|
|
March 20, 2003 |
COEJL Community e-bulletin #5 |
|
|
Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
ONE WEEK LEFT for early bird prices!
REGISTER NOW!
Mark and Sharon Bloome Jewish Environmental Leadership Institute
May 15-18, 2003
Utica, MS
NEW!!
COEJL Program Bank - an interactive tool
Already on our mailing list but need to update your info?
Not on our mailing list?
Sign up with COEJL
Visit COEJL on the web
Contact your COEJL Regional Affiliate
Global Climate Change Action Center
Join Kol-Chai, COEJL's email discussion group
Order materials or donate to COEJL
|
IN THIS ISSUE:
TAKE ACTION: Clear Skies Act?
CELEBRATE: Passover Seder Reading
LEARN: The Passover-Environment Connection
GO GREEN: Spring Cleaning
SPOTLIGHT ON THE FIELD: NJEP's Energy Conservation Campaign
|
|
TAKE ACTION
|
|
Keep America's Air Clean and Safe
The President's air pollution proposal, which the Administration has dubbed the "Clear Skies Initiative," is in fact a series of rollbacks which would significantly weaken the Clean Air Act by delaying and diluting cuts in power plants' sulfur, nitrogen and mercury pollution mandated by current law. "Clear Skies" would roll back public health safeguards that protect local air quality, curb pollution from upwind states, and restore visibility in our national parks. Finally, it would do nothing to curb power plants' growing emissions of carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming.
The Administration's plan was introduced in the Senate as the Clear Skies Act. Please fax or email your Senators and tell them to oppose S. 485.IS, the Clear Skies Act. Keep the air clean for our children and future generations.
|
|
CELEBRATE
|
|
A Passover Seder Reading
Dipping Parsley into Waters of Tears: The Earth Cries Out to Us
by Rabbi Warren Stone, Washington, D.C.
Following is reading you can use during the seder at the time parsley or another green is dipped into salt water. You might also write your own!
If the Earth Could Speak, It Would Speak with Passion:
As you dip the beauty of greens into the water of tears, please hear my cry. Can't you see that I am slowly dying? My forests are being clear cut, diminished. My diverse and wondrous creatures -- birds of the sky and beasts of the fields -- small and large are threatened with extinction in your lifetimes. My splendid, colorful floral and fauna are diminishing in kind. My tropical places are disappearing before us, and my oceans are warming. Don't you see that my climate is changing, bringing floods and heat, more extreme cycles of cold and warm, all affecting you and all our Creation? It doesn't have to be! You, all of you, can make a difference in simple ways. You, all of you, can help reverse this sorrowful trend. Click here to continue.
|
|
LEARN
|
|
Passover and Our Environment
Passover is rich with teachings we can use to live more sustainably and happily on earth. One of the names for Passover is Z'man Chay-Ru-Tay-Nu, the time of our freedom. As we celebrate this holiday, let's think about the degree to which we are enslaved by our addiction to material things. Let's think about who our Pharaohs are - the forces in our society and within each of us that make us want more and more. Let's think about the other ways in which Judaism in general and Passover in particular can help us lead happier, more fulfilling, and less consumptive lives. (From Preparing for Passover, by Stewart Vile Tahl)
Also see Freedom, Pharaoh, and the Plagues of Tomorrow by Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb
|
|
GO GREEN
|
|
Spring Cleaning and Preparing for Passover with Care
As the snow starts to melt and flowers bloom, it feels like it's time to clean - to rid our houses of the grains prohibited during Passover and say goodbye to winter with a little spring cleaning. But cleaning with bleaches and other toxic chemicals may not be quite the "clean" we want in our homes! Many conventional commercial cleaners have chemicals that are harmful to people - especially children - and the environment. Fortunately, there are many safe alternatives to commercial cleansers that can be found easily at your local health food market or on the web. So go ahead and clean with confidence, knowing you're protecting the Earth's health, as well as your own!
Click here for environmentally caring practices for the home. Seventh Generation, Ecover, Nature Clean, and Earth Friendly Products are just some of the companies producing eco-friendly alternatives to clean your floors, ovens, windows, and bathrooms. Products also available online at Gaiam, care2.com, and Shop Natural.
|
|
SPOTLIGHT ON THE FIELD
|
|
NJEP Launches New Energy Conservation Campaign!
This Passover, the Northwest Jewish Environmental Project is launching a community-wide energy conservation campaign. The campaign will work to foster a dialogue in congregations, agencies and communities about the implications of U.S. dependence on oil for the environment, national security and Israel. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of how those in the Northwest can reduce their dependence on oil and other forms of energy at homes, synagogues and other Jewish institutions.
Click here for more information on the NJEP Passover campaign.
|
|
|
|
|
