Garden State

Illuminating the Dark Continent with solar power

2012-01-26T00:36:00.000-05:00

The vast majority of solar-powered streetlights and similar fixtures on the market don't survive for long. That's why Israeli startup Globe Light and Water System devised a sturdy, solar-powered light fixture that needs no infrastructure.

This could prove a godsend to developing nations where a lack of street lighting results in dangerous driving conditions and far slower economies.

In Africa, the heat, humidity, mud and dust are given factors that have to be taken into consideration. In many places there's no electricity infrastructure, so the fixtures have to stand alone. The other major issue that has to be dealt with is criminality. Vandalism and theft of public property is widespread.

Chinese companies have been making similar light fixtures for several years now, but almost all of them involve inferior technologies. They are inefficient, have shorter life spans and break down far too regularly.

The GLWS Orion light fixture offers some fundamental design improvements on existing systems. A major innovation is the built-in microprocessor that constantly monitors and regulates factors such as bulb temperature and battery charge. A particularly high-quality type of LED [light-emitting diode] lamp used in the GLWS Orion lights can work in extreme conditions and does not burn out as easily as the ones used by competitors's products. The junction temperature of our LED is 60 degrees Celsius. The microprocessor automatically dims the light if it approaches this temperature. Another advantage is a lower electricity consumption by an average of 60 percent. This translates into negating the need for complete power stations.

As important as its technical aspects, is the fact that the fixture is theft-proof. The light poles are designed in a way that no one can steal the batteries from inside. There's also the option of adding a CCTV camera to the pole so that anyone trying to vandalize it will be seen from the central control facility.

This facility, usually operated by a municipality or local government, can monitor the performance of all the installed light fixtures.

The fixtures can be monitored remotely, and the lights can be dimmed or raised using radio frequencies. This means easier upkeep, lower energy consumption and longer working lives

GLWS is developing lighting systems for Nigeria, Ethiopia and Colombia, with several other countries in the negotiation process.

Source: Israel21c

Bike your way through Tel Aviv!

2012-01-08T20:31:00.002-05:00

Just 14 years ago, there were no bike paths in Tel Aviv, it was a metropolis for drivers only. Now, Tel Aviv is covered in bike paths with plans to build more to accommodate the surge in riders.

The city of Tel Aviv will be spending NIS 150 million in the next five years to accommodate the rise in bike riders, which upon completion is expected to create a total of approximately 150 kilometers of bike paths and trails in Tel Aviv as more and more residents are switching from cars to bicycles.

Tel Aviv's narrow roadways make it difficult for cars and bikes to share the road so one of the aims of the new bike path expansion is to create bike paths on street level that are separated from vehicle traffic.

Read more about it here.

Off to an early night so I can enjoy a bike ride in the morning, till next time!
J

Israel Introduces First National Air Pollution Reduction Program

2011-12-15T15:20:00.012-05:00

Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection will be distributing to government offices, its first national air pollution reduction program which is expected to substantially reduce the emission of the most harmful pollutants.

The program will be brought to a vote by the government in the coming weeks. It is expected that illness caused by air pollution will cost NIS 8 billion in the next decade if measures are not taken.

The program includes expansion of the scrappage program which encourages owners of older cars that produce dangerous emissions to remove them from the road in exchange for cash. Additionally, wider use of public transportation will be encouraged, as well as offering reduced toll rates for multi-passenger vehicles. Financial incentives will also be offered to employers who operate programs that encourage carpooling to work.

Read more about it here.

I'm off to breathe in some fresh air, till next time!
J

Extinct? Not So Fast....

2011-11-29T15:29:00.000-05:00

The second Hula frog, a frog species unique to Israel and thought to be extinct fifty years ago was found in Israel's Hula Nature Reserve. An opposite gender Hula frog was found in the very same area just two weeks prior. Hula Nature Reserve warden Yoram Malka spent a great deal of time and effort searching for additional Hula frogs since the discovery of the first one two weeks ago.

The recent frog finding, a female specimen, was found hanging out in a swamp. Both frogs will be re-released into the wild following a bit of study to learn more about these creatures.

The discovery of the first frog came as a shock to conservationists who had deemed the Hula frog to be extinct decades ago. It is believed that the recent discovery of these frogs is linked to environmental improvements in the Hula Nature Reserve, specifically, improving the water quality by pouring water from nearby fish ponds and nearby springs into the reserve.

I sure wish I had a job looking for frogs in nature preserves, don't you?
Until next time....rrrrribbit!
J

Source: Haaretz

Israel Considers Ban On Cat Declawing

2011-11-27T22:37:00.004-05:00

Israel's parliamentary committee in charge of animal rights voted in favor of banning cat declawing, paving the way for the ban to become Israeli law.

The bill is sponsored by multiple Israeli political parties, including Kadima and Meretz. It is also supported by the Agriculture Ministry, which is responsible for animal rights in Israel.

The bill would render illegal the surgical declawing of cats, which permanently removes their claws, except in rare cases in which the owner's health could be compromised if scratched.

The bill has tremendous support in Israel, making it likely to pass, in which case Israel would join various European nations which have already banned the practice.
Read more about it here.

Off to pet my two cats, hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. Till next time,

J

Never thought I would say WOW about anything related to poop

2011-10-23T09:59:00.001-04:00

Created by Ramat Gan-based Paulee CleanTec company, AshPoopie earned patents in Europe and the United States. It is coming to US pet shops in 2012. The cost of AshPoopie hasn't yet been determined, but it is expected to be relatively inexpensive. A monthly supply of capsules will cost $10 to $20, depending on the size of the dog.

Paulee CleanTec is already looking to the future of the invention, planning to apply it to cat litter boxes and human waste treatment systems.

The cat problem is even bigger than the dog problem because a litter box smells up the home if it is not cleaned every day. The ashes produced by AshPoopie would not need to be collected more than once a month, and they could be used to fertilize the garden.

The same technology has potential for transforming the unpleasant world of portable chemical johns and airplane, boat and train toilets into an odor-free and environmentally beneficial system. This system would separate feces from urine, sterilize the urine and use it to clean the toilet, and sterilize the feces and turn it into ash.

The flushing process would require no electrical source because the process of turning the waste into ash generates enough heat to convert it into energy to flush the toilet and perhaps provide lighting as well. The inventor envisions a backup energy source, such as a solar panel, to be installed on the system.

Paulee CleanTec is expecting to introduce its final AshPoopie design at the major pet products show in Orlando, Florida, at the end of February.

Source: Israel21c

I only wish they would come up with a better name!

From Greenhouse Gas to Biofuel

2011-10-03T16:33:00.008-04:00

Marine-based algae, which are actually tiny plants, live on a diet of carbon dioxide and sunlight. Theoretically, an algae pond could produce 30 times more feedstock for biofuel than the land-based crop alternatives. However, so far nobody has been successful in figuring out how to do this in a cost-effective manner.

Approaching the challenge from a different direction, Seambiotic, an Israeli clean-tech company, offers a way for its partner power plant owners to see a return on investment for reducing carbon emissions immediately.

By sucking out power plant effluent and feeding it to algae -- filtering out heavy metals first, of course -- Seambiotic and its partners generate a healthy income by producing a valuable nutraceutical based on algae, which is especially popular in Eastern countries such as China.

Seambiotic's venture with Yantai Hairong Electricity Technology and Penglai Weiyuan Science Trading (both associated with China Guodian Corporation) involves a 500-megawatt power plant in eastern China, the fifth-largest such facility in the country.

The first commercial farm of 30 acres is expected to cost $10 million. It will be situated in Penglai utilizing carbon dioxide from the Penglai power station and is planned to become operational in the fall of 2011. The agreement contemplates additional farms to be established based upon a pre-agreed timetable.

For every 25-acre algae pond, Seambiotic can reduce 1% of the carbon dioxide being emitted from the power plant. The company could add as many as 10 pools per power plant, resulting in a 10% reduction of this greenhouse gas.

It is expected that the Penglai plant will be able to produce algae biomass to convert into fuel at prices competitive with traditional fuel by 2012.

Sources: Israel21c, Algae Industry Magazine

Israel Allocates Millions To Renewable Energy Projects

2011-09-16T22:45:00.001-04:00

Israel's National Infrastructure Ministry will allocate NIS 13 million to renewable energy projects, hoping to encourage entrepreneurs to present their ideas for grants that will enable Israel to achieve energy independence.

There is particular interest in financing projects that will decrease international dependence on oil, as well as increasing solar and wind energies.

The success of this project has the potential to make Israel a leader in the renewable energy field, not only benefiting the the world in terms of being green but also providing sources of employment for Israelis with expertise in the field.

Read more about it here.

This inspired me to turn off the lights and light a candle, and turn off the air conditioning and open a window.
Till next time!
J

Ten Years Ago

2011-09-10T21:06:00.002-04:00

It's a somber time for us as we contemplate the ten year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. On the one year anniversary, I wrote this poem. As the ten year anniversary approached, Zoya suggested I write another poem and I found inspiration in Patricia Smith, the now 12 year old girl who ten years ago, at the age of 2, wore a red velvet dress and her mother's Medal of Honor. Her mother, Moira Smith, was a police officer in New York City. In the process of saving hundreds of lives, Moira Smith lost her own life when Tower 2 fell. So here is the poem I wrote for the ten year anniversary of September 11, 2001:

Ten years ago
The sky lit up
Two towers burned
Hope spilled from a cup

Ten years ago
The sky rained dust
Blood flowed like water
The Big Apple lost its crust

Ten years ago
Airplanes broke the crown
Ashes, ashes
We all fall down

Ten years ago
The air was a haze
Hysteria replaced Broadway
And left the world in a daze

Ten years ago
One little red velvet dress
Wore the badge of honor
And was left motherless

Ten years ago
The morning was so dark in September
3000 taken in the blink of an eye
Always remember

On this solemn day, please take a moment to reflect and remember.

Till next time,
J

Israeli-Swedish project: Turn paper waste into foam

2011-08-22T00:48:00.000-04:00

Israeli researchers at Hebrew University have discovered a way to turn by-products from the paper industry that have previously been discarded as waste into non-synthetic foam that can replace traditionally used PVC foam (synthetic foam made using oil).

The Melodea Company, a Swedish-Israeli company, licensed the products from Hebrew University and is now seeking to bring the foam to the market.

Foams have many uses, ranging from seat cushions and the car industry to integral parts of aviation, and air and space technology. The team’s goal was to move away from plastics and other raw materials that require oil production and to mimic these large structures for industrial use.

The researchers have developed technology to convert these washed away waste fibers into the small cellulose fibers. From there, the new technology converts the fibers into the non-synthetic foam.
The foams have tremendous market possibilities and most importantly, will turn waste into something usable, replacing similar products made from non-renewable resources.

Read all about it here.

Off to enjoy the foam of a bubble bath, till next time!
-J

Solar Window Revolution

2011-08-10T23:59:00.000-04:00

The dream of constructing a net zero-energy building has yet to become a reality, but now an Israeli company has come up with an idea that could make it possible.

The innovative product from Pythagoras Solar can be described as a solar window that combines energy efficiency, power generation and transparency.

The world's first transparent photovoltaic glass unit (PVGU) has been designed to be easily integrated into conventional building design and construction processes. This means that existing office blocks can be retrofitted with the new material instead of energy-seeping glass windows - a process that will pay itself back within five years.

In June, Pythagoras Solar's breakthrough was selected from nearly 5,000 entrants as a winner of the prestigious GE Ecomagination Challenge, which recognizes the most promising innovations for capturing, managing and using energy in buildings.

Buildings are the largest consumers of energy worldwide and among the least efficient. According to the United States Department of Energy, building operations account for up to 39 percent of the country’s total energy consumption and 70 percent of its power plant generated electricity, while 34 percent of this energy is lost through poor building efficiency. Not surprisingly, the American Solar Energy Society estimates that approximately 43 percent of US and 9 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions result from the energy services required to service these buildings.

Solar power is the most promising long-term, clean, renewable energy resource with potential to deliver 120,000 terawatts compared to non-solar renewable energy sources’ capacity to provide 7-10 terawatts (Global electricity demand is expected to reach 30 terawatts by 2030). Yet, solar power remains largely untapped. While the photovoltaic solar power generation has grown at an exponential rate over the last few years including a record 5.95 gigawatts installed in 2008 -- a 110 percent increase vs. 2007, it still represents less than one percent of the overall electricity generated worldwide.

Having developed the product, the company carried out pilot projects last year in several commercial buildings in the US and Israel. As proof of concept, two windows in the Sears Tower in Chicago were replaced with PVGU.

Founded in 2007, Pythagoras is based in Silicon Valley, and much of the production takes place in Los Angeles. The company's R & D center is in Israel.

Source: Israel 21c

Israel to build 5th desalination plant

2011-08-09T17:56:00.004-04:00

After a long delay, the Israeli Finance Ministry has granted a license for the country's fifth desalination plant, to be built in the coastal city of Ashdod.

The Mekorot water utility will build and operate the $423 million plant. It will use reverse osmosis to produce 100 million cubic meters of purified sea water a year by 2013, with possible capacity expansion to 150 million cubic meters a year.

It is planned that Israel's five plants will together supply 75 percent of the country's drinking water by 2013.

Other four desalination plants are:
• Palmachim - On line since 2007, currently produces 50 million cubic meters of water a year.
• Hadera - On line since 2010, currently produces 127 million cubic meters of water a year.
•Ashkelon - On line since 2006, currently produces 118 million cubic meters of water a year.
•Soreq - Expected to come on line in 2013, capacity 150 million cubic meters of water a year (approved expansion to 300 million cubic meters of water a year).

Israel currently gets most of its water from underground reservoirs and the Sea of Galilee. The country has been hit by several years of drought.

Source: Associated Press

Experts call Israel a ‘laboratory’ for eco-innovation

2011-07-31T13:33:00.000-04:00

Strategists from around the world agreed that “Israel is a laboratory” for eco-innovation and can serve as a platform for larger countries looking to harness sustainable technology during a special conference held by the United Nations Economics Commission in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

Experts from around the globe came together to strategize about how to generate policies and achieve cooperation to further the spread and efficiency of green technology tools.

Israelis excel at inventing innovative solutions that can be put together quickly and applied by others. In this way, Israel can serve as an eco-model for other nations.

As solar water heaters are just now starting to pique interest here in the US, they were the norm in Israeli households by the 1980s. Israelis are also experts at water desalination, enabling a desert nation to have sufficient water by virtue of bordering a major body of water, albeit salt water.

It all comes down to doing more with less...read more about it here

I'm off to enjoy a sunny day, till next time!
-J

Israel Cabinet Approves Plan to Promote Electricity Production from Renewable Energy

2011-07-31T00:26:00.002-04:00

Israel's Cabinet is seeking to further promote the production of electricity from renewable resources! The goal is to use renewable sources of energy to generate 10% of Israel's electricity needs by 2020.

The decision sets a quantitative goal for electricity generation from renewable sources of 2,760 megawatts by the end of 2020, constituting 10% of electricity production in Israel. An interim goal of 1,550 megawatts by the end of 2014 was also set.

In the first stage, between 2011 - 2014, the quotas that have already been allocated for the production of electricity from renewable, non-polluting sources, as well as additional quotas, will be realized: 460 megawatts for large installations, 110 megawatts for installations designated for independent consumption (rooftop photovoltaic facilities), approximately 210 megawatts for electricity generation from biogas, biomass and waste, and 800 megawatts of electricity from wind power..

The decision includes an allocation of at least 210 megawatts for the production of electricity from biogas and biomass, which will further promote the recycling and separation of waste at source revolution and provide a significant economic incentive to local authorities and the private sector for utilizing household waste for the production of clean energy.

Source: Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection

Off to turn off the lights and light a candle, till next time!
-J

32 Illegal Charcoal Plants Closed Down

2011-06-26T01:17:00.000-04:00

In a first-of-its-kind enforcement operation, the Civil Administration inspectors closed down no fewer than 32 illegal charcoal facilities in northern Shomron-Wadi Ara.

Much of the charcoal sold in Israel is produced primitively and illegally by Arabs in the above region, causing tremendous air pollution.

The Arab backyard charcoal-making industry features a process that begins with large piles of straw and wood covered by dirt. The straw inside is set afire, then kept on “simmer” by alternating between smothering it and allowing it to burn. After some three weeks, throughout which smoke is emitted into the atmosphere, the pile becomes charcoal, which is then packaged and sold throughout Israel.

Findings last August and October showed that poisonous and cancerous substances were present in the air in the Dotan-Shomron areas in unacceptable levels.

Source: Israel National News

Saving the kangaroos

2011-05-22T00:02:00.000-04:00

Happy Passover!

2011-04-12T00:07:00.000-04:00

Happy and peaceful Passover to our Jewish brothers and sisters around the world!

Saving Europe's Birds - Eilat Sanctuary

2011-03-30T23:31:00.008-04:00

At least 500 million birds of 200 different species fly across Israel each spring and autumn en route to and from Africa, Europe and Asia.

International Center for the Study of Bird Migration in central Latrun has a range of projects protecting migrating birds during their long trip. It has a radar warning system for military and commercial pilots aimed at preventing bird strikes, a common danger during take-off and landing.

International Birdwatching Center of the Jordan Valley at Kfar Ruppin has developed and shared strategies to protect the hungry travellers from getting entangled in the nets topping the many commercial fish ponds in the area and from ingesting pesticides as they peck in its vast agricultural fields.

In partnership with Israel's Nature Reserve Authority, IBCJV offers fish farms alternative wide-stringed nets less likely to snare birds. When necessary, its staff rescues, rings and sets free fish-eating pelicans, cormorants and herons that do get stuck. Any wounded birds are sent for treatment at a hospital in the Ramat Gan Safari.

To keep farmers and birds happy, the best solution has been setting up barn owl and kestrel nesting boxes as part of a national effort to introduce this natural rodent-control method. Reducing pesticide use benefits everyone from the migratory birds to the end consumer.

In another longstanding cooperative venture, the IBCJV partners with Israel Electric to keep larger migrating birds such as pelicans, herons and white storks from being electrocuted on power lines. IBCJV identifies locations where the electric company needs to install insulation around the high-voltage wires so when the birds sit on the poles and touch the wires with their wings, they do not get electrocuted and do not damage the system.

Making energy out of water

2011-03-14T00:33:00.004-04:00

It's Israel's turn to chair EUREKA, the EU's pan-European R&D clean-tech grants machine and Israel is eager to find new sources of energy.

Their latest endeavor involves seeking energy from something that already exists--moving water from municipal sources, pipelines, and waterways.
Imagine turning waste water into viable energy...read more about it here.

Over here I enjoyed a day on the water, till next time,
J

Sea Turtle Rescue

2011-03-05T00:26:00.003-05:00

The turtles face a gamut of manmade dangers: pollution, plastic bags and other seaborne litter; outboard motors and fishing nets; jeeps hurtling along beaches. About 50 injured turtles are brought to the Rescue Center every year, most of them hurt by human activity. The success rate in saving injured reptiles is about 65 percent.

For more than two decades, Israel National Nature and Parks Authority rangers have patrolled the Mediterranean coastline during hatching season, transferring eggs from nests to protected hatcheries. To date, at least 50,000 hatchlings have been released to protected sections of beach. Young turtles' low survival rate -- only one in every 100 hatchlings lives to reach reproductive age -- means that every egg saved can have an impact.

The Knesset has passed a series of laws to protect Israel's beaches. It is now illegal to build any structure within 100 meters of the Mediterranean coastline. Light from restaurants, banquet halls and nightclubs no longer disorients the young hatchlings, sending them in the wrong direction. Legislation has also outlawed driving vehicles on the beaches - a real threat to nesting spots and the hatchlings as they make their way to the water over a period of one to four days.

Israel Sea Turtle Satellite Tracking Project allows to trace loggerhead & green turtles online.

Source: Israel21c

Solar Energy That Floats on Water

2011-02-02T16:59:00.006-05:00

Generating energy from the sun would be more practical if not for two huge drawbacks: The expense of the silicon material that converts light to electricity, and the large tracts of land needed for solar farms.

By solving both problems - and introducing unexpected side benefits, too - Solaris Synergy captured first place in the Israel National Cleantech Open IDEAS Competition at Tel Aviv University's Akirov Institute for Business and Environment in November of 2010.

Each Lego-like module of Solaris' Floating Concentrating Photovoltaic (F-CPV) system is faced with a curved mirrored film that clusters the sunlight into a thin line. Since only 5% of the surface needs a silicon cover, Solaris uses relatively little of the costly material. Plus, since silicon production releases contaminants into the air, using less is an environmental boon.

Sidestepping the need for large solar fields, Solaris is designed to sit on water. Constructed of lightweight plastic and fiberglass, a grid of connected modules can float on any fresh-, salt- or wastewater surface. Aside from sparing valuable real estate, this solar-on-water platform doubles as a breathable reservoir cover that significantly reduces evaporation and eliminates organic and algae growth.

To keep rays focused on the line of silicon material, the grid turns slowly as it follows the movement of the sun throughout the day. One small engine can power this rotation since the water eliminates friction. A sophisticated sun-tracking algorithm guides a remote controller, which also moderates the direction of the movement and the speed of the engine. An antenna sends all data from the controller over a cellular line to a central server and alerts the technical crew to potential problems.

Grids of F-CPV modules, each generating 200 kilowatts, can be configured to fit any reservoir, lake or pond. The system works best in areas of strong sunlight, such as Africa, Asia, Australia, Mediterranean countries and South, Central and southern North America.

Floating Solaris grids atop Israel's more than 400 recycled wastewater reservoirs would enable the country to realize its goal of generating 10 to 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

The water placement gives F-CPV another advantage via a patented technology that uses the liquid underneath to keep the silicon at a low temperature. Solaris' system is generating energy more than 20% more efficiently than conventional panels because of this. The cooler the silicon, the more efficiently it converts light into energy.

The two-year-old company has a working prototype on the roof of its headquarters and is due to install a pilot project in 2011 under the auspices of Mekorot, Israel's water authority. A second pilot installation is planned at a reservoir near Marseilles in cooperation with France's electric company, partially funded by the joint Israel-European R&D project Eureka.

Source: Israel21c

Israel's first eco-friendly road

2011-01-05T22:56:00.003-05:00

The Israel National Roads Company has paved Israel's first eco-friendly road. Just over half a mile of road was paved with an experimental blend of asphalt and rubber pellets from 1,900 ground-up used tires.

The paved section, deemed "experimental," is located on a section of Road 85 in the Galilee, and runs between Acre in the west and Amiad in the east.

The cost of the raw material and the paving of the section is estimated at about $85,000, which is about the cost of a regular road, but the rubber blend will increase the lifespan of the road by one-third.

The rubber-asphalt blend is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Technion Israel Institute of Technology.

The rubber accounts for three percent of the asphalt blend, but the quantity of rubber could be doubled in future, which would result in the use of almost 4,000 used tires per 0.6 miles of road.

National Roads Company R&D Branch Director Adrian Valentin Cotrus says that the road was paved using know-how and experience accumulated in the US and adapted to Israel's standards and climate.

According to the Ministry of Transport, three million tires are taken out of service in Israel each year, and millions of tires are scattered at various sites, constituting environmental hazards.

Source: Israel21c

Breathing New Life Into Extinct Species

2011-01-03T23:44:00.002-05:00

Israeli scientists say they have succeeded in breathing new life into rare species of animals that once were nearly extinct in the region.

Data on the two-decades-long project to reintroduce Israel's ancient wildlife presented last week at a conference held by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority showed rare species indeed are starting to flourish as in times of old.

Scientists have dedicated their efforts towards raising Mesopotamian (Persian) fallow deer, oxen, eagles, onager and Arabian oryx.

Wild oxen now wander the Arava, and some 200 onager now roam the Negev. A like number of fallow deer make their home in the Achziv region of Galilee, and 100 eagles raised in captivity have now been released to the wild as well.

The project, which is ongoing, is based in two protected nature reserves. One is located in the extreme southern end of the Negev desert (Chai Bar South Yotvata).

The other, (Chai Bar Carmel) is located along the northern coastal region, at the top of Mount Carmel just outside Haifa, where a wildfire recently stripped the land of its forest. Volunteers and project workers who worked tirelessly to rescue the animals as the inferno raged miraculously succeeded in saving every single one.

Source: Israel National News

EcoTourism in the Galilee

2010-12-19T00:31:00.000-05:00

IDF Commanders Build a Greener Future

2010-11-30T00:35:00.000-05:00

The IDF announced the implementation of its new plan, "IDF Protects the Environment", to the sum of one billion NIS, in which it will mend past damages and prevent future harm to Israel's natural landscapes.

Do You Know What Desertification Is?

2010-11-11T03:27:00.002-05:00

Desertification is the degradation of land in arid and dry sub-humid areas due to various factors including climatic variations and human activities.

Some 97 percent of land in Israel is classified as dry land. The driest area is in the south, the Arava desert, near Eilat.

Israel was one of the first countries to begin addressing desertification crisis.

Despite major conventions on desertification signed at Rio de Janeiro in the 1990s, many Western countries persist in relating to the issue as a low priority. This perception started to change four years ago, when the UN and the World Bank re-emphasized that desertification, a problem that affects more than 200 million people, is a major cause of global poverty and hunger.

Israel is one of the few countries that has successfully restored marginal lands and is recognized worldwide as a leader in protecting its dry lands from further deterioration. The Negev desert is smaller than it was in 1948, parts of it having been transformed into a fertile breadbasket.

Forests thrive in places where trees never took root before and salt- and drought-resistant plants flourish, innovated by Israeli scientists. Commercial fishponds dot the desert, and algae grow abundantly for use in pharmaceuticals and health foods.

Water management is a crucial part of controlling desertification. About half the water used for agriculture cycles through 240 reservoirs built by Keren Kayemeth L'Yisrael-Jewish National Fund, a key player in desertification efforts and education. Israel reuses about 74 percent of its wastewater; Spain, the second most efficient country in wastewater recycling, reuses only 20 percent.

Source: Israel21c

Israeli Eco-Wear

2010-10-22T11:58:00.002-04:00

Israel brought sustainable fashion to this year's New York Fashion Week with two runway shows from the ultra-stylish and ultra-eco-friendly Israeli design label EcoGir, in a prominent midtown Manhattan location last month.

The ECOGIR® collection offers three lines of suits: ECOGIR® Organic, ECOGIR® Recycled and ECOGIR® Washable.

Inspired by sustainability challenge, EcoGIR® Organic blends tradition and craftsmanship with the hottest design trends. Made with renewable sources, the jacket fabric and the body lining of EcoGIR® jackets are made from 100% organic cotton, the inner materials include bamboo and even the buttons are dried seeds of the Tagua palm tree, ecologically harvested from the rainforest.

ECOGIR® Recycled garments are made from 100% recyclable material originally created from discarded PET bottles. Using Post Consumer Material saves more energy compared to manufacturing of virgin fiber, helps divert waste from landfills, and reduces amounts solid waste. It is estimated that nearly 30 recycled plastic bottles are used to build up an EcoGir® Recycled suit. The development of this suit was to aim at a product that maximizes product quality while reducing carbon footprint. This will impact the environment significantly, as it also reduces the CO2 emissions.

EcoGIR® Washable is an eco-friendly washable collection made from 55% Post Consumer Waste. It aims for accessibility and affordability for sustainable products to consumers who may not have thought about buying "green" in the past. The world's first machine-washable suit helps reduce the use of harmful chemicals common in the dry-cleaning process.

EcoGIR suits are the first in the world to carry a carbon footprint label. It lets consumers know how much greenhouse gas was created during the manufacturing and shipping process.

Source: Israel21c

Israel Develops Tastier Pitaya Cactus Requiring Less Water

2010-10-21T23:28:00.000-04:00

Star of David Diamond

2010-10-18T00:21:00.000-04:00

Here Comes the Sun

2010-10-06T23:43:00.000-04:00

Israeli solar power company BrightSource Energy is in the news this week after receiving an unexpected endorsement from US President, Barack Obama.

In his weekly radio address, Obama told listeners that this October, BrightSource will break ground on a "revolutionary new type of solar power plant".

"It's going to put about a thousand people to work building a state-of-the-art facility. And when it's complete, it will turn sunlight into the energy that will power up to 140,000 homes - the largest such plant in the world. Not in China. Not in India. But in California," he said.

"With projects like this one, and others across this country, we are staking our claim to continued leadership in the new global economy. And we're putting Americans to work producing clean, home-grown American energy that will help lower our reliance on foreign oil and protect our planet for future generations," he continued.

International Coastal Cleanup Day in Israel

2010-09-20T00:26:00.006-04:00

Israel is gearing up for International Coastal Cleanup Day , organized by the Ocean Conservancy, and slated to take place on Saturday, September 25, 2010.

In Israel, Cleanup Day will be expanded to Cleanup Week and will take place between September 19 - 25, 2010. Israel's Clean Coast Program aims to bring at least 2,500 volunteers to 25 coastal cleanup sites during this period to mark the event.

This year's worldwide event marks 25 years to the program and is dedicated to the theme "International Coastal Cleanup: A 25-Year Sea of Change." It is the world's largest volunteer effort on behalf of ocean health.

Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection has called on students, adults, youth groups, teachers and others to join this year's coastal cleanup week, in coordination with the "Coast Watch." This cadre of volunteers was especially set up under the Clean Coast Program to help preserve the cleanliness of Israel's beaches.

Source: Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection

Dear Aussies, Welcome to Your New Home!

2010-09-11T23:21:00.000-04:00

Israel may be a desert, going six months of the year without rain, but local bee populations are thriving and honey production rising thanks to a new flowering tree brought over from Australia.

It's not a good time for honeybee populations worldwide. All over the globe bee numbers are dwindling, as hives are hit by Colony Collapse Disorder - an ailment which an Israeli company, Beeologics, claims to have now developed a vaccination for. Last winter alone, more than 36 percent of the US bee colonies collapsed, affecting honey production, and the one-third of all food production that requires pollination - from fruits and nuts to the dairy and beef cows that feed on alfalfa.

Israel has 450 beekeepers in the country, who manufacture 3,600 tons of honey annually for growing local consumption and for export. Like in many desert countries around the world, Israel's beekeepers face difficulties because the majority of native plants and flowers blossom only once a year after the winter rains.

Most of Israel's trees and shrubs flower in the spring. This means that in other seasons, hungry bees have to be fed sugar solutions or transported to parts of the country where flowers are still in bloom - both expensive and messy propositions for apiaries.

David Brand, chief forester and head of the forest department at the Keren Kayemeth Leyisrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), working with Dr. Dan Aizikovich, a professor at Tel Aviv University, and the Israel Honey Board looked for a solution and came up with the idea of bringing eucalyptus trees from Australia, which produce blooms all year round.

The KKL-JNF began introducing a variety of the species to Israel 12 years ago. "We started with the seeds and seedlings, and established trial plots all over Israel to investigate which species were suitable" for Israel's climate, says Brand. "We also tested those trees to see whether or not - although they had wonderful flowers, etc., - the bees would be attracted to them," Brand adds.

After two years of extensive trial and error testing at KKL-JNF nurseries nationwide, Brand and Aizikovich found the right plant and bees began to pollinate the flowers while collecting nectar to be made into honey.

Over 100,000 trees have been distributed annually to beekeepers every year - a total of one million trees over the last 10 years. Distributed as seedlings, these trees are still young, but already beekeepers are noticing the difference, with many now leaving their hives near newly planted groves for much of the year instead of following wild flower blossom.

Beekeepers now have a collection of trees that flower from April to September. In addition, some of these eucalyptus species are very resistant to drought, allowing them to be planted in semi-arid zones. In general, a tree will produce the same quantity of nectar from one year to the next and there is therefore less fluctuation compared to wildflowers.

Among those imported seedlings found to be the most sweetly successful in the effort are a variety of Eucalyptus trees, particularly lemon-flowered mallee, coral gum, hybrid gum and red-capped gum, grown in regional KKL-JNF nurseries.

The trees - which are also a source of high-quality wood - are good shade-providers, which is important since the hives could be left under the trees, whose shade provides the right temperature for optimum honey-production by the bees. This also means that the hives won't have to be moved periodically, which is currently the case.

Local species have also been included in the effort, with a type of carob tree found in the Israel's south that produces many flowers and attracts many bees.

The project is now attracting interest from nearby Jordan, where one beekeeper received 20,000 samples of the new species two years ago. Interest is likely from other countries too as desertification and drought forces more beekeepers around the world to combat similar problems to those of apiarists in Israel.

Source: Israel21c

L'Shanah Tovah

2010-09-08T00:25:00.000-04:00

Wishing my Jewish brothers and sisters around the world a very sweet and happy new year! May 5771 bring Israel peace and security!

Where the Wild Things Are Healed

2010-08-22T23:37:00.001-04:00

Hadassah is well-known for its skill in treating human patients, but its doctors have also come to the aid of Israel's animal population.

The patient could not read the eye chart, but it was clear his cataract surgery had succeeded when he spread his golden-brown wings to their full seven-foot span and started to fly again.

The patient, a golden eagle, is one of a number of nonhumans to be treated at the Hadassah–Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem. "We see this outreach as, well, humanitarian," says Dr. Shmuel Shapira, deputy director-general of the medical center, head of the Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine and dean of the recently opened School of Military Medicine.

"Clearly, our two hospitals are for human patients," he says. "We do nothing that abuses, jeopardizes or contaminates the equipment, facilities, time or budget dedicated to them. We do, however, see it as proper to lend our expertise and equipment to veterinary colleagues, as and when we can."

Hadassah, Dr. Shapira notes, has had practical ongoing relationships with Israeli zoos and veterinary schools that go back years. It passes on to them and to animal-support organizations expired pharmaceuticals, retired medical equipment and outdated disposables. "And, occasionally, we actually treat animals—in our laboratories, not in our patient facilities," he says.

The eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), a resident of the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in southern Jerusalem, is one example. "The bird had a history of eye problems," says Dr. Michael Halpert, a senior ophthalmologist at Hadassah. "He had lost one eye through injury when he was a fledgling. When he stopped flying a couple of years back, the zoo's veterinary ophthalmologist diagnosed a cataract in the remaining eye, and they operated to remove it."

The veterinary ophthalmologist cut out the front of the eagle's opaque lens, leaving its back membrane in place. This is classic cataract surgery, in people as well as birds, but in one of every two patients, the back membrane clouds over in what is called a secondary cataract. When it became clear that the eagle was developing a secondary cataract, the zoo turned to Dr. Halpert.

"We already knew Dr. Halpert well," says Nili Avni-Magen, chief veterinarian of the Tisch zoo. "A few years ago, he helped us clear up a case of keratitis in one of our Asian elephants. An inflammation of the cornea, keratitis can be very painful and, if untreated, impairs eyesight. He was also involved in treating our hand-reared Sumatran tiger cub, who developed a juvenile cataract when he was 2 months old. Fortunately, we managed to resolve that problem with medication rather than surgery."

For the eagle, however, there was no nonsurgical option. "Secondary cataracts are treated by making a small opening in the middle of the opaque back membrane," explains Dr. Halpert. "It's a simple 10-minute procedure, but you need a YAG laser to do it."

So, in April the eagle was brought to Hadassah. A vet sedated the three-foot-long bird of prey, and Dr. Halpert began. "The eye was bigger than a human eye and had a deeper anterior chamber, but in principle it was very similar," he says. "There was nothing I could see that showed me the secret of 'eagle-eyed' vision."

Using the YAG's beam, Dr. Halpert cut a small hole in the center of the eagle's clouded lens capsule. Back at the zoo and fully awake, the bird shook his golden-brown plumage, looked around, spread its wings—and took to the air.

In an enclosure not far from the zoo's aviary live a mother and son, Tamar and Gabi. Although a very different species from the one-eyed eagle, they nonetheless share with it a close and very personal encounter with Hadassah. For more than a year, Hadassah played an active role in Tamar the elephant's prenatal care, contributing to the safe arrival of her calf, Gabi.

"Gabi clocked in at a birth weight of 198 pounds," says Ariel Revel, a senior physician in Hadassah's obstetrics and gynecology department and chairman of the Jerusalem branch of the Israel Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "We're used to thinking of an 11-pound or 12-pound infant as a big baby, so the baby elephant's birth weight was mind-blowing!"

An endangered species of Asian elephant, Tamar was a gift to then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 from the Thai government. Tamar was 20 when Gabi was conceived eight years later by artificial insemination on the fourth attempt, conducted with the help of a team from Germany's Reproduction Management Institute for Zoo Biology and Wildlife Research in Berlin. Because of her age—elephants typically start bearing children at ages 12 to 15—and because this was her first baby, Tamar's pregnancy was considered high risk from the start.

"Our role was analyzing regular blood samples from Tamar to monitor her pregnancy and predict the onset of labor," says Dr. Revel. "We did this for over a year, throughout the second half of the pregnancy. On a Wednesday in early December, we saw that her progesterone levels had plummeted. We predicted she would give birth on Shabbat."

At 8 P.M. on the following Friday evening, Tamar began an arduous 10-hour labor in her enclosure. The birth was difficult and, at one point, zoo staff thought they would lose both mother and child. But at 6 on Shabbat morning, as Hadassah's gynecologists had predicted, a healthy elephant calf dropped to the ground, still wrapped in its sac. It was the 11th birth worldwide of an Asian elephant conceived through artificial insemination. The baby was named for Gabi Eshkar, the zoo's head veterinarian, who had begun the impregnation project and had died the previous year in a road accident.

It is now four years since Gabi's birth, but Hadassah's biochemistry department continues to monitor samples from the zoo's Asian elephant herd. "The idea is to keep track of when they can breed," says Dr. Revel, "and to perform long-term research into hormone levels in their blood."

With only a small number of specialized vets in Israel, Hadassah has proven itself "a true friend of the zoo," says Avni-Magen. "When we have a complex or unusual case, when we need special equipment [such as the YAG], when we want to do research or when we need outside help, we turn to Hadassah."

One highly successful research collaboration between the zoo, Hadassah Hospital and the Hebrew University brought significant relief to the zoo's monkeys. "They had developed a stubborn fungal infection that was making their hair drop out," says Avni-Magen. "There are many antifungal ointments on the market, but all need regular application. Our animals, however, are wild, so the less we handle them the better it is for them. What we needed to treat the fungus was a slow-release ointment that required only a single application."

Together with Dr. Michael Friedman of the Hebrew University School of Pharmacy, a slow-release single-application antifungal was developed. "It has the consistency of nail polish and it worked beautifully," says Avni-Magen. "We have published the results and are optimistic that this heralds development of many other slow-release drugs across the pharmacological spectrum—for animals and for people."

Source: Hadassah Magazine

How Israeli Technology Can Help Clean Gulf Oil Spill

2010-08-07T00:31:00.000-04:00

It’s taken millions of dollars to cap it, and it could take billions more to clean it up. BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is perhaps the environmental catastrophe of the century. But Tel Aviv University has a solution that may help remedy the remaining oil residue through a natural, biological process.

Prof. Eugene Rosenberg and Prof. Eliora Ron of Tel Aviv University’s (TAU) Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology are using naturally occurring oil-munching bacteria, grown at the TAU lab, to clean the hard-to-reach oil pockets that occur when oil mixes with sand and organic matter on beaches and forms a thin layer on the Gulf’s precious waterways.

“It’s worked to clean up an oil spill on the coast of Haifa, Israel, so we’ve already got good evidence it could work in Florida too,” says Prof. Ron. Details of their decades of research appear in The Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology, published this year by Springer Verlag.

Using nature itself to fight contamination

The researchers identified a naturally occurring variety of sea-borne bacteria that digests oil. By studying the bacteria’s genetic background, developing methods of growing the bacteria, and increasing their capacity to ingest the oil, the scientists have developed a solution that could clean up the residual oil that can’t be removed by mechanical means.

Prof. Ron says that sucking up surface oil pools and containing the oil are important and necessary first-step actions. But her solution addresses the smaller amounts of oil left behind ― that which isn’t easily removed from sand and water. It is this small percentage of oil that sits under rocks and forms a thin film on the water’s surface. Her bacterial solution can remove this oil, which is necessary to protect the sea’s wildlife.

“We see sad pictures of birds covered in oil and people with good intentions cleaning bird wings,” says Prof. Ron. “But by the time the oil is on their wings, it’s too late. Birds die because oil gets into their lungs.”

Going the last mile

“The problem is huge and even with just a little bit in your lungs, oil is bad. Even when cleanup crews reduce the amount of oil at sea, there will probably be enough left behind to kill birds and wildlife.” At this level of oil removal, the researcher says, the only solution is bioremediation ― using nature itself to do the final cleanup.

Source: Israel National News

Friendly Skies for Pets

2010-07-15T00:21:00.002-04:00

Got to send a pet by air? Then look no further than Israeli service Terminal4Pets, which helps pet owners worldwide navigate the rules and regulations of airline travel.

With 25 years of experience, Eitan Kreiner, founder of Terminal4Pets, is still pioneering new, caring ways to take your pet on airplane trips. Conveniently located in Maccabim, just 15 minutes from Israel's international airport, the company also offers a door-to-door courier service for VIPs (Very Important Pets). The company coordinates flights for animals not only from Israel, but throughout the world.

Stray dogs adopted by servicemen in Iraq have been flown to new homes in the US via Kreiner's service and he mentions that pets traveling from Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Jordan will all have their flight arrangements coordinated by Israel's Terminal 4 Pets, which functions as a headquarters for pets' flights in the region.

Source: Israel21c

Hebrew University Professor Researches the "Humble Potato"

2010-06-30T23:31:00.003-04:00

Tel Aviv CleanTech 2010 Expo

2010-06-30T00:03:00.004-04:00

The annual international event for clean technologies opened today in the Tel Aviv Fairs & Conventions Center and will continue until June 30.

Tel-Aviv CleanTech 2010 will focus on environmental quality, infrastructures and green building, renewable energy and water technologies. Participants will discuss energy, water and recycling issues and will be presented with the newest developments in the area in Israel and abroad. Delegations from across the globe, together with ministers and leading public figures in the area of ecology in Israel and worldwide are attending. The expo will also host a special convention on environmental quality and clean technologies, comprising dozens of pavilions.

The expo features hundreds of leading Israeli companies from various CleanTech areas, including government bodies, green organizations, technological greenhouses, venture funds and educational institutions active in this field. In recent years Israel has been concentrating on the interdisciplinary industry aiming at preserving the earth's resources: energy, water, and air. In the last two years, over 300 million dollars have been invested in the CleanTech industry; 320 companies in Israel specialize in the CleanTech field, especially water purification and solar energy. The scope of water technologies exports in Israel this year will stand at 1.2 billion dollars.

The 14th "CleanTech" focuses on four major areas:
- Israel's transition into a state of energetic independence on the basis of developing renewable energies;
- Coping with the global water problem as a result of population growth and the pollution of ground water reservoirs;
- Solutions and innovations in the area of energy conservation and energy efficiency improvement, including green construction and grey water solutions;
- Innovations in the areas of recycling associated with ground water pollution as well as recycling of paper, glass, plastic and nylon products in Israel and worldwide.

CleanTech 2010 website

Source: Israel Government portal

Collagen Manufactured From Transgenic Tobacco Plants Instead Of Animals

2010-06-20T04:21:00.003-04:00

A scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment has succeeded in producing a replica of human collagen from tobacco plants – an achievement with tremendous commercial implications for use in a variety of human medical procedures.

Natural human type I collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body and is the main protein found in all connective tissue. Commercially produced collagen (pro-collagen) is used in surgical implants and many wound healing devices in regenerative medicine. The current market for collagen-based medical devices in orthopedics and wound healing exceeds US $30 billion annually worldwide.

Currently, commercial collagen is produced from farm animals such as cows and pigs as well as from human cadavers.

Source: EurekAlert

French fries or batteries?

2010-06-18T16:32:00.004-04:00

Israelis have developed a way to generate a battery using the energy of boiled potatoes, creating an ecological and economical way of bringing technology to developing nations.

"The ability to provide electrical power with such simple and natural means could benefit millions of people in the developing word, literally bringing light and telecommunication to their life in areas currently lacking electrical infrastructure," Yaacov Michlin, chief executive of Yissum, said in a statement.

Kind of makes you crave latkes, doesn't it? After all, who knows about all the uses for the common spud! Read the whole article here.

Shabbat Shalom, everyone, till next time!

J

Oil Spill Exercises in Israel

2010-06-18T00:11:00.003-04:00

In recent weeks, in the shadow of the dire news concerning the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, two major oil spill exercises and training sessions took place in Israel. The drills were held with the framework of a program run by the Marine and Coastal Environment Division of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, which simulates the treatment and prevention of marine pollution by oil in the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Eilat for training purposes. They are part of a series of exercises carried out within the framework of Israel's "National Contingency Plan for Large Scale Oil Spills."

Marine Pollution Prevention Training in Ashkelon

The first training session, carried out at the end of May 2010, at the Eilat Ashkelon Oil Pipeline site in Ashkelon, covered the following subjects:
- Types of oils and fuels;
- Environmental impacts of marine pollution by oil;
- Treatment methods for oil spills at sea and shore;
- Alternative methods for biological and chemical treatment of oil spills;
- Practical exercise on deploying equipment at sea and the coast.

The training session was targeted at:
- Organizations dealing with the transport, production or maintenance of oils and fuels;
- Position holders in coastal local authorities;
- Israeli Electric Corporation personnel;
- Enforcement bodies in the Ministry of Environmental Protection including the Marine and Coastal Environment Division, the Green Police, the Nature and Parks Authority, volunteers and more.

Oil Spill Exercise in the Gulf of Eilat

On June 7, 2010, teams of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nature and Parks Authority and Eilat Underwater Observatory Marine Park successfully completed an oil pollution combat exercise in the Almog Beach in Eilat. The aim of the exercise was to test and operate the emergency plan of the Nature and Parks Authority for protecting the coral reserve from oil spills. As part of the exercise, oil containment booms were deployed around the marine reserve in order to prevent oil stains from reaching this sensitive site. In addition, fuel pumping equipment was operated and the system for the transport of the fuels to receiving tankers was activated.

Source: Israel Ministry of the Environment - News

Israel gears up for eco-tourists!

2010-06-12T23:48:00.003-04:00

The Israeli government is seeking to make Israel a cycling destination hotspot. Already popular in Europe, cycling tours enable travelers to visit a country on a bike. Israelis are seeking to create a bike path spanning the entire country, enabling a whole new level of eco-friendly travel.

It gets hot in the Middle East, especially in the summer but the absence of rainfall keeps away mosquitos so it's possible to sleep outside at night while spending days cycling around the Negev and Galilee.

Read the whole story here.

Sounds tempting to me and I think I may look into booking my cycling tour already.

Till next time,

J

Ten Negev Sites Earmarked for Solar Plants

2010-05-10T02:32:00.002-04:00

The Israel Lands Authority and the Ministry of National Infrastructures are going ahead with land tenders in outlying areas for the construction of solar energy installations. The tenders are for ten sites of 100-200 dunams (25-50 acres) each.

The Ministry of National Infrastructures hopes that the currently unused sites in industrial zones will be exploited by ventures for setting up mid-size photovoltaic installations to be connected to the national power grid, turning them into sources of green energy.

Source: Globes [online], Israel business news

Happy Birthday, Israel

2010-04-19T13:38:00.003-04:00

Tonight at sundown Jews around the world will begin celebrating the 62nd birthday of the modern nation of Israel. On the Hebrew calendar, Israel's Independence Day was the 5th day of Iyar (May 14, 1948) which this year falls on April 20th on our calendar.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of Israel. Never again will our national survival depend on the kindness of strangers.

Am Yisrael chai!

Jerusalem to Join Lights Out for Planet Earth Campaign

2010-04-17T02:26:00.002-04:00

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin are scheduled to take part in a ceremony on April 22 to turn off lights on the walls of the capital's Old City and the Tower of David as part of an annual event on behalf of energy conservation. Fourteen other Israeli cities are taking part.

The lights on the landmarks will be turned off between 8:10 and 9:10 p.m. Residents are being asked to turn off lights in their homes, businesses, offices and public buildings as well.

Source: Israel National News

Organic Approach To Pest Control

2010-04-03T03:50:00.002-04:00

Israeli researchers are trying an organic approach to pest control by releasing super-sexed but sterile male insects.

The principle is to rear millions of individuals of the species you seek to control, separate the sexes, sterilize the males and release them into the field. If the sterile males copulate with wild females, the females will be unable to lay fertile eggs, thus reducing the pest populations.

Prof. Boaz Yuval of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment is working on upgrading this veteran approach, known as the sterile insect technique. The method is currently employed against several dozen insect species.

Since the process can adversely affect the male insects' sexual competitiveness, Yuval and his fellow researchers are formulating a high-protein, bacteria enhanced "breakfast of champions" for the males which should significantly improve their sexual performance when released in the field. Their work is described in the International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal.

Yuval believes that this approach can be applied to a variety of plant and animal pests, as well as to organisms that transmit human disease.

The scientists hope to offer an efficient and promising avenue for supplying produce to the market by eliminating pests without negatively impacting human health or the environment.

Source: Israel21c

The Unique Jerusalem Bird Observatory

2010-04-01T13:50:00.001-04:00

Chag Sameach!

2010-03-29T00:17:00.001-04:00

Wishing all our fellow Jews a very happy Passover!

Eilat to have Israel's largest wind farm

2010-03-17T13:35:00.004-04:00

Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) is initiating the construction of a wind farm for the generation of electricity in the Eilat Mountains. The wind farm will be the largest of its kind in Israel.

The 50-megawatt wind farm is expected be built within 2-3 years at anticipated cost of €50-60 million.

The Israel Civil Aviation Administration is examining the plan because of the proposed site's proximity to air lanes. If it approves the plan, EAPC will build a wind measurement station at the site and open negotiations with equipment vendors at the same time.

EAPC's entry into the wind farm market could face regulatory obstacles, since it is a government company supervised by the Ministry of Finance. EAPC executives do not believe that the ministry will frustrate the project, in view of the importance of developing renewable energy projects.

Source: Globes [online]

Live Long and Prosper: Israel's Ancient Trees

2010-03-10T12:56:00.002-05:00

Uncompromising Crop Protection From Israel

2010-03-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are developing new environmentally friendly crop protection technologies.

Two Israeli companies, Yissum Research Development Company, the technology transfer arm of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Makhteshim Agan, a world leader in crop protection solutions, have signed an agreement to develop and commercialize environmentally-friendly crop protection technologies that will benefit agriculture and the environment the world over.

The first collaborative effort is for the development and commercialization of a novel methodology for producing a slow and controlled release of herbicides. It incorporates herbicides into micelles or vesicles, which are then absorbed onto negatively charged clay minerals. The special formulation enables a slow and controlled release of the herbicides, reducing leaching to deeper soil layers and contamination of soil and water. In addition, the herbicide is delivered close to its site of uptake, enhancing efficiency and reducing the required doses.

The total worldwide agricultural and non-crop herbicide market is valued at more than $15 billion, of which approximately a quarter is dedicated to soil-applied herbicides and other pesticides.

The second collaboration involves a novel insecticidal preparation combining a proprietary Chitin Synthesis Inhibitor (CSI) and a pathogenic fungus that kills caterpillars of night-flying moths, which are major pests of agriculture worldwide. Unlike common commercial preparations, the CSI, a mild insecticide, has minimal or no effect on non-target organisms and the fungus has no effect on beneficial insects.

It's an approach that emphasizes a commitment to environmental responsibility, without compromising pest control. The insecticide relies on a strong synergism between the chemical and biological components involved, thereby greatly enhancing their effects. The CSI disrupts the production of cuticle (the insects' external shield, which normally envelops and protects the insect body) so that the pathogenic fungus can easily attack the weakened caterpillars.

According to the university this means that very high levels of control can be achieved with much less CSI and fungus, minimizing environmental impact by reducing the insecticide component many-fold.

Founded in 1964, Yissum currently generates $1.2b. in annual sales from products based on Hebrew University technologies. Among Yissum's business partners are Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Teva, Intel, IBM, Phillips, Syngenta, Vilmorin and Monsanto.

Source: Israel21c

Trial Run

2010-02-24T22:45:00.003-05:00

Shekels For Clunkers!

2010-02-05T13:37:00.006-05:00

Recently, Israel started implementation of its program to get gas guzzlers off the roads.

"The orderly removal of these vehicles from the road will reduce the air pollution in cities, reduce the number of old cars abandoned in cities and at the side of the road, and increase the recycling of raw materials used to build vehicles," Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan said.

Get the whole scoop here.

Till next time,

J

SeaNergy

2010-01-22T12:11:00.005-05:00

Inspired by children playing with a beach ball at the seaside, Shlomo Gilboa an Israeli politician-turned-inventor has invested millions of his own dollars in SeaNergy, a new company and product that share a name. SeaNergy harvests the energy of ocean waves through an offshore farm of buoys.

The technology now being tested off the coast of Haifa can harness 20 times more power from wave energy than any other similar technology in existence today.

Usually, the wave comes and goes in a second, but SeaNergy harvesting system manipulates it, holding the wave level in a reservoir in the buoy, to capture it.

The buoy literally shoots up when it reaches the crest of the wave With the same impact as a ball put underwater in the swimming pool pops up in a huge burst of energy.

SeaNergy is currently working with the Israel Electric Corporation and has been endorsed by engineers at the University of Haifa.

While generating electric power, the system also produces a significant amount of carbon-free desalinated water. It is estimated that a million cubic meters of desalinated water will be produced by a SeaNergy farm that covers a 300 square meter (about 3,229 square foot) patch of water at sea. While traditional desalination plants can produce orders of magnitudes more water, unlike SeaNergy they require an extensive amount of energy input to the system.

Currently a number of large and small companies around the world are negotiating with the company about a first facility, which will require a $2 million investment for four, four-buoy clusters. According to the most conservative projection, the SeaNergy buoy system, which sits below the surface of the waves and pops up as it collects energy, can pay for itself in feed-in tariffs within three years.

Although the company was officially formed in 2008, the idea has been in development for about 15 years, and millions of dollars of personal financing were invested in the prototype. Based in Haifa, SeaNergy employs a small staff of four, but has worked with more than 100 consultants and specialists to get its prototype to ‘float.'

At the Haifa National Museum of Science SeaNergy is presented as an important and radical new green technology. In the near future, you may see its buoys bouncing around a coast near you.

Source: Israel21c

Israel's Military And Farmers Save Birds

2010-01-13T13:03:00.002-05:00

Israel's environmentalists and Israel Military Industries (IMI) are working together to help farmers and the environment and to boost the declining population of predatory birds.

The joint project turns old ammunition crates into nesting boxes for owls and kestrels, which then feast on the rodents that plague farmers' crops. Use of predatory birds rather than pesticides is both beneficial to the environment and saves the birds that were often poisoned themselves after devouring toxic prey.

At 700 shekels a piece, wooden nesting boxes were proving prohibitively expensive for the farmers, but IMI offered them all the boxes they wanted, free of charge.

The project is run by Tel Aviv University in conjunction with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and the Agriculture and Environmental Protection ministries.

It started in 1983 with 12 boxes and now there are 2,000 boxes all over Israel, many of which are made of recycled wood.

One of the project's goals is to encourage farmers to rely on predatory birds to curb the rodent population rather than on rodenticides, which are harmful to humans and the environment.

The project was recently expanded into Israel's Arab sector.

Source: Israel21c

Bill to Restrict Import of Animal-Tested Products

2010-01-07T15:56:00.001-05:00

The Knesset plenum passed in a preliminary vote a bill to ban the import of cosmetic and cleaning products that were tested on animals. The bill specifies that the proposed law would not restrict products used for purposes relevant to health. The bill was approved by a majority of 43 lawmakers, while 9 opposed.

Source: Israel National News

Israelis Against Fur

2010-01-06T10:53:00.005-05:00

Recent public opinion poll commissioned by the International Anti - Fur Coalition and Let Animals Live has shown that vast majority of Israelis oppose fur industry.

Killing animals for their fur is immoral
Agree - 86%
Disagree - 8%
No opinion - 6%

Fur industry in Israel should be prohibited
Agree - 79%
Disagree - 12%
No opinion - 9%

The survey, conducted by the Maagar Mohot polling company, questioned 542 Israeli adults and had a margin of error of 4.5%.

Among Israel's general Jewish population, 92% believe killing of animals for fur is immoral; 85% of new immigrants are also against the fur industry, as are 64% of Arab-Israelis and 61% of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews.

The ultra-Orthodox Jews want to preserve the round fur hats known as "shtreimels", which are made from rabbit, sable, stone marten, baum marten and American gray fox.

Source: YNetNews

Israeli Exports

2009-12-23T23:19:00.002-05:00

In a country with few natural resources and where the most famous body of water is the Dead Sea, Israel is looking beyond its arid landscape and taking the lead in water technology, the latest export-oriented industry to help it weather the effects of the global meltdown.

The force behind the Jewish state's entry into the budding multibillion dollar industry has been decades of expertise in satisfying local demand. Now, a growing number of Israeli firms are eyeing lucrative overseas markets, offering cutting-edge expertise in areas such as desalination technology, sewage-eating bacteria and wastewater treatment.

"Israel is definitely one of the leaders, if not the leader, when it comes to water. ... I think of Israel as the Silicon Valley of water," said Shawn Lesser, president of Sustainable World Capital, an Atlanta investment group that focuses on clean energy and water technology companies.

Reflecting the growing prominence of water technology, Israel's fastest growing technology company this year was Aqwise, a water treatment company that uses small, bacteria-dispensing plastic cubes to break down sewage, increasing treatment efficiency and capacity.

Another company, Israeli start-up TaKaDu, has found a high-tech solution to the age-old problem of leaky pipes. Instead of relying on heavy wrenches and machinery, the software firm uses advanced algorithms and mathematical models to monitor for small leaks and unusual activity that lead to costly pipe bursts. It's selling the technology to water companies. One of the first software-only solutions, TaKaDu is also conducting tests in Europe and Asia.

Water leaks cost utility companies $14 billion a year, according to a 2006 World Bank report. Halting these leaks could save enough water to meet the needs of an additional 200 million people a year, the report said.

Faced with the water shortage problem every day, Israel needs to develop technology that increases water conservation and production. Yearly consumption hovers around 200 cubic meters (7,000 cubic feet) per capita. That's about one-sixth the amount of water consumed by an average Californian.

Israel's push into water technology mirrors the aggressiveness of the resource-poor nation in other sectors. In a region where many of its neighbors hold some of the world's biggest oil reserves, Israel has none. Instead, it has long focused on high-tech development and environmental innovation.

Israeli company Netafim pioneered drip irrigation, a technique that can grow crops in harsh conditions, in the 1960s. It has since grown into a global company with $500 million in annual sales.

Thanks to advances in wastewater treatment, most of the country's agriculture is now cultivated with recycled water, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

Only recently has Israel begun to realize the enormous opportunities of exporting its technology.

Israel's Trade Ministry hopes the country can export $2.5 billion in water technology in 2011, a jump from $1.4 billion last year and $750 million two years earlier.

Source: U.S.News & World Report

88 Billion Liters Of Water A Day

2009-12-10T19:27:00.005-05:00

Eighty eight billion liters of water a day, day after day… This is how much water is lost to pinhole leaks in pipes all over the world, in rich courtiers and poor ones. And then there is oil and gas… Of course, when those leak, it’s not just about the money – environment is poisoned and wildlife is harmed.

Israeli company Curapipe, on Israel's southern coast in Ashkelon, has a new solution that can detect and repair a problem that hides below the radar of the water, oil and gas industries.

There is a known method of cleaning water mains: water maintenance teams suspend the water supply for a couple of hours while a small spongy object referred to as a 'pig' is pushed through the system using water pressure. As the pigs are propelled through the pipes they remove scale and other types of unwanted buildup. The pigs can do their work in pipes made of lead, cast iron and even concrete. Curapipe has found a way to "piggyback" on this system. It has developed a device that employs two pigs with a sealant material held between them. Pushed through the water pipes in the normal way, when the pigs encounter a crack or a leak, a composite material is squirted out to fill it in. The material then hardens in place. Once the pipe has been flushed with water to clean it, it returns to normal usage.

The company is waiting for the seal of approval from regulatory bodies and health officials attesting that the Curapipe sealant does not affect the quality of drinking water. Rough estimates are that 20 to 30 % of the water lost to leaks can be saved via the new technology.

Curapipe is now working with the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company, Israel's major oil pipeline company, to test the pigs in both water pipes and oil pipes. And after dealing with the water crisis the company hopes to be able to solve another disturbing problem, this time in natural gas mains transporting primarily methane that is about 20 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide spewed from vehicles.

Source: Israel21c

Rocket Еngines Coming To Cars

2009-12-03T06:56:00.001-05:00

With its jet turbine engines and lithium ion batteries, Israel's ETV Motors is producing clean, quiet, efficient, inexpensive, and environmentally sound personal transport.

An Award-Winning "Henhouse Of The Future"

2009-11-30T05:45:00.004-05:00

Chicken is a consumer favorite all over the world, but many people aren't happy with the way chicken arrives at their table - both from a humanitarian and an environmental point of view.

The new European Union (EU) regulations, which cover all fowl that are raised for food - and which Israel is planning to adopt as well - will go into effect in 2012. They will address concerns that most consumers, including those who don't consider themselves animal rights activists, have for the humane treatment of animals.

Henhouse cages will provide at least 116.25 square inches of space per bird (nearly double the current standard) and will allow enough space for birds to move around freely, with access to fresh air and natural light, enabling them to flap their wings, etc. Cages will be equipped with natural or artificial grass or sand, imitating the birds' natural environment, and each cage will even be equipped with soft material - a sort of 'mattress' or 'pillow' - for the birds to rest on.

To comply with the new regulations, farmers in the EU and in countries like Israel that sell poultry products in Europe will have to upgrade their henhouses. Israel's Agrotop is poised to help, with its award-winning "henhouse of the future." For Agrotop, "award-winning" isn't just corporate marketing fluff. The company really did win an award from the Ministry of Agriculture this year for its new industrial chicken coop design, which not only meets the new EU standards, but also is completely "green".

The coops are designed to physically match their surroundings, so that the natural beauty of the area where they are built will not be compromised. The coop is raised off the ground, ensuring that it remains a closed system that does not affect the surrounding environment - not even the grass or topsoil on which it stands.

The coops are built with recycled material wherever possible. Plus, they recycle the water, process the chicken waste to manufacture biofuels, and use wind and solar power to generate electricity.

Source: Israel21c

No Hungry Cats in Tel Aviv!

2009-11-29T12:17:00.004-05:00

The SOS Pet Association announced today that they would be launching a campaign to feed stray cats in Tel Aviv. Starting Monday, 350 feeding bowls will be distributed throughout the city to feed the hungry felines!

Initially, SOS Pet Association volunteers will be filling the bowls but the hope is that city residents will soon take over and fill the feeding bowls themselves.

Another goal of this campaign is to spay the cats so they won't continue to reproduce.

It's great to see Israelis taking the initiative to address a very important problem that seems to be happening everywhere.

Read the entire article here.

Off to feed my own felines, till next time!

J

Waste Not, Want Not

2009-11-23T04:53:00.003-05:00

Like death and taxes, garbage is inevitable. And with environmental concerns growing, cities across the globe are searching for smarter ways to dispose of their trash.

Sydney and Santa Barbara are among the cities that are now working with Arrow Ecology, an Israeli company whose revolutionary, ecologically sensible method sorts huge volumes of solid waste, salvages recyclables, and turns the rest into "green" biogas and rich agricultural compost.
The ArrowBio patented system takes trash directly from collection trucks and separates organic and inorganic materials through gravitational settling, screening, and hydro-mechanical shredding.

The process is similar to panning for gold. The water used by ArrowBio comes from the moisture in the trash. Any excess water is discharged into the public sewage system or biological treatment plant. Similarly, a small fraction of the resulting methane biogas powers the process itself and the rest is made available for municipal energy needs.

The system can handle any proportion of organic-to-inorganic waste. In the Middle East and Asia, biodegradable organic matter may comprise up to 90 percent of the waste stream, while European and North American municipal solid waste generally contains less than 50 percent organics. The flexibility of the system is the key to its success in locales as diverse as California, Australia, Greece, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Israel.

The facility in Sydney, for example, was installed in July 2008 and treats 270 tons of municipal solid waste every day - diverting the equivalent of 9,000 garbage trucks per year from landfills, and generating greenhouse gas savings equivalent to taking about 8,000 cars off the road. An ArrowBio plant that has been operational at the Hiriya landfill site since December 2003 serves the Tel Aviv area, and processes up to 150 tons of garbage a day.

Source: Israel21c

Bye Bye, Bacteria And Fungi!

2009-11-21T07:01:00.004-05:00

Yissum, the technology transfer arm of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, introduced a novel method for preventing and affecting biofilm of bacteria and fungi at the WATEC Conference, held in Tel Aviv, Israel on November 17-19, 2009. The invention, developed jointly by the Hadassah Medical Organization and Hebrew University of Jerusalem (the Faculty of Dental Medicine and the Institute of Drug Research), utilizes novel heterocyclic compounds that disrupt cell-cell communication, thereby interfering with the formation of biofilms. Unlike the use of antibiotics which often induce formation of resistant strains, the compounds do not need to kill the microorganisms that cause the biofilms.

The novel compounds will be used as a coating on pipes, filters, membranes, air conditioning ducts and other surfaces in contact with water prone to formation of biofilms. The coating is environmentally friendly and effective against both fungal and bacterial biofilms.

Biofilm-related problems cost industry tens of billions of dollars annually by corroding pipes, reducing heat transfer or hydraulic pressure in industrial cooling systems, plugging water injection jets, and clogging water filter and pipes. The novel invention can be used for industrial water treatment, prevention of biofilm formation on filtration membranes, paints and coatings, irrigation pipelines and swimming pools. It can be used for household cleaning, and more. It will also lower costs of desalination and water recycling processes by reducing energy consumption due to corroded or clogged pipes.

About Yissum

Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ltd. was founded in 1964 to protect and commercialize the Hebrew University’s intellectual property. Products based on Hebrew University technologies that have been commercialized by Yissum currently generate $1.2 Billion in annual sales. Ranked among the top technology transfer companies in the world, Yissum has registered over 6,100 patents covering 1,750 inventions; has licensed out 480 technologies and has spun-off 65 companies. Yissum’s business partners span the globe and include companies such as Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Teva, Intel, IBM, Phillips, Sygenta, Vilmorin, Monsanto and many more. For further information please visit www.yissum.co.il.

Source: Business Wire

Tel Aviv Municipality Bans Horse-Drawn Carts

2009-11-16T03:35:00.003-05:00

CHAI (Live) and HaKol Chai (They All Live) animal rights groups’ campaign to ban cart horses in Tel Aviv, and eventually around the country, achieved its first goal with the banning of horse-drawn carts from Tel Aviv streets. For over a decade, CHAI and its sister charity in Israel, Hakol Chai, pressured the Tel Aviv municipality to regulate, and later to ban, the practice of horses pulling heavily-laden carts through city streets. These animals are often starved, beaten, made to work in the hot sun without water, and not provided with veterinary care. CHAI was the first organization to raise this issue and the first to undertake a campaign to ban horse-drawn carts.

CHAI first presented its concerns to city officials in 1999. When they were rebuffed, CHAI repeatedly exposed incidents of horse abuse in Jaffa, the old part of Tel Aviv, and rescued and rehabilitated abused horses. In 2005, Hakol Chai’s attorney wrote letters to the Ministry of Transportation, the Tel Aviv Mayor, and other mayors around the country to raise awareness of the issue and to call for a ban on the practice. Hakol Chai also organized an international letter writing campaign to government officials. Hakol Chai’s formal written proposal to the City Council resulted in the Council holding a special meeting to discuss the issue. The municipal veterinarian at last sided with Hakol Chai in saying only a ban, not regulations, would work because the city lacks the funds to inspect horses and has no facility to house them when they are removed from their abusers. The Mayor, pressured by cart owners, continued to decline to impose a ban. In 2009, 350 supporters of Hakol Chai’s campaign crowded into a Tel Aviv venue featuring a protest concert at which popular Israeli singers volunteered to perform. This event was a part of an international coalition of organizations throughout the world called Horses Without Carriages International that seeks to end horse-drawn carts and carriages. At long last, Tel Aviv’s Mayor issued a ban. Hakol Chai is planning to continue to pressure mayors of other cities around the country into doing the same.

Source: CHAI / Hakol Chai press release

Going Down The Drain

2009-11-14T05:16:00.004-05:00

Sewage - human, agricultural and industrial - is an enormous untapped energy source. It represents some of the world's finest biological matter, and in America, as elsewhere, it is literally going down the drain.

Recognizing sewage as a resource and alternative source of energy, Israeli company Applied CleanTech is ready to commercialize its mechanical and chemical solution that separates sewage into raw materials like cellulose and oil. The company further aims to collect every bit of solid waste that ends up at the water treatment plant, and recycle it into valuable raw materials.

Applied CleanTech's sewage recycling system reduces a sewage treatment plant's solid waste output by about 60 percent. This means the company can increase treatment plant capacity so that towns and cities can handle population growth without building new plants.

Doing the math, about 40 to 50 percent of the solids in the sewage system are made from cellulose fibers. Taking into account that humans don't digest cellulose, and that numbers can change depending on whether the plant serves Manhattan or an industrial zone, about 10 to 15% of these cellulose fibers in sewage come from our excrement, while the rest - about 85% - come from toilet paper and other cloth fibers that are flushed away. Cellulose is a raw material that can undergo a chemical process to become a valuable biofuel known as ethanol.

Applied CleanTech also collects oil from water. The oil in the water poses a huge problem for farmers using recycled gray water for irrigation because it creates hydrophobic soil, which doesn't absorb water well.

The main issue with the wastewater industry is dealing with the formation of sludge. Sludge is costly to deal with and it limits the capacity of a treatment plant. The cellulose and the oil are the hard-to-digest materials in the treatment plant digesters. When they are extracted, the wastewater treatment becomes more efficient. This also means that carbon credits can be generated.

Applied CleanTech is based in Hadera, not far from Haifa, and employs a staff of six.

Source: Israel21c

Israel is No. 5 on Top 10 Cleantech List

2009-11-13T04:35:00.006-05:00

Israel is No. 5 on the top 10 list of cleantech countries of 2009 compiled by Sustainable World Capital's Shawn Lesser. His ranking is based on government initiatives and programs, large investment mandates, entrepreneurial innovation as well as cultural and social drivers:

1. Denmark
2. Germany
3. Sweden
4. The United Kingdom
5. Israel
6. Switzerland
7. The United States
8. United Arab Emirates
9. China
10. Canada

Israel, the 'Silicon Valley' of water technology, is fast becoming the cleantech incubator to the world (see Israel to export $2.5B in water technologies by 2011). Israel recycles 75 percent of its wastewater, invented drip irrigation, and is home to the world's largest reverse osmosis desalination plant (see Israel plans largest desal plant in $513M deal). Israel certainly isn't the world's biggest cleantech market, but it might just be one of the world's most important centers of cleantech innovation and R&D, with innovative companies such as CellEra, Aqwise, and Emefcy. Better Place is also making Israel the first test-market for a nationwide electric vehicle recharge network (see Electric cars are coming to Israel). Leading Israeli VCs include Israel Cleantech, Aqua Argo Fund and Terra Ventures.

Source: Cleantech Group LLC

Concern for Helping Animals in Israel -- CHAI

2009-11-07T06:10:00.000-05:00

Meet Taga

2009-10-21T00:15:00.003-04:00

Urban parents are all too familiar with the hassles of driving and parking in the city. Whether it's taking the kids to school or doing the daily round of errands, using a car isn't good for the environment or your peace of mind.

A new Dutch-Israeli company called Taga has come up with a solution that environmentally conscious families will love. Last fall, the company rolled out its new hybrid stroller-bicycle which it dubbed the Taga.

Four years in the making, and perfectly matched to city life, in a matter of seconds the three-wheeler can be smoothly folded into a new shape. One minute it's a comfortable bike with a child's seat in the front, and the next it's an attractive sturdy stroller. And the driver gets a health-enhancing workout while he or she enjoys the ride.

"A multifunctional urban vehicle for parents, not a bike or a stroller but a whole new concept," is how Taga's Hagai Barak describes this novel form of urban child transport, made chic.

After years of market research, the Taga is perfect for urban living, where people need to move from sidewalks to public transport to shops, with kids in tow, and where parking is scarce.

A winner of a number of prestigious European cycling awards - including the King-Jugend Innovation Award 2008, the Eurobike award and the Red Dot Design Award 2009, Taga should be on sale in the US in 2010.

The Taga team conducted a rigorous survey of parents from the US and Europe, to find out what they most want and need. Guided by responses, the Taga designers in Holland (where some of the major shareholders reside) and Israel meticulously designed the optimal newborn to teen transportation machine that has zero carbon emissions.

While at around $1,800 in the US and EU 1,800 in Europe it's more than double the price of its most serious competitor, the Dutch Bugaboo, the Taga is built to last - from birth through a child's teen years and beyond. It's clearly an easy resell on sites like eBay or Craig's List and is durable enough to be passed along to friends and relatives.

In Europe some people are buying the Taga instead of a second car, and in cities like New York it may replace the car altogether. So far, the Taga is available in 10 European countries, including France, Spain and the UK, where it can be bought in about 20 stores.

With no fuel costs, no parking fees, no carbon dioxide emissions and all the exercise you get while the kids are smiling, the company believes that the Taga will be a strong seller.

While it targets an upscale market, hopefully the Taga will inspire product designers to broaden the transport options for young urbanites.

Source: Israel21c

Congratulations to Israeli scientist Ada Yonath!

2009-10-07T20:14:00.006-04:00

Zoya and I wanted to take this moment to congratulate Professor Yonath and all of Israel for this exciting turn of events--Professor Yonath is only the fourth woman to win the Nobel prize in Chemistry and the first woman since 1964. Professor Yonath's work offers a great deal of contribution to the development of more effective antibiotics which will have the potential to treat infections that were otherwise drug resistant.

While it's not exactly a matter of being Earth friendly and animal loving, we wanted to take a moment to say mazel tov and to express the hope that science can work with nature to make this world a little healthier and greener.

Btw, Zoya is a bit on the modest side so she'll never admit it but she too is a fellow chemist, complete with her doctorate in chemistry so I know she is especially excited for Professor Yonath.

Read the whole story here, and hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

Till next time,

J

Oh, How I Hope It’s A Girl!

2009-10-06T04:52:00.011-04:00

The Kingdom of Judea was known as the land of Judean date palm just as my home state Illinois is known as the “Land of Lincoln“. Prized for its beauty, shade, and medicinal properties, Judean dates were famous throughout the civilized world. The tree so defined the local economy that Emperor Vespasian celebrated the conquest by minting the "Judaea Capta", a special bronze coin that showed the Jewish state as a weeping woman beneath a date palm. The date growing as a commercial fruit export stopped at the end of 70 CE, when the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans. From then, the tradition was lost and Judean date palms became extinct. This symbol of grace and elegance was lost, but not forgotten. It was featured on the 10-shekel coin of the New Israeli Shekel.

In the 1970s, during excavations at Herod the Great's palace on Masada in Israel, two thousand year old Judean date palm seeds were recovered. The cache of seeds was contained in an ancient jar, in very dry conditions sheltered from the elements, which helped preserve the seeds. Radiocarbon dating at the University of Zurich confirmed the age of the seeds at 2000 ±50 years. After their discovery, the seeds were held in storage for 30 years at Bar-Ilan University.

On 25 January 2005, the Jewish festival of Tu Bishvat (Arbor Day), Dr. Elaine Solowey, a specialist in rare and medicinal plants at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies pretreated several of the seeds in a fertilizer and hormone-rich solution. She then planted three of the seeds at Kibbutz Ketura in the Arabah desert of southern Israel. One of the seeds sprouted six weeks later.

The plant has been nicknamed "Methuselah," after the longest-lived person in the Bible. Methuselah is remarkable in being the oldest known tree seed successfully germinated, and also in being the only living representative of the Judean date palm, a tree extinct for over 1800 years.

Researchers say it is still not clear whether the sprout is a male or female – but if it's a "girl", the research team led by Dr. Sarah Sallon at the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center, part of the Hadassah medical organization, says "she" could bear fruit as early as 2010. Methuselah's seeds could then be used to cultivate additional date palm trees.

When compared with three other cultivars of date palm, genetic tests showed the plant to be most closely related to the old Egyptian variety Hayany, 13% of its DNA being different. They may have shared the same wild ancestor.

Dr. Sarah Sallon, the head of the project, wants to see if the ancient tree has any unique medicinal properties no longer found in today's date palm varieties. “The Judean date was used for all kinds of things from fertility, to aphrodisiacs, against infections, against tumors,” she said. “This is all part of the folk story.”

Spain Disqualifies Israeli Team From Bi-Annual Solar Decathlon

2009-09-23T05:14:00.004-04:00

The Spanish Government has disqualified the Israeli team from the bi-annual Solar Decathlon because the team is located in “occupied territory” - Samaria. Engineers, architects, solar experts and other visitors to the Solar Decathlon will thus be denied the opportunity to study and benefit from the solar-powered energy-economical “Stretch House” designed and built by students of the Ariel University Center of Samaria.

The Solar Decathlon, organized by the U.S. Department of Energy, has taken place until now in Washington, D.C., but is to take place next month in Spain under the terms of a 2007 agreement between the U.S. and Spain.

The competition features 20 teams from universities around the world that have worked for two years to design and build self-sufficient houses using solar power as their only source of energy. The Israeli team even received 100,000 Euros from the competition organizers to build a 75-square-meter model house in the final stage,

The Ariel University released a statement accusing Spain of violating international charters regarding academic freedom.

Ariel University announced in response that “together with the Foreign Ministry and the Organization of Universities Against Academic Boycotts, we will take all measures to liquidate this phenomenon, which stands in opposition to all standards of scientific and academic freedom.”

Prof. Pascal Rolette, Dean of the School of Architecture in Grenoble, France, wrote to Ariel, “I do not agree with the Spanish decision, because the activity of Ariel University is designed towards academic excellence on behalf of peace. Accept my utmost support in this difficult situation.”

The houses must compete in ten contests: Architecture, Market Viability, Engineering, Lighting Design, Communications, Comfort Zone, Hot Water, Appliances, Home Entertainment, and Net Metering (producing as much energy as the house needs or, preferably, more).

The Ariel University students designed a building they call the “Stretch House.” Inspired by the "Tent of Abraham," the Stretch House is modular, versatile, welcoming and expandable according to its owner's wishes. In its closed state, when additional space is not required, it uses only half the energy necessary to operate a regular house, and when needed, it opens up - much like a modern tent – to include an extra room and more.

The interdisciplinary team of Ariel University students that worked on the project study in various faculties of the university, including Civil and Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Economics and Business Administration, Mass Media and Architecture.

Original source - Israel National News

I am much too disgusted to comment. I will say, however, that Spain must not be allowed to host this competition anymore - or any other international event for that matter.

Zenith turns an Israeli kibbutz solar

2009-09-20T06:06:00.003-04:00

Better Place to Market Renault Electric Cars in Israel

2009-09-18T00:38:00.004-04:00

The first Renault electric cars will be available to Israelis beginning in 2008, after Shai Agassi's Better Place, which is building the infrastructure for electric cars in Israel, signed an agreement with Renault this week for the import of the Fluence ZE model. Better Place will handle the importing and sales, with motorists who buy electric cars "subscribing" to their battery refueling services. Better Place has committed to selling a total of 100,000 vehicles in Israel by 2016.

The FluenceZE is a family size sedan, capable of doing travelling up to 160 KM (100 miles) on single charge. Better Place has designed a battery changing system that can replace an empty battery with a full one within five minutes.

Source: Israel National News

Half of Cars Sold in 2020 to be Electric

2009-09-16T04:08:00.005-04:00

Better Place founder and CEO Shai Agassi, whose company will be providing services for electric cars in Israel and other countries, says he believes that at least half the cars that will be sold by 2020 will be electric cars. Agassi was speaking at a press conference at the Frankfurt Motor Show Tuesday.

According to the company, some 50 companies have already signed up to buy services from Better Place for electric cars they plan to purchase, representing some 35,000 vehicles. Among the companies planning to convert much of their Israeli fleets to electric cars are Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, Fedex, and others.

Source: Israel National News

One Day in September

2009-09-11T12:36:00.004-04:00

Well, today is a bit of a melancholy day due to the significance of what happened in New York 8 years ago. It's hard to believe it's been 8 years, isn't it? At any rate, I had written a poem on 9/11/02 in the parking lot of a mechanic shop while I was waiting for them to change my oil. This poem was written on the back of a visitor parking pass I'd found in my car. It's not the greatest poem but remember that it was written in about 3 minutes in a parking lot. Just thought I'd share...please take a moment of silence to remember. This post is obviously not about Israel or any liberal issues but the moment to change the world is ours and days like this remind me of that.

One Day in September by Jennifer Newman

One day in September
We went about our day
Didn't know what was coming
Didn't know what to say

One day in September
We didn't suspect a thing
Didn't realize how much they hated us
Or foresee how much evil they could bring.

One day in September
They took everything we had
All our dreams and aspirations
A bizarre deed of the sick and the mad

One day in September
We didn't know just how strong we could be
We came together as a nation
In celebration of liberty

One day in September
A weapon became of a jet
We remember all the fallen
And we must never forget

One day in September
We stop to ponder and pray
We will overcome our enemies
And they won't take our freedom away

One day in September
I promise to remember
Nine eleven
One door away from Heaven....

Zionist Pigs

2009-09-08T05:38:00.004-04:00

I am thinking I may have to abandon the Zionist cause. Just look at what Israeli Jews are doing to animals! Picture a classroom full of wild pigs. Picture menacing-looking Jews telling them that they will not be allowed to leave until they master several halakhic intricacies. I bet you, they even make pigs sign something. Why, you ask? These wild pigs are terrorists in training, that's why! According to the Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency closely associated with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, Israeli settlers in the West Bank are engineering wild pig attacks to prevent Arabs from making use of their harvest. The pigs are expected to differentiate between Jews and Arabs, which is hard enough for a human being – with all that Jewish mother and conversion mess. And they don’t even get a compass to find their way home!

Israeli Arutz Sheva also reports that there are allegations of Zionist use of rats and snakes that are trained to search out and attack Arabs. I couldn’t find corroborating information from other sources, but if I do, I might have to leave Judaism altogether!

Israeli Company Produces Biodegradable Bottle

2009-08-31T00:28:00.006-04:00

A biodegradable, environmentally-friendly plastic bottle made in Israel from corn could be hitting the market soon.

Instead of oil-based plastic, Kibbutz Ashdot Yakov’s Log plastics manufacturing company discovered a production method using a corn starch polymer to make the transparent disintegrating bottles. While there are several companies in the world currently producing disintegrating bottles, the Israeli version is believed to be the world’s first to also include a disintegrating label made from corn.

Only the bottle’s cap is made from regular plastic.

The bottles were produced by a joint venture between Eco Joe, an environmentally friendly disposable items distributor, the Log company, and the Mei Bat water company. The first 5,000 bottles are scheduled to be distributed to guests of next week’s Plasto Ispak plastics exhibition at the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center in Tel Aviv.

Despite being of slightly harder consistency, the company says it is difficult to tell the difference between the corn bottles and their regular plastic counterparts. Following consumer use of the bottle, the corn bottles disintegrate without a trace within 90 days if placed in compost (organic fertilizer). The bottle’s only drawback is that only a small percentage of Israelis currently take appropriate household waste to a composting facility.

As a result, marketing will begin on a small scale. "There’s no point in flooding the market when anyway it won’t decompose since most Israelis still don’t compost their waste in the house or yard,” said Eco Joe Chairman Avner Inbar.

"We hope that Israel will start pushing advanced waste treatment methods which are more environmentally safe. Then we will be able to widely market the bottle,” Inbar said, promising that the biodegradable water bottles would only be slightly more expensive than regular bottles.

Source: Israel National News

Here Comes The Rain Again

2009-08-28T22:54:00.008-04:00

As the saying goes, Israelis made the desert bloom. In spite of that, there is no abundance of water in the desert and there is a water shortage altogether throughout the entire Middle East. So what's an Israeli to do? Fly a kite, er, I mean an airplane! More specifically, a solar powered drone that coasts through the atmosphere, pulling in water and dropping it to the ground in the form of man-made rainfall.

Who said a man can't play Mother Nature? Certainly not Mayer Fitoussi, CEO of Aqua Soft, an Israeli company in Haifa that solves our normal, day to day problems with the greenest of notions. And the best part is that the higher it flies, the wetter things get on the ground.

Get the entire scoop here.

Off to chase some rainbows of my own, till next time!

J

Solar Energy Systems Installed on Tel Aviv Schools

2009-08-28T04:26:00.003-04:00

Installation of photovoltaic solar energy systems on the roofs of the Golomb and Rokach schools in Tel Aviv has been completed. Sunday Solar Energy and Rand Metal and Enamel Industries finished the project three months after winning a Tel Aviv-Jaffa Economic Development Authority tender.

The project represents Israel's first tender for public school solar installation. The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality said it intends to expand the program to more schools in the city.

Source: Israel National News

Ben Gurion Airport to install solar energy systems

2009-08-24T15:49:00.008-04:00

The Israel Airports Authority plans to install a pilot 50-kilowatt solar energy system on a 500 square meters area at the long-term parking lot. The size of the project is limited to the amount of electricity that can be sold by private power producers to Israel Electric Corporation (IEC).

The Airports Authority aims to earn NIS 400,000 a year from the system, which will provide electricity to the airport. The Airports Authority has not yet estimated the investment needed in the pilot project, which if successful, will be expanded to border terminals.

Planning for the solar energy project should last through the end of the year. At the same time, the Airports Authority is undertaking energy conservation measures to reduce its NIS 60 million energy cost by 15%, or NIS 7.5 million, in 2009.

The plan aims to turn Ben Gurion Airport into an environmental leader.

Source: Globes [online]

Globe Ecological Hub Coming Soon to an Israeli City

2009-08-17T18:53:00.003-04:00

Israeli architect Zvika Tamari has his visions set on a rather unusual and unconventional project -- an eco-dome located between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, surrounded by green spaces and designed to promote sustainable living. Reusing water for irrigation, natural ventilation and solar energy are among the ways this eco-dome would bring the concept of modern, green living to a whole new level.

Get all the juicy, green details here.

The closest I'll come to an eco-dome is my caterpillar hatching into butterflies ecosystem I created (sounds hard but it's really easy) so I'm off to seek out more caterpillars, till next time!

J

Why There Is No Peace Under The Olive Trees

2009-08-16T02:22:00.010-04:00

I still remember the September '05 news lines announcing that Israel completely withdrew from Gaza. Palestinians were celebrating by ravaging synagogues and greenhouses and splashing in the crystal-blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Every news article I read spoke of those crystal-blue waters. If you look at the map, you will not find rivers or lakes in Gaza. But there are rivers and lakes – rivers and lakes of raw sewage that are making people sick. Raw sewage is flowing freely into the sea that is not crystal blue anymore.

Ilan Juran, an American-Israeli specialist in urban infrastructure, proposed a joint project to build a new recycling and water management system for Gaza City and its surrounding villages modeled on the water treatment facility in Ashkelon.

Mayor of Ashkelon Benny Vaknin went to Brazil to present the idea to the XVII International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East, a conference on Middle East peacemaking co-hosted by the United Nations' Department of Public Information and the Brazilian government at the end of July.

It was hoped that officials from both sides would sign the agreement in Rio de Janeiro, but despite permits to travel being arranged by the Israeli side, two days before the conference, Mayor of Gaza City Maged Abu Ramadan and his officials were refused permission to travel by Hamas.

Palestinians from the West Bank and East Jerusalem did attend the event, however, and they signed their names on the water works plan, without the consent of Hamas officials.

Israel will raise more than $50 million needed for the project. Israel will provide the blueprints and specialists. All that is required of Hamas government in Gaza is to accept, no strings attached. But they will not.

And this is, in a nutshell, why there is no peace under the olive trees, 61 years and counting.

Original report: Israel21c

Ban On Force-Feeding Of Animals

2009-08-09T01:12:00.000-04:00

Foie gras production methods, and force-feeding in particular, really do constitute an awful mistreatment of animals. Animal rights groups have been fighting to ban the practice of force-feeding for years, and I wouldn’t call the current results a great success. Here is what we have so far:

Europe
The force feeding of animals for non-medical purposes, essential to current foie gras production practices, is explicitly prohibited by specific laws in 6 of 9 Austrian provinces, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, or following interpretation of general animal protection laws in Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. However, foie gras can still be imported into and purchased in these countries. Most of these countries aren't currently producing foie gras, nor have they been in the past.

Turkey has also banned the force-feeding of animals on June 24, 2004 by the enactment of the animal protection law.

Since 1997, the number of European countries producing foie gras has been cut in half. Five countries still produce foie gras: Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, France and Hungary.

United States
State of California: The California Health and Safety Code, enacted in 2004 and to become effective July 2012, prohibits force-feeding as well as the sale of foie gras.
City of Chicago: The Chicago City Council voted to ban the sale of foie gras, effective 22 August 2006. Following Mayor Richard Daley’s objections the City Council overwhelmingly repealed Chicago's ban on May 14, 2008.

Elsewhere in the world
Argentina: Foie gras production is illegal as a mistreatment or act of cruelty to animals.

Israel: In August 2003, the Supreme Court of Israel ordered the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture to ban the force-feeding, effective March 31, 2005.

Made In Israel To Save Animals Everywhere

2009-08-07T01:53:00.008-04:00

I strongly believe that concern for the wellbeing of animals is a necessary attribute of a civilized person – or a civilized country. Israelis certainly subscribe to this notion. In fact, Israel can share with the world its success story in animal adoption efforts. What they did was simple yet effective – a national database of animals needing adoption. True, maybe a country that is more substantial than a tiny speck on the world map doesn’t need a nationwide database. Maybe all we need is something on a smaller scale…

As I was browsing the web, I stumbled on a product built in Israel and offered free of charge to anyone who cares enough to use it. MyPetAdopt is a new solution for a community-based pet adoption website built on Joomla 1.5.x content management system foundation. To quote the El-Tech Elharar Techonology company website, “the main goal of this project is to save as many souls as possible”.

Please visit El-Tech Elharar Techonology to see a demo or to download the software.

Joint Israeli-Jordanian Biofuel Project

2009-08-02T16:58:00.003-04:00

Israel and Jordan are joining forces to produce biofuel from agricultural waste in a project which will be showcased at Israel’s Water Technologies and Environmental Control Exhibition (WATEC) this November. Run in cooperation with the Peres Center for Peace and using German technology, the project produces biofuel energy without harming food production and offers an alternative for removal and treatment of agricultural waste.
According to a report published on Green Prophet, the proposed project aims to naturally generate 8 million liters of biofuel from over 15,000 tons of dry organic waste, while running exclusively on its own independently produced energy and emitting no pollutants. Biofuels received negative publicity last year after farmers began growing crops solely for the production of bio-fuel rather than food, and were blamed with sparking the global food crisis.

Negev Desert: Strawberry Fields Forever

2009-07-28T23:40:00.005-04:00

Whenever I think of them, I can’t resist that Homer Simpson-style exclamation “Mmmm, strawberries….” But do strawberry fields and the desert go together? I guess so, surprising as it is! Here are some details for the technically inclined:

General description of the method: Strawberries are grown in detached, small volume plastic foam containers in beds hanging on the greenhouse construction above the soil surface. The container is placed on a drainpipe, which enables drainage and collection of the drained water. The greenhouses are highly computerized and powered with solar energy.
Advantages of the method: Extremely high yields, optimal utilization of greenhouse area, maximum work convenience, relatively disease-free crops, relatively low costs, collection and recycling of drainage water.
Disadvantage of the method: The greenhouse construction requires special support.

And here are some pictures for the visually/romantically inclined:

Golda Meir once said, “We do not rejoice in victories. We rejoice when a new kind of cotton is grown and when strawberries bloom in Israel.“ And so they grow in the sand just about year round. I think I know exactly how Golda felt.

Please visit the web site of The Negev Foundation to learn more about sustainable desert development efforts.

New Electricity Initiative: Use Less, Save More

2009-07-23T12:25:00.004-04:00

A new National Infrastructure Ministry plan to address the shortage of electricity and reduce air pollution will offer a 20 percent discount on electricity used to households that lower their electricity consumption by 20 percent. The ministry hopes to launch the initiative in August on a trial basis.

"Implementing such a move would help the consumer and the Israel Electric Corp save money and benefit the environment," said the ministry's Director General Shaul Zemach. The model is based on a plan successfully implemented in California since 2001 in which 34 percent of consumers have been able to reduce at least 20 percent of their electricity consumption.

Source: Israel National News

Chief Scientist instructed to give cleantech priority

2009-07-22T12:50:00.006-04:00

Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Benjamin Ben-Eliezer has instructed the Chief Scientist Dr. Eli Opper and Investment Promotion Center director Hezi Zaieg to give priority to cleantech.
Ben-Eliezer was prompted by the severe water crisis, and the realization that Israel must join developed countries to develop clean energy sources to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Ben-Eliezer's instructions will mainly affect funding applications submitted to the Chief Scientist for cleantech projects, such as renewable energy, carbon storage, energy saving, and water solutions. The Investment Center will also review applications for recycling projects.
Until now, the Ministry of Industry has given priority to nanotechnology and biomedical projects. The new priority for cleantech is not supposed to come at the expense of these two fields, but in addition to them.
The main significance of the decision is that cleantech projects worthy of support will be eligible for the maximum grants. Chief Scientist grants cover 20-50% of a project's cost, and Investment Center grants cover up to 24% of a project's cost.
Israel has already demonstrated itself to be an up-and-coming cleantech developer. The United Nations recently recognized the Jewish state as the world leader in water recycling.
A May 2009 Businessweek article entitled "Israel's Clean Technology Pioneers" emphasized various cleantech businesses which have caught the eye of U.S. venture capitalists, including a geothermal energy plant, solar technology works, and a desert fish farm using recycled spa water, which then channels the used water to an olive grove.
Source: GLOBES[online]

Some good news for bees!

2009-07-21T14:08:00.008-04:00

Bees may sting but we couldn't survive without them--they pollinate nearly everything we plant and we'd have no agriculture and no way of growing food without them. Kudos to Israel for saving the bees!

Off to grab some milk and honey, till next time!

J

"Garbage Power" to Turn on the Lights at Sharon Park

2009-07-21T01:14:00.002-04:00

The largest and most ambitious "green" project in Israel – and ranking up with the top urban reclamation projects worldwide – gets a huge boost Sunday night, when the lighting system at Sharon Park will be turned on for the first time. But the lights won't use power from the electrical grid. The system will instead be powered by the recycled trash upon which Sharon Park is being built, with bio-gasses that have been festering on the site for decades to be used to power the lights.

Development at Sharon Park, also known as the former site of the Hiriya Dump, has been underway since 2007. At 8,000 dunams, it is the largest urban green space in the country, and one of the largest in the world. Current estimates say the park will be completed only between 2015 and 2020, but various sections of the park, including the Menachem Begin Park section, have been opening slowly as development continues. Visitors can already hike or ride bikes on several footpaths and bike paths, and a recycling museum and a small zoo are also currently open.

Hiriya was used as a dump between 1952 and 1998, and grew to encompass 112 acres, with its centerpiece a "garbage mountain" that reached 200 feet at its highest, with some 565 million cubic feet of garbage slowly decomposing underneath.

The park itself is also being developed with trash, which is being converted into mulch after recycling (and the removal of all dangerous components). According to officials in the Dan Region, the park will eventually save the Israel tens of millions of shekels, as hard-to-dispose-of items, such as building materials, will be recycled into sidewalks, pathways, and buildings in the park.

To learn more, please visit Ayalon-Park web site.

Got Hybrid?

2009-07-19T12:37:00.007-04:00

If you drive a hybrid, you are undoubtedly paying less at the pump than your SUV driving counterparts. Here in the US, that is a tremendous incentive. But what if Uncle Sam also gave you a tax break just because you're giving the planet a pollution break? That's the intention of the Israel Finance Ministry--offering special discounts on hybrids and in turn adding additional taxes and duties on gas guzzlers. The Ministry hopes that this will encourage Israelis to love the Earth even more by buying eco friendly cars and hopefully dumping their older, less efficient, more pollution inducing cars. Let's hope it works, keep it green, Israel!

A special thanks to Kendall Toyota in Miami, FL for letting me use this red Prius in the picture as a model for this post. They even have an Israeli flag among their flag display in their showroom! Please check out their website!

To learn more about Israel's incentives toward eco-friendly cars, please check out this article.

I'm off to seek out a Prius of my own, or at least to find some more flowers to photograph, till next time!

New Reversible, Green Window Technology

2009-07-15T23:42:00.003-04:00

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have developed a new, highly energy-efficient window technology, featuring two reversible panes that will save energy all year round in homes and office buildings.

The "Seasons Window" features the only glazing system that permits effective passive heating in winter without glare or high radiant temperature near a window and reduces unwanted solar gains in summer without obstructing the view outdoors.

The reversible window system technology features two panes: one clear, airtight pane, and a smaller, tinted glass with an opening on top and bottom, which allows air to circulate between the panes. The window panes are fixed to a single frame and can be swiveled easily in response to changing weather. The window system is intended for buildings in sunny regions with distinct hot and cold seasons.

In winter, short wave solar radiation is transmitted through the clear glass, and is absorbed by the tinted glass which faces indoors. The interior is heated in two ways: by long wave radiation emitted from the warm tinted pane, and by heating of the air in contact with the warm glass, which flows through the gap between the panes and returns to a room as much a 20°c. warmer. The clear pane -- preferably double-glazed with a low-E (emittance) coating -- traps heat inside the building.

In summer, the glass panes are easily rotated so the tinted glass faces outward and absorbs the warm solar rays. This pane is then cooled by the outside air circulating between the two panes. The clear glass pane, which is on the interior, absorbs unwanted infrared radiation from the warmer exterior pane and helps to reduce a building's cooling loads.

Source: EurekAlert!

Generating Electricity from Road Traffic

2009-07-12T14:10:00.009-04:00

Researchers at Haifa's Technion Institute of Technology have started testing a new system for generating electricity from road traffic on a 30-meter strip of highway near Tel Aviv.

The system is based on piezo electricity, which uses pads of metallic crystals buried over hundreds of meters of road to generate electricity when put under the pressure of quickly moving traffic.

While the concept is not new, the application is a novelty. One truck can generate 2,000 volts which could already be used to power traffic lights or street lamps. A kilometer of “electric road” could generate enough power for 40 houses, and progress in the technology could generate enough electricity to feed the national power grid.

A company called Innowattech is working with the team to develop the technology.

Israel and EI Salvador collaborate on reforestation

2009-07-09T01:12:00.004-04:00

IDF goes green in bid to protect Hermon wildlife

2009-07-07T20:03:00.006-04:00

You gotta love the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)...they are like no other army in this world. But to be fair, Israel is like no other country in the world -- their military is a big part of the spirit of the nation, a nation that prides itself on planting trees as a national pastime that is essentially, the heart and soul of the nation.

When one thinks of a mighty military, images are conjured up of bombings, artillery spewing rounds all over the place and smoke encompassing the atmosphere that is so thick that no one can quite see through it. The military is an establishment that is generally not thought to be particularly environmentally conscious.

Except in Israel.

The IDF is opting to coexist with Mount Hermon wildlife so it can flourish and so that flowers that bloomed in the spring can spread their seeds this summer for new flowers to grow and blossom in the future. That's all we can ask for--more nations on this planet who stop to focus on what will bloom and grow next year and in the many next years to come.

Read the whole story here.

Off to plant a few seeds of my own in my little garden, till next time!

J.

Tel Aviv Univ. Research: Cellphone Towers Can Predict Next Flood

2009-07-07T15:18:00.003-04:00

Researchers from Tel Aviv University say they have found a novel, cheap, effective, and reliable way to help predict the intensity of the next big flood, using common cell phone towers across the United States. Their model, which analyzes cell phone signals, adds a critical component to weather forecasting never before available.

Cell phone towers emit radio waves that are diminished by moisture in the air, a factor that can be used to improve model warnings on flood levels. In addition, the researchers measured the rainfall distributions and were able to accurately estimate the size of impending floods before they struck. This was demonstrated in post-analysis of two case-studies of floods in the Judean Desert in Israel, where cell phone towers ― and flash floods ― are abundant.

Using real data measurements collected from the towers, the researchers demonstrated how microwave links in a cellular network correlated with surface station humidity measurements. The microwave data used in this study was supplied by two cellular providers Cellcom and Pelephone in Israel.

“Our method provides reliable measurement of moisture fields near the flood zone for the first time,” notes Prof. Pinhas Alpert, a geophysicist and head of Tel Aviv University’s Porter School for Environmental Education, who also works with NASA on developing models to study global warming weather patterns. This new tool, he says, can add to the bigger picture of understanding climate change patterns in general.

Because hundreds of thousands of cell phone towers are already in place, the Tel Aviv University invention can be adopted quickly, and cell phone companies are already collecting the data anyway.

Source: Israel National News

"Self-watering plant" Discovered in Israel

2009-07-02T16:33:00.005-04:00

The world’s first "self-watering" plant has been discovered in Israel’s Negev desert – one of the driest regions on earth. The Desert Rhubarb can hold 16 times more water than its rivals and has developed a unique ability to effectively water itself in its barren habitat.

Researchers were confounded by the metre-wide plant’s giant leaves, compared to its desert counterparts, whose tiny leaves stop dangerous moisture loss. But they found the plant’s large leaves are the key to its success, because they are covered in microscopic streams through which water can be channelled. Scientists claim ridges in the leaves act like mountain valleys, funnelling the water slowly and directly into the plant while stopping it evaporating.

A team from the University of Haifa-Oranim, in Israel, said the leaves act like a mini irrigation system, the Daily Telegraph reported. "We know of no other plant
in the deserts of the world that functions in this manner," lead researcher Gidi Ne’eman said. "We have managed to make out the "self-irrigating" mechanism of the desert rhubarb, which enables it to harvest 16 times the amount of water than otherwise expected for a plant in this region based on the quantities of rain in the desert", he added.

Results of analysis of the plant’s growth — in an area with an average annual rainfall of 75mm — showed that the desert rhubarb is able to harvest quantities of water that are closer to that of Mediterranean plants, reaching up to 426mm per year.

Source: The Times of India

Come Alive at the Dead Sea

2009-07-02T15:05:00.004-04:00

The Dead Sea is currently ranked in seventh place in the “Lakes, Rivers and Waterfalls” category of the New 7 Natural Wonders of the World Contest, which would earn it a spot in the next stage of the competition. The Dead Sea is listed as being situated in Israel, Jordan, and Palestine. According to the contest rules, the nominee cannot participate in the next stages of the New7Wonders of Nature campaign without an official supporting committee from each country. Until recently, PA refused to join a committee of support for the lake’s nomination. Intervention from Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov and Civil Administration Chief General Yoav Mordechai succeeded in convincing Mahmud Abbas to sign on to the contest. As of today, the competition’s website had not been updated to reflect the decision, but officials said that it would take a few days for the proper forms to be filled out and submitted. Anyone can vote for his or her favorite natural wonders in the remaining 5 days of the contest at www.new7wonders.com. Please hurry and vote for the Dead Sea!

P.S. For the record, I strongly object to New7Wonders’ taking sides in the political conflict and listing Palestine as a sovereign country. If you agree, please contact New7Wonders and protest.

Green Industry in Israel

2009-06-30T15:09:00.007-04:00

Source: Israel National News