
Tu B’Shevat – known as the “New Year of the Trees” – is a day to celebrate the planet that has been bestowed upon us. It begins this year on the night of Feb. 12.
Hebrew months are linked with star constellations, and the month of Shevat is associated with Aquarius, represented by a bucket of water spilling down from the heavens. How fitting, with the image of aircrafts pouring water to douse the recent Los Angeles blazes seared into our brains.
While Tu B’Shevat isn’t mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, that by no means implies that concern for the environment is absent from the liturgy. To the contrary, it is everywhere.
While Tu B’Shevat isn’t mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, that by no means implies that concern for the environment is absent from the liturgy. To the contrary, it is everywhere.
A favorite example of mine is in the beautiful P’sukei D’Zimra (Verses of Song), which include a passage praising G-d for having compassion for the earth. And let’s not forget that the handles of a Torah scroll are called “trees of life.” As we return the Torah to the ark, we chant: “It is a tree of life for those who grasp it, and all who hold onto it are blessed.” If there were ever a time to grasp it, it is now.
With the increased frequency and severity of fires, floods, and natural disasters of every kind, it seems that the Weather Channel has replaced other networks as our viewing preference. In the spirit of Tu B’Shevat, let’s recommit ourselves to doing something constructive for the environment before it is too late.
Fortunately, the understanding that action needs to be taken to combat climate change isn’t terribly controversial – there is considerable agreement that the warming of our planet is real and should be addressed. The results from the latest Gallup poll (released in December of 2024) found that nearly two out of three U.S. adults are concerned about climate change, and that six in ten believe that its effects have already begun.
If we agree that we need to address climate issues, can we also agree on what should be done? My fellow economists have studied this problem for decades and have developed a range of effective policies. They reject extreme views held in certain political quarters: neither “drill, baby drill” nor “let’s outlaw combustion engines” is the answer.
While the vast majority of economists (myself included) have more faith in market forces than in an interventionist government, the environment is an area where there is a clear role for the government. At the risk of triggering the kind of anxiety all too familiar in students studying Econ 101, let me remind you that pollution is the most famous example of a “negative externality,” leading to an outcome where the costs to society are greater than the benefits. Without government action, this results in an excess of pollution.
An “excess” amount of pollution? Isn’t ANY amount of pollution too much? No. What if a modest amount of carbon use produced enormous benefits?
Luckily, there are a number of proven ways to tackle the problem. One is to fine polluters, perhaps setting the fee at the cost of environmental mitigation. Another is to allow carbon credits to be traded. If a company is charged for exceeding a given pollution threshold and can then purchase “permits to pollute” sold by companies that do not reach their own pollution threshold, it is much more likely that carbon will be used where the value it produces is greatest. Experience in the European Union and in a dozen U.S. states, including California, suggest that such “cap and trade” programs are ready to be taken to a national or international level.
If we adopt a sensible energy policy that moves beyond the political football of one administration investing in renewable energy and the next doubling down on fossil fuels, maybe one day we can celebrate Tu B’Shevat with genuine pride.
Genesis 2:15 is usually translated as Adam being placed in the Garden of Eden “to work and keep it.” But Rabbi Ken Chasen from Leo Baeck Temple points out that perhaps a better translation is that Adam’s task was “to serve and protect it.”
Serving the environment and protecting the earth … That’s the profound message of Tu B’Shevat.
Morton Schapiro is the former president of Williams College and Northwestern University. His most recent book (with Gary Saul Morson) is “Minds Wide Shut: How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us.”