Opinion  Sever Plocker
Our 'green' mission
Sever Plocker
Published: 08.04.07, 21:35
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17 Talkbacks for this article
1. There's no man-made global warming!!!
Concerned Israeli   (04.08.07)
Global warming is not man-made. Humans only produce 7-8% of the CO2 in the atmosphere. Decaying plants, animals and water from oceans, lakes, rivers, etc. produce more CO2 than humans. The temperature has always fluctuated and it's a natural phenomenon. There have been many ice ages, as well as many periods when the average temperature was hotter than today - the 1930's, from the 1300's to the 1500's, and for about a thousand years in the Bronze Age. What's actually creating the rising temperatures is crazy and nobody would ever think about it... it's the sun!! The hotter the sun gets, and the sun's temperature does fluctuate over time, the more CO2 is produced from decaying plants, animals and water. It's the heat that's creating more CO2, not the CO2 that's creating more heat! And most of the CO2 created by the rising temperature is not even man-made anyway. The environmentalists, scientists, and politicians want us to believe that we're creating global warming because without global warming, they are out of a job. Global warming is a multi-billion dollar industry that doesn't want people to know the truth so they can get their funding and the politicians can get elected. You can't even question global warming because you'll be called an apostate and a capitalist pig who doesn't care about the environment and our very future. All in order to keep the dollars rolling in. The crazy thing is, all the most powerful forces - science, technology, media and politics - are at work to perpetuate this lie, although it would be wrong to call it a conspiracy. It's just an interest-based blind faith that's sweeping the world.
2. When I was a kid in Alaska the Glaciers were melting.
Steven Wilson ,   Anchorage, Alaska   (04.08.07)
The Glaciers have been melting before the automobile was invented for petes sakes. Now that all the greenies are noticing the glaciers melting, they have picked cars, people and whomever they can blame as the culprit. Since the Glaciers were already melting before the automobiles were invented, shouldn't we all, as brain rendering creatures, ask ourselves whether this is a naturally occuring phenomenon, that was already occuring whether we liked it or not? These same scientists can't even get the weather forcast right in Anchorage Alaska most of the time. They stand outside every night giving the weather forecast. At least they can say with certainty that it is snowing. Glaciers have always been melting for the last few hundred years. Odds are, people didn't have much to do with it. The earth spews methane and carbon dioxide, from the bowels of its volcanoes, while methane bursts from its ocean beds all day long. Who ever said this wasn't going to happen without scientific hysteria in the first place? These same scientists were claiming we were going back into an ice age while I was in highschool. What do these guys do.....roll dice on the weather patterns. We probably didn't have diddly to do with the warming taking place over the last one hundred years. And changing over fuels will be great to stop funding terrorist nations. As far as stopping the warming.....its more than likely a scientists wet dream.
3. Here's an Idea for an engine
Steven wilson ,   Anchorage Alaska   (04.08.07)
Make pistons that are magnetic, then reverse polarity from above, which would push them up and down, therefore pushing the rods up and down spinning the crank. You could change the magnetic fields power to give the vehicle more torque. A fly wheel with magnets in sequence might work just as well.
4. Build solar, use wind, let the arabs drink their oil.
Bunnie Meyer ,   Santa Monica,CA USA   (04.09.07)
5. If there is one country that can do it-its Israel!
Alan ,   SA   (04.09.07)
6. the wind from allsides
asefa ,   jerusalem   (04.09.07)
fox asked the bird on the shore .if the wind is coming from the right where will you put the head // the bird said to the left like that .. but if it is from the left .the bird said i would put it to the right like that /from above i will put it down like that /lastly the fox said if the wind is fromall the sides /israil said i will put it beneath the wing like that .in this moment thew weak one and stupid one was in the mouth of the future
7. alternative energy
ken ,   canada   (04.09.07)
I hope it is an Israeli who finally comes up with that elusive alternative. The irony would be palpable.
8. Re: Concerned Israeli
Stephen ,   Washington, DC   (04.09.07)
The issue here is not whether or not global warming is man made, but it is israel's strategic dependence on oil when oil is controlled by its enemies. Israel needs to develop alternatives, so that our enemies go bankrupt and we become the preeminent power of the Middle East as the only functioning diversified economy of the region.
9. Boycott SUVs and the like in Israel
Haifa, Israel   (04.09.07)
What, are we that stupid?
10. embarrassing
stephenl ,   brookyn, ny   (04.09.07)
Once again, the ultra-conservatives on this website are an utter embarrassment. Thank G-d the greater Jewish community isn't this reactionary. Imagine for a second that, despite the opinion of all respectable scientists, global warming IS just a myth. Even if it were the case, an alternative to oil would HUGELY benefit Israel.
11. For one I agree with Sever Plocker
Alex ,   Silicon Valley, USA   (04.09.07)
Even though I agree with #1 that Global Warming craze is mostly hype and even if it were true, a bit of warming would not be such a bad thing, I have to agree with Sever Plocker that we'd be missing a golden opportunity if we were to ignore the trend altogether. First and foremost, as the article rightly states, if it weren't for oil, we'd see Arab power dissipate, the EU and global attitude to Israel completely changed and peace finally possible. Secondly, there is a LOT of money to be made in green technology and Global Warming or not, we can all agree that having less pollution is overall a good thing. I agree that US and Israel should make it a national priority for develop green technologies.
12. My house has solar panels
A ,   US   (04.09.07)
Starting in maybe mid April and lasting through the summer, these generate more electricity than my family consumes in the house, which means that rather than buying electricity from the utility during those months, we generate it and sell it to the rest of the community. During the winter, the panels reduce our the amount of electricity that we buy. We don't have electric cars, so we're suffering through the same high gas prices as everyone else. Now, there are some problems. 1. Solar systems are too expensive. It takes too many years to earn back the cost of a system and start turning a profit, unless you sell your house in the meantime. The market for solar cells is dominated by Sharp http://solar.sharpusa.com/solar/home/0,2462,,00.html which is a good company but has *far* too little competition in this area. I'd love to see Israeli technology and manufacturing know-how enter this market and revolutionize it, whether with conventional semiconductors or nanosolar technologies. Given the concern over global warming, this is a business opportunity *now*. 2. Solar systems are not useful at night, unless they are being used to store up electricity in batteries or the equivalent. Batteries out-gas. It might be better to manage batteries on a neighborhood basis, not a house-by-house basis. This is not done today. 3. Current solar systems need roof space. However there is discussion of generating films that could coat windows and walls on skyscrapers or even roads, turning the very walls into generators. Israel's strong physics and engineering community could be working on this kind of thing. Global warming is real, and its likely consequences are a threat to Israel's coastal populations. Israeli companies could not only help to head off this danger, but also make a significant profit in doing so.
13. What Israel could be doing, but isn't
Raymond from DC ,   Washington, DC USA   (04.09.07)
First, the cheapest energy alternative remains conservation, and Israeli's don't conserve. Israel Electric removed any incentive for employees to conserve by giving them free or subsidized electricity. Virtually every light bulb I encountered in Haifa University dorms was old fashioned incandescent. (They also failed to install low-flow water fixtures, wasting yet another precious resource.) Highway speed laws are not enforced, leading to more wasted energy, and too many wasted lives. Even its mass transit projects are more energy and capitol intensive than they need to be. (cf. Portland's light rail alternative) Nor is Israel's public sector investing as it should. Research money is curtailed in each successive budget, and many of Israel's brightest minds go elsewhere because they're not adequately rewarded. Too much of Israel's budget goes to consumption, and not enough to investment. And yet, the potential is there. Israel could, and should, be a major innovator in the fields of control systems (which increase efficiency), high content batteries, solar energy, green chemistry and carbon siting. Innovations in treating nuclear wastes could allow us to take a cleaner path with fewer concerns. And while it won't reduce greenhouse gases, cleaner and more efficient exploitation of tar sands will at least reduce dependence on oil from unfriendly nations.
14. THE ISSUE IS PRIMARILY TO DIMINISHE THE arab STRONGHOLD ON :
MOSHE ,   US   (04.09.07)
THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY. EVEN IF THERE IS GLOBAL WARMING, SOME MEASURES OF ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY ALTERNATIVE ENERGY OPTIONS MUST BE MADE AVAILABLE SO THAT THE arab INFLUENCE CAN BE DIMINISHISED. DON'T YOU THINK THAT THE soodi princes HAD FOREKNOWLEDGE OF 911 & MADE A KILLING IN THE STOCK MARKETS THE DAY AFTER. LOOK HOW IRAN CAPTURES 15 BRITISH & OIL PRICES RISE. TERRORISM MAKES THEM MONEY. MOSHE
15. #10 Stepheni
ER ,   Canada   (04.09.07)
I don’t think anyone disagrees in the premise that the world is undergoing global warming: even Neanderthal man would have noticed the ice sheets retreating! The problem is that you dismiss a whole swath of dissenting opinion as not being respectable simply because they, and their data, do not agree with you. Now that’s embarrassing!
16. Alternative Energy, Yes! But Global Warming On Israel?
Paqid 16 Netzarim ,   Ra'anana, Israel   (04.10.07)
Concerning "global warming," it appears that, in addition to the deep disagreement among scientists, that many non-scientists are jumping to wrong conclusions because they fail to follow the scientific reasoning. Whether or not the scientists (or which scientists) are right, the first step is to understand the argument. Without getting into the technicalities of ocean conveyors, etc., basically, proponents of the "global warming" danger argue that global warming is bad because, counter-intuitively, it is ushering in an ice age. (If that doesn't make sense to you then you should be asking more questions about it rather than simply accepting the hype.) So the effect will be to make the European and most of American and Russian regions icebound. For Israelis (and others in more equatorial latitudes), however, instead of reacting with knee-jerk support of American, European and Russian doom-saying scientists, we Israelis should be figuring out more exactly how this would specifically impact Israel. Some scientists have speculated that the effect will be to exacerbate desertification here. However, I wonder if the opposite might be the case: shifting the world's breadbasket south into our latitude? Certainly, more ice closer means more fresh water available (even if rain is adversely impacted, which is yet to be compellingly demonstrated).. Perhaps it will be bad for Israel (desertification). But let's devote some serious scientific thought into its impact specifically on Israel rather than simply jumping on the bandwagon for the benefit of the big wealthy countries who are making the loudest noise. (Regarding alternative energy, of course, there's no question we should be urgently researching solutions.) My daughter is graduating with a B.S. in Biology from TAU at the end of this semester. After her stint as an officer working in a Tzah"l lab (a resolutely Orthodox girl who went from gan through high school in dati schools, BTW), she wants to pursue a doctorate in some area of environmental biology. So we'll soon see if there's any teeth in Israeli government or corporate resolve -- serious jobs and serious remuneration -- in these areas. Paqid Yirmeyahu Israeli Orthodox Jew Advancing Logic as Halakhic Authority Welcoming Jews & non-Jews www.netzarim.co.il
17. Israel's responsibility to search for alternative energy sou
Ellen Perlis ,   Modiin, Israel   (04.10.07)
Are you talking about the same Israel that abandoned/postponed the desalination plants when the drought "disappeared"? This is an equally important issue in the same arena.
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