69 results for author: Owner of Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL)


Jewish Energy Guide: The Science of Climate Change

By Dr. Daniel Ziskin Everybody knows what weather means. What’s the temperature? Is it raining? Snowing? Just poke your head outside and you’ve got weather. Weather is the instantaneous atmospheric conditions we experience. Climate, however, is something different. Climate is the average of the weather over time and space. But taking the average of a constantly changing and location-specific phenomenon is complex. Are we talking about a monthly average? Seasonal? Yearly? Of a county? A state? The northern hemisphere, or globally? Climate depends on the temporal and spatial domain you’ve selected so there isn’t just ...

Jewish Energy Guide: Thou Shalt Conserve Energy

By Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb Through the Talmud and other scholarly works, Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb examines the implication of bal taschit, “thou shalt not waste,” and how this commandment of conservation can be adhered to today. Thou shalt conserve energy” is not a biblical commandment, narrowly speaking, but it’s close. After all, the Torah’s 529th (530th by some counts) commandment, bal taschit, has long been commonly understood to mean “thou shalt not waste,” a principle that as far back as the Talmud specifically includes not wasting energy. Other laws and ideas point in this direction as ...

Jewish Energy Guide: Jewish Energy Advocacy

Jewish Energy Guide: "Jewish Energy Advocacy" by COEJL Director Sybil Sanchez COEJL Director Sybil Sanchez discusses the twin challenges of energy independence and environmental protection, while charting recent energy policies in the American Jewish community. From hydraulic fracturing to tar sands, a rift has been forming between those seeking energy independence and those seeking to protect the environment. But at the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, the mandate to protect the environment while simultaneously fostering energy independence has been the bedrock of our work. As global energy demand continues to rise ...

Jewish Environmental Response to the State of the Union

New York - The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life welcomed President Obama’s affirmation of his commitment to renewable energy and reducing our nation’s contribution to climate change, announced in his State of the Union address on Tuesday. “We praise President Obama for proposing the Energy Security Trust and prioritizing our nation’s response to the threat of global climate change,” said JCPA President and COEJL Co-Chair Rabbi Steve Gutow. “The President has highlighted his understanding of the moral urgency of reducing our contribution to the climate crisis. We hope to see regulations that ...

Jewish Energy Guide- Fulfilling the Imperative: Getting to a 14% Reduction in Energy Use by 2014

COEJL's Jewish Energy Guide Fulfilling the Imperative: Getting to a 14-Percent Reduction in Energy Use by 2014 By Dr. Mirele Goldsmith Summary: Dr. Mirele Goldsmith, a signer of the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign and director of the Jewish Greening Fellowship, explains the “14 by 14” initiative, and how you can be a part of it with actions to reduce your energy consumption. Why did the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 14 percent by 2014? The year 2014 is the next shmittah, or sabbatical year. And the 14 percent reduction goal was selected because it can be achieved by ...

Jewish Energy Guide: Is it Jewish to be Green?

COEJL's Jewish Energy Guide Is it Jewish to be Green? By: Naomi Tsur Summary: Naomi Tsur, the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, explains how environmentalism is implicit in Judaism, and a moral and ethical responsibility for all Jews. To many this may seem to be a stupid, or rather a redundant question: Should Jews support democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of worship? I am sure that no one will dispute the fact that climate change, alongside the dwindling of the world’s resources, constitutes one of the burning issues of our time. So let me rephrase the question: Should we be committed environmentalists because we are ...

Launch of Jewish Energy Guide: “Director’s Introduction” by COEJL Director Sybil Sanchez

Short summary: Sybil Sanchez, director of COEJL, welcomes you to the Jewish Energy Guide with a reflection on recent environmental calamities and a look forward to creating a balance between our energy needs and our commitment to protect the Earth. Excerpt: While we cannot remove ourselves from the necessity of using energy, we have a moral obligation to work toward protecting our environment. There must be a sustainable alternative to how we live now. The need to address our dependence on fossil fuels and increase our energy security has become central to our time. Although international commitments and legislation in ...

Extend the Production Tax Credit Now!

Take Action! The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) are joining together to demonstrate the Jewish community’s support for the extension of the Production Tax Credit for wind energy production. The Production Tax Credit is an important vehicle through which the federal government encourages renewable energy development. Increased development of renewable energy reduces our reliance on fossil fuels, which are detrimental to our environment, health, and security. The tax credit provides an incentive to continue new investment and production in clean technology, ...

Webinar on December 19: Take Action on Energy Post-Election

COEJL's JEWISH ENERGY NETWORK Webinar – Take Action on Energy Post-Election Wednesday, December 19 at 2:30 pm EST Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/667314846 Learn about the environmental and energy policies that might come out of Washington in the next four years, and what you can do in your community to influence them. Find out about the current push in Congress to extend tax credits for renewable energy production, including the Production Tax Credit. Discover why new regulations under the Clean Air Act are so important to moving energy policy forward in the next ...

Community Organizing Training for the Jewish Energy Network

Jewish Energy Network – Community Organizing Training with JOIN for Justice March 13-14 – Washington, DC Gain the skills you need to take action! CLICK HERE to apply Creating systemic change can be challenging. But there are tools that can help! Gain skills to take action in your community. In support of the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign and the Jewish Energy Network, COEJL is convening a two-day community organizing training, in partnership with JOIN for Justice, in Washington DC on March 13 and 14. This training will provide you with community organizing skills to take action on climate change and energy ...

Webinar on Becoming a Jewish Energy Champion in Your Community

ANNOUNCING COEJL’S JEWISH ENERGY NETWORK! Webinar on Becoming a Jewish Energy Champion in Your Community Tuesday, October 16 at 2:30 pm est Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/487930350 Learn about COEJL’s new Jewish Energy Network and how you can take action on renewable energy and energy efficiency in your Jewish community. Hear about successful Jewish environmental initiatives. Panelists will share their insights on how to achieve energy goals while also meeting the needs of your synagogue or organization. This webinar will help you brainstorm energy ...

COEJL expresses opposition to H.R. 6083, the House version of the Farm Bill

COEJL joined a broad coalition of environmental and social justice groups (including the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the Union of Reform Judaism) and signed on to a letter opposing the current House version of the Farm Bill. COEJL opposes this version of the Farm Bill, because it includes provisions which will increase hunger in America, harm the environment, slash popular environmental programs, and eliminate longstanding health protections for the American people.

Covenant Campaign Blog from The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

At the Starting Line: 14% by 2014 By Susan Paykin, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (the RAC) Two years from now, we will celebrate the beginning of the Shmittah year, or sabbatical year. Shmittah marks the seventh year in the ancient agricultural cycle, when we are commanded to “release” (the literal Hebraic translation of shmittah) the Earth from human stress. Our land is to lay fallow and any fruits or vegetables that grow are ownerless, open to anyone who needs or wants to eat them. In the new millennium, observing Shmittah is not as simple as it was during the Biblical era. In North America, most of ...

Judaism Goes Green

(From Moment Magazine, by Kara Kaufman, June 29th, 2012 http://momentmagazine.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/judaism-goes-green/?) Throughout the past several decades, organizations like the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, Teva Learning Center and Hazon—as well as many others—have sprung up seemingly out of thin air. Their major goal? To couple religious teachings and belief with environmental stewardship. Their actions have the potential to enrich what it means to be part of the environmental movement today. To many of us, environmental challenges may seem beyond our control, and ...

Action Alert! Tell the EPA: Support Strong Carbon Limits Today!

BACKGROUND COEJL and The RAC (Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism) are joining together to demonstrate the Jewish community’s support for our nation’s first-ever proposed limits on carbon emissions from new power plants. The proposed Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants will prevent any new power plant from emitting more than 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt of electricity produced. With conventional coal plants currently emitting more than 1,800 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt, pollution controls setting higher technology standards are long overdue. Carbon dioxide is a threat to the health and ...

New COEJL Webinar on Funding and Creating an Energy Efficiency Project

Join COEJL for the third in our series of webinars for Sustainability Liaisons. These briefings will enable your organization to take concrete actions toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions 14% by 2014. Get the practical information that you need to fulfill the commitment your organization made in signing the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign Declaration. Our panelists have implemented energy efficiency projects of all sizes, from insulating pipes for a quick payback to building a brand new facility. What happens once you identify actions you can take to reduce energy use? How do you choose which actions to take? How do you select a contractor? How ...

Responding to the Environmental Crisis as a Community–By Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield

In 2006, I grasped the gravity of the environmental crisis, sitting in the theater of the Riverdale Y. The credits rolled at the end of “An Inconvenient Truth” and then we were urged to confront this enormous problem by… buying a hybrid car. I was dismayed. I looked around to gauge the reaction of the audience. Surely many of these people, like me, suspected that building the political consensus required to reduce carbon emissions globally might be an elusive dream. And yet, individual actions like changing light bulbs, insulating my house, becoming a vegetarian, or buying a hybrid car seemed woefully inadequate to address the global ...

MEDIA ADVISORY: Earth Day heralds funding of $65,000 for new Jewish environmental network

New York, New York (April 9, 2012) –The Nathan Cummings Foundation and the Morningstar Foundation have awarded the Green Hevra, a new network of U.S.-based Jewish environmental organizations, $65,000 in seed funding. With these funds the group will lay the groundwork for strategic collaboration across the Jewish environmental movement in 2012. “We believe that the global sustainability challenge is analogous to the civil-rights campaigns of an earlier time,” said Sybil Sanchez, director of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, the organization charged with administering the group. “Just as the Jewish community joined with others to ...

Earth Day and Passover

Earth Day and Passover: Earth Day and Passover occur in the same month this year. This allows us to consider the relationship between two holidays, which at first do not seem connected. Passover is an ancient religious festival described in the Torah and practiced by Jews for thousands of years. Earth Day is a human-created universal celebration started in 1970 as concern for the environment rose to new levels. One connects to sacred history, the other calls for a new relationship with our planet. Yet there is a deeper and more profound way in which they share a vision. According to Rabbi Irving Greenberg in his book, The Jewish Way, ...

COEJL on “How to Create an Energy Reduction Plan”

Recording of COEJL’s webinar on “How to Create an Energy Reduction Plan”: (first webinar for sustainability liaisons as part of covenant campaign) http://bit.ly/yPyFTj