Page 263 – Green Prophet

Drones show how pigs get a raw deal in factory farms

Cities

Maurice Picow

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February 9, 2015

Drones show how pigs get a raw deal in factory farms

Animal abuse in the meat processing industry can be particularly disturbing. Whether this involves severe animal abuse in a kosher poultry slaughterhouse; or cruelty to larger hoofed animals being prodded and shocked with electric devices while being led to their fate, the issue of animal abuse in the commercial meat industry often becomes something not less than shocking, to say the least.

When it involves pigs, which have a similar anatomical structure to human beings (so similar that pig organs have sometimes been used in temporary organ transplants to humans), the issue of animal abuse can be more than just shocking.

One of the most graphic and shocking examples of severe pig abuse was captivated recently on film at a large pork factory farm in the American state of North Carolina as graphically shown on the video below.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayGJ1YSfDXs[/youtube]

The video, taken by the aid of a small pilotless drone device, shows first what appears to be a large square pond of muddy water. This “pond” in reality is a large sewage lagoon containing discharges of pig feces and urine. The excrement is pumped into the lagoon from a large number of long enclosed sheds where thousands of swine are kept in steel enclosures so small the animal cannot even turn around.

When the lagoon becomes too full of its foul smelling mixture, the contents are disposed of in the surrounding countryside by high pressure hoses that turn the feces-urine mixture into a fine spray. The spray results in all kinds of health problems to people living nearby. Some of these health problems include causing children and adults to suffer from severe asthma and other forms of respiratory diseases. It is said that there are as many as 2,000 of these “farms” located in the U.S. state of North Carolina alone.

Despite some efforts made to ease a pig’s suffering during the slaughtering process, there is no really humane method.

Even “stunning” a pig by using an electric shock device or using a hammer to hit it on the head prior to being slaughtered causes great pain and suffering to the animal. This YouTube clip shows men “humanely” slaughtering a pig. From the looks on their faces, they seem to be enjoying what they are doing.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7uJvjbN968[/youtube]

Although the Middle East does not have such a serious problem concerning pork production, due mainly to Jewish and Muslim dietary laws, there are enough examples there of animal abuse, including severe abuse of swine at a pig farm in Israel, a country where eating pork is forbidden by the observant Jewish and Muslim populations.

Pigs are also severely abused and were even slaughtered by the thousands in Egypt during the Swine Flu epidemic a few years back. Swine are kept in large numbers in Egypt by “Zabaleen”, members of Egypt’s minority Christian population, who not only consume them as food, but use them to help keep the country’s high amounts of organic garbage under control.

One might expect examples of severe animal abuse to not be occurring in sophisticated Western countries like the USA, but it surely is happening. Most people who purchase the sanitarily packaged pork products being produced at such factory farms are most likely not even be aware of what occurs in these places. Or perhaps people care less about what happens there.

Read more on animal abuse of swine and other animals as a result of the meat processing industry:

Pig Abuse Rampant in Kosher Israel
See Severe Animal Abuse at Israel’s Largest Kosher Poultry Slaughterhouse – Video
Israel’s Cruel Meat Industry Exposed by Watchdog TV Show
Swine Flu harms people and the environment in Egypt

Photo: selecting a pig for slaughtering; The Guardian

Storm mappers chase after patterns for climate change

Tech

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February 9, 2015

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Storm mappers chase after patterns for climate change

The Doomsday Clock, which measures the likelihood of global catastrophe, last month ticked a minute closer to “midnight” — the apocalypse. The symbolic clock was set to 11:57 by a board of atomic scientists featuring 17 Nobel Laureates, who warned that the planet, beset by climate change and nuclear proliferation, faced extraordinary and undeniable threats to its continued existence. Let’s not forget that 2014 was the hottest year on planetary record.

New research by Prof. Colin Price from Tel Aviv University published in Environmental Research Letters will likely be crucial to measuring the impact of climate change on thunderstorms — one of the weather occurrences most problematic for human life on the planet. The varying frequency and intensity of thunderstorms have direct repercussions for the public, agriculture, and industry.

“To date, satellites have only provided snapshots of thunderstorm incidence,” said Prof. Price, whose new map of thunderstorms around the world is the first of its kind. “We want to use our algorithm to determine how climate change will affect the frequency and intensity of thunderstorms. According to climate change predictions, every one percent rise in global temperature will lead to a 10 percent increase in thunderstorm activity. This means that we could see 25 percent more lightning by the end of the century.”

Keeping track of lightning

To draft a global thunderstorm map, Prof. Price and TAU graduate student Keren Mezuman used a vast global lightning network of 70 weather stations capable of detecting radio waves produced by lightning — the main feature of a thunderstorm — from thousands of miles away. The World Wide Lightning Location Network (http://wwlln.net) is run by atmospheric scientists at universities and research institutes around the world. The TAU team harnessed this ground-based system to cluster individual lightning flashes into “thunderstorm cells.”

Every hour the exact GPS time of every detected lightning pulse was registered. Prof. Price and his colleagues then calculated the difference in arrival times of signals, using data from four to five different stations to locate individual lightning strokes anywhere on the globe. Finally, the researchers grouped the detected flashes into clusters of thunderstorm cells.

The WWLLN station in Israel has the ability to detect lightning as far away as central Africa.

Climate change and thunderstorms

“When we clustered the lighting strikes into storm cells, we found that there were around 1,000 thunderstorms active at any time somewhere on the globe,” said Prof. Price.

The researchers, pooling seven years of data analysis, found that every day lightning activity on earth peaked at 1900 GMT, with low activity at 0300 GMT every day. While previous studies had estimated that 90 percent of lightning flashes occurred over land areas, the TAU team found that only 50 percent of the thunderstorms cells existed over land areas, implying that land storms have much more lightning than ocean storms.

“How lightning will be distributed in storms, and how the number and intensity of storms will change in the future, are questions we are working on answering,” Prof. Price said.

Weather map photo from Shutterstock

Wadi Drone for conservation flies through Emirati national park and scoops top prize

Cities

Catherine Ellis

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February 9, 2015

15

It flies over mountains and through valleys, taking in the vast landscapes and diverse wildlife beneath it. Only this isn’t a bird, it’s a drone.

They’ve had some bad press and the public has been slow to embrace them but after the final of what’s been dubbed “The World Cup of Drones,” things might be about to change. The aim of the year-long Drones for Good contest was to find positive technological solutions to fight modern day issues.

A group of UAE students won the national category for coming up with a practical idea for a drone to improve government services in the Emirates. Their entry, the Wadi Drone, was designed to help local authorities track the country’s diverse flora and fauna in remote desert and mountain areas, where sending a person to do it could harm the natural environment or even be a risk to the person’s safety. Wadi means ‘valley’ in Arabic.

Already – the Wadi Drone is making the work of conservationists easier. It’s being used in the UAE’s Fujairah’s Wadi Wurayah National Park and there are plans to expand it to other areas throughout the country.

Catching wild animals on film

Using commercial drone technology and proprietary software, it flies for up 40 km at a time over the UAE’s mountainous park, wirelessly downloading photographs from 120 camera traps on the ground that capture images of wild animals at the park as they pass in front of a motion sensor. It’s already snapped images of Blandford fox, Gordon’s wildcat, hedgehogs, Caracal lynx and goats.

Previously the data was collected twice a year, but with the introduction of the Wadi drone, data can be collected once a month. The drone will also make monitoring easier in summer months, as previously a helicopter had to be deployed when it was too hot to trek.

The Wadi Drone winning team is comprised of four NYU Abu Dhabi students: Martin Slosarik, Ting-Che Lin, Vasily Rudchenko, Kai-erik Jensen, advised by visiting instructor and research associate, Matt Karau. In developing the drone, the team joined forces with the Emirates Wildlife Society and the Wadi Wurayah National Park.

Martin Slosarik, studying electrical engineering at NYUAD, told Green Prophet: “We developed the idea for this project in careful consideration of where drones can and should exist to do good for the benefit of society. It is a great honor to win the national UAE Drones for Good Award,” he said.

The team plan to use the AED 1million ($273,000) prize to fully implement the Wadi Drone project in Wadi Wurayah National Park and they hope to expand it regionally and internationally.

Martin added that the greatest outcome of the competition was not the handful of winning ideas but “the fact that dozens of individuals committed months to develop innovative solutions that envision a world in which drones and humans harmoniously co-exist.”

Yezidis get winter aid from Israelis

Lifestyle

Karin Kloosterman

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February 9, 2015

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Green Prophet’s own Laurie Balbo has spearheaded relief efforts to warm Syrian refugees in Northern Jordan. She and her partner Virginia Nitz (wife of Green Prophet’s Brian) have single-handedly collected tens of thousands of hand-made hats and winter items to warm the bones and souls of displaced Syrians. In times of trouble, Israelis too are reaching out to the Yazidis – Christians from Iraq who have been displaced and slaughtered for their religious beliefs. In the above photo, the Israeli organization ISRAID shows its on the ground support to provide relief efforts this winter to warm and support the Yezidi people. The organization has sent mattresses, blankets and warm, non-food items to help keep the Yazidis safe.

Loans for rooftop solar are heating up in Egypt

Cities

Faisal O'Keefe

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February 7, 2015

8

Loans for rooftop solar are heating up in Egypt

Two Egyptian banks are moving into green lending with an initiative to finance rooftop solar power systems for residential consumers. National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr are offering loans within specific areas of Cairo, with plans to expand into Egypt’s other governorates. How will that work in a mostly Muslim country, where interest payments are forbidden by Islamic law?

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Holy sh*t! Mummies float in Egyptian sewage!

Health

Faisal O'Keefe

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February 6, 2015

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Holy sh*t! Mummies float in Egyptian sewage!

Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities reported a new discovery of several Greco-Roman era mummies near Minya in northeastern Egypt, 250 kilometers south of Cairo. The new discoveries occurred when police found two wooden sarcophagi floating along a village waterway in a pool of raw sewage.

Polluted water is a persistent problem for the country’s archaeological treasures. But it’s a more serious challenge for millions of Egyptians, alive and long dead.

Youssef Khalifa, the head of the Antiquities Sector, told CairoScene magazine that it’s likely the mummies were unearthed by villagers engaged in illegal excavations, then discarded in the cesspool (image above) to cover their tracks. Egypt imposes tight restrictions on excavations; in October 2014 authorities arrested seven people after an illegal dig in Giza uncovered the remains of an ancient temple. Neither risk of arrest nor filthy muck deterred these thieves.

Thick layers of linen swaddled the mummies, whose conditions were radically deteriorated by the surrounding waste. Only a few human remains could be identified, according to the ministry’s report.

Two sarcophagi colorfully painted with the images of women’s faces date back to around 332 BC to 395 AD, but the Ministry of Antiquities says little is left of the bodies. “Although the coffins were decorated with colorful designs, they were missing any ancient Egyptian inscriptions or hieroglyphics,” the ministry said in a statement. A third, empty sarcophagus was also found.

Restoration has been only mildly successful, according to Egypt’s Daily News. Eventually the mummies and sarcophagi will be displayed at Minya’s Hermopolis Museum.

Mummies are commonly found across Egypt. We recently reported on archaeologists from Utah’s Brigham Young University now digging in a cemetery estimated to hold over a million ancient Egyptians. It’s disturbing that villagers would drop these latest finds into a cesspool, despite understanding their historical significance. But urban Egypt’s plastic pollution and open sewage pools are perhaps more unsettling.

How cannabis will feed the world

Cities

Karin Kloosterman

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February 1, 2015

1

I didn’t mean to go to pot. But after of researching urban food movements in a bid to save the world from hunger, cannabis clearly emerged as the answer. Cannabis and what’s happening now in Canada, the United States, and Israel will be the answer to global food shortages.

Mark my words: Marijuana will feed Africa, it will save China, and it will give Americans everywhere a better quality of life. You are scratching your head, right?

Let me connect the dots.

We’ll start with a few points you can’t ignore: The world is growing beyond capacity. More people live in cities than the country. Fewer people want to be traditional farmers, and global warming and our dependence on fossil fuel is killing our planet. Add to the muck land shortages, over-fertilization, pesticides… conventional agriculture as it is, I’ve summed up, cannot be the answer.

Meanwhile activists are crying out against Monsanto and the large monopolies that put much in the hands of very few. A day doesn’t go by when you don’t read a new study about the dangers of modern pesticides. Or greenhouse gas emissions putting our planet in peril. Oh, and just last week –– why biofuels have been a big disaster in the end. Now there is not enough land to grow corn. Oops.

But if you really think about it, you know that there is something terribly wrong with growing potatoes in Canada, chopping them up in China, and then selling them as chips in America.

We need to look somewhere else to make sense of our food production madness. We need to look to the people. Don’t blame the system. Blame yourself.

Americans did it before and they will likely do it again given recent urban food trends in cities like New York.

During the Second World War, Eleanor Roosevelt compelled Americans to plant Victory Gardens, and in so doing they produced 40 percent of their fresh foods and vegetables! Isn’t that about the same number economists say that we will need from urban farmers of the future to sustain our planet? These were urban gardens in backyards, schools, patios and between high rise buildings.

While the war is long over there is a new breed of Americans, Canadians and Europeans who are planting food anywhere they can grow it: on rooftops, on patios, in skyscrapers, in basements and even inside restaurants. This food is hyper local, hyper nutritious because it’s fresh and without much pesticides, and growing it gives people a sense of meaning, connection to nature, and, in a way, a better quality of life.

So why don’t more people do it now?

Since most of us live in cities access to land isn’t simple. And this is where I circle back to pot: 15 years ago cannabis growers in the United States and Canada (when it was completely illegal) discovered a better way to grow pot. Well mainly at first it was to avoid being busted by the cops. This novel hydroponic method which used 90% less water and no heavy bags of soil, made it easier to hide underground operations in basements and closets, or in Gran’s shed, and over time a whole industry emerged from it: it’s called hydroponics and it means water farming, without soil.

If this is a world that you’re oblivious to Google “Hydro Shop + your hometown” to understand just how many pot growers are cultivating in your neighborhood. The point here is not to pay lip service to the pot industry, and I am certainly not supporting illegal activities, but to extract from my research that pot growers grow their crops like mad scientists.

Those who do it on water have developed their own tricks of the trade: seed hybrids with crazy names like Dutch Crunch, autoflower seeds for quicker flowering times, nutrient ratios and formulas that will make your head spin, and light cycles that will impress. They know how to detect disease and pests with the slight change of leaf color. They’ve hacked together technologies to automate and optimize their plants; and they work alone but somehow as a collective, in an unstructured, but supportive way to help each other grow the best plants possible.

Take out the word cannabis and change it to tomatoes, cucumbers, or strawberries and you’ve got a new kind of food production system perfect for cities.

Understanding the scope of this wisdom that cannabis growers are developing is part of the mission in my startup flux. I am developing a tool that takes the pain and hardships out of water farming, making it accessible, fun and communal.

Marijuana growers today, whether they are running small grow ops in the basement, or are running $10 million grow ops in Canada are building the wisdom that will feed our planet more sustainably from the ground, or rather, from the “water” up. Some are eager to share this wisdom.

I’ve spent more than a decade as a media entrepreneur studying and covering the urban food movement globally. I know that going to pot to feed the world sounds nuts. It’s not the typical story that traditional investors want to hear. But the winds are changing over here in Israel where I am growing my new startup.

Government funds now seem to be okay supporting technologies in the cannabis field, and people managing these funds are listening to me with very open minds. As we speak traditional agriculture companies from Israel all seem to be digging into the US and Canadian cannabis markets. This is what I am hearing at conferences. They too want a stake in what could be the next gold rush.

From my research cannabis is either a $150 billion legal and grey market combined, or a $2.6 billion legal market this year in the US depending on whether you are looking at police records or cannabis sales from legalized states.

With legislation changing quickly in the US, the numbers are bound to rise. But I am still sticking to my plan to feed the world. In the meantime I’ll ride the tailwind of cannabis to develop the best tools for the job. Want to join me?

Saudi prince loves poaching

Travel

Faisal O'Keefe

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January 31, 2015

1

Last year, Green Prophet broadcast the alarming news of a Saudi prince who poached thousands of protected birds during a 21-day hunting safari in Pakistan.

Nearly a year on, the Sindh High Court has revoked a federal notification that allowed issuance of permits to Arab dignitaries for hunting endangered species – (including the houbara bustard, pictured above) – in the country. It’s a significant victory for the birds and the villagers who land they nest on.

Every year, Arab monarchs, princes and sheikhs arrange for special licenses that allow them to hunt the endangered houbara bustard in Pakistan for ten days with a 100-birds-per-bag limit. Last year, 16 licences were granted, but the hunting party of Prince Fahd bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud reportedly slaughtered 2,100 bird, more than the total number of licensed kills for the year.

The houbara bustard, locally known as Tiloor, was declared an endangered species in 1912, and Pakistan imposed a permanent ban on hunting the bird in 1972. The Sindh High Court had struck down the temporary licences for Arab royals in 1992, but the practice continued unabated.

The new ruling responded to a petition filed by villagers charging that the foreign affairs ministry had allocated different districts of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan to dignitaries of the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar for hunting protected animals. They alleged that a private department of Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan that organizes hunting on private property, working with local officials, illegally took over thousands of acres of land for the purposes of hunting protected animals such as the bustard, ibex, markhor, crocodile, and blanfordi sheep.

Their counsel also alleged that illegal acts had been carried out in national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and protected areas. The petition asserted that local officials were heavily compensated by Arab dignitaries.

The federal attorney argued that the government could declare any area as a game reserve with hunting allowed via special permits specifying the maximum number of animals that could be killed or captured. The federal government, he added, could issue special permits to heads of Gulf countries and members of royal families. The hunters use falcons to kill the birds; special hunting permits also allow temporary import and re-export of the falcons.

This ruling – if enforced – is good news for wildlife conservation, but it was incited by self-preservation of a largely impoverished people. The villagers claimed they were prohibited from farming their lands and grazing their cattle from November 2014 to February 2015 to allow the Gulf royals to set up hunting posts and patrol the area in their vehicles.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources estimates the houbara bustards’ global population to be at 100,000, declining 20% annually due to hunting and habitat degradation. They are globally protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Image of slaughtered birds from Pakistan Defense

Tesla teases with insanity: get shocked by this electric car!

Faisal O'Keefe

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January 30, 2015

12

Tesla teases with insanity: get shocked by this electric car!

Tesla CEO and Founder Elon Musk is shocking his fan base with a special feature more likely to appeal to drag racers and Middle East “drifting” aficionados than the usual suspects attracted to his stylish and environmentally excellent electric cars. Press the “Insane Button” and his all-wheel-drive Model S P85D rockets from 0-60 miles per hour (mph) in just over 3 seconds. It’s the world’s fastest electric car, now with roller-coaster thrills built-in.

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#OnlyInDubai is eating the calories you just burned considered “good health”

Faisal O'Keefe

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January 30, 2015

3

#OnlyInDubai is eating the calories you just burned considered “good health”

Working out with no results? Health professionals in Dubai have a counter-intuitive solution to consider: eat more!

So you’re trying to make good on your New Year’s resolution to put down the shawarma and pick up some weights. But after a month, you can’t see results (nor your toes). Fear not, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has your back (and belly) with a dozen new programs about nutrition for exercise.

Exercising and healthy eating go hand-in-hand, and you’re unlikely to reach your desired workout results without a healthy meal plan, warns the DHA. Planning to burn 600 calories during your work-out? Then swallow a snack packing 300 calories. You read that right. They claim that a healthy pre-exercise nibble should contain 50% of the calories you expect to burn, ideally made up of about 30% protein, 55% carbs and 15 % fats.

DHA-suggested examples start out sensibly enough with nuts with yogurt, and hummus and veggies, but then escalate to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and yogurt smoothies – menu choices that likely led you to the treadmill to begin with.

But here’s where their plan really derails: they also recommend a second snacking after your workout – again, loaded with half of the calories you’ve just burned off. The DHA smartly urges that ample water be drunk throughout the workout, but goes on to state that your exercised body is in “recovery mode”, requiring a nutrient dense meal to stay in best health.

“In 2013, we noticed that although some of our patients were regular with exercise but they were following incorrect practices such as not consuming water during exercise, consuming unnatural protein sources etc.,” said Wafa Ayesh, DHA Director of Clinical Nutrition, “We then realized that it is important to educate people about correct nutrition especially before and after exercise so that they can see positive results and be healthy. People need to understand that exercise and healthy eating go hand-in-hand.”

Exercise boosts metabolism, which means that after your workout your body at rest will burn more calories than it would had you not exercised. But to sandwich workouts between meals that replace in total the calories you just spent sounds like flabby fitness advice. Especially in the Gulf states which are producing a bumper crop of obese and diabetic people.

In its weekly Twitter clinic, the DHA announced it will carry out several awareness campaigns at walking tracks throughout the emirate over the next 3 months.

They’ve set up booths at Dubai’s various walking venues where they will be addressing topics such as nutrition for athletes, ideal foods to consume before and after exercise, and the hazards of energy drinks. They will also give free health screening for Body Mass Index, blood sugar and blood pressure. Find them at these locations on the specified dates:

Zabeel Park, Gate 3: 4 to 6 PM on January 19, February 16, March 16, and April 6
Al Khawaneej: 4 to 6 PM on January 26, February 23, and March 23
Hatta Park: 11 AM to 1 PM on February 9 and March 9

And if DHA is to be believed, bring plenty of snacks.

Image of athlete eating rice from Shutterstock

WaterGen gadget pulls drinking water from thin air

Tech

Maurice Picow

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January 27, 2015

5

Finding ways to augment supplies of fresh drinking water have been around for years. These ideas vary from basic “low tech” ones like a Yemenite funnel water cone to extract fresh water from saltwater to using water created by aircon units.

Purifying sewage systems to create safe, drinkable fresh water are also being tried; and have received visible support by personalities such as high tech mogul Bill Gates, who demonstrated this by drinking purified toilet water. The headline: from Poop to Potable.

Extracting water from the air may have one of the most promising futures due to technology being developed by an Israeli company, Water-Gen, that has taken extraction of water from AC units one step further.

Impressing and hydrating armies

WaterGen is now developing and producing portable units that literally turn water vapor in the air into potable drinking water. The company first got its start back in 2011 when it introduced its first working prototype units for the Israeli Defense Forces.

From there, it has also received attention from the US, French and UK militaries; which have been looking for a more economical way to provide fresh water to troops stationed in desert locations like Iraq, North Africa and Afghanistan, where transported drinking water can cost anywhere from $15 to $17 a gallon.

WaterGen units that have received the most attention from the military include a “wearable” portable Spring System unit (see photo) that can filter as much as 7 to 10 gallons (28 – 40 liters) daily; and a larger unit for field bases that produces as much as 120 gallons (480 liters) a day.

WaterGen Chairman and co-CEO Arye Kohavi says that a portable water producing system helps free the military from the need to transport water supplies in tanker convoys which have often been subject to attack in locations like Afghanistan.

India, a country which has a severe problem of enough fresh water for its giant population, has also become interested in Water-Gen devices.

This has resulted in agreements being reached to introduce civilian versions of WaterGen units into India this year. “We have been approached by many companies in India to partner with for launching products with WaterGen technology. We will launch our products there this year; and believe the Indian market has a huge potential,” says Water-Gen founder Kohavi.

If WaterGen will work in a country such as India, one might well imagine how it would work in other locations which have suitable climate conditions. This could include parts of the Middle East; if this becomes possible.

Update 2020, the Watergen units are going to the UAE.

Hebrew University and PhytoTech from Australia partner on medical cannabis patch

Health

Karin Kloosterman

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January 27, 2015

2

Everything is coming up green in Israel. At least that’s how it seems in the medical cannabis space. We’ve recently interviewed Dr. Alan Shackelford (Charlotte’s Web) then there is Canna Tech next week. Just in: Yissum, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, just announced that it will work with PhytoTech Medical of Australia on cannabidiol (CBD) and THC, the active ingredients in cannabis, for the treatment of a variety of medical indications.

The novel formulations are based on oral and transbuccal delivery technologies developed by Professors Abraham Domb and Amnon Hoffman from the Institute of Drug Research, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Last week on January 22, 2015, PhytoTech Medical became the first medical marijuana company on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The company raised about US$4.7 million at a share price of $0.20 per share. The offer was significantly oversubscribed, demonstrating the high level of demand in the market to invest in MC stocks and the calibre of the offering by PhytoTech.

Cannabis based medications are currently in clinical use worldwide. The most known formulation is Sativex, a sublingual spray delivering CBD and THC. You can read about the problems with Sativex on our LaraPharm interview.

PhytoTech will develop an improved, oral capsule formulation and transbuccal delivery system that consists of a flexible, muco-adhesive patch that will release the active ingredients of cannabis in a controlled manner.

Yaacov Michlin, CEO of Yissum, said: “We are very pleased to collaborate with PhytoTech in developing the inventions of Professors Domb and Hoffman for the purpose of delivering the active components in cannabis.

“Medical cannabis is increasingly being used for a variety of indications, such as reducing nausea during chemotherapy and relieving pain and muscle spasticity in MS patients. Development of state-of-the-art delivery systems for the active ingredients will undoubtedly pave the way for a wider variety of clinical indications for these types of drugs.”

Boaz Wachtel from PhytoTech says:“We are happy to collaborate with Yissum in developing this novel delivery platform for THC and CBD.We believe that Yissum’s novel transbuccal delivery method is particularly appropriate for the delivery of these agents, and helps avoid problems such as lack of standardization of drug concentration, and health risks stemming from more traditional ways of absorbing cannabis, such as smoking.”

Image of THC molecule from Shutterstock

Can solar panels boost green roof productivity? New study asks

Energy

Karin Kloosterman

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January 27, 2015

2

There’s plenty of cold weather still to come if you live in the Middle East, but the University of Haifa is preparing for the sun, with a new study that examines whether solar electricity panels and green roofs can work well in tandem. It is basically the question can 1+1=3?

The Kadas Green Roofs Ecology Research Center (which we’ve featured here) and which is headed by Prof. Leon Blaustein, researches the potential contributions of green roofs – roofs that are partially or completely covered with vegetation.

With ongoing urbanization, which reduces the variety of species found in cities, green roofs can increase biological diversity, and also provide insulation, bringing energy benefits to building owners who will save money on heating and cooling.

Green Roof researchers pouring coffee on it

Now the researchers, as part of a doctoral project by Bracha Schindler (not pictured above), are trying to add another “green” element to such roofs – solar panels that produce electricity. According to Kadas Center manager Dr. Shay Levy, the research hypothesis is that a green roof cools the panels, which will improve electricity production on hot days.

The panels, meanwhile, will provide shade and greater heterogeneity, making areas of the roof habitable by a wider variety of flora and fauna.

The above study is the precursor of a larger study being planned by the Kadas Center in conjunction with the Green Knesset project being implemented by the Knesset, where solar panels will be installed on green roof plots atop the Knesset after the shemitta (sabbatical) year is over in early Fall 2015.

The findings of the research project at University of Haifa will facilitate the larger research project on the rooftop of the Knesset, where the importance of irrigation on the PV-green roof synergy will also be assessed.

“We are always looking for synergy – combinations that make a total contribution that’s bigger than that of the individual components,” Dr. Levy said. “On the assumption that our hypotheses prove themselves, we hope to find a green synergy that will benefit the environment and perhaps further encourage the planting of green roofs and the installation of solar panels all over our cities.”

LaraPharm’s dry-powder inhaler delivers cannabis like a medicine

Health

Karin Kloosterman

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January 27, 2015

3

Since humankind has discovered healing properties of herbs like cannabis, inhalation through smoke has been the delivery method of choice. Smoking cannabis makes the molecules go straight to the blood and brain. It’s great for some people, but for those using cannabis medicinally –– and want to work, drive and tend to their children –– rolling and smoking a joint with all of its psychoactive effects isn’t appropriate.

Meet LaraPharm, an Israeli company that plans on delivering cannabis through an inhaler, not as a wet vapor, oil, or in a brownie, but as a synthetic material put inside a dry puff inhaler, the same inhalers used to treat asthma.

It is the first company in the world to take THC and other cannabinoids and attempt to deliver them this way. Rita Alter (left), the CEO and founder of LaraPharm, founded the company four 4 years ago and has put her family savings behind the idea: she believes it could be a winning solution for the multi-billion pharmaceutical companies that want to go into the medical cannabis business but who don’t know how to approach cannabis from a medicinal standpoint.

Cannabis growing to $40 billion in the US

The major Pharma companies cannot sell joints, says Alter: “They need a pharmaceutical medicine with controlled dosage and efficacy. For them, the medical cannabis business is a multi-billion dollar game they’re left out of. LaraPharm can turn the tables on that and provide them with a viable medicine replacing medical marijuana,” she tells Green Prophet.

It was in the clinical setting that Alter first got turned onto cannabis. Four years ago she was working for the Helsinki Review Board at an Israeli hospital. The international review board oversees clinical trials and makes sure that doctors are not breaching human rights and are delivering the experimental medicines as required. There, she noticed the real need for a medicinal form of medical marijuana.

Along with their prescribed medicines, top doctors, heads of wards, were telling patients suffering from extreme pain or gastrointestinal problems to take their medicines but also to go home at night and smoke a joint. Because pot can help, they told their patients.

“It was strange to hear many senior doctors telling their patients suffering from pain or stomach ailments to go home and smoke some marijuana,” says Alter. “Of course it sounded weird at first. But I understood that marijuana is a plant with great therapeutic qualities.”

Alter knew that she was onto something and started furiously researching and mapping cannabis use throughout the centuries. What happened next is what makes Alter part of Israel’s Startup Nation: With a background in microbiology, human immunology and genetics Alter started working on a company: “I looked at the use of cannabis in cultures around the world, as a medicine for giving birth, and then the later demonization of cannabis that spread throughout Europe until recent times.”

She could do something new.

Alter then collected scientists who’d worked at the failed Israeli cannabis company Pharmos, to treat pain, and those from respected pharma companies like Taro and Teva. They dove, quite literally, into pot together.

Some $250,000 has been put into the company so far. Unlike in the US where research on cannabis compounds is illegal on the federal level, in Israel it is not and talking about it and dealing with it has become in a way commonplace, although it is illegal to smoke recreationally in Israel.

Taking marijuana to clinical studies

Today, with her advisors, and an investment from Therapix, a local publicly traded bio-med investment company, Alter is building a startup in Israel to help people dose themselves using a new kind of inhaler that delivers medical grade synthetic cannabis molecules just like an asthma inhaler.

Alter has built the breakthrough formulation design, filed a patent and is now looking for an investment of about $13 million USD to enter clinical trials with expected commercial launch within two years.

She aims to create a medical solution that can portion out medical grade and replicable doses of synthetic, cannabis-like drugs to sick people who need it most. The drug will be developed in such a way that the dose will be standard and reliable, to meter out the same effects every time.

Consider that the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly that had a cannabis extract on the market 100 years ago. The same company today might want to get into cannabis but doesn’t have a channel.

Also, today the landscape is bleak for people in need of medical cannabis. Just smoking the plant flowers can’t ensure a regular and reliable dose due to genetic variations of the plants being grown, how it’s grown and how it’s administered.

Meanwhile in terms of pain relief there haven’t been any advances since NSAIDs (Ibuprofen) or opiates which can be highly addictive, says Alter: “I saw the need and dug in.”

Scientists today estimate that cannabis contains 70 or more active compounds. THC, the chemical that gets you high in pot is one of the most therapeutically influential but it is also only one of 70. What Alter plans to do is build a platform solution so that drug companies can build dozens or more of their own drugs, based on these molecules in any combination and then deliver them through the inhaler.

Can LaraPharm put the major Pharma companies back into what’s estimated to be a $40 billion legal market in the US alone by 2020?

“Well we aren’t the first to think about the need,” Alter says humbly. There is Marinol, a company with $200 million in sales that produces a synthetic THC and delivers it with sesame oil. It’s been on the market for 30 years to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and reportedly works very poorly. After reaching the blood and due to the liver pass there is a dumping effect and a person gets high for a long period of time.”

Then there is GW Pharma, a $1.3 billion company with contracts in 25 countries that produces a THC and CBD spray (Sativex) which is absorbed sublingually, or under the tounge. The company is listed on the LSE and NASDAQ stock exchanges but you can’t find it in the US, she says. “Patients globally report dissatisfaction from this solution and the Sativex sales never really took-off.”

Those two companies pretty much sums up the international business for medical cannabis pharmaceuticals, Alter notes.

Alter thinks the delivery system is the problem, because, she nods, “think about how most people use cannabis today? They smoke joints.”

What she’s done is developed a dry inhaler, the same kind used for asthma sufferers, and has loaded it with a dried powder made form synthetic THC. While the THC is not patentable, the delivery method is: how the powder is made and how the combinations of drugs can be formulated for specific diseases.

It is the know-how of this unique formulation and pharmaceutical constituents that Alter wants to use to entice large pharmaceutical companies.

Over in Jerusalem, where THC was discovered by Prof. Raphael Mechoulam in the 60s “he is screaming for someone to do something with these molecules,” Alter says.

Indeed. Among the many times I’ve interviewed Mechoulam he says that a replicable, medicinal grade dosage system is highly sought after.

LaraPharm includes a management team of six that started working on the product three years ago. So far Alter has invested her family savings into the company, about $250,000 and an investment in the company this past summer by the Israeli company Therapix.

Today she is seeking about $12 million to get her through the 12 months of animal studies, lung tests, and first-in-man clinical trials. When done, she plans to go ahead to pass Phase II regulations.

Then comes the bigger mountains to climb that people who smoke joints don’t think about: Alter will need about $150 million to turn LaraPharm into a global leader providing cannabis-based solutions for the development of a whole family of novel drugs for unmet medical needs.

Is she crazy?

The pharma business is risky, with high stakes, but the rewards can be worth it, she says. Especially if you are always aware of the real goals of this enterprise, Alter says.

“My motto is: let’s help sick people first.”

Alter will be presenting her company at Israel’s first Canna Tech event on February 5. There is still spaces left for accredited investors. Link here.

To read more on LaraPharm, click here.

Image of woman and inhaler from Shutterstock

Want to join an archeology dig?

Archeology

Karin Kloosterman

-

January 26, 2015

3

Join an archeology dig — Join a summer archeology dig

It’s a dream for some and a reality that can come true if you plan in visiting Israel this year. The country some say is an open archeology site. You can literally find ruins everywhere. But let’s say you want to participate in a formal dig and even possibly earn school credit. If this tickles your fancy, read on for the ultimate guide of Israeli digs this summer, one starting as early as the first week of February. Details, costs and contacts are in the rough guide below.

Joining a dig is a great way to get close to ancient history and if you are an environment lover – a way to learn about the simpler ways of life, before industrialization and technology.

VOLUNTEERING AT A DIG IN ISRAEL

Many archaeologists enlist volunteer help on their digs, as volunteers are highly motivated and wish to learn and gain experience, although the work is often difficult and tedious. Usually, no previous experience is necessary. The work includes digging, shoveling, hauling baskets of earth and sherds, cleaning pottery sherds and more. Volunteers are responsible for their own travel arrangements to and from Israel.

Accommodations for volunteers can range from sleeping bags in the field, to rooms in hostels or kibbutzim, to 3-star hotels near a site. Each expedition has its own accommodation arrangements.

There is usually a charge for food and lodging, although on some excavations these are free. Volunteers who require kosher food should inquire in advance. Excavations conducted in or near a city often require volunteers to find their own accommodations.

Volunteers should have comfortable, sturdy clothes for heavy work. Sunhats are absolutely compulsory in summer; warm clothing is suggested for summer evenings as the weather can be cool. Winters are wet and cold; warm clothes and water-proof boots are necessary.

Equipment that may be useful – depending on the conditions at the site and the type of accommodation available – includes work-gloves, sleeping bag, canteen, towels and sunscreen lotion.TMRECREATION AND TRIPINSURCE

In most cases, volunteers must arrange for medical and accident insurance in advance. Even in instances when accident insurance is provided, it is strongly advised that volunteers come fully insured as the insurance offered is minimal.

APPLICATION AND REGISTRATION

When applying to the director of an excavation you should indicate any previous studies you may have in archaeology or related fields, such as anthropology, architecture, geography, surveying, graphic arts; or experience in excavation work, pottery restoration or photography.

For registration, please contact the persons listed in the individual entries. Please note that a registration fee is often required.

Note: Israel Ministry of Interior regulations require that passports of all volunteers (other than Israeli) be stamped with a volunteer visa (B4). This request should be made by the volunteer at the point of entry into Israel.

MORE details on the archeology digs in Israel


CENTRAL TIMNA VALLEY (CTV)	The Central Timna Valley (CTV) Project is a multi-year project of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, focusing on copper production sites in the southern Aravah Valley at the transitional period between the Late Bronze and Iron Ages (1300-800 BCE). The excavations are aimed at addressing social, technological and chronological aspects of the ancient copper production industry. Field work is conducted on a small scale, designed to address specific research questions, and is complemented by various laboratory analyses of the different archaeometallurgical finds. The project is based on two intensive weeks of field work, excavations, lectures and field trips to various ancient copper production sites, with emphasis on learning different excavation methods and understanding technological evolution from the dawn of metallurgy to the Islamic period, as shaped by the environmental background.
Director:	Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef, Tel Aviv University
Dates:	Feb 1-13
Accommodation:	Simple huts near the Timna Valley; several nights will be in sleeping bags in a heated tent. Full board.
Cost for volunteers:	Variable based on length of stay: $950 for entire field season
Minimum participation:	3 days
Application deadline:	January 25, 2015
Academic credit:	2 academic credits of TAU for the course: Field Archaeology (0671-1216). Israeli students are required to complete their 20 days quota in a different project during the summer. TAU academic fees are $125 per unit (total $250 for the course).
Insurance:	Volunteers must arrange their own medical and accident insurance in advance, and offer proof of doing so. The expedition will not cover any claims of damage to equipment or injuries to the volunteers or their visitors.
Work hours:	The season is short and without breaks; it includes work on Saturdays and Sundays.
Contact:	Yitzhak Vassal, [email protected], or call +972-3-6409427 Additional phone number: Gali Edelstein, Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern Cultures at TAU – +972-3-6409703
Website:	For more information see website


KHIRBET EL-MAQATIR	The location of the city of Ai mentioned in Joshua 7-8 has long been a matter of mystery and controversy. The geographic, historical and archaeological evidence collected in excavations to date demonstrates that Khirbet el-Maqatir is the Ai of Joshua. The discoveries to date include include a rare 15th century BC Egyptian scarab, a Late Bronze I city gate and wall system, large amounts of pottery from the time of Joshua, remains from the Judges period, evidence of destruction by fire, ancient coins, a first century AD city/town, and a Byzantine monastery.
Directors:	Dr. Scott Stripling, Wharton County Junior College and Belhaven University
Dates:	May 24 – June 13
Accommodation:	Mount Scopus Hotel, 10 Sheikh Jarrah Street, Jerusalem
Cost:	One week: $1100. Two weeks: $2149. Three weeks: $2999. Includes double occupancy, three meals a day, evening classes. Rates for participation other than 1, 2 or 3 weeks can be priced on an individual basis, depending on the availability of hotel rooms.
Registration fee:	$500 deposit
Minimum participation:	At least one week participation is preferred, but not required.
Application deadline:	Deadline for signup – April 1, 2015. Final payment in full is due April 15, 2015.
Daily schedule:	5:45 AM – 1:45 PM Excavations, with lunch break 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM Pottery washing 7-8 PM Evening Biblical teaching as scheduled .
Recreation:	During the dig, two weekends trips will be made available. Park entrance fees, bus and/or van costs are not included, but will be paid by participants in Israel, about $30-$50 per day.
Insurance:	Volunteers must arrange their own medical and accident insurance valid in Israel in advance, and offer proof of doing so.
Contact:	Henry B. Smith, Jr. Associates for Biblical Research P.O. Box 144 Akron, PA 17501 Phone: 1-800-430-0008 Fax: 1-717-859-3393 Email: [email protected]
Website:	For more information and application form see ABR website

GEZER WATER SYSTEM	Gezer, one of three cities fortified by Solomon, guards the western entrance of Jerusalem from the coastal plain. Gezer was continuously occupied from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Period. Excavations will focus on re-opening the ancient water system that was first discovered in the early 1900’s but was not entirely explored. In 2015 we will continue to clear more of the diagonal tunnel, clearing the tunnel area between the area of the water source and the bottom steps, explore futher the possibility of an external entry, and expand the restoration of the area.
Directors:	Tsvika Tsuk, Director of Archaeology for Israel Parks Authority Drs. Daniel Warner, James Parker, and R. Dennis Cole of NOBTS
Dates:	May 24 – June 12
Accommodation:	Air-conditioned rooms at the Neve Shalom Guest House, with three to four persons per room. All guestrooms have air conditioning, telephone, television, and refrigerator.
Cost:	$1800 for the 3-week season. The price does not include airfare to and from Israel or weekend study tours. Some space is available for those who cannot stay all 3 weeks, at $600 per week.
Registration fee:	Deposit of $500 is due by March 15, balance of payment due by April 20.
Academic program and credit:	Either 3 or 6 semester hours of credit can be obtained through NOBTS for the full 3 week participation in the expedition. A reduced tuition charge will be assessed by NOBTS for participants in course credit. Some undergraduate credit is also available.
Minimum participation:	Preference to volunteers who join the project for the full five weeks of the excavation season. It is possible to arrange for a minimum two week stay upon approval by the project directors.
Work hours:	Monday through Friday: 5:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – excavation. Afternoon – lab work in camp (pottery washing, processing of material culture, etc.), and a lecture.
Field trips:	The expedition will arrange travel to various key areas and sites during the three week stay, including such areas a Jerusalem, Galilee, the coastal plains of Sharon and Philistia, and the Dead Sea.
Recreation:	Swimming pool. Located midway between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, Neve Shalom/ Wahat al-Salam overlooks the Ayalon Valley and the Coastal plain. The village is surrounded by olive groves, pine forests and fields. Within walking distance are the Trappist Monastery of Latrun and the Yitzhak Rabin National Park.
Minimum participation:	Preference for full period, minimum two week stay upon approval by the project directors.
Insurance:	Volunteers must arrange their own medical and accident insurance in advance and offer proof of doing so.
Contact:	Dr. Dan Warner ([email protected]), Dr. Dennis Cole, ([email protected]), or Dr. Tsvika Tsuk ([email protected])
Website:	For registration details and application form see website.


BETHSAIDA	Bethsaida, situated on the north Sea of Galilee was founded in the10th century BCE as the capital city of the biblical kingdom of Geshur. During the Time of Jesus Bethsaida served as the birthplace of three Apostles Peter, Andrew and Philip and a place where Jesus performed many miracles, it is one of the most frequently mentioned towns in the New Testament.
Director:	Prof. Rami Arav, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Dates:	Session 1: May 25 – June 6 Session 2: June 7-20 Session 3: June 21 – July 4
Accommodation:	Nof Ginosar Hotel on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee
Cost:	$643-1310 per week according to type (dorm, triple, double, single)
Registration fee:	$200 deposit (Full reimbursement until March 31, 2015. Cancellation fee of $100 April 1-30, 2015)
Minimum participation:	One week
Work days:	Monday-Friday 5:30am – 12:30 pm: Fieldwork 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm: Lab work and pottery 8:00pm – 9:00pm: Lecture
Recreation:	Kibbutz Ginosar is located right on the Sea of Galilee, and there is also a swimming pool on the kibbutz. Weekend tours are arranged throughout the season (for an additional charge).
Insurance:	Volunteers must arrange their own medical and accident insurance in advance, and offer proof of doing so.
Contact:	Kristy Leahy Pape, Excavations Coordinator 1.402.554.3108 [email protected]
Website:	For more information and application form see:http://world.unomaha.edu/bethsaida/dig.php

TEL BURNA	The site of Tel Burna is located in the Shephelah region, which served as a border between the kingdoms of Judah and Philistia in the Iron Age. A fertile area that supported agricultural production, the region became known as the breadbasket of the south. Survey finds indicate the city was important throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages. Excavations have revealed settlements from the thirteenth, ninth, eighth and seventh centuries BCE, as well as some Persian period remains. This summer, we plan to continue the excavations on the upper mound, where the Iron Age II fortified city stood.
Director:	Dr. Itzhaq Shai and Dr. Joe Uziel, Institute of Archaeology, Bar Ilan University
Dates:	June 7 – July 3
Accommodation:	Standard lodgings are 4-6 people per room.
Cost for volunteers:	$450 per week. Includes room and board from Sunday morning to Friday morning, travel to and from the site, field trips (1-2 per week), lectures, and all dig-related activities.
Registration fee:	$50 (non-refundable)
Application and payment deadline:	May 1, 2015
Minimum stay & age:	One week. Minimum age 18.
Insurance:	Volunteers must arrange their own medical and accident insurance in advance, and offer proof of doing so. All participants must be of sound mind and body, enabling participation in an exerting physical activity, in (occasionally adverse) outdoor conditions. Participants are required to undergo a medical examination prior to the excavation and present a medical doctor’s authorization.
Work hours:	Volunteers will participate both in excavation (ca. 6AM-1PM) and in post-excavation activities such as pottery washing which will be conducted in the afternoon and evening.
Contact:	Itzhaq Shai [email protected] Institute of Archaeology Bar Ilan University Ramat Gan, Israel, 52900 Telephone: 972-54-4700596
Website:	For more information and registration forms see flyer andwww.telburna.wordpress.com

TEL HAZOR	Hazor is a major site in the Galilee, located approximately 5 km. north of Rosh Pina. The population of Hazor in the second millennium BCE is estimated to have been about 20,000, making it the largest and most important city in the entire region, located strategically on the route connecting Egypt and Babylon. The city was rebuilt and fortified by King Solomon and prospered in the days of Ahab and Jeroboam II, until its final destruction by the Assyrians in 732 BCE.
Director:	Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor, Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University
Dates:	June 21 – July 31. The season is divided into two 3 week sessions: Sunday June 21 – Friday July 10; Sunday July 12 – Friday July 31. It is possible to apply for either one of the three week sessions or both, but preference will be given to those who apply for the entire 6-week season.
Accommodation:	Holiday Village of Kibbutz Gonen. All the rooms equipped with air-condition, TV and a kitchenette.
Cost:	$1500 per session ($500 per week x 3) or $2800 for those who register for the entire period.
Registration fee:	$75 nonrefundable registration fee.
Credit courses:	Students may arrange to receive academic credit (undergraduate or graduate level) through the Rothberg International School. These credit points can be transferred to the student’s home institution. The cost is $80 for the application fee and $120 per academic credit point, each equals 1 week of participation (students can get up to 6 credit points for the whole season). Students opting to receive academic credit should state their intent upon registration, and directions for application to the credit program will be sent by mail.
Work hours:	Monday through Friday: 5:00 a.m. to 14:30 p.m. – excavation and pottery washing.
Lectures:	A series of lectures during the week will provide training in field archaeology and the interpretation of finds.
Recreation:	The kibbutz has a swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts.
Minimum age:	18
Minimum participation:	3 weeks.
Insurance:	Volunteers must arrange their own medical and accident insurance in advance and offer proof of doing so.
Contact:	Mail the application form + registration fee to: Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University Mount Scopus Jerusalem 91905 Israel Tel. 972-2-5882403/4 Fax: 972-2-5825548 For information contact: Dr. Sharon Zuckerman Email: [email protected]
Website:	For registration details and application form see Hazor website.


TEL KABRI	Located in a quiet rural setting within the western Galilee, a ten minute ride from the historical town of Acco and the modern resort town of Nahariya, the site of Tel Kabri has what may be the earliest-known Western art yet found in the Eastern Mediterranean. In 2013, we found the oldest and largest wine cellar in the ancient Near East, in the storage rooms of the palace. We will be continuing the excavation of these during the 2015 season.
Co-Directors:	Assaf Yasur-Landau, Haifa University and Eric H. Cline, George Washington University
Dates:	June 21 – July 30, split into two sessions of three weeks each: June 21 – July 9 and July 12-30.
Accommodation:	Western Galilee Field School, near Achziv beach, north of Nahariya. Meals provided during work week.
Cost:	Room and Board: $750 per week ($600 for returnees and consortium members)
Registration fee:	$50 non-refundable deposit
Application deadline:	All payments will be due in full by 1 April 2015.
Credit courses:	We anticipate offering the following course through the University of Haifa, for credit which should transfer back to US colleges and universities: Kabri Archaeological Field School: Methods and Techniques in Field Archaeology (3 credits). It is expected that the cost of the field techniques class, available as transfer credits from the University of Haifa, will be US $600 per 3 credit course.
Work hours:	Sunday through Thursday: 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Work on the finds continues between 4-6 pm in the excavation camp. For those who are enrolled in the field school, several afternoons a week will be dedicated to lectures and practice of field techniques.
Lectures:	A series of lectures during the week will provide training in field archaeology and the interpretation of finds.
Minimum age:	18
Minimum participation:	3 weeks
Insurance:	Volunteers must arrange their own medical and accident insurance in advance and offer proof of doing so.
Contact:	Eric H. Cline, Ph.D. – Chair, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, George Washington University Tel: (202) 994-0316, Fax: (202) 994-2156; Email:[email protected]
Website:	For registration details and application form see website.

TELL ES-SAFI/GATH	The site of Tell es-Safi/Gath is located in the Shephelah region (the Judean foothills), approximately half way between Jerusalem and Ashkelon. One of the largest archaeological sites in Israel, it is identified as Canaanite and Philistine Gath, Medieval Blanche Garde, and modern Tell es-Safi. During biblical times this was one of the five major cities of the Philistines, the home of Goliath and Achish according to the biblical text. Excavations over the last 17 years have uncovered impressive remains, including the worlds earliest known siege system, rich finds from the Bronze and Iron Age periods, Philistine temples, inscriptions and art, and evidence of the destruction of the city of Gath by Hazael, king of Aram Damascus, as mentioned in II Kings 12. In the upcoming 2015 season, we plan to continue to excavate levels dating to these various phases, with particular emphasis on the Early and Late Bronze Ages, and various stages of the Iron Age.
Director:	Prof. Aren Maeir, Institute of Archaeology, Bar Ilan University
Dates:	June 28 – July 24
Accommodation:	Kibbutz Revadim. Standard lodgings are 4-6 people per room; double and single rooms available for additional fee.
Cost for volunteers:	US$450 per week. Includes room and board from Sunday morning to Friday morning, travel to and from the site, field trips (1-2 per week), lectures, and all dig-related activities. Weekends and double/single rooms available for additional fee.
Registration fee:	US$50 (non-refundable)
Application deadline:	May 1, 2015
Academic program:	A field school in field archaeology will provide university credits (from Bar-Ilan University): 3 credits for 2 weeks ($500 additional payment) or 6 credits for 4 weeks ($1000 additional payment).
Work hours:	Monday afternoon to Friday afternoon. Includes excavation (ca. 6AM-1PM) and in post-excavation activities such as pottery washing which will be conducted in the afternoon and evening.
Minimum age:	16 to 90. Volunteers under the age of 18 must have the consent of their parents/legal guardians.
Minimum stay:	2 weeks
Recreation:	Kibbutz pool
Lecture/class:	Twice a week, in evenings.
Insurance:	Volunteers must arrange their own medical and accident insurance in advance, and offer proof of doing so. All participants must be of sound mind and body, enabling participation in an exerting physical activity, in (occasionally adverse) outdoor conditions. Participants are required to undergo a medical examination prior to the excavation and present a medical doctor’s authorization.
Contact:	Prof. Aren M. Maeir, Institute of Archaeology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, ISRAEL TEL: +972-54-6205082; FAX: +972-3-635-4941 E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website:	For more information and registration forms see:gath.wordpress.com

HIPPOS (SUSSITA)	The ancient city of Hippos, one of the Decapolis, was erected upon the plateau of Sussita Mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee which stretches west of it. The Hippos dig is one of the main Classical Period excavations being conducted during last decade in Israel. This season’s plans include: excavations of a Roman period Basilica, excavations of fortification segments (the bastion), and excavations of the Roman-Byzantine southern bathhouse.
Director:	Dr. Michael Eisenberg, University of Haifa
Dates:	July 19 – Aug 13 Session A: July 19-30 Session B: August 2-13
Accommodation:	Kibbutz Sha’ar HaGolan in air-conditioned rooms including weekends (3 meals a day, expedition tours, leisure activity, lectures, etc.), 2-4 per room
Cost:	Session A or B (2 weeks each) – Cost for full Room and Board: $1410 Tuition Fee for 2 Credits: $150 Session A and B (4 weeks) – Cost for full Room and Board: $2525 Tuition Fee for 4 Credits: $150.
Registration fee:	100 Euro (nonrefundable) in personal or bank check. Fee will be deducted from total cost of participants.
Application deadline:	March 30, 2015. Full payment by April 20.
Work hours:	Excavation (Sunday-Thursday): 05:00-12:00, with additional work assignments and lectures in the afternoon and evenings.
Recreation:	Guided tours; on weekends participants may relax or travel on their own or enjoy on the shore of the Tiberias Lake.
Minimum age:	16
Minimum participation:	Two week session. Preference will be given to those who apply for the entire season.
Insurance:	It is mandatory for each participant to provide proof of full medical insurance covering all aspects of illness or possible injury.
Contact:	Dr. Michael Eisenberg, Co-Director, Hippos (Sussita) Project, Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel Tel. 972-4-8249392; Fax: 972-4-8249876 E-mail: [email protected]
Website:	For registration details and application formhttp://hippos.haifa.ac.il/


ASHDOD-YAM	In summer 2015, we are planning to continue the excavations of the Iron Age compound (known also as an ‘Assyrian enclosure’) at the site of Ashdod-Yam (South) (Ashdod on the Sea; Asdudimmu in the neo-Assyrian sources; a part of Azotos Paralios in Byzantine times), which is located on the coast of Israel (within the boundaries of the modern city of Ashdod). The fate of Ashdod-Yam was always connected to the capital city of Ashdod (one of the five major Philistine cities during the Iron Age. Already during the Late Bronze Age there was probably a small port of trade at Ashdod-Yam, which served the capital city, while its main port of trade was located at Tel Mor, north-west of Tel Ashdod.Tel Mor’s significance was diminished during the Iron Age and Ashdod-Yam became the main coastal settlement connected directly to the inland city of Ashdod.
Dates:	July 19 – August 22
Directors:	Dr. Alexander Fantalkin, Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology Prof. Angelika Berlejung, Leipzig University Institut für Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
Accommodation:	ORT YAMI-ASHDOD Naval officers boarding school. Full board on weekdays, up to 3-4 people in a room. Includes room on weekends, no meals provided.
Cost:	Two weeks: US $ 1200 Three weeks: US $ 1750 Four weeks: US $ 2300
Registration fee (non-refundable):	$50
Work days:	Monday through Friday. Saturday and Sunday free.
Lectures and tours:	Academic lectures and workshops; afternoon archaeological programs and social activities, educational tours to archaeological and historical sites and museums in the region.
Academic credit:	It is our intention to develop an additional educational program for foreign students who will get academic credit hours from Tel Aviv University
Recreation:	Accommodation located within short walking distance of Mediterranean beaches.

Minimum participation:	Two consecutive weeks.
Insurance:	Volunteers must arrange their own medical and accident insurance in advance and offer proof of doing so.
Contact:	Dr. Alexander Fantalkin, [email protected], Tel. +972-54-5721866
Website and application forms:	Official website: http://www.ashdod-yam-archaeological-excavations.com


ASHKELON	From the Canaanite era (2000-1200 B.C.), Ashkelon was one of the most important ancient seaports in Israel and in the eastern Mediterranean. In 2015, we will continue to uncover Ashkelon’s history from the Bronze Age through the Crusades.
Directors:	Lawrence E. Stager and Adam J. Aja, Harvard University
Dates:	TBA
Accommodation:	Dan Gardens Hotel
Cost:	TBA In addition to the program fee, students are responsible for: A health insurance fee (waived if students have US insurance that provides coverage outside the United States) Transportation to and from Ashkelon Independent excursions The cost of passports and visas (if the latter is needed) Any immunizations
Academic program:	Students who are participating in the Ashkelon program for course credit take Harvard University NELC S-198: Field School and Education Program for Ashkelon Excavations: The Leon Levy Expedition (32237). For more information and application see website.
Application fee:	$50 (nonrefundable)
Application deadline:	January 29, 2015
Minimum age:	Students must be at least 18 years old, have completed at least 1 year of college or be a first-year student, and be in good academic standing to apply.
Work hours:	Sunday-Friday: Excavation – 5:30-1:00; Pottery washing – 4:30-6:30 except on Fridays.
Recreation:	Saturdays free. Hotel is located near the beach, has a swimming pool, tennis court, weight room and sauna.
Insurance:	Volunteers must arrange their own medical and accident insurance valid in Israel in advance, and offer proof of doing so.
Contact:	Ashkelon Excavations, [email protected], (617) 495-9385
Website:	For more information and application form see Harvard excavation website or the Leon Levy Expedition website.

Israel Antiquities Authority

The Israel Antiquities Authority’s Department of Education and Information is responsible for educational programs in archaeology and heritage preservation. The department runs three centers for archaeology, offering tours, workshops, activities, enrichment courses and opportunities to participate in excavations.

For information on volunteer opportunities available at the IAA, contact Meyrav Shay: [email protected] or call her at 972 52 428 4408. Volunteers from abroad should also prepare a photocopy of their insurance policy.

The

Assaf Peretz, courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority

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