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| Tuesday, July 03, 2007 |
Letter from the Editor
From our July/August 2007 issue. This article is part of our larger package, the AJL Green List.
 Personally, I’m not a big fan of horror movies. I just don’t see the point. I go to the movies to be entertained, not scared out of my mind. Give me a romantic comedy or a mindless action movie and I’m there. Even a compelling documentary will interest me. But, a horror movie? Eh, not my cup of tea.
So I didn’t think twice when I rented Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth and popped it into the DVD player. Big mistake. The film, which clearly and cogently explains the dire situation we’re in, is perhaps one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
But, surprisingly, that’s a good thing. It serves as a clarion call and is an important film for all of us to see. Rent a copy and invite some friends over to watch. Better yet, ask your synagogue to show it in a group setting. Knowledge is power and recognizing the problem is the first part of coming up with the solution. (While you’re at Blockbuster, also check out Who Killed the Electric Car?, an eye-opening film which will make you think twice before you buy your next vehicle.)
The mounting evidence of how climate change is affecting the way we live is enough to scare the bejesus out of even the biggest skeptics: The earth is heating up at breakneck speed and the human race is to blame. So, it is with a great sense of humility and responsibility that we offer you this special Green Issue of AJL.
In it you will find stories that detail the problem, like how climate change is affecting Israel (agricultural devastation and flooding just to name two aspects) and what we as American Jews can do to help. As well, our special green section contains stories of creative Jews who are leading the way in saving our planet. There is the band Guster which is helping teach other musical acts how to go on a green tour (use biodiesel in your bus for starters). There is the Interfaith Power & Light organization which is helping churches and synagogues reduce their energy costs by at least a third. And there is architect Michelle Kaufmann who has figured out a revolutionary way to cut costs and reduce waste in the home building process. Oh yeah, and she can build your house in less than half the time it takes normal contractors. And if tree hugging is not your thing, there’s no need to skip the green section because, in it, we also give you tips on how to save money by doing some basic things. Even the most ardent anti-environmentalist likes to save a little green.
Hopefully, these articles will inspire you to make changes in your daily life and in your community that will help heal our planet. At the very least, we ask that you please recycle this issue of AJL.
As a magazine, we plan on doing our part as well by recycling stories as often as we can. (Just kidding.) But we do hope to soon switch to paper made from reconstituted wood waste — sawdust, woodchips, and pulp logs that previously wound up in landfills. This is just one of the many initiatives we are taking to make ourselves, and our office, carbon neutral.
As Jews, it is incumbent upon us to be good stewards of God’s green earth. From childhood, we are taught the concepts of tikkun olam (repair the world) and baal taschit (do not be wasteful). These are two of our religion’s most basic tenets. But, even more, as members of the human race, we owe it to our children and grandchildren to leave them a planet in which they can exist and thrive.
Al Gore has said on any number of occasions that we have a little less than 10 years left before we reach a tipping point where there will be no turning back. If nothing is done, scientists believe we will have done irreversible damage to our planet, turning parts of the world that are currently inhabitable to areas where life can no longer exist. Now that is one scary thought.
Sincerely,
Benyamin Cohen
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