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IQwind and 7 Israel-related Cleantech Headlines, Week of September 6, 2009

Lisa Damast
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3
IQwind and 7 Israel-related Cleantech Headlines, Week of September 6, 2009

solar-panels

During the week of September 6, 2009, IQwind was named a top 100 cleantech company. Researchers at Ben Gurion University announced that they developed thin films that have potential for solar applications and Norman Borlaug, Father of the “Green Revolution,” passed away. For these stories and the rest of this week’s 7 headlines, check below.

Water
Environmentalists blast Mideast water projects

Solar
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev develops thin films showing promise for solar applications

Bechtel to Build Solar Plant in California

Phone home with Israeli solar cells

In Israel
GoEco Pioneers Volunteer Eco Tourism in Israel

Wind
IQwind Ltd. Named a Global Cleantech 100 Clean Technology Company

Miscellaneous
Father of “Green Revolution” Leaves Behind Big Questions

Turkey Rivals Iran as Pomegranate Powerhouse

Daniella Cheslow
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2
Turkey Rivals Iran as Pomegranate Powerhouse

pomegranates-turkeyAlthough Iran holds the world title for pomegranates, runner-up Turkey is expecting a bumper crop this year that could propel it into the top spot. The Hurriyet Daily News reports that as world demand for pomegranates rises, Turkey has converted field after field of relatively unprofitable cotton over to the crowned red fruit that features prominently in the upcoming Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana), which starts Friday.

Turkey’s pomegranate exports more than doubled between 2006 and 2008; last year it sent abroad 29,000 tons.

Experts credit the expansion to the easy payout, government incentives and skyrocketing demand. Ali Ergezer, the chairman of the chamber of agriculture in the pomegranate city of Tarsus, said the future looks good:

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Father of "Green Revolution" Leaves Behind Big Questions

Daniella Cheslow
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7
Father of "Green Revolution" Leaves Behind Big Questions

norman-borlaugPlant pathologist Norman Borlaug, 95, died this Saturday, raising questions about the legacy of industrial food in the Third World. In 1970, Borlaug received a Nobel Peace Prize for averting famine through bringing fertilizers, pesticides and new plant strains to countries like India, Mexico and Pakistan. But environmentalists argue that his plant engineering only delayed catastrophe at great ecological costs.

According to the Washington Post, Borlaug grew up in Iowa and was touched by the lines of people in bread lines during the Great Depression. He wanted to solve the issue of hunger. After getting his Ph.D in plant pathology in 1942, he worked on a team requested by the Mexican government to increase wheat production. First, he grew wheat in two seasons rather than one. Then, Borlaug developed a short-stalked “dwarf” wheat because fertilizer had made the old variety so tall the stalk fell over.

With Mexico on his resume, Borlaug went to develop dwarf rice species for Southeast Asia. By the end of his career, according to his foundation, the World Food Prize, he had programs in Latin America and Southeast Asia, along with a fat portfolio in the Middle East: Beginning in the early 1960’s, his approach to wheat breeding was introduced in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Iran, Libya, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Algeria and Saudi Arabia. By the mid-1980s, he was pushing for a Green Revolution in Africa, too.

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Table to Table "Recycles" Left Over Food to the Needy

Maurice Picow
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1
Table to Table "Recycles" Left Over Food to the Needy
A special "volunteer" serves the needy
A special “volunteer” serves the needy

You’ve read many Green Prophet articles dealing with all kinds of recycling; ranging from paper and plastic materials , to plant and animal refuse for use as compost heaps.

But not a lot has been mentioned concerning a very important and essential type of “recycling” that not only is environmentally friendly, but also helps to provide food for those less fortunate in Israel, and in other parts of the world.

This type of recycling involves an organization known as Table to Table, which provides left over food from restaurants and social events, surplus farm produce, and other sources (hospitals and other institutions, etc) and distributes this food to needy people.

Israel’s Table to Table NGO is based on an American version bearing the same name and headquartered in New Jersey.

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Have a Sweet and Green Rosh Hashanah

Karen Chernick
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19
Have a Sweet and Green Rosh Hashanah

plastic yarn pomegranate limitzWith the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) coming up this week, many of us are reflecting on the past year and making resolutions for the next.  These resolutions may include ways to treat ourselves better, ways to be better to those around us, and ways to make a more positive impact on our surroundings.

Making a green resolution is a way to do all of those things at once.  Need help thinking of one?  Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

Make your own… fill in the blank.  Make your own tomato sauce, grow your own vegetables, craft your own gifts, sew your own clothes and for those adventurous ones out there – make your own energy by building a solar oven.  Making your own saves precious fossil fuels and reduces waste, but you can also look at it as an opportunity to fuel your creativity.

Buy local, handmade and recycled.  If you must buy, buy something that is local, handmade, and that has been given a second (or third, or fourth, or fifth) life.  Local food is a given, and if it can be as local as your window sill or backyard then all the better.  But what about everything else?  Need some notebooks from school?  A new sweater?  A gift for someone?  Be conscious of your choices and of the impact that your consumerism makes.  If you need help finding things that fit these categories, try looking locally on Etsy or shopping Etsy’s ecoetsy category.  (The above pomegranates, handmade out of upcycled plastic yarn, were created by Israeli Etsy seller LIMITZ – stay tuned next week for a feature on her upcycled designs.)

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New ideas for dusty kitchen curios

Karen Chernick
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2
New ideas for dusty kitchen curios

bundt pan jewelry boxThink Again is a series that provides fun ideas for how to reuse items in your home that you would normally throw out or recycle.  Reusing is higher on the “green” food chain than recycling, because getting another use out of an object is always more effective than spending the energy to recycle it.  Plus, trying to reuse can force us to be creative!

The Think Again series has featured mini projects so far, but sometimes reusing an item literally means just thinking again.  Look at an item that you have in a different way, turn it over or on its side, and think of a new use for it.

So why not start with an area of our homes that needs some decluttering anyway – the back of the kitchen cabinet, home of all those unused kitchen appliances?

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GoEco Pioneers Volunteer Eco Tourism in Israel

Karen Chernick
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4
GoEco Pioneers Volunteer Eco Tourism in Israel

volunteer ecotourism nazarethThere are plenty of eco tourism options all over the Middle East.  With the vast range of habitats present in this relatively small region, it’s no wonder that eco tourism is gaining popularity in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Iran and Israel.

But volunteer tourism?  That’s something new.

GoEco, a volunteer organization established in 2005 by Jonathan Gilben and Jonathan Tal (both of whom have degrees in Environmental and Geographical Studies), is a pioneer in introducing the concept of volunteer tourism to Israel.  Volunteer tourism is a relatively new field in which travel benefits not only the tourist but the community that he or she visits.

Gilben said about GoEco‘s mission that “we believe in giving tourists the opportunity to get involved with the communities they visit… GoEco is the first and only volunteer tourism organization in Israel, and we have directed many participants to programs in Israel and abroad that are both inspirational and fun.”

We hope that the concept of volunteer tourism spreads all over the Middle East.

GoEco’s first volunteer project was an Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center in Michmoret, on the Mediterranean Sea, in the summer of 2006.  Since then they have successfully organized volunteer projects in Israel and all over the world – in locations such as Nepal, Thailand, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

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Global Cleantech 100 Includes 5 Israeli Companies

Green Prophet
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11
Global Cleantech 100 Includes 5 Israeli Companies

wind-turbineIsrael was the only Middle East representation to make the new Global Cleantech 100 list, and according to the survey 5 companies made the cut. 

According to the search engine on the Guardian, only 4 made the cut, they are water purification company AqWise, solar company Solel Solar Systems, energy storage company EnStorage, wind energy gear box company IQWind. 

Additionally, Better Place, the electric car company which is registered as a US company, but founded by Israelis, made the cut; as did BrightSource the solar energy company, also founded by Israelis.

The list is developed by the UK-based newspaper, The Guardian and the Cleantech Group which providers of leading research, events and advisory services for the cleantech world. Supported by the Carbon Trust, the Global Cleantech 100 recognises companies at the forefront of cleantech innovation offering solutions to some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

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Reuse Your Pillows!

Jack Reichert
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3
Reuse Your Pillows!

pillow-fightPillows are made of not the best synthetic material for landfills. That plus the fact that pillow manufacturing companies recommend getting new ones every 6 months – 2 years. That can lead to a lot of unhealthy non-degradable fluff filling up our dumps.

The good news is that there are plenty of wonderful ways to reuse your old pillows, just make sure that you wash them first…

  • Use the stuffing to pad new pillows making them even firmer!
  • Donate them to a local animal shelter. What isn’t fluffy enough for you is a pillow heaven for an unwanted puppy.
  • Make decorative pillows for your living room and use the old pillows to stuff them.
  • Save them for the next time you pack. Your dishes will never have a smoother move.

Image Credit: Pensiero

Dead Sea and 8 Israel-related Cleantech Headlines, Week of August 30, 2009

Lisa Damast
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2
Dead Sea and 8 Israel-related Cleantech Headlines, Week of August 30, 2009

gulf of aqaba moses rock

During the week of August 30, 2009, news included that the Dead Sea is drying quicker than usual. Israeli and Jordanian scientists have come together to study and protect the Gulf of Aqaba in the south and wastewater treatment company, BPT announced that it raised $12 million. For these stories and more see the headlines below.

Investments
Israel’s BPT Raises $12M For Clean Water Technology

Siemens, Areva, Alstom Said to Bid for Israeli Solar Firm Solel

Projects
Jordanian and Israeli Scientists Collaborate to Study and Protect the Gulf of Aqaba

A solar-powered COMET lights up Palestinian homes

Solar
AlwaysOn Names 2009 GoingGreen 100 and Overall Winner BrightSource Energy

Israel Pioneering Use of “Bottled” Solar Energy Has Many Following Suit

Environment
Dead Sea drying quicker than usual

Wind
Wind turbine project gathers steam

Israel Firm "WaterSheer" Sends Emergency Equipment to Typhoon-Battered Taiwan

Green Prophet Guest
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4
Israel Firm "WaterSheer" Sends Emergency Equipment to Typhoon-Battered Taiwan

sulis-water-gadget-israel photoTAIPEI, TAIWAN — When Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan in early August, causing massive landslides in the southern part of the country, Israel, as soon as the extent of the destruction was known, sent Israeli-made water-purification equipment and high-speed water transport equipment to Taiwan.

The monster typhoon hit on August 8, causing widespread flooding in the south — the worst in over 50 years — and leading the death of over 700 people in remote villages in mountainous terrain. By August 13, Israel answered Taiwan’s call for help with a shipment of water-purification equipment, according to Raphael Gamzou, head of the Israeli Economic and Cultural Office, which serves as Israel de facto embassy in Taipei in the absence of formal diplomatic relations.

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The SODIS Makes Light – And Water – Of Plastic Bottles

Maurice Picow
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16
The SODIS Makes Light – And Water – Of Plastic Bottles
A SODIS water purification "plant"
A SODIS water purification "plant"

The evils of plastic water and beverage bottles have already been noted in previous Green Prophet articles, including one dealing with bottled water conflicting with green values ; and another more recent one that noted how so-called bottled water is really mostly tap water that is bottled and then sold at premium prices.

But now, there may be some redemption for that one-and-a-half  liter polystyrene bottle as a safe and low cost way to purify drinking water. Known as solar disinfection, or SODIS  for short, the method is almost cost-free and is now being used in many developing countries to make well and tap water safe for human consumption.

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Amir Zinaburg's Recycled Designs Can-Can

Karen Chernick
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11
Amir Zinaburg's Recycled Designs Can-Can

recycled can furnitureSo far on Green Prophet we’ve seen aluminum soda cans transformed into flowers and window store displays.  But we’ve never seen them transformed into furniture.  Amir Zinaburg’s designs show us what the can can do.

A graduate of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design (together with other Israeli eco-designers Erez Mulai, Zohar Yarom and Yoav Kotik), Zinaburg trained as an industrial designer.

The three piece line of furniture that he created – which includes a chair, a bar stool, and an armchair – is created entirely out of repurposed aluminum soda cans and is titled “Refurnish Your Memory”.

Zinaburg explains the artistic vision behind the furniture: “In the recycling industry, between the gathering and concentrating phase and the melting/grinding phase, is the inter-phase of compressing.  The objects compounding the cube become in a way autonomous and unique by the force of the compressing operation, and in contrast to the objects’ former life-cycle, in which they were similar, as part of the cube, each object has a different, incidental and uncontrollable form.  The new/old esthetic formed by the compressing action is controversial and even at times difficult to digest, since the memory of the object’s former function acts as a repellent.  In nowadays, in urban surroundings, the only nature that is available to us is an artificial one, one that is manufactured, like city gardens and traffic islands.  Waste has become an integral part of our modern lives, a kind of urban nature, and that is why it can be regarded as a raw material like any other.”

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The Hula Valley Gets Stocked As Birds Prepare for Pelican Restaurant

Karin Kloosterman
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10
The Hula Valley Gets Stocked As Birds Prepare for Pelican Restaurant

hula-valley-birds

“If they don’t eat, they don’t fly,” is what one Israeli ecologist recently said in a Haaretz article on the new Pelican Restaurant, open for business in the Hula Valley.

Some 500 million birds will be flying through Israel this fall, as they migrate from Europe to Africa. Fish farmers in Israel, irate over birds pillaging their fish ponds have been known to open fire on the birds. To keep nature in balance, the government has approved NIS 300,000 to stock the Hula Valley pond with tons of fresh tilapia for the pelicans and storks to feed on.

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A Solar-Powered Comet Lights Palestinian Villages

Karin Kloosterman
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3
A Solar-Powered Comet Lights Palestinian Villages

comet palestine umm-el-fahem-greenprophet-picture-palestine1

Palestinians in the south Mount Hebron region of the West Bank endure a complicated political situation and a stark reality. In this exceptionally poor area, they also live with the irony of looking up to see power lines crisscrossing their view of the sky, while they lack electricity in their homes.

Elad Orian and Noam Dotan, two political activists from Israel who are also physicists, have started a solar energy and wind project to supply power to the people who were left in the dark. They say that they both felt the time had come to do something practical with their politics that would improve people’s lives.

On their website, they describe the mission of their homegrown project, COMET (Community, Energy and Technology in the Middle East) as facilitating “social and economic empowerment… The core of our activity is the provision of basic energy services for off-grid communities in a way that is both environmentally and socially sustainable.”

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