For Lew Ebstein, the president of the Jewish environmental group Shomrei Olam, doing what is right for the planet comes down to the smallest decisions.
Ebstein’s work advocating for the environment didn’t come until later in his life.
“When my kids left for college, I asked myself, ‘What now?’” he said. “The answer was clear for me: helping the Jewish community take better care of our world.”
Shomrei Olam was formed in late 2015 after the founding members of the grassroots environmental group met at a lecture series on the environment at the University of Cincinnati. Ebstein described the lecture series as a wake-up call to him and his co-founders. The group aimed to address environmental issues through a Jewish lens and focus on creating change in the Cincinnati community.
“Our goal is to get the Jewish community to better care for the environment,” he said. “Everyone agrees the environment is a problem, but for many institutions and individuals, it doesn’t rank high on the priority list. Our mission is to change that.”
From its inception, Shomrei Olam (Hebrew for “Guardians of the World”) has been run by volunteers and has sought to engage both Jewish institutions and individual community members.
The organization proposed creating an environmental manager role to help local organizations implement more environmentally friendly practices. Ebstein sees the role as similar to SAFE Cincinnati, which helps advise the Cincinnati Jewish community on safety.
“We wanted to take the research and planning burden off these institutions so they could focus on implementation,” he said.
Recently, the group has been focusing on combating the use of single-use plastic cutlery. The United States uses nearly 100 million pieces of plastic cutlery every day. To Ebstein, part of the issue with plastic cutlery is custody.
“If you touch the fork and use it for 10 minutes, you own it and are responsible for its disposal,” Ebstein said. “Now, most people don’t think about the fact that fork will take 1000 years to, if ever, decompose.”
Shomrei Olam launched an initiative, “Stick a Fork in the Problem,” by creating a branded reusable cutlery set with a fork, knife, spoon, chopsticks, and a straw cleaner, all in a small zipper case. The organization wants people to take this set to parties or events where plastic utensils are commonly used.
Ebstein has taken several steps to reduce his environmental impact, including eliminating as much single-use plastic in his daily life, switching to bar soap, and toothpaste tablets. He’s even chosen to forgo cutlery and plates at events if plastic is the only option.
One of Shomrei Olam’s longest-running programs is the “Cut-A-Ton Challenge,” launched in 2019. The program challenged households and institutions to reduce carbon emissions through seasonal guides like the “Green Living Guide” that is now on the Shomrei Olam website. The guides included actionable activities like shorter showers, reducing meat consumption, and using cold water to wash clothes.
“It’s a work in progress, but it’s already sparked meaningful changes,” Ebstein says
Along with a living guide, the organization also created a “Green Event Guide,” to help individual families and institutions adopt more environmentally friendly practices. An inspiration for the event guide came when Ebstein was helping plan his daughter’s wedding.
“An event is a multiplier,” he said. “Every choice you make — from tableware to decorations — has a ripple effect[on the environment].”
The organization also makes a tangible impact through its battery and lightbulb recycling events, which have collected more than 2,200 pounds of batteries and 4,000 lightbulbs over the last three years. The next light bulb and battery recycling event will be on January 12 at Temple Sholom.
