Siah HaSade: Permaculture initiative greening Jerusalem

Cities

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March 10, 2009

Should I stay or should I go? It’s a common question vexing many people living in Jerusalem, a city suffering from negative population migration, particularly young, secular Jews who leave to seek opportunities in Tel Aviv and central Israel. Siah HaSade is a new permaculture centre in the heart of west Jerusalem which seeks to reverse this negative trend (in the local neighbourhood at least) by providing local people with tools to live more sustainably in the city.

“One of the things that makes the city liveable are green spaces,” says Shaul David Judelman, local green activist and one of the project’s founders, who hopes that centre will help strengthen the connection between more local people and their community. Officially launched on Tu B’shvat, the previously neglected space is being given a green make-over in the shape of raised beds to grow organic vegetables, compost facilities, planting native trees, demonstration porch and hanging gardens and, in the future, composting toilets and a grey water system to recycle waste water from the kitchen to irrigate plants. “We want to give people the tools to live in a more sustainable way in the city, whether it’s producing a small amount of food, or a place to make contact with nature without driving and burning fossil fuels,” says Judelman, who also runs the Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo Eco-Activist Beit Midrash.

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Eco Your Moon Cycle

Act
Beauty

Sophie Ohana

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March 9, 2009

2

Just the way disposable diapers are a nightmare for our environment and children’s health, so are all those disposable sanitary products being aggressively marketed.

Yes I know that for many, just as cloth diapers, the idea of cloth menstrual pads and moon cups are hard to swallow but really these days there are many converts, and more and more women are realising the multiple benefits of ditching those disposables.

So what are we actually talking about, what is available and just why and am I singing their praises so loudly?

Cloth pads for menstruation

Cloth pads are nothing new, and there are centuries of history dedicated to their us: although introduced to the market at the end of the 19th century disposable sanitary products only really became popular about 80 years ago with the market expanding to what it is today in the last 40 years. And women were doing just fine before that. Don’t let those big corporate money makers let you believe anything else.

Problems with disposable sanitary products

pollutants in the growing of cotton
paper production and plastics
health issues such as toxic shock syndrome
the actual disposal of the product

Hard statistics for women’s health

To get you started here are some of those entertaining facts and figures compiled from a study in the UK.

On average a woman will use around 12,000 disposable towels and tampons in her lifetime
98% of which are flushed down the toilet,
Of which an estimated 52% go directly to the sea untreated, not a pleasant thought,
They also cause 75% of blocked drains
Tampons take at least 6 months to biodegrade and towels are not biodegradable, the plastic may breakdown into smaller pieces (ideal fish food!) and they are filled with a cocktail of chemicals which keep them white and absorbent.
Disposable sanitary products put even more pressure on landfills than disposable nappies.

The other main environmental issue surrounding these products is the manufacturing process and the materials used. Tampons are made mainly from cotton and rayon, for issues surrounding the cotton industry read Greening Your Baby’s Wardrobe, but in a nutshell conventional cotton is one of the top 3 polluters in agriculture and the processing of cotton is just as chemically laden, not as innocent or as natural as we thought.

Rayon is made from woodpulp, again a chemical process, plus you have to chop those trees down first! And sanitary towels are made mainly from rayon and plastics.

Tampons and sanitary towels are toxic

One other issue regarding the environment and our health was the bleaching agent used, namely chlorine gas which causes dioxins, a known carcinogen, though thankfully due to pressure from health and environmental groups many manufacturers stopped using it and levels of dioxins found have dropped though occasionally trace levels can still be found.

It is not just the environment that these products pose a threat to, many health issues have been connected as well: Toxic Shock Syndrome, though rare is something every women should know about if using tampons, and if tampons are your preferred choice then avoid ones made from cotton and rayon (100% cotton tampons have shown no links TSS), or with lubricants as these may also contain parabens, choose organic cotton tampons (Natracare and Organyc are available in Israel).

It is also known that many women suffer from allergic reactions from the materials and chemicals used in towels, sometimes just heightened sensitivity and soreness though often increased rates of Thrush are also associated with these products.

Homemade Pad and Tampon Alternatives

So what are our options; well I am very happy to say that there are plenty available to us wherever we live. I live in Israel.

My personal preference are organic cotton towels which you can buy or make yourself. Find ones with certified organic cotton that come in two parts making them extremely comfortable, very effective and very easy to care for.

Organic cotton is very soft, highly absorbent and breathable (something that disposables are not being made from plastic).

Many women who have changed over to cloth pads due to health reasons say that their symptoms disappear instantly. Pads are available in a range of sizes to fit every woman’s needs, and unique two part design (if you can find it) allows easy change of liners throughout the day.

I know women who sew their own.

Cloth pads are very easy to look after, just soak after use in cold water and place in your regular laundry cycle.

moon cup instead of tampons — *Mooncup is a good alternative to tampons*

For those of us who prefer tampons, the Mooncup offers an excellent alternative, available at Bishvilenu, this menstrual cup is made from soft silicone and comes in two sizes; before and after birth.

Eco Rabbi on Purim and Building a Good Society

Religion

Jack Reichert

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March 9, 2009

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Eco Rabbi on Purim and Building a Good Society

This week Jewish people everwhere, and in Israel, celebrate the festival of Purim, which I would call the festival of communal identity.

The beginning of the Megillah (what Jewish people read on Purim) opens with King Achashverosh’s party, a seven-day-all-out-eat-your-heart-out party.

After spending an entire half-year celebrating throughout the country, the king wanted to impress the people in his capital. If you were ANYONE, or wanted to be, you HAD to be there.

The commentaries describe how it was a celebration of the temple NOT being rebuilt, how Achashverosh took out the holy vessels to show off, and how there was blatant disregard of the commandments. Talk about low communal self-image.

The story is a story about a people coming into their own. This cannot be done without leadership, and is rarely done without some unifying experience.

There are several points during the story where people are forced to choose where their loyalties lie. Whether it’s loyalty to their personal tenets, as Mordechai decided NOT to bow to Haman; or loyalty to communal tenets, as Esther had to decide to stand up for her people, not to mention the Jews of the city fasting for three days along with Esther once she decided to take on the challenge.

It is clear by the conclusion of the story that the process that these people underwent is seen as a point of reunification of the community.

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Israeli Cleantech Cos Will Benefit From Obama's $6b Stimulus Plan

Business

Karin Kloosterman

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March 9, 2009

1

Israeli Cleantech Cos Will Benefit From Obama's $6b Stimulus Plan

If you’re a regular reader of Green Prophet, you’ll already know that the US and Israel have forged ties to co-develop renewable energy products. And that top US energy leaders were in Israel a few weeks ago.

Now Globes reports, that the $800 billion US stimulus package launched by President Barack Obama will affect both domestic and foreign industries.

Including funds for renewable energy projects, the stimulus plan is good news for Israeli venture capital and technology companies in this field. It’s a dramatic change, the newspaper reports, because the US renewable energy market hitherto was quite difficult to penetrate for foreign entrepreneurs, compared with, for example, the Spanish market.

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Netafim to Provide Drip Irrigation for Sugar Cane Ethanol Production in Peru

Business

Rachel Bergstein

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March 8, 2009

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ethanol production sugar cane peru photo

Last week, Israeli company Netafim, a pioneer in drip irrigation technology, signed a $22 million deal to supply irrigation for a large-scale sugar cane project in Peru.

In conjunction with Maple Energy, a Peruvian company that produces energy for industrial clients, the project will cultivate 20,000 acres of sugar cane for the creation of ethanol, an alternative energy fuel.

This project concerns me for a few reasons.

Drip irrigation, the water-saving technology that Netafim and other Israeli companies pioneered, increases water efficiency, but not necessarily sustainability. Indeed, a study that came out in November found that, contrary to its reputation, drip irrigation actually increases the total amount of water consumed. In an era when countries all over the world are facing worsening drought conditions, I’m not sure it’s prudent to encourage such large-scale, thirsty agricultural projects, especially in developing nations (like Peru) that are more economically and environmentally vulnerable.

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Powerful 150hp Natural Gas Sedan From Iran

Transportation

Daniel Pedersen

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March 8, 2009

5

Powerful 150hp Natural Gas Sedan From Iran

Iran Khodro, a Peugeot partner for producing its line of 405 and 206D sedans, announced the production of what it claims is the world’s most powerful natural gas engine at 150 hp. The engine runs on compressed natural gas (CNG), and is supposed to comply with the EURO 4 emission standards. It will first be installed in the Samand Soren ELX, a 1700cc turbocharged gasoline bi-fuel four-door sedan, shown above at an auto show under supervision of the Ayatollah (much less dramatic photo here).

But Khodro’s claims don’t quite measure up: their engine is more powerful than the 113 hp Honda Civic GX (favorably reviewed by About.com and Consumer Reports) or the 98 hp 2009 Volkswagen Golf GTI BiFuel, but not any more than the 150 hp Volkswagen Passat TSI EcoFuel Concept revealed last year , and far less than the 163 hp Mercedes-Benz E 200 NGT, which was launched back in 2005.

Honda Civic GX and Mercedes-Benz E 200 NGT

According to autoevolution.com, Iranians have converted over a quarter million cars to run on Compressed Natural Gas until now. In Tehran, one of the most polluted cities in the world, all buses run on CNG, while almost all of the city’s taxi drivers have been forced into converting their cars. CNG vehicles are far less polluting than gasoline or diesel cars, because CNG is a much simpler fuel and gives higher energy output for the same carbon content.

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Ecological Artist Shai Zakai

Karin Kloosterman

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March 7, 2009

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Shai Zakai: Self portrait 4X2 m. photograph on canvas purchased by the Ministry of Environment.

Since nature can’t speak for itself, Israeli environment artist Shai Zakai has appointed herself as the human moderator. For more than a decade she’s been working as an ecological artist, to communicate and record humankind’s impact on our fragile world.

Her most recent installation, Forest Tunes-The Library: A Visual Alarm, travelled to Philadelphia last October, as Zakai took part in an international exhibition with 15 other artists, each with a unique specialty that leans in the environment’s favor.

Called “Global Warming at the Icebox,” the event intended to showcase hot artists who are working in the context of climate change. Devoting more than a decade to the subject — and even founding her own center and national forum — Zakai as a photographer, poet, writer, sculptor, installation artist and educator, was a natural choice.

Her contribution, Forest Tunes, is a catalog of Zakai’s journey to 19 different countries, where she’s collected leaves, seeds, stories, images and surprises. There are 167 different little black boxes, she says, for the curious to explore.

Despite her large body of work, most of all Zakai sees herself as a social worker, and a steward for the environment.

The journey began when Zakai first moved to the Ellah Valley, Israel’s last stretch of natural greenery wedged between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Meaning Valley of the Goddess from the Hebrew, she says, Ellah Valley is home to great biblical stories, such as King David and Goliath.

Revered for its rolling hills, natural greenery and wildlife, Zakai saw environmental tragedies unfold left and right: “When we moved there, I saw a pristine area that is so amazing and felt like wilderness. Then I saw the lack of awareness of people here,” she says.

People were throwing construction waste into the forest and neglecting the land, calling on Zakai to create a new discipline in Israel for ecological art. “There is a difference between environmental and ecological art,” she points out.

Ecological versus environmental art

“Ecological art investigates and responds to ecological issues through various media and the power and beauty of it, and artists can come from all kinds of media: Poets, photographers or sculptors. Whereas, environmental art uses the environment as a background,” she says. Sometimes this approach is in harmony with sound environmental practices, but sometimes it actually harms the environment more, she explains.

Usually ecological artists have a background in ecology, Zakai says, and react to the environmental damage they are investigating: “Some see themselves as social workers on behalf of the environment. It’s much different than doing their own art in the studio.”

Founding the Israel Forum for Ecological Art, Zakai also connects to like-minded groups around the world. She sees ecological art as a language that crosses borders, to stimulate and instill wonder in the observer.

While people are normally presented scary and threatening information about global warming, Zakai hopes to educate in a softer way: “The art in my multi-media installation is inviting people to a experience… they enter a different world – a feature film they are invited to be in. If one digs deep enough, they will come out with a new curiosity for environmental issues.”

Artist holding conferences in the forest

When she’s not on the road, or creating her art, Zakai is leading workshops in the artist community Lion Srigim where she lives, inside the studio and outside. Her conference room, she says, is in a special place in the forest.

Americans met this remarkable woman when she presented her work: “It’s a kind of mosaic of the world’s indifference towards the world’s damages inflicted daily,” she says.

Zakai also showed 20 photographs taken in one forest over 14 years. She’s attempting to “daylight,” she says, the hidden knowledge that no one sees.

oranger suspendu, woman looking on, Jaffa — Oranger Suspendu. An environmental sculpture by Israeli environment artist Ran Morin. Hang in there.

The Marvels Of A 2000 Year Old Olive Tree in Israel

Travel

Green Prophet Guest

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March 7, 2009

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The Marvels Of A 2000 Year Old Olive Tree in Israel

The olive tree in this photo is reputed to be 2000 years old – give or take a century or so.

It’s growing in a grove just above the village of Deir Hanna, in the North of Israel, one of five there that have attained record-breaking ages.

I was a part of a group of ecology-minded people from Gezer, my kibbutz, and some friends who visited these trees on a trip to the nearby city of Sakhnin last summer.

We went there to see new and traditional methods of building and water treatment. After we all stuffed ourselves silly on hummus and salads in downtown Sakhnin, our guide and friend Jan, a permaculture instructor and writer, led us up a winding hillside road to see these forgotten leafy treasures.

Touching any living thing that’s so inconceivably old is awe-inspiring. But unlike the other ancient trees I’ve walked around – giant old-growth redwoods, whose looming trunks John Muir aptly described as “cathedrals,” reminding you of your petty insignificance – these trees connect one directly to human history. They’re recognizably agriculture, planted by humans in familiar patterns.

Rather than growing tall and stately, their trunks have spread outward, becoming ever more twisted and gnarled with time – sometimes even splitting into separate trunks – as though they’re hunkering down to withstand the ravages of eons.

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Green Your Mitzvahs for the Jewish Holiday of Purim

Lifestyle

Karin Kloosterman

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March 7, 2009

3

Green Your Mitzvahs for the Jewish Holiday of Purim

Purim, the Jewish holiday coming up this week, is a time for Jews to cut loose.

Some people will drink until there is no tomorrow (until you have no idea of how drunk you really are).

A lot of people forget that there are to-do mitzvahs associated with the Purim holiday. Green Prophet decided to put together a small resource guide to give you some greener ideas for your Purim celebrations.

Let’s start with the basic mitzvahs.

They are:

1. The Reading of the Megillah (Mikra Megillah)
2. The Festive Purim Meal (Seudat Purim)
3. Sending Gifts (Mishloach Manot)
4. Gifts to the poor (Matanot l’Evyonim)

Megillah Reading
It’s permitted to work and drive on Purim, but how about you go to your friend’s house or synagogue by foot to read the Megillah? There is also the bus.

Also, we suggest if you are going to buy your own Book of Esther, consider buying one at a second-hand shop. I have one from the early 1900s, and it is simply a pleasure to read, because it looks and feels like it is from an ancient time, like the story of Queen Esther.

Festive Meal
Organic and fair trade food is a plenty over here in Israel. Consider a pot luck with some of your friends, or vegewarianism, proposed by Green Prophet’s Daniella. And while plastic dishes seem like the way too convenient way to go, please try and use real dishes that you can wash.

Getting Drunk:
While the getting drunk aspect of Purim is a custom and not obligatory, if you’re going to drink, you might as well do it in a sustainable manner. How about buying beer from the Dancing Camel brewery in Tel Aviv?

How about organic wine? Because after all, wine is supposed to be best.

Sending Gifts
Reusable baskets, but not the cheap plastic kind that everybody throws out, are a good vehicle for sending your gifts, traditionally ready-to-eat foodstuffs. Now is your chance to practice baking some of the recipes that Hamutal has provided for us. (It’s recommended to give 2 food items to at least 2 different people.)

Recipe Ideas:
Winter Applesauce Muffins
Make Biscuits With All That Whey
A Tomato Confit Recipe

Try some more ideas on eco-friendly baskets from the Jew and the Carrot. Or Loli Organic Sweets.

Gifts to the poor:
This basic mitzvah is sustainable by design. You can give money to a local food charity, to your synagogue or directly to a person in need. It’s advised to give to 2 or more people before Purim.

More Purim Resources:
Have a Healthy Sustainable Purim
Eating Organic Food At Reasonable Prices
Quick Eco-Purim Tips
Dancing Camel Brewery Activities
Winter Applesauce Muffins Recipe
Be a Vegewarian Instead of a Vegetarian
What’s In Your Mischloach Manot Basket?

Mega Urban Developments In Gulf Region A Natural Disaster Waiting to Happen

Cities

Karin Kloosterman

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March 7, 2009

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Mega Urban Developments In Gulf Region A Natural Disaster Waiting to Happen

(Palm Island in Dubai)

A couple of weeks ago I was in New Orleans with my parents at the annual craziness known as Fat Tuesday during Mardi Gras. Besides the excess of everything I saw there including waste, and the nasty black eye I sustained from a large set of beads being thrown on my head off a Bourbon Street balcony (my friend warned that the beads always come with strings attached), I saw sections of the city that have not yet been rebuilt since Hurricane Katrina.

Like New Orleans which is built below sea level, the Dutch have been fighting nature for centuries, as have the Venetians. According to a new study by an Indian scientist, the mega-urban development projects (like the one pictured above) being established in the Middle East (United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Bahrain) are just setting people up to be victims of natural disasters. Things will look even worse once the effects of global warming become more pronounced, warn experts.

Apparently no environmental assessment of these developed regions was done before towns and cities were constructed in these unusual settings.

Artificial islands and offshore luxury townships coming up in the Persian Gulf are potentially vulnerable to natural hazards like earthquakes and tsunamis, cautions Arun Kumar, a professor at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

Although they are futuristic and novel, “there are serious issues of long-term sustainability of these townships,” he says in The Hindu.

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Oil and Gas Producer In United Arab Emirates Launches Marine Life Book

Lifestyle

Green Prophet

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March 6, 2009

1

Oil and Gas Producer In United Arab Emirates Launches Marine Life Book

A new book titled, ‘Pearl in the Gulf’ was recently published by the oil and gas production company The Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO). It features comprehensive data and information on the United Arab Emirates traditional marine lifestyle prior to the discovery of oil, thus shedding extensive light on the inseparability of the UAE people and sea life.

It’s an interesting take on how serious environmental polluters are trying to clean up their act in the public eye.

The book, produced by the public relations division of ADMA-OPCO, was launched on Wednesday March 4th during the opening ceremony of an environment exhibition organised by the company at its headquarters to mark the 12th UAE National Environment Day.

Covering almost all aspects of marine life in the UAE, the book comprises 11 chapters with Chapter 1 providing a general introduction to marine life.

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Monitoring Stations Installed in Qatar and UAE To Track Stressed Out Coral

Travel

Karin Kloosterman

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March 6, 2009

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(Snapshot of the WWF coral map of Qatar and UAE coral reefs).

With worrying reports of coral death globally, with global warming to blame, it’s heartening to hear that Arab nations, who are more known for causing global warming, are now working to protect coral reefs. Mapping the reefs to know where to install underwater natural gas pipelines is one of the reasons for their concern:

According to a Qatar newspaper, The Peninsula, Qatar’s Ministry of the Environment and the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi have jointly installed 16 permanent coral monitoring stations in their marine waters. Four are in Qatar in the regions of Halul, Al Ghabi and Halt Dalma.

Reports say that the first-ever mapping of the coral reef and associated habitats in the Qatari-UAE marine waters showed that the Persian Gulf reefs suffered the strongest disturbances in 1996, 1998 and 2002.

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Eco Rabbi: Parshat Tetzaveh – Creator of Light

Religion

Jack Reichert

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March 5, 2009

2

Eco Rabbi: Parshat Tetzaveh – Creator of Light

Each week Orthodox Jews read one segment of the Five Books of Moses so that they can complete the entire Five Books within the course of a year. In last week’s Eco-Rabbi post I discussed how to create room for God to live within us. This week I discuss giving thanks to God for the energy he has given us.

This week’s segment opens with God commanding Moshe on how to prepare the ner tamid for the tabernacle. The ner tamid is an eternal flame, that would burn in the menorah. What is the purpose of an eternal flame?

Fire distinguished man from animal. Fire made meat possible to eat without getting parasites. Without fire we could not make complicated tools. Many of our building techniques rely on fire. With fire to keep man warm, life expectancy grew and many medical procedures developed. Fire led to longer days with the ability to study by the candlelight. Knowledge grew and of course technology.

Fire also represents man’s soul. It is connected by a wisp to matter, but cannot be held. It barely holds onto reality, and reaches up to the heavens. Fire warms us, like our souls, but if you try to touch it it can burn you. And if you hold onto it too tightly, it goes out. With a single breath it goes out, yet it needs air to continue. Man’s elusive soul mirrors the flame.

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Study on Radioactive Jordanian Groundwater Sparks Controversy

Business

Rachel Bergstein

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March 4, 2009

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radioactive water jordan photo

An aquaduct in Petra – A Jordanian water conveyance system that is much less controversial!

A major study published last week found levels of radioactive isotopes in Jordan’s Disi aquifer that far exceed international drinking water standards. The study, which was conducted by a team of Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian scientists and led by Duke University’s Dr. Avner Vengosh, has stirred up loads of controversy in Jordan.

Some officials questioned the credibility of the study based on its timing. The report was released just weeks before the final financial closure of the Disi Water Conveyance Project, a $600 million dollar water project that will channel drinking water from the southern Disi aquifer to Amman to help alleviate acute water shortages.

Meanwhile, authorities from multiple ministries and committees have scrambled to insist Jordanian drinking water is acceptable for human consumption. Water and Irrigation Minister Raed Abu Saud told reporters the “drinking water pumped to Jordanians…is 100 percent safe.”

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Join Zalul's Protest Against Sea Pollution in Tel Aviv

Business

Hannah Schafer

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March 4, 2009

1

Join Zalul's Protest Against Sea Pollution in Tel Aviv

The health of Tel Aviv and Herzliya residents should not be ignored:
For over two weeks the beaches of Tel Aviv and Herzliya have been polluted by sewage from Or-Yehuda. For over a week Zalul Environmental Association has been waiting for an answer from the Ministry of the Environment about their failure to enforce the law.

Zalul asks Green Prophet readers, does this seem right?

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Hot topics

Finance

Marketing

Politics

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Cloth pads for menstruation

Problems with disposable sanitary products

Hard statistics for women’s health

Tampons and sanitary towels are toxic

Homemade Pad and Tampon Alternatives

Shai Zakai: Self portrait 4X2 m. photograph on canvas purchased by the Ministry of Environment.

Ecological versus environmental art

Artist holding conferences in the forest

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