When you register for  an event with Hazon, a New York-based Jewish environmental organization, there is a dropdown menu of options regarding religious identity. Orthodox, Conservative, Conservadox, Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewal, Secular, Cultural, Other, Just Jewish, Not Religious, and Not Jewish are all on the list. Over the past several years, the Jewish environmental movement has become a vibrant force within the larger Jewish community, encouraging individuals and institutions to do everything from recycle, eat less meat, eat more meat (local and organic), plant gardens, create Green Teams, and eliminate disposable dishes. While this movement now models diversity and pluralism, cornerstones of its recent growth and success, this was not always the case. The growth of the modern Jewish environmental movement is a story of an idea moving from the edges of a culture to take root in the mainstream.

Ever wonder where your food comes  from? If you’re like me, the closest you have come to livestock in recent years is your local zoo or a stray feather on your chicken. When I decided to learn more about what goes into the making of one of my favorite cheeses, goat cheese, I turned to the folks at Adamah. A working farm and Jewish learning community at the Isabella Freedman Retreat Center, Adamah produces kosher, eco-friendly cheese. They taught me about where goat cheese comes from and how the production can be done in a green way.

Meet Liat Livni, a 31-year-old Israeli  artist extraordinaire. Livni’s studio is located on Hanegev Street in Tel Aviv, near the Old Central Bus Station. There, she transforms simple objects like paper plates into “more aesthetic…objects of desire,” as Livni puts it. What you would throw away, she picks up and reuses in her art.

The Gan Project endeavors to create a vibrant,  sustainable, and healthy Chicago Jewish community through recurring, action-oriented environmental and agricultural programming. These images show what we’ve accomplished thus far—that is, with our hands. In our debut summer workshop series of 2010, activities ranged from sukkah-building to pickling.

Use Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs  (CFLs). Buy a hybrid car. Add insulation to your house. You’ve heard these recommendations and a dozen more over the last few years, as environmental concerns have become prominent in our society. Maybe you’ve heard that these actions will save you money (“two kinds of green!”). But are these important actions enough?

Two young tech stars—Israel’s Shai  Agassi and China’s Wang Chuanfu— are amongst those in the running to build viable electric car models to replace petroleum. It’s a race that pits representatives from two of the world’s most innovative clean technology nations—Israel and China. Whoever wins could steer the transportation landscape for decades to come. 

Dozens of daily Google alerts, articles,  and news reports are alerting drivers in the U.S., the Middle East, Europe, and Asia that the future transportation mode of the electric vehicle (EV) is no longer just a prospect. Tesla, Nissan, General Motors, Mitsubishi, BMW, Ford, and Renault, to name a few, are showcasing models. While EV enthusiasts dream of the electric car changing global economic and climate change patterns, critics are concerned that EVs will not actually have a significant effect on the environment.

 " An Orthodox, Conservative,  Reform, and secular-radical humanist Jew go hiking in the woods...”