Al Gore: Renewable energy is good for the Jews

(And also for Arabs, Europeans, Americans, Christians, Buddhists...) Gore spoke at a renewable energy conference held at Tel Aviv University. Chairman of the Association of Friends of the University, Amos Shapira: We must cancel the cuts in higher education and bring back brains that have fled

Many years ago one of the greatest entertainers in the history of television, Johnny Carson, gave an answer and then he opened an envelope and read the question and in many cases the answer was good, even without knowing what the question was. I have an answer - "Absolutely yes", and the question is written here on this page (picked up a note and read): "Is renewable energy good for the Jews. The answer is yes. It is also good for the Arabs, Americans, Asians, Europeans, Muslims, Christians."

Gur, who the day before on the same stage received the Dan David Award for the Present Time Dimension for his activities to stop global warming was a guest at the Renewable Energy Conference at Tel Aviv University, on the occasion of the establishment of an interdisciplinary institute combining about 30 senior faculty members from various departments at the university that will examine ways to promote the use of alternative energy in Israel.

"I am happy to speak from the same podium together with Shimon Peres, I am one of your biggest fans and supporters." Gur turned to Peres who spoke before him (and whose words and the words of the other speakers will be quoted later).

"Thank you for the honor of giving me the opportunity to speak about renewable energies. There are many questions about energy. We are at the end of an era and the beginning of a new era. One of the ancient prophets - gave a choice to humanity at the end of an era when he said - life and death, blessing and curse - choose life. We are at a turning point in world history today. We must choose between blessing and curse, life and death. The international scientific community has clearly told us that if we continue to rely on carbon-based fossil fuels as the main source of energy for the future and if we continue to burn the Earth's forests and heat the Earth the result will be a curse that will threaten the lives of our children and future generations. "

"But we have another choice - there is a blessing in the form of renewable energy - the sun, the wind, the geothermal energy of the earth itself, and if in the past this seemed like an impractical source, in recent decades a lot of work has been done by scientists and engineers and today it is a practical source of energy. Why has it taken us so long as a culture to see clearly the nature of choice? I once had a teacher who said that there is only one choice in life and that we experience it over and over again - the right and difficult versus the easy and wrong. The easy and wrong thing is to continue doing what we did in the past even if we know that the choice means death and curse. It is sometimes difficult to follow a new and unfamiliar path, but the result will be good for humans."

"One of the reasons it is difficult for us to see the nature of selection is because carbon dioxide, which is created by burning fossils, is invisible. It has no taste or smell. It is not absorbed by our senses and more importantly it does not come with a price tag so it is also invisible to our economy, to those who make business decisions every day. There is a saying "out of sight is out of mind". Psychologist Abraham Maslow said if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem will look like a nail. If the only tool you have for determining the values ​​of things is a price tag, then the things that come without a price tag seem like they have no value. CO2 has no price tag. As a result today May 20, 2008 we released 70 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. 160 years ago someone discovered that carbon dioxide blocks infrared radiation - it's a law of nature. When we increase the amount of this gas in the atmosphere we trap more of the sun's heat near the surface. We have expanded emissions dramatically and our planet has heat. If your son has a fever and if the fever lasts more than a day you go to the doctor. If the doctor does tests and comes to the conclusion that the fever is not a passing phenomenon but evidence of something more fundamental that needs to be treated - what will you do as parents? Don't tell the doctor that you read a science fiction book that says it's not true or that you heard an expert on the radio saying that there's nothing to worry about with a fever and that it's normal. Ask for a second opinion.

We asked our experts and asked them for a first, second and third and fourth and fifth opinion - the scientists say that the earth has heat and that it is due to the emission of carbon dioxide. 3,000 scientists who have been researching the field for 20 years and tell us time and time again that we need to stop emitting greenhouse gases.. They asked themselves how certain we are of the result. 99% sure of the result. Before the publication of the document, the approval of the governments is needed. The Chinese government asked to lower it to 90% and today many use this figure to say that if it is not 100% then it is possible from the report. If we go back to the example of the baby with the fever, if a doctor says that there is a 90 percent chance that it is a disease that can be cured and that you should take a certain medicine, you will certainly try it. This is a difficult choice, it requires us to make a change. Many people in their daily lives as individuals, in their family and in their community are faced with difficult choices and therefore sometimes avoid them for a long time, sometimes too long. We are in danger of waiting too long. Blessings or curses, life and death. The time to choose is now. The scientists tell us so. One of the previous winners of the Dan Dodd Prize, Jim Henson, one of the greatest scientists in the study of the Earth said that we could have had 10 years to start making a change before we couldn't get things back to normal and we wasted them. In a report he published a few weeks ago, he said that if we want to maintain conditions on Earth that will allow human civilization to continue, we must act immediately.

Fortunately, the option of choosing life is an open road and if we decide to make that decision as I believe we will, we will find that the wind is on our side, quite literally. That we have the possibility to switch at once from a dirty energy source, which comes from a dangerous part of the world, and is also expensive and whose price increases year by year, and replace it with energy that is provided for free forever. It seems like the right and hard thing to do. The easy and wrong thing will cause us more damage."

"These areas of the world that have deserts, felt as if they were left behind from some of the blessings given to others, but one of the great ironies of history is that these are precisely the deserts blessed with endless solar energy. Europe is on the way to a path of choosing renewable energy, came up with the idea of ​​a high voltage network that will connect all the major cities in Europe with underground lines to the desert areas of North Africa and the Middle East where electricity will be produced from solar energy. This is not a wild dream. Why shouldn't Israel be the leader in the development of the system and cooperate with other countries in the region and together play an important role in the supply of renewable energy?

One of the things I discovered is the need to preserve the earth. No matter what our religion or belief is, we feel that we have a moral obligation not to harm future generations. Now when the evidence shows that we do, and when oil costs $128 per oil and China is buying every reservoir, and coal is also going up in price. And that science explains what pollution means, and that engineers are charting the way to alternative energy, the choice between a curse and a blessing could not be clearer.

"For years, the people of Israel stood at the head of the guardians of human morality. We as humans must answer to the ethical laws that should guide our decisions. At this moment in history - for the first time all humans on earth must make a clear decision, which seems difficult according to the moral criterion - the people of Israel can lead the way to renewable energy."

Zvi Galil: combining basic research and gradual upgrading

The president of Tel Aviv University, Prof. Zvi Galil, who opened the conference, said: "As a scientist, I begin by defining the problem - the increase in energy use throughout the world, and especially in China and India, is due to the development of these countries and the increase in GDP per capita. As a moral act we cannot turn the clock back to the situation it was in the last century. However, we must reduce the weight of energy in every dollar of GDP. There is the demand side - the production of more economical products, but we are talking at this conference about increasing the supply. Unfortunately, one of the results is a transition to coal, but a greater use of renewable energies has also begun. Our challenge is to develop technology for more efficient production of energy from renewable sources, a green revolution.

The green energy companies are looking for ways to improve the product. Just as the computer companies invested in R&D and basic research to advance the basic science behind the production of chips and to double the power of computers every year and a half, we need something similar to Moore's Law or something similar to it for the field of alternative energies. We have established a super center which includes 30 faculty members and many students and which will bring together all the research that is done in various departments of the university. We will also investigate issues related to gradual upgrading: better solar collectors, and revolutionary upgrading of energy storage. As in any basic research - we will be open to the new and the unexpected. The results of these studies will have economic and political aspects and the significance for Israel is great.

Peres: Oil money is used to spread terrorism

President Shimon Peres told Gore: "What you say hurts a lot of people, but you can see much more clearly. We need to look at reality and go back to the time of the Garden of Eden when humans had to make the first choice between good and evil. As for the disturbing truth, this is not just a story of terrible development. We have a choice. If we do certain things we can get out of this."

"Israel can be an alternative force in the field of green energy. The first thing - the electric car that Israel will be the first to introduce. Israel will also present an alternative of solar energy, it is better for Israel to rely on the sun than on oil producing countries. It does not belong to the Arab League and we have plenty of it. We would also like to change public opinion so that everyone saves energy and water in their homes. "

"The biggest problem of our time is oil. Over 10 years, the price of oil increased 10 times from 12 to 120 dollars. It takes nature hundreds of thousands of years. Those who benefit from the waves of the wells. Not only does oil pollute, it also finances terrorism. Then there is a phenomenon like Venezuela from which Chávez spreads terror. Iran too - the oil made them crazy. Those who want to fight terrorism must fight the main source of funding - oil. The rulers of these countries are not sure of themselves. They try to buy dangerous things and pay any price for them. It also makes people there not to work, and the whole government system is in danger due to the large flow of money that comes to them without being accountable to anyone. China and India are very successful. Their growth is 10% per year but all their money is going to pay for the oil. I believe that the time has come to make fateful decisions to understand what evil is, how to stop it and where to fight it. The elections in the USA are an opportunity to change the perception in the USA and we hope that all the candidates will speak like Al-Gor."

"Oil sustained the world economy for 100 years, but 100 years ago we didn't have 6.5 billion people. We need global responsibility. We in our small country will do what we can. You are not just our guest, we are also your partners."

Ben Eliezer: Israel will develop independence in the field of energy

Minister of National Infrastructures Binyamin Ben Eliezer: "Al Gore convinced us that we are living in a disturbing truth. We must change the way we handle energy to preserve our civilization and our planet. Unfortunately in 2030 eighty percent of the world's oil consumption will still be from fossil sources.

Renewable energy will help humanity survive longer. It will also allow countries to improve their energy security. In my responsibility as Minister of Infrastructure, I say that the State of Israel undertakes to establish an efficient system in which renewable energy will be used. 20% by 2020, plans for 3 solar power plants have already been approved.

In the next two decades, Israel will be almost independent in its energy supply. Every year a new solar power plant will be built. We intend to build a total of 300 MW of wind power stations by 2011. I hope to declare the Negev a national area for renewable energy. Israel is committed to being a center of excellence in the field of renewable energy. As we succeeded in high-tech. Israel will participate in achieving the global challenge of a sustainable world. Within a decade we will revitalize the Negev and build solar farms that will supply 35% of Israel's energy consumption."

The publisher of Haaretz, Amos Shoken: "Yesterday (at the Dan David Awards ceremony, AB) Gore emphasized the importance of the media and creating a momentum that will enable people to take action to change the situation. The media has a role to play in helping to reach a public consensus on what needs to be done. Israel is a country that attracts attention. What we do here is important to us, but also sets an example."

Amos Shapira: We must fight the brain drain

Amos Shapira, President of the Association of Friends of Tel Aviv University: "I would like to take advantage of this fact that we have many businessmen and two ministers - we will talk about the people who will make the change. We all dream from our birth to the day we die. Some dream of a slice of bread and hot soup and others of a good steak and fine wine. Some dream that their son will say father and mother, and others want their son to be a manager in a communications company. To make the dream come true, two of the dreamers who also know how to realize the dream - Peres and Al Gore - both dream of a better world, a world with less wars, with less pollution, which will be good not only for our generation but for all generations to come. If there is a place where a vision becomes a reality - it is here at the university."

However, Shapira also warned: "What we have today is built on past investments in higher education. Between the two world wars the Jews were a third of the Nobel Prize winners. We must return to this, we must invest in universities and make higher education a high priority. We have the seeds to achieve our goals, and if we take as an example, the Porter School of Environmental Studies and the Alfred Akirov School of Business Administration. We need your support. Tel Aviv University intends to be one of the 50 best universities in the world. This is essential to our survival in this corner of the world. The State of Israel must fight the brain drain phenomenon. Over a third of our graduates in all fields work in the US. Many of them want to return to Israel and we must return them home. We need the best and the brightest here in Israel. Let's hope we succeed in this and make a better world for all of us."

On the same topic on the science site

• Solar radiation is responsible for at most one third of global warming
• The aggregate data also prove - man is to blame for the warming of the earth