A Cardboard Bicycle??

Only an Israeli could dream of this!!




Courtesy - Ministry of Foreign affairs


Izhar Gafni got the idea for his environmentally friendly cardboard bicycle four years ago, while visiting California.


"I saw a car outside a bicycle shop that had a sort of a canoe. It was a wood frame with a cardboard cover. That's where it started," he explains in this video.

When he approached three Israeli engineers with his idea, they said it would be impossible. "I just sat down and looked at everything and said, 'Okay, we can do it. We're Israelis; we know to do things that are impossible all our life.' ... I just started, go ahead and did it."

Nearly 95 percent of the bicycle is constructed of cardboard costing about $9. Gafni and his pals have built six prototypes. They hope to find a corporate sponsor to help them distribute the bikes, perhaps to poor children in Africa.

Waste Landfill to Model park

From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs comes an interesting environmental success story. The Hiriya Recycling Park is a testament to Israel's out-of-the-box approach to greening the country.

Just outside of Tel Aviv, a half-mile long landfill was once an environmental nightmare. Basically a huge mountain of smelly garbage, Hiriya wasn't the sort of place you'd want to live near, let alone visit.


But today the site is used as an environmental educational facility, a natural bio-gas supplier and a transfer station. What's more, it will soon be the site of a family-oriented recycling park.




Doron Sapir, head of the site, explains that 84 wells were drilled into the dump to capture the methane gas produced by the rubbish. The gas is delivered by pipe to a textile plant about four kilometers from the dump, powering the entire operation.

"We are an eco-ecological facility," says Sapir, showing how all materials are separated and recycled. "What is unique here is that all over the world they are separating the waste in dry facilities, [using a] dry process. These Israeli guys thought the other way around: Not only are they not drying the waste, they are putting it into water!"

Any day of the week, you can see schoolchildren of all ages come to visit and learn all about how to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Israel at RIO+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development

Israel attaches great importance to on 20-22 June. The unprecedented scope of the Israeli delegation at this year's Earth Summit, RIO+20, to take place in Rio de Janeiro signifies the importance Israel assigns to promoting sustainable development in Israel and in the international arena.


Israel is well known in the world for its expertise and vast knowledge in the field of sustainability, in topics such as water, agriculture, food production, forestation, desertification and others. These are some of the topics that will be discussed at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in Rio de Janeiro on 20-22 June 2012. About 130 world leaders and about 50,000 people are expected to attend from around the globe.


The main topic of the conference will be building a "green economy" for the eradication of poverty in developing countries, with an emphasis on energy, water, food, cities, green employment, the oceans and disasters. The conference will also address how to prepare for the era after 2015, the target year for the UN's millennium goals, and how to make the subject of sustainable development an integral part of the international system.


The Israeli pavilion will showcase Israel's achievements in green technology,

promotion of sustainability in Israel and Israeli foreign aid. This week, for instance, Israeli Prof. Daniel Hillel won the 2012 World Food prize for his work in developing the micro-irrigation system, thus contributing to food security. Israel shares its expertise with the world in the framework of foreign aid (through MASHAV, Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation), its economic and professional relations with other states and its activities in the international arena.


For example, the UN General Assembly adopted an Israeli proposal for a resolution in the field of "agricultural development technologies" to provide a solution to global challenges arising from poverty and the food crisis. Furthermore, last year Israel hosted an international preparatory meeting ahead of the conference that addressed green agriculture and sustainable development to eradicate poverty and hunger in the world. Delegates from 28 countries attended.


Two Israeli side events will take place in Rio: one on the subject of environmental agriculture and the eradication of poverty; and the other on solutions for municipal water systems. Israel's Jewish National Fund (JNF-KKL) will manage a study center on forestation and water, and Israeli experts will participate in international panels.

Young Environmental Ambassadors

A new program creating young environmental ambassadors through the Bloomfield Science Museum in Jerusalem is training several hundred third- through sixth-graders to be stewards of Jerusalem’s ecological future.

Jerusalem of old - and new - already boasts some very sustainable elements, from narrow car-less streets in the Old City to pedestrian promenades and a new light rail system.

Most residents live in apartments, which are much “greener” than single-family dwellings that take up land, and, with smaller living spaces, Jerusalemites tend to do more with much less stuff. However “green” Jerusalem may already be, there are layers of society that have absolutely no awareness of the worldwide environment movement. Without this awareness, water and energy are being wasted, and plastic and paper are not being recycled.

The new program at the museum takes 300 children and radically changes their knowledge about environmental issues in their community and the world at large.

Change is in the air

A visit to the museum includes a tour of pavilions showcasing Israeli innovation, much of which is based on renewable energy ideas or clean technologies. Other pavilions, also open to general admission visitors, point out the environmental angle in many of the other displays. It was a museum-wide decision to build environmentalism into existing exhibits, says Brezner, rather than create one exhibit specifically on the environment.

Having taught in New York, Brezner says that Israelis and Jerusalemites in particular have a lot to learn. But even after only three years of running various environmental programs through the museum, she can already see change in the schools where she teaches science. Under her guidance, the children learn the importance of water conservation, energy savings, and how and why one should recycle. The program also takes the kids to the Hebrew University campus, where they learn about solar research being done there. As other countries have found, educating the children can broadly affect an entire household and even an entire community, Brezner believes.

First an electric Car, Now an Israeli Battery

Evida - an Israeli battery under the hood By Karin Kloosterman - April 03, 2011 Israel 21C

First the Better Place electric car and now in a $250 million deal, Israel's Evida will supply the batteries, cooling systems and software tools to run Mia Electric's vehicles in Europe. Batteries for Mia Electric's vehicles will be supplied by Israeli company Evida. Racing from one business meeting to the next, Asher Bennett, the 42-year-old founder of Israeli electric battery maker Evida, couldn't elaborate on how he came up with the invention in such a short time. But the former military submarine man did say that his company has been in stealth mode for the last two years.

Under the media's radar until now, Evida has just signed a $250 million contract with the French-German automaker Mia Electric to manufacture its batteries. Funded with about $2 million from the Israeli venture capital firm Terra Venture Partners, and backed by private investment, Evida has been contracted to provide 50,000 8-kilowatt/hour battery packs for three of Mia's newest electric models, through to the year 2016. The deal was revealed after intense months of negotiations and was made public at the Geneva International Motor Show at the beginning of March. Mia will start rolling out its cars, powered by Israeli innovation, in June.

Born to American parents, Bennett spent a lot of time in the United States and speaks English fluently. Now living in Kfar Saba, Israel, he gave ISRAEL21c a brief background: "I got battery experience from being an officer in Israeli submarines -- ones that use batteries with fully electric drive trains." His motive for keeping things hush-hush was that he didn't want to create a huge buzz and then fizzle -- something all too common in the startup automotive landscape.

We've all heard about amazing companies attempting to create fuel from hydrogen, or air ... and then we hear nothing more. "We've been in discussion with many companies and were under the radar until recently -- until we'd proven ourselves," he says. Environmentalism fueled Bennett's passion. "The EV [technology] is one of the most cutting edge to come to the market. Where else do you get the opportunity to be part of one of the most important industries in the world - one that hasn't changed in the last 100 years?"

Evida currently runs operations in Israel, the United Kingdom, France and the United States (it's registered officially in California), plus a contracted manufacturing facility in China that employs 200 people. Fourteen of the company's 20 employees in Israel are engineers who have been working on the battery concept since 2009, a few years after the wheels in Bennett's mind began turning around the idea.

At its Jerusalem R&D center, Evida has created its own proprietary lithium-ion-phosphate battery pack. Unlike the extensive, and expensive, charging networks proposed by another Israeli electric car enabler, Better Place, Evida's batteries can be juiced from any ordinary electrical outlet at home, work or the shopping mall. In a pinch, a 10-minute "fast charge" will give the car an added range of about five miles.

Five-year contract

With a five-year contract in place, Evida will supply 10,000 battery packs a year to Mia for its zero-emission three- and four-seater Mia and Mia L, town cars, and a European-sized utility vehicle. Evida will provide a comprehensive vehicle integration solution including batteries, cooling systems, a battery management system and software tools. With a battery charge range of up to 90 kilometers, or 55 miles, Mia's battery can be recharged in three hours when hooked up to a standard European 220V power supply. Mia managing director Laurent Buffeteau said, "We appointed Evida based on their ability to provide a flexible, low-cost and high-quality battery pack solution tailored to the characteristics of our individual models, coupled with access to unrivalled expertise and a high level of durability for our customers." Now, other major players are lining up to talk with Bennett. Some smaller contracts in the range of a million or so dollars have also been signed.

The battery part was "easy"

Bennett reveals that developing the battery was the easy part. The hard part was adapting it to Mia's systems, with all the quality control and reliability checks and balances in place. He tells ISRAEL21c that he does not consider Better Place, now deploying an electric charge network in Israel and Denmark, to be a competitor. As he told the Israeli newspaper Globes: "Better Place will ultimately use another company's batteries, but it is familiar with our product, and I highly esteem the company. It's an amazing company that is driving the entire electric car industry forward, and it will go far."

Harold Wiener of Terra Ventures says that from the VC's perspective, "we believe that the right solution for mobility within cities is all-electric, zero-emissions vehicles including buses, taxis and trucks. There are no technological barriers for this to happen and prices of batteries will go down with escalation of production lines all over the world and mainly in China." Evida, he adds, "will be perfectly positioned to become a leader in this new area and the experience that will be gained in the deployment of 50,000 cars with Mia will be a tremendous advantage for us in the field of all-electric fleets."

Israel Research for Renewable Energy

With Israel in the forefront of renewable energy research, a conference next month at the Red Sea port of Eilat, the conference will provide new Israeli technology companies a platform to present their innovations.

The conference is an international forum encouraging discussion and debate of policies, technology, business and investment practices to lead to cost effective, doable solutions. More than 2,000 people are expected to attend the conference,

Some of the topics to be explored at the conference include: Renewable development in Israel, solar power, policies and regulations, and renewable energy technology. This year's Conference will include an additional track dedicated to the role of advanced energy-conservation technologies highlighting Israeli and other nation's contributions to the field of green building science and carbon reduction.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has chosen the Eilat-Eilot Conference for inclusion in the Commission's ECO4B initiative, a select project led by the Enterprise Europe Network which will invest €250,000 in renewable energy conferences taking place over 2010-2011.

"We are thrilled to have been selected by the European Commission and to be included among Europe's most exciting renewable energy initiatives," said the representative of the Hevel Eilot Regional Council. "This grant highlights the leading role that Israel is taking in the global quest for a sustainable future and underscores the great value that the Commission places in Israel’s development of clean energy technologies."

The 2010 Conference in Eilat will include the unveiling of a proposed model for dealing with the energy crisis through the promotion of the key elements required by developed nations to shape a sustainable energy future. These include raising awareness and education, research and development, the commercialization of technology, production of energy from renewable resources, energy conservation and supportive regulation.

Additionally, the conference will serve as the launch of the bidding process for the planned 200 MW Timna Renewable Energy Park, the centerpiece of the Eilat-Eilot region’s efforts to turn Southern Israel into the "Silicon Valley" of renewable energy. Companies from around the world are expected to submit bids to purchase the first plots of land in the park and will then begin construction of the first projects in the park - two 50MW solar thermal fields. In addition to solar thermal, the park will feature a combined wind/solar "farm"; a solarized turbine pilot plant and the production of bio-gas from municipal waste.

Israel's Clean Coast Program Cited in UN Report

Israel has been cited for its Clean Coast Program in a comprehensive report on the status of marine litter in seas and coasts, published by the United Nations Environment Programme's Regional Seas Programme and the Ocean Conservancy earlier this year.

Certainly in our regular walks on the local beach it is rare to see any litter. What we do see in the mornings, is a team checking the beach and tidying up anything left over from the previous night.

In the Mediterranean chapter of the publication, Israel's Clean Coast Program, which has been operated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection for the past four years, with the active participation of local authorities and the general public is specifically mentioned.

The publication notes that quantifiable results "showed a significant improvement in coastal cleanliness" and that this was achieved "in cooperation with inspectors of the Marine and Coastal Environment Division, wide-scale media coverage and long term educational plans and cooperation with organizations."

The Israeli Clean Coast Program is dedicated to improving the cleanliness level on the country's beaches through assistance to local authorities, education and information and increased enforcement.

"Making the Impossible Possible"

A conference this week in Jerusalem is causing some traffic disruption with many heads of governments arriving in the country for the President’s conference, “Making the Impossible Possible”, how to transform a dream into reality, a crisis into an opportunity?

Among the participants are world leaders, scientists, intellectuals and academics, economists and businesspeople, people from the media, artists, security experts and environmentalists.

The simple truth, stated in the opening speech, is that dependence on oil endangers the world. It is a threat to Israel’s security, its economy and the environment.

Why our security? Because dependence on fossil fuels strengthens the dark regimes that encourage instability and fund terror with their petrodollars.

Why the economy?, Because if we don't develop alternative energy sources, the demand for fossil fuels will increase and the supply will decrease. This will lead to an increase in prices, which in turn will adversely affect global economic development in countries that import fossil fuels – which is the majority of countries. This will cause serious economic harm.

Environmentally, because the pollution from fossil fuels poisons the air that we breathe, the water that we drink and the food that we eat. The world’s dependence on oil harms us and the earth every day, and has done so for decades.

To counteract all this, it is essential to set a goal: to free the world from dependence on oil. Whilst this may seem impossible, all it takes is one or two inventions to make a breakthrough and change the world.

Is Israel the country that will discover the breakthrough that will free the world of its dependence on fossil fuels? The feeling is that the answer is “Yes”. Why? Because Israel has two significant resources that provide a good chance of doing so.

• There are the minds and the hearts.
• The capability, the will.

In a speech by Prime Minister Netanyahu, he said, “Israel is very advanced in many technological fields – agro-tech, hi-tech, nanotechnology, solar energy, battery technologies and renewable energies. Thus, we must be amongst the leading candidates to create a global revolution in the clean energy field because of this capacity.

What I propose to do today is to establish a nation commission of scientists, engineers, business and government people to set a goal that within ten years, we'll have a practical, clean, efficient substitute for oil. I think it's possible. I think we can make the impossible possible.”

Let’s hope for the sake of the future of the world, the impossible becomes possible.

Tackling Climate Change in Israel

It is only apt that Israel's Cabinet approved an important environmental decision on the day its parliament celebrated World Environment Day earlier this year– a decision to prepare a climate change plan for Israel.

Global warming and the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions call for joint action by countries worldwide. In the Mediterranean Sea basin, even more than in other parts of the world, the impacts of climate change are reflected in warming and drying trends, on the one hand, and in an increase in extreme weather events (floods and heat waves), on the other hand. Since these trends are associated with adverse impacts on the water sector, agricultural production, drainage systems, the energy sector, the coastal environment and more, adaptation and preparedness are prerequisites.

Although Israel was classified as a developing economy under the Climate Change Convention, a comparison of carbon dioxide emissions per capita between Israel and other European countries shows that Israel is not far behind some of the countries with developed economies which are listed in Annex I of the Convention.

In order to quantify Israel's mitigation potential, the Ministry of Environmental Protection commissioned a study on options for greenhouse gas emissions reductions in Israel. The study shows that three sectors currently contribute some 95% of greenhouse gas emissions in Israel – the energy sector (including electricity production and transport), responsible for 83% of the emissions, the disposal of solid waste, responsible for 7% of the emissions, and industrial processes, especially cement and lime, which contribute 4% of the emissions. What's especially worrying is that the study anticipates a further rise in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, with the forecast pointing to a 63% increase in greenhouse gas emissions in the year 2025, under a business-as usual scenario, in relation to 2000.

More than 90% of the emissions will come from the energy and transport sectors, with the rest coming from industrial processes (4%) and waste (5%). In order to change this trend, Israel must reduce greenhouse gas emissions in all relevant sectors.

At the same time, the study quantifies Israel's potential for limiting greenhouse gas emissions by identifying potential abatement mitigation measures, which include, inter alia, energy related building codes, greater efficiency of electricity appliances, five percent reduction in electricity consumption, promotion of solar and wind energy, efficient lighting and reduction in vehicle mileage. Assuming that all measures are implemented, the study estimates a potential reduction of some 32 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2025 (about 26% of emissions) in comparison to 2000.

As Israel prepares for the Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009, it remains committed to taking on the challenge of implementing mitigation and adaptation measures which will benefit both the country, on a national level, and the global environment, on an international level. The preparation of a climate change plan for Israel is expected to reduce local air pollution while boosting the Israeli economy, by increasing the number of people employed in the cleantech sector in Israel and by developing and transferring new technologies which will contribute to the global effort against climate change.

The Name of the Game is "Green"

Green is the name of the game today and here in Israel from my perspective there is definitely an ever increasing awareness of the need to change our lifestyles in one way or another.

The use of plastic bags when shopping is a no-no particularly in the supermarkets and we now bring a number of fabric bags on our shopping expeditions in order to avoid the use of the plastic bag. Why the manufacturers of such bags cannot produce in biodegradable plastics beats me but then I suppose, as always, it is down to a question of cost. I remember using biodegradable plastics for packaging a product I was involved in the manufacture of way back in the 1970’s – it seems it has not developed much since then.

The government is being drawn into “Green” issues constantly and a comprehensive report released in March http://www.sviva.gov.il/Enviroment/Static/Binaries/ModulKvatzim/p0462_1.pdf highlights the following important changes:-

TRANSPORTATION

a) All light vehicles (up to 3.5 tons) imported into Israel comply with Euro 4 standards since January 2006 and all heavy vehicles (above 3.5 tons) comply with this standard since October 2006.

b) The sulfur content in 98 octane gasoline has been reduced to 10 ppm. and 10 ppm sulfur diesel fuel has been introduced into some 15 gas stations throughout the country.

c) More stringent air pollution checks were introduced into the annual car registration tests for gas-powered vehicles, beginning with 1995 models, since March 2006. More stringent regulations on smoke emissions from diesel vehicles, which apply to the annual car registration test, beginning with 2001 models, came into force in June 2007.

One component of the national plan is for the reduction of vehicular pollution relates to electric cars. This issue has been highly publicized in Israel and worldwide due to an initiative by Project Better Place to make electric cars available on the Israeli market. It is expected that the first electric cars to be available in Israel in 2011.

The most highly polluting vehicles will be subject to additional purchase taxes of up to 15,000 shekels while taxes on clean vehicles will be reduced. Taxes on hybrid cars were reduced to 30%, within the framework of a new policy that will link the external costs of air pollution
and tax levels.

AIR POLLUTION

Meanwhile reductions in the number of air polluting days per year continue a downward trend from 2007 to 2006:-

a) In Tel Aviv the number dropped to 45 days compared to 59 days.
b) In Jerusalem 33 high air pollution days to 32 days.
c) In Haifa 7 high air pollution days compared to 15 days. .
d) In Bet Shemesh 12 high air pollution days compared to 22 days.
e) In Modi’in n22 high air pollution days compared to 18 days.

EDUCATION

Such efforts cannot be maintained without a full education program and at least 30 hours of study at every age level are to budgeted, including out of classroom activities.

Further, instruction based on sustainable development guidelines is integrated with out of classroom activities and action in the environment.

Highlighting of the environment as a central subject is now carried out in the framework of science and technology and geography studies in the 2007/8 school year.

And finally, Initial training of some 100 leading teachers and assimilation of the subject on the regional level has been completed.

Let’s hope this can help to guarantee to improve the world and its climate.

Yes, There is Snow

This blog focuses on the environment. Today, saw the first real snow for some years in Jerusalem. Schools were closed; so many families spent a day together. The traditional snowman was built, the clothes were dried out and the family gathered together to watch a video. More snow is forecast for the next day, possibly two so the ritual will continue.

Here on the Carmel Mountain in Haifa, we are probably not quite high enough for snow but the storm gave a friend of ours a great opportunity for photographing of the waves lashing the coast. We have had quite a bit of rain and we have heard the Sea of Galilee has risen 5 cm but we need that almost every day for the month of February to give us a fighting chance of avoiding rationing in the summer

Improving the environment is now the internationally stated gaol. However, words are not enough, there needs to be action taken.

A great new project has started in over 20 schools in the Bet Shemesh ( situated between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv ) to educate children on the issue of the protecting the environment, by giving them the tools to calculate their own and their school’s ecological footprint.

The organization “Sviva Israel” introduces the concept of the three “R”s, - reduce, reuse and recycle to the children to understand the role they can play in improving their lifestyle. The lesson plan gives the example of three children who drink 10 half litre bottles of coke a week. One decides to reduce the quantity he drinks to two bottles, the second buys 5 litre bottles instead of the 10 half litre bottles, the third continues to drink the 10 half litre bottles but pledges to recycle them

The web site www.svivaisrael.org has a questionnaire to allow you to calculate your personal ecological footprint. I did it – the results are quite frightening. If everyone lived my lifestyle, we would need 3 earths to meet the need.

We all really need to think about our life patterns