Earth Etude for 11 Elul

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Earth Etude for 11 Elul

Maintaining the Climate by Lois Rosenthal “If you go by my statutes and keep My commands and do them, I shall give you rains in their season and the land will give its yield…” Lev 26:4 The ancient Israelites trusted G-d to maintain the seasons in a fixed and repeatable

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Earth Etude for 3 Elul

The Earth Is Crying Out in Pain Rabbi Katy Z. Allen “The Earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” (Ps. 24:1) The Earth is crying out in pain. Yet, its beauty and mystery shine forth, ever ready to calm us, inspire us, strengthen us, and remind us of our

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Tar Sands Students: Fighting Environmental Destruction

I never imagined I would be needed in the Senate’s Foreign Relations hearing room, but then again I only recently joined Tar Sands Students. On Wednesday, July 25, twenty-two high school and college students rallied together in D.C. to fight tar sands oil production, thanks to the hard work and

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New Interfaith Ecology Video “One Home”

The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development based out of Jerusalem has recently released a new video entitled "One Home." This unique interfaith eco viral video features world religious leaders speaking out on environmental sustainability. Faith leaders including Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the Dalai Lama, and others deliver a message of

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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

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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

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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,

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Equity or the Flood: Two Visions of Justice

It is now seven weeks to Passover and the Passover foods are already for sale in my local supermarket. My family is already planning when to do our shopping and whom to invite to the seder. Like many Jewish families, we put a lot of time and preparations into this

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Why Tu B’shvat Matters in 2012

The economy is in crisis across much of the USA and Europe, governments are killing their citizens in Syria and Bahrain, and organized crime is dominating Mexico and Central America… This Tu B’shvat how can we worry about environmental issues, when there are so many pressing social issues face our

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Educating Teens About Environmental Issues (CJN November 2011)

This "Sustainable Jew" article appeared inthe Canadian Jewish News November 3, 2011 During the time surrounding the High Holiday period, I had the opportunity to speak to Grade 8 Science classes at a number of the Toronto Jewish Day Schools. My talks are generally drawn from materials I have access

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Community open to New Ideas (CJN September 2011)

This "Sustainable Jew" column appeared in the Canadian Jewish News, September 8, 2011 How does a community come together to look at new ideas and decide which ones to make a small investment in and see if they will succeed? The GTA Jewish community brought forward 78 proposals to the

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Seniors and Environmental Issues (CJN August 2011)

This "Sustainable Jew" article appeared in the Canadian Jewish News on August 11, 2011 The Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) is a national, non-partisan, non-profit organization committed to a ‘New Vision of Aging for Canada’ promoting social change that will bring financial security, equitable access to health care and

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What does it mean to be a “Sustainable Jew” (CJN Sept 2010)

This column was originally published in the Canadian Jewish News – September 22, 2010 Have you ever thought of Sukkot as a holiday which celebrates the Sustainable Jew In ancient Israel, Sukkot had a major agricultural focus. The celebration was a thanksgiving for the fruit harvest and the blessings of

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Growing Forests In The Desert

By Abigail Klein Leichman for Israel21C Photo Courtesy of Tel Aviv University http://www.tau.ac.il/index-eng.html Leave it to Israeli scientists to figure out a way of growing trees in the barren sands of the Arava Desert. The trees aren't just meant to look pretty. This pollution-reducing forest planted over the summer is

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thoughts about sustainability – from Noach to Abraham

Einat Kramer “And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.” Genesis 9:16 Parshat Noach details a terrible ecological disaster, the Flood that immerses

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I Can’t Convince You

As an environmental activist, human being, and as a Jew I have worked to mitigate the effects of climate change. I have planted gardens, taught classes, composted my own trash, as well as the trash of my neighbors, relatives, and friends. However, the more time I spend thinking about climate

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The Tar Sands, Hydro-fracking, and Climate Reality

After the failure of the climate negotiations in Copenhagen 18 months ago, it seemed to me that the environmental movement was taking a long pause, trying to figure out how to engage the American population in the greatest challenge of our time. It seems to me now that this pause

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