Reducing Environmental Impact
Purchasing carbon offsets is a relatively new,
but growing concept. The idea is that you roughly figure out
your
event’s “carbon footprint” and then make a donation to help
offset the impact of the resources that are used
to get your guests
to your event and your party going strong.
TerraPass
has a good explanation of this concept, as well as a very helpful
wedding
calculator (that can be used for other events as well) to
help you figure out
your event’s environmental impact. Or you could go another route, planting
trees in Israel through the
Jewish National Fund or making a
contribution to
an organization that takes steps to preserve and
protect the environment
locally, nationally or internationally.
The Talmud explains: While the sage,
Choni, was walking along a road, he
saw a man planting a carob tree. Choni
asked him: "How long will it take for
this tree to bear fruit?" "Seventy
years," replied the man. Choni then
asked: "Are you so healthy a man that
you expect to live that length of time
and eat its fruit?" The man answered:
"I found a fruitful world because my
ancestors planted it for me. Likewise,
I am planting for my children."