When embattled Libyan leader Muamar Gadaffi completed the first major stage of his Great Man Made River project, many heralded it as “the 8^th Wonder of the World.” The massive project began in August 1984, and the first water began to flow in September, 1989, to a reservoir outside the city of Ajdabiya.

It has carried as much as 5 million cubic meters of fresh water per day across the Sahara desert from ancient underground aquifers (see the amazing picture of it below). The project is now be endangered from ongoing warfare that could be at the expense of several environmental projects that were put in place by Libya’s strong but eccentric dictator.

Map showing stages of river project

The project entails bringing fresh water from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System. This is a network of ancient underground caverns which trapped billions of gallons of fresh water into soaked, porous sandstone during a time when the climate in that part of the world was actually temperate. Animals like elephants, giraffes, wildebeests and other African species roamed there and were hunted by primitive peoples living in the region. Rock paintings of these animals, and the peoples who hunted them can be seen to this day in the “rock art” that is found in certain parts of Libya; especially the Acacus and Messak rock art paintings.

Libyan rock art: also in danger?

Scientists have estimated that these underground “reservoirs” may contain as much as 35,000 cubic kilometers of fresh water, which could turn much of Libya into a virtual oasis and provide more than enough agricultural produce for the Libyan people. The network of water pipes when finally finished, is estimated to cost around $25 billion USD. So far, Phase 1 and 2 are finished with two others planned.

Muamar prepares for rainy days

It was announced in the news  that the Libyan government is willing to make a peace deal with the rebels that would include a large number of government reforms, including more democracy for Libyan citizens. This would of course be on condition that Gaddafi remains in power.

The ongoing conflict is looking more and more like a “no win situation” as the opposing side doesn’t seem to have a governing or military infrastructure capable of taking over and running the country.

This is especially true in regards to managing the country’s chief revenue generator, oil, and projects like the Great Man Made River and desert irrigation agricultural projects.

In the end, the Colonel may be “off the wall”‘, but he may be smarter than most people give him credit for. For in the end, the oil must flow – American and other Western energy markets are still dependent on it. Maybe if allowed to remain, Gaddafi’s next eco-projects could be with solar or wind energy. He for one certainly has the “wind”.

Read more on Libyan eco-projects:

Libyan Revolution Will End Gadaffi’s Green Visions

Will Libyan Unrest Trash Their Historical Sites?Libya Touts Great Man Made River as “8^th Wonder of the World”

Libya’s Pivot Irrigation in the Sahara Proves That Money Can do Anything

images via Idhanka.com Wikipedia.org

The post Libya’s “Great Man Made River Project” Could Stop Flowing appeared first on Green Prophet.

Israeli-founded geothermal power company  Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA) failed to meet the market’s expectations when the company presented its results for Q2: a $1.5 million loss was reported, resulting in a $0.03 loss per share. Most analysts were expecting a gain of $0.07, according to a Globes report. CEO Dita Bronicki sited low generation and high operating costs are factors contributing to the results. The total net loss reportedly was $3.5 million, while the corresponding number for the same quarter last year was $28.1 million. In addition to the falling profit, Globes reports that a power struggle has developed between two of the company’s shareholders, Bronicki family and Chaim Katzman, who is the controlling shareholder of Gazit Inc.

On the bright side, at the beginning of August, Ormat secured $350 million in loan guaranties for three new geothermal power plants in Nevada. These loans are part of  a new strategy by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to provide up to 80% of loans for qualified renewable technology projects.

From Israel to the world

Ormat Technologies was founded in the Israeli city of Yavne, located south of Tel Aviv, in 1972. They have since relocated to Reno, Nevada.

Today Ormat has operations in 71 counties ranging from Japan and Russia to Alaska in the US. Its three principal areas of operations are geothermal power plants. To date, Ormat has installed 1,300 MW of geothermal power across the globe.

Geothermal plants utilize the heat produced deep underground to generate electricity and are often located near volcanic areas.

Ormat has also activated its Recovered Energy Generation (REG) program, which “captures unused waste heat from industrial processes and converts it into electricity that can be sold to the grid or used on-site,” according the company’s website.

The technology is particularly attractive to industries that are dependent on a constant electricity flow, and where production can be hurt by blackouts.

Remote Fossil Power

Ormat’s third major focus area is on remote power stations driven by fossil fuel, and includes visions of everything from arctic power stations to off shore platforms.

:: Photo via flydime and article via Globes

More on Ormat:

Ormat Set to Release Alaska’s Geothermal Energy Potential

Israel-Related Headlines, Week of June 1, 2010

Sunday And Ormat Build Largest Solar Roof in the Middle East

The post Ormat Geothermal Reports $1.5 Million Loss appeared first on Green Prophet.

She looks like him and was raised in an enviable way: her grandfather Jacques Cousteau (the legendary marine explorer we’ve written about here) taught Alexandra Cousteau how to dive at the young age of 7 and instilled in her a love for the water that covers two thirds of our planet.

Now she’s giving back. Alexandra Cousteau was recently in Israel where she was interviewing and filming for Expedition: Blue Planet. She’s working to raise awareness about protecting one of the the world’s most valuable resources, by talking with people, every day people, who are living with and seeing the changes in the allocation and quality of water around the world.

I spoke with Cousteau when she was in Israel, and here’s her story:

From the Ganges River, the spiritual heart of India, to the Mississippi River in America, legendary marine scientist and explorer Jacques Cousteau’s granddaughter is collecting stories about water. She’s not reporting on new technologies that promise to save the world, or on politics, or the regular environmental doom and gloom.

Thirty-two-year old Alexandra Cousteau, whose grandfather taught her to scuba dive at age seven — connecting her to water forever — seeks to re-connect all people throughout the world to water, our life support system.

At the end of last month, as part of her 100-day, five-continent journey ‘Expedition: Blue Planet’, she landed in Israel. “We started in India looking at water, faith and spirituality,” she says. In Israel, she and her crew are investigating how water scarcity “can lead to diplomacy and not necessarily conflict.”

In Israel, she collected stories from housewives and farmers to spread to the global community through her blog and video news feeds. As part of her trip, she also met with Jordanians and Palestinians from the West Bank.

In total she interviewed about 10 different people from the region, “collecting archetypal stories that represent water stories facing the global community,” Cousteau, a dedicated environmentalist told Green Prophet. The stories and videos are now posted on her website.

Time to put water under the bridge

Water is the one thing that connects every individual on this planet of seven billion people, explains Cousteau, since the impacts of climate change will be felt most seriously on this essential natural resource. “Everyone will need to be involved in implementing solutions,” she says.

Filming on the road, and uploading videos and news feeds to her site, Cousteau expects the material will be visited by a wide audience, including journalists and young change makers.

Among the collection, are the stories of people — normal, every day people — that she met in Israel. As part of her trip, she visited and surveyed the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, the Hula valley wetlands, and the Jordan River; in Jerusalem she met Israeli water officials and toured the Old City. Not far away in the Palestinian Authority’s West Bank, Cousteau met with officials there to discuss water allocations under the Oslo Accords.

Her visit in Israel and the region, adds to the hopeful things she’s seen in other parts of the planet, says Cousteau by telephone. “It’s been hopeful to talk with people from around the world about water issues. Water is life, and wherever I go, all of the people all say the same three words.

“Water is life,” she repeats. Whether it’s spiritual leader in Africa, housewives and farmers in Israel, Jordan and the Palestine Authority, Saudis, or activists in Turkey. All people say the same thing, “And that’s been amazing,” she says.

For Israel specifically, “water is a means for peace,” she says.

Israel, or other Middle Eastern countries, needn’t politicise the water issue, she believes. Water is a basic human right that everybody needs to survive: “We are not here to talk politics with people,” she explains.

Hosted by a green Israeli peace-making school

When asked about specific regional environmental concerns, Cousteau didn’t delve into specifics. These are issues that people know about anyway, like the problems with the shrinking Dead Sea, she says. Her mission rather, was as a story collector, to speak with average people in Israel about what water means to their lives. “We didn’t get too deep,” Cousteau says humbly.

In Israel, the Arava Institute, an environmental education group, helped Cousteau and her crew identify which people to interview. Finding the organization through a journalist friend of hers, the Arava Institute kept the team focused, she says.

After arriving from South Africa, she enters a fresh entry in her blog: “The reason we’re at Kibbutz Ketura is to visit the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, a remarkable non-profit organization who makes its home here,” she writes.

Palestinians, Jordanians and Israelis Learn Together

“Arava brings Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians together with students from around the world to study environmental issues. However, their not-so-subtle agenda is not just a sustainable future for natural resources, but also cooperation between the peoples of this conflict-ridden region.

“As such, they compliment rigorous academic coursework with a special one-year mandatory class on peace and leadership skills, in which they confront issues such as religion, stereotypes, and the historical narratives of each group head-on. Their motto is: “Nature knows no borders.” We are curious to explore their model for how water scarcity can serve not as a necessary cause of conflict, but rather as a vehicle for peace,” she writes.

In awe over the dropping water levels in the Dead Sea, and the small size of the Sea of Galilee, Cousteau was impressed that neighbouring Jordan has a national water day. “All these things are contributing to creating wonderful stories,” she says. “There are lessons here that people should know about.”

The stories collected will be useful for “young people who want to work across political and cultural divides. It’s powerful stuff,” she adds.

While her legendary marine explorer grandfather started his career at the Red Sea, which is bordered by Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern and African countries, she has no specific recollection of him traveling to or having ties with Israel. “He was working in a different time,” it was about “exploration and discovery” and later in the end, she says, he started to get into marine conservation.

“This generation that I am part of has to move past awareness, and has to be proactive and be part of the solution,” urges Cousteau. “Now that we know [water’s] there, we have to protect it and prevent it from disappearing.”

::Expedition: Blue Planet (Cousteau’s website)

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Little publicity appears to have been made in Israel regarding a proposed joint project between Jordan and Syria to construct a dam across the Yarmouk River.

The dam, known as the Wihdeh Dam, will be built on that part of the Yarmouk that is shared by the two countries before it reaches an area now under Israeli sovereignty.

One of the Jordan river’s main tributaries, the Yarmouk’s waters are shared by Syria and Jordan for a 40 km stretch which is also part of the boundary between the two countries, before it reaches the part of Golan Heights which is now under Israeli sovereignty where it then forms the boundary between Israel and Jordan. It is a tributary of the Jordan River.

The river at present provides Jordan with an annual water supply of 135,000 cm. Upon completion, a reservoir created by damming the river will result in a storage capacity of 220,000 cm.

The project was originally planned back in the spring of 1999 and is said to have connection with the 1994 peace agreement with Israel, when Jordan was allotted an annual amount of water as part of the peace agreement between the two countries.

It has been refuted by the Jordanian government that Israel objects to this plan, which will curtail the Yarmuk’s flow and deprive Israel of much of the Yarmuk’s flow. Due to reported violations by Syria of their using a part of the Yarmouk’s flow to water crops planted on the riverbank on the Syrian side, a study is to made to find out ways to prevent the depletion of waters of the Yarmouk River basin.

Tenders are presently being submitted to companies to carry out the study. A Turkish company was commissioned to build the dam, on which construction was to have begun in 2003. The study to be carried out by Jordan and Syria will entail the use of monitoring stations to measure the amount and quality of water that would enter the dam.

Jordan’s water problem is much more acute than Syria’s and violations by Syrian farmers are a concern for Jordan, which now depends on the Yarmouk for a portion of its total water supplies.

A similar article, in September, 2008 also mentioned discussions between the two countries concerning us of the water by the two countries, and that Syria had then expressed and understanding over Jordan’s acute water needs.

::Jordan Times

The post Syria and Jordan's Wihdeh Dam Will Cut Israel's Water Needs Out of the Picture appeared first on Green Prophet.

Water policy people will like to know about this initiative: Most countries in what is known as the Mediterranean Sea basin have agreed to form a combined group to deal with issues dealing with water reserves for the region.

Based on the Mediterranean Water Charter, adopted in Rome in 1992, the EMWIS is a partnership between 10 Mediterranean member countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey) in partnership with the 27 EU member states.

The purpose is to enable the exchange of information and know-how in a rationalized manner and make this information available to all participating countries.

Working together in three languages, English, French, and Arabic, some of the EMWIS groups activities include the maintaining of data storage and sharing websites, annual committee meetings and conferences to discuss developments in water systems, including desalination and waste water reclamation.

The need to raise awareness between group members to cooperate with each other through sharing information and know-how is also an important aspect

The Group has three main objectives:

1. To provide easy access to information, with special attention to institutions, training, documentation, research development and data administration

2. To develop the sharing of information between member countries

3. To work together on common products and programs of cooperation

Regional cooperation in regards to water resources is part of the declarations made at the Barcelona Declaration of November 1995 which involved a number of important issues such as agriculture, energy, environment, industries, trade, tourism, and of course water resources.

In regards to water resources areas of cooperation among member states include:

• Taking stock of the situation to assess current and future needs
• Identify ways of reinforcing regional cooperation
• Make proposals for rationalizing the planning and management of water
resources
• To contribute towards the creation of new water sources

Due to the scarcity of water supplies in most Mediterranean member countries, more emphasis is being directed towards projects involving desalination of sea water and reclamation of sewage and other waste water.

There is also more emphasis being placed on better management of local sanitation services and the prevention of domestic water pollution.

The EMWIS works in close cooperation with EU organizations such as the European Union Water Initiative and the European Environment Agency.

::EMWIS

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Sunday was World Water Day, and lately with all the adverse publicity regarding the cleanliness of Israel’s streams and rivers, I’ve often wondered if there are any that might be considered as safe to drink out of, even if one were in dire straits and suffering from severe thirst.

While some appear to be running clear and clean, especially those on the Golan Heights such as Nahal Hermon and Nahal Yahudiya, what one would find in the waters of these placid streams, if samples were sent to a laboratory, would be a bit disturbing, to say the least.

Even Nahal David and Ein Gedi, those streams in the Ein Gedi Nature Preserve, where the biblical David drank form when hiding in the wilderness from King Saul, are considered as too polluted to drink from, unless treated.

And as far as the Jordan River, one of Israel’s major suppliers of water to the, Kinneret, it’s waters are also substantially polluted after receiving a good portion of Lebanon’s raw sewage and other pollutants from the Lithani River, one of the Jordan’s major sources.

I suppose this might also be said for most of European waterways, even those in mountainous countries like Switzerland and Austria, for that matter. This is unfortunately a fact of life, and a result of Mankind’s ruination of the world’s fresh water supplies, by dumping all kinds of chemical and biological wastes into them. About a year ago, a small stream in Israel’s Galilee region, Nahal Meiron, was discovered to be contaminated by detergents and other pollutants.

It’s interesting to note that some of worst polluted streams in the country, such as Nahal Alexander, Kishon, Yarkon, and Sorek were once clean enough to swim and fish in. And one stream, Nahal Tenenim (Crocodile River) was once said to have those very reptiles living happily in it. I myself recall that Nahal Tenanim had giant African catfish that were up to a meter or more in length as recently as the mid 1980’s. No more, however.

While there are some efforts being made to clean up some of Israel’s streams, including (believe it or not) those like the Kishon, Alexander and Hadera streams, they will never be clean enough to be suitable for major outdoor recreation.

And the Yarmuk, one of the Kingdom of Jordan’s major water sources, has been polluted by Israel sources, requiring The Israeli government to compensate the Jordanians with fresh water from the already polluted Kinneret. What would happen to streams on the Golan Heights, especially Nahal Hermon which flows by the Banias nature site, if given back to Syria would be far-gone conclusion, as the Syrians literally trashed the area in the period before the June 1967 Six Day War.

Clean water is a very scarce commodity in this region, and all that can be done now is to try to keep the situation from getting worse.

More on water resources:
Israel Compensates Jordan With Sea of Galilee Water
High Radioactivity Found in Jordanian Groundwater
From Solar Air Conditioning to Squeezing Water From Thin Air

[image via nickolette]

The post Searching For A Clean Stream In Israel, Or Anywhere appeared first on Green Prophet.

Each week Orthodox Jews read one segment of the Five Books of Moses so that they can complete the entire Five Books within the course of a year. In last week’s Eco-Rabbi post we discussed the power of symbols. This week continues with discussing of water and life.

Pharaoh finally agrees to let the Jewish people leave from Egypt. However, after six days of not having his slaves anymore, Pharaoh had a change of heart. He sent out his army and chased the Jews to the Reed Sea. With nowhere to go, the Jewish people, literally between a rock and a hard place, turn to God.

The Bible describes how over night a great wind blew and created a dry pathway through the sea. “And the waters were a great wall surrounding them on their left and on their right.” But when they were all through, and the Egyptians followed, the walls came tumbling down and destroyed the strongest ancient empire in one fell swoop.

Many cultures hold water in the highest regard attributing to it, and rightfully so, their life. “Vodka” actually technically means “little water” a shortened version of the original “zhiznennia voda” or “water of life.” The Gealic word for whiskey is “usquebaugh” also meaning “water of life.” The connection between water and life are found throughout mankind’s cultures.

In Judaism we call our Bible “water of life.” Many hassidim and mystics will claim to get drunk off of their learning. The description of the Jewish people’s salvation through water shows to what high a regard Judaism holds water.

After leaving the sea behind the Jewish people travel three days in the desert and do not find water. This is the power of water. So shortly after being saved from slavery and then the hands of the Egyptian army there is already dissent and displeasure with God.

Moses finds a well but the waters are bitter and no one can drink them. God explains to Moses how to sweeten the waters. But the commentaries take this story as a metaphor for life. Water is equated with the Bible in Judaism. The Rabbis explain that from that lesson Moses taught us that we cannot go three days without studying the Bible.

If you go into any synagogue around the world for morning prayers you will find on Monday and Thursday morning a special ceremony in which we read form the Bible. It is such, so that we will not go three days without the Bible.

The Bible, water, life, these are interconnected in our tradition. In today’s modern world it is easy to forget how dependent on water we are. All one has to do is turn on the faucet and water comes pouring out. Let us not forget how precious water truly is, I don’t think one needs to walk through a sea on dry land to see quite how much power it has over our lives.

Image Credit: Hypergurl

The post Eco-Rabbi: Parshat Beshalach – Water of Life appeared first on Green Prophet.

Jerusalem’s Twestival is unique in that beyond money for this charity, it will also be promoting worldwide awareness highlighting Israel’s contributions in cleantech, writes Yannai,  from the Jewish Climate Initiative:

“I wanted to tell you about Testival ’09- Jerusalem, a Twitter event raising money for charity:water, a water project in Africa. You can read some details below, but as the event will be taking on a water/cleantech-in-Israel tone, we thought perhaps Green Prophet would like to write a piece about it . . . It looks like Jewish Climate Initiative will be involved, as well.”

Twestival has already generated a lot of press in its use of the new social media micro-blogging protocol Twitter to promote a social cause.

Details about the Jerusalem event:
● The event will take place at the JVP Media Center the night of Thursday Feb 12 for NIS 50
● The event will feature real-time broadcasts of various Twitter feeds integrating text, video and photos from the event and events across the globe projected on walls/screens
●They will be broadcasting and offering “Tweetorials” to attendees (especially the cleantech companies)
● Selected cleantech companies will have tables around the room as part of a “micro-expo”
● We will have additional (fun) activities around the room and outside as well as live music and a cash wine bar
● The activities will not be formal in that people can come and go as they wish as they circulate around the room.

The aims:
● To raise money for charity:water
● To give exposure to Israeli cleantech companies and take pride in
our country’s role working towards a healthier planet and the
betterment of people world-over
● To meet Tweeple in our community face-to-face and have fun
● To educate how Twitter can help people, organizations and businesses

More about the cause:

Charity: Water is a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of the money raised goes to direct project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need. They also work to raise awareness of the water crisis through events, fundraising exhibitions and other public awareness campaigns.

Jennifer Connelly in charity: water Public Service Announcement:

More about Twitter:

Twitter is a free online networking and micro-blogging service that allows its members to exchange constant updates limited to 140 characters. It is very viral with over 6 million users and a growth of 850% in 2008, and about 20,000 1new users every day. There has been an explosion of third-party applications allowing people to “Tweet” links to video, photos, music, audio from cellphones and more.

Twitter is used for business, personal and educational purposes as well as, in this case to promote good. It is currently employed by major corporations all over the world, including CNN, Kodak, Pepsi, and General Motors.

The Israeli government used it during the recent war in Gaza, Israel to become the first government to hold a worldwide citizen’s press conference to take questions from the public. It is a very good source for news and resources and has made headlines during many recent news events including Mumbai terrorist attacks, the US Presidential campaign, the recent plane crash in the Hudson and Operation Cast Lead.

(Follow me tweet @kloostermania or follow @greenprophet, our Twitter feed if you don’t have time for RSS or the site.)

::Twestival

More on water charities:
Courtney Nichols’ Inconvenient Truth About Water
Why Muslims Should Waqf For Water
Lifesource for Water Justice Among Israelis and Palestinians

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