FEBRUARY 24, 2006
One
of the wonderful journals I receive on line is put out by The Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life. The voices of
the (teachers) rabbis are being heard by a wider and wider audience and they are a force to reckon with. Well educated,
committed and passionate about creation, a rabbi on fire in her or his pulpit is now preaching the good news about living an environmental ethic. Some of the best teaching today is coming from our Jewish leaders. Amen and Thank you.
Here is an example from their newsletter. It states the Biblical rationale for a certain point of view and then fires off a contemporary challenge to people in positions of power. That is the kind of leadership I am talking about. Right on target and caring words for creation and in this case the children of creation.
The Headline Reads: Tell EPA to Reduce Mercury Pollution Now!
One of the core beliefs that empower COEJL, and all people of faith who are concerned with protecting creation, is the call for intergenerational equity. Simply stated, we believe that the gifts of God's creation are to be conserved over time for God's children. Genesis (9:12) reads: "This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations".
Now is the time for you (you meaning all Jews reading the letter and all of us who are not Jewish as well) to remind the Bush Administration of this deeply held tenet of our Jewish faith by contacting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Leavitt and telling him that EPA's new proposal on mercury is both too little and too late. More than 600,000 newborns are at risk of brain damage and learning disabilities every year because their mothers have been exposed to mercury pollution. Instead of using already existing technology to reduce mercury emissions by as much as 90%, as is required by the Clean Air Act, the new plan would postpone any significant controls for mercury until 2018, and in doing so would unnecessarily endanger the lives of an entire generation of children. Take one minute of your day to tell EPA that you care about children and that the agency should too!
I personally will never be silent in the face of the erosion of our children's health. Ultimately the future of tomorrows generations must be filled with promise and hope. As Rabbi Dan Schwartz, former director of the Children's Environmental Health Network warned us, our children's health is being compromised on many fronts today, and that leads to despair not hope. He talked with us at EarthTalk about the consequences of our decisions about mercury, global warming, climate change will all impact our children's health.
Remember, among us will rise up teachers who will astound us with their knowledge and their teachings we just need to learn to listen better.
--Peter