I am blessed to share the below words from Paul Stewart, co-chair of our green team at JCOGS. During this difficult year, the green team did not sit back. They ran multiple programs throughout the year on vegan cooking and regenerative farming, drawing on the expertise of our own members. And they developed, planted, and are now caring for our beautiful Mitzvah garden, including donating some of its produce to the local food share.
But there is more work to be done. And it is not just their work. It is all of our work.
The Jewish value of bal tashchit/thou shalt not waste G-d’s creation, holds a light up to the darkness that plagues earth right now as she scorches due to the climate crisis.
Read Paul's words and be inspired to get in touch with him and to make a difference.
Tihiyu bri'im, be well. Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David
PS Make sure to come to the BBQ August 22 at 5pm so you can see our new stunning Mitzvah garden mosaic.
What does climate change mean to you?
In college during the 1970’s, I learned about rivers that caught fire due to water pollution and lakes and forests too acidic to support life due to air pollution, but I never imagined pollution so dense and encompassing as to create a pollution layer in our atmosphere that could alter life on Earth. In those days, climate change and global warming were known simply as the greenhouse effect, a far-off diffuse challenge a society who sent humans to the moon could surely tackle. Fast-forward 50 years and that far-off diffuse challenge has become an existential threat, a concern for the very existence of life on Earth.
I’m convinced that enactment of the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and so many other landmark environmental laws that have had such a positive effect on planet Earth, would not have taken place without the enormous effort and sacrifices of people who wanted a better world for themselves and their children. Just as we once rid the rivers and lakes of their pollutants, I believe we are capable of ridding the planet of the polluting gases that will surely decimate all wildlife and human populations if not immediately addressed.
But this can only be done by ordinary people like you and me forming social action groups to coordinate our precious time with others like us who want climate change immediately addressed.
What does climate change mean to you? How should we address this critical need in our own Jewish community? I will be reaching out with more posts on ways we as individuals can mitigate climate change that you’re welcome to read, comment upon, and hopefully discuss with others. The inaugural post will be on energy efficiency. Let’s start the dialogue—please send any comments to paul.stewart@jcogs.org.
