Take care to measure out the right amount of water needed. It takes extra energy to boil too much water. Not only will you be saving energy but time as well; your water will take less time to boil!
Use Just Enough
Bagir’s Eco Suit More Suitable for the Planet
In one of our past prophecies we wrote about Israeli clothing company, Bagir, and their men’s suits made out of recycled PET plastic bottles. But the EcoGIR suit is not the only environmentally friendly product that this company has up its sleeve.
They’re always thinking of ways to make their suits greener.
I talked with Moshe Gadot, Bagir’s director of global development and marketing, and he told them that the company’s ultimate goal is to see the entire tailored clothing business go green and “retired” suits get recycled into new products. And so far, they’re doing pretty well on that front.
Citramed Preserves our Cosmetics the Natural Way
Parabens, a preservative used in cosmetics such as shampoos, deodorants, toothpastes and creams, are nasty things. They’re bad for our health, bad for the environment, and bad for all the creatures that we share this planet with.
Parabens have been proven to be linked to cancer, and a study in the UK has showed extremely high levels of parabens in breast cancer tissue. The parabens found in cosmetics that we use eventually gets washed off, too, meaning they also pollute our waterways and harm our animal friends. Parabens have been shown to disrupt the hormones in animals, causing things like genetic defects and extra legs on frogs.
In other words, bad news all around.
Israelis and Palestinians: Teaming Up for the Environment
Can peace in the Middle East begin with the environment?
A plan is being outlined for the collaboration of Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Palestinian Authority, detailing mutual responsibilities for environmental issues that affect the country–regardless of what the country is called and whose land it is.
Environment and Health Conference in Israel
On June 2nd in Herzliya, Beit Hayal Ha’avir is hosting an Environment & Health Conference, titled ‘Environmental pollution and Disease Trends in Israel – what we know, what we don’t know and what we should know.’
We may all know someone who suffers from a pollution-caused disease, or perhaps we are all just getting ‘sick to death’ of the noxious fumes emitted from exhaust fumes, or the plastic and chemical pollution of our seas and other waterways, as in the picture above….it is time us ordinary citizens got ourselves better informed, and equipped with the hard science and relevant facts and figures to demand change in the legislation and business negligence (and consumer ignorance – look at the pollution left behind after the 60th celebrations…) that causes pollution of our land and our bodies.
Or maybe there’s some good news…..
Hey, Are You Gonna Use That? Second Great Green Prophet Giveaway with Yoav Kotik!
For those of you who missed out on our first Great Green Prophet Giveaway, the competition is on again! And this time the prize is local, handmade, and recycled – so we’re especially proud.
Yoav Kotik, an Israeli artist who reinvents garbage materials into beautiful jewelry and other creations, has graciously agreed to give an earring and ring set made out of Israeli beer caps to the most creative bidder.
The earrings and rings are made out of Israeli beer caps (specifically Goldstar and Malt Beer, for those picky beer connoisseurs out there), and so they make a patriotic and environmental statement at the same time.
What do you have to do to win one of these beautiful jewelry sets?
Israel's 12th Annual Cleantech Exhibition at Airport City
Last week at Tel Aviv University’s Renewable Energy and Beyond (yeah the conference that Al Gore opened), and the venue where the University announced its desire to become a Supercenter for renewable energy, we met Isaac Berzin of GreenFuel Technologies. A Time Magazine most influential, Berzin now a fellow at the IDC, is back in Israel to establish a massive renewable energy project ten times the scale of GreenFuel.
Google and Ormat: Power Partners in Alternative Energy?
While green funds in Israel have recently taken a dive, the general consensus seems to be that it still pays to invest in green in Israel. According to Haaretz, Google seems to think so, too. While the multi-billion dollar empire is reportedly interested in a number of Israeli cleantech companies, the only one which we know they have their eye on is Ormat–a world leader in geothermal energy.
Have an Environmentally and Child Friendly Hebrew Book Week
One week a year, every year, Hebrew books get their chance to shine.
A tradition that began with modest book stalls on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv in 1926, Hebrew Book Week has since grown to enormous dimensions and every municipality and book store in Israel finds a way to celebrate the event.
Usually, this celebration includes the discounted sale of lots and lots of new Hebrew language books. Books are a great form of entertainment because they don’t require electricity, but on the other hand, they require lots of energy and resources to produce. In light of that fact, we would like to propose some alternative ways to celebrate this great national tradition.
Al Gore, Israel’s #1 Environmentalist
To be perfectly honest, I received the news about Al Gore coming to Israel to collect a $1 million prize for his achievements in raising environmental awareness with a dose of skepticism. Does Al Gore really need more money or recognition, especially when there are so many committed, homegrown environmentalists in Israel, many of whom are so under-appreciated? Wasn’t his movie just a glorified Power Point, containing no significant new insights? And even if Gore is a relentless activist today, where was his sense of commitment when he was working from the White House?
However, after pondering it over a little, it became clear to me just what an enormous impact Al Gore has had on environmental awareness in Israel.
Although it is difficult to image today, with discussion of environmental issues so mainstream and widespread, it was only a couple of years ago when environmentalists were considered an obscure special interest group in this country. I remember being told by a distinguished professor in Tel Aviv University a couple of years ago that the environment was a “luxury” issue, which only the well-off could be expected to care about.
All of that has changed during the past year or so.
Holy Electrical Bacteria, Batman!
Come on, who hasn’t always wanted to say that? And now you can, because an Israeli researcher with a flair for electricity-centered solutions has discovered–wait for it–a bacteria that produces electricity.
Tel Aviv University Professor Avi Kribus, who until now has been best known for his advances in solar energy, discovered a bacteria that generates electricity in the process of photosynthesis.
REAL(ly) Affordable and Sustainable Housing Hits the Negev
What’s the next challenge for the World Trade Center’s chief engineer?
Designing solar-powered houses in the Negev desert that can be built from scratch in nine weeks? Unlikely, but true.
Hy Brown is a man on a mission. Originally driven by the will to find a constructive response to the terrorists who felled his creation in Manhattan and the chronic shortage of inexpensive housing in Israel, the REAL (Renewable Energy for Affordable Living) Housing company was born last year (on 11 September, no less). Partly constructed from discarded shipping containers, the houses will be built with energy-conserving insulation as well as solar panels, Brown told me on the two-hour drive from Jerusalem to Ashalim, 40km south of Beersheba, where the first REAL home lives.
The lonely pilot house in the desert could be the first of many if the fledging company can get investors to help it match demand. Watch this space.
Get Some Sleep
How many times have you gotten up to go to bed wondering what you had gained from that extra hour or three of television watching?
Rather than sitting through a TV programme you’re not really enjoying, why not go to bed and get some extra sleep. It has been found that 42% of people worry about lack of sleep and fatigue. And save energy while you’re at it…
Derech 531: An Israeli Environmental Activist Plan
For two days this week, at Jerusalem’s Conference Centre, the first Jerusalem Environment and Nature Conference took place. You can read a preview post here.
For this Green Prophet correspondent and greenie, it wasn’t the dull political speeches and pontificating that mattered (all of the politicians who showed up, spoke and left immediately, kindly donated their hot air to warm the conference attendees who shivered in fierce air-con), but the networking opportunities (as well as the great lunch!) and the chance to hear about some of the environmental campaigns being waged around the country by local activists.
Winemaking In Israel – A Sweet Ecuatorial Spot For The Ancient Tradition
(Israeli winemaker Golan Flam inspects his wine)
This is a guest post by Israeli wine expert Richard Sheffer from Israel Wine Direct. Last week he talked about the connection between wine, man and the land. This week he talks a little more about the history of wine:
In spite of what some Californians believe, wine was not born in Napa Valley. In fact, the eastern Mediterranean, of which Israel is a part, is the birthplace of wine. The very first thing Noah did when he got off the ark was to plant a vineyard. Wine figures prominently in the Bible and was widely used in the region both privately and as a part of the ancient Temple ritual. Wine in fact provided a major export industry for ancient Israel.
Archaeologists have discovered sealed vessels of wine on sunken ships in the Mediterranean Sea right off the coast. And ancient stone “gats” (Hebrew for wine press) sit amidst current grape vineyards in today’s Israel. So, we know that wine has been made in and around Israel for thousands of years. (By the way, I understand that a 30-minute plane ride from Israel on the island of Cyprus, they’ve discovered wine artifacts more than 5,500 years old!).