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Biochar and Re-char
I'm just learning about this cool way to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Attached video for my friends who may also be new to this.
Question of the Week #11
Jake Wilkenfeld-Mongillo of Hazon asks Jewcology's question of the week.
Disposable or not disposable, that’s the question
B'H
With some friends we hold an “after Tu B'Shvat” celebration, in my home town, Santiago de Chile. After having a picnic, I taught a shiur (class) on the topic. After studying about trees in Judaism, we ended up having a long discussion about the use/abuse of disposable items. Half of the group argued that if you use it for a holly purpose, like having many guests on Shabbos, it should not be considered as Bal Tashchit (“Do not destroy”, a biblical commandment which root is not to destroy a fruit tree on war time; it ...
Report on various activities held by Teva Ivri
We are happy to report on various activities Teva Ivri held during Tu B'Shvat:
Study group and discussion on the subject of natural resources and natural gas finds royalties was held on Friday January 21st2011 Tel-Aviv. This activity was held as part of a collaboration between Teva Ivri and Alma House Tu B'Shvat street party. Lectures were held with Kobi Oz and Rabbi Michael Malchior.
Tu B'Shvat event in Karmiel: On Trees and Men was held on Jan 18th with the participation of various educational organizations that plant seeds throughout ...
COEJL Action Alert: Stop ‘Dirty Air’ Bills From Passing
PROTECT OUR HEALTH – STOP “DIRTY AIR” BILLS FROM PASSING
BACKGROUND:
Despite clear scientific evidence of greenhouse gases harming our air, land and water and contributing to climate change, some Senators and Representatives are attacking the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to enforce Clean Air Act safeguards. These safeguards are already saving lives and improving the health of millions of Americans and in 2007 were mandated by the Supreme Court as part of the EPA’s responsibility. We must tell Congress not to ...
Topsy-Turvy World: Environmental Campaign Relaunched
GZA members enjoyed their tour of the Topsy Turvy Bus at the Green Israel Summit this past October.
NEW YORK (Feb. 11, 2011) — Long past December, this year’s Chanukah miracle is that the oil is still burning. Fueled by cooking oil first used during the Green Zionist Alliance’s Chanukah party at Greenpoint Shul, the Topsy Turvy Bus begins its third Jewish environmental tour today in Raleigh, N.C.
The GZA’s Chanukah oil alone, though, may not have gotten the bus past Delaware, and the miracle would have stopped ...
My Oh Mayim: Rethinking Water Usage in a Land Flowing with Milk and Honey, but Little Water.
Ushavtem mayim b'sason.Draw water in joy. A classic song of joy danced to at every celebration by millionsof Jews worldwide. Jews sing and dance about water at every proayer service and celebration. Through our prayer, song and dance, we hope that Israel willhave enough water for the coming year.
The last couple of years have seen the harshest drought to hit the region in decades. Demand for water is high and continues to grow as population expands, therefore Israel's fresh (sweet) water resources are quickly drying up, and Israelis know it.
Israeli ...
Walk About Love 2011 ! ! !
Dear Brothers and Sisters all around the world !
We are organizing an amazing traveling peace festival open to everyone !
Walk About Love
Creating a new reality with Love
Walk About Love 2011 !! - The Magical journey continues ...
Starting March 16th - Eilat, Israel
Next month we are about to set foot for the third time upon the ancient trails of Israel on the
Walk About Love Journey !
1,000 Kilometers Love & Peace Rally across Entire Israel !
100 days ALL NATIONS CELEBRATION
One Love !
After two ...
Bad few weeks on the Anti-GMO front, but its always darkest before the dawn.
Its been a bad couple weeks on the anti-GMO front. Last week the USDA approved the planting of GM Alfalfa without restrictions, and they are now poised to approve GM Sugar Beets as well. These approvals come as part of the efforts of the Obama administration to remove "burdensome" regulations, and are a sad betrayal of consumer's rights and environmental health concerns. Alfalfa, America's fourth largest crop, is planted on over 23 Million acres. What this approval means is that while currently 93% of alfalfa is grown without the use of pesticides, ...
Question of the Week #10
Liore Milgrom-Elcott, board member of the Green Zionist Alliance and staff member at Hazon, asks Jewcology's question of the week.
So what’s going on here, anyways?
The Teva Learning Center is North America's foremost Jewish Environmental Education Institute. Working with Jewish Day Schools, Congregational Schools, Synagogues, camps, and youth groups, Teva's programs touch the lives of over 6,000 participants of all denominations annually. The Teva Learning Center is a program of Surprise Lake Camp.
The Teva Bus Tour takes the Teva Learning Center on the road, bringing communities together in action, advocacy and education. Starting this Wednesday, the bus is heading south! On tour we'll be stretching ...
Eye on RAVSAK: The North American Jewish Day School Conference
Today is the second day of the RAVSAK conference and I will be presenting on a panel discussing "Laboratories for Innovation: Day Schools and Jewish Social Entrepreneurship." The theme for this year's RAVSAK is The High Performance, High-Tech Jewish Day School of the Very Near Future. The various presentations that are happening throughout the conference are clear within thematic scope: issues pertaining to technology, innovation, special needs, stress and Israel.
One of the many things I will be discussing is how gardens and green spaces on school ...
March 13-14 Leadership Training – Scholarship Deadline Feb 14
As a Jewish environmentalist, are you seeking to inspire environmental change in local or national Jewish communities? Looking for ways to move people that do not always share the same views as you?
Jewcology is pleased to offer a special new in-person leadership training opportunity which will empower participants to engage those who are not already involved in environmental action, and in so doing, raise the level of environmental engagement across the Jewish community.
This training is perfect for rabbis, educators, synagogue lay leaders, and other ...
Power to the People? Energy Battle in Israel Pits Firms vs. Public Interest
NEW YORK (Feb. 4, 2011) — This month, the Knesset will make one of the most important votes in its history. After all, it’s not every day that a country has the opportunity to revolutionize life for its people. Of course, it’s not every day that a country discovers more than $300 billion in the ground. But after finding some of the largest natural-gas deposits in the world just off of its coast, that’s the situation in which Israel finds itself. The Tamar and Leviathan gas fields can change life for every Israeli.
Currently, Israeli ...
Honey from the Rock: Avoiding History
Ten years ago I visited Cairo, Egypt with my parents. I’ll never forget the time when we went to the Egyptian Museum to see King Tut’s mask. Surprisingly, the most interesting thing about King Tut’s golden mask is not the mask itself, but watching people’s faces as they looked at it. Their eyes revealed a state of mind that can only be described as “captivated”. It was clear to me that after thousands of years, the ancient Egyptians were still masters of the external, material side of existence, but that is all that remains ...
The Garden
Garden. Two syllables. No difficult “ch” or “tz” sounding pronunciations. The guttural “ayin” is left entirely out of the mix. However, as a graduate student studying landscape architecture, I still find myself grappling with the word.
As a child, there was only one garden, the Garden of Eden. There were no difficult questions. The garden was paradise, the place where God took care of all of Adam and Eve’s needs. Then I learned that Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden for eating from the Tree of Knowledge. You can ...
Question of the Week #9
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, MD and the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, asks Jewcology's Question of the Week.
Buildingreen (Ecologic Art)
Hello Jewcology Community,
Buildingreen is an Israeli company that builds exclusively out of recycled material. In israel is it very important that we save water because we don't have very much of it. Buildingreen promotes recycling water and specializes in gray water systems and aquaphonic systems to grow organic food. We also build tubs, fish pools and benches for gardens of all sorts in our community, all out of recycled material. In each of our projects we don't down-cycle or discriminate against non-recyclable material. Give us garbage and we turn it ...
Do you know Evonne? You should.
As a member of the Jewcology team, I’m a happy camper. I wasn’t totally sure of how the bits and pieces of Jewcology.com would come together or which people would engage with the material and users. However, last week was TuBShvat and there were so many accessible and usable resources on the site. I know a number of people who went to the site to learn more ways of teaching and engaging with the holiday. Last week was really the first time I was able to see the Jewcology dream in action, full force.
I want to dedicate this time and space to say thank ...
Powerless
On Wednesday night, I was sitting in my office, printing documents and chatting with my husband when the lights went out. The lights, the computer, the printer. Silence, darkness as we looked out the window into the snowy night. The documents, half-printed. The to-do list. Everything we had planned for the evening (and as it turned out, for the rest of the week) would have to wait.
We began an entirely different type of conversation, which I’m sure was happening in homes all across our neighborhood. Where are the candles? Do we have batteries for the radio? How cold ...