The Israeli town of Tsfat (or Safed) is typically associated with the colour blue, owing to the tint that many of its buildings are painted with. But modern Tsfat, famous for being a centre of Jewish mysticism, its graves of tsadikim and art galleries, could just as easily be associated with brown. Since 1956, Israel’s […]
It’s one thing to buy a hybrid car, but another to understand and know how to use it wisely. Ford has a solution: Ford Motor Company’s Smart Gauge with EcoGuide educates drivers to maximize fuel efficiency on the 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan Hybrids. The technology uses two digital dashboard LCD screens on either […]
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 […]
We were too distracted by the war with Gaza over the last few weeks to take notice that Shai Agassi from Better Place, the Israeli electric car guru, is now working on a deal with Canada. Those Canadians love their SUVs, and trucks to plow through Canadian winters, but maybe some Torontonians and yuppies that […]
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 […]
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 […]
Despite the ongoing conflict in Israel, a three-day international conference on renewable energy planned for February is going ‘full steam ahead,’ according to organizers. Far from the range of Hamas rocket strikes, the three-day Eilat-Eilot International Renewable Energy Conference will take place in the southernmost city in Israel, from February 17-19, at Eilat’s Herod’s Palace. […]
Green Prophet recently interviewed Achmed Khammas. Achmed grew up in Syria and now lives in Germany, and he tells us about the new popular online resource he built: The “Book of Synergy,” and his vision and research in renewable energy, environmental activism in Syria, and personal views on Middle East peace. My full name is Achmed […]
On Thursday, January 15, several organizations are joining together for a forum titled “Greening of Jerusalem.” The event is bringing together local cleantech companies, investors, Jerusalem government officials and the Jerusalem public in a joint effort to make the vision of a cleaner, more sustainable world possible and to make Jerusalem and Israel the center […]
(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, […]
(Example of a pellet stove from Canada, and the chips and pellets they burn). Pellet stoves take condensed biological matter –– wood or biomass pellets –– to create a source of heat for residential and industrial spaces. They burn slower, for more time and can lower the heating bills. Environmentalists see pellet stoves as a “green” […]
No stone is left unturned in our desperate search for energy sources to wean us from our dependence on fossil fuels. Sources of primary renewable energy, like solar, wind, and geothermal are the primary focus, but some overlooked sources are also getting attention, because every little bit counts. We’ve seen reports on generating electricity from […]
(Photo from recent CleanIsrael meetup). Last Monday evening, the Arison Lobby at the IDC in Herzliya was full with founders of clean technology startups, VCs , investors, researchers and other cleantech professionals who gathered for the first Cleantech Startup Showcase, organized by CleanIsrael in conjunction with the new Institute for Renewable Energy Policy and Applied […]
Coincidentally, Green Prophet spoke earlier today with Zohar Zisapel, a founder of RAD, the company that owns RADVISION, a NASDAQ-traded company. Zisapel, who says he’s looking to solar and green tech, will appear soon in a story we’re writing for ISRAEL21c. Today we have a guest post from RADVISION’s Sagee Ben-Zedeff, on the greenness of […]
Yissum, the Technology Transfer Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is launching a 1 million U.S. dollar program to support the development of outstanding cleantech inventions by scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The launch will take place on December 25th at the Givat Ram campus of Hebrew University and feature a keynote […]
Events and frenetic discussion, both academic and activist in nature, have continued apace here at the 2nd Drylands and Desertification Conference here in Sde Boker, and I’ve taken an afternoon off to process the previous days proceedings. (You can see yesterday’s recap of the conference here.) The theme of day 2 was titled ‘the role […]
Israel’s pioneering Desert University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), is currently hosting the 2nd biannual ‘Drylands, Deserts and Desertification‘ conference at their deep desert outpost at the Sde Boker Campus. Day 1 has focussed upon Life and Soil Degredation in the Drylands, and has seen a wide range of experts presenting fieldwork and research […]
Planted in Israel’s Negev Desert is an academic oasis of scientists and their students. They are studying a natural resource that may be more valuable than oil in the not-so-distant future. That resource is water. Dr. Ofer Dahan from the Department of Environmental Hydrology and Microbiology at Ben Gurion University is one of the 26 […]
The significant role of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in developing the study of movement ecology has achieved international recognition through extensive coverage in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a leading American scientific journal. Movement ecology is a developing academic pursuit, combining expertise in a variety of fields, including […]
Though Green Prophet is skeptical about Shai Agassi‘s Project Better Place, we are watching the developments of the project with interest. This week, the prototype of the electric car recharging station was unveiled in Israel. The prototype was designed in San Francisco and developed in Israel with the cooperation of Nekuda DM. The station features […]
The chemical pesticides used in modern agriculture and in the home are poisoning our planets’ animal life, waterways and ecosystems. They enter our bodies, and can even affect unborn children. Helping humanity break from this nasty cycle of destruction is an Israeli company, BotanoCap. The company envisions a future where organic produce will be the […]
Those who have been following the Red-Dead canal proposal, and all its controversies, know that a lot is at stake. The Dead Sea is dying because natural estuaries, such as the Jordan River, Ein Gedi bottled spring water and rainwater are not making it to its shores. Politicians think that by carving a tunnel from […]
Convening at the Ben Gurion University’s Sede Boqer campus on December 14-17, over 350 people from 40 countries are expected to meet and map out ways to combat desertification around the world. The four-day gathering is the largest international conference ever held in Israel focused on an environmental topic, and probably the largest international academic […]
Flash floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States, and a big killer in the Middle East too (see Relief Web’s report on Yemen). And OneWorld blog here on the Yemen flash flood which recently displaced more than 20,000 people. Because of the unpredictability of flash floods, they’re a leading weather-related cause […]
Green Prophet loves to find potential everywhere – so how about desert seawater greenhouse construction in Qatar? They are also doing this in Abu Dhabi. What exactly is a desert seawater greenhouse, you might ask? According to the Seawater Greenhouse website: “Seawater Greenhouse is a unique concept which combines natural processes, simple construction techniques and […]