Thousands of Jews from over 100 communities joined 400,000 people of all faiths in the People’s Climate March on September 21. It was an inspiring day that revealed the public’s concern about climate disruption, and growing understanding of the need for serious action.

We need to keep the pressure on political leaders at every level, from local communities to the US Congress, to follow through on measures that will limit greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and accelerate the transition to renewable energy. Here are some ways that you can engage your members who were inspired by the March and are ready to keep going:

Educate Your Community

• Hannukah , the festival of light, is a great time to learn about different sources of energy and their impact.  COEJL’s Hannukah Energy Scavenger Hunt is a fun place to start.
• Show Disruption, the exciting film that tells the story of the People’s Climate March.
• Do your members know what you are doing to make your organization more energy efficient? Share your progress with your board of directors and in your newsletter. If you need to start tracking your energy use, learn how to use EPA’s Portfolio Manager.

Help Members Take Concrete Action

• Schechter School of Long Island brought a representative of Power Up Communities to a Parents Association meeting to encourage families sign up for a free home energy audit and reduce their own energy use. Similar programs exist in every community.
• Encourage members to switch to a renewable energy supplier for their electricity. Learn how from Con Ed and other utilities. 350.org has more information and recommendations for New York City residents. Hazon’s Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center has been purchasing green energy for several years.
• JCC on the Hudson is hosting a forum on Investing Your Money to Transform Your World on November 5. To learn more, read Fossil Fuels: What’s a Jewish Investor To Do?

Continue Your Advocacy

• Keep the pressure on world leaders to sign an international treaty on climate change by planning a vigil as part of Light for Lima, a multi-faith initiative sponsored by Our Voices. Vigils will take place the first week of December to coincide with negotiations in Lima, Peru.
• Get involved in the effort to ban fracking for natural gas in New York State. A forum at Temple Israel Center of White Plains , “To Till and to Tend: Energy Needs and Environmental Impact on Westchester’s Communities,” explored this issue. Join Jews Against Hydrofracking at the Governor’s State of the State Speech in Albany on January 7, 2015.  Buses from everywhere in NYS will be available from Food & Water Watch.
• Join or create a Citizen Climate Lobby group for your legislative district. This grassroots organization is pushing for legislation that would insure that the price of fossils fuels reflects their true cost to society.

Fellows, senior leaders, and friends and family from 20 organizations, celebrated the completion of the JGF’s third cohort at a moving ceremony at UJA-Federation of New York on September 15.  (Pictured receiving certificates: Cindy Dolgin, Teri Fields, and Eileen Bohrer of Solomon Schechter of Long Island.)

Mirele Goldsmith, Director of the JGF, congratulated the group, saying, “You have demonstrated that Jewish communities, with other priorities and limited resources, can lead the way in taking action to solve the climate crisis.  You can further your missions, help the bottom line, and also fulfill your moral responsibility to leave a livable earth for our children.  Perhaps even more important, you have taught the people who look to you for direction – in this cohort alone that’s over 85,000 people – that they don’t have to ignore the problem out of fear and despair.  That although what each of us can do alone is a drop in the bucket, what we can do together can fill the bucket.  You have demonstrated the power of Jewish community!”

This was the most varied cohort to date, including 9 congregations, 3 day schools, social service agencies, a camp, JCC, and even an institution of higher education – the Jewish Theological Seminary.  These organizations implemented over 127 programs, engaging 14,000 people.  Each organization completed projects in three areas: Education, Sustainable Operations, and Energy Efficiency.

The JGF has also had a positive financial impact on the participating organizations.  In addition to ongoing savings from energy efficiency projects, since 2009, the 55 organizations in the JGF Network have raised a total of $3,616,000 in new funding for energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy projects, and programs.  This is over and above the grants provided by UJA-Federation of New York.

When the Schechter Westchester Lower and Upper Schools selected “reducing waste in the lunch program” as our project for the Jewish Greening Fellowship, we were thinking about garbage.  Trash.  Piles of empty,  half-pint milk cartons.  Mounds of uneaten pizza slices.  We were not focused on giving struggling students a reason to turn up at school every morning or unearthing hidden leadership skills in fourth graders. 

So nobody was more surprised than I was when our trash-reduction project became the vehicle for several third and fourth graders to organize themselves into a student-run “compost crew,” complete with job assignments, checklists, badges, protective gear, and -  most importantly – “cool kid” status in the halls of the Lower School.  In the upper elementary grades, it seems, kids look up to kids with clipboards and big shovels.  And for some of our students, that recognition could not have come at a better time.

At the time we decided to recruit students to work on the snack-composting plan, one of our boys – let’s call him Aaron – was going through a hard time.  He often did not want to come to school at all.  We asked Aaron if he would like to be the captain of the compost crew, and in addition, write a “green tip of the week” for the principal’s newsletter.

Aaron was thrilled with his new job.  To our surprise – Aaron recruited a group of 10 of his classmates, created a complicated schedule showing which students collected the snack waste from which classroom on which day, made I.D. tags for each member of his crew, and got them blue rubber gloves.  Of course, this blue-gloved posse with their official-looking badges were quite a sight in the hallways.  Other students regarded them with awe and begged to join their ranks. 

Aaron began to spend less time with the nurse. Weeks went by.  Months passed.  Aaron remained committed to compost. I spotted him hauling filled containers out to the compost pile in the rain one day.   “Aaron, “ I said, “you can skip it in the rain.  You’re getting all wet!”  “ That’s O.K.,” he assured me.  “I dry off fast.”

We probably gave Aaron a bit too much autonomy, as I learned when the mother of another boy approached me to register a complaint.  Her son had been “fired” by Aaron for showing up five minutes late for his assigned shift.  The boy was distraught.  I assured his mother that I would have a chat with Aaron and go over a few management tips.  Aaron subsequently accepted the boy back into the crew.

Our compost piles grew and thrived, and the “crew” carried on with its mission until the very last day of school in June.  Composting did not cure all of the kids’ problems.  For a few kids, however, it did create a space in the school day when they could run the show and prove – to themselves as much as to others – that they were stars.