Earth Etude for Elul 18

Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall…

by Rabbi Margaret Frisch-Klein

“Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall…”
Trees are like friends. Torah is a Tree of Life, so says Proverbs. We sing this as part of the Torah service. “It is a tree of life to them that hold fast to it and all its paths are peace.” Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav said that we should spend an hour every day outside amongst the trees.

Each day when I go out for a walk, I say hello to these very trees. Winter, spring, summer and fall. They keep me grounded. Quite literally.

But imagine a world without trees. Without seasons. As our continues to heat up, it could happen. Research has shown that this summer, now drawing to an end, was the hottest recorded.

But there may be hope. Those trees may actually be trees of life. In Chelsea, MA two years ago I heard news that there was a pilot project, a test site if you will, to plant trees.

What they found was that planting trees could dramatically cool an area and was a long-term investment.

“So, the white roof and new pavement could help cool the area more quickly, however, the trees are a longer-term investment in shade. Chelsea’s Cool Block will be loaded with pretty much every intervention to control heat, while other cities are trying one intervention at a time. Ariane Middel, who studies heat and urban design at Arizona State University in Phoenix, says, “It makes sense to concentrate cooling in rising hot spots.”

Listen to NPR’s All Things Considered on how a test site can cool cities in the summer!

This summer, I heard a similar story. As reported in the New York Post:
“Urban tree canopies and green spaces are our most potent weapons against the collision of the UHIE (Urban Heat Island Effect) and climate change. Unlike air conditioning, which often cuts out when everyone cranks up their units — exactly when it is needed to save lives — vegetation’s cooling effect grows the hotter an area gets. Large plants like trees and shrubs not only shade our homes on the days when the sun is most powerful, but they also cool our environment through evapotranspiration. [Evapotranspiration is when water evaporated from the soil surface into the atmosphere through the leaves of plants. – Ed.] Even a young tree has a net cooling effect equivalent to 10 room-size air conditioners operating for 20 hours a day. Within 15 years, the effect doubles.”

Now, like with Jews, where you get two Jews and three opinions, a google search will quickly tell you there is a range of opinions on this. Will trees help reduce climate change? I don’t know for sure. But I figure it can’t hurt. And it will add to the world’s beauty and keep us rooted. Just what I need spiritually before Rosh Hashanah. As the old Talmudic story goes, “Just as my ancestors planted for me, so I will plant for my children and grandchildren.”

Join me in planting a tree.

Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein is the rabbi of Congregation Kneseth Israel in Elgin, IL. She blogs as the Energizer Rabbi, www.theenergizerrabbi.org and when not singing “Tree of Life” she is outdoors in nature, running, walking and hiking with her husband.

*Photo credit: Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein from trees in Elgin. Part of a juried art show from Fox Valley Hands of Hope.

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