Olives are a key component of the human diet, culinary culture, and economy of the Mediterranean region. Archeological findings and written testimony shows that olive oil was used extensively for consumption, lighting, worship, hygiene, and cosmetic purposes in ancient times. However, the date when olives began to be eaten has remained a mystery. Until now.
"We don't want to play Russian roulette with our children's health," a Haifa resident said before the natural gas purge.
Israel's natural gas well starts flowing, amid protests and fears over pollution at sea and in the air. Conflict constraints have forced well operators to build rigs closer to shore than normally recommended.
A first-of-its-kind deep-sea research station placed 50km (31mi) from the Israeli shore called DeepLev which combines “deep” with the Israeli meaning for heart which is “lev”. Reaching a 1.5km depth (~1mi) it is set to shed new light on the eastern Mediterranean marine environment and the implications changes in this ecosystem hold for humans. The […]
In 1895, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky proposed to build a space elevator that could reach from Earth into space; it never got off the ground, but in 1957 another Russian – Yuri Artsutanov – came up with a more plausible idea. It wasn’t built either, but now he has a chance to judge a team of Israeli students who are tackling the concept […]
And make it electric? Electrifying Israel’s railway system may cause too much electromagnetic radiation experts warn. Israel’s local and national rail services have often been featured on Green Prophet ever since Jerusalem’s light rail service was completed in 2010, and another light rail line proposed for the coastal city of Tel Aviv .Its national rail service, […]
In teddy bears, iPhones and baby sleep monitors: turn off those LED lights at night before they affect your sleep cycles and health! Professor Abraham Haim, an authority on the biological effects of light pollution, presented his findings last week at the International Congress of Zoology (ICZ) in Haifa Israel. World experts discussed, “Light Pollution […]
Sol Chip’s technology will allow small devices to run indefinitely without replacing and disposing of those silly lithium batteries. A tale of two wafers: Both begin as 99.9999999 percent pure silicon, one of the basic ingredients in desert sand. A furnace melts the silicon and controls the cooling and growing of a mono-crystalline cylindrical ingot which is […]
Try something a little different than plain-old tomato sauce on your pasta. Try tahini! On my first night CouchSurfing in Haifa, Israel, in the cozy apartment of a young married couple, the three of us sat down, along with a local friend, at the table on the balcony to eat dinner – which, surprisingly, the […]
Deep sea corals off Tel Aviv’s coast will be more of what new marine center will investigate. Despite having a gorgeous coastline of sandy beaches, the oldest ports in the world, and a new offshore bounty of natural gas wells, Israel has contributed very little to Mediterranean Sea research. But the same is true for […]
Perhaps best known for their extraordinary 2009 solar-powered night garden installation in Jerusalem, or their creative street branding cooperation with Castro, Israeli designers OGE were entrusted as the creative directors of the largest flower exhibition to ever take place in Israel. 19 years after the original Haifa International Flower Exhibition, the self-described “Creative-Young-Workaholics” helped to […]
A proposed cross-border ecological park on the banks of the troubled Kishon River shared by Palestinians and Israelis could repair more than the polluted water. If you are paddling a canoe down one of rivers that flows through Israel to the Mediterranean Sea, you might want to hold onto your oars. Some of these rivers […]
While the political debate on the future of a Palestinian state fails to make any progress towards peace, local grass root initiatives, led by the overlooked Arab women, are quietly making a difference on the ground. The story of “Kayan” an Arabic word for ”being” offers inspiration and insight on a small but growing movement […]
We already know what plastic bottle trees look like, how will 10 newspaper trees look? For Christmas last year, Israeli artist Hadas Itzcovitch gifted her city of Haifa a tree made from 5480 upcycled plastic bottles (pictured above). Constructed immediately after the disastrous Carmel region fires broke out and destroyed so many trees, Itzcovitch’s tree […]
A new natural gas pipeline promises to cut air pollution in the Haifa Bay area by at least 75% by 2013. As noted in a previous post, there was some disappointing environmental news in Israel this week: The Finance Ministry slapped a freeze on development of large solar power plants, pending a review of the […]
A new study from the University of Haifa reveals that girls are particularly susceptible to a darkside of social media – eating disorders. The more time adolescent girls spend in front of Facebook, the more their chances of developing a negative body image and various eating disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia and exaggerated dieting. This has […]
Was 2010 good or bad for the environment? Depending on whether you’re a glass half full or glass half empty kind of person, you could reflect upon the year 2010 and see it in either a positive or negative green light. There were some environmental catastrophes, such as the Carmel fire – the worst fire […]
In the absence of all the trees burnt during the recent Carmel fire in Israel, a Christmas tree made from 5,480 plastic bottles stands tall in Haifa. The city of Haifa, in northern Israel, has Jewish, Christian, Baha’i and Muslim residents, and so many religious holidays are celebrated there. In honor of the upcoming Christmas […]
A private American company has sent the world’s largest firefighting plane to help Israel fight the Carmel fire. The international community has poured out assistance to Israel as it struggles against the worst fire on record. Turkey, Greece, the United States, Russia and Britain are among thirteen nations that have demonstrated their support. As the […]
Three Oil Refineries Ltd. employees killed as a result of “negligence?” An explosion at Israel’s largest oil refinery resulted in a gas leak that killed three people last week. Located in the bay area of Haifa, Oil Refineries Ltd. (ORL) has an annual capacity of 9.8million tons of crude oil and a daily maximum capacity […]
Considered the most polluted river in Israel, the Kishon River struggles with water quality. But now, cormorants on the river can eat the fish they catch. The Kishon River, a 75 km long stream that begins in the Western Galilee and ends when emptying into Haifa Bay at the Mediterranean Sea in Israel, was until recently […]
H&M Israel’s CEO talks about his motive for importing H&M’s sustainable fashion line Thousands of Israelis have flocked to the newly opened H&M stores in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa – many of them unaware that they were, in fact, on their way to buying sustainable fashion. As we mentioned in a previous post, H&M […]
Israel holds Earth Hour a little later than the rest of the world, but just in time for Earth Day. Stubborn as always, Israel insists on doing things a little differently. The official international date for Earth Day, the worldwide energy saving campaign, was on March 27th and many other Middle Eastern countries – such […]
A variety of healthy, homemade, organic spreads and olives at Cafe Louise in Haifa. Israel has no shortage of organic cuisine. From LovEAT café in Tel Aviv to Mizpe Hayamim in the Galilee and Negev Nectars in the south, this country is chock-full of good organic eatin’. And here’s one more to add to the […]
Though their lofty ideals of higher education are admirable, universities are often nevertheless subject to frequent budget cuts and funding shortages. This can force university administrations to take drastic measures and reduce important educational resources… or, in the case of Haifa University, it can lead the administration to save money by going green. During the […]