For Tu B'Shvat, Support America's National Forests
On Christmas Eve 2003, President Bush gave the timber industry a present, over nine million acres in Alaska's Tongass National Forest. By removing the protection offered by the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, the Administration has opened up our country's largest national forest to logging. This action disregards the results of more than 600 scientific studies and ignores two million public comments, which favored the Roadless Rule by a margin of 5 to 1.

As Tu B'Shvat approaches (Feb. 7, 2003 / 15 Shevat 5764) you can help support America's natural treasures. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter in the Senate (to be sent to President Bush) protesting the exemption of the Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule. Now is the time for you to call your Senators and ask them to sign on to Senator Boxer's letter on the Tongass forest.

Many members of Congress and officials in the Bush Administration are quick to quote religious sources as the moral foundation for their policy positions. Now, as we prepare to celebrate Tu B'Shvat, the "New Year of the Trees," let us remind them of these Biblical references: Psalms 24:1, "the earth is the Eternal's and all that it holds;" and Leviticus 25:23 "The Land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine."

Tu B'Shvat Higiyah -- the New Year of the Trees is Coming!
This year, Tu B'Shvat -- the Jewish Arbor Day, and an occasion for environmental thought and programming -- coincides with Shabbat Shirah, when we read "the song at the sea" from Exodus 15 (Feb. 6-7). Talmud Shabbat 155b tells us to only feed those animals who can't fend for themselves, like geese and chickens, on Shabbat. Still, an old Ashkenazi tradition says we feed all birds on Shabbat Shirah. Why? Some recall that birds foiled rebel plans to discredit Moses by eating the manna they had planted; we read about manna in the same Torah portion, Beshallach. Others hold that birds joined the chorus of praise at the Exodus. Or maybe it's just because birds are "ba'alei hashir," masters of song. Either way, we thank the birds by feeding them on the "Shabbat of Song." So let's shake the crumbs off our Shabbos tablecloths outdoors, or provide species-appropriate birdseed or suet, for our year-round avian residents who depend on trees, and give us song! (Adapted from Shabbat Shira for the Birds? by Rabbi David Golinkin.)

Trees are Us
"This Tu B'Shvat, let's listen to the voice of the trees - trees that are on fire with the light of Divinity." So writes Orthodox Rabbi Michael Skobac about the holiday which "should also prompt us to address any shortcomings we may have as individuals and as a society in failing to act as responsible stewards over the environment." His writings join other offerings by Orthodox rabbis and leaders who are raising environmental issues through a Torah lens. The new Orthodox environmental group Canfei Nesharim ("On Wings of Eagles"), many of whose members will be joining the upcoming COEJL Institute in Boston, is furthering this message on many fronts. Skobac's article also recalls a pre-nuptial consultation which led him to see "why a walk in the forest can be like a visit with relatives," and bids us to be "sensitive to the voice of G-d that speaks to us through the natural world."
Click here for the full article, "Trees are Us."

Baby, it's cold outside!
It's not too late to winterize your home or apartment! Not only is winterizing the environmentally correct thing to do by saving oil, gas, and other sources of energy, it can also save you remarkable amounts of money! The average unweatherized house in the U.S. increases the heating bill by 25-40 percent. Steps can be as easy as checking doorstops, turning down the temperature on your hot water heater and closing the damper on your fireplace. Check out these sites to see what easy steps you can take to keep ol' man winter out of your home: care2.com; CA energy commission consumer energy center; ESP Energy; About.com. And to make sure that you keep your wildlife neighbors from becoming seasonal houseguests, check out this advice from the Humane Society.

The Jewish Global Environmental Network's Environmental Leadership Seminar and Beyond...
In November 2003, COEJL and our colleagues from the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership and the People-to-People Center of the Jewish Agency for Israel, coordinated a delegation of 18 environmental leaders from across the U.S. and Canada. They traveled to Israel to meet with their Israeli counterparts in a first-of-its-kind study tour and seminar. Participants came from a wide array of environmental organizations, university departments, and agencies, including: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, the Center for Environmental Health, and many more. To learn more about JGEN's first Environmental Leadership Seminar, click here.