After a major fire in the Sano Plastic Factory in Hod Hasharon (makers of many of the cleaning products and supplies you can find in Israeli supermarkets), the effluent from their chemical operations and the residue from fighting the fire was discharged into the Yarkon River after causing the local sewage treatment factory to break […]
In the leadup to this week’s municipal elections in Israel, Tzafrir Rinat, the respected environmental correspondent of the daily newspaper Haaretz, discussed the local environmental political parties in his article “The Green Party – mostly bluster“. Since the other player in the field, “the Israel Green Movement” is brand new, Rinat evaluated the 10 year […]
On Tuesday, many Israeli cities will be holding Municipal Elections. In the run up to the Beit Shemesh elections, Sviva Israel was asked by Life & Environment, running the national Green Now campaign, to place the environment high on the agenda of all the Mayoral candidates. Working together with local environmental groups Shemesh Yehuda and […]
Biotech companies in Israel are announcing layoffs. Global financial woes will no doubt filter through to the clean tech industry as well. Atlantium, when I covered the company for ISRAEL21c last year they seemed so hopeful about the future… has also announced layoffs recently. Fifteen people were let go. CEO Ilan Wilf said in Globes, […]
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0goOBK3zb8&feature=related Now that Barack Obama is on his way to the White House and the US seems poised for a “New Green Deal”, could things start heading in that direction in Israel as well? While on the national level, a new green party aims to secure a couple of seats in the Knesset, one of the outgoing […]
Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) is a longtime advocate of sustainability and environmental peacebuilding in the region. Fresh off the pages of Time Magazine, where FoEME’s directors were recently named Heroes of the Environment 2008, FoEME is hosting a conference next week as part of the Pro-Aquifer project. Over the past two years, […]
When thinking about the Israeli army (or any other army, for that matter) becoming more “green” or environmentally conscious, skepticism is unfortunately the first thing that comes to mind. Military activity is nasty business, leaving detrimental traces on human relationships, governmental spending, and the environment – to name a few. Which is why a recent […]
For Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, lack of infrastructure is a big obstacle for protecting the environment. Old and malfunctioning infrastructure (or often none at all!) for properly managing things like solid waste and sewage is a major threat to the Palestinian (and Israeli!) environment. Luckily, however, the European Union announced earlier this […]
Although there is no shortage of environmental disasters and cleantech innovation pouring out of Israel, there is only so much English-language coverage the local newspapers can take. So if you have already begun pitching stories to the American media, you may want to consider joining the Society of Environmental Journalists.
When a small group of Jews arrived on the shores of Ottoman-ruled Palestine in 1882, they named the sand dunes they purchased to build their new homes Rishon LeZiyyon – the First to Zion. Never mind the poor soil fertility, lack of water (or the fact that Petach Tikva, aka “Opening of Hope”, was the […]
If you were going to use one word to describe Israel, the word “construction” would be a definite possibility. Visitors who come to Israel within intervals of only a few years are often shocked at the rapid development in the country. At only 60 years old Israel is constantly building and developing, and sometimes it […]
Ernst & Young has announced Clean Tech investment is at record levels as a new investment fund is looking to focus on Israel’s clean tech. International accounting firm Ernst & Young estimates fully 11% of global venture capital funding will go to clean technology in 2008, up from just 1.6% of VC investments five years […]
Karnit Goldwasser is most commonly known as the widow of IDF soldier Ehud Goldwasser, who was abducted by Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement during the Second Lebanon-Israel War. Before that tragedy took place, however, she was busy doing things other than lobby for the release of her husband and his fellow soldiers. She was busy getting a […]
A jatropha nursery in Kaffrine, Senegal It will take dedicated visionaries to help stop America’s addiction to foreign oil. And that’s what Doron Levi, the COO of alternative energy company Galten Global Alternative Energy has his heart set on doing. The telephone line was shaky and his Internet connection unreliable, yet Levi spoke with me […]
About 500 bodies wait submerged in a Philippine ferry –– ironically named the Princess of the Stars –– until divers and authorities feel it is safe to proceed. The ferry capsized en route to Manila in June after being hit by a typhoon, killing an estimated 750 people. Only 56 people survived the accident, while […]
Since 1982, the American Jewish Communities’ Project Interchange has been giving a first-hand introduction of Israel and its regional historical and contemporary challenges to current and future United States and international leaders. This past mission has been focused on the greens. Just five weeks into the job Stephanie Hillman, Greenpeace Mediterranean’s brand new project director, […]
City councils world-wide are watching as municipal workers in the Israeli city of Petach Tikva are DNA-testing dog droppings in order to identify and fine irresponsible pet owners. Update in 2021: the pilot project has come to life in Tel Aviv. Under a six-month trial program residents are being asked to voluntarily bring their dogs […]
Events over the past week indicate that Palestinian surface and ground water resources are in great danger. Last Friday, around three hundred Palestinians protested the reopening of an Israeli dump site near the West Bank village of Deir Sharaf, outside Nablus. The dump, which was closed several years ago, may pose a grave threat to […]
If you live near a school, then you know what 8 am and afternoon pick up times mean for the environment. With all of those parents driving their individual children to and from school, the carbon emissions associated with getting elementary, middle, and high school students to school can be pretty detrimental. Not only is […]
Israel seems to fall into the thick of the boom, and I’m not talking terror. With the tech boom, we were on the forefront. Now with the world-wide eco-conscience growing, Israel is one of the forerunners of exciting new markets opening up – all of them working to make our planet a better place for […]
Perhaps the next green power revolution will come out of Israeli engineering. Hillpoint Energy CEO Ben Spitz told Green Prophet’s Tyson Herberger his company’s Israeli development team will soon unveil a one megawatt high-altitude wind turbine. They are filing for a provisional patent, and hope to officially announce the new design “in the coming weeks.” […]
There are few environmental topics in the Middle East more controversial than the proposed Red Sea-Dead Sea Canal to revive the Dead Sea, which has the potential to cause lasting damage to the composition of the sea’s ecosystem. The multinational organization Friends of the Earth Middle East (FEME), who are working to build a peace […]
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) announced yesterday that they would boycott the 60th anniversary gala evening held by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The reason? The Ministry supports the building of a new settlement, Mirsham, in the Lachish region. The SPNI and other environmentalists have strongly objected to the project, […]
Shari Arison, Israel’s wealthiest citizen, took advantage of the International Water Congress in Vienna to formally announce Miya. The new company aims to make a profit on cutting back water losses. Miya says one third of the world’s drinking water is lost through leaky pipes. CEO Booky Oren, a former chair of Israel’s national water […]
For four days in November up to fifteen Israeli cleantech companies are to be given VIP access to top decision makers including potential partners, funders and clients in California. The delegation is being billed as the first of its kind, and will bring the Israeli companies to meet with executives from cleantech leaders including General […]