More on Mercury
Last month, we asked you to urge the Bush Administration to approve regulations that would reduce airborne levels of mercury, a toxic pollutant that is emitted by power plants. Mercury is especially dangerous to pregnant mothers and young children. In response, you joined activists around the country in submitting thousands of public comments calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enforce air pollution laws. The public outcry over this issue has been tremendous. Even some EPA officials have observed that if a weak Administration proposal is adopted, the agency could miss, perhaps by more than a decade, its 2018 target for reducing mercury emissions by 70%. EPA Administrator Michael Leavitt is still evaluating final plans.

Now a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators is calling for action. They are circulating a letter to their Senate colleagues to build support. You can help by sending an email or fax (or call) to your Senators asking them to sign on to the letter sponsored by Senators Leahy (D-VT) and Snowe (R-ME) on mercury emissions.

Click here to Take Action!

Have a Passover Seder That Honors All Forms of Creation
We will begin celebrating Pesach on Monday evening, April 5. For generations, Jews across the globe have commemorated our passage from slavery to freedom: Avadim ha-yenu, we were slaves, now we are free - while also celebrating the early Spring harvest. This year, as you celebrate Pesach, consider how all forms of life on Earth now need liberation. And consider, too, using the Haggadah created by COEJL activist and Jews of the Earth founder, Daniel Ziskin.

"We once were slaves in the land of Egypt. By miraculous power we were freed. Passover is traditionally a time of celebration, where we recall with joy this transformation. Tonight, we will have a Seder where we celebrate the freedom yet to be experienced. ...May the Creator of the universe bring us forth into a sustainable lifestyle that honors all forms of creation. May the chains of our unrestrained consumption melt as our consciousness expands."

Click Here for the full Haggadah (in pdf form)!

Towards a Sustainable Future for Israel:
An Environmental Leadership Seminar for Students and Young Professionals, June 6-16, 2004
COEJL is co-sponsoring a Birthright trip to Israel focused on the environment. The trip, which will take place June 6-16, is a joint project of COEJL, the Heschel Center for Environmental Leadership and Learning, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and Hillel.

Israel was born of the Zionist dream to reconnect the Jewish people with the land of Israel. Viewing Israel through environmental eyes offers an opportunity to explore how the dream has played out in more than 50 years of sovereignty over the physical landscape. During the seminar, we will travel the length and breadth of the country to examine the relationship between people and place, gain a deeper understanding of Israel today, and what a sustainable future for Israel might look like.

Travel and accommodations will be fully covered for participants accepted into the program. For eligibility, application, and other trips details, go to www.coejl.org/jgen/jgen_birthright.php.

Green Cleaning for Pesach

Now is the season for ridding our homes of hametz, the bits of bread in every corner which "pollute" the Pesach environment we try to create. Since the search for leaven coincides with annual Spring cleaning, it is also a time to think about what else pollutes our homes. Did you know that most of us spend at least 80% of our time indoors? Did you also know that that the U.S. EPA has found that indoor-air quality is often five times worse than the air outdoors? The average house contains 3 to 10 gallons of hazardous cleaning products that threaten your respiratory health and could end up in our air and water. Keep these facts in mind as you gear up for your Pesach cleaning frenzy. You can find environmentally responsible ways to dispose of hazardous products and identify alternatives to replace them at www.greenhome.com.

Report from COEJL's Jewish Environmental Leadership Institute
COEJL's 8th annual Mark & Sharon Bloome Jewish Environmental Leadership Institute was a huge success, drawing over 140 participants, including more than 60 first-timers. The conference, held in Boston February 22-24, took place in conjunction with the Jewish Council on Public Affairs (JCPA) Plenum and the Hillel Spitzer Public Policy forum. In total, over 600 Jewish leaders gathered in Boston. The sessions and workshops covered many topics, including Jewish environmental education, environmental policy in Washington, greening synagogues, Jewish theology and ecology, and interfaith advocacy for environmental causes.

One highlight was a panel discussion on Israel's environmental crisis with experts assessing the problems and proposing solutions. Later that day, the JCPA passed a COEJL-sponsored resolution that calls for more American-Israeli cooperation to respond to Israel's environmental challenges.

Please visit our website www.coejl.org for links to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ross Gelbspan's keynote address on global warming, Executive Director Adam Stern's speech on new directions for COEJL, and Lily Chandler's closing Heeb-Hop lyrics. It was a wonderful conference and we hope to see you at the COEJL Institute next year!