How Jewish Is Jewish Environmentalism?

A remarkable feature of American Jewish life over the past 40 years has been the growth of Jewish environmentalism. From origins on the fringes of the community, dozens of organizations today enlist tens of thousands of Jews every year in a plethora of activities that include the “greening” of synagogue buildings, organic farming, and environmental lobbying under a Jewish umbrella. The Union for Reform Judaism devotes several pages of its website to a programmatic initiative aimed at “integrating Jewish values, learning, and actions that promote shmirat ha-adamah—protection and renewal of the world.” In the annual observance of Tu b’Shvat, once a footnote on the liturgical calendar, Jewish environmentalism has even created its own holiday.

Here I’m interested not so much in the value of these activities as in the question of what makes them Jewish. After all, Jewish environmentalism lays claim to an ancient pedigree in classical Jewish ideas and texts, and this claim raises questions that, to my mind, have not been adequately addressed.

What kind of reading of which sorts of texts counts as a valid appeal to tradition in this area? To what extent do preexisting political inclinations determine the messages derived from these ancient sources? How are such sources meant to apply in today’s entirely different socio-economic context? And what does the appeal to tradition actually add? If, say, a cap-and-trade bill to limit carbon emissions is good public policy, how does an appeal to classical texts strengthen the case for adopting it? If, conversely, cap-and-trade is bad public policy, why enlist Jewish sources in its support?