As part of our mission to foresee a green, environmentally-sound future for Israel, its neighbors and the world, we’ll be occasionally featuring blogs from the regional blogosphere that also care about all things green, especially those in Arab countries where green issues are relatively undeveloped. Last week we featured environmental blogs from Lebanon and Jordan, […]
Last month, hundreds of Tel Aviv residents spent their Friday afternoon marching up Rothschild Boulevard in support of the Clean Air Act, stuck in the Knesset for the past three years. Knesset lawmakers must have been paying attention – last week the act passed its first reading. Video by Daniel Cherrin and Jesse Fox.
Yesterday was much like any other summer day in Israel: sunny, hot and dry. But for Alon Tamari, CEO of SolarPower Israel, it is not one that will be forgotten in a hurry: “It’s a historical day, there’s no other way to put it.” Along with the summer heat came the long-awaited announcement that the […]
It’s one thing to be a polluter and another to have the chutzpah to not pay your fine. According to Haaretz, Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection is having such a hard time collecting fines that they are now issuing a tender to help collect and handle debts totaling NIS 60m. It’s a sad story, really, […]
Green Prophet recently highlighted the dilemma of buying organic eggs from a Jewish farm in the West Bank. A little investigation by yours-truly revealed that the picturesque Givaot Olam organic farm is a settlement outpost established with no authorisation from the Israeli government, meaning that the farm is (theoretically) slated for evacuation. (Could even be […]
First of all, to those of you who have followed us since our humble beginnings (which were initiated, as so many things are, over cappuccinos late at night)–thank you. Without your readership we would not be able to continue to update you on the latest news, cleantech innovation, and cutting edge eco-fashions. Where else can […]
Can peace in the Middle East begin with the environment? A plan is being outlined for the collaboration of Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Palestinian Authority, detailing mutual responsibilities for environmental issues that affect the country–regardless of what the country is called and whose land it is.
On June 2nd in Herzliya, Beit Hayal Ha’avir is hosting an Environment & Health Conference, titled ‘Environmental pollution and Disease Trends in Israel – what we know, what we don’t know and what we should know.’ We may all know someone who suffers from a pollution-caused disease, or perhaps we are all just getting ‘sick […]
To be perfectly honest, I received the news about Al Gore coming to Israel to collect a $1 million prize for his achievements in raising environmental awareness with a dose of skepticism. Does Al Gore really need more money or recognition, especially when there are so many committed, homegrown environmentalists in Israel, many of whom […]
Those of you who watched Al Gore receive the Dan David Prize last night, either on television or online from Tel Aviv, probably missed one very important thing. He was wearing cowboy boots. (We have proof – check out the footware we pictured above). This, of course, officially makes him my new favorite environmental hero. […]
We’ve been a little overwhelmed by American visitors in this tiny country lately. Earlier this month we were visited by President George Bush and now, for a completely different reason, Al Gore will be visiting Tel Aviv. And what a reason. In a gesture of respect and admiration, the Dan David Foundation (which is headquartered […]
What is microfinance? How does it work? What kind of potential is there in Israel for microfinance projects to succeed? The Microfinance Club, a project created by third-year Interdisciplinary Center students Misha Nataf, Gilli Cherrin and Simon Seroussi, in collaboration with international NGO PlaNet Finance, will answer these questions and discuss opportunities for new microfinance […]
We at Green Prophet have been charting the rising popularity of organic food in Israel for some time now. One of the biggest suppliers of free-range organic eggs in Israel is Givot Olam, a Jewish farm located in the West Bank. While you’d think that politics and food don’t mix, there are some who disagree.
(Image credit: Micah Vaadia, winemaker at Galil Mountain) After reading and enjoying Green Prophet’s post on biking the Israeli wine scene, Green Prophet was kind enough to invite me to guest blog a short series of posts about the re-emerging Israeli wine phenomenon and about what’s new with organic winemaking in Israel. I blog about […]
This Green Prophet is a little skeptical about Shai Agassi’s electric car and bold claims, but she is impressed by the range of companies in the portfolio of Israel Cleantech Ventures (ICV). Consider companies such as Aqwise for cleaning municipal sewage using bacteria, plastic beads and a special aeration system; or Metrolight, a company that […]
The time is nearly here! The long awaited electric car will soon reach the masses: Project Better Place has presented its prototype electric car today. The smog may start clearing soon, we will see how quickly it catches on. Project Better Place commissioned a survey, which claimed that one in every six Israelis said that they would […]
Growing up as a kid, my favorite nature shows were either the Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom or specials about Jacques Cousteau as he explored the great seas. Some of those hours glued to the tube made me into who I am today. Thanks to some key words penned into a story on ISRAEL21c, marine […]
America has one, so does Latvia and Singapore. Israel is getting ready to select it’s very own national bird — a tough choice given the volume of bird species that use Israel as a flyway every year, travelling from Africa to Europe and then back again. This green prophet is in favor of the hoopoe.
(Blanket of smog hovers over Tel Aviv and Jaffa) How many courses do doctors-in-training take in areas of the environment and public health? Either very few or none at all, we are told. Knowing about the dangers of the environment can help physicians diagnose diseases, and push for a general clean-up of our cities’ water […]
While we at Green Prophet wouldn’t encourage anyone to clutter their lives with tons of stuff, there are some wonderful green gadgets on the marketplace now – the Solio mobile phone charger for instance, uses all this wonderful ‘shemesh’ we have instead of electricity … and Israel is at the forefront of this research and […]
In honor of Earth Day this year, the US-based zine Jewcy goes green. Helen Jupiter, an editor and commentator at the site, offers up a fantabulous list of green reads, suited for Jewish souls, or any soul for that matter –– see 10 Books on the Intersection of Judaism and the Environment. “There are a […]
Green Prophet today heard about an interesting environmental conference we thought readers would like advance warning of: the Jerusalem Environment & Nature Conference, to be held at the capital’s Binyanei HaUma Conference Centre, on May 18-19. The conference features 6 sessions over the 2 days, all exploring the perspective of what has been achieved here […]
Green Ps (that’s a new abbreviation we made up today), are of the notion that only people who are housed, employed, healthy and happy can take on extras like yoga classes and only then start worrying about issues such as climate change and the environment. That’s why we were happy to see that the US […]
Ministers of the Environment from across the region will address the challenges and opportunities of tackling climate change, the links between global competitiveness and environmental policies at the end of April. Heading to Paris, ministers from the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, their counterparts from Chile, Estonia, Israel, Russia and Slovenia, and […]
For the second year in a row, Israeli schools are participating in a recycling competition called “Recycle Time 2008” to see which school recycles the most bottles and cans. The four month educational program and competition – which has been taking place in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Ashdod, Rishon Lezion, Kfar Saba, Beer Sheva, Rahat, and […]