Birthright 2012: Israel Goes Green: Where’s the Water?

Miss me? Well, after surviving finals week, I trekked over the Atlantic to the land of my forefathers, the State of Israel. As a country filled with over 5,000 years of history, there was much to learn, a ton of places to explore, and many, many adventures to be had. However, there’s much more to Israel than its historical, political, and religious significance (though these shouldn’t be ignored). Israel is the number one nation in the world for startup greentech and cleantech, and is a leader in the world of sustainability.

History of Sustainability in Israel: I’m Thirsty

Israel may have been known as the biblical Land of Milk and Honey, but while it may overflow with these liquids, there’s one it seriously lacks – water. As with many other nations in the Middle East, Israel is mostly arid land, and a good portion of the country, which is roughly the size of New Jersey, is covered by the Negev Desert. This lack of water has been a major issue throughout history, but each of the peoples, kingdoms, empires, and countries who have controlled the land have had their own unique and successful ways of solving the problem.

One of the earliest governing bodies of Israel following the Jewish diaspora were a group of Hellenistic Greeks, led by the builder of much of ancient Israel, King Herod. To bring water to those who needed it, Herod started, and the Romans finished, a series of aqueducts along the coast, much like this one in Caesaria:

Aqueduct in Caesaria, Israel

As power changed hands in the final century BCE, the Romans continued to expand their power over Israel, now known as Judea, and with that power came more and more aqueducts. Water began to play an even more significant role, as the Romans used more water than any civilization up to this point. In addition to irrigation for farming and drinking water, the Romans needed water for their vast palaces, theaters, hippodromes and gardens. One thing that they didn’t seem the squander water on, however, were their public toilets.  These toilets, like the one below, were meeting places for the important people of the land. However, Roman toilets were technically extremely sustainable – no flushing means almost no water used, and there was no waste of paper as they used reusable brushes in place of toilet paper. (Don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest reverting to these toilets. I may love the environment, but I’m sanitary).

Ancient Roman Toilet (With some friends)

As the Middle Ages dawned, Roman power fell and Muslim power reigned over Israel, the Crusades began, with the intention of regaining the Holy Land. Like in Europe, the Crusader knights built fortresses with walls and moats – but with a twist for the Middle East. Their moats? They were dry. Basically, they were super deep pits, with smooth, unscalable walls, just like this one in Caesaria:

Crusader moat in Caesaria

Crusader fortresses, as with any other stronghold in Israel or the Middle East in general, needed to be built to survive siege. This didn’t just mean that they needed to be strong enough to withstand the battle, but they needed to be able to store massive amounts of water in order to stay alive during sieges which could last months. To solve this problems, these fortresses were built with giant cisterns like the one below.

Cistern from the top of a Crusader fortress in Tzfat

Exploring the cistern in Tzfat

Following the Crusader period, power continued to change hands once again. Eventually, under the Ottomans and the British Mandate of Palestine, Zionists began settling the countryside. Like with all other periods of time, water became a major issue. These new towns were differently organized than in the past. Instead of aqueducts and cisterns, water towers were built. The water tower below is one of the most famous in Israel, having been built with money donated by the famous Baron Edmund de Rothschild, one of the biggest philanthropic donators to Zionism.

“Benjamin’s Pool,” the water tower in Zichron Ya’akov

Israeli Sustainability Today: Water, Water Everywhere

With such a vast and colorful history of water conservation, it’s no wonder that Israel is the way it is now. As previously mentioned, Israel is the number one country in the world for cleantech and greentech startup investments, and has created some of the most important technologies in water conservation.

Israel is credited with the invention of what is potentially the most important water conservation technologies in our modern world: Drip Irrigation. One of the most important improvements in the system was made by Simcha Blass and his son Yeshayahu in Israel, and involved the use of plastics in the system. The Blass system uses larger and longer openings to disperse the water, using velocity to their advantage.

Tomatoes and cucumbers growing in the Negev

Drip irrigation changed farming forever, especially in the Middle East. The south of Israel, which is covered by the Negev desert, has now begun to be a booming agricultural site, growing most of the nation’s produce, and has become a hotspot for Thai immigrants to come work the fields. I actually shouldn’t say fields, because most of this agriculture is grown alternatively – in netted greenhouses, in tracked rows raised above the ground, and in a whole bunch of other ways. This way, farmers get the advantages of the Negev’s climate – the heat and air are good for many crops – while being able to directly control the water intake of each plant. In the system shown below, water is slowly released into the soil in the hanging trays, then trickles down to the bottom and drips down the slightly angled rows to a collection tube, which collects the water and recycles it to water the plants again.

Strawberries being grown above ground in the Negev

With farming, water isn’t the only concern. Many farms, just like the one I was fortunate enough to visit, are also concerned with producing organic, GMO-free, pesticide- and chemical-free produce as well. Much of the produce is grown netted in, and Israeli companies are credited with the invention of a specifically bred insect that eats the bugs and parasites that threaten farms around the world.

One invention, while not invented by an Israeli, has taken Israel by storm: the Dual Flush Toilet. Invented by Australian inventor Bruce Thompson in 1980, this toilet works more like an airplane toilet than a traditional toilet, using gravity rather than a siphon to remove waste. The toilet has two flushing options – more or less water – activated by two different levers or buttons, to be used for two different bathroom situations (I don’t think I need to explain which is which). The toilet is effective – there’s an average of 67% water use savings when used correctly  a majority of the time. Sure, it’s a little more expensive, but it’ll pay off in the end. In Israel, a nation where water is scarce, the extra cash upfront is worth it, and it’s actually uncommon NOT to see a dual flush toilet everywhere you go.

Conclusion

My 9th grade Global History teacher once told me (and every student she’s ever had): Geography is Destiny. Three simple words, exemplified by Israel better than perhaps any other nation in the world. A state seriously lacking in water, it has found ways throughout history to fix this problem. In modern times, it’s no wonder Israel is at the top of the sustainability game – it has to be.

Recycled Mollys: You Are What You Drink

One of the Mollys in late stages of construction.

Hey SU Students! Have you been by Schine and Newhouse this week? Wondering what those statues are you’ve seen or heard about? Well, they’re called Recycled Mollys, and there here to take back the tap. The display, designed and created by the Sustainability Division here at SU, is based off similar projects at other schools. Here, however, it was decided to focus on the dangers of bottled water. The statues, which are sustainable plastic molds of people, are filled with water bottles to show the campus how many bottles we each waste. Surrounding the Mollys, and being held by them, are signs denoting a wide variety of water bottle facts – how much oil, water, energy, etc is wasted each year to make them, and more.

One of the most striking facts, due in part to the actual composition of the Mollys, is about the health effects of bottled water. Many people assume that bottled water, since its processed, is probably regulated pretty well, right? Wrong. Actually, tap water is significantly more regulated, and doesn’t contain all of the preservatives and taste-changing chemicals that bottled water does. When you look at these statues, wondering why they’re filled with water bottles, remember that if you don’t drink tap, this is what you might as well look like.

World Water Day

World Water Day 2012!

It’s March 22nd, so you know what that means? It’s the UN World Water Day! This year, it could not come as a more perfect time, as everyone in the Northeast is experiencing uncharacteristic heat, and therefore increased need for water. Since it’s establishment in 1993, World Water Day has served as a yearly reminder to the world that water is our most important research. Each year, a different theme is used, and is sponsored by a different UN/International organization. In the recent past, themes have included Sanitation (coordinated by UNICEF and WHO), Clean Water (organized by UNEP), and Water for Cities (Coordinated by UN-HABITAT). This year, the theme is the ever-important Water and Food Security: The World is Thirsty Because We Are Hungry.

“What does this theme cover?” you may ask. The idea of this year’s theme is to educate the world about something we don’t think about – how much water is used to make our food on a daily basis, and how the wastefulness of our modern food preparations methods. According to this year’s website, we drink an average of 2-4 liters of water each day, but most of that goes unnoticed, as it is consumed in our food. On top of that, gallons upon gallons (or liters upon liters) of water are wasted each day just preparing food. For example, it takes 15,000 liters of water to produce one kilo of beef, and 1,500 to produce one kilo of wheat. Modern processing methods, especially those that make canned food or foods with large amounts of preservatives also waste a ton of water. Worse yet, 30% of the world’s produced food goes uneaten – and all the water wasted.

The campaign this year encourages citizens of the world to help conserve water at all levels of the supply chain, recommending that everyone:

• Follow a healthier, sustainable diet;
• Consume less water-intensive products;
• Reduce the scandalous food wastage;
• Produce more food, of better quality, with
  less water.

One of the major aspects of this year’s campaign is the interactive activity/game from onedrop.org, which allows you to find out how much water your meal is using, and to try to figure out what meals you can make with the least wasted water! Try it out!

In short? Let’s all make small, personal changes that can basically save the world.

Caught Green Handed: On Vacation

Myrtle Beach!

After a week of midterms, two days of traveling, and a slightly skeevy Super 8, (which all hopefully explain and justify the lack of recent posts,) I’ve finally arrived in Myrtle Beach, SC, and man, it is NICE! As I sit and look out at the beautiful beach and ocean, it hit me. This is what I’m working to save. Everything I’m doing here, with this blog, and with my life, is so that the world can continue to enjoy places as naturally incredible as these.

Another thing hit me, a little later in the day. As I came back to take a shower, I stumbled upon something I had seen many times, and in various permutations.

Reuse Towels, Don't Waste Water!

Think about the last time you went to a hotel – you definitely saw one of the little signs somewhere in your bathroom that reminded you to save water by reusing your towels. There’s even a universal code for how to tell the cleaning staff what you’re doing – dirty towels on the floor, ones you plan to reuse get hung up. But have you ever considered the logic behind all this? The history? The actual environmental impact? Well, I’ll answer the questions you’ve always had, and maybe even a few you never though of:

Let’s do a little Q &A:

Q: What environmental benefits do these policies have?

A: According to Practically Green, a hotel of 250 rooms operating at 80% capacity can expect to save 220,000 gallons of water each year (and $66,000!). Energy, too, is also saved, since most laundry is done in hot water, and therefore requires a lot of energy to heat it to the desired temperature, as well as to power the washing machines and dryers. Chemicals such as chlorine and bleach are often used as detergents, and a decrease in laundry-doing is equivalent to a decrease in the entrance of these chemicals into our environments. Also, many hotels donate a portion of saved funds to worthy environmental causes, which is just an added bonus.

Q: Why do guests follow these procedures?

A: It’s easy. Well, that’s part of it at least. But think about it – it’s the same as if you were at home, except instead of having to take your own towels out of the bathroom or make them neat, housekeeping will do it for you. But that doesn’t fully explain why people do it. One argument is they know that by saving water, the hotel saves money, and therefore charges them less, so by following the procedures, they’re saving themselves money. A Scientific American article points out an interesting observation to take into account. According to the article, people tend to reuse towels more if they think others are also doing the same. Oh, and let’s not forget pure, good-hearted interest in saving the environment as a reason to reuse hotel towels.

Q: Is it a law that there must be these signs in hotel rooms?

A: Nope. Though it might seem like it, since a vast majority of American hotels have the reusing polices and resulting signs, it is purely the hotel’s decision.

Q: If it’s not a law, why do hotels do it?

A: There’s a few reasons for that. First of all, there’s the obvious reason: to help the environment. Now, we all should hope that environmental sustainability is a core belief and goal of every person and organization in the world, but let’s not be too naive. So why do it? Well, there’s the idea of personal gain. The hotels that participate in these policies have something to gain from them. A hotel has plenty of space, but most of it is front of house, guest-accessible space, with little left for waste management – i.e. trash, recycling, and laundry. Therefore, to successfully manage waste, hotels need to actively and masterfully design their programs. So in terms of towels, if guests reuse even a fraction of the towels they use daily, that’s a whole bunch of towels that the hotel does not need to be washing, and therefore less space, time, personnel, and money they need to dedicate to laundry.Oh, and speaking of money, hotels pay utilities just like everyone else, so each towel they don’t wash saves them money on their water and energy bills, and therefore creates more profit for them. (Special thanks to Waste Management World for help with this one).

Hope you found this informative! Have questions you want answered? Let me know!

Water Taste Test Shocks, Surprises SU Students

All day today in Schine Student Center, the Syracuse University Sustainability Club ran a water taste-test, challenging students, staff, potential students and their visiting parents to try to guess which type of water were which. The participants were presented with unmarked samples of bottled, filtered, and tap water, and asked to choose a favorite and then guess which was which.

Many participants were shocked to learn that they preferred certain types to others – though it was especially nice to see that many more people preferred the tap and filtered-tap water over bottled water. Even those who did prefer the bottled variety were shocked to learn the environmental and health dangers of drinking bottled water, and were excited and enthused to find out the benefits of filters and reusable bottles, especially when they learned about the new filling stations in Schine and Bird Library.Congrats to the Sustainability Club for an incredibly successful and informative event!

What’s New @ SU: Bottle Filling Stations

In the past few weeks, there has been an explosion of sustainable improvements at Syracuse University, empirically proving how small changes can make a huge impact. In the past couple weeks, a few small changes have made a huge difference on campus. Recently, water bottle filling stations have been put into Schine Student Center and Bird Library.

These filling stations are a bigger deal than one may realize. Up until they were put in, there was only one filling station on campus, in Archbold Gymnasium. With these stations installed, it is now significantly more convenient for students on campus to live a sustainable lifestyle by switching over to reusable bottles and ending their use of plastic bottles. Not sure why plastic bottles are a problem? Check out this old post.

In case you were wondering:

• Why Bird and Schine? These are two of the most highly trafficked areas on campus. It just makes sense to put these filling stations in the areas where people are most likely to use them. The station in Bird has had especially high traffic because many students have taken to the idea of being able to refill their bottles instead of hurting the environment and their wallet every time they’re thirsty during study sessions.
• Why not just use a water fountain? First of all, think about it: Isn’t it always a royal pain to try and fill a water bottle from a water fountain? Just in terms of plain convenience , the bottle filling stations, which shoot the water straight down into your bottle, are significantly better and more efficient. Additionally, they are significantly more sanitary, since the water is filled from a different nozzle that no one drinks from!

Water Bottles – Proving a Point

Just a quick post before I board my plane home for the holidays! Of course, expect to see some Thanksgiving sustainability tips to be posted soon.

But on to my main point. For the month before I went completely water bottle free, I kept a bin in my room and put in it every water bottle that I finished while I was in there.

Before I go on to make my point, I want to show you what this looks like, because pictures really are worth a thousand words:

Cool Uses of Water Bottles!

Sticking with the water bottle theme from this week’s posts, here are some awesome tips for using those extra water bottles you have lying around.

http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/03/5-creative-uses-soda-bottles

http://stegisblog.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/13/#comment-4

http://www.wisebread.com/the-many-uses-for-empty-plastic-bottles

Enjoy!!

Cochabamba – También la Lluvia

Tonight I attended a screening of the Spanish-language movie También la Lluvia (Even the Rain), which follows a filmmaker and his crew who go to Bolivia to shoot a movie about Christopher Columbus. They arrive just as the 2000 Cochabamba protests are beginning, and soon become intertwined in them as one of their lead actors is also a leader of the protests.
The movie presents some very moving parallels between the plot of the Columbus film and the roles the actors are playing as compared to what is going on with the protests. The main and most emotionally impactful of these is the parallel plights of the Columbus movie’s Taino natives, who are being persecuted by the Spanish and basically being robbed of their wealth; this is devastatingly similar to the conflict between the Quecha-descended inhabitants of Cochabamba (who are serving as the extras playing the Taino) and the multinational corporations who have privatized water and are charging them excessively for it.

Water Privatization: Villainy or Necessity?

Water Privatization: Villainy or Necessity?. Interesting take on the privatization debate. I don’t think I necessarily agree with his (perhaps slight) pro-privitization slant, but he provides some thought-provoking insight and some new details to think about.