92 results for tag: Renewable Energy


Solar Project Completed and Dedicated at Temple Sinai of Glendale

With donations from over 50% of our congregation, we were able to raise the down payment for our solar panel system by the time construction was completed! Panels are anticipated to produce from 35 to 50% or more of our power as we continue to take conservation measures. We hope it will be encouraging to congregants to consider doing the same for their own homes.

Israeli Technology Turns Sludge Into Electricity

By TechIsrael Staff Photo by Sustainable sanitation It may look like mud, but sludge – the “leftover” semi-solid part of the stuff we flush down the toilet or pour down the drain, is a creature unto itself. Far more toxic than plain old mud, sludge has the potential to bust a city's budget, as it needs to be treated and disposed of. But it doesn't have to be that way; in the hands of Israeli startup Global Recycling Projects Ltd. (Ecoarrow), sludge pulls its own weight – providing “free” energy by turning sludge into – electricity! It's a neat trick that GRPL pulls off using solar ...

Lag B’Omer Program: Fire or Solar Panel visit?

What would you do? What lessons are you teaching/ role modeling? 1. The magic of a bonfire in a fire pit? and carbon emissions or 2. Visit a solar panel energy factory? and carbon emissions from the bus getting you there? Please share your thoughts! Pam

Israeli Winery Conserves Water (CJN October 2011)

This "Sustainable Jew" article appeared inthe Canadian Jewish News on October 6, 2011 I recently had the opportunity to spend a few hours with Alex Haruni, the owner of the Dalton Winery. While in Toronto, Alex was promoting the sales of the kosher wines Dalton produces in the Upper Galilee. While we were talking, Alex was monitoring the progress of his grape harvest back in Israel. What I found interesting is how the Dalton Winery produces its million bottles of wine in a sustainable manner. One of the important factors required to reduce the amount of energy consumed in wine production is the proximity of the production ...

Energy Conservation in Israel (CJN March 2011)

This "Sustainable Jew" column originally appeared in the Canadian Jewish News March 17, 2011 I was recently in Israel to represent the company I am currently on contract with, and to speak at a renewable energy conference in Eilat, co sponsored by the UJA Federation of Toronto. As part of a delegation, put together by Canada's National Research Council, I wanted to understand the current Israeli state of mind with respect to energy conservation and advances in renewable energy. At the same time I was tasked to determine if there was an opportunity to expand my client's energy consumption benchmarking software to Israel. ...

Synagogues Reduce Energy Costs (CJN February 2011)

This article originally appeared in the Canadian Jewish News on February 17, 2011 What role should a synagogue play in helping its members live a more sustainable existence? Should a synagogue lead by example or just respond to the requirements of their boards and their members. Are we dealing with a business decision or a spiritual imperative? Rabbi Voss-Altman of Temple B’nai Tikvah in Calgary was one of the first in the Canadian Reform movement to dedicate one of his Shabbat talks to putting a green spin on Parshat Noach. His talk focused on the responsibility mankind was given to have stewardship over the earth and to take care of ...

The Festival of Lights: The Spiritual Dimension of Energy

Oh, Lord, my God, You are very great; You are clothed in glory and majesty, Wrapped in a robe of light; You spread the heavens like a tent cloth. (Psalm 104:2) Hanukkah which means “(re)dedication” has also been called the “Festival of Lights” at least since the 1st Century CE as the earliest reference to this name is found in the historian Josephus: And from that time [the purification of the Temple by the Maccabees] to the present time we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights. I suppose the reason was, because this liberty beyond our hopes appeared to us; and that thence was the name ...

The Israeli Summer: Tent Cities, Bombs, Boycotts and Herzl’s Dream

NEW YORK (Aug. 22, 2011) — If you thought Theodor Herzl’s dream was fulfilled with the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948, think again. Thousands are camping out in Israel’s cities, demanding social change. Thousands more around the world, angered by the Palestinians’ situation, seek to boycott Israel. Meanwhile, Egypt, Israel and Gaza volley bombs and rockets in escalating attacks and counterattacks. Which brings us back to Herzl. His dream wasn’t simply the creation of a Jewish democratic state, but the creation of a model state — a place that would protect its environment, a place powered by ...

Israeli company brings light to third world countries

By Eva Levin Photos by Irene2005 and Globe Light & Water Systems Inc. The giant structures line most of our major roads and have become an integral part of the urban landscape. Yet to most Westerners, streetlights are so common they hardly get noticed by anyone. That is not the reality for most third world countries. Many African countries, for example, have a complete lack of street lighting on major streets, making it extremely dangerous to drive in anything but clear and sunny conditions. That is why Globe Light and Water Systems (GLW,) an Israeli company, has developed a new standalone light fixture that relies solely on ...

Lessons for Israel from Ghana

SEFWI WIAWSO, Ghana — About six years ago the Ghanaian government brought a delegation of Jews from the Israeli town of Dimona to Accra, Ghana’s capital, to speak about the importance of local agricultural production and consumption. But even though Ghana has a long way to go on its path to becoming a developed nation — becoming part of the so-called “First World” — there's a lot that Israel can learn from Ghana. For example, here in Sefwi Wiawso, a small town in southwestern Ghana near the country’s border with Ivory Coast, the synagogue — the only one in Ghana — is lit at night by ...

New System Tells You How Much Electricity Every Plug In Your House Is Using

By Alona Volinsky Photo by Rennett Stowe It doesn’t matter which country you live in, the price of electricity is high. So let’s say you want to reduce the monthly electricity bill for your home, or your office — how do you know where to start? Does a fridge consume more electricity than a dishwasher? A dishwasher more than a television? Does it cost anything to leave a device plugged in overnight? These are all questions most of us don’t know the answer to, because our electricity bills don’t break down electricity consumption for the various devices. That is why Dr. David Almagor, co-founder of ...

On Technology and Faith

I have worked myself up into a state of near-frenzy lately, driven by my concern for the state of the world and its inhabitants. Despite my best efforts to remain calm, it seems to me that Chicken-Little’s call of, “The Sky is Falling” rings truer every day. From widespread environmental destruction to pending economic collapse to illegal and unconstitutional U.S. military aggression, the future of the humanity is looking gloomier on a daily basis, headed, it seems, for a catastrophe of biblical proportions. This is perhaps an appropriate feeling for this time in the Jewish calendar, as we have just entered the period of ...