#4 in CleanTech investment in the world - Go Israel !

No surprise, that Israel is in the top 5 countries in the world that invest in CleanTech.
http://www.israel21c.org/briefs/israel-4-in-clean-tech-investments
And Yay for Canada - that's 2/2 of my citizenships, now if only I could get honarary citizenship in Denmark, Germany and Sweden I would have 5/5. Not applying for citizenship.
But take that with a grain of salt and compare it to this article also published today ! (There are no coincidences!)
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000682512&nl=1380

Israel's untapped cleantech potential

Israel's cleantech sector needs policy incentives and legislation in order to interest private investors.

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Article talks about how the Israeli gov't should fund more CleanTech companies. 

Today, I was at a Ministry of Infrastructure Q&A session on funding demonstration projects. 1.5 - 2 million shekels for a demonstration project (after R&D) worth up to 50% of the project costs. 15MM NIS total to be given away. 

LEDs are they good for us?

This study would argue not.
http://www.israel21c.org/briefs/study-links-led-light-and-cancer
But then again what is good, except for sunlight (filtered of course to compensate for a thinned ozone layer.

Or are CFLs best?
So it's like this.
While Thomas Edison is rolling around in his grave because countries are making it law that incandescent cannot be sold, he did of course only try with 10,000 experiments to find the right filament to go in the lightbulb. Countries like Australia (first) and Israel (75 watts and above as of 2011) cannot be sold are getting on the eco-efficiency band wagon. But what's next LEDs?

Let's look at it from an electricity perspective.
100 watt incandescent = 15 watt CFL = 7 watt LED

OK now price
99 cents = ranges say $5 = $12
Breakeven assuming 15 cents per kwh?
when 0.99 + 0.15*0.1*x = $5 +0. 015*15*y = 12 + 0.015*7*z
or at least something like that.
answer
for an LED to pay back would take 6 months as compared to an incandescent and 25 as compared to a CFL
assuming 4 hours of use per day.
considering an LED has a life of 30,000 hours (20 years at 4 hours per day)
LED wins on the money side.
There are whole spectrum lighting, but they are much more expensive, like $30 a bulb.

CFLs are most cost effective today, LEDs will come down in price.
Health-wise - a cell phone is probably more lethal then an LED.
Shai

Green Start-Up Nation - connecting to our roots

Lots to talk about today.
Will talk about all the exciting things off Israel's coast in terms of slowly becoming energy independent another time.
Proud to note that Benzi Ronen, a friend, one of my first new friends in Israel, is doing B"H well, in a competition in San Francisco http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000682124&nl=1380
Very Jewish to try to cut out the middle man !
Farmigo connect the farmer directly to the end-user by taking the orders and organizing it for the farmer so that all they have to do is package it. Farmigo takes care of everything else.

Published today was an article about Jewish Sustainability practices based on a Farm in Maryland.
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/the-jewish-thinker/green-judaism-balancing-sustainability-and-tradition-1.383959
Proud to say that I had something to do with www.shoresh.ca in it's previous organizational form Torat Hateva. Go Risa ! They are up for another grant to continue educating the Jews of Toronto and surrounding areas in getting connected to our Jewish Roots (pun intended) by planting and harvesting and learning about what it's like being a Jewish farmer.
Recently, we grew some red peppers on our balcony, WOW were they tasty, picked right off the vine and into our salad. They were well - alive ! Very hard to convey in a blog. Need to grow your own peppers and experience it yourself !

So what's the theme - connecting. What's the goal in life? If we dig deep down we want to connect to each other, to the objects we hold sentimental value and to the Creator - G-d. It's really easy to connect to objects, they don't really talk back to us - except computers, they give us constant error messages, but also lots of productive work ! People, well, relationships need building, nourishing and maintaining; G-d, so it seems like a one-sided discussion, but really isn't. So let's connect in an appropriate way with all of our and others' possessions, each other - especially family - and G-d. Each is a whole topic unto itself. Want to keep these relatively short. Till tomorrow.

 

All beginnings

All beginnings are rough. The beginning of journey is the first step.
For too long my friends have been bugging, nay, encouraging me to blog.
Too tired, not enough time, - I made many excuses.
Even when I was in Yeshivah (Jewish men's learning centre) I was asked why am I not writing about my niche field of Judaism and the Environment. And now I add, and Technology.
So here we have it, the first step in a long journey.
I hope it will be equally enlightening for me as its readers.

Here's a thought to ponder.
As I engage in the Mitzvah of Bar Kayema (ancient Hebrew - having children, modern Hebrew - sustainability) and as I look at our youngest of three, Mordechai Yehudah, as he begins to walk, exploring, mumbling words, I am reminded that taking care of him, receiving and taking care of his special neshamah (soul) that G-d has provided us with (and all our children) to take care of, is an immense responsibility - what kind of world are we continuing to build here? What will the world be like when he is my age or even half my age. Will we still be on fossil fuels as much as we are now ? Is there a choice? Can renewables ever fully replace oil? Is there ehtical oil?
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/reader/0771046413/ref=sib_dp_ptu/187-8239093-8858464#reader-link