JUST ENGAGE

When I was 12, I joined my friend for a daring swim in the beautiful, albeit jellyfish infested waters of the Mediterranean.  Back then, the Israeli coast would get an annual, two-week bout of jellyfish.  I wasn’t there long enough to wait it out, so my friend and I jumped in and were undeterred by the mild stings on our bodies.  Then, I had an encounter with a jellyfish that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy – it and I met as I dove under a wave.  It, and more importantly, its tentacles, hit my face, leaving a scar that lasted years.  (Fortunately, the family I was with knew not to pee on me.)  Though painful beyond words, it was a reality of sharing an ecosystem. 

As I wrote in my last post ("Can Gore's Climate Proposal Take Flight"), former Vice President Al Gore has challenged the United States to transition to 100 percent carbon-free electricity in 10 years. This is an ambitious goal, to be sure. Some might argue that it's an impossible challenge. And certainly, as Dot Earth writes, it is an "intentionally super-sized" challenge. [Comment 6 to my previous approach agrees]

But Gore's challenge was not intended to be a rhetorical device.  Rather it is a bold and intentional departure from conventional ways of viewing environmental problems.  Gore challenged Americans to stop adopting "incremental proposals made up of small policies designed to avoid offending special interests" in favor of comprehensive and strategic plans.  As a Jew, this paradigm shift resonates with me.

Years ago, I had a fascinating conversation with an observant woman.  She explained the emergence of her commitment to Jewish law. For years, she dabbled with tradition – perhaps she lit Shabbat candles, but still drove to synagogue; she kept kosher at home, but would eat fish outside the house.  But this "ad hoc" approach to Judaism left her exhausted and confused. Every day was filled with dozens of decisions: Could she eat leftovers on her home dishes? Could she drive to a friend's house for Shabbat dinner?  Ironically, she discovered that her life became simpler and less stressful when she became more observant.  Now, she no longer has to rationalize inconsistencies and take the time to navigate her faith.

Perhaps this woman's journey is a lesson for what we must do as a nation.  Congress is paralyzed with short-sighted and microscopic decision-making.  The House and Senate have tried for months to extend existing incentives for investment in renewables – with no success.  Both the House and Senate have rejected bills that would have modestly reduced gas prices by curbing oil speculation.  Some of our leaders are trying to chip away at gas prices by proposing to open protected areas to drilling. Each of these ideas is fraught with debate and controversy.  

The answer to high gas prices and climate change cannot be found in any one of these proposals.  Our nation demands a fundamental paradigm shift. We can stop funding despotic regimes and lower gas prices – and begin to solve climate change – by eliminating carbon-based fuels from our electricity grid. 

Accepting such bold and sweeping measures is not new to the Jewish people. We accepted the Ten Commandments without amendment.  We were not permitted to vote to honor our parents, but covet our neighbors.  And, as my friend discovered years ago, such sweeping acceptance can be liberating.  If our nation accepts Gore's challenge – and commits to a virtually carbon-free economy within 10 years – we will no longer have to debate the virtues of drawing oil from the strategic petroleum reserve or placing limits on speculation.  And instead we can focus on solving the crisis before us.

Click here to see a digital remix of Gore's climate challenge.

With baited breath, people around the world have been waiting for this week to arrive.  This Friday, representatives from 205 countries around the world will make their grand entrance into the Olympic Stadium.  But this year is not like all other years. Being that the 2008 summer Olympics will be held in Beijing, China, I am sure there will be extra fireworks, magical dragons and beautiful masks galore.  Being that the 2008 summer Olympics are being held in Beijing, China, some of the athletes will be wearing masks, too.  But these masks aren’t so beautiful, they’re functional.  By wearing the masks, athletes hope to keep their lungs clean of the heavy pollution and particulate matter that covers Beijing.

The International Olympic Committee knew that China’s pollution was a concern, but awarded the honor to China with the understanding that it (and issues like human rights and freedom of press) would be fixed.  Jacques Rogge, the president of the IOC, was even reported in the NY Times as saying he was confident the air would be clean because Chinese officials “are not going to let down the world.”  Meanwhile, China surpassed the US and took the gold for annual carbon dioxide emissions and China’s air and water continue to be one of the most polluted in the world.  Needless to say, since the IOC awarded China with the 2008 Olympics, little has been done to alleviate anyone’s concerns. 

So, with the Olympics nearing, China did what any nation might do: forcibly shut down nearby factories, discontinue construction and shove half the city’s cars off the road.  Though air quality did improve, it hasn’t been enough.  Now they’re attempting to alter the weather.

With the worlds’ eyes on China, solutions needed to be found and implemented years ago. But they started too late, pollution concerns remain, and China is being publicly embarrassed. 

The Olympics will come and go, but will the world learn the lesson?  Last year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Sir Nicholas Stern and even some American politicians have said that we have until 2050 to reduce our carbon dioxide by 80%.  Like cleaning China’s air, such reductions in CO₂ emissions is an enormous challenge; and like China, if we wait too long it will be impossible to achieve. 

And for at least ten minutes, I was confident that America would rise to the challenge.

But as the crowd dispersed along the streets of Washington, D.C., I felt my own confidence dispel.  Last December, Congress could not commit to providing 15% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.  How can that same Congress pass a law requiring 100% renewable electricity by 2018? As Hank Green of "EcoGeek" writes, this is a "football-sized" pill to swallow.  Will Congress actually prescribe such medicine for the American people?  And will the public actually take it? For although this prescription is in the long-term interests of our country, there will be many disenfranchised patients along the way.  As Green notes, the typical coal-fired power plant is designed to last 30-50 years.  Power companies will not dismantle a plant prematurely without compensation.  Sure, Gore acknowledged the need to "guarantee good jobs in the fresh air and sunshine" for all displaced coal miners, but that doesn't account for the disenfranchised factory workers – and the vested interests – in maintaining those factories.

I want to believe that Gore's vision is achievable.  After all, mankind has achieved the inconceivable in the past: Noah saved the world from destruction by constructing the ark.  What do you think? Can Gore's vision take flight – or is it simply an impossible dream?

Jews - especially observant ones - are particular. Dietary laws of kashrut require that we eat certain foods prepared in certain ways, we require a quorum of ten adult Jews when we pray, and we send our children to special schools to receive Jewish education. This requires a lot from a community. As a result, Jews moved to live near Jews so that all of life’s essentials could be nearby. The shtetl was born.

Beyond the convenience, the rabbis understood the value of shared physical space. To this end (or so that’s how I’m interpreting it), they formed laws that essentially required Jews to settle within established communities. According to the 39 law of Shabbat, Jews are not supposed to carry outside their homes. For a variety of reasons, the rabbis established the eruv, a physical enclosure that extends the marks the entire community as “home.” Though challenging in a modern lifestyle, this rule can be understood to reinforce the spiritual community with physical proximity.

When I was younger, I observed the laws surrounding eruv - even when my family went camping over Shabbat, we enclosed our campsites with twine. Since, finding an apartment within an eruv has not been my priority. Rather than searching for a kosher butcher, I sought the local health food store. Rather than worrying about a mikva (ritual bath), I found a home close to Central Park. Still, I think the rabbis were on to something and they’re not the only ones.

Realtors, city planners and environmentalists are examining the “walkability” of a city. Walkscore.com just came out with a report that rates cities and neighborhoods by how easy it is to walk to the basic necessities of life. In other words, they’re rating whether a neighborhood’s eruv can sustain the community within. Though it’s so “easy” to hop in a car to drive the 10 miles to the grocery store or movie theater, functioning within a walkable eruv provides wonderful spiritual, environmental and health results.

Check the score for your neighborhood by putting in your address - I hope you “do well.” It’s ok if you didn’t - America wasn’t built with eruvs in mind. Still, that doesn’t mean we can’t start thinking about the wonders of 21^st century eco-shtetl.

A few days ago, I purchased a sandwich from a local deli.  As an afterthought, I asked for an extra piece of cheese for the baby.  Before I could take the slice, the counterperson smiled brightly and immediately placed the two-by-two inch square into a 16-ounce cup with a plastic lid.  "Is that for here or to go?" she queried, stuffing a three-inch stack of napkins into a plastic bag. As she rang up my order, I surreptitiously returned the napkins to a receptacle on the counter.  The cup, unfortunately, would have to be "recycled" into a blog post. 

Last week, the G8 announced that they would (with, as the Daily Grist reports, a number of caveats) aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by fifty percent from current levels by mid-century.  An ambitious goal, to be sure – yet, the scientific community has told us we need to reduce emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels to avoid the most catastrophic effects of global warming.  Whether the right number is fifty percent or eighty percent – the numbers are high enough to make your stomach sink and your head spin.  What does it mean to cut emissions by more than half?  And how can we possibly accomplish this?  Certainly, how can we accomplish this when we live in a society that finds it necessary to cover a single slice of cheese with a cup and a lid?

The answer is we can't. 

As long as we live in a society where a sandwich is accompanied by its weight in napkins; where a container of yogurt is served with a plastic knife, fork and spoon; and a single gallon of milk is placed inside two plastic grocery bags, we will not win the battle against climate change.  Solving the climate crisis is going to require a fundamental change in our national consciousness.  We must learn to rethink consumption and redefine our "needs."  And we cannot simply defer to the government to make these changes.

Sometimes I get overwhelmed when I think of the enormity of our needed reductions.  But the Styrofoam cup is half full: with so much excess, the initial cuts will be easy.  In fact, a report released earlier this month by Environment America announced that simple building efficiency measures could reduce US energy consumption by 11%.  A December 2007 report by McKinsey and Company identified more than 250 existing technologies and strategies that could reduce US emissions by 28% in 2030.  And imagine how we can each augment these numbers with countless changes in our own lives – from taking our own grocery bags to the market to riding public transportation to work. 

Indeed, America will come a long way toward addressing the climate crisis when cashiers begin to serve fries without a side of plastic.  And tomorrow when I take my kids for icecream, I'll be sure to ask for it in a cone – hold the cup and spoon.

67% of Americans who say they care about the environment do so because it’s “God’s creation.”

Almost 50% of Sierra Club members go to a house of worship at least once a month.

Whoa.

I hope that it’s no surprise to any readers that there is a strong faith-based environmental movement. The National Religious Partnership for the Environment – made up of Jews (COEJL), Catholics, Protestants (NCC Eco-Justice) and Evangelicals (Evangelical Environmental Network) – has been around for over 15 years. Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) is an environmental initiative with over 25 state chapters. To these organizations and many of their affiliated houses of worship, connection between Earth stewardship and faith is clear.

Sierra Club has recently noticed this powerful movement and published a report: Faith in Action: Communities of Faith Bring Hope for the Planet, which includes the stats mentioned above. Beyond an introduction which delves into the power of faith-based action, it shares stories of 52 communities of faith – one for each state, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico – where faith propelled them to critical ecological and sustainable action. As the report notes, the environmental movement was secular, shying away from “values” and dare I say it, “creation.” Never before has a study like this been done. But the environmental (and political) significance is enormous!

Though there is a clear danger in grafting “God” with “politics,” (I hope I don’t need to explain) even Sierra Club can’t ignore its wonders. 86% of the world’s population affiliates with a religion. The report notes that all the religious environmental initiatives “coalesce around a few key broadly shaped principles: stewardship, justice and concern for ‘the poor,’ and concern for one’s neighbor and future generations.” Agreement on these principles may not bring world peace. Frankly, slight variations of interpretation continue to yield devastating wars.

If we can harness the energy of religious faiths to the issues of earth stewardship, then we might just have a chance.

Special to WJW

It has been 1,039 days since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. When Katrina and Rita struck, Jewish groups joined the millions of Americans who sent money, goods and a tremendous outpouring of prayer and goodwill to the people of New Orleans and the other impacted areas.

The United Jewish Communities emergency relief fund raised more than $28 million for assistance to Jews and non-Jews alike. Yet now, having just returned from New Orleans, 1,039 days later, I can tell you this, it is not enough.

Two weeks ago, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs took a group of Jewish and African American community leaders from around the nation down to New Orleans to see firsthand the state of "recovery" in Louisiana. Directors and board members from Jewish Community Relations Councils partnered with African American leaders including college presidents, elected officials, civil rights leaders and Episcopal and Baptist ministers.

Partners from Dayton, San Jose, Portland, San Antonio and New Orleans, as well as members of the JCPA staff, saw firsthand the devastation that Katrina wreaked on New Orleans, but also the racism, deep poverty and environmental degradation that existed even prior to the storm. We took a disaster tour of the affected areas, noting which had been able to rebuild and in which people were still living in tent cities or in FEMA trailers.

The Jewish and African American representatives met with faith leaders and elected officials, food bankers and environmental activists, journalists and community organizers, professors and storm victims, piecing together the puzzle of how 1,039 days after the storm, there is still so much suffering and inequality.

They put their hands and their hearts into a rebuilding project in a working class parish where 100 percent of the homes were uninhabitable after the storm, and many residents are still living in trailers as they try to salvage their waterlogged homes.

We at the JCPA brought together this trip to New Orleans as a way to encourage leaders from across the country to engage their communities in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast region and as a way to strengthen the historical alliance between Jewish Americans and African Americans.

This summer marks the 44th anniversary of the murders of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner as they sought to register black voters in Philadelphia, Miss. It is 45 years since Rabbi Joachim Prinz, then president of the American Jewish Congress, spoke at the famed March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and 58 years since the creation of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, whose founding members included then NJCRAC (the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council, now known as JCPA) board chair Arnold Aronson. Our two communities have a long history of striving together toward justice.

The psalmist wrote:

"Let the floodwaters not sweep me away; let the deep not swallow me; let the mouth of the Pit not close over me. Answer me, O Lord, according to your great steadfastness; in accordance with your abundant mercy turn to me; do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress; answer me quickly."

New Orleans and communities of the Gulf Coast are still in distress, and quickly has long since passed. It is up to us -- Jewish Americans, African Americans and all Americans -- to remember the many thousands who are still homeless, still hungry, still lacking health care and the basic necessities of life.

It is them, each created in the image of the Almighty, that we must remember as we work together to make our nation a better and more just place for all its inhabitants. One thousand and thirty-nine days later, we must not forget.

As an undergrad, my professors explained that climate change would never be solved. Politicians, after all, will only seek solutions for problems that they can tackle in four-year cycles. And people will only seek solutions for problems they can see. But carbon emissions are invisible and global warming would not affect us for generations. Or so we thought.

But now, the effects of climate change are felt on a daily basis. Global temperatures have increased by more than 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past 100 years. This spring, an ice sheet the size of Manhattan crashed into the Arctic sea. The recent listing of the polar bear as a threatened species explicitly acknowledged the role of climate change in their decline. The genocide in Darfur is widely attributed to resource scarcity caused by climate change. In short, climate change is no longer a problem we can shut our eyes to.

Unfortunately, to many people, climate change remains invisible. As reported in Reuters, Tesco, the world's third-largest food retailer, recently announced a plan to end that. It will begin placing carbon labels on 20 products to help consumers see the greenhouse gas emissions per serving of certain items including potatoes, orange juice, cleansers and light bulbs. John Tierney, likewise imagines that consumers would change their behavior if consumers could only visualize their emissions. In a recent article in the New York Times, Tierney, highlights a number of gadgets that would help consumers visualize their emissions. One gadget, called "the Wattson" changes colors based on electricity consumption. Tierney imagines a world where people would wear electronic jewelry to report their carbon use. These flashing mood rings and pendants would immediately allow onlookers to assess the carbon habits of their peers. And, Tierney speculates, "If the delegates to future conferences on climate change are expected to wear illuminated symbols of their energy consumption, they won't be visiting any more spots like Bali."

Tierney isn't alone in trying to figure out ways to make carbon tangible. A team of four teens in England recently won a competition for their proposed invention: the "Enuffometer." The gadget would provide minute-by-minute monitoring of energy use, with results that could be text messaged to the owner's mobile phone – and remotely disconnect wasteful appliances. As the insightful youthful inventors explain, the Enuffometer helps people visualize their emissions since "people find it much easier to fight something they can see." Well put.

Carbon mood rings and the Enuffometer will likely be among the tools of the future to help us visualize our carbon emissions. But other gadgets already exist. The "Kill a Watt" helps users determine how energy is being used around the house – so that they can cut back on wasteful devices. [You can purchase a Kill a Watt (and other energy-saving gadgets) at www.coejl.earthaidkits.com.]

Those of you who read my posts know that, for me, climate change is anything but an invisible problem. To the contrary, I fear its effects are far too visible. But even I could benefit from a flashing reminder when my energy use is excessive. After all, we all need someone to remind us when we've used "Enuff."

[For more on ways that already exist to visualize the effects of climate change, read Liore's May 28 post, "Have to See it to Believe it?"]

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I'd love your thoughts on other ways we could send consumers the right signals about energy use.

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs just completed its first Community Relations trip to New Orleans.  This trip was a way to encourage dedicated leaders to reengage their communities around rebuilding the Gulf Coast and engaging in confronting poverty.  The mission to New Orleans took place June 15-18, 2008.  The mission was an opportunity for JCRC directors to invite an African American leader from their community for a three day transformative experience that included:

• Education about the intersection between poverty, race and climate change;
• A tour of New Orleans three years after the storms;
• Meetings with local faith, civic, and political leaders;
• A day of service in the area;
• Resources and contacts in the area for use when planning future trips;
• Concrete action steps you and your community partner can take upon returning home to engage on Gulf Coast and anti-poverty activism on a sustained basis.

The goal of this trip was to build and strengthen relationships that JCRCs can use to reengage their home communities around helping victims of Katrina and Rita, and as an entry point into broader anti-poverty activism and advocacy as part of the JCPA's anti-poverty campaign, "There Shall Be No Needy Among You". 

This trip was an eye opening experience for all of those who went.  Even three years after the storms that ripped the Gulf Coast apart, in some parishes only 25% of the homes have been rebuilt.  People are still trying to salvage their homes while having to live a "normal" life.  Over and over we heard about the trauma that people are still experiencing.  Some people are having to pay rent  while also paying off their mortgages on homes that have been destroyed.  And over and over again, we heard that the government on any level is just not helping.  It has been the grass roots and the faith based organizations that have been rebuilding the city and helping the residents of the city to cope with their losses.

When I first began to organize this trip, I was completely lost.  I had the names of a few people I was told I could use as contacts and we had an idea of what issues we wanted to incorporate.  But other than that, the canvas was empty.  I am not Jewish or African American and this too added stress in my planning.  I wanted to make both groups comfortable in their experience and wanted to make sure that we bonded as a group around.

In the end, my worries were probably a waste of time.  When we got to New Orleans, it became very obvious who we needed to be worried about, and who needed our attention.  Religion, race, economic class, did not seem to matter to the people whose homes we worked to rebuild.  People in New Orleans were just grateful that a group of caring people were there to help.  I think I am still in a bit of shock at how well the trip went.  I had envisioned so many things going wrong, but in the end, it was the participants' dedication to justice that proved to be what mattered. 

I learned a lot in New Orleans.  I learned about the systematic racism that took place during the evacuation of the city.  I learned about the government programs that did not help the people they were created for.  I learned about a tragedy that was not caused nearly as much by Mother Nature as it was broken manmade levees.  Most importantly, I learned that the people of New Orleans are relying on people like us, people who still have our homes and resources to help them get back on their feet, no matter what our background may be.