Who knew that for the last 16 years Istanbul has been host to the International Environment Project Olympiad? According to Todays Zaman an international jury has selected 101 projects from 41 countries to compete in the final competition of the 16th International Environmental Project Olympics in Istanbul between June 1 and 4.
Tying in with World Environment Week, participating countries from the Middle East region include Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Egypt, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Jordan, and Yemen.
Gold has always fascinated mankind with its beauty and its durability. An Israeli artisan named David Weitzman is now involved in turning this precious metal, as well as silver and other metals into beautiful talisman and amulet pieces that promote environmental awareness as well as spiritual ties to Mother Earth.
Weitzman, through his Ka Gold Jewelry website has embarked on a campaign to help promote more awareness to environmental problems that people on this planet are all very much involved in.
Weitzman so much believes in the preserving our natural environment that all of the proceeds of a special Mother Earth pendent he has created are being donated to several environmental organizations including EcoEarth and Nature.org.
Collecting water from thin air is not an odd idea. The ancient Israelites did it back in the day and they have a prayer for the dew, suggesting they collected it. A while back, I wrote an article about the new desalination plant in operation in Ashkelon, Israel, which is currently said to be supplying enough fresh water to satisfy about 6% of the entire country’s fresh water needs.
Watercones being used in Yemen, the thirstiest place on earth.
I later wrote about an even larger desalination project in Saudi Arabia which together with other desalination plants supplies about 70% of Saudi’s water needs for fresh drinking water. Israel and the United Arab Emirates have recently partnered. Water desalination projects together likely will come to the table.
All of this sounds grand, except for one thing, which was politely pointed out to me by a reader. And that “small point” is the immense amount of energy needed to run the plant, and what happens to all the salt that is produced during the desalination process? It’s polluting. The greenhouse gases extraordinary. Yemen is about to implement a new low tech solution.
The salt is simply dumped somewhere, contributing to pollution of natural ground aquifers, or returned back to the sea to make the sea water even more salty? The commenter then suggested that a much better way to produce fresh water, without the drawbacks of desalination is through condensation and evaporation of water vapors present in the atmosphere.
Condensation, evaporation; why not? There was also something written earlier about a device, originating in the US that removes water vapor from the air and turns it into drinking water. The principle works in a similar manner to what happens when water is created in air conditioning systems and simply runs or drips out to the ground, being wasted instead of used.
The watercone releasing its captured water for drinking.
After doing some investigation, I found some very simple, yet ingenious methods for creating fresh water from dew, saltwater, brackish, and other sources of water from the air. One method involves the use of an inverted plastic cone a “Watercone” that is placed over a salt water source, such as a marsh, or even put on the ground, taking advantage of the simple process of evaporation. Yemen has announced that it will be using the “technology” in a new pilot project to supply much needed water to its citizens.
One of these inverted cones, which measure about 1/2 meter in diameter and are about 35 to 40 cm high, can create as much of one liter of water per day. See the video on how it works below. (And here are instructions links to PDF)
Now one liter per day doesn’t sound like a lot, but think of how much fresh water could be created if a many as 1,000 of these cones are placed in an area.
The Watercones are an excellent idea for under-developed locations, and for more developed ones as well. They literally pay for themselves in a relatively short period of time, and require very little attention and maintenance. I think it might be worth a visit to the Water Cone website and I’m sure you’ll afterwards agree that this idea is not as far fetched as might be believed. Although the site does not look like it has been updated in years. This is often the case: great ideas are not marketed well.
Watercone founder Charlie Paton
Fresh water, from both the sea and the ground without the need for power plants and expensive equipment; what’s more environmentally friendly than that?
The massive swine flu cull in Egypt has impacted the city’s garbage collectors, the Zabaleen. Normally they fed organic waste to the pigs. Now what?
Not long ago Green Prophet reported the Egyptian government’s plan to cull the country’s 300,000 pigs as panic of the swine influenza spread across the world.
Now the effects of the massive cull, which was criticised by international agencies and within Egypt itself, are being felt – by both Egyptians who rely on pigs for their livelihoods, and the environment which has been burdened with thousand of extra tons of rotting organic waste that was previously fed to the pigs.
According to a report in the International Herald Tribune, the government said that the cull was not just to prevent swine flu (which had not been detected in Egypt), but also to clean up the zabaleen, Christian Egyptians who make a living from the unenviable task of sorting and collecting Cairo’s garbage, including feeding food waste to their pigs.
The authorities say it’s an attempt to allow the zabaleen (a word that shares the same root as the Hebrew for garbage, zevel) to live in more sanitary conditions, a claim rejected by the zabaleen and their supporters.
“They [the government] don’t have a good understanding of what this means to the livelihood of the rubbish collectors,” says Syada Greiss, a member of Parliament and chairwoman of the Association for the Protection of the Environment.
But killing the swine also means killing off a system for recycling organic waste which dates back to the 1940s.
Solar energy giant BP Solar from Maryland, USA, and SolarEdge from Israel today announced a joint agreement to commercialize a power harvesting system embedded directly into BP Solar products.
The companies will test new products designed to help solar modules operate more efficiently in harvesting the sun’s rays.
According to Reuters, BP Solar, a unit of oil giant BP Plc, will integrate into its solar modules SolarEdge’s electronics that are designed to reduce the losses in solar arrays. Those losses can cut their power output by as much as 20 percent.
The combined technologies are currently undergoing rigorous thermal cycle testing to emulate 25 years of volatile solar field conditions, reports the companies.
“BP Solar has contributed enormously to the advancement of the solar industry,” said Guy Sella, Chairman, CEO and Founder of SolarEdge.
Michael Crichton’s “State of Fear” is a thriller, telling the story of eco-terrorists artificially creating extreme weather events in order to convince the world of the non-existent threat known to the rest of us as “anthropogenic (human caused) climate change”. The hero of the story, an MIT professor and special agent by the name of John Kenner, follows the terrorists around the world trying to stop them, and in his free time, educates some lost souls about the truth behind climate change.
The characters in the book are very clearly divided. On the one hand, we have scientists, who know that climate change is a scam. On the other hand, we have rich celebrities, shoddy environmentalists, and lawyers, advocating the reality of climate change, because they’re naïve, lacking in knowledge, or just plain evil.
It’s clear from the start, if only by the way Crichton chooses to represent and frame the issue, that this isn’t an attempt to objectively and honestly examine the issue of climate change. And despite his declaration in the “Author’s Message” at the end of the book – “Everybody has an agenda. Except me” – it’s quite clear that Crichton has his agenda, which is articulated throughout the book and which he presents in this same appendix.
I suggest taking Crichton’s advice when attempting to assess his novel, as he stated in one of his speeches:
“The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda…” (Environmentalism as religion, 2003)
A week ago England’s Department of Health published practical recommendations to prepare for a potential heatwave which is also the central theme of their 2009 Heatwave Plan.
The Heatwave Plan for 2009 has been updated with extra guidance that outlines the benefits of insulating houses to keep them cool during summer months, and warm during the winter, while also reducing fuel costs and carbon emissions. More cool in the summer, translates to less use of the aircon, and more warm in the winter, means less use of the furnace.
Earlier this month, a water main in the US city of Seattle burst, buckling streets and causing water to flood an area of 10 blocks. Some eight to 10 homes were damaged, and it took workers hours to stop the flood since valves were buried underground.
About a week later, a water main break in Massachusetts caused major delays on the Interstate 91 from Springfield to Enfield. Hours later, about 2,500 West Lafayette, Indianapolis residents were under a “boil order” after yet another burst water pipe.
America’s water infrastructure is aging, and experts are warning that accidents like this – that endanger both people’s lives and their livelihoods – are just the start. Now, however, help could be at hand, from Israel.
This month, Israeli company Miya launched a new pilot initiative in the US called ‘Green jobs for blue waters’ to help replace aging water infrastructure and create jobs in the sector in Michigan.
NASDAQ-traded Ormat Technologies (ORA) is involved in the proposed construction of a giant geo-thermal electric power plant in Indonesia, a country that is now in bad need of more electric power, even though it is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The project is estimated to cost around $800 million, and has been in the works since 2006, when a contract was awarded to a consortium of companies headed by PT Medco Energi Internasional (MEDC.Jk), and including the Japanese company Itochu Corporation.
The plan is to have Ormat, whose geo-thermal energy collection installations can be found around the world, tap into the raw energy of Indonesia’s hot springs and magma fissures. One small problem – there is a chance that Ormat’s technology might cause a volcano eruption.
Recently, a letter signed by Issac Ben David, deputy director of Israel’s Ministry for Environmental Protection, and addressed to Major-General Gadi Shamni, commander-in-chief of Israel’s central command, contained even more evidence that this is the case.
Ben David’s May 12 letter informed Maj-Gen Shamni that at least five Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) bases in the Palestinian Territories are contaminating land and water sources. Handling of diesel fuel and oil on IDF bases, as well as other military activities, are a major source of contamination.
Ecomum has already sung the praises of Israeli company Green Lullaby’s cardboard-made EcoCradle. Made completely out of corrugated cardboard, this lightweight and easily assemblable cradle is a great eco friendly alternative to new, shiny wood or metal cribs and can be used for a baby’s first few months. EcoCradles are completely recyclable, made mostly from recycled materials, and protected by a green non-toxic fire retardant.
In case big brothers and sisters have gotten envious of their younger sibling’s EcoCradle, Green Lullaby has just come out with green doll cradles and dollhouses.
The doll cradles rock from side to side just like the EcoCradle, and have a trendy yet classic design. The doll cradles could be easily assembled and disassembled for travel, and come with a 100% natural doll mattress. Find a lead-free or second hand doll to go in that cradle and you’ve got some bona fide green kid fun.
During the week of May 17, 2009 , attention was drawn to the California cleantech mission that introduced visiting investors to Israel’s cleantech world. Other big news was the announcement by Israel’s neighbor, Jordan, that it will be going ahead with the proposed Red-Dead Canal without its former partner, Israel. For more on this and the rest of this week’s cleantech headlines related to Israel, see below.
Seventy-nine countries will send delegates to Sharem el Sheikh, Sinai next month to inaugurate the first session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The international project will spearhead a global effort to develop renewable energy projects all over the world.
The new agency was formulated in January, 2009, at a conference in Bonn, Germany, and has the backing of most European countries as well as emerging economies like India, and oil producing countries like Norway and Nigeria.
Israel, Lebanon and Syria will also be represented at the conference even though they are still in a formal state or war with each other. Despite their political issues, maybe working together on a joint concern like energy will help lubricate Middle East peace.
The Pope was in Israel earlier this month, bringing with him thousands of Catholic pilgrims (and a request from environmentalists to help clean the Jordan River). A week later 40 investors from the California region came on a different kind of pilgrimage to Israel – to see the world-famous clean technology opportunities Israeli entrepreneurs have to offer.
Despite the poor US economy, American investors see the down market as a business opportunity, and Israeli clean technology companies in renewables, water and energy are on their radar.
Among the participants in the clean tech mission to Israel are some of the biggest names in the California investment community including Atiq Raza, former COO of AMD and now at Khosla Ventures; George Coelho a managing partner for Good Energies; Josh Green, a general partner for Mohr Davidow Ventures; and Michael Allman, the CEO and president of Sempra Generation.
Giving event organizers – the California Israel Chamber of Commerce (CICC) – their wish list before hand, the visitors met with dozens of Israeli companies. The guests, representing 25 different companies, landed in Israel on May 18, and for four days explored collaboration opportunities with Israeli firms and co-investment opportunities in this growing sector.
(Zero S electric road bike goes from 0 to 50 km/hr in just 2 seconds, and can maintain speed for 2 hours on single charge).
It looks like an ordinary street or dirt bike when you used it or load it onto your pickup truck to transport it to a track (go to this website to check out an award-winning loading ramp for your bikes), but in actuality it’s a very different set of wheels.
The Zero S totally electric motorbike may help solve our desire for clean, environmentally friendly transportation in the Middle East.
And the region’s climate is perfect for it. Despite the occasional sandstorm, the low precipitating rates and warm climates make the Zero road bike ideal for congested cities, though your mother might not like the idea.
The massive swine flu cull in Egypt has impacted the city’s garbage collectors, the Zabaleen. Normally they fed organic waste to the pigs. Now what? 
Ecomum has already sung the praises of Israeli company 
