In 1970 American Senator Gaylord Nelson called for a day of protest and learning on April 22, as a response to what he felt was a looming environmental catastrophe. Over 20 million people participated in that event. This year on April 22 the world celebrated the 43rd “Earth Day.”
Communities, governments, groups and organizations all over the world declared their concern toward planet Earth’s well-being and called for awareness and action. Israel celebrated Earth Day as well. For the last few years, as a symbolic act of saving energy and raising awareness, cities have shut down their electric power completely for a few hours. Jerusalem decided to join to this initiative and shut down the Western Wall lights and city lights for a whole day.
Public live band shows in Tel Aviv got their necessary electricity from an alternative energy supplier – for instance, the whole audience might pedal on bicycles to create electricity. In Haifa the science museum tried to demonstrate global warming to the public by creating a water vapor cloud. In the south the day was marked by sending up an air balloon to see the amazing landscape and view that needs to be conserved. In other parts of the country, energy-efficient lightbulbs were given away. Schools all over the country participated in a recycling competition that caused students to become excited and want to take part in the cause.
Being a state that needed to invent solutions nonstop since the day it was established, Israel had to develop ecological and environmental inventions that work all year long. For example, to save water a smart drip system is installed and small holes are strategically placed along irrigation pipes to deliver water directly to each plant. They can also measure the hourly water flow quantity. Combined with a solar irrigation computer, they can set the exact amount of water they want to use during the most efficient hour of the day. Another example is the solar heater, which is being used almost in every household in Israel to save electricity.
Let’s make a decision to keep “Earth” clean and save our resources all year long!
