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This May, I was honored to represent COEJL at the National Adaptation Forum, in a session with the National Wildlife Federation about their "Sacred Grounds" program (re-wilding congregational lawns both for community-building and climate-resilience). While there, I was interviewed by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communications - and now, the 90-second spot is out there: Maryland rabbi calls on people to be good ancestors to future generations » Yale Climate Connections
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My name is Becca Amdur-Kass, and I have been a COEJL (Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life) policy intern this summer; I’m also a rising sophomore at Alfred University in New York, and a member of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda MD.
It’s been an honor to attend coalition meetings, reach out to Jewish leaders about policy matters, shape and generate educational materials, and advocate on behalf of a better future for all. One particular highlight was attending the Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL) Summer Conference in June. Here are a few reflections on what I learned – and what we might all learn: Today, the US Supreme Court imposed a major setback on federal agencies’ ability to apply their expertise in the name of public safety and environmental protection. We at the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life are pained, and outraged – and, redoubled in our commitment to Jewish advocacy toward sustainability and justice.
We more or less know right from wrong, in general -- and regarding what we're doing to the biosphere, we are mostly clued in. Why then, even when we know better, do we keep making unsustainable, unjust, and ultimately unwise choices? Why the giant gap between our values and our actions?
To be better aligned, we must first “mind the gap” -- notice it, focus on it, even feel bad about it -- then bridge the gap, and ultimately close it. Jewish tradition promotes a structure for this ongoing ethical-spiritual introspection and sustained self-improvement: Mussar. The world as a whole can use this, right now. |
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Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life is a project of a consortium of Jewish agencies, alongside allies, under the umbrella of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment.
In-Person meetings, across from U.S. Capitol: co/ NRPE, 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Su 203 -- Washington DC 20002
Mailings/Checks: c/o NRPE, 2529 Holkham Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22901
Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life is a project of a consortium of Jewish agencies, alongside allies, under the umbrella of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment.
In-Person meetings, across from U.S. Capitol: co/ NRPE, 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Su 203 -- Washington DC 20002
Mailings/Checks: c/o NRPE, 2529 Holkham Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22901