Today, our world is on an unsustainable path.  We are using the earth’s resources – such as oil and water – more quickly than the planet can regenerate them.  Our actions cannot be sustained for future generations. This means that our children and grandchildren will not have the resources to live the same high quality of life that we do, unless we change our path and identify new ways to use resources which are more sustainable.

One example of this unsustainable path is the energy crisis.  We currently use unrenewable, polluting resources such as oil and coal to fuel our cars and for electricity in our homes.  In addition to impacts on air quality, health, and political security, scientists tell us that these actions are also affecting the climate systems of our planet, and will cause significant consequences for future generations, such as increased storms, heat waves, and reduced water resources.  Water resources are of special concern to us because of the water scarcity in the land of Israel, and because lack of water has always been, and continues to be, a source of political tension and violence around the world.

At the request of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), a global religious environmental organization, the Jewish community is creating a seven-year plan for generational change.  Canfei Nesharim is actively participating in this community-wide effort to help the Jewish community learn and take actions toward a more sustainable path — and through our actions, we hope to inspire others as well.

The medium-term goal is that by September 2015, six years from now (at the end of the next sabbatical year in the Jewish calendar), Jewish communities worldwide will have integrated sustainability into the fabric of all that they do.

We hope you will join with us, and with the Jewish community, in educating and empowering Jewish individuals, organizations and communities to take an active role in protecting the environment, in order to build a more sustainable world.

Sign the Pledge:

YES: I believe that the Jewish People can and should play a distinct role in responding to climate change and fostering sustainability between now and September 2015 (the end of the next 7-year sabbatical cycle in the Jewish calendar);

YES: I call on all Jewish organizations, small and large, to create environmental committees that will draw up seven-year goals to effect change and specific steps to get started this year;

YES: I believe we must integrate education, action and advocacy. So I commit every month to learn more about the environment and about Jewish teachings on sustainability; to act by making more sustainable choices; and to advocate for generational change by speaking up to friends, family members, colleagues and opinion-leaders;

YES: I’ll write to my elected representatives and call upon them to build a more sustainable global economy; to support the creation of green jobs; to prioritize protecting vulnerable populations; and to ensure that the UN Climate Change Conference creates the strongest possible framework to ameliorate climate change.

YES: I hope 600,000 Jewish people join me in signing this pledge. Please add my name to the list.