Let there be light

Editorial

As we prepare to mark Shavuot, falling the evening of May 27, when we are reminded of our responsibilities as God's partners, we face a dilemma that threatens to test our resolve even as it taxes our resources.

For generations we have been accustomed to abundant sources of fuel, and, even today, energy is still affordable and available. But without conscious efforts to conserve, we risk allowing our conspicuous consumption literally to consume our ability to meet our future needs.

The Bush energy proposal currently under discussion has generated a substantial amount of discussion, with response not only from both sides of the aisle but from high-powered energy lobbies and well-oiled environmental machines.

Now, even our religious leaders have entered the fray with a compelling open letter - sponsored by the National Council of Churches and the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life - calling for moral reflection.

The two-page letter, addressed to President Bush, the U.S. Congress and the American people, lays out the possibility of surging gasoline prices and power outages against a backdrop of commanding moral imperatives. Calling for prudent policies that would "preserve creation" as they "promote justice" the clerics, including leaders from all the major streams of Judaism, assert the need for individual and collective measures to conserve our natural resources to assure maximum use for all.

Developing safer, cleaner fuels, while maintaining environmental safeguards, is the challenge of the future. Learning to use them wisely is another. While Ari Fleischer, the president's spokesman, can speak blithely about our "blessed" way of life and our "bounty of resources," that way of life is being compromised.

What's needed is a sound policy, driven by the values laid out by our religious leaders, to assure that our energy needs will be met safely and efficiently.

"Let there be light," we read in Genesis (Gen. 1:3). On Shavuot, let's recall the power of the divine, the wonder of creation, and our sacred responsibility as the Earth's protector.

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