Israel’s recent Passover holiday period, which also included opening season visits to beaches and various picnic sites, is still being dealt with by national park and forestry employees long after holiday goers returned home. Whether it be national forests, rivers and beaches, or city public parks, the amount of trash and food waste left behind is staggering, to say the least.

Employees of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority , in charge of watching over forest lands and national parks, estimate that as of Sunday, April 28, more than 700 tons of trash is still “onsite” and not yet been picked up from locations where holiday goers visited during the 8-day holiday.

The following video (in Hebrew) from the Channel 12 news site gives some indication of the amount of trash left behind, including picnic grills, folding chairs, and mountains of throwaway plastic dishes and utensils.

According to Channel 12 News reporter Guy Veron, literally tons of waste items of all types are still being picked up from these sites in an ongoing operation that is expected to take several days to complete. Environmentalists dealing with the problem of picnic trash left in these locations, including the country’s beach fronts, point out that much of the problem is simply a lack of education in environmental issues the country faces, along with a sheer disregard for protecting Israel’s fragile environment.

Although trash bins and dumpster containers are often available to put the trash in, many holiday goers simply do not use them; often leaving their trash on the ground or on beach areas where they spent their holiday time.

Spokesperson for the environmental organization Zalul say that litter by beachfront visitors is a constant problem; especially on weekends and holidays. As much of the beach litter includes throwaway plastic bags, bottles, straws and dishes, some of it gets washed out to sea, resulting in a danger to marine life.

“The Mediterranean Sea contains so much “micro-plastic” waste that literally all fish and other marine animals, including birds, have these waste particles inside their stomachs, resulting in eventual death for many of them,” a Zalul spokesperson once told me.

It is a shame that environmental awareness is not taught more in the schools. Parents pass their lack of environmental knowledge and concern on to their children, who continue their parent’s bad habits in respect of concern for the country’s natural resources. Protecting the environment should be considered an important school subject, since the country’s future depends on it.

More about trash accumulation and recycling:

Israel’s Beach Season Opens With Litterbugs

Drinking Beer in Cans and Other Middle East Recycling Problems

Jordan Talks Plastic Waste: Action Wanted!

Photo of Kinneret lake shoreline : Gil Eliau/Haaretz

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Oil and natural gas, as investment opportunities, have certainly had their share of publicity; both good and bad. This includes market analysis data to entice potential investors to consider investing or speculating in either oil and gas futures or in stocks and investment funds that include energy companies specializing in the exploration and production of oil and natural

Notwithstanding the environmental issues such as global warming and climate change being tied to the production and use of fossil fuels, gigantic oil spills such as the Exxon Valdez spill and Deepwater Horizon well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico have opened a “Pandora’s Box in regards to the downside of oil and natural gas. This is only part of the entire problem, however.

In many countries, particularly the USA, a controversial technique known as fracking is now being used extensively to bring oil and gas deposits out of shale and other underground geological formations. Fracking involves the use of inserting a high pressure mixture of water and chemicals into underground formations to free trapped oil and natural gas to the surface.

While more certain than “hit or miss” drilling into geological formations, fracking is much more environmentally damaging to underground, as it involves the use of large amounts of water that contributes to drought in the areas where the fracking is being done. The tremendous amount of pressure used as well as a continuous pounding force also results in disturbance of the subterranean formations,causing numerous “mini earthquakes”, as well as noise pollution above the surface. Fracking is also a costly production method involving the use of very specialized drilling rigs and equipment; and as a result is very much affected by the local and international market price of crude oil and natural gas.

Despite the costs and environmental concerns, fracking appears to be one of the most successful ways to bring up oil and natural gas deposits. Even oil producing countries in the Middle East have now begun to use this method  including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE. The UAE is becoming so interested in using fracking that Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC has taken the lead by embarking on a big fracking project to extract natural gas its subterranean shale deposits.

Fracking in previous oil rich Mid East countries may be an indicator that their oil reserves available to be extracted by simply drilling into the earth may be now at a much lower level. With underground water reserves being a record lows, the large amount of water required for fracking will most likely have to come from desalination plants; resulting in even more expense as well as environmental damage.

With use of fossil fuels already top issues by environmentalists as being a prime cause of climate change and global warming, the added issues of fracking only confirms that investing in oil and even natural gas is not good for those really concerned with the future environment of planet earth.

More on oil and gas:

Should you consider investing in oil in 2019?

Golan Heights Slated for Oil and Gas Drilling…and Environmental Damage?

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Opens Pandora’s Box at Alberta Tar Sands

The post Fracking – Oil’s downside: Should governments invest in it? appeared first on Green Prophet.

As reported in the Jordan Times, activists say they now meet the requirements of the current Political Parties Law, which requires 500 founding members representing at least seven of the country’s governorates, with over 10 percent of its membership base comprised of women.

They’ve officially petitioned the Interior Ministry to license the coalition of environmental and left-leaning activists in a bid to bring environmental awareness to the forefront of government decision-making. Activists say they expect the party to be licensed within the next six months.

If approved, the Green Party of Jordan would become the country’s first political organization devoted fully to environmental challenges facing the kingdom. It is a vocal opponent of the country’s nuclear program and, as with Green Parties around the world, the group calls for social justice, economic reform and boosting employment among young Jordanians throughout the kingdom.

Keep abreast of the group’s progress on their Facebook page – link here.

The post Jordan’s Environmentalists Seek Seat at Government Table appeared first on Green Prophet.

This Green Prophet tours Turkey and sees a mosaic of eco-sensibility.

Little Eid, a Muslim holiday, is a great time for a getaway. So I reeled in my family from disparate zip codes for a week spent touring someplace new.  Years back, plump thighs on my enormous babies tagged the kids as “turkey legs”.  It feels right that we meet up in Istanbul. Turkey seems so sustainable. Look past the blinding kaleidoscope of colors and textures, tiled surfaces, carpets, spices and foods and spot clever detailing that tips off intrinsic enviro-awareness.

Atatürk International Airport has quiet little features that scream sensitivity to energy consumption. Overhead lighting throughout the main terminal is operated only when natural daylight is insufficient.

Ceiling fixtures include artsy parabolic reflectors that amplify artificial lighting, bouncing brightness to the check-in counters and arrivals hall below.

Escalators spring to life when you alight, for an enormous power savings. Likely lots more happening there, and it warrants a closer look: this is just what I caught as we ran for a cab.

Turkey is clean.  Very, very clean.

Unlike Amman, trash bins are everywhere in Istanbul and people use them.  They come in all shapes and sizes.

I saw covered metal bins, bigger versions of your kitchen pail: step on a foot pedal and the door pops open.  The smart design keeps seagulls and cats at bay, and smells stay mostly inside.

But these gizmos have a brilliant maintenance feature:  the bins sit atop enormous underground waste containers, giant metal boxes which are lifted out of the ground for efficient cleanout by special garbage trucks. (Jordan, are you seeing this?).

Massive capacity to accept public waste means minimal garbage on footpaths and streets.

Even small businesses step up to the plate.

The two small city hotels we stayed in were loaded with green features.  Sure, there were placards urging us to reuse towels, limit running water, and recycle newspapers. But these tiny businesses are as amped-up on efficiency as the airport.

Lights in hallways and public areas are on sensors, only flipping on when detecting human motion.  Air conditioners shut off automatically when you leave the rooms, portable fans are available if you want to skip the AC altogether.

Open air roof decks make copious use of shading; beautifully landscaped spaces that tempted me to hang out all day, drinking Turkish coffee, reading the latest Elif Shafak novel, and watching ships on the Bosphorus (or the people on all the other roofs).

The concierges were fans of walking, offering detailed directions and best routes to anywhere we could name.  For longer distances they tossed us maps for Istanbul’s three tramways and many small buses: these gents were all about avoiding taxis and rented cars. Sticking to the sidewalks, we experienced so much more.

From windows in town and country alike, laundry hangs out to air-dry like Buddhist prayer flags.

Until this summer, I’d been five years without a clothes dryer. Line-drying is commonplace where I lived in Ireland (although it could take a week for things to actually dry).

And we air-dry in Jordan, but always indoors, or risk clothes that smell like diesel exhaust and cigarettes.  Istanbul air is salty fresh.

Domestic hot water looks to be predominantly obtained through rooftop thermal heating units. Looking past the satellite dishes on city apartment buildings, I spied lots of solar panels.

In the countryside, almost every roof wore a solar collector with a storage tank mounted right above the panel.

This type of system is especially efficient: hot water rises to the storage tank through natural thermosiphoning.  No mechanical pumping is required.

With so many units installed, in every city we visited, I wondered if there was a national program to kit up each home.

Anyone have more info on this?If so, it’s an initiative worth sharing with Turkey’s neighbors in sunny Jordan, Israel, Syria and Lebanon.
The only “wild” plastic bags I saw had been strategically placed in the landscape.  They’re often used as planters edged along balconies and rooftops.

In rural landscapes, they’re intentionally tied to fruit-bearing vines and trees to keep animals and birds from stealing the fruit.

Other “trash” is also re-purposed.  I saw plastic containers and old paint drums used as planters everywhere.  Martha Stewart has nothing on these upcycling Turks.

So, yeah, maybe someone will pick up their camera to illustrate how unsustainable the country really is:  expose me as being too dazzled by the beauty of this place to see it’s environmental warts.

But positive first impressions are potent.  My family’s developed new “Turkey legs”: we will be back.

The post A Sustainable Postcard from Turkey: You’ll Wish You Were Here appeared first on Green Prophet.

Israel Military Industries (IMI), which for years has had armament factories located close to dense population areas and as such has polluted area groundwater, is now on its way to exposing its environmental footprint even further. The organization is planning to build a large military hardware and armaments factory in an area full of rare and endangered wild plants. Although Israel’s military has tried to reduce its carbon and ecological footprint by trying to “go green” and translate military secrets into clean technology the practice of building large armament factories near major population centers is now going to be expanded by building another armament factory and a housing project in an area near a present one close to the upscale suburban communities of Ramat Hasharon, Herzliya and Hod Hasharon, according to the JPost.

The land involved is a 746 hectare (1,830 acre) area located in the South Sharon region which is bordered by the three above-mentioned communities. The land contains a number of rare and endangered wild plant species that include holy orchids, crown anemones, snake tongue orchids, but common gladiolus, sun’s-eye tulips, field lupins, hyacinth squills and pink butterfly orchids. There is also French lavender, Italian medick, snail medick, galium philistaeum, smooth cat’s ear, maresia nana, European umbrella milkwort, spotted rockrose, yellow lupin and Labillardiere’s clover.

The slated project will also include 23,000 housing units that will be built on open land. 466 hectares will be located inside IMI security fencing, meaning it will be used for purposes other than housing. Objections to the project are being led by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, SPNI, whose wildlife coordinator, Moshe Perlmutter, says that due to the fact that natural areas have shrunk considerably in this region, due to constant development, “it is crucial to ensure the preservation of the natural area remaining in the Sharon IMI [Israel Military Industries] complex at a level of utmost importance”.

Being a very small country, Israel does not have a lot space available for building heavy industries, especially those of a military nature. One area of logic for building armament factories near major population areas is to ensure accessibility by employees who live in these areas.  Another SPNI idea in regards to this particular project is to designate part of the available land for a nature park for not only providing recreation for IMI employees as well as other people living nearby, but also for preservation of some of the rare plant species.

Says SPNI’s Perlmutter: “The planners of this project have the unparalleled opportunity to preserve and nurture natural and continuous lands and to create a designated and uniquely vast nature park, to which there is nothing similar in the country’s Center, which will constitute a ‘Garden of Eden’ for the existence of many wild plants, some of which are endangered.”

Military projects in other locations have occasionally been geared toward helping to preserve natural habitats. One project in particular is a sewage water treatment plant at the IDF’s Nevatim Air Force Base in the Negev where purified water is being used to irrigate a nature park being built near the city of Beer Sheva. Another green IDF project is a special green training base where water recycling and renewable energy is being incorporated into training to make IDF officers and enlisted personnel more conscious of working with the environment .

It remains to be seen what the final outcome will be regarding the new IDF Ramat HaSharon area project. It now is in the hands of the Israel Lands Administration (ILA) regarding re-zoning the land for this project. But, if this is an example of other projects regarding the IDF, the military usually gets its way.

More articles on IDF green issues:

Israel Defense Forces Polluting Ground Water With Impunity

How Israel’s Military Secrets Translate Into Clean Technology

Going Green is a Tactical Offensive in War

Image of tanks & flowers from Shutterstock

The post Israeli Army Building Arms Factory Over Rare Wild Plants appeared first on Green Prophet.

To the horror of some and delight of thousands, Tunick’s latest shoot brought the Dead Sea’s shrinking state to the awareness of 15 million people around the world. And now it’s possible for collectors to place bids on an 11×14 C-print of his remarkable images, which are valued at $2,000 each.

On 17 September last year, 1,200 Israelis stripped naked just after the crack of dawn at a secret location at the northern edge of the historic lake. The lowest and saltiest place on earth, the Dead Sea is shrinking at a rate of one meter a year as a result of the dried up Jordan River up north and chemical works further south.

Some scientists worry that without intervention, the lake will be completely dry by 2050.

Religious Jews were deeply opposed to the project, which Tunick claims could never have happened elsewhere in the Middle East. There is a direct relationship between a country’s openness to this form of art and its democracy, he claims, though many Green Prophet readers citing the Palestinian question claimed this statement is not entirely accurate.

Nonetheless, art is naturally provocative, and Tunick has never shied from the controversy his nude photography so often inspires.

“Thanks to the participants’ efforts the world has a new image of Israel that is not connected to terrorism or religious extremism,” Tunick said of the project, adding that “Israeli’s are some of the most beautiful, warm, educated, open minded and peaceful people that I have ever worked with.”

Own your own Tunick photo

Those interested in owning their own photograph of naked Israelis can register with Paddle8, an online auction house that allows international collectors access to a coveted selection of works from renowned artists.

Co-founders Aditya Julka and Alexander Gilkesjoined forces with design firm TENDER Creative, Managing Director Osman Khan and Managing Editor Andrea Hill to form Paddle8’s core team and launch the site on May 18th, 2011. Today, Paddle8 has a team of over ten art and technology professionals, which handles everything from insurance to shipping.

Tunick has yet to announce where his next major shoot will take place, but we’re waiting with bated breath.

Image via Paddle8

More on Naked Israelis and the Dead Sea:
1,000 Israelis Strip Naked to Save the Dead Sea
As Israel Chemicals’ Profits Soar, the Dead Sea Suffers
Naked Dead Sea Picture Released by Spencer Tunick

The post Spencer Tunick Photos of Naked Israelis are Worth $2,000! appeared first on Green Prophet.

SlutWalk started in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in April 2011 in response to the slur of a Toronto Police officer who suggested that women could remain safe by avoiding dressing like ‘sluts.’ Since then, the movement has spread across the globe as a worldwide protest against aggression and rape. Activists are reframing the dialogue, calling on societies to place the blame on the perpetrators, and not the victims.

We’ve covered the social justice angles in our OpEd, connected the dots between environmentalism and women’s issues, and revealed that Israel is the first country in the Middle East to organize three SlutWalks. Now we’re providing interested readers with links to the Facebook event pages, including dates and location information (please note: most of the information on Facebook is in Hebrew).

Tel Aviv SlutWalk will take place on Thursday, March 22, 2012, (starting off at Gan Meir at 18:00).  The Haifa SlutWalk is scheduled for March 30, 2012, and the Jerusalem SlutWalk is set for Friday, April 27, 2012.

From the Tel Aviv SlutWalk facebook event page (please note, the organizers are clear that attendees from all walks of life are invited, including those who prefer modest dress):

When all over we are hearing the claim that women who choose to dress revealingly, drink alcohol or act in a certain way are responsible for being raped and sexually harassed we have to protest.

This assumption hurts not only the rape victims but also women in general. Women feel that their basic rights to live and act the way they choose is threatened. Men, too, are also affected by this attitude. They are treated as incompetent beasts with no self awareness and who therefore cannot control themselves.

In the 24th of January, 2011, a policeman in Toronto, Canada, said that to stay safe and not become victims women must not dress like sluts. A sentence like this, that was said in an official conference of the Canadian police force displays the sad state that exists all over the world. And so was born the idea of The Slut Walk, which spread all over the world.

In Israel, the situation isn’t different. When victims finally muster up the courage to ask for help they are often answered with the sentence: “you asked for it”. This general state of mind, blaming the victims themselves for what they went through, climbs up into the highest ranks of government and army.

Because of the initiative of The Slut Walks in Haifa and Jerusalem, we’d like to have a walk of our own – here, in Tel Aviv. Let’s prove that our wardrobe is our own choice and ours only. Our body is our own and therefore we have the right to dress and look the way the way we want – whether it pleases other people or not. It is no excuse for rape, or any form of sexual harassment.

Come with revealing clothes, or don’t come with revealing clothes. Come dressed exactly the way you want to dress. No one will judge you- that’s the cause. It is everyone’s right, men and women, to dress the way they want. We will be walking from Gan Meir to Rabin Square in revealing clothes. Dress the way you wish and come march with us!

As the only democratic country in the Middle East, it is not surprising that Israel is hosting the first SlutWalks in the region. Morocco has a Facebook page devoted to similar efforts, but Israel remains the leading edge nation in the region with regards to women’s rights and environmental activism, with hundreds of participants expected to show up in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem for the planned protest marches.

Read More on Women’s Rights:
SlutWalk Israel – A First for the Middle East
Egyptian Women Forced to Take ‘Virginity’ Tests 

The post Hundreds Join SlutWalk Israel on Facebook and the Streets appeared first on Green Prophet.

Every two years, Yale University in collaboration with Columbia University release the world Environmental Performance Index which ranks most countries environmental performance. This year, Egypt topped the list for the MENA region, followed closely by Israel and the United Arab Emirates. In the wider context, however, the region is still trailing far behind with Egypt making it only to the ‘modest performers’ list. Egypt was ranked the 60^th most environmental country with an EPI score of 55.18 – Switzerland which topped the chart scored 76.69.

The 2012 world EPI ranked 132 countries on 22 performance indicators including air pollution, water resources, forestry, fisheries, climate change and biodiversity. As well as tracking the environmental record of countries, the EPI list tracks who made the most significant gains in a ‘trends list’.

For example, Egypt made it to the top five in the trends list due to substantial gains made in the environmental health objective. This includes dealing with indoor air pollution, improving access to drinking water and sanitation. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait scored very low on the trends list.

Some of the worst performed in the MENA region included Iraq which scored an EPI of 25.32 due to the water scarcity facing the country, significant sustainability challenges and weak governance structures.

Modest Performers List

1. Egypt [EPI score 55.18]
2. Israel [54. 64]
3. UAE [50.91]
4. Saudi Arabia [49.97]

Weaker Performers List

5. Algeria [48.56]
6. Lebanon [47.35]
7. Tunisia [46.66]
8. Qatar [46.58
9. Sudan [46.00]
10. Morocco [45.76]
11. Oman [44.00]
12. Syria [42.75]
13. Iran [42.73]
14. Jordan [42.16]

Weakest Performers List

15. Libya [37.68]
16. Kuwait [35.54]
17. Yemen [35.49]
18. Iraq [25.32]

Although not included in the MENA region list, Turkey scored 44.8 which places it between Morocco and Oman in the Weaker performers list. To provide a pinch of salt to their research, Yale and Colombia acknowledge that there are significant data gaps in their index. These include nuclear safety, wetlands loss, species loss, freshwater ecosystems health, recycling, desertification and municipal and toxic waste management. For a county by country breakdown of the data go to the EPI website.

: Information and data via EPI 2012.

: Image via Creap/flickr.

For more data-led information on the Middle East’s Environment see:

Water and the Middle East (At A Glance)

The Middle East’s Carbon Emissions (Infographic)

Water and Israel – The Facts

The post Egypt Is Middle East Region’s Cleanest and Most Environmental Country appeared first on Green Prophet.

When previous articles of making shopping malls more sustainable and green, such as Amman Jordan’s new Mega Mall, were posted, it appeared that these large enclosed shopping centers are on the right track to becoming more environmentally friendly. The use of energy saving LEED lighting  in super glitzy malls such as those in Dubai may also be showing ways to provide adequate lighting at considerably less environmental risks.

Israel’s soon to be opened Ir Yamim (Sea City) shopping Mall, hailed as being the country’s first “green” shopping mall, was also given a considerable amount of kudos by me. But now it may be that this so-called “green shopping mall” may not be as green after all.

This mall is scheduled to open its doors to the public in mid to late March, and has been said to also be featuring energy saving LED lighting, as well as being architecturally designed to keep the sun’s heat from taxing the mall’s air conditioning systems during peak mid day and afternoon summer temperatures.

A principle environmental issue now effecting this mall is its air conditioning systems, which appear  to be driving nearby residents batty due to high amounts of noise being emitted from these systems. One resident, who lives just south of the mall, told Green Prophet that the sound from the mall’s AC systems, now being tested prior to the mall’s opening, have had a sound similar to “a commercial jetliner sitting on the airport runway tarmac with it’s taxing engines going full blast prior to takeoff.”

“I’m very disappointed with this project, and regret moving here,”  this person said, adding that people living close to the mall like he does have filed a complaint with the Netanya municipality.

One of the municipality’s commercial building engineers, who asked to remain anonymous, says that “if the mall’s project management doesn’t so something to reduce the noise being emitted by the mall’s AC system, the municipality will not allow the mall to open on it’s mid March target date. From an environmental standpoint, issues of noise pollution are no less serious than those of air or water pollution.  Although the noise from the AC systems has been reduced a bit the past few days, it still is reported to sound like “noise from living next to a busy motorway.”

And the increased traffic flow into and out from the mall when it opens is still an unknown factor in an area where traffic has already increased due to new people moving into the new Ir Yamin residential neighborhood, just south of the mall.

A good explanation for the noise from the air conditioning system is that its  only temporary since the AC system is now operating at full blast to test its strength as well as rid the inside of the building of large amounts of dust caused by work crews doing finishing work there. That explanation doesn’t appear to be enough to satisfy the irate people living nearby, and they will be the ones who will suffer the most when the mall opens.

To satisfy the project management’s claim of this shopping mall being more sustainable and “green” more efforts need to be made to satisfy area residents who now feel that both they and their families will suffer by not being able to open their windows or sit on their balconies due to the high noise levels. After all, noise pollution is still pollution.

More articles on making shopping malls more green:

Shopping Malls Go Green in Israel
Amman’s New Mega Mall is Antithesis of Sustainable Development
Justifying Dubai’s Shopping Malls with LEED

The post Israel’s Green Shopping Mall Sounds Like A Jet Liner appeared first on Green Prophet.

Expatriates living in the United Arab Emirates may not be ready to don his kandoora just yet – an ankle-length white shirt woven from wool or cotton – but they do lean heavily on Ali Al Saloom’s friendly inside scoop. The man behind “Ask Ali” – a weekly column in The National’s M Magazine – this young Emirati hipster delivers insider tips about the region’s culture, etiquette (for example, wear clothes that cover up cleavage), and history, as well as lighter information such as where to go for good eats, entertainment, and travel. Now Ali is applying his good looks and charm to crucial environmental issues. 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=majeFL5J7hY&NR=1[/youtube]

Shattering the notion that Emiratis don’t have a strong environmental ethos, Ali encourages locals and foreigners alike not only to explore the extraordinary treasures that lie outside of Dubai’s towers and racy clubs, but to protect them.

That is the central theme behind the Environmental Show with Ask Ali – the Emirates’ very first documentary series to be aired at Abu Dhabi Corniche’s new Eco-Cinema in the “Bu Tinah Experience” dome.

The post Ask Ali: The UAE’s Very Own Hipster Environment Show appeared first on Green Prophet.