Joshua interviews Israel’s most influential and accomplished environmentalist, Dr. Alon Tal. Where is Israel at in terms of environmental protection? Get the scoop here. Israel has introduced several environmental protections in the last few years, but many problems remain. Although massive social protests swept Israel over the summer, environmental issues were not at the fore. […]
There are many different kinds of pollution and many ways in which they are hijacking our children’s future. Children exposed to pollution are more likely to develop autism, attention deficit disorder, and dyslexia, according to Haaretz. These findings were unveiled by both scientists at a recent conference in Israel, and those are only the dangers […]
Claimed to be one of the world’s safest cars, the Fluence EV scored lower than Chevy’s Volt in Euro NCAP crash tests. Not great publicity for electric cars. With Chevrolet Volt hybrid cars now on the road for nearly a year since their debut at the end of 2010, and further to our comparison of […]
What Adital Ela has to say about making light from wind, and other sustainable design ventures. We recently learned about Israeli sustainable designer Adital Ela’s work when we heard about her KickStart project to get WindyLights – a design that generates light from wind – on the ground. Since then, we’ve learned that Ela is […]
Eco-lovers beware: Artificial light at night may be associated with an increased risk for breast and prostate cancers. Next time your partner suggests you keep the lights on in your bedroom, tell him his prostate and your breasts are better off under the illumination of the moon, and your want to make sure your personal […]
Another world’s first for the Israeli-born solar power giant that pioneered solar thermal. BrightSource Energy announced this week that they could chop down the size of their giant 750 MW project in California by 200 MW and yet still make the same 4,000 gigawatt-hours a year of power they are contractually required to produce for California, by […]
Organic feed gives a surprising taste to geese. Kosher-keepers can thank the organic market for a new taste sensation: flesh that tastes exactly like pork, only kosher. Pork-flavored goose, from Spain, that is. The phenomenon is attributed to a particular organic feed that the geese eat. It would be interesting to know if Halal authorities […]
A team of two designers, Godspeed, will be creating furniture from raw and trashed materials in Jaffa within the framework of a single hour. Pop-up stores may not sound like the most sustainable ventures, but the pop-up shop that will open in Jaffa on December 1st and feature the work of the Godspeed design team […]
The Festival of Lights gives spiritual and historical messages. This year, add a green message to the lights. Hannukah falls on December 20th this year. Among the laws of lighting the menorah – one of the Hannukah traditions that Jews follow for eight days – is one that requires placing it where the lights can […]
Israel’s desert climate makes water a rare treasure, but even as the country takes extreme measures to keep fresh water flowing to its citizens, the simple process of evaporation is making the battle even harder. Some estimate that 20% of Israel’s fresh water is lost to evaporation. But two Israeli companies may be on the […]
Made from sawdust and plastic bags alone, these adhesive-free lamps take leftover materials and make them shine again. Plastic bags are an (unfortunately) abundant material that have been used in many ways by designers, but sawdust – though abundant as well – has not been used as frequently by sustainable Middle Eastern designers. One other […]
A year after the fire in Israel, Joshua finds new life at the ravaged Carmel Forest. Israel experienced the largest wildfire in the country’s history nearly a year ago. The blaze broke out near Isifiya, in the Carmel region, on December 2, 2010. Spreading over large swaths of land overnight, the fire quickly consumed 5,000 […]
Ostrich steaks on the “hoof”? Not at Israel’s Yotvata Hai Bar wildlife refuge Is it right to raise what should be wild animals for use as leather goods or exotic food menu items in offbeat theme restaurants? These issues came to the forefront recently in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper: private “farms” are raising African crocodiles for […]
One way to make musical performances more sustainable is to use renewable energy (such as human cyclists, for example) to power them, but what about making the music itself more sustainable? What is the carbon footprint for making a piano or a guitar?
Inspired by the Arab Spring this past summer, Israelis from a rainbow of different ethnicities, political leanings and backgrounds banded together to form a protest movement unlike any in recent history. Their tent cities influenced the Occupy Movement in the world. As the Arab spring spawned protests by the disenchanted across the Middle East, Israelis […]