Zalul, the non-profit marine NGO, has released it’s 2008 State of the Sea Report. Yesterday a press conference was held at Cafe Masada in Tel Aviv with over 20 members of the press gathering to hear the latest news about the state of Israel’s Mediterranean Sea. This year was a wake-up call to the public and […]
The chief scientist of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Yishayahu Bar-Or, released a statement yesterday Aug. 4, (and here [in Hebrew]) warning of the well known consequences of global warming that are expected in Israel and the Eastern Mediterranean. These include a rise in average temperature of 1.8 degrees Celsius already by 2020, a rise […]
Okay, first the bad news. Well, perhaps we’d had better warn you that there is no good news in this piece: A new campaign has been launched in the UK by the NEF (new economics foundation) warning the world that according to their analysis, the world is just 100 months away from reaching the tipping […]
Imagine being able to buy ten pairs of shoes and only spend the resources (both natural and financial) necessary for half that many. Sounds like every eco chic woman‘s dream, right? Eco chic or not, every woman knows that you need those perfect going out shoes for evenings, elegant ballet flats for the office, sneakers […]
Paint it Dead or Red? The alarmingly fast decline of water levels in the Dead Sea have resulted in numerous plans to bring sea water from either the Mediterranean or Red Sea to replenish the water in what has often been referred as the world’s lowest level body of water. It’s the lowest place on […]
Maybe it was the teetering government or the water crisis, or maybe it was just the sticky and oppressive summer heat. Whatever the cause, the summer session of the Knesset closed last week with an unprecedented burst of environmental legislation. Leading the charge was a trio of maverick lawmakers – Dov Hanin, Michael […]
As its the head of the month, we here at Green Prophet are feeling even more extraordinarily generous, and thanks to an earlier post about fellow eco-site Lifegoggles, we are offering two 100 % hemp dog collars in our 4th Great Green Giveaway! This is in addition to the 3rd Great Green Giveaway still running, […]
Last week I took a tour of unrecognized Bedouin communities in the Negev/Naqab, similar to the one that James did with Rabbis for Human Rights. This tour was fascinating because of its subject matter, but also because I was introduced to an extremely cool organization called Lifesource, one of the sponsors of the tour. Barely […]
“If the Israeli government can ever formulate a binding peace accord with the Palestinians, both entities could have access to enough natural gas reserves to satisfy their energy needs for at least 100 years.” This statement was made a few years back by a representative of British Gas, one of the world’s largest energy exploration […]
Israel’s water crisis has been in the news a lot lately. We have all heard how low the Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) is, and seen suggestions on how to save water this summer. Although it receives much less media coverage, water scarcity has also become a major issue in the Palestinian Territories. This past […]
One of the wonderful elements of the open market is that we actually do have the power to make changes. You don’t like the way a store treats its customers? Tell your friends to complain. If that store is smart, it will change it’s ways. This can be applied to environmental products as well. If […]
Last week in Haaretz, Naamah Lanski reported on the new green police in town. They’re about a meter tall, can’t read or write yet, and you better not throw away plastic bottles (or any other recyclables), leave lights on, or even pack lunches in plastic bags around them. That’s right. Israel’s kindergartens are going green. […]
Should Israel’s premiere environment preservation group support settlement activities? Regarded as one of, if not the, most respected environmental NGOs in Israel, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) has a lot to be proud of. Perhaps best known for its tours and field schools, it also works on grassroots community initiatives […]
Anyone who has ever experienced Bedouin hospitality will know that the kettle is always on in a Bedouin home: brewing either the strong bitter coffee, or a special infusion of sweet tea, brewed with desert herbs. If you delve a bit further, you will hear that although the Bedouin know all about life and survival […]
Every Israeli knows what the Sea of Galilee’s (a main source of Israel’s drinking water) red line means. It’s bad. It means Israel is running out of water and we’re all in trouble. So when the Israel Water Authority came out with a campaign about two weeks ago saying that Israel’s water levels were deteriorating […]
Last month Green Prophet wrote about the controversy over the so-called “Peace Canal” or “Peace Valley” lauded by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in his recent trip to Israel. A huge man-made canal carrying water north from the Red Sea was envisaged as the centrepiece of the joint Israeli-Jordanian initiative, backed by claims of breathing life […]
Sea pollution closes the beaches in Bat Yam. (Credit: Zalul Environmental Association) For a long time now, Israel’s water resources haven’t been getting the respect they deserve. Out of the 16 rivers that flow into the Mediterranean Sea, all 16 are polluted – many to the point that you wouldn’t even let your dog go […]
Lycored has been in the natural food coloring business for some time and realized the amazing anti-oxidant properties found in tomatoes could be used in the cosmetics business. The company has recently developed an alternative sunscreen that you ingest. This is good news for bleaching corals, transexualizing fish, and for our health — it is […]
Leaders from Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority concluding talks in Tokyo yesterday with the announcement that they plan to start building an agro-industrial park in the Palestinian Territories by next year. The agro-industrial park could provide jobs for up to 6,000 Palestinians in the West Bank. According to Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura, the […]
Desalination plant in Israel Earlier this week, Michael Green wrote about Shimon Peres’ “Peace Valley” project, which will create a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, as well as a huge tourist complex in the Arava dubbed the “Las Vegas of the Middle East.” Although the Peace Valley is relatively new, plans […]
There are lots of green businesses out there – cleantech businesses, organic farmers, environmentally conscious designers, and plenty more. But what about businesses with no clear environmental agenda? What’s a software company or a furniture manufacturer that wants to go green supposed to do? Hire a greener. A business greener, that is. Erez Steinberg, an […]
From creating the world’s most popular puzzle website (and a Time Magazine top 50), Israeli-British entrepreneur and hightech whiz Gideon Greenspan decided to change gears and put a focus on the environment. A couple of years ago, Gideon (who is based in Tel Aviv) was looking for a way to offset his travel and was […]
Summer is here, the pools are open and the sea is beckoning. Let’s pack our bags get our swimsuits and go for a swim. Going to the pool or beach with your little ones can be great fun, a fabulous way to cool down and relax with the kids and helps build their confidence in […]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNY_-1Fsd2k[/youtube] The Israel cleantech world is buzzing over BrightSource and its subsidiary Luz II. The companies recently invited the press to visit the world’s first operating solar thermal field in the Negev Desert, for creating clean and efficient solar energy. The 12,000 square meter test site will generate 1.5 MW of electricity. Cheaper heliostats, no […]
Last week, I visited the town of Umm El Fahem with staff members from Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME). FoEME is a trilateral Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian environmental organization that brings environmentalists together to work on issues of shared regional concern. As the Summer 2008 FoEME intern, I am assisting with the Pro-Aquifer […]