1988 results for tag: Uncategorized

Sun, Soil, Water: California Magic Should Do the Rest

Garden season in Southern California is year round and every time I turn around another garden has popped up. Last week I helped IKAR, a spiritual community in Los Angeles, to put in their very own garden. A great company, Farmscape, donated beds, soil and automatic watering supplies to the cause. Neighborhood people and IKAR congregants helped with the building and schelping. It was a beautiful day and I was proud to be a part of it. However, one thing that I truly learned from the experience is that while so many people are interested in getting their gardens going in their homes or communities, they don’t know much about the ...

The Whole World In G-d’s Hands?

I read an article last week on NPR about a small nation call Kiribati, which is made up of 33 tiny islands, scattered across an area more than twice the size of Alaska. This nation is in danger of being engulfed by the rising Pacific Ocean that surrounds it. The tides have already started to shift, often ruining crops and personal property belonging to residents located fairly far inland. There is no clear evidence that this sea-level rise has anything to do with climate change, however, Kiribati illustrates the hardships that will arise, especially for coastal cities and island nations, as sea levels do rise over the next century due to ...

Eden Village Camp & Friends Send the Teva Topsy Turvy Bus South! Live Update from I-95

Greetings Earthlings! This is Jonah, from Eden Village Camp, and the Teva Topsy Turvy Bus Tour! We are currently cruising on I - 95 out of the live oak and spanish moss lined promenades of the fair city of Savannah Georgia, where the weather is migh-tee-fine. Shabbos is coming, and the challah dough is rising in our little topsy turvy kitchen. Meanwhile, Noah is centrifuging a fresh score of waste vegetable oil. We’re on a roll, having just finished up a rocking series of programs in Raleigh, N.C. where we were featured in a full color spread in the city’s newspaper: making solar ovens from recycled materials, learning to about worm ...

Our Leaders Today: Interview with Lee Wallach of Faith2Green

Jewcology’s “Our Leaders Today,” is a monthly colum interviewing environmental leaders and activists in Jewish communities near and far. Through personal stories, the columnm, like Jewcology.com, serves not only to generate exposure for important initiatives, but in helping you and I reflect, re-invest, and connect our own efforts, values and goals among our communities. As both a business leader and non-profit professional Lee H. Wallach is active in his community. He is a founding board member and President of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life of Southern California (CoejlSC), Co-Chair of the ...

Song of the Weeds

A new exciting trend of poetry is evolving in Israel: poetry that promotes ecological awareness. This new type of poetry mourns the loss of nature, and wishes to change awareness. Yarok Achshav, Teva Ivri and Mashiv Ruah organized an awareness raising evening through the use of poetry. On a cold Jerusalem evening hundreds of young people gathered together to sing and read poetry that protest the loss and abuse of natural resources. Please check out the pictures from this event in our photo gallery

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 was extended by our sages, considering any kind of useless destruction as Bal ...

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 the year Tu B'Shvat event for families in Jerusalem Radio program ...

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 halt the EPA’s work in its tracks especially now when environmental ...

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 there. But scores of people and about a dozen co-sponsoring organizations have ...

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 society Is quickly working to address the region's water shortages before the ...

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 amazing journeys together throughout Israel Our magical journey continues... this ...

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, the approval of GM alfalfa will undoubtably increase the use of herbicides in ...

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 minds while celebrating Purim, dreaming big to welcome in Pesach, connecting to ...

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 campuses help enhance learning challenges and innovations discussed. I truly ...

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 community leaders at all levels and from all denominations who are seeking to educate ...

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 law requires that only 30 to 33 percent of the profits from selling natural ...

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 of their culture. Indeed Egyptian history is captivating, but it remains just ...