We not only made it to the list of top Earth-Hackers of 2007, we also made it to spot 25 of Discover Magazine’s list of Top Science Stories of 2007! A team of Israeli atmospheric scientists from Tel Aviv University explored the influence of intense lightning storms from East Africa on the world weather patterns. They discovered that “More than […]
Afraid that this planet is doomed? Before global warming sets in, how about shooting a sample of your DNA into outer space? For a mere $87 you have the chance of being immortalized. Maybe your genes will drift back down to earth in a couple of billion years when the earth has calmed down. Or […]
The Arava Institute makes green peace
Bank Leumi has a new trick up its sleeve. It has decided to use smell marketing to get Israelis to invest more money. It is not a new concept, and one used by everyone from sleezy car salesmen to shop owners around the world. Smells play with our senses; they trigger old memories and can […]
Four days ago and in honor of the shortest day of the year, the Jerusalem Municipality covered the lights illuminating the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City with green filters–with the result that as we are writing this, the walls are glowing green against the night. Why green? Apparently this special lighting, which was inaugurated […]
The other evening we were chatting with a friend from Hebrew Union College, which is located in the heart of Jerusalem’s city center. She told us that the HUC students have taken the initiative to stop using disposable coffee cups and cutlery, in an effort to make their daily meals and beverages more eco-friendly.
Haaretz reported today that the tender for building a massive solar power plant in the Negev will not be given preference to Israeli companies. The article explains that, “The decision was made, among other things, to avoid the impression that the tender was written for the benefit of the only two Israeli companies who could […]
“Mending” is the theme of environmental sculptor Dani Karavan, whose massive works can be found from the barren deserts of the Negev all the way to gay Paris. And when he says mending, Karavan implies the mending of animals, plants, society and the near and far environments. Celebrating the artist’s 77th birthday is a Dani […]
Ancient historians have described the export of ointments from the Judean Desert throughout the Roman empire and beyond, at least until the 2nd century BCE. Now the modern company, Herbs of Kedem, has revived the historical use of these herbs for medicinal uses. Amazed by their extraordinary success, researchers at Rambam hospital in Haifa have […]
A day out at the IKEA store in Netanya is a national pastime in Israel. While we don’t mind an outing once and a while to the superstore, we’re cautious about buying furnishings from there. Firstly for the quality issue and secondly because the business shuts out our smaller home furnishing stores in Israel.Big box […]
(A photo from one of Dani Machlis’s online galleries) In Israel, space is limited, but it doesn’t have to limiting. Take for example Dani Machlis from Be’er Sheva. The photographer recently discovered that owning his own gallery wouldn’t cost a fortune if he built it into his own living room. Repurposing space in the home […]
A few weeks ago, we were driving our “tourist” mom from Canada around the country, when we accidentally took the wrong cut-off and found ourselves somewhere in the middle of east Jerusalem. Excited by seeing the children riding around on donkeys and the general sense of chaos, Mom commented on how very different this place […]
I was out walking about a forest around Jerusalem today and kept hearing gunshots firing off from the Arab village across the way. They’re celebrating Hajj now, said my boyfriend. And I thought of all the Muslims who must be aching to make their pilgrammage to Mecca. With so many people converging in one small […]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO-gpsHNGEw&rel=1[/youtube]Everyone and their mother is doing it. Talking about global warming, that is. Stumbling around the net, we bumped into this YouTube video sponsored by the Jewish National Fund, which links nicely to our last post on tree planting in Israel.
It’s really romantic to carve your lover’s name on a tree. But let’s admit, it’s so last century! An even more romantic gesture, to show your love for ______ [insert name/s], would be to plant a tree in his or her name. And the act would even offset carbon emissions. Rather than going on a […]