By
Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO —The United Jewish Federation is becoming increasingly “green,” both
in the efforts of its office staff to preserve the earth’s resources and
through the activities of UJF’s Young Adult Division
(YAD). In that UJF shares a building with the Agency for Jewish Education,
the Jewish Community Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Association, earth-friendly
practices are spreading. Other agencies, including
Jewish Family Service, are drawing up their own plans. Some
synagogues such as Congregation Beth Am have programs well underway.
Key players in UJF’s efforts are Dana Levin, a
campaign associate who brought back some ideas from a recent Green Zionist
Alliance meeting in Los Angeles, and Brett Robbins, chair of the 70-member
“green cluster” for the Young Adults Division, whose members are in numerous
professions and potentially can spread environmental friendliness to their
workplaces.
After returning from the Los Angeles
conference, which she had attended on her own volition, Levin made an
appointment with Michael Rassler, UJF’s chief executive officer, and Michael Sonduck,
chief operating officer, to lay out various steps UJF might take in pursuit of
the ideal of tikkun olam
— repairing the world.
Among those suggestions that were implemented, said Levin, was “eliminating
all the plastic water bottles. We were purchasing them through our water
guy along with the five-gallon big ones. They were getting dropped in the
trash and it was a waste of money and resources … People would take a sip and
the remainder of the water would be thrown away.”
Levin, who was a member of the Wisconsin Environmental Jewish Initiative (WEJI)
during her student days through 2003 at the University of Wisconsin ,
said that following the elimination of the individual water bottles, “staff
members use their reusable mugs, cups, and bottles.” Don’t they have to
use a lot of water to wash them out? I asked. “Most people wash them at
home in their dishwasher with everything else they are washing.” She said
another good environmental practice is not to run the dishwasher until it is full.
There are places around the UJF offices—particularly in the snack room—for the
recycling of cans and bottles, Levin said, and there is a determined effort to
get people to turn off their office lights and electrical appliances when they
plan to be away from their office for a few hours. “Staff people are asked to
turn off heaters and computers, not just simply put them into sleep mode.
If their offices have their own light switches, we urge them to turn them
off if they are leaving for a few hours.”
United Jewish Federation produces numerous reports, so particular attention is
paid to the use of paper products. “There is a much greater effort to not
be wasteful with paper,” Levin said. For example, everyone is asked to
double-side their copies, and each individual person in a cubicle has his or
her own recycling container.”
These steps were fairly easy to implement, Levin said.
Asked about reducing energy costs for people commuting to the office, perhaps
through the implementation of carpooling, transit credits, or through more
flexible office hours, Levin responded that this is an issue that requires more
thorough study.
Another idea worth discussing, said Levin, is having various Jewish
organizations pool their resources to purchase biodegradable cleaning
products. In small quantities these products tend to be more expensive
than other products, but purchased in volume, there
could be savings.
Robbins, a real estate agent, majored in Major Resource Ecology at the University of Vermont , a field he described as the “study of plants and animals
and how they interact.” Following graduation, he entered the field of
environmental consulting in Boston ,
but left his employer “after they denied my recycling program. I was the
greenest person there.”
In San Diego , Robbins lives an environmentally friendly life, His
residence is in the downtown area close to a transit line so that he doesn't
have to own a car. “I work out of my house,” he said, and when he needs
to go elsewhere, he utilizes the train, bus, trolley or a combination of these.
“One of my goals in real estate is to fix up properties with green improvements,
using recycled materials, energy efficiency, solar panels—it is important,” he
said.
The Young Adult Division’s Green Cluster has sponsored such events as a “beach
cleanup and a kayak demonstration,” Robbins said. I asked if kayaking was considered environmentally friendly because it
didn’t require motor power. “Well,” he responded, “we just thought it
might attract more people to the beach cleanup, which was in Coronado .”
Another activity was a visit to the Eco-Center in San Diego , where one can inspect a fueling station for propane or
natural gas-powered automobiles.
“We also have done some eco-friendly dining such as at the Hotel Solamar in downtown San
Diego ,”
Robbins said. “Their practices are ecologically friendly: they have energy
conservation, water conservation, and their Jsix
restaurant serves local, organic foods and drinks. Local foods you don’t
have to transport, and organic foods limit the number of chemicals that come
into the environment, so the combination of local, organic foods is the best…”
Robbins said bringing his “passion and experience” to the green cluster merges
his two great loves of “environmentalism and Judaism.”
Harrison, our editor and publisher, may be contacted at editor@sandiegojewishworld.com
