Entries tagged with 'Energy Policy'
Gulf Update: 5 years post-Katrina, 5 months of oil
Last Sunday marked the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastating landfall on the Gulf Coast. Nearly five months ago, the Deepwater Horizon exploded, killing eleven men, beginning the release of millions of barrels of oil, and adding endless complication to...
Gulf Update: Investigating the Oil Disaster
This morning I joined hundreds of advocates, industry leaders, and government experts at the second meeting of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling in Washington. The Commission - comprised of a diverse group...
Responding to the Pakistan Flood
The recent flooding in Pakistan has left millions homeless and caused overwhelming damage to thousands of communities - and sparked a global conversation about the real and immediate implications of our changing global climate. While quantifying disaster never truly does...
Gulf Update: After BP (and Katrina): Rethinking the Economy of the Gulf Coast
Jeremy Burton is the senior vice president of Philanthropic Initiatives of Jewish Funds for Justice. This entry originally appeared in Zeek: A Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture. I met Robert Green, a resident of New Orleans's Lower Ninth Ward,...
Gulf Update: Oil Disasters are a Wake Up Call
As the Gulf oil spill crisis continues through its fourth month, a recent report shows, yet again, that this disaster is one in a disturbingly long trend of accidents, explosions, and other dangerous oil industry mistakes throughout the last decade...
Gulf Update: 100 Days
Yesterday marked day 100 of the BP oil spill disaster, a crisis that has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands along the Gulf coast, and changed the way our nation looks at energy and the environment. While recent news...
No Climate Bill, Now What?
Last week, activists and advocates nationwide reacted with disappointment when Senate Majority Leader announced that he lacked the bipartisan support to bring a comprehensive climate change and energy bill to the Senate floor this month. With the Senate's August recess...
Gulf Update: The Cap is On, Now What?
The Gulf finally got some good news last week as the new cap on the oil gusher appears to be temporarily stopping the flow of oil for the first time since April. Beach goers are reporting less oil on the...
Gulf Update: Rabbi Saperstein Meets with Mitzvah Corps
This entry was written by Savannah Horton and Danielle Freedman, participants in the NFTY Mitzvah Corps of the South program, following their meeting with Rabbi Saperstein in New Orleans last week. This post was edited by Dean Carson and Daniel...
Reflect, Restore, Renew: Thoughts from the Gulf
This week, Rabbi Saperstein traveled to the Gulf of Mexico with national leaders from the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities to witness the effects of the BP oil spill disaster and meet with local faith leaders, response effort coordinators, and...
Gulf Update: What Can I Do (Part 2)
Elisa Sunshine is a participant in the Machon Kaplan Summer Social Action Internship program, interning at the Religious Action Center. Last week we wrote about volunteer and advocacy opportunities around the Gulf oil spill disaster; our latest update includes...
Gulf Oil Update: Rabbi Saperstein Visits the Disaster Zone
This afternoon, Rabbi Saperstein travels to the Gulf with national leaders from the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities to witness the oil spill damage first hand, reach out to local leaders, and support vulnerable communities with a series of briefings,...
Gulf Update: How Can I Help?
Elisa Sunshine is a participant in the Machon Kaplan Summer Social Action Internship program, interning at the Religious Action Center. Sick and tired of sitting idly and watching our Gulf waters turn brown, wreaking havoc on human and animal...
Live Update from the Gulf: Join Us Tomorrow Afternoon
Join the RAC and our colleagues at the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program Thursday, July 1 for a direct report from the Gulf. Local faith leaders and Washington staff will provide a live update on the situation in the...
Oil Spill Update: Drilling Ban Overturned
Earlier this week the District Court in New Orleans ruled to overturn the temporary moratorium on offshore drilling issued by the Obama Administration in response to the ongoing oil spill disaster in the Gulf. The six-month moratorium on new drilling...
Greening our Perspective
Hannah Donner is a participant in the Machon Kaplan Summer Social Action Internship program, interning at Interfaith Power and Light. Have you ever dreamed of doing something that's important to you but on a much larger scale? As a...
Gulf News Round Up: The Faith Community Responds
[Update, July 7]As Rabbi Saperstein travels to the Gulf this week with national faith leaders to witness the oil spill damage first hand and support the local community with a series of briefings, interfaith services and tours, here is a...
President Obama and a New Direction for the U.S.
David L. Marks is the Program Director of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life. This piece originally appeared on COEJL's blog, To Till and To Tend.In President Obama's first speech from the Oval Office of the White House...
A Clean Air Victory
Last Thursday we celebrated a major environmental victory with the defeat of Senator Murkowski's (R-AK) Dirty Air Act Resolution on the Senate floor. 53 Senators upheld sound climate science - and affirmed the voices of millions of citizens calling for...
After 50 Days, What Can We Do About the Gulf?
In response to the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, the Union for Reform Judaism is partnering with the Jewish Funds for Justice (JFSJ) to help the people most affected by the oil spill. The JFSJ Gulf Coast Recovery Fund...
Turn Your Outrage Over BP's Oil Leak Into Action
Dr. Mirele B. Goldsmith is a sustainability consultant, a long-time Jewish environmental activist, and a board member for Hazon and the American Friends of the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership. This entry originally appeared on the Green Strides...
Clean Cars and Clean Air
Last Friday the Obama Administration released another in a series of historic clean energy policies; standing with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and leaders from the labor and environmental communities, the President called on automobile and truck makers to ramp up...
Oil Spill Update: One Month Later
One month ago today, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the Louisiana coast, causing 11 tragic deaths (and some incredible stories of survival) and what may be the worst environmental disaster of our time. The news from the Gulf...
Jews and Food Ethics
The following is excerpted from a sermon on Progressive Judaism and food ethics delivered by Sara Eiser, Cantorial Soloist at Congregation Shaarai Shomayim in Lancaster, PA. Learn more about the Green Table, Just Table Initiative here.Tonight, I'd like to give...
The Clean Energy Race is On
This afternoon Senators Kerry (D-MA) and Lieberman (I-CT) released their long-awaited comprehensive clean energy and climate plan, the American Power Act. The nearly 1,000 page bill now goes to Senators, advocates, economists and scientists for review, and hopefully to the...
Highlights from the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference
his week I had the pleasure of joining 3,000 members of the labor, business, and environmental communities for the third annual Green Jobs, Good Jobs Conference. The speakers, workshops and opportunities to connect with other clean energy advocates inspired me...
Update on the Disaster in the Gulf
The tragedy continues off the Gulf Coast as the sunken oil rig Deepwater Horizon dumps thousands of gallons of oil each day, the oil slick approaches land, and engineers continue to struggle to cut off and contain the spill. President...
Toward True Energy Independence
After a massive Earth Day rally on the Mall and high hopes for a comprehensive climate bill this week, key Senators are still negotiating and bickering behind closed doors. We are waiting for comprehensive climate legislation and stand ready to...
What Did You Do for Earth Day?
Last Thursday was the 40th annual Earth Day, and Reform Jewish communities from coast to coast are celebrating!At Temple Emeth in Teaneck, New Jersey, congregants gathered for an Environment Day focused on e-cycling (recycling electronic equipment), cleaning a local park,...
Happy Earth Day from the RAC!
Today we commemorate the 40th annual Earth Day, a cause for celebration but also a reminder that more work than ever remains to be done to protect our planet. As Rabbi Saperstein said today:The environment we take for granted will...
Moving our Planet Forward
Communities of activists and advocates are keeping busy this week in the run-up to tomorrow's commemoration of the 40th annual Earth Day. Last night I had the pleasure of hearing from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and a panel of climate...
Pop Quiz: Test Your Climate Knowledge!
Deborah Swerdlow is a senior at the University of Florida and former Machon Kaplan participant. She will be a member of the 2010-2011 class of Eisendrath Legislative Assistants. I am grateful to my mother for many things, and on Monday...
Planting the Seeds of Hope
This piece first appeared on the Gap Adventures blog. Jennifer Kefer is an environmental consultant who provides legal and political expertise, strategic analysis, and advice to NGOs, corporations and cities on a range of projects related to climate, energy and...
What to Do on Earth Day
The 40th annual Earth Day is less than ten days away! Next week, millions of people around the world will come together on April 22 to celebrate the steps we've taken in the last 40 years to protect our environment,...
Hooray for Prop A!
Even as federal efforts to reform our transportation system remain stalled, cities are taking steps to become healthier, more livable, and more sustainable communities through transit reform. The latest victory comes from St. Louis, Missouri, where citizens voted - by...
Big Energy News
It's a "good news, bad news" week for our energy future. Today EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the finalized (and historic) "clean car standards" that have been in the works since President Obama took office....
Asking the Senate to Act on Clean Energy
Joining a month-long interfaith call for comprehensive climate change and clean energy legislation, the Religious Action Center today sent a letter of support to all members of the Senate. The Reform Movement is one of many faith communities urging the...
Countdown to Earth Day
With less than 40 days until the 40th annual Earth Day, the news on climate and energy is not good: despite recent White House meetings on energy, Congress is still stuck on health care (though we are hopeful for a...
Call for Clean Energy - Today!
The Congressional calendar for the rest of the year is quickly filling up, but we have one more chance to move toward a clean energy future this year. Environmental, labor, business, and faith groups are joining together this week for...
Preserve God's Creation... by Passing Climate Legislation
The following post is the text of a speech that was presented on Monday to the office of Congressman David Dreier (R-CA) by Andrew Borer and Mark Gilbert. Both are members of Temple Beth Israel in Pomona, Calif., who attended...
Short-sighted in the Snow
If you have read the news, turned on the TV, or Googled the word 'snow' in the past two weeks, you've heard about the storms that battered the Mid Atlantic region and shut down D.C. for days. As the winter...
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
At this point, it's anyone's guess whether the Senate will take up climate and energy legislation this year: One day the President highlights clean energy in the biggest speech of the year and Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) rejects "half-ass" energy...
A Budget for All Climates
Follow our specially tagged blog posts throughout the week for more on how the proposed budget affects many of the priority issues for our Movement.The Obama Administration published its Fiscal Year 2011 budget request on Monday (hard to believe it's...
Tu Bishevat. Doing Something About It.
Rabbi Micah Streiffer is the Associate Rabbi at Temple Beth El in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he lives with his wife and 3 sons. He was ordained at the Cincinnati campus of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in...
Our Tu B'Shevat Responsibility
Tu B'Shevat began as a minor celebration for our natural world, evolved with the addition of a Passover-like seder in the 16th century, and is now marked by many in the mainstream Jewish community as the "Jewish Earth Day." The...
A Vision of Food Justice
What did you do to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this year? I spent the weekend with Reform congregation KAM Isaiah-Israel in Hyde Park, Chicago, learning about food. KAM, the oldest Reform congregation in the Midwest, has a strong...
No Climate Bill? No Chance!
Congress returns from its winter recess next week with a full agenda: wrapping up the health care bill, tackling job creation and enacting financial reform, not to mention gearing up for the fall 2010 election season. With so much to...
New Year's Resolution: Action by Earth Day
We all operate on calendars and timetables, and Washington is no different. Our political leaders set deadlines constantly - health care reform by summer 2009, Recovery Act money out the door by year's end, troops out of Iraq by who...
President Shimon Peres Visits Kibbutz Lotan
Alex Cicelsky is a founder of Kibbutz Lotan in Israel. Learn more at KibbutzLotan.com. The recent President's Conference in Jerusalem opened with a video that showcased innovative research and development in the Negev and highlighted Reform Kibbutz Lotan's ecology center....
From Copenhagen to Mexico City: Building on (Partial) Success
Read more of our blog posts from and about COP 15 here.The verdict is in, and the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen was...a partial success. While some are bashing Copenhagen (and the whole UN process for addressing climate change) as...
Faith Voices from Copenhagen
Today is the final day of the UN Climate Change Conference, and there are many lessons to be learned from the event - the difficulty of international negotiations, the complexity of the climate challenge, and the deep engagement of young...
Mr. Obama Goes to Copenhagen
Tomorrow morning, President Obama will arrive in Copenhagen determined to lead the way to an international deal to confront the environmental, economic, and public health challenge of climate change. He, and the hundred or so other heads of state convening...
Hannukah lights in Copenhagen
Sybil Sanchez is the director of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), one of the leading Jewish environmental organizations in the United States. This piece originally appeared in the Washington Post "On Faith" series. Read more of...
Time for Leadership to Listen to the People
Dr. Mirele B. Goldsmith is a sustainability consultant, a long-time Jewish environmental activist, and a board member for Hazon and the American Friends of the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership. Dr. Goldsmith will attend the United Nations Climate...
A Great Miracle Happened Here: Addressing Climate Change While Protecting America's Poorest Families
Jennifer Kefer is Senior Climate Advisor at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), where she engages and educates a network of state groups about the need to include consumer relief in effective climate legislation. Jennifer previously served as...
Green Press Round-Up
With the UN Climate Change Conference underway in Copenhagen, the Environmental Protection Agency endangerment finding on greenhouse gas emissions, and the outline of a new Senate climate bill all happening this week, there is plenty of exciting news on the...
Update: Live from Copenhagen!
The Copenhagen talks are well underway, and we are excited to bring you a live update from the conference next Tuesday, December 15, at 3:30 p.m. EST. We hope you will join us to hear from David Waskow, Climate Change...
Copenhagen 1943 and Copenhagen UN 2009
Rabbi Warren Stone is co-chair of the National Religious Coalition on Creation Care and founding chair of the Central Conference of American Rabbis' Committee on the Environment. Rabbi Warren Stone serves as rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Kensington, Maryland. He...
The Equation for a Healthier Planet
Megan Elsayed is the Social Action Vice President of the NFTY Northwest Region. Learn more about NFTY's activities, and read more of our blog posts from and about COP 15 here.What a fantastic first step! By involving youth, crossing generational...
Expectations Rising at Copenhagen
Arjun Mody is Assistant Director, Government Relations at ONE. He previously worked in the U.S. Senate as a senior foreign policy, energy, and environment counsel, and in the Executive Office of the President as a Presidential Management Fellow. You can...
Copenhagen - The Moment is Now
Read more of our blog posts from and about COP 15 here.It's hard to believe that such a historic day for the global movement for a sustainable future is finally here! Today, leaders from nearly 200 nations gather in Copenhagen,...
If Not Now When? Jewish Community Calls for Climate Action
In just three days, hundreds of world leaders will gather in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Conference, a critical moment in the global fight for a sustainable, clean energy future. The North American Jewish community is proud to be...
Essential Preparations for Copenhagen - Offsetting My Carbon Emissions
Dr. Mirele B. Goldsmith is a sustainability consultant, a long-time Jewish environmental activist, and a board member for Hazon and the American Friends of the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership. Dr. Goldsmith will attend the United Nations Climate...
A Greener Holiday Season
Read more of our blog posts from and about the Copenhagen Climate Talks here. One week ago, as people across the United States were preparing to enjoy a relaxing Thanksgiving, the White House was making news with an encouraging...
Reform Representation at Copenhagen UN's COP 15
Rabbi Warren Stone serves as rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Kensington, Maryland. Nationally known for his leadership on religion and the environment, Rabbi Stone is co-chair of the National Religious Coalition on Creation Care and founding chair of the Central...
Announcing the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign!
Today we are proud to announce the launch of the Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign, a new project coordinated by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) to encourage the Jewish community to lead the way to a more...
In Pursuit of Climate Justice
"Tzedek, tzedek, tirdoff" - justice, justice shall you pursue. It's one of the most commonly cited phrases in Jewish social justice work; a fundamental commandment to seek a fairer, more equal world, and to do so by fair and equal...
A Shabbat for our Earth
This weekend, hundreds of thousands of activists, advocates, and concerned citizens around the world will come together for one, unified day of climate action - calling on our leaders to ensure a safe, healthy, sustainable future for us, our children,...
People, not (Just) Polar Bears
Last week, the interfaith campaign Faithful America launched Day Six, an educational web campaign designed to focus religious communities (and elected officials) on the human impacts of climate change. The web resource includes educational and social networking tools and a...
Climate Week Roundup
Last week, global leaders began to rise to the climate challenge. Between the UN General Assembly and the Group of 20 meeting in Pittsburgh, representatives from around the world discussed every aspect of the climate and energy crisis, from financing...
Sustainable Cinema - Catch a Social Justice Film this Fall
Sure, summer is over and Congress is back at work, but there's still plenty to see at the movies! And this month brings a series of films about the importance of living more sustainably, and a frightening preview of what...
From Astroturf to Alaska - the August Climate Debate
As students and members of Congress return from their summer breaks, many will ask, "What did you do with your summer vacation?" For a group of 5 intrepid Senators, the answer will be, "I went to Alaska to witness, first-hand,...
Poised for Action, Taking a Step Back to Ask Why
It's finally summer, and as Congress takes a break to escape the DC heat, we can all stop to take stock of where we stand on the issues that matter most to the Reform Movement. It's been a busy spring,...
Fight the Summer Heat with Clean Energy Now!
As the dog days of summer set in, many of us will be thinking about relaxing on the beach, firing up the grill, and catching up on our reading. But that's not all we'll be doing, I hope. This August,...
Fight Poverty with Faith this October!
"Green jobs" - it's one of the hottest political catchphrases of the year, but what does it really mean? Who is getting these so-called green jobs, and what will they do for our economy and our environment? To find out,...
Remembering The Big Picture
In the daily debate over the nuts and bolts of environmental legislation - full of technicalities like carbon market oversight, command-and-control regulations, and parts per million of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere - it's easy to lose sight of...
From the Tropical to the Political Forest
Devin Goldman is a participant in the RAC's Machon Kaplan summer program for college students. He is a student at Rutgers University and an intern here at the Religious Action Center. In the past three weeks of my work and...
All ACES - Lessons Learned from Last Week's House Climate Debate
Last Friday, the House voted 219-212 to pass the first piece of comprehensive climate and energy legislation to make it through either chamber of Congress...ever. It was a true nail-biter, with floor debate over the American Clean Energy and Security...
This is the Week, Let's Make it Ours
Have you ever thought about taking action on climate change and wondered, "does my voice really matter?" If so, then today is your day! Congress is about to vote on the most important piece of climate and energy legislation in...
Youth Speaking Up for Our Future
The clock is ticking...that's the message emerging from the international climate change negotiations that wrapped up last week in Bonn, Germany. Hundreds of diplomats, faith leaders, civil society participants and youth activists converged on Bonn, a critical marker in the...
Celebrate World Environment Day Today!
Today marks the 38th annual World Environment Day, a program established by the United Nations in 1972 to increase global environmental awareness and action. This year the theme is "Your Planet Needs You- UNite to Combat Climate Change." Luckily, there...
Engaging Mind, Body, and Spirit with the TEVA Learning Center
I try to avoid the stereotype of environmentalists as tree-huggers as much as I can, but I have to admit that Monday night I spent some time with the trees...and it was great! This week I had the pleasure of...
In the Business of Climate Policy
"Environmental protection and economic growth are inimical interests." That is a common refrain, but one that is simply untrue. The current debate over climate and energy policy is proving (hopefully once and for all) that we can be good stewards...
What is Cap and Trade, Anyway?
These days, everyone is talking about clean energy. And still, according to an utterly disturbing poll released last week, fewer than one in four Americans could correctly identify - from a staggering list of 4 choices! - what policy area...
Sustainability Conference a Huge Step Forward for American Jewish Community
It's always an exciting moment when the four main streams of American Judaism - not to mention a dozen other national Jewish organizations from the JCC Association to the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education - join together as part...
Don't Hug a Tree, Plant One!
Sure, environmentalists have been talking about (and hugging) trees for a long time, but as Jews we have understood this issue for thousands of years longer. Our text and tradition teach the importance of trees as a fundamental element of...
Global Problems, Global Solutions
Global problems require global solutions. That's why countries all over the world, from China to Israel to the tiny Maldives, are joining together in a worldwide attempt to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change by turning to clean energy...
Folks of Faith Agree: Climate Change Hurts the Poor
A new blog post from Faith in Public Life's Dan Nejfelt addresses what many faith groups - including the Reform Movement - have been saying (loudly!) for quite awhile now. In "People of faith: US should help poor adapt to...
Clean Energy for Every State
When most Americans think about environmentally progressive parts of our country, coastal states like California, New York, and Oregon are probably the first that come to mind. Yet, the movement for clean energy and environmental protection is growing across the...
Bless the Sun Tomorrow!
As dawn breaks tomorrow, while most (at least the sane!) among us are sleeping soundly or dreaming about matzah ball soup, thousands of Jews will gather in communities around the world for the once-every-28-year ritual of Birkat HaHammah, the Blessing...
Dear Climate Change Deniers...
There has been a disturbing amount of press lately (including a full page ad in Monday's Washington Post) by 'climate change skeptics' like the Heartland Institute- those who don't believe the earth is warming, don't think human activity is the...
Leading on Climate Change?
You probably don't read much about the Maldives- a small island nation in the Pacific with less than 500,000 inhabitants- unless, that is, you follow environmental news outlets like ClimateWire. Pacific island nations like the Maldives, along with (once) ice-covered...
An Enviro News Bonanza!
As Congress and the Administration work furiously- and mostly behind the scenes- towards regulating greenhouse gas emissions, a variety of non-climate environmental issues came up in a very big and very public way this week. Congress debated public lands protections,...
Don't Fight the Power, Shift It!
Thousands of climate activists will take to the streets and the Hill this weekend for two watershed events that hopefully foreshadow a huge year in the fight against climate change.On Friday, nearly ten thousand students from across the country will...
From Principles to Action
Last week Senator Barbara Boxer released her principles for global warming legislation, a set of ideals she hopes will guide Congress as it crafts climate legislation this year. The principles are laudable (read more of what the RAC had to...
A Greener Future?
A slew of stories emerging from Washington and around the world are giving renewed hope to many environmentalists who have been fighting a steep uphill battle in recent years. A combination of bills in Congress, Presidential directives, and global actions...
Israel: A Light unto the Nations, Even During Conflict
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Today's news from the Middle East is dominated by the fighting in Gaza. Even during trying times, and perhaps especially at times like these, it is worth reminding ourselves that...
Hitting the Hill (During the Holidays!)
Over the past few weeks, I have had the pleasure of meeting over 500 high school students from across the country at the Religious Action Center's Bernard and Audre Rapoport L'Taken social justice seminars. Each four-day intensive learning program brings...
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