Inconceivable!
Nancy A. Nord is the acting chairwoman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
You would think with all the brouhaha over tainted children's toys, poisoned pet food, anti-freeze in toothpaste, e. coli in spinach and so much more, Ms Nord would be feeling overwhelmed and understaffed.
You would think that with a job that requires not only overseeing all domestic consumer products but those imported from all over the world, Ms Nord would be thrilled with the proposed legislation that would (1) increase her commission's authority, (2) make it easier to receive product reports, (3) increase her staff AND (4) double her budget.
But she is a member of the Bush administration. So, as counter-intuitive as it might seem, Ms. Nord, continuing the President's march to deregulation, has written to the Senate Commerce Committee arguing *against* this effort to strengthen her commission.
(see the article in The Sun, Tuesday, October 30, 2007, p. 3A)
Does *Homeland Security* - grandly conceived - not include the assumption that the toys we buy our children, the toothpaste we lay beside our bathroom sinks, and the food we feed our families are safe? How can we feel safe when we are afraid of being sabotaged by the very products that are meant to bring us joy, amusement and even health? How can we feel safe when the *enemy* can be lurking inside the stuff we bring into our homes? What is President Bush thinking?
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
POGO on the environment
My husband sent me this touching and telling tidbit of information:
The famous Pogo saying: "we have met the enemy and he is us" was created for the original Earth Day Pogo comic strip, bemoaning pollution, trash and the general disregard for the natural environment.
To see the strip, go to Wikipedia, search for Pogo, and click on entry number #4, "We have met the enemy..."
Words of wisdom from an irresistible and irrepressible possum.
Thank you, Walt Kelly.
The famous Pogo saying: "we have met the enemy and he is us" was created for the original Earth Day Pogo comic strip, bemoaning pollution, trash and the general disregard for the natural environment.
To see the strip, go to Wikipedia, search for Pogo, and click on entry number #4, "We have met the enemy..."
Words of wisdom from an irresistible and irrepressible possum.
Thank you, Walt Kelly.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Hans Jonas
Hans Jonas was a 20th century philosopher who - though little known in the popular American environmentalist movement - is a thinker we would do well to (re)discover.
One powerful quote by Jonas (a Jew, who also was a passionate philosopher who spent some time in Israel after fleeing Germany before WWII and ultimately settling in America) is:
"Act so that the effects of your actions are compatible with the permanence of genuine human life". This is the core of sustainability.
And another:
"It was once religion which threatened us with a last judgment at the end of days. It is now our tortured planet which predicts the arrival of such a day without any heavenly intervention. The late revelation... is the outcry of mute things themselves that we must pull together in curbing our powers over creation, lest we perish together on a wasteland of what was creation."
Haunting.
Some key works:
The Imperative of Responsibility: In Search of Ethics for the Technological Age (1979
The Phenomenon of Life: Toward a Philosophical Biology (1966)
"The Outcry of Mute Things" can be found in Mortality and Morality (1996) pp. 201-202
There is a new book out which traces Jonas' Jewish influences: The Life and Thought of Hans Jonas: Jewish dimensions, by Christian Wiese.
I hope to get the book tomorrow.
One powerful quote by Jonas (a Jew, who also was a passionate philosopher who spent some time in Israel after fleeing Germany before WWII and ultimately settling in America) is:
"Act so that the effects of your actions are compatible with the permanence of genuine human life". This is the core of sustainability.
And another:
"It was once religion which threatened us with a last judgment at the end of days. It is now our tortured planet which predicts the arrival of such a day without any heavenly intervention. The late revelation... is the outcry of mute things themselves that we must pull together in curbing our powers over creation, lest we perish together on a wasteland of what was creation."
Haunting.
Some key works:
The Imperative of Responsibility: In Search of Ethics for the Technological Age (1979
The Phenomenon of Life: Toward a Philosophical Biology (1966)
"The Outcry of Mute Things" can be found in Mortality and Morality (1996) pp. 201-202
There is a new book out which traces Jonas' Jewish influences: The Life and Thought of Hans Jonas: Jewish dimensions, by Christian Wiese.
I hope to get the book tomorrow.
Friday, October 26, 2007
lessons of potlatch
Still raining, three days running. How lucky we are, even if the rain is intermittent. How good and comforting it is to hear the rain fall on the roof; white noise at night, without the aid of a machine!
I was reminded of the Northwest Indians potlatch ceremony today, during a conversation of the culture of gifts and gift-giving (more of that and its influence on our buying urges later).
To celebrate various lifecycle events, and to mark one's place and status in society, the American Northwest Coast Indians celebrated potlatch ceremonies. Grand amounts of people would be invited from neighboring and sometimes distant areas. Lasting often several days, the ceremony would be led by a host who would lavish food and gifts of blankets, baskets, copper and baubles of all sorts on the guests.
Some anthropologists suggest that these ceremonies served not only the purpose of aggrandizing the host and establishing relationships between grantor and recipient, but they also served to redistribute wealth that had accumulated in one person's domain. It seems that in that culture, undue accumulation of wealth was not smiled upon, and so a folk ritual was developed to serve as a practical corrective.
While the owner gave up (that is, reduced much of) his wealth at these ceremonies, he also gained standing and status. Indeed, it seems this may have been the only way his money truly served him. Evidently, possessing wealth did not promote standing. Giving it away did!
Imagine if our wealth and possessions had value only as a prelude to distribution and gifting - what would the world, our consumer patterns, the environment, and our community's social health look like today?
I was reminded of the Northwest Indians potlatch ceremony today, during a conversation of the culture of gifts and gift-giving (more of that and its influence on our buying urges later).
To celebrate various lifecycle events, and to mark one's place and status in society, the American Northwest Coast Indians celebrated potlatch ceremonies. Grand amounts of people would be invited from neighboring and sometimes distant areas. Lasting often several days, the ceremony would be led by a host who would lavish food and gifts of blankets, baskets, copper and baubles of all sorts on the guests.
Some anthropologists suggest that these ceremonies served not only the purpose of aggrandizing the host and establishing relationships between grantor and recipient, but they also served to redistribute wealth that had accumulated in one person's domain. It seems that in that culture, undue accumulation of wealth was not smiled upon, and so a folk ritual was developed to serve as a practical corrective.
While the owner gave up (that is, reduced much of) his wealth at these ceremonies, he also gained standing and status. Indeed, it seems this may have been the only way his money truly served him. Evidently, possessing wealth did not promote standing. Giving it away did!
Imagine if our wealth and possessions had value only as a prelude to distribution and gifting - what would the world, our consumer patterns, the environment, and our community's social health look like today?
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The High Price of Doing Nothing
I am sitting in my kitchen, with my favorite, toasty sweater on, a cup of warm tea, listening to the rain come steadily down.
Ordinarily, this is not remarkable for a mid-October day (except maybe for the fact that I am at home!). But this year has been anything but ordinary. As the fires rage in California, we have been experiencing 70 and 80 degree days here, our reservoirs dangerously low, our lawns dry as a bone. Blue skies, green leafy canopies, low humidity, short-sleeve comfort, evening cricket serenades and outdoor jogging weather should not be reasons to complain. But they are when they occur in mid-October. This time should be about vibrant foliage, damp piles of browned and oranged leaves, people cuddling in jackets and sweaters and maybe even scarves.
Whereas once we might have thought of this year as an anomaly, it is more likely we should name it the beginning of a new climate for the mid-Altantic states. Already the growing season is lengthening a bit, bird migration patterns are changing, ocean temperatures are warming.
Tomorrow is here.
Ten years or so ago, we might have been able to speak of averting climate change. Today, our rhetoric must change. We have two different goals:
1) limiting climate change, and
2) adapting to climate change.
Even as we continue to fight for lower CO2 emissions, simpler lifestyles, and less consumerism, we must also put our energies into planning for adapting to the changes we cannot stop.
The lesson to be learned is this: the more we act now, even with present-day costs and expenses, the less it will cost us overall. Let us build efficient buildings now - to make them viable, affordable and livable in the future. And let us begin to put a price tag on accommodating those displaced and disoriented due to climate change. As we respond, compassionately, let's do the math. Then we will see how unaffordable doing nothing really is.
Ordinarily, this is not remarkable for a mid-October day (except maybe for the fact that I am at home!). But this year has been anything but ordinary. As the fires rage in California, we have been experiencing 70 and 80 degree days here, our reservoirs dangerously low, our lawns dry as a bone. Blue skies, green leafy canopies, low humidity, short-sleeve comfort, evening cricket serenades and outdoor jogging weather should not be reasons to complain. But they are when they occur in mid-October. This time should be about vibrant foliage, damp piles of browned and oranged leaves, people cuddling in jackets and sweaters and maybe even scarves.
Whereas once we might have thought of this year as an anomaly, it is more likely we should name it the beginning of a new climate for the mid-Altantic states. Already the growing season is lengthening a bit, bird migration patterns are changing, ocean temperatures are warming.
Tomorrow is here.
Ten years or so ago, we might have been able to speak of averting climate change. Today, our rhetoric must change. We have two different goals:
1) limiting climate change, and
2) adapting to climate change.
Even as we continue to fight for lower CO2 emissions, simpler lifestyles, and less consumerism, we must also put our energies into planning for adapting to the changes we cannot stop.
The lesson to be learned is this: the more we act now, even with present-day costs and expenses, the less it will cost us overall. Let us build efficient buildings now - to make them viable, affordable and livable in the future. And let us begin to put a price tag on accommodating those displaced and disoriented due to climate change. As we respond, compassionately, let's do the math. Then we will see how unaffordable doing nothing really is.
Friday, October 19, 2007
the re-enchantment of nature
"We will not fight to save what we do not love." Stephen Jay Gould
In our efforts to educate and motivate people, we dare not overlook the power of aesthetics. We know that love is a greater motivator than fear. So even as we need to face and teach the truth about the degraded state of the earth today, we need to speak of the beauty and irresistable power of nature. Great nature writers are out there: in addition to the well-known, among them John Muir and Aldo Leopold, there are also lesser known ones (at least, those I am just discovering): Annie Dillard, "Teaching a Stone to Talk", and Richard Nelson, "The Island Within."
So along with knowing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and creating the top ten list of things we all can do to reduce our carbon footprint, we need to discover our favorite nature writers, and share them with others.
And more: we need - as a people - to re-discover and re-create Jewish nature narratives that move us today.
Surely we can find powerful proclamations about nature at the end of the book of Job; and in Psalm 104. We should mine those, for they have the ability to move us to awe. But we also need contemporary narratives, stories, of nature - both in Israel and around the world, from a Jewish pen and a Jewish perspective. And how wonderful if we could find hidden treasures of such narratives in the vast still-undiscovered writings from somewhere in our tradition.
Perhaps we can begin with what we have: the blessings we say about early blossoming trees and upon hearing thunder and seeing lightning, upon seeing unusual creations of all kinds, should be as familiar to Jewish children as is kiddush and ha-motzi. Maybe even more so.
We need to re-enchant nature - so that it will be loved, and people will fight for it.
In our efforts to educate and motivate people, we dare not overlook the power of aesthetics. We know that love is a greater motivator than fear. So even as we need to face and teach the truth about the degraded state of the earth today, we need to speak of the beauty and irresistable power of nature. Great nature writers are out there: in addition to the well-known, among them John Muir and Aldo Leopold, there are also lesser known ones (at least, those I am just discovering): Annie Dillard, "Teaching a Stone to Talk", and Richard Nelson, "The Island Within."
So along with knowing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and creating the top ten list of things we all can do to reduce our carbon footprint, we need to discover our favorite nature writers, and share them with others.
And more: we need - as a people - to re-discover and re-create Jewish nature narratives that move us today.
Surely we can find powerful proclamations about nature at the end of the book of Job; and in Psalm 104. We should mine those, for they have the ability to move us to awe. But we also need contemporary narratives, stories, of nature - both in Israel and around the world, from a Jewish pen and a Jewish perspective. And how wonderful if we could find hidden treasures of such narratives in the vast still-undiscovered writings from somewhere in our tradition.
Perhaps we can begin with what we have: the blessings we say about early blossoming trees and upon hearing thunder and seeing lightning, upon seeing unusual creations of all kinds, should be as familiar to Jewish children as is kiddush and ha-motzi. Maybe even more so.
We need to re-enchant nature - so that it will be loved, and people will fight for it.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
when our dreams come true
We are the first generation that is witnessing the fulfillment of the biblical blessing that earlier generations never dreamed could come true: "Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth."
Who could have imagined - even a century ago - that this earth would become so full of people, technology and stuff that God's grandest wish for us would be ours in our lifetime? But, it has not turned into the blessing it was meant to be.
We are filling the earth not just with our capacity, our goodness and our wisdom, but with our waste and our poisons. No place on earth is untouched by human 'achievements'. Whales and birds die of discarded plastic bags, bottle caps, and beach toys ingested thousands of miles off-shore. The air, water and soil are filled with refuse whose journey began hundreds of miles away, but that nonetheless sickens and weakens us downstream.
Here is the question: What do we do when our founding blessing has become a reality - and turned into a nightmare? Where else in Tanakh, our Bible, and our tradition can we turn for the wisdom, inspiration and guidance that can help us reclaim the purity of that earliest vision?
It is those texts, those teachings, those discoveries that I hope to explore over time on this blog. I am eager to hear your wisdom on this as well.
Who could have imagined - even a century ago - that this earth would become so full of people, technology and stuff that God's grandest wish for us would be ours in our lifetime? But, it has not turned into the blessing it was meant to be.
We are filling the earth not just with our capacity, our goodness and our wisdom, but with our waste and our poisons. No place on earth is untouched by human 'achievements'. Whales and birds die of discarded plastic bags, bottle caps, and beach toys ingested thousands of miles off-shore. The air, water and soil are filled with refuse whose journey began hundreds of miles away, but that nonetheless sickens and weakens us downstream.
Here is the question: What do we do when our founding blessing has become a reality - and turned into a nightmare? Where else in Tanakh, our Bible, and our tradition can we turn for the wisdom, inspiration and guidance that can help us reclaim the purity of that earliest vision?
It is those texts, those teachings, those discoveries that I hope to explore over time on this blog. I am eager to hear your wisdom on this as well.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
nobel prize
Many times, the Nobel Peace Prize serves to acknowledge and celebrate past achievements. This year's prize - given to Al Gore - does more. It both celebrates and PROMOTES the very cause that it is celebrating: motivating people to tend carefully and urgently to this precious world of ours.
May our work be bolstered by this worthy award.
A quote for the day from "Inspiring Progress: religions' contributions to sustainable development" by Gary T. Gardner:
"Suppose that every time a product designer, factory manager, or consumer uses an economic resource - when a car is designed, a batch of steel is ordered, or a paper towel is used - each of these economic actors gives a prayer of thanks for the resource bounty before them, and promises to use only as much as they really need." (p. 58)
It might change not just our attitude toward all sorts of consumption but our behavior as well. Which is precisely the power of the blessings we say before and after eating; when we see a tree in bloom; or wear something we have never worn before. Perhaps we can bolster our daily acts with even more spiritual disciplines. As we go through tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after, perhaps we can pause before everything we use and offer such a prayer of awareness and gratitude. And then at the end of the day, we can see how exhausted we are at the abundance of our expressions; whether we needed to use quite as much as we did. And what we must do to preserve the existence of such bounties, and such blessings.
May our work be bolstered by this worthy award.
A quote for the day from "Inspiring Progress: religions' contributions to sustainable development" by Gary T. Gardner:
"Suppose that every time a product designer, factory manager, or consumer uses an economic resource - when a car is designed, a batch of steel is ordered, or a paper towel is used - each of these economic actors gives a prayer of thanks for the resource bounty before them, and promises to use only as much as they really need." (p. 58)
It might change not just our attitude toward all sorts of consumption but our behavior as well. Which is precisely the power of the blessings we say before and after eating; when we see a tree in bloom; or wear something we have never worn before. Perhaps we can bolster our daily acts with even more spiritual disciplines. As we go through tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after, perhaps we can pause before everything we use and offer such a prayer of awareness and gratitude. And then at the end of the day, we can see how exhausted we are at the abundance of our expressions; whether we needed to use quite as much as we did. And what we must do to preserve the existence of such bounties, and such blessings.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
the image of Gd
Over the holiday of Simhat Torah, I bumped into a simple but extraordinary insight offered by Aviva Zornberg, a textual scholar from Jerusalem who mines the language, images and narrative of the Bible in amazing ways.
She teaches the following about the story of creation:
Humans, she notes, are made in the image of Gd (Genesis 1:26). “At the heart of the word image, tzelem, is the word “tzel," shadow … There is the sense that the human being is a shadow that God casts in the world. One of the primary functions of shadows is to say something about the reality of what is casting a shadow."
Here is what I learn from that: We are the earthly reflection of the divine. Our presence and actions point to the source of our energy and being. And like a shadow, we can be a blessing or a detriment. Shade can serve to offer coolness, comfort, relief and protection; or it can serve to blot out, block out, deprive, steal the light and life from that which it covers.
As humans exercising the powers we possess as the shadows of Gd, which way shall be our legacy on this delicate earth, which we have so unwittingly, yet decisively, damaged?
She teaches the following about the story of creation:
Humans, she notes, are made in the image of Gd (Genesis 1:26). “At the heart of the word image, tzelem, is the word “tzel," shadow … There is the sense that the human being is a shadow that God casts in the world. One of the primary functions of shadows is to say something about the reality of what is casting a shadow."
Here is what I learn from that: We are the earthly reflection of the divine. Our presence and actions point to the source of our energy and being. And like a shadow, we can be a blessing or a detriment. Shade can serve to offer coolness, comfort, relief and protection; or it can serve to blot out, block out, deprive, steal the light and life from that which it covers.
As humans exercising the powers we possess as the shadows of Gd, which way shall be our legacy on this delicate earth, which we have so unwittingly, yet decisively, damaged?
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
a great bjen conference
Our BJEN conference on Sept 30, 2007 launched our first full year of operation!
From the plenary to the workshops to the hallway conversations, information, ideas and challenges were flowing. As always, the most powerful portions of the morning were the contacts and connections that were made. We are eager to hear the after-stories from you. Many of you, veterans as well as newcomers to the field, were kind enough to contact me and tell me how inspired you were, and what you plan to do about it!
Let's keep in touch.
For the truth is, we all need support as we do this sacred, satisfying but often frustrating work.
The conference was an opportunity to support each other - and it was a time to renew our vows. The midrash tells us:
"Upon creating Adam and Eve, God proudly took them around the Garden of Eden, showing them its marvels and gifts, uses and wonders.
And then God said to them: 'Look what I’ve made - see how beautiful it all is. Everything I’ve made, I’ve made for you. Take care, lest you spoil it and destroy my world, because if you do, there is no one after you to make it right again.'” (Kohelet Rabbah 7:13)
Upon receiving this mandate of stewardship for the world, we made a vow to care for it and tend to it. At our conference, we renewed that vow. As we must do - through our actions - every day.
From the plenary to the workshops to the hallway conversations, information, ideas and challenges were flowing. As always, the most powerful portions of the morning were the contacts and connections that were made. We are eager to hear the after-stories from you. Many of you, veterans as well as newcomers to the field, were kind enough to contact me and tell me how inspired you were, and what you plan to do about it!
Let's keep in touch.
For the truth is, we all need support as we do this sacred, satisfying but often frustrating work.
The conference was an opportunity to support each other - and it was a time to renew our vows. The midrash tells us:
"Upon creating Adam and Eve, God proudly took them around the Garden of Eden, showing them its marvels and gifts, uses and wonders.
And then God said to them: 'Look what I’ve made - see how beautiful it all is. Everything I’ve made, I’ve made for you. Take care, lest you spoil it and destroy my world, because if you do, there is no one after you to make it right again.'” (Kohelet Rabbah 7:13)
Upon receiving this mandate of stewardship for the world, we made a vow to care for it and tend to it. At our conference, we renewed that vow. As we must do - through our actions - every day.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Welcome
The Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network is powered by its members' wisdom, passions and synergy. I hope to share some of these on this blog. Join in!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)