With many area schools beginning their fall semester between mid-August and early September, many students and their parents will be heading to the stores for back-to-school supplies. Your back-to-school purchases make a huge difference. Here’s why: 14 billion pencils are produced every year, many made with wood from ancient forests. Americans
The weather may be hot and humid, but summer is still a good time to be mindful of the importance of protecting God’s creation, the Earth, by reducing energy waste in your home. Below are a few simple suggestions to get you started. These tips will both help reduce waste
Who Stole My Religion?: 1. Generates interest and discourse on the future of Judaism and our imperiled planet because of its challenging analyses. 2. Delivers a critical analysis of Orthodox Judaism’s views on climate change and politics. 3. Argues that vegetarianism, and especially veganism, is the diet most consistent with Jewish teachings and
As a lifetime Weight Watcher, I have learned a few tricks. The most helpful to me was this one: Banish red light food from your home…and keep healthy food cut up and ready to eat at the front of your refrigerator in plastic see-through containers. Now what does that have
Summer is here and what better way to honor the environment and the Jewish principle of baal tashchit (do not waste) than by planning your summer travels to be as eco-friendly as possible. Here are a few tips to help as you plan your summer getaway: Use eco-friendly transportation as
Until recently I thought I understood the problem with palm oil. I thought palm oil meant unethical agricultural practices causing the destruction of equatorial rainforests, driving Orangutans to extinction and contributing significantly to climate change. I believed that products where palm oil was listed as an ingredient are worse than
Jeffrey Cohan, the Executive Director of Jewish Veg, is coming to Teaneck, NJ. He will be leading an hour-long, interactive presentation at Congregation Beth Sholom on the significance of Tza’ar Baalei Chayim (the Jewish mandate to prevent animal suffering) in our contemporary world. This event begins at 7 pm and
Statistics show that in the U.S. alone 60 million metric tons of food is wasted each year, of which about 40 million metric tons of it end up in municipal landfills. This represents between 30 to 40 percent of the overall food supply and the single largest component in landfills. It
A Day of Prayer & Action for People and Planet. Sunday, June 12 FAITHS RISING FOR PEOPLE & PLANET Sacred Earth, Sacred Trust is a worldwide, multi-faith day of prayer & action for the planet and a call for world leaders to commit to a 1.5 degree limit on global
On the eve of the Democratic National Convention, as TV cameras turn towards Philadelphia, thousands will march for action to prevent climate catastrophe and present these demands directly to current and future policy makers: • Ban Fracking Now • Keep Fossil Fuels in the Ground • Stop Dirty Energy •
By JEI intern, Maggie McCarthy Though the earth sustains us, its health depends upon our care and responsible use of its resources. Protecting the planet is both a religious and spiritual imperative. The Hebrew phrase l’dor v’dor captures this central command. We must pass on a thriving earth “from generation
By guest blogger, Maggie McCarthy, JCRC Environmental Intern While February may seem early to think about gardening, planning ahead in the winter months allows necessary time for creating a healthy and sustainable home garden. Despite the tendency to think of landscaping as purely ornamental, harvesting appropriate plants can bolster the
If you are expecting a baby or have little ones in your home, you may be wondering how to surround your infant or toddler with products that are environmentally safe. Below are a few suggestions that will help reduce waste (baal tashchit) and keep your baby healthy too. Make your
Here are some of the important lessons on activism that I learned from the first two chapters of Genesis: 1. From Genesis 2:15, “the human being was put into the Garden of Eden to work the land and to guard (preserve) it,” I learned that I should be an environmental
Pope Francis is speaking to world leaders at the UN on September 25 with a simple message for politicians: There is no more time for talk. Now is the time to act on climate change. In his recent encyclical on climate change, Pope Francis wrote that “…faced as we are
Rosh Hashanah commemorates God’s creation of the world. The “Ten Days of Repentance” from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur is a period to evaluate our deeds and to do teshuvah (repentance) for cases where we have missed the mark. Sukkot is a holiday in which we leave our fine houses
In the fight to secure the planet’s future, the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College is beckoning the past for inspiration. And it’s urging others to do the same. Leaders of the school have issued a call to Jews around the world to revive an ancient prayer ritual that affirms the
Water use in and around your home takes its toll on the environment, because it needs to be cleaned, delivered, and then treated, using energy and resources every step of the way. Conserving water helps protect natural ecosystems and aquifers, saving both energy and money. It also is a great way
Many home remodeling efforts take place in the summer and fall. Before you begin a home remodeling project, consider ways you can remodel to make your home more “green.” This can include everything from using eco-friendly products to improving energy efficiency. Being eco-friendly when you upgrade your house is one
