Although the Dead Sea is suffering a severe lack of water in its northern portion, the southern basin, where lucrative mineral extraction industries and most of the lake’s hotels and health spas are located, is suffering from a different kind of water problem altogether. According to a recent article published in the health and environment section of the Jerusalem Post , the Dead Sea’s southern portion is now in danger due to too much water being “pushed up” by layers of salt accumulations underneath that is forming at a rate of nearly 20 cm per year.

Rising natural wonder

Located at more than 1,400 feet below sea level, the Dead Sea is one of the earth’s truly natural wonders and is among 28 finalist locations being voted on in the New World 7 Wonders of Nature competition.

But despite efforts being made to save the Dead Sea, including such measures as plans to build a seawater conduit from the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat to the world’s lowest and saltiest lake, the new danger being caused by a build up of water under the foundations of hotels and other tourist spots is an unanticipated irony unanticipated. Scientists and engineers have been working to replenish the waters of the Dead Sea that have been evaporating at a rate of a meter a year.

This new “water problem” is posing a problem for both Israel and Jordan, both of which have lucrative tourism and mining enterprises on their respective sides of the lake. Even though representatives of the two countries, as well as those from the Palestinian Authority have met in the past to find ways to save the Dead Sea, this new problem, as ironic as it is, could result in large 5 Star hotels having to be dismantled and relocated to areas not affected by the rising waters.

Sinking salts

This rise is caused by waters being diverted from the lake’s northern portion to create massive salt evaporation pans to produce potassium magnesium chloride, later processed into potassium chloride. Removing these minerals causes the prevalent and heavier sodium chloride, or salt, to settle to the bottom of the pans accumulate, pushing up the water above it.

Efforts being proposed to save the hotels, which are now even more important should the Dead Sea be chosen as one of the 7 New World Natural Wonders, may be “too little – too late” however. According to the JPost article, geological experts and consecutive State Comptroller’s reports have warned that the hotels are running on “borrowed time” and may have already passed the physical deadline of  time needed for finding solutions to save them.

Other geological problems that been plaguing the area for years include the formation of massive “sink holes”, by the lakes receding waters. Some of these sink holes are quite large and once literally swallowed a young university student who fell into one.

Being such an important physical asset to Israel, Jordan, and Palestine, it appears that more intense efforts are urgently needed to save the Dead Sea, and the tourism industry there that is so important to all political entities concerned. Perhaps its now time to put more emphasis on the tourism aspect of the area, and less on making in money mineral extraction that is largely responsible for the Dead Sea’s new water problem.

:: Jerusalem Post and image via Gallery

You might like to read these Dead Sea related articles:

Raising the Dead

Protect the Middle East’s Natural Wonders

Palestinians Support Dead Sea for World Wonder

The post Irony At The Dead Sea: Too Much Water In Southern Portion appeared first on Green Prophet.

New water conservation faucets, solar-powered residential construction, Red-Dead Canal protests and more headlines related to Israeli cleantech and the environment. Image via n0nick.

During the week of July 13, 2010, researchers from Ben-Gurion University received the first US – Israel energy independence grant for their light water reactor research. Motorized bikes are catching on in Israeli cities and a new estimate places the potential electricity demand that wind turbine usage can meet at two-thirds overall. For these stories and more, see this week’s headlines below.

Water
Palestinian and Israeli Researchers Get Reverse Osmosis Water Grant

New water saving faucet enters local market

Solar
MST becomes 1st Israeli technology firm to connect to grid

Geotectura designs SunSail solar-powered residential building for Israel

Wind
‘2/3 of electricity demand can be met with wind turbines’

General
UN To Mediate A Natural Gas “Standoff” Between Israel and Lebanon Gas Fields Dispute

Environmentalists Say “No, No!” To Red-Dead Canal

Texans tip their Stetsons to Israeli business

In Israel
Blue water and sand: Israel’s best beaches

Israel is catching on to motorized bikes as the next best urban solution

Missed last week’s headlines edition? Catch up on Israel’s top fresh markets, the Israeli government’s latest plan to reduce energy consumption and more.

The post Israel Cleantech Intelligence: Motorized Bikes and 9 More Headlines appeared first on Green Prophet.

In what was formerly thought to be a three way cooperation between Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority, the Kingdom of Jordan has decided to unilaterally undertake the first stage of construction of a canal between the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea, and the Dead Sea, with which Jordan has the entire eastern boundary.

The plan to build an elaborate system of pumps, pipelines and actual canals, has been mentioned several times on Green Prophet, including an article last August which noted that an agreement had been made between representatives of the three governments to jointly undertake the construction of this project.

Now it appears, however, that Jordan, one of the driest countries in the world, according to an article published Tuesday, September 29, in Globes, The Kingdom simply can’t wait for Israel and the P.A. to dedicate monies and resources to begin the fist stage of the project. Those involved, including Israeli Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development Silvan Shalom, noted that the project will be coordinated with Israel, which plans to become involved at a later stage.

Although the project is designed to eventually produce at least an annual amount of 120 million cubic meters of fresh water, produce several thousand megawatts of electricity, and hopefully restore the levels of the Dead Sea, there are still a number of environmental fears surrounding the project and what will happen once the water from the less saline Red Sea begins flowing into the Dead Sea.

There is also concern over what will happen to the fragile plant and animal eco-system of the Arava Valley,  through which the canal will be built. 

But all these concerns, including those of environmentalists in Jordan itself, seem to be taking a back seat by Jordanian officials, who now have no choice but to undertake this project as a means of supplying drinking water to a country which is one of the 11 most arid countries in the world (92% of its land being desert) and with a population of 6 million that is growing at an annual rate of 3.5%.

For a country in such dire water straits, 120 million cubic meters of fresh water, of which the Kingdom will receive at least 40% (the rest to be divided up between Israel and the Palestinians) would be a god-send.
 
Even though Jordan only has a very small sea coast, 26 km as compared to Israel’s 233 km Mediterranean and Red Sea coastline, the Jordanians might still consider building at least one or two large desalination plants as an alternative.

Not that desalination plants are 100% eco-friendly: they’re definitely not, as noted in a previous Green Prophet article . A desalination plant adjacent to Aqaba might still be a better solution than dredging a 100 km long canal to the Dead Sea, with all its environmental concerns.

(Photo creditwww.asergeev.com)

The post Thirsty Jordan Goes The Red-Dead Canal Project Alone appeared first on Green Prophet.

The meeting, hosted by Jordan, was headed by representatives of the World Bank, with the purpose of forming a committee to study ways in which the project of constructing a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea in order to supply much needed fresh water from desalination as well as replenish the rapidly diminishing  Dead Sea water levels.

The Technical Steering Committee will study the options for undertaking the construction project, which would be done in stages.

The feasibility of mixing Red Sea and Dead Sea water will also be studied, as this issue has been one of the problems of such a project which some environmentalists fear will damage the sensitive regional environment.

Financing of such a project that would be handled through the World Bank, will depend on the outcome of these studies, and the total commitment that everyone will have to undertake such a project.

But isn’t this the same old song and dance we’ve been hearing about in the last 5 or 6 years? Earlier this year Jordan, we reported earlier, said they’d go it alone; later Israel said the World Bank had given them clearance and didn’t mention the Jordan partner. Isn’t this story becoming a bit like kids in a sandbox?

The idea of building such a canal has been mentioned previously in a number of articles, including several on Green Prophet, such as one in which Jordan proposed to launch the building of the Red-Dead Sea Canal without Israel.

Another GP article dealt with the World Bank agreeing to finance a $1.25 billion feasibility study for building the canal, which could even be a 180 km pipeline to convey the Red Sea water to the Dead Sea. This announcement, made by Israeli Vice Premier Silvan Shalom, was denounced by both Jordan and the PA, saying that at that time, the World Bank had not yet an actual commitment to finance the project.

The new re-commitment by Israel, Jordan, and the PA, with the aid of the World Bank, may help give this project the right “push” it needs to get going – if that is the best solution for not only saving the Dead Sea, but result in fresh water from desalination and possibly electricity generated from the water pressure of the water coming from the Red Sea.

The project is not without a number of objecting parties, however, including environmental groups like Friends of the Earth Middle East,  a regional environmental group which claims that the Red-Dead canal project is being planned primarily for financial reasons, with little regard for its affect on the environment; particularly that of the Arava desert region through which the water from the Red Sea will flow.

Although the Dead Sea is currently drying up at the alarming rate of 1 meter per year, due to the Jordan River (the salt lake’s primary water source) being reduced to little more than a trickle, environmentalists feel the mixing the water of the Red Sea with that of the Dead Sea will do more harm then good, and upset a fragile ecological balance that has been in existence there for thousands of years. F

or this reason alone, a thorough study needs to be conducted before the project is allowed to commence.

More on the Dead Sea:

1. Red-Dead Canal Announcement Stirs Controversy
2. Jordan To Launch Red-Dead Canal Without Israel )
3. Drought in Jordan Calls People to Pray for Rain and the Controversial Dead-Red Peace Canal 
4. The Ongoing Debate: Is Red-Dead or Med-Dead Better for Israel? 
5. Dead Sea Canal Peace Project…Let it Flow 

The post Jordan, Israel and Palestinian Reps Meet to Jumpstart Controversial Red-Dead Canal appeared first on Green Prophet.

Billionaire entrepreneur Yitzhak Tshuva, a man whose parents couldn’t afford to buy him a watch for his Bar Mitzvah, is now planning to undertake an even greater project on himself.

The self-made Real Estate and business wheeler dealer is now planning to become fully involved in the construction of the proposed “Red-Dead” canal, that is hoped will not only save the Dead Sea from drying up, for lack of water, but result in fresh water from desalination and the generation of electricity as well.

 The monumental project has been under consideration for some time, and had reached a state that the Kingdom of Jordan has almost decided to undertake the project on its own – until Tshuva decided to become involved. 

In a report by Israel’s Globes financial newspaper, Tshuva gave a speech at the opening of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in which he said that his project of developing some off shore gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean will make Israel completely energy independent for some time and may even resulting Israel becoming an energy exporter.

He added that with this in mind, “I have dreams of Israeli energy being a ‘blue-white product’ and also have dreams of electricity generation and water desalination.”

While his speech was meant to give optimistic encouragement to his country being able to pull itself out of the current world economic crises, he also spent time talking about environmental issues such as water resources and saving the Dead Sea, which a previous Green Prophet article notes has been nominated as one of the seven modern wonders of the world.

Tshuva’s own success story is as amazing as the story of Israel itself. He hails from very humble beginnings, and reached where he is today through nothing more than sheer determination, combined with an uncanny ability to size up and undertake risks which have made him one of Israel’s wealthiest citizens.

Almost without formal education ( “I hire these kind of people to work for me” he was once quoted as saying), Tshuva does not forget growing up in Netanya, where he spent his boyhood; and still refuses to wear a watch, due to his parents not being able to afford to buy him one.

Tshuva’s, Delek Energy Ltd. the one that will be involved in both the natural gas production and the canal projects, is one of the most successful companies in Israel, and also includes a big stake in gas stations, high profile real estate, and convenience stores in the USA. The company has a huge stake in Israel’s off shore natural gas reserves, reportedly larger than first estimated. 

His dream of the Red-Dead canal project bringing in a million jobs is largely based on the number of “spin-off” industries and businesses which will develop upon completion of the project.

The tycoon also wants to become more involved in building more desalination plants to turn salty Mediterranean Sea water into fresh drinking water, using natural gas to fuel the plant facilities.  “I have no doubt that in the not too distant future, Israel will not have a water problem, because it will be possible to desalinate water from the Mediterranean Sea at a cheaper cost than to take water out of Lake Kinneret,” he told his TLV Stock Exchange audience.

The entire idea has not been without controversy, however, as precious Green Prophet articles, like one on May 19: “Jordan to Launch Red-Dead Canal Without Israel” and followed by another on July 2: “Red-Dead Canal Announcement Stirs controversy”, indicates there appears to be a “great race” as who will be the major player in thid project, once it gets underway.

With an entrepreneur like Tshuva entering the fray, there’s no telling how this undertaking will end up. But with a guy like Yitzhak Tshuva at the helm, Israel is sure to come out a leader. 

Do your homework on the Red Sea Dead Sea canal. Read:

1. Jordan To Launch Red-Dead Canal Without Israel 
2. Dead Sea Canal Peace Project…Let it Flow 
3. Red-Dead Canal Announcement Stirs Controversy 
4. The Ongoing Debate: Is Red-Dead or Med-Dead Better for Israel? 
5. Drought in Jordan Calls People to Pray for Rain and the Controversial Dead-Red Peace Canal 

The post Israeli Tycoon Yitzhak Tshuva Sees Red-Dead Canal As A Money-Maker appeared first on Green Prophet.

The global contest for the Seven New Wonders of the World is not the only reason the Dead Sea is making news this week.

Last Saturday, Israeli Vice Premier Silvan Shalom announced that the World Bank  agreed to finance a $1.25 billion feasibility study on the Red-Dead Canal plan.  The plan, a joint venture supported by Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian officials, proposes a 180 kilometer (110 mile) pipeline between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea.  The pipeline will transfer 200 billion cubic meters of water to the Dead Sea, half of which will be pumped to the rapidly receding body and half of which will be used in desalination projects to provide drinking water to the drought-stricken region.

The World Bank launched a Study Program in 2008, based on terms of reference the three parties introduced (but did not agree on fully), to investigate the environmental, social, and technical costs of the canal.  Although the World Bank confirmed that Mr. Shalom did meet with its president, Robert Zoellick, during an official visit to Washington DC last week, it has not made an official commitment to finance the study.

Jordan was also quick to deny the Israeli official’s claim.  Fayez Batayneh, Jordan’s director for the canal project, told the Jordan Times he hopes the report is true, but did not receive any official correspondence from the World Bank confirming its agreement to fund the study.

Meanwhile, Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), who strongly oppose the canal, issued a statement claiming that these news reports show “politicians are using the Red Dead Canal project for their own political image and not out of concern for the Dead Sea.” (Both Mr. Shalom and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu have indicated this project is important for the advancement of the region’s “financial peace” as part of the broader regional peace agenda.)

FoEME also emphasized the fact that, although the Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian parties, as well as the World Bank, agreed to undertake a study of alternatives to the canal as a means of saving the Dead Sea, they have failed to launch this study or to appoint a panel of experts to oversee the integrity of the entire research project.  They called on the parties to establish an Independent Alternative Study, or for the World Bank to withdraw from the project.

The Dead Sea is shrinking one meter every year, largely due to diversion of the Jordan River water for agriculture and industry.  Estimates predict that if business continues as usual, it will be gone completely by 2050.

:: Ynetnews, World Bank, AFP, Jordan Times, FoEME
Image Credit: heatkernel

More on the Red-Dead Canal:
Jordan To Launch Red-Dead Canal Without Israel
Drought in Jordan Calls People to Pray for Rain and the Controversial Dead-Red Peace Canal
Strategic Solution’s Floating Gas Pipes Could Avert Red-Dead Environmental Catastrophe

The post Red-Dead Canal Announcement Stirs Controversy appeared first on Green Prophet.

Although Israel and Jordan have not come to a joint stance on the Red-Dead Canal, Haaretz’s tenacious environmental reporter Zafrir Rinat reported Sunday that the two nations have banned the use of chicken manure as fertilizer in an effort to cut down a population of houseflies that thrives on manure and makes life miserable for both countries on the southern end of the Dead Sea. Regional environmental organiation Friends of the Earh Middle East brokered the deal, under which farmers will replace the traditional fertilizer with compost.

In 2006, I spent a summer working in the Amman office of Friends of the Earth Middle East, where I researched a housefly population that bred in Jordan and crossed the border to southern Israel.

The research took me to Ghore Safi, the area of Jordan south of the Dead Sea where the sons of poor families walked barefoot through fields, spilling chicken manure behind them as a cheap fertilizer (photo above by Daniella Cheslow).

On the other side of the border, Israelis in Ein Gedi and other towns of the Tamar regional council were suffering from flies that drove away tourists and made life unbearable in the high fly season. They were searching for a solution, and FoEME then proposed a plant to treat raw chicken manure and make it unattractive to flies.

The most interesting part of the research three years ago was the yawning gaps between lifestyles of the Jordanians and the Israelis. The Jordanians were mostly poverty-ridden villagers who lived in one-room cement houses. Although the flies on their side spread disease and diarrhea, those concerns were secondary to the bigger priority of scraping a living from farming. Any solution to the flies would have to be free or very cheap, while not damaging their ability to feed themselves.

On the other side, the Israelis lived in lush green kibbutzes and small communities that made their money from upscale tourism. The Israelis didn’t get disease from the flies, but they saw them as a much bigger nuisance than the Jordanians did.

It will be interesting to see how this story plays out. To read the Jerusalem Report piece, click on the thumbnails below (it will take a few clicks to get to the full-size images, don’t lose faith).

:: Friends of the Earth Middle East

The post FoEME Helps Israel, Jordan Cut Down Flies appeared first on Green Prophet.

In a move that will have environmentalists and government officials in Israel reeling, the Jordanian government announced this week that it will go ahead with the controversial Dead Sea-Red Sea Canal from Aqaba in the Red Sea to the Dead Sea in central Jordan. 

The announcement for the $10 billion project (some reports say $5 billion) was made this week at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East in Jordan, and reported by the Jordan Times, the Times in the UK, the Boston Herald, and Haaretz in Israel. It will take 20 years to finish, while Jordan hopes to start producing desalinated water by 2014.

According to the Jordanian plan, the Jordanian version of the Dead Sea-Red Sea canal will channel 1.9 billion cubic meters of water per day from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, reports Haaretz:

“The difference in altitude will enable the production of energy, which in turn will fuel huge desalination plants to be constructed in Jordan. The 850 million cubic meters of desalinated water produced annually will be used for agriculture and urban water systems. The idea of a regional joint project was raised more than a decade ago, but petered out after the feasibility studies were conducted.”

While alarming to hear,  it is likely that in order to proceed, Jordan may require thumbs up from bodies such as the World Bank and the United Nations. It may be Jordan’s way of saying, yalla. Israel has been interested in helping Jordan develop the canal but has been waffling over its committment to the idea proposed a decade ago. Environmentalists in Israel believe such a plan will create a whole new host of problems, like sinkholes, and deterioration of the  already threatened corals in the Red Sea. 

Others believe this canal will kill two birds with one stone: it will help create energy for Jordan while replenishing the dying Dead Sea.

Calling it the Jordan National Red Sea Water Development Project, officials said the desalination project is separate from the Red-Dead Canal (project with Israel) and is supported by the government.

The Boston Herald also has a good sum up of Jordan’s recent announcement.

“The project is Jordanian and will be built on Jordanian land… The World Bank environmental and feasibility studies of the Red-Dead Canal Project are vital for our scheme,” said the Ministry of Water and Irrigation Secretary General Maysoun Zu’bi to press. 

The Boston Herald adds that the canal “is not a replacement for the Red-Dead Canal Project.”

So if it’s not, then will there be 2 canals? 

This is a prime example of what can and might happen if governments who share precious resources do not work together to create a long term sustainable vision. Personally, I am against the Dead Sea – Red Sea canal. I think it will create new environmental tragedies, and turn the region between these bodies into a Disneyland theme park, much like what we see today in Dubai.

The Dead Sea is one of the most beautiful natural resources in the world. We need to leave it alone, people, as nature intended. See how Canada manages Lake Louise. This is a perfect example of how to turn a natural wonder into something that still looks wonderful. 

::Jordan Times

The post Jordan To Launch Red-Dead Canal Without Israel appeared first on Green Prophet.

“Water, water everywhere/Nor any drop to drink…”

Those immortal words in the poem “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by 18th century English romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge only help the emphasize the reality of the water crises that countries in the Middle East and other arid regions are now facing. As annual rainfall amounts become scarcer and scarcer, due to severe climate changes attributed to global warming, the availability of fresh drinking water in the entire region is likely to decrease even more in the next few years.

Recently governmental authorities in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan expressed grave concern that the country’s known water reserves would not be adequate enough to supply the populations’ needs. In neighboring Israel, which agreed to supply the Kingdom with part of the Jordan River’s annual flow in the peace agreement between countries, the level of Lake Kinneret and its coastal and mountain aquifers have now reached what is being called the “black level” in which irreparable damage, including pollution and salt water contamination will result if they are not replenished by more adequate rainfall.

Without tapping into ground aquifers, Jordan’s main sources for fresh water have been annual rainfall and water from the Jodan and Yarmuk rivers, both of which have been reduced significantly in recent years.

Both Jordan and Israel, as well as many other countries in the region, are considering desalination of seawater as a viable solution to a water problem that as gone from chronic to acute. Jordan’s water problem is much more serious that Israel’s, and even as far back as the late 1990’s the daily water allotment per family was only 22 gallons per day, as compared to 65 gallons per household in Saudi Arabia and 78 gallons per household in Israel.

And that was when the regional water problem was less acute than it is now!

In October,2007, the Jordanian government launched a $600 million project to pump water from it’s Disi aquifer, more than 250 km south of Amman. This project, when completed will include a number of pumping stations and will help considerably to satisfy a good part of the Kingdom’s water needs for the foreseeable future.
Another potential source of water for the Kingdom could come from the proposed Red/Dead project which would bring water by a canal  from the Gulf of Aqaba for desalination, with the brine runoff being diverted into the Dead Sea, which itself is retreating at an alarming rate of more than 30 cm a year. This project is estimated to have the potential to provide Jordan with around 850 million cubic of fresh water a year.

The high costs of the project (estimated at 3 billion U.S. dollars) together with a number of political and environmental problems (including who would benefit the most from the project – Israel or Jordan) have so far resulted in the project being confined to the drawing board. If the project does not go through, Jordan may build its own desalination plant in Aqaba, and then pump the water northward to cities like Aqaba and Irbid. Jordan at present has one of the most acute water shortages of any country in the world.

Although plenty of seawater is available, Jordan does not have the financial resources that wealthy countries like those in the UAE have to build adequate desalination facilities. Desalination has enabled Persian Gulf states like Abu Dhabi to build beautiful futuristic cities, including golf courses and even an indoor ski slope!

::USA Water News ::Jordan Times

More on the Middle East Water Crisis:

Syria Suffers Water Shortage – More News on Middle Eastern Drought
Drought in Jordan Calls People to Pray for Rain and the Controversial Dead-Red Peace Canal
Will Climate Change Reduce or Increase Middle East Rainfall?

The post Analyzing the Middle East Water Crisis: In Israel, Jordan and Beyond appeared first on Green Prophet.

Those who have been following the Red-Dead canal proposal, and all its controversies, know that a lot is at stake. The Dead Sea is dying because natural estuaries, such as the Jordan River, Ein Gedi bottled spring water and rainwater are not making it to its shores. Politicians think that by carving a tunnel from the Red Sea all the way to the Dead Sea, Dead Sea water can be restocked easily and plentifully. Calling it the Peace Canal, they don’t consider the impact of such water as it passes through the desert landscape.

An Israeli company “Strategic Solutions” has announced a new technology that can transport seawater from the Med Sea to Dead Sea, using floating pipes filled partially with natural gas. According to the company, “this is a viable alternative to the canal/pipeline which is an ecological disaster but which has the backing of Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and World Bank. With this new technology it can be done cheaper, safer without impacting on the environment.”

Besides the vast distance, over 200 km of the Red to Dead Sea vs. 70 km Med to Dead Sea, the main obstacle is environmental. This entire route is on an earthquake fault and it is inevitable that earthquakes will cause fissures and the salt water will destroy the freshwater aquifer as well as making the soil even more salty so that agriculture will be foreclosed. The sea spray will kill wildlife and plant life.

They write Green Prophet: “If, because of political or financial constraints, this is the only route to be considered, the only way for this to be viable is for the waterway to NOT be in canals/tunnels or pipelines on the ground, but rather the sea water must be enclosed and transported over the ground, in an aerial pipeline.

The Israeli scientists at Strategic Solutions designed a delivery system of natural gas and liquids, be it water, oil, or petroleum products. It is based on a very simple fact: natural gas is lighter than air.

Hope floats, we hope

Like with helium, fill a balloon with natural gas, it will float, the bigger the balloon, the stronger the pressure to rise. If the balloon is very tall, there will be stronger pressure to rise. If you put this very tall balloon on the side so that on one side the gas is coming in and the other end some is coming out, the middle will rise.

The fluids need to be pumped up, but travels by gradient like your drain pipes in your house. Using this aerial pipeline, natural gas can be delivered from isolated gas wells to industrial centers that need it. It can also deliver water to isolated regions that need it. It can deliver both simultaneously so that desalination can occur at point of need as there is also sufficient fuel, natural gas.

Viable energy production

Or the water falling can generate hydro-electricity and the desalination can be by one of the company’s cleantech solar desalination methods. This presents a viable alternative to the Red to Dead Sea canal/pipeline touted by Shimon Peres and backed by the World Bank, they write.

We’d love to see some illustrations of how this would work/look. And can just imagine Israeli kids using the pipes for target practice. Let’s wait and see.

Israelis like solutions that float. See Geotectura’s solar energy balloons in Solar Energy Hope Floats.

(Above illustration comes from New York-based architect Phu Hoang Office who seeks to address and solve Dead Sea issues with ‘No Man’s Land,’ a series of artificial islands that would provide recreation, tourist attractions, renewable energy, and create fresh water. Via Inhabitat)

The post Strategic Solution's Floating Gas Pipes Could Avert Red-Dead Environmental Catastrophe appeared first on Green Prophet.