Of Symptoms and Causes The Antecedents of Israel s

Of Symptoms and Causes The Antecedents of Israel’s Environmental Challenges By Prof. Alon Tal , BGU

Milk and Honey or Pollution and Toxics

Geometric Population Growth

Ministry of Environment Budget 2002 -2004 (in millions of shekels) PERMISSION TO COMMIIT TOTAL ALLOCATIONS Special allocations NET ALLOCATIONS YEAR 20, 153 203, 567 14, 469 189, 098 2004 תקציב 31, 200 31, 406 245, 340 293, 896 13, 225 23, 496 232, 115 270, 400 2003 תקציב 33, 000 62, 896 227, 797 341, 367 14, 152 22, 541 213, 645 318, 826 2002 תקציב

Itinerary: • Quick Review of Israel’s Environmental Condition • Historical “Zionist” influences • Ideological Axioms & Environmental Impacts • Towards Sustainability

Air Quality in Tel Aviv The Epidemiology of a Public Health Disaster

מקורות הזיהום

Mobile Sources: Older is Dirtier! Figure 1. Idling tests results Figure 2. Percentage of vehicles which passed the idling test Gutman, 1996 (Technion Research)

Water Quality - Coastal Aquifer (Israel Hydrological Service 1999) Tel Aviv Gaza Tel Aviv WHO - NO 3< 45 ppm Israel Average 1998 = 58 ppm Gaza WHO - Cl – < 250 ppm Israel Average 1998 190 ppm

Mineral Water in Israel: The New Necessity Adam Teva V’din’s 2005 Report on Poverty and the Environment: 72% of Israelis drink mineral water

Stream Restoration in Israel An Unmitigated Failure

The Kishon River Pathology 60 former naval frogmen suing Haifa Chemicals and others (for 500 million shekel) Atzmon v. Haifa Chemicals 50 fishermen – demand 150 million

Impact of overpumping § Nitrate and chloride concentrations 1975 -2000

POPULATION 2020 1990

Desertification – The Environmental Orphan

Israel’s Climate is changing Today’s changes are far faster IPCC models suggest up to 35% precipitation drop 3 -5 degrees (C) rise in temperatures: 2071 -2100

Israel’s Report to the United Nations Climate Convention 4 -8% projected drop in rainfall 10% increase in evapotranspiration Dramatic increase in rainfall intensity Continuous temperature fluctuations Sea level increase of 12 to 88 cm.

The Total Rainfall Amount Comparison between Israel & Jordan

Rainfall Patterns in the Arava – 24 mm and 22 mm drop from 40 years ago.

Drylands Index humid dry sub-humid semi-arid 007 מ"מ Hyper-arid 30 mm Shifting rainfall gradient

Ministry of Environment Research (2006) Summer temperatures up 1 degree each year recently Chance of summer days being “very hot” up 300% in past 40 years Days that Jerusalem temperatures exceeded 35 degrees (95 F) up

Climate Change Scenarios for Israel 5 cm. increase in sea level

Scarcity is no longer inevitable

The Eilat Desalination Facility

Desalination/RO –Drawbacks Space on the Beach Use of Chemicals Phosphates/Boron Control Cumulative Impacts of Brine Energy – GHG Emissions

Ashkelon: The Next Generation

Government Decision #246: May 14, 2003 A Strategic Program for Sustainable Development in Israel The Policy of the Government of Israel will be based on the principles of management involving Sustainable Development that integrate: a dynamic economy, wise utilization of natural resources, protection of ecological systems and granting equal opportunityt ot all/ This , in order to answer the needs of the present generation an dthe needs of the future generations – pursuant to previous government decision 2426 from August 4, 2002 and th espirit of th edecisions from the World Summit for Sustinable Development that took placein Johannesburg South Africa, (August-September 2002)

Some good news: Drip Irrigation 40

§ End of 1950 s – low cost plastics makes it possible. § In 1965 Netafim Corporation established at Kibbutz Hatzerim. § Today over 200 million dollars in annual sales. § Used world-wide from marijuana growers in California to vegetables in Afghanistan. § Israel’s 50 th anniversary: voted “best invention. ”

Drip Irrigation: Benefits § § § § Evaporation is reduced relative to sprinklers Can irrigate steep landscapes. Eliminates drift during wastewater reuse. Allows for precise chemigation. Delivers to the root zone. Automation = optimization Water use per yield drops!!!

Subsurface drip irrigation: The Next Generation § § § Conserves water while: controlling weeds, minimize runoff and evaporation, increase longevity of laterals and emitters, ease use of heavy equipment in the field, and prevent human contact with low-quality water. Labor saving (avoids seasonal installation).

Water Harvesting in Israel Floodwater can be used for 2 purposes: 1. To improve quality and quantity of ground water by replenishing aquifers. 2. To impound floodwaters for direct supply to irrigation systems in nearby fields.

"And now it is my turn for a terrible confession. I object to nature preservation. The very ideal of "preservation" is not acceptable in almost any area of life. We have not come into this world to protect or preserve any given thing, mitzvah, nature or cultural heritage. . . We have not inherited a museum, to patiently wipe off the dust from its displays or to polish the glass. . . Nature also is not a museum. One is allowed to touch, allowed to move, to draw closer, to change and to leave our stamp. . . Touch the stone. Touch the animal. Touch your fellow man. On one condition. How to touch? . . To answer on one leg" and in a word I would say: 'with love. ” Amos Oz, 1981