‘Going Green’ In Westchester

by Merri Rosenberg
Special To The Jewish Week

A celebration marking the official opening of Solomon Schechter School of Westchester’s solar panels was also the occasion for some sobering observations on the critical relationship between energy independence and national security.

The “First Annual Energy Independence Day” event, co-sponsored by the American Jewish Committee’s Westchester Chapter and Schechter of Westchester, was about more than mere ribbon cutting.
As Mark Reisman, the AJC co-chair of the event, said, “The goal is to learn about critical energy security issues that face this country, and learn about role models here in the county that reduce dependence on foreign oil.”

So perhaps it was only fitting that at the ceremony, held a few hours before Kol Nidre at Solomon Schechter’s upper school campus in Hartsdale,

the audience heard chastening remarks that could have been made by prophets like Isaiah or Jeremiah.

Citing statements by then-president Richard Nixon in 1973 about reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, David Harris, national executive director of the American Jewish Committee, called the actions since then “a colossal national failure of will.” Further, said Harris, “When Jimmy Carter asked the nation to sacrifice, the nation mocked him. We the pampered, we the entitled, we the chosen, were immune to global forces. Shame on them, shame on us.”

Harris also urged those in attendance to shun gasoline purchases from companies that had ties to unfriendly governments, such as Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela, and to continue to keep this issue on the national agenda. “Our Achilles heel is our dependence on foreign oil,” said Harris. “It’s time to speak up. My plea to each of us today is to hold the politicians and elected officials’ feet to the fire, but to also set a personal example.”

Echoing Harris’ exhortations, Westchester Rep. Nita Lowey, a Democrat, reminded the audience that “Nothing can be achieved in Washington without the support and involvement of leaders and people at the local level. It’s vital to our national and economic security to explore alternative technologies to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. We have to take bold action by investing in clean, renewable energy and tackling the challenge of global warming now. If we don’t act now, the consequences could be devastating.”

The day’s events also included exhibits from vendors and exhibitors who offer alternative energy and energy efficient strategies for consumers and homeowners.

Heidi Abramson of White Plains said that she attended because she’s “very interested in saving energy, from an economic and environmental perspective.”

For its part, Solomon Schechter School of Westchester has focused intense efforts on “going green” as an expression of Jewish values and tradition. A $250,000 federal grant enabled the school to install three 50-kilowatt solar panels at both the Hartsdale and White Plains campuses. The entire project cost $ 450,000, part of which was supported by the federal grant and part by a partnership with Robison, a Westchester-based oil company and Mercury Solar Systems, a solar energy company, also in Westchester.

The school has also taken other significant steps to be as environmentally aware and energy efficient as possible, explained headmaster Elliott Spiegel. These include not only enhanced and expanded curriculum on the subject but also recycling, using only electronic mail, and even launching the Schechter farm.

“Going green and going Jewish are the same thing,” said Spiegel. “Going green is an economic imperative as well as a religious and cultural value. Judaism teaches, and continues to teach, reverence for the world God has given us.”

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Westchester Jewish Conference

Westchester’s Jewish Community Relations Organization