Nina's Blog

yes to biomimicry! And I appreciated the nature/ci...

2011-12-15T08:51:44.225-05:00

yes to biomimicry! And I appreciated the nature/civilization jusxtaposition rather than natural/unnatural too commonly misued. + This is a useful teaching for us to keep on tab here at Kayam form. -Laura- (PS: My blog for Americorps: http://allysnapshots.wordpress.com/author/icheckother/ Only one post so far, but a few more on their way this month.)

all depends on what we want.

2011-11-17T13:39:46.160-05:00

all depends on what we want.

Great post, Nina! I am forwarding it to Professor...

2011-11-03T10:25:10.358-04:00

Great post, Nina! I am forwarding it to Professor Emeritus Richard H. Schwartz, author of "Judaism and Global Survival" and "Judaism and Vegetarianism." I am in the process of doing the final edit/formatting of his new book, "Who Stole My Religion?", which is about how Judaism has shifted to the Right in recent years, thereby defaulting on the traditionally compassionate, liberal values of our faith. He addresses many of the same issues you write aobut here, along with a call to action for both Jews and Gentiles. To get it out there as fast as possible given the current climate crises and the upcoming election, we are doing it as both a print and ebook version thru Lulu.com. We project it will be on the market by mid-December, if not earlier. Watch for it!

Nina - Comments as usual are right on the mark. As...

2011-11-02T17:03:30.841-04:00

Nina - Comments as usual are right on the mark. As President Kennedy stated, in 1963 in his American University speech, "Our problems are man-made; therefore they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable - and we believe they can do it again." NOW is the time!

I do that every morning.

2011-09-06T14:55:35.875-04:00

I do that every morning.

See what Scientific American reports and the Depar...

2011-08-11T21:26:02.179-04:00

See what Scientific American reports and the Department of Energy's Energy Advisory Board says. They have credentials you should trust.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=government-fracking-panel&WT.mc_id=SA_DD_20110811.

I think you are talking well outside your level of...

2011-08-11T15:06:40.797-04:00

I think you are talking well outside your level of knowledge & expertise. I've looked at both sides, have an engineering degree and believe that the problems of fracking are neither enormous nor inequitable.

Your last link (Yale 360) gives a much more balanced approach than your post or the first article you link too. The pro-fracking folks seem more credible and knowledgeable about the technology than the anti-fracking ones (who who seem to have non-engineering backgrounds like a lawyer and a professor of ecology).

And Joe Nocera of the NYT disagrees with you too:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/16/opinion/16nocera.html?_r=1

Existence is God called through love, provoked thr...

2011-07-13T17:30:37.433-04:00

Existence is God called through love, provoked through love. The moment you become capable of prayerfulness, existence becomes godly.

yep you can destroy the circle but it's very,v...

2011-07-13T11:37:25.840-04:00

yep you can destroy the circle but it's very,very hard...

Right to the target - "Is that really what we...

2011-06-29T05:11:09.755-04:00

Right to the target - "Is that really what we want to do? Waste our money on things we don't need"

We compost or otherwise use everything organic on ...

2011-06-12T13:04:48.740-04:00

We compost or otherwise use everything organic on our little hobby farm. Grass clippings we dry for hay in winter and since we do not use weed killers, the hay has a nice mix of other things besides grass -- clover, dandelions, chickweed, (which chickens really do love!) The chickens have learned to head for the compost pile as soon as I let them out -- not only do they find worms and bugs there, they help turn the pile!

Good morning! I see you and I are writing on our ...

2011-02-16T09:20:50.500-05:00

Good morning! I see you and I are writing on our blogs at about the same time today! (Mine will be about a falling tree.) This post and the one you did a while back on carrying things brings to mind one of the deep wisdoms of Shabbos. Namely, that you may not carry anything from one domain to another. (Unless you live in a place with an eruv, but I won't get into that here. For the sake of this essay, assume no eruv.)

It's not about "work" in the secular sense, since carrying even something as light as a feather is forbidden. It's about freedom.

So, before leaving the house, one must empty one's pockets, take no books or backpack (or phone!), etc. If you need a house key, you wear it around your neck or pin it to your clothes. If you get too warm, you tie your jacket or sweatshirt around your waist. But otherwise, you are unencumbered with things to carry in your hands or pockets. And of course, you walk, because driving on Shabbos is forbidden. So, except for the clothes you wear, you are back to the most basic level of human existence.

Many years ago, while speaking at a multicultural spiritality conference, I suggested that everybody try this exercise: spend just one day without carrying notebooks, pencils, pens, cameras, phones, and all the other paraphernalia we usually drag around at a conference. Several people did try it --and reproted this was the first time in their lives that they had ever walked free of things to carry! The first tmie they were not being beasts of burden. And we religious Jews do this every week. Think about that!

this is positively beautiful. positively. beauti...

2010-10-26T21:12:08.618-04:00

this is positively beautiful. positively. beautiful. the sentiment, the tradition. i got goosebumps while reading. she's a lucky little girl.

it's hard to destroy the circle. All the peopl...

2010-09-29T09:11:24.404-04:00

it's hard to destroy the circle. All the people has to do everything they can... but most of them are very apathetic

yes, and hope to write about that too, and the law...

2010-09-03T08:53:20.449-04:00

yes, and hope to write about that too, and the laws governing and guiding that!

And do you now plan to harvest your apples? Aaron...

2010-09-02T17:20:00.051-04:00

And do you now plan to harvest your apples?

Aaron

If you are interested in learning more about Willi...

2010-06-06T06:26:12.086-04:00

If you are interested in learning more about William McDonough, you may enjoy a film I made about his work - "The Next Industrial Revolution." Contact earthomeproductions@gmail.com if you'd like to see a copy.

Amen and well said. If we don't accept Peak O...

2010-05-31T22:45:31.695-04:00

Amen and well said.

If we don't accept Peak Oil as reality, some day soon it will be too late what we should do now starting today.

I have studied Peak Oil for five years almost full time and this article summarizes exactly what is coming soon.

Paul Davis

Gifts are for giving and since we are God's gr...

2010-04-30T09:34:02.738-04:00

Gifts are for giving and since we are God's greatest gift, when we give of ourselves we give the greatest gift of all. Simple but true.

Dear Nina, Just wondering if you ever ran into th...

2010-04-23T09:34:04.306-04:00

Dear Nina,

Just wondering if you ever ran into the commentary Kenaf Renanim by Chanoch Zundel Luria? Luria, an Eastern Eurpoean maggid during the 1850’s, wrote this Perek Shira commentary in what I can only describe as a “nearly deep ecology voice” over 150 years ago. I was working on translating this fascinating text from the Hebrew (my Hebrew isn’t all that great) but now I’m in grad school in psychology and there hasn’t been any time. My main interest is ecopsychology, so I plan on getting back to this soon – hopefully this summer! Many of Luria’s insights are way beyond what I hear from modern day eco-Jew folks out there. Love to share some with you if you are interested.

BTW, great blog.

B’shalom,

David Cohen
dabrucohen@gmail.com

I think it is good to hear that there will be more...

2010-03-19T01:47:50.127-04:00

I think it is good to hear that there will be more green part in the senior homes for them to have more fresh air.

Nina, thank you for writing this wonderful summary...

2010-03-08T14:55:38.411-05:00

Nina, thank you for writing this wonderful summary of the Beit Midrash. I really like how compare the current Jewish agricultural to early movements. Thank you for your talk the Friday night of the event. I really enjoy that as well.

Scott Hertzberg
Upper Marlboro

I worked in one of Ab Wolman's (Reds father) p...

2010-02-28T14:00:02.600-05:00

I worked in one of Ab Wolman's (Reds father) projects as summer jobs while an undergrad at JHU. I don't remember Reds Wolman, but probably knew him at the time.

Sid Rankin

N...

2010-02-17T02:10:49.172-05:00

Natural calamity means natural disaster which is caused by nature. Every year many country falls victim to various natural calamities. They are flood, earthquakes & many other natural calamities. The effects of the natural calamities beggar description. They leave a vast trail of devastation. The affected people & animals suffer untold sufferings. They cause heavy damage to our life & properties. Houses are destroyed, cattle are washed away, crops are greatly damaged and trees are uprooted. Thousands of people and other animals remain without food for many days. The after effect of some natural calamities are more serious. Famine breaks out. Many people & animals die for want of food. The prices are all necessary things go up. Many dangerous diseases like cholera, typhoid and dysentery etc. break out in an epidemic form. By raising public awareness and taking necessary precautionary measures and steps natural calamities can be prevented. The government and all the conscious citizens should come forward with concerted efforts to prevent natural calamities.

Am haaretz is also what according to Geza Vermez (...

2010-02-01T13:48:17.248-05:00

Am haaretz is also what according to Geza Vermez (specialist on the New Testament) the Judeans called the people of Galilee (who were more interested in piety and fervour than in learning)Which may partly explain the conflict between Jesus and some Pharisees and of course the Sadducees. What do you think?