First National Jewish Sustainability gathering

This past week was a turning point for the American Jewish community. Quietly, without much fanfare, representatives from 17 national Jewish organizations gathered at the Pearlstone Conference and Retreat Center to explore the compelling urgency of sustainability and what [more] they can do to move their organizations and membership to embrace it. The common element among these organizations is that their membership (JCCs, day schools, camps, Hillels, synagogues, and the like) own and/or operate millions of square feet of real estate across the country. Even more than being participants in this watershed moment, however, all the organizations were co-sponsors, underwriting not only their representatives' travel and lodging expenses, but also the expenses of the gathering as a whole. This is a remarkable statement of engagement, recognizing that the sustainability train is leaving the station, and we all need to get on it.

It was also a recognition that through their collective actions, these organizations can both significantly reduce the ecological footprint of the organized Jewish community, and affect the attitudes and behavior of the millions of Jews and fellow travellers who are affliated with or otherwise connected to them.

These organizations spent 26 hours together, learning and imagining what a green, sustainable society could look like. And at the end, they developed a dream scenario for their own organizations.

Such visions included: energy efficient buildings powered by renewable resources; green transportation; reduction of all waste including paper, disposables, and food; buying, recycling and composting materials in the same way that nature reuses waste as energy; transforming fossil fuel- and water-intensive lawns into regionally appropriate landscaping, orchards and gardens; using green cleaning supplies; and engaging in membership education and motivational campaigns.

Several individuals who were at the gathering have already scheduled meetings within their organizations to share what they learned and explore how to begin to implement these ideas.
This is a remarkable beginning, which we hope and expect will gather steam and move the American Jewish community as whole in a direction it has until now largely ignored.

For the record, and to acknowledge the commitment and vision of those who participated, here is a list of sponsoring organizations:

American Jewish Committee
Association of Jewish Aging Services
Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs
Foundation for Jewish Camp
Hillel: the foundation for Jewish Campus Life
JCC Association
JCPA (Jewish Council for Public Affairs)
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
North American Association of Synagogue Executives
Orthodox Union
PEJE (Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education)
Rabbinical Assembly
Religious Action Center
Union for Reform Judaism
UJC (United Jewish Communities)
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Women’s League for Conservative Judaism

The gathering was organized by COEJL, with a little help from BJEN!

Thanks go to the wonderful folks at Pearlstone, who make it easy to put together a smooth, efficient and seamless gathering. And of course to all the participating organizations for their support. Kayn Yirbu - may this effort bring forth much fruit.

good energy from eilat

From February 17-19, 2009, Israel will host an international conference (in Eilat) that is expected to attract 1000 people from around the world, all gathering to talk about, and advance, the latest renewable energy technologies, not least of which is solar energy.

In addition to bringing together inventors, venture capitalists, government officials, businessfolk and more, this conference will launch the US-Israeli Energy Cooperation Act, passed two years ago by the US Congress. This act promises $20 million to promote the R&D of renewal energy. This is a triple-winner: good for the environment, good for the economy, and good for US-Israel relations.

for more info on the Eilat gathering, look here:

http://greenprophet.com/2009/01/13/6024/eilat-energy-conference-2/

Big News

Two big bits of news for us to celebrate this week:

The No Child Left Inside bill passed overwhelmingly in the House this past week, thanks to its lead sponsor, Maryland's very own John Sarbanes, and to the hard work of BJEN's Ricky Gratz, who also forwarded to me the following email from the NCLI Coordinator, Don Baugh.

In a major victory for our young people, the US House of Representatives
overwhelmingly passed a landmark bill today to support environmental
education.

The bi-partisan vote of 293 to 109 for the No Child Left Inside (NCLI)
Act is a show of support by the House of Representatives for the
importance of outdoor education and environmental literacy.

This bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. John P. Sarbanes of Maryland, is
designed to help states provide high-quality outdoor and environmental
instruction. The legislation is intended to fix the unintended
consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act by keeping public schools
from becoming too narrow in their focus on standardized testing and by
restoring the rich and academically challenging experiences outdoor
education provides. Nature provides a powerfully motivating classroom.
Children will carry the lessons they learn outdoors for the rest of
their lives.

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island is the lead Senate sponsor of the No
Child Left Inside Act. The House vote underscores the strong
Congressional support for environmental education and sets the stage for
including NCLI as part of a broader elementary and secondary education
bill in the next Congress.

The No Child Left Inside Coalition, was the driving force behind this
legislation. With 745 organizations, representing over 40 million
people, the people spoke and Congress listened. While the coalition has
members in all 50 states, it was started here on the Bay, by CBF and
others, all with fire in their gut on this issue. Please congratulate
the founding members of the "Dream Team", Charlie Stek, Gary Heath, Jeri
Thomson, Monica Healy, Tom Waldron, Brian Day, Anita Kraemer, Bob Hoyt
and Bo Hoppin who started this effort in September 2006. Also thanks to
the wealth of other experts now on the team from NWF, Sierra Club,
NAAEE, Audubon and Project Learning Tree. A very special thanks to
Rep. Sarbanes and his staff, who were stellar throughout this campaign,
and whose artful lawmaking made this historic moment possible.

Find out more: go to www.cbf.org and click on the No Child Left Inside box.

Also, the first Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative carbon pollution auction will be held in four days, on September 25. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the first mandatory, market-based effort in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ten Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states - including Maryland - will cap and then reduce CO₂ emissions from the power sector 10% by 2018.

States will sell emission allowances through auctions and invest proceeds in consumer benefits: energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other clean energy technologies. RGGI will spur innovation in the clean energy economy and create green jobs in each state.

This is a huge step forward to use the power of the marketplace to spur the marketplace to produce less pollution, more conservation techniques, invest in research and development, create green jobs and technology and turn a profit at the same time.

Keep your eyes open. Let's see how it goes!

humble pie

Sooner or later, in a just world, the bullied wake up, and realize that if they stick together, their oppressor can be contained. that is what happened in Bali. The Bush Administration, which had been standing obstinate, blocking all progress at the Bali conference, was booed at, pushed aside, and otherwise humiliated, with its own words being flung back at them. Ultimately, and suddenly, they backed down. And now we have something of an agreement that promises to do something good for the world. Of course, the White House quickly stepped back from even this iota of cooperation with the rest of the world and re-asserted its obstinacy a few hours later. But thank goodness most delegates had gone home by then.

here is the Grist reports it.

'Tis the Season to Be Bali
High drama leads to compromise at international climate meeting

After days of bitter fighting and an overtime stretch filled with twists, turns, and tears, world leaders on Saturday agreed on a broad plan for developing a new global climate treaty by 2009. The "Bali roadmap" calls for measurable and verifiable steps by developing nations as well as industrialized ones, and calls for developing nations to get credit for protecting their tropical forests. The European Union had pushed for industrialized countries to commit to cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions of 25 to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, but the U.S., Canada, and Japan balked, so the final text just says that "deep cuts" in emissions are needed. The U.S. also announced that it could not support language committing rich nations to provide technological help to poorer ones; that move elicited boos, hisses, and an impassioned plea from a Papua New Guinea representative to the U.S.: "If you're not willing to lead, then get out of the way." Believe it or not, the U.S. then did get out of the way, changing its position and saying it would support the agreement. Still, just hours after the deal was finalized, the White House expressed "serious concerns" about it, just like it does whenever democracy gets in its way.


Let's keep the pressure on and see if we can truly make progress to save this planet.

a great bjen conference

Our BJEN conference on Sept 30, 2007 launched our first full year of operation!

From the plenary to the workshops to the hallway conversations, information, ideas and challenges were flowing. As always, the most powerful portions of the morning were the contacts and connections that were made. We are eager to hear the after-stories from you. Many of you, veterans as well as newcomers to the field, were kind enough to contact me and tell me how inspired you were, and what you plan to do about it!

Let's keep in touch.

For the truth is, we all need support as we do this sacred, satisfying but often frustrating work.

The conference was an opportunity to support each other - and it was a time to renew our vows. The midrash tells us:

"Upon creating Adam and Eve, God proudly took them around the Garden of Eden, showing them its marvels and gifts, uses and wonders.

And then God said to them: 'Look what I’ve made - see how beautiful it all is. Everything I’ve made, I’ve made for you. Take care, lest you spoil it and destroy my world, because if you do, there is no one after you to make it right again.'” (Kohelet Rabbah 7:13)

Upon receiving this mandate of stewardship for the world, we made a vow to care for it and tend to it. At our conference, we renewed that vow. As we must do - through our actions - every day.