Chronicles of a Water Crisis: Litzman Sheds Crocodile Tears and MK Tirosh Advocates Civil Disobedience

Keren Neubach is angry. Not only did the government pass a drought “tax,” on water usage over a certain quantity, the water authority raised the price of water by 50% beginning in January. Yesterday Neubach invited three people to speak on her morning program on Reshet Bet about water … [Read more...]

More Water-Saving Suggestions

Many Israelis are distressed to realize that they will be paying a lot of tax on excess water, maybe several hundred shekel a month. In my last post on the water crisis in Israel, I asked readers for suggestions. I'm going to compile the replies here, and add a few comments of my own. The … [Read more...]

Excess Water Usage: Can You Help This Reader Save?

Gidon Ariel left this comment on my post about the water tax: My bill is closer to 70 koob (cubic meters) for a family of seven for 2 months! (33 at 4 NIS, 14 at 5.5, and 24 at 7.9! Will the 20 NIS a cubic meter fine go on the last group only or also on the 5.5 NIS group?:-( And are we being … [Read more...]

Will Seeds Sprout in Microwaved Water? And My Son’s Surprise Experiment

I love to cook with my microwave. Sure, it's possible to manage without it, and there are better ways to defrost food. However, there are environmentally sound reasons for preferring it to conventional cooking: It only heats the moisture in food, so more energy is retained. Microwave cooking … [Read more...]

Petach Tikva’s Bat Cave

[My Purim basket Giveaway ends Monday, March 3.] Sometimes the urban environment is an ideal place for wild animals. Here's an example: In 2006, Petach Tikva's two hospitals merged to form the Rabin Medical Center. Since then, several new buildings have appeared at the Beilinson campus while the … [Read more...]

Environmental Dissidence

My son's school has been emphasizing the importance of the environment. He insists on bringing his sandwich in a reusable container and refuses a recycled bread bag. And a few months ago the school hosted an event on environmental topics, including making crafts with recycled items and a discussion … [Read more...]

Grabbing the Chapper: A Model of Israeli Tolerance and Cooperation

With national elections around the corner it's easy to spot intolerance and discord among the Israeli population. Yet I recently discovered an unexpected model of coexistence and cooperation--the chapper. I used to take the bus to travel to Tel Aviv. I knew about the minivan companies that … [Read more...]

Ten Things You May Not Need to Buy if You Breastfeed Your Baby

This post originally appeared on Green Prophet, and is reprinted with permission. Click to view over 70 comments (Haloscan). A common misconception about breastfeeding and babies in general is that they require special equipment. But we already know on Green Prophet that a mom who buys less is … [Read more...]

Green links and the water shortage

Super Raizy hosts Haveil Havalim: The Super-Hero Edition of the Jewish-Israeli blog carnival.Ilana-Davita hosts the "Green" edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival.Speaking of green, I ask whether whether a traditional eastern European diet is "kosher" for your health on the Israeli environmental … [Read more...]

10 Misperceptions about Breastfeeding a Baby

Check out the newest post in my series on breastfeeding at the environmental blog Green Prophet:10 Common Misperceptions about Breastfeeding Your Baby … [Read more...]