Since becoming President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres has had a pretty green track record. Last year he kicked off Earth Hour in Tel Aviv, and over the past few months he has inaugurated Israel’s first “green”city Kfar Saba, unplugged Jerusalem for Earth Day 2009, and hosted tree-planting Hollywood stars Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber.
And Shimon is about to get greener.
Peres will soon be meeting with the Minister of Environmental Protection, Gilad Erdan, and so a special joint team has been set up in preparation in order to plan the advancement of a few environmental projects.
The projects include:
Special prize for excellence in promoting environmental issues: Starting next year a special prize will be awarded to individuals, institutions, or companies that excel in promoting awareness of environmental issues. These issues may include energy conservation, environmental education, environmental technologies, sustainable development, and more. The prize will be awarded by the President of the State of Israel and the Minister of Environmental Protection on a fixed date every year (such as Earth Day).
Transformation of the Presidential residence in Jerusalem into a green home: The Presidential residence will be transformed in accordance with green building principles. Improvements such as energy efficiency, water conservation and savings, waste reuse and recycling, and sustainable gardening will be focused on.
Advancement of environmental issues within the educational system by the President of the State of Israel: The joint project will help incorporate environmental issues into school curriculae, certify green schools/kindergartens, and spearhead an environmental approach within the entire educational system (with a focus on recycling and conservation of energy and water).
Got any suggestions on other issues they might want to team up and work on? Please share.
Read more about the Ministry of Environmental Protection::
Tender Offered: Help the Environment Ministry Collect Fines From Green Criminals
Shut Down the New Coal-Fired Power Plants, Says Israel’s New Environment Minister
SPNI Boycotss Ministry of Environment Gala Over New Settlement
Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection to Clean Up the Kinneret
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
