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Peace Cycle Takes Bikers Through West Bank

Daniella Cheslow
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Peace Cycle Takes Bikers Through West Bank

peace-cycleWe’ve posted here before about a Walk About Love, a hike for Israel and a bike ride to benefit Israel’s environment. This October, get a more regional view through Peace Cycle, a bike trip from Amman to Jerusalem.

While the rough terrain and stunning views will certainly be rewarding, Peace Cycle’s main purpose is activism on behalf of Palestinians. The trail will start in refugee camps in Jordan, wend through the  Arab villages outside of Israeli cities Haifa and Nazereth, and then hit the major urban centers of the West Bank – Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron. Jerusalem is last.

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HCL CleanTech’s Cleaner Approach to Cellulosic Ethanol Production

Marcus Sopher
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2
HCL CleanTech’s Cleaner Approach to Cellulosic Ethanol Production

HCL-cleantech

Cellulosic ethanol has often been viewed as the class of ethanol with the most promise, as it converts agriculture and forestry wastes, city sewage treatment wastes, and free growing and specially grown grasses, into usable fuel.

While cellulosic ethanol has the advantage of using a variety of materials that would otherwise be waste products, the limiting factors in the industry have been high costs, low conversion yields, and environmentally damaging practices such as excessive water and Hydrochloric acid use.

Israel’s HCL CleanTech has set out to counter the major issues that the cellulosic ethanol industry is dealing with, through its new method of cellulosic ethanol production that centers around a 97 percent conversion rate from biowaste into biofuel, significantly less the HCL and water use, along with a significantly cheaper production cost.

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Is the Financial Crisis Making It Harder to go Organic? No Sweat Apparel in Trouble

Karen Chernick
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Is the Financial Crisis Making It Harder to go Organic? No Sweat Apparel in Trouble

organic clothing bethlehemWith the financial crisis effecting more and more people every day and spending becoming significantly more conscious, many consumers are choosing to trim the fat. 

Unfortunately, this often means becoming more dollar conscious and less eco conscious. 

Greener choices – such as organic, shade-grown, or local – often cost a little bit more, and so another adverse effect of the financial crisis is that the cheaper and more environmentally harmful choices are gaining more popularity.

One green company suffering as a result is No Sweat Apparel, an organic clothing company working exclusively with union shops and run by American entrepreneur Adam Nieman.

Starting in 2006, No Sweat Apparel has been active in the Middle East through its production of organic t-shirts in Bethlehem. 

This endeavor both encourages green practices and provides jobs in an area where many are unemployed.

Unfortunately, No Sweat Apparel is not untouched by the financial crisis… hence a current liquidation of their online store.  Including the Bethlehem line of organic tees.

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Reuse Your Wine Bottles

Jack Reichert
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Reuse Your Wine Bottles

There are some very beautiful wine bottles around and it seems a terrible shame to just throw them away. Here are a few ideas of how to harness that beauty and make your house classier as well.

Some fancy restaurants use empty wine bottles to serve water. It certainly looks more elegant than a plastic soda bottle and even nicer than some pitchers.

Do you ever make homemade sauces, cordial or liqueur? Fill your old wine bottles with one of your products. Make sure you clean and sterilize the bottles properly before you fill them. If you want to go the extra mile you can put a pretty label of your own design on it and give it for a gift.

You can also use them as a candle stick. As the candle burns it decorates the outside of the bottle with wax. As you use more candles it can become very colorful!

With the help of a wine bottle you can also save a lot of water each day. In fact, with every flush.

Nike Reuse-A-Shoe and 10 Israel-related Cleantech Headlines, Week of June 7, 2009

Lisa Damast
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Nike Reuse-A-Shoe and 10 Israel-related Cleantech Headlines, Week of June 7, 2009

Nike Sneaker pileup

During the week of June 7, 2009, Deloitte released a survey indicating the extent of how hard hit VCs have been and that changes are on the way. Phoebus Energy raised $1 million and AORA’s hybrid solar-gas turbine will be turning on soon. Nike’s shoe recycling project is now in Israel and an agreement on funding for expanding the desalination plant in Hadera was reached. For these stories and the rest of this week’s 10 Israel-related cleantech headlines, see below.

VC Funding
1. Phoebus Energy Shifts The “Hybrid” Idea to Home Heating and Cooling

2. Survey Shows VCs Expect Huge Shifts in Fundraising, Global Investing

Alternative Energy for Vehicles
3. Giving New Meaning to ‘Electric Avenue’

4. Reinventing Cellulosic Ethanol Production

Water Management
5. Snake vision to fight chemo-terrorism

Solar
6. Flower Power: World’s First Hybrid Solar-Gas Turbine Turning on Soon

Inside Israel
7. Funding agreed for expanding Hadera desalination plant

8. Erdan presents top five goals for Environment Ministry

9. Nike to Introduce Shoe Recycling Program in Israel

10. ‘Green tax’ program hits the road

UN Fulfills Green Mission To Tree Plant in Middle East

Maurice Picow
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UN Fulfills Green Mission To Tree Plant in Middle East

cedar-tree

A UN worldwide tree planting campaign has now reached the 4 billion mark in its drive to plant 7 billion trees world wide.

The campaign is being undertaken to fight the effects of climate change; as well as to prevent soil erosion, one of the most common reasons for desertification in many parts of the world.

More than 169 countries will have taken part in the campaign, scheduled to finish by the end of 2009. Some countries near the Middle East that so far benefited the most form this campaign include Ethiopia, which received 687 million trees in 2008, Lebanon, Turkey (300 million trees), Pakistan (120,000 million trees pledged), and Turkministan (150 million trees pledged).

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Tour of Tel Aviv with Cities of Tomorrow Conference

Daniella Cheslow
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Tour of Tel Aviv with Cities of Tomorrow Conference

Miri-kupermintz

(Kiryat Sefer resident and activist Miri Kupermintz on the park site. All photos by Daniella Cheslow)

A tour of Tel Aviv organized last week by the Cities of Tomorrow conference offered good news and bad news about the 100-year-old Hebrew city.

The good news is that it looks like the decade-long citizens’ battle to get a park instead of a high-rise in the Kiryat Sefer neighborhood is finally paying off. We visited the site, where activists have been running a weekly picnic for close to a year to push the city into creating a park. Right now it’s little more than a glorified sandlot (below), but in April the municipality okayed creating a green space in the 26 dunam (6.5 acre) lot. If you plan to be in the area on July 14, get ready for a major celebration as the park pushers mark their one-year anniversary.

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Israel Ramps Up Desalination Facilities in Hadera

Marcus Sopher
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Israel Ramps Up Desalination Facilities in Hadera

water-girl-beach-photo

The desalination of water will be expanding in Israel in order to cope with the current water shortage, according to Globes.

Last week, the Ministry of Finance signed an agreement for financing the expansion of the Hadera desalination plant by 27 million cubic meters per year. Not only will the plant be producing 127 million cubic meters of fresh water per year after the expansion, but the consumer purchasing price of the desalinated water will be the cheapest fixed price to date.

This expansion is part of a government initiative to expand the plants in Ashkelon, Palmachim, and Hadera by a total of 57 million cubic meters per year. The project is estimated to cost around a half billion NIS, and will be the largest ever infrastructure project funded by the European Investment Bank in Israel.

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Go Hybrid and Pay Less Car Tax in Israel

Maurice Picow
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9
Go Hybrid and Pay Less Car Tax in Israel

cars-israel-azrielli

The Israel finance ministry is planning new regulations on car purchasing, with special discount incentives for purchasing hybrid cars, according to Reuters.

The new changes are being planned to help alleviate the increasing air pollution caused by cars, as well as to save energy costs. One of the new regulations will be increased taxes and duties on larger, gas guzzling cars, including SUV models.

Alongside these will be special discounts for people to buy hybrid models, as a special payment for people who decide to junk older cars.

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Burj Dubai and the Tower of Babel

Maurice Picow
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8
Burj Dubai and the Tower of Babel

burj-dubai-21

Few building projects have received as much attention and fanfare as Dubai’s Burj Dubai 800 + meter skyscraper, that including its top tower will be the tallest building in the world.

A few weeks ago, I posted an article about the Burj tower, which when completed will contain residential and business properties selling at $3,500 to $4,000 per square foot.

But despite claims that the project is designed to be environmentally friendly, with specially designed windows and air conditioning to maintain constant temperatures within, many people are wondering if such buildings are really necessary.

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Environmentally Focused Art at the "Farm Gallery" in Holon

Karen Chernick
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2
Environmentally Focused Art at the "Farm Gallery" in Holon
One of the works currently on view at the Farm Gallery
One of the works currently on view at the Farm Gallery

When you think of farms, a lot of things may come to mind.  Especially if you’re green.  You may think of organic farms, fair trade farms, local farms, urban farms, free range farms, solar powered farms… the list goes on.

But adding the word “farm” in front of the words “art” or “gallery” might not be something that comes to you organically, or naturally.

The Farm Gallery in Holon for Interdisciplinary Ecological Art would have something to say about that.  They would probably say, think again.

Located in a one-floor, 100 square meter Arab style house built during the beginning of the 20th century, the Farm Gallery opened as an artistic venue earlier this year.  Before that, the building had been used by the municipality of Holon as a location for students to visit and grow fruits, vegetables, plants and study natural cycles as well as environmental issues.  In other words, as a farm.

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Cash Prizes for Spreading Word on Climate Change

Daniella Cheslow
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Cash Prizes for Spreading Word on Climate Change

sun-blessing-judaism-finger-hold-photoWho said being an environmentalist is thankless? If you’re worried about how global warming may drastically change the Middle East, and you know how to work a reporter’s notebook, paintbrush or computer graphics program, there are two international competitions coming up to raise awareness of climate change.

The first one, which we came across  on the Dot Earth blog at the New York Times, is for students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate creative programs anywhere in the world – US citizenship not required. The contest’s organizer, Artist as Citizen, announced the following rules:

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Look to Women To Curb Middle East Water Problems

Green Prophet Guest
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4
Look to Women To Curb Middle East Water Problems

water-pump-afghanastan

The facts are these: Water scarcity is a real and looming threat; while several countries are already below the dreaded 1700 m3 per capita water availability mark, many others are quickly approaching it; most international NGOs have predicted that the worst affected will be those already marginalised, the sick, and the poor, the children and the women.

When discussing the various fallouts of water scarcity, such as its impacts on food security, human health, the global economy and its potential to induce conflict, the one fallout that is rarely discussed is the kind that is suffered by women.

Which is probably why during the discussion of water resources management strategies, women are almost never consulted. And this has proven to be a serious mistake.

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Woman Tosses Million Dollar Mattress In Dump: She Should Have Recycled!

Maurice Picow
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9
Woman Tosses Million Dollar Mattress In Dump: She Should Have Recycled!

million-mattressTalk about being down in the dumps: What began as a surprise for an elderly Tel Aviv woman, has turned into an absolute nightmare as the old mattress she had owned for years was thrown into the trash by her well meaning daughter who wanted to surprise her mother with a new one.

Unfortunately, the old mattress is alleged to be holding the mother’s life savings of around a million dollars. Maybe we should think twice before tossing old furnishings to the dump?

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Phoebus Energy Shifts The "Hybrid" Idea to Home Heating and Cooling

Maurice Picow
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2
Phoebus Energy Shifts The "Hybrid" Idea to Home Heating and Cooling

phoebus-energy-israel

We’ve all heard about hybrid energy systems for cars (because we’ve read Karen’s story about her family Prius); but now an Israeli company, Phoebus Energy, located in the coastal city of Netanya, has developed a unique hybrid heating system to produce energy more efficiently to heating and cooling large institutional buildings such as schools, hotels, hospitals and factories.

It is a computerized solution using specially designed algorithms.

As national reports suggest Israel is out for rolling blackouts this summer due to increased energy demands from air cons, a new solution really can’t come fast enough.

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