Life Depends on Stuff

I am spending Shabbat with 100 Jewish social justice activists from Israel, England, Hungary, the US and elsewhere at this lakeside encampment which makes up in scenery what it lacks in amenities.

The good news is that environmentalism and sustainability are finally being integrated into the social justice arena, along with the classic issues fair wages, poverty, homelessness, food access, and more.

What is surprising is why it took so long. The harvesting, access and price of natural resources along with the stuff we make from them and the ways we dispose of them determine people's well-being. Environmental justice attends to questions like who owns and benefits from the presence and sale of natural resources; how are the rights of access to natural resources distributed; how are the prices set; what do we make from the stuff of the earth, how and why; where are waste sites located; who is affected downstream from upstream consumers and their waste; etc.

These issues all determine the welfare of people: who eats what, who lives where, what commodities cost, who is wealthy and who in need, who can pay for their fundamental needs and who needs assistance...

The intertwining of the economy, social justice and the environment is evident. And finally it is being accepted and embraced in the Jewish world of social justice. We can do so much more when we realize we are all working together. We have lots of institutional work to do to wed these two trends. But at least the courtship has begun.

Shabbat shalom.