NFTY Action Theme 2010-2011

Anavah: Humility What do we really need?

NFTY Addresses Overconsumption

BACKGROUND: While NFTY has reduced its consumption in the past, through NFTY Constitutional Bylaws amended in 2008, such as the 1980 bylaw to discontinue programs that involve much driving and the 1997 bylaw to encourage each youth group to implement a recycling program in their respective synagogue, we have much work to do. As our Earth deteriorates, we gobble hamburgers and guzzle gasoline, often blind to the consequences. As NFTYites we have studied the Earth and questioned our impact on the environment through previous Action Themes, such as Shootfei Adamah: Partners of the Earth, we will continue studying consumption and the environmental impact of our food, transportation, and other consumption choices in the 2010-2011 academic year.

WHEREAS Jewish tradition rests upon the premise that we do not have unrestricted use of creation as Psalm 24 states "the earth is the Lord's and all which fills it, the world and all its inhabitants,” and;

WHEREAS Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13 states, “See my works, how fine and excellent they are! All that I created, I created for you. Reflect on this, and do not corrupt or desolate my world; for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you.”

WHEREAS the meat industry today generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change throughout the world. According to a U.N. report, animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas than all transportation sources combined. And the preparation of beef meals requires about fifteen times the amount of fossil fuel energy than meat-free meals, and;

WHEREAS human activities such as burning fossil fuels, the clearing of vegetation, and (in case of methane) cattle have caused an unprecedented increase in concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere, and;

WHEREAS Peter Singer author of One World: The Ethics of Globalization wrote, “When people in rich nations switch to vehicles that use more fuel than the cars they used to drive, they contribute to changes in the climate of Mozambique or Bangladesh- changes that may cause crops to fail, sea levels to rise, and tropical diseases to spread,” and;

WHEREAS American purchases of oil and timber contribute to fueling international conflict, and;

WHEREAS one of the thirteen principles of NFTY is CHOICE THROUGH KNOWLEDGE – NILMAD V’NA’ASEH – and studying the effects of our consumption on the environment will equip us to make informed decisions about our consumption, and;

WHEREAS our consumption practices contribute to changes in climate, including fluctuations in temperature and precipitation, causing immense hardship among the large proportion of the world's population who must depend directly on natural ecosystems for survival, and;

WHEREAS unsustainable fishing practices and insufficient waste management blight the developing world’s infrastructure, and;

WHEREAS NFTY seeks to come together to honor the memory of Captain Benjamin Sklaver, founder of the ClearWater Intiative, an organization that provides clean water to poverty stricken areas of the world, was killed at 32 years old trying to make the world a healthier place for all, and;

WHEREAS our American and Jewish ancestors did not have material gain as their only aim and applauded growth in spiritual, educational, and other realms, and;

WHEREAS as a community, we struggle with the concept of fulfillment and have fashioned in its place a society where bigger is better, new is good, and old is to be replaced as quickly as possible, and;

WHEREAS consumers in developing countries are encouraged to mimic the material aspirations of North America, and;

WHEREAS environmental consciousness unites communities in North America and abroad; catalyzing groups like Friends of the Earth Middle East,a consortium of Egyptian, Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian environmental non-governmental organizations that work jointly to promote sustainable development in the Middle East, and;

WHEREAS initiatives through the Religious Action Center, such as the Greening Reform Judaism Initiative, Fighting Poverty with Faith: Good Jobs, Green Jobs, and the Union for Reform Judaism, such as the Just Table Green Table, display the interdisciplinary nature of environmental justice and its relation to religious pluralism, poverty, and ethical eating, and;

WHEREAS it is crucial that NFTYities live responsibly to conserve and preserve the earth;

THEREFORE LET IT BE RESOLVED that the NFTY Action Theme for 2010-2011 will be “Anavah: Humility What do we really need? NFTY Addresses Overconsumption,” and;

LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that that NFTY regions write at least one program pertaining to the Action Theme, the study of consumption and utilize holidays to consider the environmental implications of their consumption including Tu B'Shvat, Sukkot, Pesach, and Earth Day, and;

LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that NFTY regions, in loving memory of Captain Benjamin Sklaver, work with nonprofit organizations, such as but not limited to, the ClearWater Initiavite which help provide access to natural resources and products in areas of the world that don’t have the same opportunities as here in North America, and;

LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that NFTYites examine their per capita consumption and consider amending their consumption of food, fuel, minerals, diamonds, and other resources, and;

LET IT BE FURTHER RESOLVED that NFTY aligns with our partners such as the Religious Action Center, the Union for Reform Judaism, and the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life to allow for the success of the aforementioned Action Theme, and;

LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that NFTY fulfills President Rabbi Eric Yoffie’s challenge, presented at the URJ Biennial in November 2009, to consider what we consume and the process by which we consume, and;

LET IT FURTHER BE RESOLVED that NFTYites study the correlation between their consumption and its affect on the environment.

Respectfully submitted,

*Molly Goldberg MV SAVP
*Jesse Seckel-Cerrotti NE SAVP
Lilly Lerer TOR SAVP
Ben Stein STR SAVP
Anya Riddell-Kaufman CWR SAVP
Sami Rosenthal SO SAVP
Avra Bossov PAR SAVP

Cosigned:

Leah Lazer NE President
Julia Carpey PAR President
Georgia Sommer NAR President
Dan Stein SoCal President
Danya Degen NE PVP
David Schenirer CWR PVP
Aaron Gurvis NE RCVP
Sarah Balin NO SAVP
Sharon Bort GER SAVP
Hayley Sakwa MI SAVP
Aly Pavela CWR MVP
Brad Cohn MV Western MVP
Benjamin Brenner MI FVP
Danielle Brief GER Secretary
Morgan Gross PAR RCVP
Hannah Stone NE Liaison VP
Samantha Laiderman MV CVVP
Max Greenberg NE Corresponding Secretary