(In 1922 Jerusalem gets its first sewage system. YNet) Jerusalem is a holy city which houses the country’s holiest people. Now their excrement will continue doing good work: In the first deal of its kind for the country, the Israel Electric Company (IEC) signed an agreement on Sunday with Gihon, Jerusalem’s water and sewage firm, […]
In summer, Israelis battle jellyfish, an introduced species that came to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal. But that’s nothing compared to what Iran’s battling right now: A weird and wacky red, soap-like super foam is taking over the Persian Gulf in Iran. Known as the “red tide,” it’s the result of an excessive […]
It’s been in the works for a while. Finally, the new US-Israel agreement of cooperation in renewable energy was announced at the opening of the 2nd Eilat-Eilot International Renewable Energy Conference last week. The US-Israel Energy Cooperation Act is an international collaboration aimed at creating a renewable energy storage initiative to reduce the world’s oil […]
(Yuli Ziv, founder of MyItThings, cofounder of the Style Coalition) I first talked to Yuli Ziv when she was in the middle of a paparazzi storm. It was Fashion Week in New York and she was just about to enter the Justin Timberlake show. Walking over to her website MyItThings, the Tel Aviv native, now […]
Israelis are no strangers to dumpster diving. Here’s a story on one of the country’s latest, who’s turning his finds into a design business: When he’s not traveling around Holland or Germany, you’re likely to find Guy Lougashi creating art and crafts from other people’s junk. Or jumping inside a dumpster looking for new raw […]
Taking God-Knows-How-Much of the world’s non-renewable energy sources to build, developers of the world’s first zero carbon city, Masdar City, proclaim that the historic groundbreaking in Abu Dhabi will take place this month. (In advance, Daniel’s posted on Abu Dhabi’s Podcar People Mover). While I think the concept is definitely thought provoking — as the […]
(Thousands of small mirrors called heliostats focus the sun’s ray onto a tower. Thermal energy focused onto the tower heats up water that generates electricity through turbines.) An Israeli company and a Californian one are making solar power history: Southern California Edison (SCE) and BrightSource Energy from Israel have signed the world’s largest solar energy […]
The continent of Africa evokes emotion: on one hand there is the impressive landscape, African tribal cultures attached to their roots, and the massive land mammals that still roam wild. But there is another side of Africa, which is much less romantic, brought to the world’s attention through Live Aid and Sally Struthers’ commercials: its […]
If you haven’t caught on to the supremely contagious micro-blogging phenomenon known as Twitter, now’s your chance to Twitter for the environment. This year, on February 12, 2009 over 140 cities worldwide will be hosting Twestival 2009 to raise money for Charity:Water, which provides clean drinking water to villages in Africa. Jerusalem’s Twestival is unique […]
If you haven’t yet bought your flight (carbon offset of course!), it might be too late to get in on the great action at the Global Development Network’s 10th Annual Conference on “Natural Resources and Development” in Kuwait. But the conference organizers have set up an RSS feed for you to follow. Smart move. Hosted […]
Academics from Arizona State University are hard at work promoting sustainability and regional cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a politically stable and very prosperous Gulf country. A delegation from Arizona traveled to the United Arab Emirates this past January for a series of meetings to follow-up on last summer’s visit to their university […]
As African nations sell and lease its land, and birthright, to the world’s super-powers, and arguably “dangerous” countries like Saudi Arabia who support Islamic fundamentalism, we are seeing a brand new kind of neo-colonial land-grab, and it scares me. I’d reported on Galten’s Jatropha seeds for biofuel here, and also on the Israeli conglomerate Ormat, […]
When was the last time you saved the world? Or motivated your kid or kid nephew to think about positive action for the environment’s sake? Now, there’s a challenge. Ekoloko, a new virtual world merges two great ideas –– saving the environment and gaming –– with one thing enterprising young Israelis are very good at: […]
In the wake of conflicts with Gaza, organizers of Israel’s three-day international energy conference say the show must go on. Following the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Israel will host a massive renewable energy conference in Eilat –– the Eilat-Eilot International Renewable Energy Conference –– from February 17-19 at Eilat’s Herod’s Palace. This […]
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of living in or visiting Turkey, you’ll find it’s very hard to get lost off the beaten trail. The public transportation system there is so well oiled; bus owners of private buses or the smaller minibuses –– the dolmus –– are so well organized, you can literally scoot across […]
People love their cars, even environmentalists. In the Middle East, it’s less so, but in America, people and own more cars per capita than anywhere else on earth — some 765 for every 1,000 people. But turbulent financial times everywhere threaten both the automotive industry and the ability to put gas in the tanks of […]
I was in Grade 4, in Canada, and learning about all the secrets and marvels of life. There was the discovery of books like 1984, new information about sex and how our parents’ genes combine to make us who we are; we were taught how to make our own movies, and program computers – and one […]
Windows are one of the most significant costs in building projects or home renovations. Next to that are the bills homeowners have to pay for heating and air conditioning. Solving two problems under one roof — literally — is an Israeli company Alubin that has developed all-season reversible windows. The solution is also good for […]
Amidst all its struggles to develop clean and cleaner technologies (and a war with Gaza), it seem that Israelis got a huge gift this week: Israelis were celebrating this week over the discovery of a massive 3 trillion cubic feet natural gas pocket found buried 1.5 km below the sea floor, some 90 km off […]
Tu B’Shevat, otherwise known as Jewish Earth Day, is a time for Jews in Israel and beyond to focus on their responsibility to the environment. In the Jewish community, there are many innovative initiatives that fulfill this responsibility, and the Jewish newswire service, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) wants to tell the world about them.
(This AP photo shows a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Spain which reflects light to a central tower to produce power. A pilot project using CSP is underway in Tehran.) Does a country that “promises” to wipe Israel off the map have a right to create nuclear energy for “power?” I must admit, […]
This isn’t the forum for politics, but unfortunately so much of what decisions are made in the Middle East (ie funds allocated, prayers made) are determined by the conflict. Above, see a video of the consequences of the Israel-Lebanon war 2.5 years ago. As an Israeli, I know that untold environmental damage happened south of […]
(A map of Jordan and the surrounding region highlighting the Disi Aquifer and the proposed Red-Dead project.) With worrying frost alerts in Jordan getting farmers anxious, Jordanians are also seeing a rainless season this year, increasing their fears that crops will collapse. Last week, officials had been calling on its citizens to pray for rain, […]
(Rapidly depleting water resources has forced residents of Sana’a to buy water from private sources. Water levels are dropping by 6 metres a year in the Yemeni capital. © David Swanson/IRIN) If you think things seem pretty dicey in the Middle East right now with Israel and Hamas fighting, according to IRIN, expect tensions to […]
