Page 745 – Green Prophet

Power Your Own Workout. GO, dy-na-MO!

Tech

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September 3, 2008

When you were kids, did you have that cool attachment on your bike – a dynamo – that powered your bike lamp with no battery? All the kids who had them would go whirring by in the dark, the dynamo spinning against the side of the wheel, and their lights glowing brighter and brighter, the faster they went. Of course, when they stopped, the beam would fade and the world would grow dark again. At Adam Boesel’s Green Microgym in Portland, Oregon, this gadget is taken to a whole new level.

Adam aims to have the greenest workout place around. First, he installed solar panels on the window shades (to save electricity) and then decided not to install showers (to save water and heat) [HEY! There is a limit to how far one should go!] Feeling that was not enough, he then added a Human Dynamo – a set of four full-body workout machines with pedals and hand cranks that generate electricity in a dynamo – and three spin bikes attached to a motor to generate electricity from all the sweat and tears invested by the customers.

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Recycled Paper

Act

Jack Reichert

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September 3, 2008

2

For every ton of paper, roughly 200,000 sheets of paper, that is recycled paper saves us from cutting down approximately 17 trees. The average school tosses 38 tons of paper each year, the equivalent of 644 trees.

When you buy notebooks and paper think green and spend a couple extra to get recycled (it’s not always more expensive).

Raise the awareness in school, perhaps you can rally others to the cause and organize a school-wide paper recycling program. And see some tips below, via Masterclass:

Verify the type of paper your recycling center accepts. Even though most places in the United States have similar rules for recycling, you should check with your local plant to confirm which paper products they accept. Some recycling centers are “single-stream,” meaning you can pile all of your recycling into one bin and the plant will sort it later; other centers are “sorted-stream,” and require you to separate your paper out from your glass and other recycling, or even sort paper by its type (e.g., old newspapers, mixed paper, office paper, etc.).

Keep it unshredded, where possible. Many people shred papers that have identifying or confidential information to prevent that information from being shared. However, shredding paper reduces the length of its fibers, thereby reducing its recyclability. In addition, some recycling centers can’t process shredded paper and instead request that you deliver it to a separate plant. Where possible, try to avoid shredding paper, instead black-out sensitive information using an ink marker. If you shred your important papers and your recycling center can’t process them, consider using your paper shredding around the house—for instance, in composting, vermiculture, or as an absorbent bed for small-animal litter.

Avoid wetting the paper. Once paper becomes wet, it’s much harder to recycle and often has to be thrown away. Keep your paper separate from other recyclable materials that may dampen the paper (such as rinsed plastic containers or used aluminum cans). Avoid getting grease on paper bags used to hold food. Additionally, try not to put your recycling bin out too early on rainy days.

Don’t worry about staples. If some of your printed materials contain staples, you may wonder if you need to pry them out before tossing the stack in the recycling. In fact, most paper recycling plants have machines that can remove staples from the paper stream, so you don’t have to remove them beforehand. However, check with your local recycling center to verify whether they remove staples.

Go paperless. While paper is an ideal candidate for recycling, most paper fibers can only be recycled up to seven times before the fibers become too weak for recirculation. That’s why the best way to conserve paper is to go paperless wherever possible. Try storing digital versions of files rather than printing out documents, from boarding passes to event tickets.

You can also offset your books.

Greenpeace’s "Rainbow Warrior" Comes to Israel

Business

Michael Green

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September 3, 2008

1

Greenpeace’s "Rainbow Warrior" Comes to Israel

It’s not just Morrissey and Paul McCartney who are on tour in Israel this summer, but Greenpeace’s legendary Rainbow Warrior ship is also paying the country a visit this weekend.

As part of its latest tour of the Mediterranean Sea, the well-travelled vessel (the original was sunk in 1985 protesting against nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific) is due to dock at Haifa Bay this Saturday (6 September, 12pm) to spread its message: CLEAN ENERGY, NOT COAL!.

Apart from an opportunity to board the ship, meet its crew and learn about climate change, Rainbow Warrior’s visit will help remind Israelis about plans to build a new coal power station further along the coast at Ashkelon. In May, Greenpeace activists abseiled from the roof of the Infrastructure Ministry in Jerusalem wielding a clear message for Infrastructure Minister Binyamin [Fuad] Ben-Eliezer: “Fuad will kill Ashkelon in one week. COAL KILLS!”

:: Greenpeace Mediterranean (Hebrew).
:: Greenpeace Mediterranean (English).
:: Facebook event (Hebrew).

Photo: © Greenpeace / Yonatan Leibowitz.

Is Sustainability in Tel Aviv an "Urban Legend"? New Film Challenges City Planners to Think Outside the Box

Cities

Jesse Fox

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September 2, 2008

2

Is Sustainability in Tel Aviv an "Urban Legend"? New Film Challenges City Planners to Think Outside the Box

Tel Aviv residents at the Cinemateque: "Why isn't our city greener?" (Daniel Cherrin)

Sometimes it is necessary to confront our decision-makers with what has been called “the threat of a good example” – to bring them face to face with evidence that, despite their insistence to the contrary, it is possible to do things differently.

That, in a nutshell, was the idea behind an event held last week at the Tel Aviv Cinemateque which challenged Israel’s city planners to think creatively about Israel’s cities and the many challenges they face.

The event began with the screening of “Urban Legend,”a 50 minute Hebrew film which recounts the courageous steps that various cities around the world have taken to improve the quality of life of their residents, while lessening the pressure they put on their environments.

The film was followed by a panel discussion, which included the participation of the official city planners of Haifa, Netanya and Tel Aviv. Moderator Nitzan Horowitz, who directed the film, posed them the following question:

“If they can do it there, why can’t we do it here?”

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A Green Prophet Tour of the Big Green Apple (aka New York City)

Travel

Karen Chernick

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September 2, 2008

2

A Green Prophet Tour of the Big Green Apple (aka New York City)

This Prophet recently got the chance to travel to New York City, and was a little bit apprehensive about the green-ness factor of the Big Apple. For a city so notorious for its chic blacks and greys, we figured that a fairly untrendy color like green wouldn’t be too popular. We were wrong. Apparently green is the new black.

Eco consciousness is all over the place in NYC (to be referred to from now on as the Big GREEN Apple), and eco tourists should feel very comfortable there. Here’s a list of some of the top best green stuff in Manhattan:

Public Transportation: Considering how many people actually live in Manhattan and the other four boroughs of New York City, there is a relatively small carbon footprint associated with transportation in the city and it keeps getting smaller. Why, you might ask? Because NYC public transportation is going green in a big way. The buses are hybrid electric vehicles now. The subway stations are changing their lighting to energy efficient CFLs. And the subway cars themselves? They reuse the energy generated when the subways brake.

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Leave No Trace: Ecologically Responsible Hiking

Travel

Michael Green

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September 2, 2008

0

Leave No Trace: Ecologically Responsible Hiking

It’s September already and officially the end of the summer (not that you would notice by the still-scorching Middle Eastern climate). As the temperature begins to cool down (slightly), the next couple of months offer the ideal time to hit one of the many hiking trails, forests, or natural springs in Israel.

But sometimes enjoying the Great Outdoors can leave it in a worse state than it was found, as I discovered at the weekend rafting on the River Dan with fellow Green Prophets James and Jeff. The tranquillity of drifting along a wide, clean river a few minutes from the Lebanese border was tempered by the plastic bags, bottles and other human debris that have accumulated along its lush, green shores.

To educate campers and day-trippers about their ecological footprint, the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics in Colorado developed a guide for ecologically-responsible outdoor recreation. Their seven Principles of Leave No Trace have recently been adapted for the Israeli landscape courtesy of Derech HaTeva, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel’s environmental education initiative:

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Prof. Alon Tal to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award for Environmental Protection

Lifestyle

Green Prophet

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September 1, 2008

1

Prof. Alon Tal to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award for Environmental Protection

Prof. Alon Tal of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for Environmental Protection from Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection. The award, which is being granted to 12 recipients, recognizes the honorees for their work on behalf of safeguarding Israel’s environment and is being granted as part of the country’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

University President Prof. Rivka Carmi praised the recognition, noting that Prof. Alon Tal is “both an exemplary academic and an environmental leader, who transformed Israel’s environmental movement and its approach to ecological challenges.”

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SafeCell Educates and Protects Against Cell Phone Radiation

Tech

Green Prophet Guest

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September 1, 2008

5

SafeCell Educates and Protects Against Cell Phone Radiation

Israel has the highest per capita cell phone use in the world at 2.2 cell phones per person. Israeli children, teens and young adults are among the most active users. This presents a huge, urgent health crisis in the making as more research proves the health risks of cell phone radiation.

SafeCell Ltd., is an Israeli company started by a natural health professional, Esti Allina-Turnauer to educate the public about this pandemic-in-the-making, while offering solutions to reduce the potential health damage.

Electromagnetic pollution and cell phone microwaves are an invisible yet very harmful new form of environmental pollution, that affects every life form on the planet. Please visit our site for more information. SafeCell’s mission is to get every man, woman, and child in Israel – and beyond – protected from cell phone radiation and EMF.

::SafeCell

Gleaning the Shuk: Fugee Fridays Feeds Refugees With Produce Donations

Health

Daniella Cheslow

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September 1, 2008

1

Gleaning the Shuk: Fugee Fridays Feeds Refugees With Produce Donations

The shuk floor on a regular Friday in early August (photo: Daniella Cheslow)

One of the best things about most major Israeli cities is the shuk, the giant outdoor food market where bright vegetables sit in precarious piles and entire alleyways are devoted to freshly butchered meat and refrigerated cases full of fish, sometimes even still squirming.

But one of the worst things about these shuks is the terrible waste at the end of each day, especially on Friday afternoons before the Sabbath comes in and the shuks are closed for the day. Lettuce covers entire meters of asphalt, chicken offal sits in piles surrounded by squashed tomatoes, and soggy cardboard boxes soak up the rotting vegetable mash.

In Tel Aviv, there are plenty of people who could use those discarded vegetables and fruit, and ‘Fugee Fridays – an initiative of Green Prophet Jesse Fox, his brother Steven, and their friend Gilli Cherrin – started up in February to collect excess produce from the shuk vendors and bring it to refugee shelters in southern Tel Aviv. Fugee Fridays meets at the bottom of Shuk Hacarmel each Friday at about 6 pm.

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Ras Al-Ayn: A Model for Composting in Israel!

Lifestyle

Rachel Bergstein

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September 1, 2008

2

Ras Al-Ayn: A Model for Composting in Israel!

Israel’s search for solutions to solid waste management has been no secret. Last year, for instance, the Knesset passed new taxes for dumping in landfills, and a law requiring businesses to recycle tires.

Luckily, it’s not only the policymakers who are working on the problem, and it’s not only the Jewish sector either! Ras al-Ayn, an Arab-Israeli village in the Galilee is currently operating a compost project that could serve as a model for organic waste recycling throughout the entire country

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Jordanian Ministry of the Environment Launches Eco-Cities of the Mediterranean Forum 2008

Business

Karen Chernick

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August 31, 2008

0

Jordanian Ministry of the Environment Launches Eco-Cities of the Mediterranean Forum 2008

In a press conference held last week the Jordanian Minister of Environment, His Excellency Khaled Irani, announced the launch of a Jordanian initiative called “Eco-Cities of the Mediterranean Forum 2008” to be held at the Ministry’s premises this coming October.

When explaining the reasons for initiating the regional conference, Irani said:

Our region’s energy, water, air and environment are all facing significant and complicated challenges that are affecting the quality of our lives today and will continue to affect the quality of future generations if they are not addressed… During this three day event, we aim to create a momentum towards addressing environmental challenges and opportunities in cities across the Mediterranean region and to promote the adoption of environmentally friendly practices by suggesting policies, strategies and programs bringing together the relevant public and private sectors.

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Back To School – Reuse Books

Cities

Jack Reichert

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August 31, 2008

2

With everyone going back to school over the next few days, now is a good time to connect with parents from your children’s school. Find out who has children in grades above your child and see if you can get their old books. There are also many book stores which will buy and resell used school books. Unless requested specifically there is no reason to buy the newer books. Growing up I used to enjoy discovering comments left for me from the previous owner. Turn it into a game for your child!

Ahava is Good For the Skin, But What About the Dead Sea?

Health

Green Prophet Guest

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August 31, 2008

6

Ahava is Good For the Skin, But What About the Dead Sea?

Within the realm of cosmetics, Ahava certainly holds a certain respect. Founded in 1988, the Israeli company exports its skin-enriching products, infused with minerals from the Dead Sea, to over 30 countries around the world.

On its website under the Environmental Responsibility tab, Ahava writes that “the Company’s activities are undertaken with a view towards preserving the pristine environment and delicate balance of the natural forces in the Dead Sea region.”

Is this true?

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Plantware's Eco-Architecture To "Grow Your Own" Homes

Cities

Green Prophet

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August 31, 2008

2

Plantware's Eco-Architecture To "Grow Your Own" Homes

A bus stop that grows its own foliage as shade? A children’s playground, made entirely from trees? A shelter made from living tree roots that could provide natural protection against earthquakes in California?

“Eco-architecture” may sound like a Buck Rogers vision of an ecologically-sustainable future, but that future is now thanks to the guidance of Tel Aviv University Professors Yoav Waisel and Amram Eshel. The concept of shaping living trees into useful objects known as tree shaping, arborsculpture, living art or pooktre isn’t new. But scientists are now ready to use this concept as the foundation of a new company that will roll out these structures worldwide.

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Guide to Israeli Solar Energy Companies

Green Prophet

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August 31, 2008

74

Israelis are world-leaders in inventing solar energy solutions. To find the business partner you need, or the company you’ve been dreaming about investing in, follow some of Green Prophet’s recommended links.

Amcor Solar Energies Ltd.
Amcor Solar Energies – a subsidiary of the Ashtrom Group – is a leading producer of Solar and Electrical heating systems for the Israeli and international markets.

The main countries of Export are Jamaica, Spain, Greece, Denmark and parts of the former USSR. With over 30 years experience in designing, developing and manufacturing, the company has put together a comprehensive line of high quality Solar Collectors, Solar and Electrical Tanks all approved by the Israeli Institute of Standards (I.I.S). The focus of the company is mainly on heating solutions for domestic and industrial usage.
::Amcor Website

Arava Power Company
The Arava Power Company (APC) produces renewable energy in the Arava region and sells it to the residents of the Arava and the Israel Electric Company. The creation of Arava Power is part of the regional initiative to make the Arava the Silicon Valley of renewable energy.
::Arava Website

Chromagen
The company dominates the Israeli market in which 85% of the households rely on thermal solar systems for hot water. With three distribution centers, and more than 150 independent authorized local dealers, the company provides a nationwide network for sales, installation and customer service.
::Chromagen Website

Ecoppia

One of the biggest challenges in solar energy is keeping the solar panels clean. Solar parks in the desert face two major challenges: a lot of dust on the photovoltaic panels and not enough water to clean them. Dust can cause up to a 40% decrease in efficiency of the panels. So there is huge interest to avert this problem. Normally teams of humans come in with squeegees to clean the panels by hand. Ecoppia does the cleaning with a Roomba-like robotics cleaning machine when we are all asleep. More on Ecoppia

BrightSource Energy
Brightsource Energy generates electrical power by using solar energy to convert water to superheated steam. Solar fields reflect sunlight onto a receiver located on the top of a Power Tower. Each Power Tower module is linked by pipelines to a central location where superheated steam and electricity are produced.

Millennium Electric T.O.U Ltd.
Designs, develops, installs and provides Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy systems and a wide variety of solar energy related services in Israel and throughout the world. Products include Multi Solar Systems that both generate electricity and produce hot water.

Plastic Magen
We all know the benefits in using the free reliable energy coming from the sun. Heating water by sun radiation can eliminate high, on-going monthly fuel costs, using a safe and clean energy source. Since 1977, PLASTIC MAGEN develops and produces an all plastic solar collector, used mainly as a swimming pool water heater and as pre-heating systems for industrial and domestic hot water supply. Solar collectors made by PLASTIC MAGEN are sold, all over the world, for more than 25 years under the brand names HELIOCOL and SUNSTAR.
::Plastic Magen Website

Pythagoras Solar
Pythagoras Solar is focused on dramatically changing the economics of photovoltaic technology through innovation that changes some of the basic technical principles behind the discipline. To accomplish its goals, the company is working to combine software models, optic design, semiconductor processes, materials science, and mass manufacturing techniques to build highly durable, cost effective solar energy products.
Pythagoras Solar Website

SolarEdge
SolarEdge develops a unique power harvesting solution providing unsurpassed performance in real-life scenarios. It will lower the average cost per watt in any typical photovoltaic installation via increased wattage and lower costs, provide for easier and cheaper installation, and help make Photovoltaic (PV) installations relevant in more sites.

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