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What Rabbis Can Learn From The Pope
Earlier this week, I was scrolling through headlines, when I came across the following article: "Pope Top Adviser Blasts US Climate Skeptics." I am not sure I agree with his reasoning for criticizing those who deny that humans are having an impact on climate and on the environment in general, but I do agree with his using a position of moral authority to discuss the issue. This statement followed a conference held at the Vatican in early May, ...
Earth Day: Hope and Warnings
With Earth Day coming tomorrow, a much larger percentage of the country, including the media, will be be focused on environmental issues. Due to its political volatility, many of the news stories tomorrow will be about climate change. There is no questions that the impacts from climate change will present our society with immense challenges in the future. I certainly hope that the focus of public discourse can shift from whether climate changes is ...
Could Not Have Put It Better Myself…So I Didn’t Try
I spent several hours trying to find inspiration for this month's post. I found myself delving into articles about tax credits for renewable energy, news articles related to climate change and religious leadership, and various activities related to Chanukah. My hope was to create an action list for the eight days of Cbanukah. During this process I came across an article posted by Rabbi Waskow that spoke to me and so I am re-posting below (with the ...
Climate Change and Elections
Over the past few months, most of us have been inundated with television, internet, and paper advertisements in connection with the 2014 elections. Certainly there are a variety of important issues, but unfortunately, even though the majority of Americans believe that climate change is real, a very minor percentage rank it as priority issue when making a decision how to vote (see http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/23/most-americans-believe-...
Religious Environmentalists
This month I want to highlight the various groups that continue to do amazing work throughout the various faith communities. Coming together as Jewish environmentalists to collaborate and share ideas is crucial, but I am also a strong believer in working with other faith communities, especially when it comes to advocacy. The following are several groups I think do fantastic work and can be excellent partners and/or resources in connection with ...
Why Jewcology Matters
It feels good to be back blogging on Jewcology after a 6 month hiatus. During this period, my wife gave birth to a baby boy and we moved from NYC to Maryland. Although it has been a very hectic time, as those with children or nieces/nephews know, the birth of a child changes one's perspective on the world. I have been involved with Jewcology since its inception and think it serves a very important purpose. I am thrilled that a new group of ...
Earth Day Quotes and Lehitraot for Now
I have very much enjoyed blogging for Jewcology over the past two years, however, due to the upcoming bar exam in July, I will be taking a hiatus from my monthly post. It has been an honor and truly thrilling for me to take part and witness Jewcology develop and blossom from a seedling of an idea among a group of innovative Jews coming together for a week in Israel, into a thriving community. In honor of Earth Day, I want to post a series ...
The Plight of Farm Workers
A few nights ago my wife and I watched a really intense episode of Law and Order SVU which focused on a disturbed couple who abused young children and used them as indentured farm laborers. My wife, who is a doctoral student in food policy at Rutgers University then emailed me the following link about a topic we have discussed several times over the past few years: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/09/137623954/the-troubled-history-of-the-supermar...
Owning Rights to Nature
On Tuesday a very interesting case was argued in front of the Supreme Court regarding patents on seeds by Monsanto (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/business/justices-signal-a-monsanto-edge-in-patent-case.html?ref=earth) . Although it appears the court will likely side with Monsanto the case had me thinking about a topic I often discuss at home with my wife but have never blogged about on Jewcology. GMOs are an interesting topic and there are many ...
Time For Faith Communities to Step Up the Fight
I was surprised to learn that President Obama had focused part of his inaugural address on climate change. When I heard the speech I was particular struck by the language he used in calling for action. President Obama stated the following: "We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would ...
Faith Communities Must Protect the Vulnerable During Land Use Discussions
With every passing day I become less of an optimist and more of a realist. This past year has provided many of us a glimpse of the chaos and destruction that might be in store for us all if no meaningful action is taken on climate change mitigation and adaptation. Although I am encouraged by the outpouring of support for devastated regions, I am losing faith in our government's ability to pass any legislation, nevertheless a meaningful ...
Working Together Towards Adaptation
A new report just released this week says the ice sheets are melting five times faster than in the 1990’s and occurring more rapidly than scientists believed in 2007 (http://science.time.com/2012/11/30/climate-change-polar-ice-sheets-melting-faster-raising-sea-levels/) . At the same time climate discussion occurring over the last week in Doha have been unfruitful and hope that a meaningful agreement can be reached is fading (http://www...
Lessons From Sandy
As a New York City resident with friends living through New York and New Jersey, the past week has certainly been intense and tragic. The truth is that for my wife and I, Sandy brought days of downtime because we did not lose power or suffer any damage to our apartment or car. We feel incredibly lucky but at the same time so awful for the millions impacted by the storm. During the past week I have seen images on television and heard stories on ...
Simply Awesome
I usually use this monthly blog as an outlet to voice my opinions about policies related to environmental issues. However, this week I read a really cool article that I wanted to share. The short article (produced below along with a link) illustrates how amazing nature can be and the importance of protecting and preserving as many species of living organisms as possible. Although I have never viewed a Gouldian finch, and it is quite likely I ...
The New Plague: A Name Change for Climate Change
After reading the following article, http://www.voanews.com/english/news/environment/Climate-Change-Panel-Says-Expect-More-Extreme-Weather--144966925.html, titled “Climate Change Panel Says Expect More Extreme Weather,” it is hard not to make the immediate connection to the story of Pesach. “The 594-page report is the work of 220 authors from 62 countries. It cites thousands of scientific studies. Enough is known, the ...
Really?
One of my favorite bits on Saturday Night Live is entitled “Really?” where the comedians address some issue they view as absurd. I want to suggest they take on the recent legislation being debated in Washington D.C. this week. The Washington Post reported that “The two-year, $109 billion transportation bill before the Senate has wide, bipartisan support, but has become a magnet for lawmakers’ favorite causes and ...
When is the right time?
I was having a good deal of trouble figuring out what I wanted write about this month on Jewcology. As I was searching for a topic I thought about doing a search for Jewish environmental poetry. The first passage that came up in my search was the following: Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 3:1-8 For everything there is a time and a season for every experience under the heavens: A time to birth and a time to die, A time to plant and a time to ...
My Hope That More Jews Will Engage on Energy Related Issues
I recently wrote an article for the Pace Environmental Law Review Blog that I have posted below. For this post on Jewcology, I wanted to expand on my Law Review post by expressing how I view these events from a Jewish standpoint. Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," is a very hot topic these days in many different circles. This is an issue being debated by politicians, lawyers, community zoning boards, landowners, corporations, ...
We Must Also Give Thanks
It is very easy to get down when thinking about all environmental issues we face throughout the world. However, as Thanksgiving approaches, as most people, at some point or another I start to think about those things that maybe I take for granted. This week while walking I started to think about a class I am taking in law school on the Clean Water Act. Although we still continue to face severe issues related to water pollution, prior to 1972, ...
Turning Waste Into Treasure
I read a story last week that really got my attention. It was posted on the New York Times Green Blog (see story here: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/an-oil-bonanza-in-discarded-plastic/), and was discussing a company’s effort to convert discarded plastic into crude oil. Now I know this does not sound like the most environmentally friendly initiative, as the crude oil will eventually be utilized, resulting in the release of ...