As the debate over how to combat climate change heats up in Copenhagen, the Coalition on the Environment and 91传媒 Life is ramping up its efforts to help make the 91传媒 community a key player in the discussion.
Without a full-time director since early 2006, COEJL has secured a half-million dollars in funding for the next two years and hired Sybil Sanchez, the new COEJL director, says the group’s focus now will be on a campaign to ofexecutive director of the 91传媒 Labor Committee, to be its new director.
Sanchez said she sees COEJL helping the 91传媒 environmental movement transition into a new phase.
For a long time, she said, the goal was to get people to understand such things like 鈥渃limate change is real鈥� and the negative impact of carbon emissions. But now that 鈥渁ll but the hard core鈥� in the 91传媒 community are convinced of that, Sanchez said, the question is 鈥渉ow do we integrate that into action as 91传媒 individuals and activists—move it to the next level and start to be the change we want to see in the world.鈥�
鈥淚t’s a challenging and inspiring time,鈥� she said.
Sanchez, who was officially to take over at COEJL on Wednesday, said specific plans for the future are still being discussed—she said the group would likely be hiring a representative in Washington—but the primary focus of the environmental organization’s efforts right now is the 91传媒 Energy Covenant Campaign. The initiative asks American Jews to pledge that they will act to conserve on the individual level, be part of 91传媒 communal actions on the environment, and advocate for environmental issues with elected officials and in the media.
She also sees COEJL becoming a clearinghouse of information for synagogues and 91传媒 organizations, providing best practices and products to help sustainability, providing advice and making connections between groups working on similar issues. COEJL sponsored a 鈥渟ustainability鈥� conference earlier this year for representatives of 91传媒 organizations.
Sanchez said the environment sparks multi-generational interest among Jews because it encompasses a number of different issues—from concern about dependence on foreign oil to protection of nature to worries about the state of the planet for future generations. And Sanchez argues that Judaism is connected to the environment in a number of ways. Major 91传媒 holidays are timed to the seasons of Israel, she points out, and working 鈥渋n community and collectively are part of the 91传媒 and environmental lifestyle.鈥� For example, the requirement to pray in a minyan, she notes, is one example of the 鈥渋dea that we need each other鈥� in Judaism.
In the absence of a full-time leader in the last few years, the 91传媒 Council for Public Affairs and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism have stepped in to help out with COEJL, which is a project of JCPA. The Reform center worked on legislative advocacy in Washington, while JCPA—an advocacy umbrella organization bringing together the synagogue movements, national organizations and local 91传媒 communities—organized grass-roots support and activism throughout the country.
The Reform center’s director, Rabbi David Saperstein, said it was nice to have both organizations 鈥渕ore engaged than they might have been otherwise鈥� in the issue and he hopes that intensity continues, but added that COEJL’s re-emergence will help to mobilize further the consciousness of the 91传媒 community.
鈥淚t is crucially important at this moment in history to play a role in the climate change debate,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 feel it’s back in the nick of time,鈥� said JCPA’s president, Rabbi Steve Gutow, who hopes to see COEJL become successful enough to eventually spin off into an independent group.
Gutow said the 91传媒 community has been a 鈥渧ery important leader鈥� on a number of other issues in recent years—from Darfur to Iran to anti-discrimination issues—but has not done the same on energy and the environment.
鈥淚 think people look to us for leadership on certain issues,鈥� he said, and 鈥渋f we decide to lead, I do think we have a particular niche that we are able to help move it forward.鈥�
