Instead of relying on the paper and styrofoam cups that are provided at work, bring your own mug. Some coffee shops will make your beverage straight in a mug brought from home. The less disposable you use, the less that ends up in the landfill. Check out other landfill solutions.
BYOM… (Bring Your Own Mug)
Sizzle, A Global Warming Comedy, Is Not So Hot
My partner and I watched this movie with increasing incredulity and frustration. She is a former science journalist, and she won’t mind me telling you, gave up on ‘Sizzle’ after 15 minutes.
I sat through it all, and felt deflated after 85 minutes of this eco-baloney – filmmaker Randy Olson sets out to pick up on Al Gore and his ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ movie with its one-sided view; thats fair enough – present both sides of the argument, but why fill this so-called ‘mockumentary’ with half-assed scenarios about pseudo producers and skeptic techies who have sudden breakthroughs and become converts to the global warming (& human responsibility for such) cause as well?
Wine Cubes for keeping bits of old wine
I love cooking with wine… and sometimes I add some to my cooking too. Cooking with alcohol, especially wine, can release elements in food that would otherwise not come out, specifically tomatoes and meats.
If you have a little bit of wine left over in a bottle but cannot finish it, instead of letting it spoil on your counter, you can pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it.
This way you are not wasting that last drop and you are keeping the wine fresh for future cooking. Or have a hand at making some ancient wine? Try making mead.
Israel's Water Levels Go From Red to Black
Every Israeli knows what the Sea of Galilee’s (a main source of Israel’s drinking water) red line means. It’s bad. It means Israel is running out of water and we’re all in trouble. So when the Israel Water Authority came out with a campaign about two weeks ago saying that Israel’s water levels were deteriorating from the red line to the black line, that was even scarier.
To make matters worse, last week the Director of the Water Authority announced that Israel is currently facing the worst water supply crisis in 80 years, ever since they started keeping records. And that unless our water consumption patterns (which have increased in disproportionate levels to our population increase) and water purification methods change… it’s bad news all around.
So what do the red and black lines actually mean?
Israeli Researchers Listen to Plants to Find Water Contamination
In the Middle East, water is never far from our minds. As Israel’s water shortage takes effect, the quality of our water is in brisk decline. Hot on the heels of this crisis, a team of researchers in Bar-Ilan University has developed an effective method for locating and measuring water contamination.
The new method, developed by Professor Zvy Dubinsky and Dr. Yulia Pinchasov, is based on the concept that contamination disrupts plant growth–therefore analyzing plant growth can serve to detect whether or not there is contamination.
The researchers analyze the rate of photosynthesis (the process of converting sunlight into energy) of plants growing in the water, to examine whether the plant is realizing its full photosynthesis potential. If it isn’t, this could indicate that there is a disruption in the water, i.e., a contaminant.
How does it work? Well, it starts with a green laser beam. Also, did you know that plants can sing?
Controversial Red-Dead Sea Canal on Hold – But why?
Last month Green Prophet wrote about the controversy over the so-called “Peace Canal” or “Peace Valley” lauded by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in his recent trip to Israel. A huge man-made canal carrying water north from the Red Sea was envisaged as the centrepiece of the joint Israeli-Jordanian initiative, backed by claims of breathing life into the ailing Dead Sea, developing tourism projects on both sides of the Israel-Jordan border, as well as plenty of well-worn rhetoric about “making the desert bloom”.
Environmental groups who vigorously opposed the plans, such as Friends of the Earth Middle East, may be breathing a sign of relief this week following reports that the canal has been put on hold – albeit for the wrong reasons.
Is Israel's Bottled Water Polluted?
As a thirsty greenie living in Israel, I try to avoid buying bottled water, and instead have recently purchased a very cool stainless steel water bottle – made in the US by Klean Kanteen. But sometimes it’s difficult to avoid buying some water in plastic bottles – although after reading this story, I will think twice.
This report was spotted in this weekend’s Haaretz newspaper (11th July 08):
“‘Mineral Water with a Taste of Gas’: Gasoline fumes penetrate the plastic mineral water bottles sold at gas stations, according to Technion professor Joseph Miltz of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering.”
Eco Tourism in the Middle East: Syria
Now that we’ve toured Lebanon, Jordan, and even Iran, let’s make an online eco-visit to Syria. Since Syria has not yet experienced a wave of mass tourism, its sites are still well preserved and relatively undisturbed. That, combined with the fact that Syria has a wide variety of landscapes ranging from forests to beaches to mountains, makes Syria a perfect spot for eco-tourism.
Like other Arab countries in the region, eco-tourism in Syria mainly consists of environmentally friendly tour operators offering a range of wildlife-focused trips.
Here are some of Syria’s top green tourism companies:
Is Wind Energy a Danger to Migrating Birds?
We’ve explored the heady possibilities of wave energy…But what about wind? Wind turbines, those modern day versions of Don Quixote’s windmills, may have some environmental drawbacks, according to research being carried out by the Israel Ornithological Center, a branch of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. The study appears to center around a growing concern by ornithologists (bird watchers) that large revolving turbine blades could be deadly to the thousands of migrating birds who pass through Israel annually on their journey to and from summer homes in Russia and Eastern Europe.
One World, Many Beads: A Journey in Bedouin Jewelry
In The Beginning
There came a moment when I realised that I had to make a business with the jewellery that I kept buying for myself in Sinai. Everytime I returned to Tel Aviv with a new bracelet, a fancy anklet or a ‘jada’ for the hand, a stranger on the beach, in the market, even on a bus would say to me “Ooh where did you get that from?” and sometimes I would end up selling the jewellery I was wearing at the insistence of the admirer.
Close the Fridge
When I was a child growing up I was indecisive. It would take me whole minutes of peering into the fridge to decide what to eat. My grandmother used to chide this practice saying: “Don’t pray in front of the open refrigerator!” Orthodox Jews can take up to twenty minutes in their silent prayer on a weekday. While one is praying he, or she, is not supposed to move their feet, but instead, stand upright, unmoving…
Avoid leaving fridge doors open. Each minute the door is open takes three minutes of energy to cool down again.
Tel Aviv Puts Jaffa Skyscraper Plans on Hold
Photo by Dan Keinan, Haaretz.
A modernist skyscraper was built with no connection to the existing urban context, and plans for a row of similar towers threatened to destroy the character of the historical city center. This so outraged the residents of the area that they managed to bring about a complete ban on skyscraper construction in the historical city center.
The city was Paris, and the year was 1977. (The skyscraper was the Montparnasse Tower, which in 2005 turned out to be loaded with asbestos…) However, a similar process may be underway in Tel Aviv of 2008.
On Wednesday, the Local Planning and Construction Committee (an organ of the Tel Aviv Municipality) decided, unanimously, to freeze a plan for a 30 story residential building at the corner of Nahalat Binyamin and Derech Yaffo Streets.
Zalul's Protecting the Lachish River
Sea pollution closes the beaches in Bat Yam. (Credit: Zalul Environmental Association)
For a long time now, Israel’s water resources haven’t been getting the respect they deserve. Out of the 16 rivers that flow into the Mediterranean Sea, all 16 are polluted – many to the point that you wouldn’t even let your dog go swimming in them, much less your children. And that pollution? It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, where thousands of Israeli residents and tourists go year round to surf, play, and work on their tans. Water pollution in Israel is not only a danger to river and marine life, but also a danger to public health and Israel’s economy.
Clean Your Naot
Have your Naot (leather sandals and shoes) gotten dirty? To clean leather shoes, rub with banana peel (the inside of the peel), then wipe and buff with a cloth.
Nano Technology's Cleaning Up Space Junk
So you’ve finally done it. You’ve built your own rocket ship and you’re about to make your virgin launch. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… LIFTOFF! The pressure builds as your ship picks up speed.
You’re traveling at an astounding 8,000 meters per second. You’re closing in on the stratosphere… You’re through! and BAM! A micro chip floating in orbit from a satellite launched 50 years ago smashes through your windshield.