Haaretz reports:

Haredi greens face uphill battle By Yair Ettinger When Yehuda Ganot, an ultra-Orthodox environmentalist, occasionally visits Lithuanian community elder Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman, he hears the recurrent phrase: “Sit, study, give up that nonsense.” Ultra-Orthodox environmental activists say they are often asked if trees are more important to them than education. Ganot, who chairs Haredim for the Environment, is among those fighting to put the subject on the agenda.

There is already an organization called Shomera L’Sviva Tova which is fighting to put conservation and sustainability on the Torah world agenda. I highly doubt that R’ Steinman himself said such a statement, but the sentiment is still out there in the charedi world — Talmud, important; environmental health, unimportant. However, as Mr. Ganot’s organization emphasizes, the environment affects the charedi world no less than it affects its secular counterpart. Mr. Ganot even creatively tied his efforts into mitzvot:

Shas lawmakers recently opposed a bill to expand legislation on bottle depositing to cover the larger, 1.5 liter plastic beverage bottles. They say the proposed legislation would create a subsequent price-hike on the bigger bottles and place undue an financial burden on large families. Haredim for the Environment proposed a creative compromise: Bottle collection in Haredi residential areas would be handled by charities like Ezer Mizion, which would use the deposit money as donations.

Changing charedi consciousness — even opposing Sha”s — and showing that it was the will of the Torah all along. Ken yirbu — may his actions only increase.