Pondering an ‘inconvenient truth’ at Rosh Hashanah

In one week, on Friday evening, Sept. 22, Jews will celebrate the beginning of our new year.

We will celebrate Rosh Hashana. One characteristic of this holiday is that on this day the world began.

We say in our prayers, “ha-yom ha-rat o-lam,” “today is the birthday of our world.”

We incorporate into our new year’s prayers the responsibility we share as stewards of our earth.

Our earth is suffering. Our greatest problem is from carbon dioxide emissions and the resulting consequences of this pollution. We are faced with global warming as a global problem while we, as Americans, are emitting approximately 25 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Former Vice President Al Gore’s recent movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” clearly educates us about what is happening to our earth as a result of our carbon dioxide emissions. It is a movie well worth watching.

Also, in the most recent Sierra magazine, there is an interesting article about our carbon dioxide habits: “My Low-Carbon Diet: From Gas Gluttony to Fuel Fitness in Three Weeks,” by Seth Zuckerman.

The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life is joining with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs to launch a nationwide campaign to address the global warming crisis. They point out that if every household in America replaced one bulb with a compact fluorescent light, it would have the same impact as removing 1 million cars from the road.

Locally, Maine Interfaith Power and Light has recently taken a stand in favor of a proposed wind farm here in Maine. The Redington Township wind farm west of Sugarloaf Mountain “represents an important step forward for Maine in providing a needed renewable electricity source that’s good for Maine’s environment and Maine’s economy,” says the Maine Green Power Connection summer newsletter.

Years ago, while traveling east from Los Angles, I saw the vast wind farms in the southern California desert. While no energy source is perfect, the windmills to me are a beautiful addition to our landscape reminding us that if we are to meet our energy needs, we need to support non-carbon, non-polluting technologies that will help supply us with clean energy.

This past summer, as I wrote about two months ago, my family and I were in Spain and Portugal.

There, along the coastal areas, we frequently saw small-scale wind farms. I could not help but think of the Man of LaMancha and his battles and contrast that with the battle today’s windmills face to preserve our planet’s health by providing us with one technology which reduces our addiction to fossil fuel energy sources.

We can also request from our electric company, Bangor Hydro, to be supplied with Maine Renewable Energy. This costs a bit more, but in so doing we are supporting alternative energy sources as our main source of electrical energy.

We are addicted to oil, to fossil fuels. Even President Bush acknowledged this addiction a few months ago.

It would be enough to substantially reduce our gas consumption in order to improve our environment. Additionally, however, there are many political reasons to reduce our oil consumption.

On the one hand, we are opposed to many of the oil-producing countries (we are fighting in Iraq; we are trying to sanction Iran in the United Nations; many oil producing countries are not democratic), while on the other hand, we are giving them billions of dollars for their oil.

I eagerly await the arrival of my first new car: a hybrid, not one of those pseudo-hybrids that get fewer than 30 miles per gallon while allowing the driver to feel better about still driving an SUV. There are a handful of hybrid vehicles which get more than 40 miles per gallon. There are also many smaller non-hybrid cars which get very good gas mileage, more than 40 mpg, that are inexpensive and worth considering if you are in the market for a new car.

We all need to cut back on our use of energy in order to help our world survive. We live on such a beautiful planet. We are so blessed, so lucky.

This new year, whether in 5767, our Jewish new year, or in 2007, let’s use a little bit less of our world’s precious resources. Let’s try to live a bit more simply.

“Shanah tovah.” (Wishes for a good, healthy, responsible and peaceful year.)

Rabbi Barry Krieger is the rabbinic facilitator for the Hillel organization at the University of Maine in Orono. He may be reached via bkrieger56@aol.com. Voices is a weekly commentary by Maine people who explore issues affecting spirituality and religious life.