Shalom/suggestions on my proposed letter to The Jerusalem Post are very welcome/Many thanks/Richard
Richard Schwartz
Dear Editor:
While it is unfortunate that so many are suffering as “Ida hits Louisiana as most intense hurricane in years” (August 30), future hurricanes are likely to be even more destructive due to climate change. Seas are rising, so storm surges will extend further; seas are also warming, providing more energy to future storms; and warmer air holds more moisture, potentially producing greater flooding.
Judaism stresses pikuach nefesh, the principal that everything possible must be done to save a life, even if Jewish law has to be violated, with the exception that, even if it might help save a life, Jews are forbidden to commit the three cardinal sins; murder, idolatry, and sexual immorality.
Today, it is essential that pikuach nefesh be applied in response to climate threats, because it is not just one life that is threatened, but actually the nearly eight billion people on Earth.
The most effective way to respond to climate threats is through a societal shift toward vegan diets. Unlike other approaches, this would not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as there would be less methane emitted from cows and other farmed animals, but it would also free-up much of the over a third of the ice-free land surface presently used for grazing and growing feed crops for animals This would permit the widespread planting of trees and other plants, resulting in the absorption of much of the atmospheric CO2.
President Emeritus, Jewish Vegetarians of North America (www.JewishVeg.org); President, Society Of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV):
Associate producer of A SACRED DUTY (www.aSacredDuty.com);
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