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Environment Israel: A looming ecological disaster Israel, the biblical �Land of milk and honey� and a country where many Newtonites have connections, faces increasing environmental hardships. Since I first visited Israel almost 30 years ago, its problems have intensified: unchecked urban sprawl, enclosure of public spaces, coastal erosion, air, water, noise and scenic pollution. Add to that burgeoning population growth, increasing corruption and poor implementation of relatively good environmental protection policies. During an extended stay in Israel this summer I came away with the impression that at the core of the country�s environmental malaise is its accelerated infrastructure boom characterized by the frantic building of roads and power stations and its overtaxed systems of waste disposal and drinking water. In a rush to settle half a million new immigrants in the 1990s, temporary neighborhoods sprung up close to existing cities and towns. Then, as in the past, for political and ideological reasons, the Israeli government, (particularly Arik Sharon, then Minister of Housing) dispersed population by constructing new towns along the Israeli side of the green line resulting in loss of the country�s most important open spaces. The �green line� is the demarcation of lands occupied -- or won, depending on your political persuasion -- following the 1967 war. Next was the Cross-Israel Highway #6. Initially conceived in the mid 1970�s, detailed plans for the road were approved in the early 1990s to relieve transit pressures in the coastal plain where commuters spent hours daily in traffic jams. But although Highway 6 is open and being used, they still do. To some, the cross Israel highway has made life easier, but to environmentalists, Highway 6 is a kiss of death. Almost every environmental organization in the country objected to it. New environmental organizations were established as citizens and the media came out strongly against Israel�s first toll-road. Industrial centers and shopping malls will be built along its numerous interchanges. New lateral (east-west) connector roads are under construction to provide access to Highway 6. Clogged intersections have been neglected as resources flow to the new highway�s construction and mass transit alternatives have been largely ignored. Israel is blessed with an abundant energy resource: sun. But other than a law passed decades ago requiring a solar water heater on residential units, the country relies almost entirely on burning of imported coal. An Israeli company is building a commercial solar energy facility in California, but only experimental facilities exist in Israel. Energy conservation also takes a back seat. The road between Jerusalem to Tel Aviv is lit all night in its entirety generating an eyesore of huge lampposts during the day and wasting electricity at night. Electric towers and power lines crisscross the country causing once beautiful vistas to look like industrial wastelands. Much of the highly populated central area gets its drinking water from the Galilee via a man-made canal constructed in the 1950s. This impressive engineering feat brings water from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), which serves as a natural reservoir. In drought years the water level of the �sea� goes dangerously low. Despite some dire situations, the Kinneret�s minimal water line, below which the canal�s intake would not function, has been maintained. The Dead Sea however is dying. Both Israel and Jordan divert water from the Jordan River, which used to feed the Dead Sea. The water line is receding at the rate of approximately 5 feet per year. Deep caverns, termed �swallowers�, have formed on its shores because the layer of subterranean salt dissolves as the underground water table is impacted. There are now hundreds of these deep holes rendering agricultural lands inaccessible, collapsing roads and bringing an end to many prime tourist facilities.  Israel�s environmental situation is not without its bright points. A beverage container recycling law passed in 2001 and the public has proved its desire to participate. Large collection cages are found every few blocks and they are constantly filled and emptied. Unfortunately, discarded plastic bags float about in the wind like leaves. Israel is a small country and one of the most densely populated. The future of the country and its inhabitants depends on improving the political situation of the region but well-being also requires environmental quality. On a positive note: Israel now has numerous grass-roots environmental organizations, some with American �Friends of� counterparts. Michelle Portman is a environmental policy researcher and has Masters degree in planning from the Technion in Haifa, Israel. |
