CleanTech 2012 offers visitors bewildering variety of Israeli inventions: Solar kits, water technologies, solutions for green construction, wastewater treatment, recycling and gardening

Source: Ynetnews

Worldwide, hundreds of billions of dollars have been invested in finding a solution to the water shortage; creating alternative energy sources; combating air pollution; and energy efficiency. The 16th annual CleanTech expo, held this month in Tel Aviv, was a mecca for anyone seeking to increase efficiency, save money, and "green up" his or her lifestyle, as well as providing a marketing edge.

The expo displayed a number of green solutions, including water technologies; gas and sewage infrastructures; options for green building, wastewater treatment, recycling, and gardening

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Once the cleanup is complete, a school, residential buildings, and commercial properties will be built on the land.

Source: Haaretz

The Tel Aviv municipality will soon launch the first phase of a major project to clean up an area where the groundwater and soil were contaminated by the Israel Military Industries; once the cleanup is complete, a school, residential buildings, and commercial properties will be built on the land.

The decision to launch the cleanup, to begin in the coming months, was made last month at a meeting between senior municipality officials, the Israel Lands Administration and the Water Authority.

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Government appoints Eyal Rosner as head of national initiative to reduce dependency on oil. 

Source: Ynetnews

The government approved Sunday the appointment of Eyal Rosner as director of a national initiative to develop technologies that reduce the global use of oil in transportation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "The government is working to encourage the development of technologies that will reduce our dependency on oil."

A dedicated team led by the head of national economic council Prof. Eugene Kandel formulated the guidelines for the national program to encourage both academic research and business entrepreneurship to examine alternatives for the use of oil.

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The number of Israelis aged 21 and older who admitted to smoking declined by 2.7 percent from 2010. They sent 426 million packs of cigarettes up in smoke.

Source: Haaretz

The self-reported cigarette-smoking rate for Israelis aged over 21 reached a record low in 2011-2012, to just 20.6 percent. But overall cigarette consumption rose 0.1 percent from the previous year. The figures are from a Health Ministry report, issued for World No Tobacco Day, May 31, and submitted by Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman to Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin.

According to the report, which was based on a poll of 3,964 Israelis, the smoking rate for adults aged 21 and above was 27.1 percent for men and 14.4 percent for women. Fewer Jews reported smoking than Arabs, at 19.7 percent and 25.2 percent, respectively. Both groups reported smoking in fewer numbers.

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Arava Power Company, the firm responsible for the launch of the country’s first solar field last June, has completed financial closure on an unprecedented 58 megawatts and NIS 800 million worth of new projects, the company announced on Sunday.

Source: Jpost

The closures are the largest ever to occur in the country’s solar history. The first five fields – which Siemens Israel is set to build at Grofit, Elifaz, Shuval, Maslul and Yotvata – encompass 35 MW and NIS 500m. in total, according to Arava. The NIS 400m. worth of debt will come from a combination of Migdal, Amitim and Bank Hapoalim, the last of which was a financier of Arava Power’s original 4.95- MW Ketura Sun field.

Part of that work would be adopting energy policies and goals similar to the European Union’s – such as moving Israel’s renewable energy target to 20% by 2020.

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New directive orders environmental protection measures be included in all large-scale military maneuvers

Source: Ynet

A new directive was issued by the IDF this week, ordering the formulation of environmental protection measures for all large-scale military exercises from the battalion-level and up.

According to a military statement, the order means to regulate all aspects regarding the protection and preservation of the environment during military training, covering everything from the need to preserve resources to protecting wildlife and antiquities.

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