Ecology and Environment |
|
|||
|
|||
In the early 1970s, Israel became the first country to require that every rooftop install a solar power system to generate the energy needed to heat water. David Rosenblatt, Vice Chairman, Arava Power said: "The number of consumers that will benefit from that (new power plant) is anticipated to be 8,000, but the way that it works is that the field is directly connected to Israel's grid and the Israel electric company distributes the energy as needed." The Siemens corporation recently invested $15 million dollars in Israeli Arava, buying 40% of the company. The project is green and environmentally-friendly for more reasons than one. In 20 years it is projected that the land will be returned to its previous state and 99% of the materials we used will go to recycling. Many ethnic Bedouins live in southern Israel, and with their unemployment rate exceeding 30%, many are hoping additional plants will turn into jobs needed for the construction and developing the field from scratch.
|
|||
A special material called IBIND, found naturally only in Israel's Dead Sea has been added to asphalt for building roads. The advantage is a quieter, safer road for the driver, as well as a more lasting one. A first experimental segment was paved in the town of Dimona in the south of Israel.
Dimona Silica Industry, or DSI, designed the process and is now putting the material to good use.The plant operating in Dimona does not create pollution as the process takes place in a closed system, which is good for Dimona's green town reputation.
The process and material has been tested by top specialists and laboratories in Israel, Portugal, Austria and China and the U.S. A number of tests have proved that the material is more environment-friendly than the materials it replaces, such as cellulose fibers. Other advantages have also been found: it prolongs the life span of the road, prevents cracking of the road and water damage. DSI plans to build a road in the U.S. and in China. The goal is to build good roads, silent and green.
|
|||
The Environmental Protection Ministry of Israel issued a memo on June 23, 2011 with a new law to recycle electronic equipment. Under the new law, liability will be imposed on manufacturers and importers of electronic products in Israel to fund the evacuation and treatment of waste caused by the products they market. The law provides incentives for electronic equipment, in order to encourage re-use of the equipment, and to reduce the amount of waste generated from these products. The law brings other benefits such as prevention of health hazards, creating new markets,and making new jobs that will help thousands of unemployed in Israel.
|
|||
An Israeli innovation for raising seafood anywhere -- including the desert - could be the answer to the world's growing problem of over fishing and water shortages. "Our technology is totally independent of the sea," says Dr. Yossi Tal of Israel's Grow Fish Anywhere, a company that invented a way to raise fish commercially under any kind of conditions. "We are establishing our own unique ecology in our system to sustain the fish, without discharging any pollution." GFA's solution could signal a breakthrough as the world's fishing industry faces the effects of over fishing, as well as chronic water shortages.
|
|||
|
|||
Dried-up riverbeds, scorched earth and dying livestock all testify to droughts on an unprecedented scale across the globe. The devastating bushfires that hit southern Australia earlier this year are one of a range of consequences - and the farming sector is suffering the most. Once the largest agricultural region in Australia, the Murray-Darling Basin is now struggling to produce significant amounts of crops. Meanwhile, valuable water continues to be wasted here thanks to poor irrigation schemes and cultivation methods and a lack of limits on use by large farms. The government has now put together a rescue package. Future plans also include withdrawing water licenses and closing down particularly wasteful farms.
|
|||
This corporate video from Ormat Technologies, a company that originated in Israel, is a world leader in geothermal power plan design, manufacture and operation.
|
|||
Central America is sitting on a green energy bank in the form of its active volcanoes. The potential for tapping into geothermal power in Guatemala, for example, is enormous, and the government there is offering tax breaks and other incentives for private investors. Run by Israeli-owned Ormat Technologies Inc, the plant harnesses energy from water heated by chambers filled with molten rock deep beneath the ground. Geothermal power plants, while expensive to build, can provide a long-term, reliable source of electricity.
|
|||
