How green are Israeli cities, really? This question might be asked by many; especially in light of its largest city, Tel Aviv (see photo), becoming so polluted that a tiny electric vehicle rental program is being tried out in an effort to reduce air pollution. Ground water in Tel Aviv and other parts of the […]
The blue and white painted ceramic jars stretch up to the ceiling. Marked with the traditional symbol of five crosses, each jar held a medicine ranging from honey to myrrh to the famous Jerusalem balsan. The jars came from the first pharmacy in Jerusalem founded by a Franciscan month in the 17th century. “When the […]
Researchers now say in a revealing Nature paper that the most significant health threat from climate change has started to happen.
Vegetarians criticise meat eaters for giving the world cow farts (greenhouse gases) and for making animals endure unspeakable suffering. Vegawarians criticize both for not seeing the middle ground. Vegans take on all three groups saying that no animal products should be consumed by us humans, but there is another level of food piety:
A new one-day contest has attracted birding experts from around the world to southern Israel where they compete to record the highest number of species migrating through the Great Rift Valley along the Africa Eurasia Flyway. Called Champions of the Flyway, the competition also raised money to combat illegal hunting in countries along the migratory […]
Nobody knows more about bicycles than the Dutch, but Israelis will have a chance to glean some design and urban planning wisdom from the waterlogged nation next week at the “Going Dutch” conference established by their Prime Minister and (the much more fit) Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
In a world premiere last week, Israel launches open kitchen workshops, giving insiders and everyday folk a fly-on-the-wall experience in some of Tel Aviv’s best restaurants.
Amit Savaia (left), went to Africa for three months to volunteer after finishing his first degree in science. With four other Israeli students from Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, he helped build a computer platform to connect African farmers with their neighbors. What tugged at his heartstrings, though, was the problem of schistosomiasis, the […]
There are evolutionary reasons why Tarzan is bigger than Jane. Most males of any species –– birds, bugs and prawns included –– grow bigger than their female counterparts. The phenomenon is called sexual dimorphism. A new Israeli-American company, Enzootic, is taking sexual dimorphism and the ability to control it to the dinner table.
Ask any African who lives off the land, and they’ll tell you that water is life. But when the wells and rivers dry up, or become so polluted or full of disease that it kills their children and livestock, water can also be a great cause of sorrow.
Yosef Abramowitz is always up to something good. The Israeli-American solar energy pioneer and cofounder of Arava Power Company in Israel, has begun making inroads into solar-powering Africa. I interviewed him about some new progress in Africa.
Israeli photographic duo Wyse + Gabriely concluded their first European exhibition at London’s Neu Gallery this month; an attention-grabbing presentation that purportedly explores “the fake and the fraudulent”.
Aquaculture, or fish farming at sea and in land based ponds, has been practiced successfully by Israelis for many years. While most fish farming produces freshwater fish like carp, tilapia and trout in fresh water ponds, salt water aquaculture has also been “successfully” practiced in the Mediterranean Sea.
The switch was flipped this week as California’s Ivanpah solar thermal power plant went live. The 392 megawatt concentrating solar plant (CSP) is now delivering renewables to power the equivalent of 140,000 homes in California. After a long journey lasting decades of development, fighting regulations, manoeuvring around turtle conservationists, burning birds may be the latest problem.
There’s a huge new movement in Israel. Not politics. Food. Specifically, veganism. Of a country totalling eight million people, an estimated 200,000 are now declared vegans (see Karin’s post about the growing movement here). That’s roughly 2.5 percent of the population. Influential American animal-rights activist Gary Yourofsky’s recent visits to Israel, and his videos, tipped […]