The rhetoric of Jewish environmentalism has long been kind and gentle. Like much of American environmentalist talk, it accentuates the positive: what we can do, how you can help. This is Left-Wing Activism 101: Fight despair, and don’t alienate anyone. And it’s abetted, in both secular and Jewish contexts, by the propensity of tree-hugging liberals to be, well, tree-hugging liberals — nice people who, when not urging recycling and conservation, are also practicing nonviolent communication and advocating for pacifist politics.
But does touchy-feely rhetoric work? And is it really the Jewish way? No on both counts.
First, “accentuating the positive” allows corporations to greenwash their way out of accountability, and individuals to view environmentalism as a virtue and not a responsibility. When going green is a matter of symbolism (“beyond petroleum”) rather than substance, anyone can buy it, as long as he’s got a good publicist. We may be afraid of pointing fingers, but fingers need to be pointed: At the Republican Party, for blocking the Kyoto climate treaty; at the fossil fuels industries, for creating doubt where there isn’t any; and at every politician who blocks commonsense solutions like better mass transit.
I submit that this sternness of vision, rather than the soft stuff, is what our Jewish tradition demands. The Ten Commandments are not suggestions. The Golden Rule is not a “guideline.” If Judaism means anything, it means taking seriously our ethical responsibilities and not waffling on the details. It’s also good politics; last I checked, the fear-mongering over the “War on Terror” and “threats to the American family” has done pretty well. But even if it were political suicide, it would be the Jewish way. Were Moses, Isaiah and Rabbi Akiva worried about “not alienating anybody”? No. Jewish law is famously human, accommodating and livable; but the values are crystal clear.
Of course, there’s no environmentalism in the Torah. Environmental stewardship only makes sense when you have an alternative, and we’ve only been able to destroy large swaths of the planet in the past two centuries or so. Searching the Torah for evidence of recycling is like expecting our laws today to govern life on Mars. Sure, there are important norms that can easily be extended to today — the prohibition on waste, the Talmud’s rules about controlling pollution and God’s
much-contested injunction to rule over/take care of the earth. But they’re not enough. They miss the heart of the problem, and they seem peripheral to “real” Jewish concerns, like antisemitism (also not mentioned in the Torah).
If we get real about what climate change means for future generations, suddenly it’s not so peripheral. It’s bad form to trot out doomsday scenarios, and since they’re all based on projections, they really are uncertain. But if even one of them comes to pass, then there is a direct causal nexus between our actions today and our children’s suffering tomorrow. We are causing millions of people to suffer, struggle and possibly even die — it’s just that many of them haven’t been born yet. (If I seed my yard with landmines, can I really escape Jewish ethical responsibility for injuring the people who just happen to step on them? After all, no one can predict the future….)
Add to the mix that, as Israeli environmentalist Alon Tal reported in Zeek magazine recently, the local effects on Israel of global climate change could be quite severe: decreased agricultural productivity, increased drought (as if Israel’s water crisis weren’t severe enough), increased “severe weather events” and loss of valuable beaches. Even if you’re not too concerned about your responsibilities to your grandchildren, if you care about Israel, you must care about climate change.
Preventing climate catastrophe is an ethical responsibility rooted in the fundamental values of our religious tradition. Like not doing unto others as we wouldn’t want them to do unto us. Like not stealing the resources of the future for our wasteful enjoyment today. Like not destroying God’s creation without regard to others who may want to use it. This isn’t tree hugging; it’s Torah.
And that has consequences. First, synagogues should take a stand on the issue — not merely hortatory sermons from rabbis, or committees made up of a few eco-Jews, but real policies. Non-hybrid SUVs should not be allowed in synagogue parking lots. Buildings should be built responsibly, from fluorescent light bulbs to improved insulation and efficient climate-control systems. And while people should of course remain wholly free to be as wholly unethical as they want, within the law, communities should be as disapproving of carbon-hogging behavior as they once were (and in some cases still are) of intermarriage.
Second, ignorance is no excuse. If you still think there’s real debate, pore over the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports. Read between the lines of such mass-media products as the 2006 film “An Inconvenient Truth” to appreciate the subtleties and complexities of the problem. But don’t claim that because you don’t know enough about climate change, nobody else does, either. The truth is that, just as every scientist except those in the pocket of Big Tobacco knew that smoking was bad for you, so, today, every scientist without a political or financial tie to certain industries knows the truth about climate change. If you don’t want to do the research yourself, then you have a responsibility to be sure you’re acting ethically, and err on the side of caution.
Finally, for religious Jews, this matters to God. Just as it’s hypocritical to be ritually pious but never give tzedakah, so, too, it’s fundamentally inconsistent to pray three times a day but still lead a wasteful, Styrofoam-laden lifestyle. We’re not talking here about political correctness or being a vegetarian. This is about waking up to the way our society transgresses ethical norms, defaces the Divine creation, and pretends that it isn’t to blame or that it doesn’t know any better.
American Jews have often risen to the challenge of our prophetic tradition. Abraham Joshua Heschel, Jewish labor unionists and, more recently, the Jewish leadership on the Darfur issue are all examples of Jews realizing that their commitment to Jewishness required them to act. To be sure, there have always been opponents: For every Heschel, there were other rabbis condemning his “agitation.” But — and as a Jewish Buddhist I’m not one to advocate for more righteous indignation — at least there was a tone of seriousness to the debate. I’d even prefer the rancor of the left/right name-calling over Israeli politics to the moral minimization of environmental issues. Disagree if you want. Learn the facts if you want. But don’t yawn and call yourself a Jew.
Dear Mr. Michaelson: Climate change is a natural phenomenon, and follows the long-term astronomical cycles. The so-called remedies you and others propose to this natural phenomenon will kill millions of people by denying them the advanced technologies and development that permit a decent standard of living. "Global warming" is just another form of population control. It is not an accident that the leading scientific proponents of "global warming are friends and co-thinkers of the Malthusian fanatic Paul Ehrlich. Resources are not finite. Mankind has continuously created new resources to advance civilization. The way to stop pollution is to develop advanced nuclear technologies and fusion. The fusion torch, for example, has temperatures high enough to reduce garbage to its constituent elements, and to "mine" valuable minerals from ordinary dirt and rock. I invite you to look at our website. Marjorie Mazel Hecht 21st Century Science & Technology www.21stcenturysciencetech.com
What a wonderful article which combines aspects of Judaism and the absolute necessity to protect our planet. An important part of the plan with the Vilnius Jewish Library is to make it as green as possible. Of course, as in everything else regarding the library project, it will require the active involvement of the Jewish community worldwide. The library should become an example to the world of what green can be. Let us do more than just give lip service to saving the planet.
Marjorie, The article makes perfect sense. Without disputing everything you wrote, I need only dipute one fact. The fact that you belive that we live on a planet that has INFINITE resources is quite unrealistic. In fact it is just planin wrong. Our planet allows itself to regenerate resouces naturally, but within set time limits. We have been consuming these resources far, far faster than they can regenerate themselves. Some, like oil, take millions of years to regenerate. We are living in a completely unsustainable way, and if we continue this way, we are in for some major problems. And none of that even touches on Climate change which you seem to think is 100% natural, but the IPCC, whom I trust much, much more that you, is 95% certain that it is being mostly caused by us
Mr. Jay - Namaste! Anyway it rhymes - which is more than one can say about your pseudo-sophisticated diatribe which has no rhyme nor reason. First of, being a Jewish Buddhist is the ultimate Sha'atnez. Second, whenever you benighted "greenies" who happen to be Jewish want to convince us of some idiocy, you try to resort to the Torah and the Talmud with which, I venture to guess, most of you are far less familiar than the expectorations of AlGore and his ilk. As Ms. Hecht stated so succinctly, and many other serious climatologists with her, climate change is a natural phenomenon and influenced by human activities only to an infinitesimally negligible degree. Furthermore, kindly attack the real polluters in this world, i.e. China, India, Russia. But knowing your collective mindset, this will not happen, even after the Meshiach's arrival. After all, it far easier to sit in a climate- controlled office in New York City and scribble silly editorials, castigating fellow Jews and Americans who recognize that the alarmist rhetoric is based on flimsy scientific evidence - vide "An Inconvenient Lie,..errh Truth". If you want to engage in a really pacifist cause, how about condemning the incessant rocket attacks by Hamas on Sderoth and doing something practical for the people there? I know, it's not enough P.C. and high-brow and the victims happen to be Israeli Jews.
Mr. Golan, With all due respect, you have no idea what you are talking about, and that is evident by the fact that you say "As Ms. Hecht stated so succinctly, and many other serious climatologists with her, climate change is a natural phenomenon and influenced by human activities only to an infinitesimally negligible degree." The VAST MAJORITY of experts who have been studying this phenomenon for decades concluded that they are virtualy certain that human activity is the major cause of modern climate change. If you do you research properly, and not through biased sources who have much to gain in the near term by keeping the status quo, you would realize the truth and seriouslness of this crisis. Look around. Can you honestly conclude that our way of life is in sync with the natural world, the way it has been since the beginning of time? Nature is a delicate balance, and we have come along and rapidly and forcefully messed with this balance. There is inevitably going to be a reaction to our actions. We are already seeing it...
Marjorie and Alex need their attention pointed to the last line of the article, ending with "....don't yawn and and call yourself a Jew." If being a detriment to humanity as a whole doesn't bother you, at least realize that you are a humiliation to Jews and a corruption of our religion.
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