Start a green business, inside a tiny home. Keeping expenses and overhead low.
A mechanical ventilation heat recovery or MVHR system is based on a heat exchanger that transfers heat from outgoing to incoming air in your ventilation system. These systems can dramatically improve your home’s indoor air quality by increasing the turnover of air while thoroughly filtering it. They are also one of the greenest technologies you can add to your home. Let’s learn why installing an MVHR unit is a great way to save money on your heating bills.
It Reduces Your Overall Energy Needs
Not only can an MHVR help you save on energy bills in the winter, but it can do so all year long as well. When incoming air is partially heated by the outgoing air, you don’t need to turn the thermostat higher to warm it even further. In the summer, the incoming air is cooled, and the heat is pulled from the outgoing air.
Furthermore, the MVHR system can capture latent heat that is otherwise lost to the atmosphere like exhaust from your clothes dryer or the hot steam from your last shower. This is why a heat recovery ventilation system can reduce your heating and cooling needs by up to a third.
It Keeps Your Home’s Temperature Consistent
An MVHR system can reduce your heating, cooling, and ventilation needs in other ways. For example, you can add a larger vent and fan to the bathroom or kitchen to pull that hot, humid air and distribute it throughout the house. This can eliminate the need to turn on ventilation fans to vent that hot, wet air outside.
Those types of fans may pull heated or cooled air out of your home, forcing you to run the heaters or to make up for it. Furthermore, the MVHR system distributes heat, eliminating hot and cold spots in most homes. This may mean you don’t have to run a heater in the coldest room of the house. If you have several radiators in your home, the MVHR system will help distribute that heat throughout the house, reducing the need to rely on supplemental heaters.
It Improves Your Home’s Air Quality
MVHR systems rely on extensive air filtration. This allows you to remove odours and dust from your home without having to open a door or window, and thus reduce the amount of hot air that escapes the house.
The high rate of air exchange will also prevent moisture from building up inside the house. High humidity can make the air feel uncomfortable but also exacerbate certain conditions. In many cases, people will choose to turn on a dehumidifier or open a window, which puts more demand on your heating system. If MVHR systems remove that excess moisture, you won’t need your heating to make up for it.
Depending on the system you install, it may transfer humidity from the outgoing to the incoming air as well. Best of all, it will prevent a build-up of mould and dust in a home. This is why an MVHR system is a great choice for those with asthma or allergies.
MVHR systems are an integral part of the modern energy-efficient home and should be considered by all homeowners. Improving your indoor air quality and overall quality of life is just the cherry on top.
The outbreak of Covid-19, and the impact it has had on the world, has changed the way we live and how we think about many social situations.
Masks are becoming more and more common when people are outdoors and in public spaces. The air we breathe has suddenly come under extra scrutiny. The strength of this illness and the speed with which it spreads is a threat to our communities and families that should not be underestimated. Having a home or business with a ventilation system with heat recovery can help combat the spread of Covid-19 and protect us in the event of an outbreak or a lockdown.
How Do These Systems Protect Against Covid-19?
Ventilation systems with heat recovery are well known for being an energy-efficient home or business heating solution, but one of the many added benefits they have is air purification.
The systems draw air in from the outside and heat it in order to warm the building, but before they do the air passes through a high-grade HEPA air filtration system that removes a number of particles, including bacteria. These filters are similar to an N95 grade face mask and provide similar protections, but for all the air in the building. This gives you the freedom to stop wearing a face mask but offers a similar level of protection as wearing a mask.
Why Are These Systems Energy-Efficient?
By using a ventilation with heat recovery system instead of a traditional furnace or water boiling system, you can make big savings on your heating costs.
Many heating systems use large amounts of electricity, or they burn natural gas in order to heat water piped throughout the home. This water then sits in radiators that bring heat to rooms and hallways. Ventilation systems that use heat recovery heat the air and pump it to each area. Waste heat is reclaimed from stale air that is expelled and the system and used to heat fresh air that has been drawn from the outside and filtered.
Combined with high-quality home insulation and energy-efficient windows, the cost of heating your home can be dramatically reduced.
Are Ventilation with Heat Recovery Systems Complicated to Install and Use?
Ventilation and heat recovery systems are actually incredibly simple to operate, and their installation can often be done in just one or two days.
The system pumps the heated air using ducts that fit into crawl spaces and under floors, where it is vented into every room and hallway. This installation can be done quickly and allows you to remove any radiators and water heat pipes, reclaiming space. The units that power the system also have a small and discreet footprint that will allow you to get even more space back in your home or business by removing water boilers and hot water tanks.
Using a ventilation system with heat recovery to heat your premises and help combat Covid-19 is a great idea, and also a sound investment for the future. Outbreaks like the Covid-19 outbreak of 2020 may become more common in the future, and having high-grade filters to purify the air in your building could give you, your family, and your employees, extra protection during a lockdown.
Being born of nomadic ancestors, it’s little wonder so many of us have been struck by wanderlust. Travelling has the ability to make us feel connected and displaced. Experiencing life in another culture or place expands your understanding of yourself just as much as it does your understanding of others. But, can we really travel eco-friendly? How can we reduce our carbon footprint while still exploring the great unknown? Are there easy ways to be a green globetrotter? This guide to sustainable travel has some ideas we can put to use without much effort. Let’s look at some ways we can exercise respect for the environment as well as the local people while abroad.
The world’s oldest olive trees are in Lebanon
The Journey
By now we’re all aware that air travel is not the most eco-friendly way to go, however in some cases it’s the only way to get from A to B. Luckily for us, there are many ways in which we can ease the burden we place on the planet and make our travels as sustainable as possible. The first rule of sustainable travel is finding ways to move about the local area that are as low-impact as possible. The best method of travel for the environment is two feet and a heartbeat. Walking does not require any carbon emissions, gasoline, or manufacturing.
Modern Solutions for a Modern Problem
Not everyone is able to walk long distances and some people may have a disability that does not allow them to walk safely or even at all. While walking is certainly the cleanest method of travel from an environmental standpoint, there are other methods that still minimize greenhouse gasses and other damage to the planet. Renting a bicycle, scooter, or segway is one option for those who may not be able to walk. Many big cities now have access to pay-per-use transportation, meaning you can hop on a bike, pay for your time spent riding and then leave the bike for the next person who needs it. Find a bike that has a place to store your stuff while you travel. In the city I just use an old plastic milk crate, but you might want a sleek front bike rack which is a more secure option if you are travelling in an unknown city. This option is great if you’re in an area that has this infrastructure built and is small enough in a geographical location that you can move about the places you wish to see using your own power.
Classic Options with a Green Update
When it comes to longer trips that are too far to cycle or are over terrain that is unsafe for foot travel, public transit options like coach busses or trains are surprisingly eco-friendly nowadays. Busses and trains are capable of moving large groups of passengers and minimizing the number of individual vehicles on the road. They’re also designed to be more fuel efficient and release fewer emissions as a result. Not only is it often more cost effective to travel by bus or train, but there is also the added benefit of being able to enjoy the scenery and company without having to focus on driving.
Old Faithful
When public transportation is not a viable option, carpooling or rideshares are the next best thing. Planning group trips or joining tours will again minimize the number of vehicles on the road. It is also important to try to select a vehicle that is low emissions if possible. When using rideshare, opt for eco-friendlier options than SUVs and try to plan your trips to avoid unnecessary mileage. All of these small decisions add up to a much greener trip.
Beyond getting around for your sight-seeing, choosing a place to stay can also have major impacts on the environment.
Accommodations
Glamping in Tel Aviv.
Although tempting, luxury hotels can be some of the worst offenders when it comes to environmental impact. Opting for greener lodging such as a hostel or guest-home will not only provide you with the unique experience of how the locals live, it is also a great way to meet new people and lower your carbon footprint. There are booking companies that focus on finding safe and green options for lodging so travellers can relax and enjoy their trip knowing they’ve made a better choice. If you do decide to stay in a luxury hotel, opt to reuse your towels instead of daily towel service and use your own shampoos and soaps instead of the single-use plastic bottles. Also, don’t be afraid to leave comments or feedback for the hotel management on how they can be more eco-friendly. The more we advocate for change the more likely we are to get it!
Home Away From Home
Regardless of where you stay, treat it the same way you treat your own home. Don’t forget to turn off the lights and be mindful of your water usage as well. Adjust the thermostat so it’s not overworking and take advantage of the climate you’re visiting. If you’ll be on an all-day adventure, pack your own snacks and beverages in eco-friendly containers to avoid littering and purchasing items with excessive packaging. The same eco-friendly principles you use at home should be used abroad as much as possible.
Eco-Tourism and Tourist Traps
Before spending your money on a tourist activity consider these important questions: Does it involve local wildlife? Does it rely on single-use items that pollute the area? Am I exploiting a local community population or endangering a local guide? Who does the money benefit? Try sourcing out local museums and attractions that directly benefit the culture’s history and community. Environmental journalist Aaron ‘Bertie’ Gekoski has worked tirelessly on bringing the dark underbelly of wildlife tourism to light. It’s up to us as tourists to stop funding activities that harm local wildlife and people. Additionally, avoid damaging environmental areas or sacred grounds for a selfie moment. Most importantly, when exploring natural areas, be respectful of the signs and rules posted. As a general rule, always leave the area better than you found it.
Pack Your Bags
Finally, being green in your daily life can have great effects on your travel as well. How to Pack Like a Sustainable Traveller suggests packing items that you can use abroad to minimize your individual waste like refillable shampoo and body wash containers. For those who menstruate, try reusable napkins or menstrual cups to avoid any issues with plumbing and to eliminate landfill waste. Avoid products that contain harmful chemicals or things like microplastics that can easily disrupt the local environment and cause damage. Not only will packing green save the environment, but it will also save you money! Lighter luggage will allow you to avoid any additional costs at the airport and prevent you from overspending on items once you arrive.
The Verdict
It’s nearly impossible to travel at net-zero, however, there are tonnes of small and thoughtful steps we can take to minimize our impact and travel in a sustainable way. A small amount of research ahead of time can make all the difference in the world when it comes to eco-friendly travel. We might not be able to travel completely green, but we can travel in a safer and more sustainable way that will ensure future generations can travel the world and see its wonders for years to come.
The hemp industry is growing larger every year, and alongside this explosive growth, our knowledge of hemp and the compounds it contains is also increasing. Mature Cannabis sativa flower contains more than 1,000 compounds, and out of these compounds, more than 100 are unique phytochemicals called cannabinoids. While hemp contains tons of different cannabinoids, most of them are copies or “analogs” of a few main compounds, and in this guide, we’ll introduce you to a few of the core cannabinoids that are reshaping the hemp industry and creating opportunities all around the globe.
What are cannabinoids?
Many of the compounds found in hemp, such as flavonoids and terpenes, are also found in other plant species. Cannabinoids, however, are so named because they are only found in Cannabis sativa. While compounds in other plants may resemble cannabinoids, they are not identical to these unique hemp constituents.
Some cannabinoids, such as THC, have intoxicating properties, but most do not. Instead, the majority of cannabinoids, such as CBD, CBG, and CBN, have mild and non-intoxicating effects, but they might exert potent medical benefits. The scientific community has recently taken great interest in the potential therapeutic potential of non-intoxicating cannabinoids, and around the globe, the consumer cannabinoid market continues to grow at an exponential pace.
1. Cannabidiol (CBD)
Next to THC, CBD is one of the most well-known and popular cannabinoids. While strains of hemp that deliver high amounts of CBD while keeping THC to a bare minimum were practically unheard of a decade ago, some hemp cultivars now exceed 20% CBD while containing 0.3% THC or less.
CBD is similar to THC in that it appears to impact inflammation and pain. Unlike THC, however, CBD is non-intoxicating, and CBD may also offer unique benefits that THC does not. For instance, CBD appears to impact your mood by gently interacting with your nervous system, and this cannabinoid has even been looked at for its potential antiepileptic benefits. While other non-intoxicating cannabinoids are also rising to popularity, CBD will remain the cornerstone of the hemp-derived cannabinoid market for the foreseeable future.
2. Cannabigerol (CBG)
In the last few years, CBG products have started to enter the consumer market, and this promising cannabinoid is rapidly gaining a level of popularity similar to that of CBD. Like CBD, CBG is non-intoxicating, but this hemp constituent may offer unique benefits that CBD does not.
For instance, scientists are keenly examining cannabigerol’s potential antibacterial properties, and this cannabinoid may also show promise as a potential treatment for digestive conditions. It’s becoming easier to derive large quantities of high-quality CBG now that hemp cultivars have been developed that contain significant concentrations of this cannabinoid, so it’s likely that CBG will become even more popular over the next few years.
3. Cannabinol (CBN)
CBN is naturally present in THC-rich and CBD-rich strains of Cannabis sativa in concentrations under 1%, and recent scientific breakthroughs have made it possible to produce high-potency CBN extracts that aren’t just cobbled together from the minuscule amounts of this substance found in most cannabis cultivars. That’s good news for consumers and investors who have heard of CBN’s potential benefits, which could make this non-intoxicating cannabinoid useful for neurological health, appetite, and other purposes.
There is also a large body of anecdotal testimony regarding CBN’s potential benefits for sleep, but at this point, there isn’t enough science on this subject to draw definitive conclusions. As we learn more about CBN and further clinical studies are commissioned, it will become clear whether CBN is truly useful as a sleep aid.
4. Cannabichromene (CBC)
Like CBD, CBC appears to interact with various systems in your brain to modulate the sensation of pain without causing intoxication. Cannabichromene has been researched extensively over the last few decades, but it’s still relatively hard to derive CBC from Cannabis sativa, so there aren’t many products that prominently feature this cannabinoid.
One reason we should pay attention to CBC is that limited lab studies indicate this non-intoxicating cannabinoid might be useful for brain health. Regardless of its individual properties, the presence of CBC in cannabinoid extracts appears to contribute to the entourage effect, a theoretical form of synergy that may occur when cannabinoids are used together.
5. Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV)
THCV is very similar to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), but it appears to exert significantly reduced psychoactive effects. This cannabinoid can’t be classified as strictly non-intoxicating, but it’s different enough from THC to be placed in a category of its own.
Like THC, THCV binds to the CB1 and CB2 receptors in the brain, which are the main components of the endocannabinoid system. Unlike THC, however, the mild psychoactive effects that THCV provides do not generally cause paranoia or anxiety.
6. Cannabidivarin (CBDV)
Just as THCV is structurally similar to THC, CBDV is structurally similar to CBD. These two cannabinoids are different enough to be classified separately, but like CBD, CBDV has been researched extensively for its potential antiepileptic benefits.
CBDV is usually only available in Cannabis sativa in very small quantities, but via the entourage effect, this analog of CBD may interact with other cannabinoids and strengthen their effects. When isolated, CBDV has been examined as a potential treatment for inflammation, pain, and neurological disorders.
7. Cannabigerovarin (CBGV)
CBGV is an analog of CBG that has many of the same properties as its more well-known cousin. For instance, researchers have investigated CBGV for its potential digestive, antibacterial, and glaucoma-fighting benefits.
Like the other “varin” versions of popular cannabinoids, CBGV is only present in hemp in very small quantities. Research into the unique benefits of CBGV, however, indicates that this cannabinoid may have the unique property of increasing the bioavailability of CBD, which means that CBD products that also contain CBGV may offer enhanced effects.
Knowledge is power in the hemp industry
Even if you’ve used and enjoyed intoxicating or non-intoxicating versions of Cannabis sativa for years, there’s still plenty to learn about this fascinating plant and the compounds it contains. These days, entrepreneurs in the hemp industry need to know a lot about the cannabinoid bulk ingredients they offer to win consumers over and succeed, so use the detailed information we’ve covered in this guide to expand your horizons and take advantage of everything the hemp renaissance has to offer.
Between March and April, the Israeli government incrementally established isolation guidelines to prevent the COVID-19 virus from spreading. Along with the closure of multiple businesses and institutions, transportation was severely limited, forcing people to work from home, thus drastically cut the number of vehicles on the road.
As a result, Israel experienced a 40% reduction in nitrogen dioxide concentrations, a reactive gas emitted by the burning of fuel, during March 2020 compared to prior March emissions. Since then, Israel has gradually lifted its restrictions, allowing the public to freely venture outdoors as well as granting businesses the ability to reopen.
Elsewhere, cities under quarantine have also detected improvements to their own particular environments. For instance, China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have been reduced by 18% between early February and mid-March (although this statistic was originally 25% before their economy began to rebound). Coinciding with city lockdowns and restrictions on non-essential travel, Europe has experienced decreases in nitrogen oxide outputs of up to 56% at Madrid in mid-March. India’s capital, New Delhi, has seen a 60% decrease in harmful air particulate matter, which can actually be seen. Even Los Angeles, a city infamously known for its poor air quality, has had a 20% improvement in the three-week period following its mid-March shutdown. Although this might also be a result of the stormy spring weather Los Angeles was experiencing at the time, experts suggest.
Although these environmental recoveries are temporary because of eventual economic reboot, we should not be taking these environmentally beneficial changes for granted. Significant reductions in carbon emissions, nitrogen oxide levels, and harmful air particulate matter have given all of humanity a glimpse into what our planet could be like if we lived more harmoniously with our natural surroundings—the very lesson the Solarpunk movement imparts.
This does not mean we should remain indoors for an eternity for the sake of our environment’s health. Instead, we should seek out strategies and plans to control society’s previously unchecked indulgences in order to have our already existing artificial landscapes function alongside the natural environment.
As a result of COVID-19 isolation guidelines, Israel experienced a 40% reduction in nitrogen dioxide concentrations, a reactive gas emitted by the burning of fuel, during March 2020 compared to prior March emissions.
What is Solarpunk?
This niche, internet-originated movement is relatively young, beginning in 2008 before it started to proliferate in 2015. Principles of Solarpunk involve a wide spectrum of recognizable activities that have arisen in the age of sustainability. Among those activities are performing permaculture, avoiding the use of single-use or disposable items, practicing recycling, saving and conserving water, shrinking our carbon footprint, or implementing land restoration measures, just to name a few.
As a conscious and positive response to the current Anthropocene (the era of humanity’s significant impact on Earth’s natural systems), the Solarpunk movement aims to convert science fiction into science action. This is done by creating visual representations and artistic conceptions of architecture and locally governed infrastructure that have the ability to harness renewable energies, including solar design, as a way to achieve greater levels of functioning urban biomimicry.
Taking inspiration from Art Nouveau aesthetics (art inspired by aspects of the natural world), Solarpunk’s imagery provokes a sense of aspiration for a world that values renewable energy sources over fossil fuels, with an emphasis on urban centers.
According to the U.N., cities currently consume 78% of the world’s energy and are responsible for producing over 60% of greenhouse gas emissions, which will only worsen over the next 30 years. Right now, 55% of the world’s population lives in cities. By 2050, this figure is projected to increase to 68%, which strongly suggests a further increase in pollution.
Rather than creating policies, the Solarpunk movement serves as a source of inspiration for all people to envision a reachable point in time, where the world could be designed for universal coexistence and thus, be built to last.
Israeli company SolarEdge has been working since 2006 to further improve the photovoltaic (PV) system. The company’s technology offers increased energy production and reduces the cost of energy produced by the PV system.
Solarpunk in the 21st century and in Israel
The 21st century has been exemplary of incredible urban sustainable expansion considering the numerous and various types of innovations, regenerative designs, and architectural feats that have been developed worldwide in notable places such as China, Singapore, Copenhagen, and Italy.
Israel has also become one of the world’s leading contributors towards sustainable development and innovation. Established in 2006 and 2009, Israeli companies Vertical Field and Green Wall, respectively, have spearheaded hundreds of projects that tackle issues of urban air pollution and future agricultural shortcomings by planting plants onto the facades of municipal buildings, private homes, and offices with various kinds of vegetation and agricultural produce. Not only do these efforts aesthetically reflect the nature-infused urban imagery Solarpunk often exemplifies, but they also provide crucially restorative and essential services to us and the environment.
Israeli companies have also turned their efforts to the sea for gathering renewable energy. In 2014, Eco Wave Power began station operations of an innovative technology that generates clean electricity from the movement of waves at Jaffa Port. The station’s impending connection to Tel Aviv’s electrical network will serve as a step forward towards urban-environmental synergy.
But even more prominent than the waves along Israel’s coastline is the amount of sunlight the country receives due to its subtropical latitude and often lack of cloudiness. It’s no surprise that solar heating panels atop roofs for domestic water usage is so common. However, Israeli company SolarEdge has been working since 2006 to further improve the photovoltaic (PV) system. The company’s technology offers increased energy production and reduces the cost of energy produced by the PV system. With the abundance of sunlight so high in this region, the continued investment into solar technologies will inch Israel that much closer towards a reduced dependency on fossil fuels, composing a healthier environment in the process.
Though the future may seem unpredictable, especially with the threat of COVID-19 still looming, this pocket of time has given all of us a chance to reexamine the status of our carbon footprint. Perhaps we should take this time of economic recession and environmental rebound to capitalize on the technologies that can mutually improve both.
The group in question consists of about 160 goats, sheep, cows, and camels. As strange as it may sound, but grazing, especially goats, has been found in many studies as an effective way to reduce the risk of extensive fires.
Now, a new Israeli study has explored different ways to expand the use of this simple and ecological practice and to encourage goat grazing in Israel. Goats contribute to fire prevention by eating the excess vegetation in areas where plant growth is dense and scrubby (such as forests), making it more difficult for fires to spread.
Animals, such as cows and sheep, also aid in thinning out the vegetation, but they mostly feed on grasses, while goats prefer to eat bushes and low branches of trees (and sometimes even stand on their hind legs to reach them).
When the shrubs and lower tree branches are thinner, it’s harder for a fire that ignites at ground level to climb upwards. Therefore, a situation where flames reach the treetops and begin to spread from top to top, causing a small local fire to become a dangerous uncontrolled forest fire that quickly consumes many acres of woodland might be avoided.
In the past, there was widespread goat grazing in Israel, which was significantly reduced following the Plant Protection Law (goat damage), also known as the “Black Goat Law”, named after a common breed among Bedouins in Israel.
This law, enacted in 1950 and widely enforced since 1978, significantly restricted goat grazing, leading to a decrease in the number of goats (especially in the Carmel Mountains) from 15,000 in 1970 to only 2,000 in 2013.
Over the years, evidence of the benefits of forest fire prevention through grazing has accumulated, and the law was repealed in 2018 – but the extent of grazing in Israel is still limited.
Goats contribute to fire prevention by eating the excess vegetation in areas where plant growth is dense and scrubby (such as forests), making it more difficult for fires to spread.
The problem: more freedom, less milk
According to the new study, grazing does have benefits for farmers (such as providing free food for animals). However, in order to expand goat grazing in Israel, several major issues have to be addressed, relating mainly to the central agricultural purpose of goat rearing: milk and its products.
When goats depend on a diet given to them in a controlled environment like a shed, farmers can choose food for them that helps to increase their milk yield, while free-ranging goats that are feeding on pasture, tend to produce less milk.
In addition, it’s difficult for goats of the European breed, which are widespread in Israel, to graze in the Israeli climate and terrain, so they must be reared and held in sheds. Locally-bred goats, well adapted to the region, may have no trouble grazing, but produce less milk than their European relatives.
Beyond that, pastures also have direct costs, because a shepherd is needed to at all times to accompany the herd out in the pastures.
According to Dr. Liron Amador, a researcher at the Open Landscape Institute (OLI) of the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University, and co-author of the new research study, human assistance is indispensable when grazing is carried out to prevent fires.
“Someone must direct the herd to the recommended places, like sites with very thick vegetation, or areas close to residential areas where grazing will help protect communities from fires,” she says.
Grazing in open areas also presents technical challenges, because even when goats go out to pasture, it is necessary to build some kind of temporary stable for them, which serves as a warm shelter at night, as well as a dairy.
These buildings must be located no more than 2 miles from the area where the herd is grazing, as goats find it difficult to cope with larger distances, which makes it necessary, in some cases, to build them in the open space – which might cause harm to the environment.
Free-ranging goats that are feeding on pasture, tend to produce less milk.
Encourage amateur shepherds
Supported by the Jewish National Fund’s Forestry Division, the OLI is also looking at different methods to see how grazing as fire-prevention can be expanded.
To that end, the researchers are conducting surveys among sheep breeders and representatives of organizations in the field, checking different factors in relevant locations, and performing geographical analyzes.
One of the researcher’s suggestions was to encourage goat grazing among amateur growers.
More specifically, village residents who raise goats as a hobby, but are often not taken into account by the officials because their number of goats are small (between a few and a few dozen). The researchers found that under certain conditions, such as receiving logistic or financial aid, these breeders would agree to slightly increase their herds and let them graze around their neighborhoods. “They already know how to raise goats, and they like it, so why not? We need the small herds,” says Amador.
As a solution to the problem of building enclosure in natural areas, the researchers proposed to place the buildings adjacent to the edges of agricultural settlements.
In a geographical analysis of the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council (an area in the Jerusalem District of Israel), the researchers found that due to the relatively short distances between the communities, goats grazing would be possible in almost all the areas where it is needed, without harming protected areas or nature reserves.
Another direction the researchers have looked at is establishing mobile goat herds. Such a venture has been in existence for a decade, launched by JNF in Mateh Yehuda together with a group of Bedouin shepherds.
Every year, for a period of several months, the shepherds come from the northern Negev to the Jerusalem Mountains and stay in mobile facilities.
In exchange for grazing in the area, goat owners receive benefits for their herds, such as subsidies, vaccines, water, and supplementing food when needed. The researchers found that there is a potential to establish mobile herds in the north of the country, especially by shepherds and volunteer organizations such as the “New Guard.”
“The understanding among the rural and urban communities how important and beneficial goat grazing is in certain areas needs to be strengthened,” says Amador.
According to Amador, grazing as a form of fire prevention is also being tested or planned to be carried out in communities such as Haifa, Kiryat Tivon, and Kokhav Ya’ir.
“A change is happening. In many places, communities come to realize that grazing is a more lucrative and environmentally benign option than mechanically cutting down the vegetation, and dumping it in waste sites.
Instead, you can take out a herd of goats that does all the work,” Amador concludes.
Cannabis has a strong smell right? That strong odor has molecules that can work as medicine. Bach flowers on steroids to the rescue.
Burning incense may work to keep away the bad jujus and the jinn. My family did it during our corona lockdown. Aromatherapy was serious business in Ancient Egypt. If you didn’t have the right mix a certain canine god would not let you into the afterworld. Aromatherapy was connected to demons or jinns, could help you find love, and could help treat you from certain ailments, much of this is documented all over the internet. But one thing we haven’t talked about when we consider cannabis and its medicinal properties of the CBD and THC in the medicinal marijuana, is the power and potency of cannabis as aromatherapy.
Could the smell of cannabis keep Covid at bay?
An Israeli company Eybna investigates.
Consumers of cannabis products are fast discovering what scientists have understood for some time: terpenes, the compounds in cannabis that account for its wide variety of smells and tastes have an even more important role, unlocking the true medicinal qualities of the plant.
There are over 10,000 known terpenes found in flowers, plants and fruits, some of which interact with human and animal endocannabinoid systems and can influence neurotransmitters in the brain. When I was giving birth, I ached to smell orange oil. I did and it helped my labor tremendously. Hadass, Sicilian oregano, fresh mint. I rub the fresh herbs in my garden and bury my face in them. They make me feel better.
Consider linalool, a terpene found in lavender which has a calming effect when inhaled, or, limonene, the terpene found in citrus (and which I craved suddenly), is associated with mood-elevation. The terpene Beta-Caryophyllene, found in basil, black pepper has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, pain-relieving and anti-anxiety benefits. Could you guess that all these terpenes, and many more, are found in cannabis. Just like CBD can be found in oranges (see this story about a Japan company extracting CBD from unused orange peels), not all the molecules in cannabis are exclusive to that plant (consider hemp or oranges) and not all the chemicals in oranges are exclusive to the citrus plants.
“Cannabis use is generally the first-time people are introduced to consuming terpenes in large amounts via inhalation,” says co-founder of Eybna Technologies, Nadav Eyal. “Studying its effects opens new opportunities for scientific discoveries impacting all botanical medicine including cannabis, the botanical that has, only in the past few years, developed into an international industry worth billions.”
It is little known that the extraction method for producing cannabis oil, which is used to infuse many of today’s cannabis products including vape pens, edibles, and topicals, strip out the terpenes. Product manufacturers need to bring the terpenes back for the unique and varied smells and tastes that consumers of cannabis expect and more importantly, for the therapeutic effects of these products.
Eybna is researching terpene properties and producing advanced terpene products for sale. Terpenes represent only 1-3% of the net weight of the cannabis plant but they punch above their weight in value.
THC and CBD are now becoming commodities while terpenes can be understood as the brains that unleash the true power of the cannabis plant. As cannabis increases its market share, so too will terpenes, the company predicts.
Even with progressively advanced techniques to design drugs in the lab, synthetic forms of cannabis-based pharmaceuticals such as Merinol and Syndros have not been effective in alleviating symptoms or helping patients recover from a host of ailments. These man-made drugs lack the natural intelligence that terpenes add to other cannabis compounds and they simply cannot be reproduced. No one has yet to imitate the complexity, or “Entourage Effect” of terpenes and over 1,000 different compounds found in the whole cannabis plant.
Anti-virality and anti-inflammatory may be some indications for the terpenes of cannabis. Let’s hope Eybna is able to put their toolkit in the face of Covid (see cannabis and Covid here) and other medical challenges we face so we can increase our odds and improve life’s value.
Last years e-waste weighed substantially more than all the adults in Europe, or as much as 350 cruise ships the size of the Queen Mary 2. Another metric: 15 pounds for ever person on earth, every year.
Wonder why the planet is lashing back with plagues like Covid-19, floods, global warming? It’s all connected and even though over there and out there is far away, a record amount of e-waste or electronic waste is building up in our planet putting everyone, not just the vulnerable –- at risk.
The United Nations sent Green Prophet a new report: a record 53.6 million metric tonnes (Mt) of electronic waste was generated worldwide in 2019, up 21 per cent in just five years, according to the United Nations in their Global E-waste Monitor 2020.
The new report also predicts global e-waste – discarded products with a battery or plug – will reach 74 Mt by 2030, almost a doubling of e-waste in just 16 years. This makes e-waste the world’s fastest-growing domestic waste stream, fueled mainly by higher consumption rates of electric and electronic equipment, short life cycles, and few options for repair.
A sad state for electronics recycling
Only 17.4 percent of 2019’s e-waste was collected and recycled. This means that gold, silver, copper, platinum and other high-value, recoverable materials conservatively valued at US $57 billion — a sum greater than the gross domestic product of most countries – were mostly dumped or burned rather than being collected for treatment and reuse.
Who are the biggest polluters, by continent?
Asia, no doubt, being the factory and dumpsite of the world, generated the greatest volume of e-waste in 2019 — some 24.9 Mt, followed by the Americas (13.1 Mt) and Europe (12 Mt), while Africa and Oceania generated 2.9 Mt and 0.7 Mt respectively.
E-waste is a health and environmental hazard, containing toxic additives or hazardous substances such as mercury, which damages the human brain and its coordination system.
About 15 pounds for ever person on earth
Proper e-waste management can help mitigate global warming. Countries like Israel have made plans and bills but there is very little on the ground enforcement. It’s especially a concern in places like China where the oversight in production is murky and where it is hard to find details of true environment conservation. In 2019, an estimated 98 Mt of CO2-equivalents were released into the atmosphere from discarded fridges and air-conditioners, contributing roughly 0.3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. That means every new appliance you buy, one goes to landfill.
In per capita terms, last year’s discarded e-waste averaged 7.3 kg for every man, woman and child on Earth.
An estimated 50 tonnes of mercury — used in monitors, PCBs and fluorescent and energy-saving light sources — are contained in undocumented flows of e-waste annually.
E-waste in 2019 was mainly comprised of small equipment (17.4 Mt), large equipment (13.1 Mt), and temperature exchange equipment (10.8 Mt). Screens and monitors, small IT and telecommunication equipment, and lamps represented 6.7 Mt, 4.7 Mt, and 0.9 Mt respectively.
Since 2014, the e-waste categories increasing fastest in total weight terms are: temperature exchange equipment (+7 percent), large equipment (+5 percent), lamps and small equipment (+4 percent). According to the report, this trend is driven by the growing consumption of those products in lower-income countries, where those products improve the living standards. Small IT and telecommunication equipment have been growing more slowly, and screens and monitors have shown a slight decrease (-1 per cent), explained largely by lighter flat panel displays replacing heavy cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors and screens.
Since 2014, the number of countries that have adopted a national e-waste policy, legislation or regulation has increased from 61 to 78. While a positive trend, this is far from the target set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) which is to raise the percentage of countries with an e-waste legislation to 50 per cent.
Sleeping like a baby? Or not sleeping deep at all? It’s all about noradrenaline, find Israeli researchers in new study.
Having a hard time sleeping during Covid? Or maybe you are sleeping better because you have less stressors from the commute? Or maybe you are self-medicating with CBD? During good, deep sleep, we rarely respond to external stimuli such as sounds, unless they are strong enough, like an alarm clock, or meaningful, like a baby’s cry, which wake us up.
Being able to sleep continuously in the face of sounds is critical for our health and well-being. But we differ in how easily we wake up: Light sleepers wake up from every faint sound, while deep sleepers can sleep through just about anything. We all can have dramatic changes in our sleep quality during periods of stress. Turns out sleep is regulated by a chemical in our brain called noradrenaline.
A new study by the lab of Prof. Yuval Nir from Tel Aviv University explores the reasons why, during sleep, we rarely respond to external stimuli such as sounds even though our brains remain highly active. The team’s discovery is that a tiny region in the brainstem called the locus coeruleus, which secretes the chemical noradrenaline throughout the brain, is a key factor that determines how deeply we sleep.
The study, which was published in the journal Science Advances, finds that noradrenaline, which is secreted in response to stress, lies at the heart of our ability to “shut off” our sensory responses and sleep soundly. The higher the activity is in this brain system, the more likely we are to wake up from a sound. The normal healthy situation is for noradrenaline activity to be silent/minimal during sleep, but when noradrenaline activity is high, we wake up more frequently, even from low-volume sounds. This discovery can explain the changes in sleep quality between different people.
For the purpose of the research, the scientists used rat models to determine the level of locus coeruleus activity during sleep and which sounds, if any, would be responsible for waking up the rodents.
They found that the rats’ varying levels of locus coeruleus activity accurately predict if the animals would awaken in response to sounds. The team then silenced the locus coeruleus activity through optogenetics, which harnesses light to control neuronal activity, and found that the rats did not readily awaken in response to sound.
Why grandma is sleeping well?
“When we increased the noradrenaline activity of the locus coeruleus while a sound played in the background, the rats woke up more frequently in response, but when we decreased the activity of the locus coeruleus and played the same sound in the background, the rats rarely woke up,” says Hayat. “So, we can say that we identified a powerful ‘dial’ that controls the depth of sleep despite external stimuli.”
“Sleep disturbances are a major health issue and are frequent in aging, as well as in neurological and psychiatric disorders,” concludes Prof Nir. “It is important to test if our findings on varying noradrenaline levels can explain hyperarousal that characterizes condition such as anxiety disorders and PTSD, and if so, to build on these findings to develop novel methods to improve sleep quality.”
The research was conducted in collaboration with Bristol University, the Weizmann Institute of Science and the University of Montpellier.
Let’s say you wanted to set up an online business to do something good for our planet. Like solar panels for every home and building. How do you start? Here are some tips.
Shopping online is more popular than ever, and it is here to stay.
Setting up an online store is still cheaper than setting up a physical store, especially with the variety of platforms that exist today.
However, creating a successful e-commerce is not an easy task. So, having a good team of professionals to develop the project is essential.
If you were thinking of starting your own e-commerce, read on because this post will serve as a basis to make your dreams come true.
Before you jump into the pool, you should consider several factors that we will list below.
1. Choose the product based on your target audience
This first step after carefully studying the market and selecting our target audience, is choosing the right products and services that solve their needs.
The question you have to ask yourself is, do you want to have an online store specialized in one product or do you want to have a multi-product online store from several sectors?
Our advice is: analyze the product, the competition and the market well, and then decide.
2. Choose the name, logo and register the domain
Choosing a good name for your e-commerce is essential to attract your target audience. It is important that both the domain and the name are short, easy to memorize and can be easily typed.
Also, make sure your logo and slogans convey authority and confidence while representing your business identity.
3. Register Social Networks
Social media is your best weapon of communication and advertising and they can help with search engine positioning. But don’t just settle for Facebook and Twitter. Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube and Google + are other essential social networks.
4. Hire a hosting
Having a good connection speed is key to good positioning in search engines so make sure you choose a good hosting company.
If the page takes more than a few seconds to load and is very slow, it will be penalized by Google. We recommend that you hire reliable hosting companies, which do not fall and leave the shop out of service at any time.
5. Customize and organize your products in your online store
Users should have access to the list of products or services you offer. So include photos, methods, details, advantages and facilities of your products. The more information available to your customers the better.
6. Register your business
One person businesses are generally not required to register with government agencies, but most companies do. Depending on your needs, you will have to register either as a (LLC), a (LLP) or as a corporation.
7. Register databases and draw up legal texts and consumer regulations
The 3 steps are important and essential to be able to sell in your online store.
As far as the legal texts and consumer rules are concerned, take a look at other websites and try to adapt them to your business.
8. Hire a shipping company
Contact several e-commerce shipping companies and ask for quotes. Take into account, though, that you will not have good prices until you have a considerable volume of shipments. Remember that you will also have to get boxes and packaging to send your products safely.
9. Define the means of payment
Ideally, you should offer your customers as many payment method options as possible: the more buying methods available, the more purchases will be done.
10. Get traffic
This point can be the most difficult to execute, as you may start with very few visits a day. We recommend that you get the help of a good SEO agency that helps rank your website in the first page of Google Search results. Also, we suggest that you use the right social networks to give your contents maximum exposure.
Thousands of packages are either stolen, lost in NYC alone and it is only getting worse as more people prefer to shop online. The procedure to handle or claim stolen packages can be lengthy and cumbersome with no instant resolution.
In Western minds, jinn, or djinns, or genies – are Disney figures drawn out of the Orient’s mythical past. But belief in jinns as living creatures with supernatural forces thrives in modern times too.
According to Wikipedia, a survey undertaken by the Pew Research Center in 2012 shows that “…at least 86% in Morocco, 84% in Bangladesh, 63% in Turkey, 55% in Iraq, 53% in Indonesia, 47% in Thailand and 15% elsewhere in Central Asia, Muslims affirm the existence of jinn. The low rate in Central Asia might be influenced by Soviet religious oppression.”
The majestic jinni below was carved into the palace wall of Assyrian King Sargon II, 722-705 B.C.
So powerful is the belief that in Saudia Arabia, for example, sorcery and dealing with jinn is punishable by death.
It’s thought that jinn are figures from pre-Islamic Arabia which Islam absorbed. They are not worshiped, which may be why belief in them is acceptable to Muslims. Jinn are said to be made of fire or of air, and are neutral in character until they chose to follow Allah, or not. Although able to live untold years, they can die, and share other human characteristics, such as the need to eat, drink, and mate. Jinn can mate with humans, too. A modern story by A.S. Byatt, “The Djinn In The Nightingale’s Eye,” draws on this belief.
They are invisible, but can manifest physically in human or animal form, or as a frightful blend of both, or as fire. Lonely, deserted places are believed to be where jinn are found. Jinn haunt ruined houses, the empty desert, and maybe even public places like this deserted train station below.
Epilepsy, narcolepsy, and mental and physical illness are attributed to the malicious workings of jinn, as well as natural phenomena like sandstorms.
Demons are a different class of creature in the hierarchy of supernatural beings. They’re believed to corrupt the hearts of the faithful and lead them astray. This weaken the human spirit and makes it easy for jinn to harm or possess the person.
Not all is bad with jinn, though. A sympathetic one may be helpful. A powerful magician can subdue a jinni to his will and make him do or get things. The 16th-century Persian miniature below shows jinn working to build a wall for Alexander the Great.
Humans and jinn may come to an agreement, where a jinni will do magical favors for someone in exchange for something he desires. In many stories, the jinni grants three wishes in exchange for freedom from bondage.
There are many stories where humans triumph over adversity with the help of friendly jinn – stories that have been handed down over centuries, and are still told.
Mohammad wrote throughout the Koran that adherence to the law, and reciting specific prayers at prescribed times, averts evil spirits. More advice: keep wudu (ritual hygiene), because jinn dislike cleanliness. Eating seven dates first thing in the morning also does it. Jinni are afraid of iron, so a magician can weaken and dominate a jinni by sticking a needle through the jinni’s robes. The belief that iron averts evil spirits is shared around the world. Think of horseshoes hung near the entrance to rustic homes, barns and stables.
The unseen jinn are often depicted as frightful beings as seen in this work on display at Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey (Public domain)
The toilet is also considered a jinn-ridden place. Cast a protective barrier between yourself and the jinn haunting the lavatory: enter with the left foot first, and recite, “In the Name of Allaah; my ‘ilãh I seek refuge in You from the male and female devils.”
Wearing an amulet pouch like the one pictured below will guard you against the evil eye and jinn.
Stay pure in body and heart, pray at all prescribed times, and jinn won’t bother with you. They like sinners better.
Image of female genie trapped in a bottle by Mystic Art Design at Pixabay; Deserted station by Lucas Hartman at Pexels; 16th-century Persian miniature, amulet pouch via Wikipedia; Assyrian wall jinni via LifeScience
Until we have a world full of driverless, electric cars, stay safe on the road, especially in the Middle East where drifting is a sport.
Every year, thousands of vehicular accidents happen in the state of Illinois, many of them could have been avoided. One example is when you’re in a situation where a driver has rear-ended your car. This could have been avoided if you and/or the car behind you has left enough space between you and the car in front. This way the sudden stop would have given both of you the option to move away or has allowed you some space to have a gradual stop.
Defensive driving is described as the practice that drivers should take in order to minimize the dangers associated with driving. These techniques are centered on avoiding collisions, or any untoward incidents. It prioritizes safety, which saves lives and costs can also help in car maintenance and reduces fuel consumption.
Here are reasons why you should practice defensive driving:
Legal Implications
When you follow all of the safety precautions and guidelines but still fall victim to an incident because the other driver is haphazardly taking over the road, you can be entitled to compensation and other fees. Legal recourse will be, more often than not, favorable to you in this situation, but Malman Law believes if you’re injured in an accident, having a knowledgeable lawyer to represent you will help you get the maximum compensation you deserve. You will also have to gather information, seek medical attention, and avoid talking to insurance providers.
Being Aggressive and Distracted Causes Harm
Over a third of accidents are caused by aggressive drivers, the numbers for inattentive or distracted drivers are also high. Being emotionally unstable or mentally impaired while driving will cause you to do unsafe practices that could very well lead to accidents. Also, doing other things while driving limits your ability to react and to make the right decisions in a split second. So avoid texting, reading emails, or watching TV while you’re on the wheel.
Awareness
Defensive driving focuses on your awareness as well as keeping other drivers aware of your intentions through signaling. Being aware of potential hazards and taking measures in advance to avoid them is the key to defensive driving. You should always scan your mirrors, lower the volume of your stereo, and look beyond the car that’s in front of you to help you be aware of hazards before it’s too late.
Reaction Time
Being able to stay alert and react immediately to dangers is one reason why safe driving techniques should be followed. If you’re driving too fast or too close to the car in front as mentioned in the example above will not give you enough time and space to react when you suddenly need to stop. Furthermore, driving while intoxicated or sleep-deprived is also as dangerous because your body won’t be able to respond on time when you need to.
Getting There safely
Driving defensively because we all want to get home safe and sound. You, the people crossing the pedestrian and sidewalks, and many of the drivers you see on the road have a family waiting for them to get home. We must do our part that we all get home safely to our loved ones.
Driving on public roads is a privilege and there’s no other way of driving other than doing it defensively. Saving lives, money, and headache can be largely attributed to safe driving practices. For this to be effective, everyone must follow these practices because we all one to get to our destination in one piece.
The gold dust bought at Walmart may make your graduation photo pretty. But one blow and it’s forever cycling as microplastics that will get into our lungs.
I wonder all the time about Covid 19. Why now? Why aren’t we stopping it? How did it get to invade us in such a quiet way, with such a profound impact on our lives? Most of us didn’t get the message with the planet heating up. Global warming was one message for the way humanity is scaling its growth on a planet that once seemed so giant, which now seems very small. But most of us didn’t listen. Covid-19 is now personal and it’s an important messenger when we link pollution exposure to lung health.
A new study by researchers from Utah State University show that microplastics, the tiny bits of plastic that pervade our oceans and now the stomachs and bodies of marine life, and ultimately us –– has found a new route into our body: through the air we breath. And it’s everywhere.
A recent study that looked at dust at 11 American locations from the Joshua Tree National Park in California to the Wind River Range in Wyoming found that up to 6% of all the dust collected at those locations were made up from microplastics. That’s scary since outdoor pollution causes about 7 million premature deaths a year in the world, and is associated with pulmonary disease.
Could it be that microplastics in our lungs just makes it easier for Covid-19 to take over?
According to Janice Brahney, an assistant professor at Utah State, microplastics may be more toxic than other industrial pollution and dust. The fact is that we just don’t know. “That we can breath in microplastics has been known for decades,” she says in an opinion article in the NY Times, “we just haven’t fully appreciated the scale of the problem.”
Microplastics come from the cheap synthetic clothing we buy at H&M (they tried being sustainable once) and Forever 21. They come from the cheap plastic toys and floating unicorns you buy for the kids at the lake. They come from plastic bags and packaging that your baby cucumbers come in at the supermarket. They may be banned in cosmetics, but they come from car tires, Dollar Store toys, and basically most of the non-organic trash you throw away every single day.
Bioplastics made from organic material
Of course we need sustainable alternatives, like advancing technologies that use non-plastic solutions. Like algae-based plastics, or plastics made from potato starch, or cocoa bean shells made by the Dutch duo designers Eric Klarenbeek and Maartje Dros. Leave it to the Dutch to be dreamers. They know how to plug away at practical solutions when facing adversity. Growing up in a Dutch household I was often told the story of our strength is as small as your thumb. You don’t need to be a giant to think about sticking your thumb into a hole to plug a leaking dyke.
Other organic options include corn starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, and recycled food waste. While cities around the world rush to ban plastics, very little happens after the feel good statement. It’s impossible to enforce plastic bans in cities where shops do what they want and then as an alternative sell the much more polluting and ugly plastic reusable bag that don’t stand the test of time and which just build up in your basement until you throw them out. Get some canvas options that look good and you will use less plastic.
So much of the plastic we use needs to go away and that starts with ending our addiction to takeaway and bottled soda, plastic bags for everything and packaging everywhere including on the fruits and veggies we eat.
LEGO, anyone over in HQ listening? Can’t you make one of the world’s favorite toys in a more sustainable way?
Those weird people that challenge themselves to be “carbonauts” or take low-carbon and zero-plastic waste challenges are running a waste-free marathon for themselves. They are doing it for us to show it can be done.
Bioplastic producers include
3fD
BASF
BioApply Polymers
Braskem
Biofase
BioSphere Plastic
Cardia Bioplastics
Purac
8 tips for cutting down on microplastics:
Avoid shampoos and creams that have pearly textures. And polymer beads. The “pearls” are microplastics. The beads unless certified otherwise are likely plastic. Buy body care products at a health food store that hires knowledgable people. The mom and pop shops are usually the best.
Bring your own bottle and cool coffee cup. Find them in ceramics, with a silicon lid
Buy cotton, better organic, and avoid synthetic throw-away clothing
Buy second hand clothing at vintage and thrift shops
Say no to plastic bags at checkout, and say yes only to cool canvas bags or backpacks –– easier to carry by bike or electric moped
Give up synthetic gum, buy the real stuff instead at natural food stores
Buy tea bags made with cotton, or just buy tea leaves (better, fresher)
Say no to straws, glitter, Dollar Store plastic novelty items, cling wrap
With more cities legislating for the use of green roofs, one Israeli-Canadian dream architect Moshe Safdie has taken the task to hand to inspire the world and show us how it’s done. While we’d take a real forest anyway, if you are lost in the urban jungle be mesmerized by Moshe Safdie Crystal skywalk, a 300 meter cylindrical promenade some 250 meters up in the sky.
Moshe Safdie on the Crystal:
Located in the Chinese megacity Chongqing and costing a whollong $3.4 billion, Safdie likely garnered some tips from the Sky Garden in London, where developers were tasked to create a public garden high in the sky.
Green roofs on a several story city complex are already a challenge. My designer professor friends tried building a tiny one on their roof in Tel Aviv, inspired by facing the green building of Checkpoint across from them, but after one year it leaked, they had to take it down.
No doubt Safdie faced these technical challenges with water, humidity, the need for hydroponics systems and fertigation equipment to keep the forest of plants alive in this real life urban jungle. We will see how architecturally sound the construction is as the years go by.
The Crystal skywalk project built as part of Raffles City, was planned by both Safdie and CapitaLand, one of Asia’s largest real estate development companies. Some 3,000 people a day can visit the Crystal given they keep social distancing.
This new historic site in Chongqing has been built at the center of the city, in a densely developed infrastructure.
The Crystal is part of a large housing complex, hotels, retail space, as well as a subway, bus, and ferry terminals.
Crystal is set atop 4 of 8 towers in this multi-use project called Raffles City, and includes an exploration deck, gardens with hundreds of trees, artificial pools, bars, restaurants, a hotel lobby – and also a view of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers below through a glass-bottom, open-air viewing deck.
All in all some 12,000 tons of steel, 3,000 sections of glass panels and 5,000 aluminum panels were used in the construction of the Crystal.
Moshe Safdie has always been a dreamer among architects and joins the ranks of other beloved Middle East architects such as the late Zaha Hadid from Iraq – the first female and first Muslim to win the Pritzker Prize.
We wrote about smudging to clear bad vibes out, and now let’s have some folklore from the Middle East. Brisk business being done in protective amulets at the Carmel Shuk, Tel Aviv (in pre-Corona times). Belief in the Evil Eye, hostile spirits, and bad luck goes back to very ancient times.
As you see, people believe in the Evil Eye to this day, and are willing to go to some lengths to avert it. Even this Westerner, from decades of living in the Middle East, has come around to the idea that ill-wishing someone, talking about bad things, or feeling jealousy, can invoke bad mojo.
In the Middle East, deflecting these dangers is an involved, emotional, and mysterious business. Here’s a vignette from my Israeli experience.
Sitting at a café, gazing abstractedly out at the street, I noticed a young mother carefully moving her baby carriage out of my field of vision. It took me a minute to realize she thought I was looking at her baby, possibly jealously, and wished to avoid my loaded gaze.
I was insulted; why should she think I, a stranger, was jealous…? But I forgave her a minute later, understanding that naturally, every loving mother wishes to protect her baby. Never mind that she didn’t know me or what I was thinking; the thing was to avoid bad vibes. I’ll bet that pinned to the inside of the baby’s carriage was at least one Hamsah, also known as the Hand of Fatima – the five-fingered amulet that’s said to avert that old Evil Eye, sorcery, and demons.
People whose origins are steeped in Islamic cultures invoke the Hamsah charm freely, raising open palms and repeating “Hamsah” five times. I’ve seen this many times with my Moroccan/Tunisian family connections, at weddings, henna celebrations and circumcisions; also in earnest discussions over life issues. And you can expect to see at least one Hamsah amulet hung around the house wherever Middle Eastern traditions live on.
Having a Hamsah amulet displayed on a wall, or keeping a small one in your pocket, is believed to bring good luck. In Israel, the Hamsah motif has moved from traditional to hip. It’s incorporated in jewelry, key chains, artwork, and, naturally, lottery tickets.
The color blue itself is thought to bring peace, prosperity, and safety. Blue beads representing eyes are also a popular device for warding off the Evil Eye.
Often a Hamsah will incorporate an eye in the center of its design. A double whammy is to buy a large Hamsah with an Arabic or Hebrew blessing inside it.
Designs representing fish are sometimes juxtaposed with other devices, fish being symbols of plenty and purity.
You may see people wearing an evil eye ring as well as a red thread around the left wrist; these are sold by street peddlers who claim that the threads are blessed through kabbalistic methods. This isn’t ancient practice; no more than about 120 years old. The threads are to be tied by seven knots. In some places in Israel, “blessed” red threads are for sale at the tombs of great rabbis and sages. Vendors claim that they have walked seven times around the tomb holding the threads and praying for all good things to happen to people who wear them. And good luck to the customers, I say.
The red thread was briefly fashionable among some celebrities when Madonna began to wear them.
Jewish Eastern European tradition is to spit three times to avoid bad luck. Nowadays, people are content to simply say a phrase of deterrence in Yiddish (”K’neineh horeh”) or Hebrew (”Bli ayin harah”), meaning “No evil eye!” followed by a symbolic, spoken, “Tfu, tfu, tfu!”
Either phrase can be said in earnest, or simply politely, to show the person you’re speaking to that you have no bad intentions toward them. As in: “There haven’t been any new Corona infections in my town, tfu tfu tfu!” Or: “What a pretty child you have, tfu tfu tfu!” It’s the Ashkenazic equivalent of saying “Hamsah!” five times.
In Jewish thought, merely saying the correct name of an illness should be avoided. These days, it’s mostly the Ultra-Orthodox who say “The illness” when referring to cancer.
Maybe I’ve caught on to that way of thinking; I really dislike saying “Corona virus,” or even the more genteel-sounding “Covid-19.” In conversation, I refer to the disease scourging the world today as “the pandemic.” Do I believe that saying its name might bring it closer? Well, that lays a cold finger on the little place in the heart where superstition lurks. I just don’t like saying it.
A large dot of henna in the palm of the hand is also a sign of celebration and deterrence of the Evil Eye. A Yemenite friend brought a basin full of the orange-colored paste to an engagement party I attended, and insisted on smearing it on the young couple’s palms. I asked for some too, to be polite; so did many others.
Did it work? Well, years on, the couple are still devoted to each other and raising a family – tfu, tfu, tfu.
