Over a Barrel: How America’s Dependence on Foreign Oil Endangers our National Security, Economy, and Environment

As part of AJC's ongoing efforts to improve our national, environmental, and economic security by decreasing our dependence on foreign sources of oil, the Los Angeles Chapter created a new Energy Security Committee.  We need your help! Join us by emailing Eli Lipmen at lipmene@ajc.org.

Nadine Gerson & Allen Alexander
Co-Chairs, Energy Security Committee

Resource Guides

Want to buy a fuel efficient car? 
Click here for an excellent green car buying guide produced by AAA or go to www.driveclean.ca.gov for more resources and guides on available fuel efficient technologies and cars in California.

Want to retrofit your house to reduce your energy consumption? 
Click here for an excellent article in the LA Times on how to 'live green' or click here for local resources on 'living green' from the City of Los Angeles.

Click here to read AJC's Publication on the issue 'Over a Barrel'
Click here  to view an interactive powerpoint presentation on Energy Security and AJC's Car Program
Click here for resources on how YOU can go green in Los Angeles

Take Action Now!
Tell Your Member of Congress you Support a Comprehensive Energy Plan and Increased CAFE Standards
Go to www.ajc.org/advocacy and click on 'Enhance the Energy Security of America'
Click here to download the letter to write to your Member of Congress.

Energy Security Committee History

 The Los Angeles Chapter kicked off its Energy efforts with a program featuring Dr. Gal Luft, Co-Chair of the Set America Free Coalition. The Committee now has over 40 members and has started on a number of initiatives to educate our members and improve energy efficiency. These efforts have seen some immediate successes, including passage of a Chapter energy resolution to encourage members to purchase high fuel efficient vehicles personally and in their business life and an employee car incentive program for local businesses and governments based on AJC employee program.

The Energy Committee has also embarked on an extensive lobbying campaign, meeting with Federal, State, and Local elected and appointed officials to discuss the need for energy efficiency and the important security concerns related to our dependence on foreign oil. We have successfully raised our profile as a leader on this issue by supporting and encouraging key legislation, including a Los Angeles County motion initiated by AJC to create incentives for the County and its employees to conserve oil. Finally, the LA Chapter has joined with a coalition of local Jewish groups to develop a Green Sanctuaries program that will help faith institutions implement energy saving practices at their facility and educate their members to do the same in their homes and businesses.

Future Activities
In the future we plan to expand our Car Program, advocacy efforts, and education efforts in the Jewish and broader community on the need to secure our nation, environment and economy by decreasing our dependence on oil.
Get Involved! Email Eli Lipmen at lipmene@ajc.org

AJC Visits National Resource Defence Council Building
A group of Energy Committee members visited the NRDC Building in Santa Monica, one of the only Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum buildings in the country. We learned about the building process and the facilities in the building that make it so energy efficient including the use of environmentally friendly construction and appliance material, solar panels, use of ambient light, and natural heating and cooling. AJC is working to get its headquarters LEED certified and the USEPA recently named AJC a 'Green Power' Leader.

Energy Independence & National Security Committee Event and Forum on Proposition 87
Over sixty people attended a forum to discuss the United States' dependence on foreign oil, how it affects our national security, and what we can do about it. Nadine Gerson and Marcie Goldstein convened the meeting as the co-chairs of the new Energy Independence and National Security Committee which will coordinate the local efforts of AJC's national campaign for energy independence. Marcie introduced the program and the mission of the Committee: "to be a driving force in Southern California in the reduction of foreign oil imports, through education, advocacy, and coalition building, thus helping to strengthen our national security and to improve the quality of our environment."  Nadine introduced Dr. Gal Luft, the keynote speaker and co-chair of the Set America Free Coalition of which AJC is a member. He played a movie that outlined the work his organization does and then spoke about the problematic connection between our oil purchases and the funding of terrorism. He then described some of the solutions that were available on the market and in Congress to set America free from oil dependence. After Dr. Luft's presentation, there was a short forum on Proposition 87, the Alternative Energy/Oil Tax initiative on the November ballot. Representatives from the Yes on 87 and No on 87 campaign stated their positions on the issue and a lively debate followed with questions from the audience. Assemblymember Fran Pavley (41st District) attended and spoke about her work in the California State Assembly to promote energy independence and environmental issues.

Energy Security in the News

The Daily News and Houston Chronicle published a feature story on the AJC's Energy Independence initiative entitled "Jewish Group Pushes Conservation". Here is an excerpt:

'Can we count on G-d for another miracle -- ensuring our oil supply lasts 80 years instead of 10 years?" the AJC asked in a letter to local rabbis.

The letter expressed concern that America's dependence on foreign oil could make the country "susceptible to pressure from oil-producing nations, vulnerable to terrorist attack, and impaired in its ability to remain an independent player on the world stage."

"God makes miracles," said Nadine Gerson, who co-chairs the organization's energy independence and national security committee. "But this time we need to make our own miracle."
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"We are financing both sides of the War on Terror," said AJC spokesman Eli Lipmen, borrowing from Thomas L. Friedman's oft-quoted New York Times column "No Mullah Left Behind."

The Los Angeles Times published an article entitled "Employers offer green-car incentives" on March 31st, 2007 that mention's AJC's car incentive program and quotes AJC/LA's Associate Director Saundra Mandel:

A $1,500 to $2,500 discount offered to employees of the Washington-based American Jewish Committee proved to be the clincher that persuaded Saundra Mandel, director of the nonprofit organization's Los Angeles chapter, to sell her 7-year-old champagne Mercedes for a "banker's gray" Prius.

Offering such incentives can be risky, Berkeley business professor McElhaney said, because they raise employee expectations that their company is socially responsible. Employees will "often wonder what else the company is doing beyond just this type of program," she said. "It's risky if the company isn't committed to doing other programs as well.

Otherwise, she added, "It's a great loyalty-building and employee identification strategy to reduce turnover and improve job satisfaction and company loyalty."Does a new Prius make Mandel more loyal to her employer?"I wasn't planning to leave, and it isn't going to keep me here," she said, "but it increases the pride in the organization that I work for."

Editor of the Jewish Journal Rob Eshman published an essay entitled "Smug Alert" which describes his purchase of a new biodiesel car and why a commitment to weaning America off its dependence on oil is so important. In the essay, he mentions the AJC's efforts on Energy Security:

After all, if you drive a gas-powered car and donate to organizations that fight global warming or defend Israel, you're contributing to the solution and the problem. Rabbi David Wolpe understood this when he delivered a sermon last January at Sinai Temple urging congregants to drive hybrid vehicles. After his talk, some 50 families traded in their Lexuses and Mercedes guzzlers for Priuses.

The American Jewish Committee understood this when it began offering incentives for employees to switch to hybrid vehicles. The organization has rightly made energy independence a cornerstone of its advocacy work.