Tzipi Livni Party Presents Environmental Agenda

Livni partners with Green Movement; party advocates public transportation reform, passing environmental protection law.

Passing a Basic Law for environmental protection and creating a long-term blueprint for the Israeli energy market will be key components of The Tzipi Livni Party’s platform, the party said on Thursday.

The announcement came as Livni presented the party’s environmental agenda together with Green Movement chairman Alon Tal, No. 13 on their joint Knesset candidates list, at the party’s Tel Aviv office.

The Tzipi Livni Party also advocates public transportation reform, maintenance of open spaces for future generations, and a new clean-tech industry development program.

“We are bringing today strategic link between two movements that want to make a change in Israel,” Livni said.

“Change is much more than an additional Knesset seat – it is promoting the issues and values that the two parties believe in. The need to reach a political settlement, work for equal share of the burden and economic and social improvement require profound change and detailed plans in order to ensure our quality of life in Israel. Israel lags in comparison to other developed countries, and it is time to change the face of Israel’s renewability together with the Green Movement.”

A Basic Law – part of Israel evolving constitution – that provides for environmental protection would allow for the preservation of the country’s natural resources for generations to come, according to the party. In enacting such legislation, the government could help prevent pollution and depletion of natural resources as well as ensure sustainable development, conservation of biodiversity, and cooperation with other countries and international organizations on environmental issues, it said.

Continue reading.

Hurricane Sandy, FEMA, and the Need for Big Government

By: Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz

The Rabbis teach (Ta’anit 11a) that “at a time when the community is suffering, no one should say, ‘I will go home, eat, drink, and be at peace with myself.’” To effectively aid those who are suffering, we need the cooperation and collaboration of each and every individual. We need strong individuals, effective non-profits, and committed states. However, we also need to recognize the most powerful collective body available to address the suffering. In our society, the mechanism that represents the people is the government, and it must be effective. Government does not always have to be big to be effective, but oftentimes it does, especially when responding to disasters on a large scale.

Hurricane Sandy, which struck the east coast in October 2012, was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record and the second-costliest, behind only Hurricane Katrina. At least 253 people were killed and an estimated $65.6 billion was lost due to damage and business interruption. For weeks, many in this, the wealthiest country in the world, were suddenly lacking the basic necessities of life, such as shelter, heat, power, and water. The most dramatic damage occurred in southern New Jersey and the New York City metropolitan area. In New Jersey, the historic Seaside Heights roller coaster was carried out into the Atlantic Ocean, where its tangled ruins remain today. Video of the famous Jersey shore area revealed miles of destroyed boardwalks and beaches that had virtually disappeared, along with hundreds of demolished houses and boats. To the north, nearly 100 people died within a 65-mile radius of New York City as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Manhattan had never before flooded, but Hurricane Sandy’s waters were nearly 4 feet higher than the city’s 10-foot walls. Scores were killed in their homes on the coasts of Staten Island and Queens. Some ignored mandatory orders to evacuate, others were elderly and infirm, but all were victimized by a flood surge that filled houses with water within minutes, allowing no escape. Others were killed by falling branches and trees. Millions of people were without power, and received little-to-no information from their utility companies about when power might be restored. The catastrophe was reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and many feared a repeat of the government’s feeble response to that storm might occur again.

This time, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was ready to act. Within three days, FEMA had deployed about 2,300 disaster-relief personnel across several states; provided shelter to more than 10,000 people; rescued some 700 people; and delivered around 700,000 gallons of water and 1.5 million meals to others in need. Perversely, many in the House of Representatives now propose that we slash the agency’s funding by up to 40 percent, arguing that disaster relief should be handled by the states and private sector, not the federal government. The argument typically goes that the Federal government is overly bureaucratic and slow to act while states can be nimble, understand the needs of the localities and their constituents better, and thus should be charged with more responsibility.

Continue reading.

10 Ways to Go Green and Save Green

10 Ways to Go Green and Save Green

How can we live lightly on the Earth and save money at the same time? Staff members at the Worldwatch Institute, a global environmental organization, share ideas on how to GO GREEN and SAVE GREEN at home and at work. To learn more about Worldwatch's efforts to create am environmentally sustainable society that meets human needs, sign up here for weekly e-mail updates.

Climate change is in the news. It seems like everyone's "going green." We're glad you want to take action, too. Luckily, many of the steps we can take to stop climate change can make our lives better. Our grandchildren-and their children-will thank us for living more sustainably. Let's start now.

We've partnered with the Million Car Carbon Campaign to help you find ways to save energy and reduce your carbon footprint. This campaign is uniting conscious consumers around the world to prevent the emissions-equivalent of 1 million cars from entering the atmosphere each year.

Keep reading for 10 simple things you can do today to help reduce your environmental impact, save money, and live a happier, healthier life. For more advice, purchase State of the World 2010 - Transforming Cultures: From Consumerism to Sustainability, a report from 60 renowned researchers and practitioners on how to reorient cultures toward sustainability.

Save energy to save money.

•  Set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs. 
• Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) when your older incandescent bulbs burn out. 
• Unplug appliances when you're not using them. Or, use a "smart" power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts "phantom" or "vampire" energy use. 
• Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water. 
• Use a drying rack or clothesline to save the energy otherwise used during machine drying.

Continue reading.

The Ultimate Latke

Video: How to fry up a batch of perfect potato pancakes this Hanukkah—and don’t forget the applesauce. From the Jewish cooking maven, Joan Nathan. 

Hanukkah Energy Scavenger Hunt

This Scavenger Hunt (see below) is a great way to have children actively learn about energy efficiency while having Hanukkah fun. It can be implemented two different ways:

*Important Preparation: Before the activity, make sure you read through and fill out the sheet yourself. Some of the questions ask for specific facts about your building, so you’ll need to know whether or not the kids have the correct answers.

For a Youth Group Meeting or Other Small Group:

Depending on the size of your group, you may want to split the kids into a few teams to compete against each other. Try to equally distribute the active vs. passive children, to help encourage involvement. Make sure an adult accompanies each group of children while they go around the building. In addition to being there for supervision, s/he will need to verify that the kids complete some of the actions or activities, and ensure that everyone is participating. Finally, let your building supervisor know about the game ahead of time. (S/he may ask you to omit the thermostat question, etc.)

You can either time the scavenger hunt or make it a race to see who can complete it first. If there are a number of groups, it might be helpful to have everyone write down what time they completed each activity. (For example, the thermostat might be at a different temperature than you originally measured it right after another group lowers it a degree. If you see that two groups were there at different times, then disparaging answers can still be correct.) Each question or challenge gains the kids a specified number of points. At the end of the activity, the child or group with the most points wins! (You may want to give out chocolate Hanukkah gelt or toy dreidels as prizes, but no matter who wins, everybody should leave with something.)

Continue reading