SHARING EDEN
Green teachings from Jews, Christians and Muslims
By Natan Levy, David Shreeve and Harfiyah Haleem
Edited by Lindsay Swan
Kube Publishing in association with The Conservation Foundation
First published in England by Kube Publishing Ltd
and The Conservation Foundation.
Kube Publishing Ltd
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Copyright © 2012 The Conservation Foundation
Sharing Eden is a Conservation Foundation Faith Works project.
The right of David Shreeve, Natan Levy and Harfiyah Haleem to be identified as the Authors of this work is hereby asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, mechanical or other, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
ISBN: 978-1-84774-041-0 paperback
ISBN: 978-1-84774-042-7 e-book
A CIP data record for this book is available from the British Library.
The authors
Natan Levy is the Rabbi of Shenley United Jewish Community. He is the Rabbinical Expert for the London School of Jewish Studies’ Responsibility Unit and in 2009 was appointed as the Environmental Liaison to the Chief Rabbi’s Office. From 2005 to 2008 he served as the Jewish Campus Chaplain for the Southwest of England. Born and educated in America, he is passionately concerned with issues of environmental justice and global morality.
David Shreeve is the Director of The Conservation Foundation which he co-founded in 1982. He is also the Environmental Adviser to the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England and co-author of How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take to Change a Christian? and Don’t Stop at the Lights. He was awarded a Lambeth Degree in 2003 in recognition of his influence in helping the Church’s understanding of environmental issues.
Harfiyah Haleem is the editor of a collection of essays on Islam and the Environment, co-editor of The Muslim Green Guide to Reducing Climate Change and treasurer to the trustees of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES). She works with people of all ages, giving talks and workshops to schools, universities and young people’s groups, contributing to sustainability projects and is currently working on How Green is Your Deen?, an Islam TV Channel series for teenagers.
Edited by Lindsay Swan
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank these organisations for their help in preparing Sharing Eden:
The Conservation Foundation
The Board of Deputies of British Jews
IFEES – The Islamic Foundation For Ecology And Environmental Sciences
The Mercers Company and the Garfield Weston Foundation
In particular the authors would like to express gratitude to the following people:
David Shreeve thanks Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dr Richard Chartres, Bishop of London; Revd Rob Gillion and Revd Graham Rainford of Holy Trinity Sloane Square; Canon John Kiddle, Director of Mission, The Diocese of St Albans and Nick Reeves OBE, Executive Director of CIWEM.
Natan Levy would like to thank his fellow co-authors, Harfiyah and David; the Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks; his wife, Ariella and his four children, Chava Temima, Saadya, Emuna, and Ezra – the trees we plant now, may you be blessed to eat of their future fruits.
Harfiyah Haleem gives her thanks to Rianne Ten Veen, to all the other people who helped produce this book and, finally, thanks to the One God we all worship, for making it possible.
The Jewish Texts are translated by Rabbi Natan Levy, with reference to the Jewish Publication Society Bible and the Adin Steinsaltz Talmud.
Contents
The Three Faiths’ Perspectives
Chapter 1 – Sustainability and Waste
