Illuminating a green mission

SCRANTON -- Standing inside the entrance to Temple Hesed on Knox Road, Scranton, Rabbi Daniel Swartz of Dalton jokes about the origins of Hanukkah, which began Sunday evening.

“A colleague of mine calls it the original energy conservation movement,” he said, noting the miracle in which a one-day supply of consecrated oil lasted for eight nights.

It’s the kind of joke one might expect from the spiritual leader. His “Low Carb(on) Diet Challenge” issued in December 2007 asked fellow religious leaders in Northeastern Pennsylvania to think about their impact on the environment.

The challenge came after he lit the temple’s menorah with energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs, for the first time in December 2006.

One year after issuing the challenge, the move toward global consciousness continues. CFL bulbs are in nearly every light in the temple. Recently, exit signs were changed to light-emitting diode, or LED, signs, which are up to 88 percent more efficient than older models.

“We’ve also tried to make our schedule more compact so that the building is used for many things in the course of a day or closed for a day,” Swartz said. “Things have started to come down. When the (utility) rates go up, we hope our bill will be the same that it was.”

With the temple’s 150th anniversary approaching in 2010, Swartz said the installation of a rooftop windmill is near the top of a wish list of proposed improvements. He also has researched the price of solar panels for generating electricity.

Changes have occurred in the temple’s congregants, too. A small portion of the nearly 200 families who attend services at Temple Hesed, including Swartz, have purchased a hybrid Toyota Prius. Carpools for school and worship have been organized, and children in the congregation regularly quiz their rabbi on the latest in green technology.

“It’s more in the conversation,” Swartz said. “Part of it originally was the spike in gas prices, but people in the congregation talk about it all the time now.”

In Scranton’s Hill Section, Rabbi Joe Mendelsohn, a participant in the challenge as leader of Temple Israel on East Gibson Street, Scranton, and the president of Scranton’s Central City Ministerium, said $500 has been earmarked for conservation efforts. The Rev. Kathryn Simmons of Bethel AME Church, North Washington Avenue, Scranton, is expected to use the funds to purchase and distribute CFLs to various community groups beginning in January.

“We are in a constant position to educate our congregants,” Mendelsohn said. “We’re trying to augment the social activities by acting as a clearinghouse for information.

“If you can make a difference in one person, you’ve been a success so far.”

Swartz has taken many steps since last December to make Temple Hesed more efficient. He said the first step in any conservation effort is to recognize the way you use, or even waste, energy.

“There are typically between one and three lights in your house that you use more than anything else,” Swartz said. Turning those lights off can save small amounts of energy that add up to dollars and cents in a challenging economy.

In this season of giving, he also recommended giving rechargeable batteries with gifts, no matter what holiday you celebrate.

Easy energy saving tips

Keep your thermostat set to 65 degrees F during the day. Lower it to 60 degrees at night or when no one is home.