For colleagues in WISC-EEWG (the Washington Interfaith Staff Community - Environment and Energy Working Group) world, this is a memo to which you might point others in your organization -- as you too consider if, how, and how much to work on the Heat Rule…

And for readers of the COEJL blog, this is an example of the coalitional work we and our allies do, taking turns going deep into various issues, and sharing resources and suggestions with one another – in this case, on an issue with great moral clarity, that marries human dignity and worker safety with climate adaptation.  

​    Hi all – yesterday the AFL-CIO held a helpful webinar on the Heat Rule that OSHA recently proposed.  The process will be long, far beyond the public comment period that closes on 12/30/24 – and we’ll want religious leaders involved again across 2025 & 2026, to present testimony, raise visibility of worker safety concerns, etc. The question here is how deeply our sector might be involved in driving large numbers of supportive comments this Fall (i.e. making a widespread but easy ask of our folks to make their voices heard).  My sense is, pretty deeply -- through NRPE and jewishearthalliance.org and others, we've already started -- and I look forward to further explorations with you all on it.    [continued, below...]

It shouldn't be partisan to say that government ought to protect public health, and ensure long-term sustainability and equity and justice across the land. The details are definitely debatable, but morally and Judaically, the basic case is clear.

Some administrations take this responsibility seriously; others downplay or even subvert it. The current one wishes to grant California, and by extension numerous other states, a Clean Air Act "waiver" to tighten tailpipe emissions regulations, reduce climate pollution, address historic racial harms, and save thousands of lives. By contrast, the previous one sought to eliminate the chance for high-pollution states to do this at all, while putting spuriously low dollar values on future generations in their cost-benefit analyses.

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

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: ​