One of the best ways to reduce your waste is to reuse it. If you want to get rid of something, perhaps there is someone else out there that would treasure your rejects. When reading the news keep your eyes open for community events which give such opportunities. None in your neighborhood? Organize one! It can be a fun way to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones.
Tonight you can have such an opportunity in Jerusalem.
Microwave ovens are an important cooking and food heating tool in many modern homes, especially here in Israel. Many people may not be aware, however, just how dangerous these gadgets are to human health. Recently, much attention has been given to microwaves, or “micro-gals” (as they are called by Israelis) in that they produce similar electronic frequencies as those who are found in cellular phones which are now being said to be very dangerous to human health and the cause of a number of types of cancer.
It’s not only the type of utensil that holds the food (such as those made from polymer plastics) but the actual appliance itself that is so dangerous that some countries, including Russia, have banned its sale for health reasons. And Green Prophet’s Eco-Mum has her own thoughts — see Safe Bottle Feeding.
It’s not every day that you can party with a group of farmers in the middle of a city. Even rarer, it’s not every day that you can party with urban Israeli farmers on the rooftop of a historic building in the center of Tel Aviv and learn about some green goodness to boot.
Which is why everyone needs to get in on this action this coming Wednesday, August 13th at 17:30. Because these things just don’t happen that often.
Brought to you by the Urban Farmers Collective and Tel Aviv’s oasis for all things environmental – City Tree – the party will be held on the roof of 8 Ha Avoda Street. If that address sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the same building that hosts a community compost heap where fellow Green Prophet Jeff (aka “The Compost Guy”) deposits his carrot peels and lemon rinds.
So what’s the schedule for this urban farming extravaganza?
Us Green Prophets believe that green education should start from a young age, and have already addressed ways that little ones can be eco conscious. Sometimes it’s recycling competitions at schools, other times it’s reading environmentally conscious children’s books, and sometimes it’s about what these little ones are wearing.
Eco-Mum has already sung the praises of the good old cloth diapers, but what about all of the other baby acoutrements? Bibs, tights, t-shirts?
For those who like to do their organic cotton baby clothes shopping online there’s the Baby Organic store, but for those who like to go into an actual shop, ooh and aah at the tiny socks and pick out their own onesies – there’s Katanchic in central Tel Aviv.
At the centre of a historic city and seconds away from the Mediterranean Sea, you’d probably expect upscale-neighbourhoods with wealthy residents to match. “But it’s not like that in Haifa,” says Avigail Dolev, urban planner for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI).
“All the neighbourhoods located on the seashore are very neglected,” she told Green Prophet this week – and that includes the mixed Jewish-Arab district of Ein HaYam, meaning Eye of the Sea. But in the last year the neighbourhood’s residents – used to grumbling about the dilapidated pavements, broken sewage pipes and lack of access to green areas (see photo below) – are rejoicing at the renewal of their urban environment.
To the residents’ surprise, the Haifa Municipality accepted a plan they drew up with the SPNI to renew their neighbourhood.
For most people, fair trade means making sure South American and African farmers get paid a reasonable wage to grow coffee and chocolate. But in Israel, fair trade is much more local. Two companies have emerged in the last few years to provide a living wage for farmers in the region.
The first, SAHA, is a Hebrew acronym for Fair Trade, as well as the Arabic word for “bon appetit.” SAHA was launched by the environmental-social group Green Action in 2005, according to Green Action director Avi Levi. SAHA sells olive oil, sage, zaatar and grape syrup (pictured at the left) made by Palestinian farmers in the West Bank, as well as jam cooked up by Jerusalem women. Israelis can also buy SAHA coffee grown in South America.
Bicycles are becoming trendy here in Israel, and as a result the government has been spearheading initiatives to promote this eco-friendly, congestion-fighting trend. What’s more, bicycle tourism is becoming increasingly popular as well, as bikers savor the open green spaces that Israel has to offer.
Israel’s Ministry of Tourism has just announced that the government is allocating 100 million shekel to develop bicycle tourism in Israel on a grand scale. What’s more, they are interested in getting proposals from people who have an idea how to develop the industry. Applicants whose proposals are suitable will be invited to present their ideas.
Their ultimate goal: To position Israel as a tourism hot spot for cyclists worldwide.
Says Tourism Minister Ruhama Avraham-Balili:
“The Tourism Ministry leads the development of the cycling tourism industry as part of its policy to position Israel as a unique and quality tourist destination at an international level. This is in light of the worldwide trend in the tourism industry that places cycling tourism as a significant and developing market segment.
“Developing the industry will improve Israel’s image around the world and increase tourist traffic, while preserving the environment.”
Literally, postal. It was quite a pleasant surprise when we found out that in 1975 Israel came out with stamps encouraging civillians to protect their environment. Not only was the message beautiful, but the stamps were pretty darn good looking too.
Designed by Israeli artist and sculptor Eliezer Weishoff (whose monuments and other creations are an inherent part of the Israeli visual fabric), the stamps addressed three types of pollution: air pollution, water pollution, and noise pollution.
You’d think that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in the Persian Gulf would have nothing to do with alternative energy initiatives, right? Since they have close to a quarter of the global petroleum reserves literally underfoot, you might assume that they’d try to prevent the development of alternatives, or at least not be interested in using them. It turns out, however that even the oil rich Gulf is diversifying the energy sources beyond fossil fuels, both for business diversification and as a result of real need.
Selling off natural resources
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are facing increasing shortages in domestic energy supply, and their economies depend on selling petroleum to other countries rather then burning it for their own needs. Many of these countries face gas shortages, and they recognize that petroleum supplies are finite and need to be managed wisely and husbanded for the future.
One way of supplying this power is through renewable energy sources like sun and wind. Saudia Arabia, Oman, Dubai and Kuwait all have programs to promote and develop solar and wind power farms, solar powered desalination, more efficient use of oil through fuel cells, carbon sequestration, oil gasification, and green building. The city of Masdar in Abu Dhabi aims to be the first carbon neutral area in the world through clean energy initiatives and cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
It’s kind of ironic, but good news: As the world suffers from rising fuel costs and weighs the consequences of global warming, investors and oil barons in Dubai may play a pivotal role in a swift move towards green technology and alternative energy, reports Zawya.com.
Swati Taneja, a director from the Private Equity Forum which recently concluded in Dubai, said that people in Dubai have amassed new fortunes from the rising price of oil and gas around the world. They now see massive opportunities in green investing.
(Flickr image credit: shlevich)
Though not a significant supplier of alternative energy, yet, Israel is just about to get a little greener. The country aims to have 5% of its national energy supply come by way of the wind by 2012. Seems like it is on the way. According to Globes, the Public Utilities Authority has granted a license to mineral water company Mey Golan (Wind Energy Development) to build a $500 million 400 MW wind farm spread over 140 km of the Golan Heights — about 150 turbines. Haaretz reports the deal is worth $600 million and that Mey Golan will partner with US energy giant AES Corporation.
The turbines will be constructed between Majdal Shams and Alonei Habashan, predominantly within privately owned orchards in both Jewish and Druze villages.
Mey Golan (alternately known as Mei Eden, Mey Eden or Eden Springs) is the same company that built Israel’s first wind farm more than 15 years ago in 1992 at Tel Aseniya, also in the Golan, where ten turbines generate 6 MW of energy, which goes to “wind power” local factories and about 20,000 people; the rest goes back to the national grid. The wind power supplies power to Mey Eden water factories as well as the Golan Wineries.
Getting regular tune-ups, maintenance and having clean air filters will help you burn less gas, pollute less, save money and prevent car trouble down the line. Lighten the load, the less you shlepp the less gas your burn. Get the extra junk out of your trunk.
Great ideas for changing our planet won’t be implemented overnight, especially if it’s a technology solution like solar energy air con or the fabulously Sci-Fi vortex machine that could suck up greenhouse gas (if investors would only build a pilot plant!).
Green Prophet sees great clean technology ideas every day. People email us trying to convince us why this so-and-so technology surpasses any other solution out there. To take your idea to the next level folks, you won’t have to convince us, but investors.
Guy Kawasaki, an American marketing guru has recently penned a short list of tips would-be entrepreneurs take into consideration before meeting a venture capital firm. He lists 10 things “not to say” and one tip for what you should say.
Zalul, the non-profit marine NGO, has released it’s 2008 State of the Sea Report. Yesterday a press conference was held at Cafe Masada in Tel Aviv with over 20 members of the press gathering to hear the latest news about the state of Israel’s Mediterranean Sea.
This year was a wake-up call to the public and the government. The report discovers that by implementing the law that requires the government to institute a discharge fee for polluters the Ministry of the Environment could double, even triple its (currently paltry) budget!
Here in the Middle East, echoes of the Biblical prophets are never far off–even in environmental discourse.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in the famous cedars of Lebanon, which have been a wonder to the world for thousands of years, and were used to build King Solomon’s palace. Some of the remaining cedars in Lebanon are in fact 2,000 years old.
But now global warming, which we have seen will be particularly pernicious in the Middle East, threatens the existence of these ancient trees.
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