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A Green Hannukah
by JANE BOGNER
SUNDAY, December 03, 2006

December is a month of celebrations, one of which is Hanukkah. For eight nights, beginning at sundown on December 15, Jewish families light candles in a Menorah celebrating the victory of the Maccabees against the Syrians. When the Maccabees came to rededicate their Temple, they found only one flask of oil with which to light the Menorah which lasted for eight days.

In response to the commercialization of religious holidays, many religious leaders have begun to encourage their members to participate in protecting the environment by taking individual responsibility for their daily actions.

This year for Hanukkah, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (www.COEJL.org) has written the following Eight Actions in Eight Days to help conserve energy, slow global climate change, and save money.

Day 1
Replace an outdoor light fixture with one that has a motion-detector. Outdoor lights that are left on all night waste electricity, increase your energy bill, and add to night-time light pollution.

Day 2
Make a plan to decrease your car use. Automobiles emit greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Examine your driving habits and see if you can tele-commute, walk, bike, take public transit, or combine errands to reduce the amount you drive.

Day 3
Make your own Hanukkah gifts! Take a photo and design a frame for it, knit a warm scarf, or make a set of beeswax candles. Use recycled materials if you can. You can find books about homemade gifts at your local library.

Day 4
Eat less meat, buy organic and locally grown foods. Large-scale meat production uses a huge amount of natural resources, particularly grain, topsoil, and water. Eating organic food is better for your health since it reduces your exposure to pesticides and antibiotics. Buying food grown close to home supports family farms and reduces the amount of energy used
to prepare and transport food.

Day 5
Give your furnace a tune-up. Forty percent of home energy use is for heat. An inefficient heating system can waste 30-50 percent of the energy it uses.

Day 6
Save paper by sending environmentally-friendly Hanukkah e-cards. If you are feeling artistic, make your own paper cards with recycled paper. If you have old calendars, cut them into cards or envelopes.

Day 7
Wash a full load of clothes and use cold water for the rinse. Washing machines use up to 59 gallons of water per cycle, so waiting until you have a full load of clothes will save both water and energy.

Day 8
Question: What three things can you give, which once you give them, will give back to you at least as much and perhaps more of what you gave? Answer: Knowledge, light, and love.

MORE GREEN HOLIDAY IDEAS

The web is full of suggestions for a green and waste-free holiday. One web site links to another as I was mesmerized one afternoon researching this column. For ideas, log onto VALCORE's web site to review previous columns or search for holiday waste reduction on the Environmental Protection Agency site (www.epa.gov) or the California Integrated Waste Management Board site (www.ciwmb.ca.gov).

VALCORE Recycling Board Member Jane Bogner's "A Sorted Affair" is published every other week in the Times-Herald, Community Outlook Section. For recycling information call her at 645-8258 or visit www.VALCORErecycling.org.

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