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August 16, 2002/Elul 8 5762, Vol. 54, No. 48
Salvaging our Earth
FLORENCE ECKSTEIN
Publisher
As if current political conflict and terror attacks weren't a sufficient test of our capacity to cope with threats, fear and tragedy, ponder the chilling news about our environment.
A report released in preparation for a United Nations Earth Summit in Johannesburg in late August reveals the impacts of rising sea levels, destroyed forests and water shortages facing 2 billion people throughout the world.
A related study by 200 scientists describes a two-mile-thick blanket of pollution hovering over South Asia. The mass is cutting by 10-15 percent the amount of sunlight that reaches affected land and sea areas, reducing India's rice harvest as much as 10 percent, and altering monsoon rain patterns to produce droughts in some regions and floods in others.
Dirty industry and fossil fuel consumption are not the only sources creating brown clouds like this swath of pollution in the Far East. Also to blame is biomass burning - forest fires and setting fire to vegetation to clear land and heat the homes of the poor.
Our environment is deteriorating. Pollution is leading to several million deaths every year. The ultimate impact on citizens of every nation is ominous - if not for us then for our grandchildren. But it's not hopeless - yet.
Both our ancient beliefs and a 21st-century international organization can help the Jewish community respond effectively. Tradition, beginning with the Creation story, teaches that the land is God's and that we are responsible for caring for and living in harmony with it, preserving it for future generations.
Tradition further instructs us to perform acts of tikkun olam, repairing the earth, nursing it back to health.
The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) is leading the Jewish community in carrying out that mission. Acting in conjunction with nearly 30 Jewish groups, and in partnership with other faith organizations, it raises moral and religious questions about a spectrum of environmental concerns ranging from the effects of global warming to the promise of renewable energy.
COEJL lobbies Congress about energy conservation, fuel economy standards and the iniquity of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It also offers educational materials for religious school students, and encourages synagogues and individuals to turn down (or up) their thermostats and to light their rooms with energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs. (Visit www.coejl.org on the Internet.)
The nearest of 12 regional COEJL offices is in Tucson, under the auspices of the Jewish Community Relations Council (phone (520) 577-9393, e-mail mfreedman@jfsa.org). It works with synagogues and individuals to address local and national environmental issues. Surely Phoenix, the Southwest's leading Jewish community, offers fertile ground for similar effort.
Our children and grandchildren will thank us for starting today to tackle the crisis of our Earth.
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