On the Mitzvah of Sustainability

If such grand scale environmental degradation – including the wholesale loss of species, the disruption of hydrological cycles, the pollution and warming of the atmosphere, the rupture of the contours of the earth and the end of its ten thousand year Holocene era – had ever entered the rabbinic discourse, if they had ever imagined that the actions of the human race could be so powerful so as to up. [...] Still, the big take-away from Genesis One over the generations seems to have been that given the puniness of humanity in relation to the grandeur and potential dangers of the earth, and the blessing of God along with the indefatigable, self-regenerative capacity of the world, that humankind had great latitude to work the earth as we saw fit. [...] Whereas in Genesis One the bounty of the earth predates the arrival of man and woman, in Genesis Two the bounty of the earth awaits the contributions of the human whose presence is necessary for the development of earthly goodness. [...] So, too, one is not liable for damage that is caused by the action of many, none of whom can be specified as the cause of the damage.39 All the more so if the contribution of any one would not cause the stated damage, but only the cumulative contribution of all.40 That is certainly the case with regard to carbon overload in the atmosphere, and the other matters we are considering here. [...] And that is to be proactive in doing God’s will, judging oneself by the higher standard of fulfilling God’s demands (לצאת ידי שמים), following the ways of the worthy ( דרך טובים) and the paths of the righteous (ארחות צדיקים), seeking to fulfill the mission of protecting the world, eschewing the causing of damage even beyond legal liability.