use and when you leave at the end of the day Set your hibernation and sleep settings to power down hardware but have quick easy access when you are in the office Adjust screen brightness and opt for no screen saver, which draws power to monitor Clean your computer case of clutter and dust to keep your computer cool and running efficiently Print Wisely Choose “draft,” “fast mode” or “toner save” options to reduce ink. Printing in grayscale of 80% or less or changing resolution from 600 or 1200 DPI to 300 DPI will also save ink. Choose narrow fonts to save paper Shrink page margins to 0.75” or less: Shrinking margins could reduce paper consumption by 4.75% in the US according to a 2008 study at Penn State Print double-sided by changing printer preferences Print multiple pages per sheet of paper; works great for rough drafts! Buy recycled paper, with a higher percentage of postconsumer content (up to 100%): One ton of 100% postconsumer paper saves the equivalent of 24 trees compared to just 7 from a ton of 30%). These days, most cannot tell the difference between recycled and virgin paper! Use these Technology Resources to Reduce your Impact: Set Your Printer for Green-ficiency Discover all kinds of environmentally conscious technology solutions in the Green Technology Guide Use PC Magazine’s Seven Power-Saving Tips Quantify benefits of better paper choices with the paper calculator Find out What's in Your Paper 8 Tips for Greening your Print Jobs