Richard Schiffman

Some Jews say that their people won’t be truly free until the earth itself is freed from the bondage of ecological abuse, and humans return to the Promised Land of living in harmony with nature. Richard Schiffman reports on emerging environmental theology in the Jewish community.

A growing number of Roman Catholics are making conscious connections between linking their faith and their concern for the earth. But as Richard Schiffman reports it’s not always easy to reconcile age-old religious traditions and a new environmental consciousness.

Richard Schiffman reports from Benares, India on the banks of the Ganges River on the essential role the river plays in people’s daily lives which includes drinking, washing, bathing in Hindu religious rites, and even as a destination for cremated human ashes. Pollution is a problem along the river and a subtle campaign of clean-up […]

The magnificent scenery and rich history of New York’s Hudson River Valley are the subject of legends like Rip Van Winkle and the Last of the Mohicans. The Hudson’s environmental problems are also legendary. Two hundred miles of the river were contaminated by industrial chemicals called PCB’s more than twenty years ago. And recent studies […]

At grocery stores around the country, produce appears to be fairly uniform in its offerings. While many consumers find this homogeny reassuring, some scientists and nutritionists worry that this lack of variety is impacting our ability to deal with genetic changes in the future. Richard Schiffman reports from New York City on how we got […]