Green Rabbi

Grist is featuring a Q and A with green activist/Rabbi Warren Stone. Below you can find an excerpt of his Grist interview; visit the Grist website for the rest of the interview and also a chance to ask Rabbi Stone your own questions.
Also, check out the "Green Shalom Action Guide" published by Rabbi Stone's congregation for tips on greening your own religious congregation.

Q: What work do you do?
A: I'm a rabbi in the Washington, D.C., area; I've been privileged to serve as the rabbi of Temple Emanuel for the past 18 years.
I also serve as the national environmental chair for the Central Conference of American Rabbis and am on a variety of boards, including as co-chair of the Religious Campaign for Forest Conservation and the Religious Coalition on Creation Care. I'm on the board of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life and the advisory board of Carbonfund.org. A professional highlight was attending the climate-change talks in Kyoto in 1997 as the representative of many Jewish organizations.

Q: How does it relate to the environment?
A: I've come to see my environmental work as a core expression of my religious faith and central to my goals as a spiritual and community leader. Many -- from a variety of faith traditions -- share this view. We work together on climate-change, forest, and wilderness issues. Being in Washington, D.C., we have an unparalleled opportunity to partner our religious perspectives with other environmental activists and scientists and to work for political change. After years of feeling like voices in the wilderness, we are now finding that our views are actively solicited in the halls of power. I've had the privilege of leading interfaith delegations to the House and Senate, White House, and World Bank. Right now, I'm particularly interested in the greening of institutions. I'd love to see our federal government adopt a greening policy for all government offices. How wonderful to hear Speaker Nancy Pelosi call for the greening of the U.S. Capitol!
IREJN is Connecticut's Interfaith Power and Light. Visit us at www.irejn.org.

Religious Groups Unite On Climate

The Global Roundtable on Climate Change (GROCC), a coalition of more than 150 stakeholders, released a statement on global warming at a news conference on the Columbia University campus. The statement outlines the steps that must be taken in order to stop the global climate crisis (complete text.)

GROCC has been working for three years to identify and explore the areas of consensus that exist within the scientific, economic, social and religious communities that would help shape public policy addressing the issue of global warming.

IREJN is Connecticut's Interfaith Power and Light. Visit us at www.irejn.org.