“These are crazy times”

ICE is attacking the American dream, politicized AI burner accounts are arguing with each other on X about it, all the while the president promises to find the gold from Fort Knox. Wars in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and East Africa don’t even make the front page anymore. Literacy is down, hypocrisy is up, and people continue to increase their use of energy without care for the environment. Between all the racing rats and burning trees, it’s hard not to think of the 2020s as a wacked-out apocalypse. But the world has always had its fair share of crazy.  

My dad grew up during the Vietnam War, when hippies combatted senseless violence with long hair and free love, while Nixon hijacked his opponent’s political strategy and recorded himself talking about it. 

His dad grew up in the 1940s, when the Great Depression and World War II changed the meaning of good and bad. It was in a Dutch attic in 1944 when Anne Frank wrote the words that began this article. 

There is always crazy in the world we live in. And as much as we need to point out the specific craziness from time to time, it is unproductive. But, despite the craziness, there are people doing brilliant work to help brighten the world. 

“It is not your duty to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it” 

This almost-two-thousand year old quote from the Pirkei Avot has helped guide Jewish people to create positive change across the world. In Medieval Europe, Jew like Maimonides contributed to medicine and philosophy. And, despite being sixty percent desert, Israel is the only country in the world to end the 20th century with more trees than it started with. Now in the 21st century, Adamah is helping American Jews fight against climate change. 

Adamah on Campus

Adamah is a national Jewish organization with a deep care in the “connection between people and planet, adam and adamah” in Hebrew (Adamah.org). Its mission is to help empower positive change in people’s treatment of the environment and to inspire more sustainable living practices. 

Adamah on Campus is a program of Adamah’s designed specifically to engage college students. Starting in 2023, it now impressively has chapters in over 50 campuses across the U.S., and And starting in spring of 2026, it has a new chapter popping up in Santa Barbara! 

Organizers of the SB chapter of AoC plan early on to focus on sharing sustainable living practices with the interested community. This will include programs teaching people how to make their own laundry detergent out of natural ingredients, or poetry out of scrap paper, or even fun crafts out of dried up pens and old clothes. But the chapter also hopes to help combat food waste, especially that which occurs in Isla Vista, by incorporating local businesses. 

If you have a passion for the environment, or for sustainable arts and crafts, or just want to learn how to make a cheaper alternative for laundry detergent, make sure to check out Adamah on Campus in Santa Barbara in the Spring quarter. Information on the new chapter can be found at SB Hillel. And if you have any ideas for the club, even if you won’t have time to help implement them in the spring, Junior and Elana would love to hear your thoughts! Together, we can work to make this adamah(earth) a little less crazy.