Secular Sabbath

A Secular (and Environmentally Friendly) Sabbath Adrian Hon and Naomi Alderman

Orthodox Jews don’t all look like this

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” Exodus 20:8 (number four in the ten commandments) “Six days shall you work but on the seventh day you shall rest” Exodus 34:21

What’s work? According to the Orthodox Jews, work includes: • writing • cooking • driving a car • changing the state of anything electrical

Changing the state? • You can leave a light on or off, or on a timer, but can’t alter the settings • No using computers, telephones, cameras, televisions, any other electronic devices • All food has to be cooked in advance

What’s left? • Meals with friends • Going for walks • Reading • Sleeping • Singing • Conversation

Adrian: I’m not Jewish - obviously. Originally interested in experiencing a sabbath, having day of rest away from mobile and computer and tube. Then got thinking about whether sabbath was environmentally friendly or not.

Power Consumption Device Model Quantity Hours Power Change (W)* Lightbulbs 15W energy saver 16 -2 15 -480 Urn +24 +2690** Small LCD TV Samsung SM741MP 1 -8 42 -252 Big LCD TV Toshiba 37WL66 1 -8 240 -1920 Computer iMac 20” Core Duo 1 -8 80 -640 Console Xbox 360 1 -3 185 -555 Laptop Dell Inspiron 1525 1 -5 30 -150 Astra 2008 5-Door Car 1 -40km -156g CO2/km -6.24kg Hatchback 1.6i * Power consumption = (average on mode) - (standby mode) ** Overall change as measured by power meter over Sabbath period Based on family of four, relatively environmentally friendly. This is not scientiﬁc - rough estimation of changes in energy usage.

Results • Total change: -1.307kWh, -2.6l petrol • Cost savings: £2.99 (£2.86 + £0.13) • CO savings: 6.998kg 2 This is per week. Over a year, savings add up; if you did it every month, save £40. If every week, over £150; CO2 saved would be 350kg.

Recommendations • Consider inviting friends over for a monthly “secular Sabbath” - no TV, phones, computers, just chat, walks and good food • Don’t use an urn • Don’t drive • The beneﬁts aren’t just environmental: it really does feel good for the soul Energy savings don’t have to be seen as sacriﬁce, especially when people are getting information overload - can be see as a good byproduct of a new ‘day of rest’

Sources http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/energy_saving_products/ Lightbulbs 15W energy saver types_of_energy_saving_recommended_products/ energy_saving_light_bulbs Small LCD TV Samsung SM741MP http://www.ebuyer.com/product/120778 http://www.home-entertainment.toshiba.co.uk/consumer/ Big LCD TV Toshiba 37WL66 products.nsf/pages/lcdplasma-regza-37wl66?opendocument http://weblog.infoworld.com/enterprisemac/archives/2006/02/ Computer iMac 20” Core Duo imac_keeps_its.html Console Xbox 360 http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-356-1.htm http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/ Laptop Dell Inspiron 1525 environment/en/prod_datasheets?c=us&l=en&s=gen Astra 2008 5-Door http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/search/vehicleDetails.asp? Car Hatchback 1.6i id=20260 CO2 emissions http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/small_business/ from electricity customer_services/where_we_get_our_energy/default.asp

More Information • http://www.secularsabbath.org • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabbat • adrian@mssv.net http://mssv.net • naomi.alderman@gmail.com http://naomialderman.com

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Secular Sabbath

by Adrian Hon on May 17, 2008

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Secular Sabbath — Presentation Transcript