42 | NOVEMBER 21 • 2019 

for college students by college students
 November 21, 2019/23 Cheshvan 5780

A

s we approach a 
growing population, 
upwards of 7.7 billion 
people worldwide, our supply 
of natural resources decreases, 
posing the greatest challenge 
our planet has ever faced. 
We must prevent a tem-
perature increase of 3 degrees 
(Celsius) to avoid setting off 
an irreversible chain of eco-
logical degradation. How can 
we shift our behaviors to miti-
gate the increasing effects our 
actions have on our planet?
Composting, the practice 
of converting food scraps and 
organic matters into soil, offers 
a promising solution. This year, 
University of Michigan Hillel 
has created a Sustainability 
Committee to provide a space 
that enables students to “be 
the change [they] wish to 

see in the world.” Essentially, 
this committee serves as a 
launching pad to support 
students in accomplishing 
goals focused on enhancing 
sustainability practices both 
as individuals and as a Jewish 
community. 
Through an increase in 
sustainable food options, more 
efficient energy usage, close 
partnerships with students, 
institutions, community 
leaders and organizations, 
and the development of a new 
composting program, Hillel is 
working toward upholding the 
Jewish tradition of repairing 
the world, or tikkun olam.
Our goal is to be 
active as leaders in the 
Jewish community, to 
inspire individuals to take 
responsibility and act on the 

climate crisis and to ensure 
a strong future, L
’
Dor V’
Dor, 
from generation to generation.
According to the Food and 
Agriculture Organization 
(FAO), one-third of all food 
produced is wasted. This 
wasted food goes into a landfill 
and creates methane gas as it 
decomposes. Methane gas is a 
potent greenhouse gas that gets 
trapped in our ozone layer and 
ultimately causes unsustainable 
global warming, heating 
our planet in ways that may 
jeopardize life as we know it.
As U-M works toward 
our goals for the President’
s 
Commission on Carbon 
Neutrality, we must all 
collaborate, sharing diverse 
qualities, to strategize and 
implement practices that have 
any chance of sustaining our 

planet. Hillel is working to 
take an active role through 
our Sustainability Committee, 
allowing individuals to 
contribute to a cause much 
larger than themselves.
Similarly, this past summer, 
Tamarack Camps started a 
new composting program 
thanks to the Farber Farm 
Team, the “Green Team,
” 
Tamarack’
s administrative 
staff and Kandel Dining 
staff. The program engaged 
1,300 people weekly and 
generated 1,400 pounds or 600 
gallons of food scraps, which 
equates to 5,320 pounds of 
greenhouse gas emissions that 
were reduced by composting. 
Composting revolutionizes 
the way individuals and our 
broader communities approach 
environmental practices.
What can you do to make the 
world more sustainable? Get 
involved! Begin composting 
in your home, school or 
workplace; start a Green 
Team; closely examine the 
foods you consume and their 
procurement practices; vote for 
people and policies that support 
our environment and; most 
simply, engage in conversations 
to spread the word. 
If you want to get involved 
or get advice on how to 
begin your own sustainability 
committee, reach out! We need 
everyone to come together 
to fix the climate crisis and 
make the world a better place 
for ourselves and for future 
generations. The changes must 
begin today. @

Elana Weberman is a U-M student 
from Bloomfield Hills. 

Saving 
the 
Planet

U-M Hillel’
s Sustainability 
Committee works to 
mitigate climate change.

Elana Weberman } jewish@edu writer

Elana 
Weberman

COURTESY U-M HILLEL 

