- Serve organically grown fruits and vegetables at Sukkot meals.
Organically grown food keeps pesticides out of our bodies, reduces
water pollution and supports farmers.
- Organize a Tu b'Shevat seder featuring speakers on the environment
and Jewish traditions of caring for the earth.
- Purchase recycled paper products, including napkins, office paper
and newsletter stock. This makes a statement to all who see the
synagogue's publications.
- Purchase glassware for kiddush instead of disposables.
- Adopt a local river, lake or park, organizing opportunities for
youth groups, families and social action activists to learn about the
ecosystem and volunteer time to clean and maintain it.
- Encourage congregants to make a commitment to purchasing only
fuel-efficient vehicles. Probably the most important environmental
decision Americans make is which kind of car to purchase and how much
to use it. For more information about fuel efficient automobiles,
visit the following web site:
www.ucsusa.org.
- Encourage congregants to remove toxic household products such as
pesticides and cleaning supplies when cleaning for Pesah.
- Become an "Energy Star Congregation." The Environmental Protection
Agency has created a program to help religious institutions become more
energy efficient. You can get more information by calling 888-STAR-YES,
or the National Council of Churches' Energy Star hotline: 800-288-1346.
- Avoid using pesticides and fertilizers on synagogue grounds.
Instead, plant native species and use safe alternatives to conventional
pesticides.
- Join the Jewish voice to protect the environment through COEJL's
Legislative Advocacy Network. Contact information for COEJL can be
found below.
Web sites for further information:
"Ten Things…" and web site information provided by COEJL.
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The
Alliance for Sustainability