Tips on how to plan and celebrate a...

Lo-Watt Shabbat

Shabbat is a time when, once a week, we are asked to slow down and remind ourselves that we are part of God's creation. This holy day emphasizes the importance of appreciating nature and taking conscious actions to protect the environment. It is especially appropriate to think about the sources of the products we use. As we understand where our water, food, and electricity come from, we can make better decisions in how we use and preserve these resources that allow us to live.

There are many ways to go about celebrating a "Lo-Watt" Shabbat, as there are ways to observe Shabbat. Below are a handful of tips, they are meant to provide options and possibilities. Find the tips that are easiest to incorporate into your Shabbat rituals, then slowly challenge yourself to extend the holiness of your lo-watt behavior into your weekly routine.

Below we present a comprehensive list of tips ranging from energy conservation to preparing an eco- friendly Oneg Shabbat.  In addition, there are suggested programs and Jewish texts to study in order to further explore the connection between Judaism and the environment.

• Energy
• Meals/Oneg Shabbat
• Programs/Texts/Services

ENERGY

Many of these tips can be done in preparation for Shabbat and can save you money too!

Appliances

• Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer. Save approximately 2000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $98 per year.
• Unplug any appliances, including chargers, that will not be in use during the entire length of Shabbat.
• Beyond Shabbat:Switch out your energy sucking appliances for Energy-Star approved ones, enabling you to conserve energy with every use! You can donate or recycle used electronics.

In the average home, 40% of all electricity is used to power home appliances while they're turned off.

Water

• Take shorter showers.
• Shut off the faucet when not in use (i.e. brushing your teeth).
• Run the washer only when you have a full load of laundry to save energy and water.
• Instead of putting on the faucet every time you want a drink, fill a pitcher with water beforehand and keep it in the refrigerator.
• Beyond Shabbat: Change showerheads and toilets for low-flow varieties (or use a toilet tank water displacement device). What about installing an Israeli -developed drip-irrigation watering system?

Households turn on water faucets an average of 70 times daily. It is estimated that up to 50% of the water families use could be saved by implementing simple conservation methods.

Lighting

1. Natural

• Make use of natural sunlight and enjoy real sunshine! Open blinds, drapes, and shutters to warm the home several degrees for free! Do just the opposite to cool the home several degrees!
• Try using non-toxic Shabbat candles (such as Beeswax), which can be made from renewable fuels.

Beeswax is the only naturally existing wax on Earth. It does not contain toxic petrochemicals and burns without smoke or soot.

2. Electrical

• Use dimmers where you can.
• Set automatic timers to turn on and turn off lights needed at specific times instead of constantly having them on.
• Beyond Shabbat: Replace any incandescent light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs.

If every family in America changed one incandescent bulb to a CFL it would be the same as taking 1.3 million cars off the road.

Transportation

Shabbat is a time to sit back, relax, and be part of your community. If that necessitates leaving your house, think twice about how you’re going to do it.

• Walk!
• Ride a bike or rollerblade.
• Carpool with friends, family, and neighbors.
• Take public transportation.
• Beyond Shabbat: Purchase a Hybrid vehicle or a high MPG automobile and save approximately 16,000 lbs. of CO2 per year.

Leaving your car at home just one day a week will reduce your CO2 emissions (on average) by 795 pounds per year.

MEALS/ONEG SHABBAT

Setting the Table

Try eating outside for the most natural setting!

• If you cannot use real dishes, serve your food on reusable and recyclable plates and cups, such as paper, rather than Styrofoam.
• Use cloth napkins and table covers instead of paper ones.
• After meals, store leftover food in reusable containers and/or donate it to a local soup kitchen or pantry.
• Decorate your Shabbat table with decorations made from recycled material such as magazines.

If 10,000 people use one less napkin per day, in a year we'll conserve the annual paper use of 58 Americans.

Food

• Consume less meat and increase vegetarian servings.

Almost a fifth of global warming emissions come from raising animals for food, according to a UN report.   This is more than the emissions stemming from the entire planet's transportation.

• Buy organic and locally grown products.

Conventional farming consumes more energy than organic farming, due to the use of petroleum based fertilizers.

• Beyond Shabbat: While food shopping, use your own cloth bag instead of plastic or paper bags to reduce waste.

TEXTS/SERVICES

There are many Shabbat activities which can enable you to interact with nature and increase your sensitivity to the environment. They range from reading an environmental magazine to holding a text study.

• Run an outdoor/Sunrise Service!
• "Conservation Conversations"-Invite your elected official to synagogue to address climate change policy or invite a Rabbi, other Jewish leader and/or a scientist greatly knowledgeable about the environment to speak to your congregation during a service or an Oneg Shabbat. Find one now from our Speakers Guide!
• Learn , study, and discuss all the different Jewish texts which promote environmental awareness and positive action.

The Talmud argues as to which is more important, study or action. The final answer incorporates both halves of the equation: “study, because it leads to action.”

• Have your own "Lo-Watt Shabbat" tip? Share it with the COEJL community by sending it to climatechange@coejl.org!