Alon Tal, environmental lawyer

Alon Tal, Israel environment

“Israelis are tremendously committed to the environment. We can move mountains if optimism motivates us.”

Alon Tal founded the Israel Union for Environmental Defense (IUED) in 1990 and has been working in public interest advocacy ever since. In 1996, he founded the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, an advanced academic center where Israeli, Jordanian, Palestinian, and international students study together.

Alon was the Chairman of Life and Environment, Israel’s umbrella group for 80 environmental NGOs, between 1998-2004. He has taught environmental law at Tel Aviv University for 15 years and was recently appointed professor of environmental policy at Ben Gurion University in Israel and a visiting professor of Law at Otago University in New Zealand.

He has a small private practice where he offers pro bono representation for environmental NGOs.

If you want to read his book, and can’t find it in the library, or a local store see: Pollution in a Promised Land: An Environmental History of Israel

::Alon Tal

5 COMMENTS
  1. The Israeli Committee for Sustainable Economic Growth (website http://www.planetnana.co.il/danielberger4u) would like to invite Alon Tal, and all his extended family of associates to participate in our current project; THE GREEN DEAL; A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM OF TRANSFORMATION.
    Please access our website to learn about the GREEN DEAL.
    Please first access the links to the 2007 Earth Day/Holocaust Day Message, and the 14 Points of Greenie Hasaedek; then in the testimonial section, the letters from the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the Israeli Defense Ministry(David Ivri), Teddy Kollek, Joseph Criden, Ehud Barack, and Amir Peretz.

    I have been a transformation oriented, “bright green” environmentalist for over 30 years.
    Since 1982, I have been a disciple of Amory Lovins, and the Rocky Mountain Institute of Snowmass, Colorado.

    In 1982, I was invited to be a consultant to New Jersey Governor Tom Kean’s Office of Management Improvement Services.
    In 1991, the Israeli Foreign Ministry invited me to be a consultant to their economic development program to Africa and the Far East.
    In 1992, Mr. Avi Bar-On (of blessed memory), and I attempted to start an Israeli chapter of Friends of the Earth. We recruited about 75 members, but were unable to get sanctioned by Friends of the Earth USA.

    Thank you for reviewing this matter.
    We are looking forward to hearing from you.

    Sincerely,

    Daniel Berger

    The Israeli Committee for Sustainable Economic Growth

    “The Israeli Environmental Spin Stops Here!!!”

  2. Tal, A. (2006). Speaking of Earth: Environmental speeches that moved the world (p. 276). New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.

    As the title states clearly, this book presents a collection of 20 speeches on environmental topics that have influenced the world. The book caught my attention with the names of people strongly familiar to me: Rachel Carson, Margaret Thatcher, Thor Heyerdahl, the Dalai Llama, and my countryman, David Lange. How could these people co-exist in one book? Who were these other speechmakers from Egypt, Turkey, Kenya, and Nigeria?

    This book has been a great pleasure for me to read each morning at breakfast. Each of the 20 speeches is presented with a succinct biography of the speech-maker, introducing the context and influence of the speech and its speech-maker within the environmental movement.

    The diversity of the speechmakers’ influence is remarkable: from David Lange’s Oxford Debate on the proposition that ‘Nuclear Weapons are morally indefensible’ through Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s proposition that ‘To commit a crime against the natural world is a sin’.

    I recommend the book for students and teachers of eco-sustainability, rhetoric, social marketing, and social activism.

    (A book review I placed on Google Books)

  3. and he’s the author of the highly influential & informative ‘Pollution in a Promised Land – an Environmental History of Israel’
    pub. Univ. Of California Press – well worth borrowing or buying!

Comments are closed.

Hot this week

How Renewable Energy is Revolutionizing the Way We Power Our World

Solar has become the star of the transition thanks to modular hardware and straightforward installation. It fits dense cities and remote towns alike. Many companies are turning to rooftop arrays and carport systems - and exploring commercial solar installation as a practical way to lock in future savings.

How does one start prepping?

Faced with an extreme winter storm this year, Americans wonder how to be prepared for catastrophe. Miriam has lived through wars in the Middle East - so she's prepared on giving you a guide to prepping.

Fishermen sue tire manufacturers on behalf of the salmon

A federal trial in San Francisco has brought US tire manufacturers, fishing groups, and environmental scientists into court over a chemical most drivers have never heard of — but which scientists say may be silently reshaping aquatic ecosystems.

Listening to Water: Tarek Atoui’s Next Work for Tate Modern

Born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1980 and now living in Paris, Atoui has spent years building instruments that don’t sit comfortably in concert halls. Many of them involve water, glass, and ceramics — materials that react to sound instead of simply producing it.

Leading Through a Dual-Energy Transition: Balancing Decarbonisation with Energy Security

Experience in one area of the energy industry isn't enough to guarantee readiness across all the others. That's where a structured program like an MBA in energy can come in. Today's advanced curricula explore energy economics, finance, policy, and strategic management alongside the technical subjects. And when pursuing an energy MBA online, professionals can skill up and retrain without having to step out of the labor market -- an important perk at a time when skilled professionals are already in short supply.

Topics

How Renewable Energy is Revolutionizing the Way We Power Our World

Solar has become the star of the transition thanks to modular hardware and straightforward installation. It fits dense cities and remote towns alike. Many companies are turning to rooftop arrays and carport systems - and exploring commercial solar installation as a practical way to lock in future savings.

How does one start prepping?

Faced with an extreme winter storm this year, Americans wonder how to be prepared for catastrophe. Miriam has lived through wars in the Middle East - so she's prepared on giving you a guide to prepping.

Fishermen sue tire manufacturers on behalf of the salmon

A federal trial in San Francisco has brought US tire manufacturers, fishing groups, and environmental scientists into court over a chemical most drivers have never heard of — but which scientists say may be silently reshaping aquatic ecosystems.

Listening to Water: Tarek Atoui’s Next Work for Tate Modern

Born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1980 and now living in Paris, Atoui has spent years building instruments that don’t sit comfortably in concert halls. Many of them involve water, glass, and ceramics — materials that react to sound instead of simply producing it.

Leading Through a Dual-Energy Transition: Balancing Decarbonisation with Energy Security

Experience in one area of the energy industry isn't enough to guarantee readiness across all the others. That's where a structured program like an MBA in energy can come in. Today's advanced curricula explore energy economics, finance, policy, and strategic management alongside the technical subjects. And when pursuing an energy MBA online, professionals can skill up and retrain without having to step out of the labor market -- an important perk at a time when skilled professionals are already in short supply.

From Green Energy to Healthy Societies: Why old systems thinking is becoming relevant again

Across the Middle East and North Africa, large investments are being made in green hydrogen, renewable energy, water infrastructure and sustainability. Most of these efforts are discussed in the context of climate change, decarbonization and economic diversification. That framing is important, but it may not capture their full value.

We saw peace – an interreligious encounter deep in our eyes

They came from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt… There are Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, Jews (Orthodox and Reform), Orthodox Christians, Coptic Christians, Protestant Christians, Druze, Baha'is, a Scientologist.

Can biochar reduce ‘Forever Chemicals’ in food if it’s used in farms?

Biochar is produced by heating organic material in a low-oxygen environment so it does not burn. This process, known as pyrolysis, transforms plant matter into a stable, carbon-rich material.

Related Articles

Popular Categories