The new calls and the joining of economic tycoons to a dangerous project, the laws bypassing bureaucracy will silence the greens and hinder them from saving the willow that will be sacrificed on the altar of the apparent 'flowering of the wilderness'
They tell of a Bedouin who crossed a railroad track, his donkey that was following him stopped on the track, suddenly a siren sounded and a train ran over the donkey. Later, the Bedouin's wife bought a whistling kettle, when the Bedouin came home and asked for coffee, the Bedouin put the kettle on the fire, the water boiled and the kettle whistled, the Bedouin who heard the whistle, ran to the kitchen, threw the kettle on the floor and trampled it, his astonished wife asked... why? The Bedouin replied to her: These ones should be killed when they are small, otherwise when they grow up they become predatory.
The example is of course the tycoons who join the "Peace Canal" project, a canal that will connect the Bay of Eilat to the Dead Sea with the stated goal of "saving the Dead Sea". The silence of the green bodies is puzzling in the face of the project that once again raises its head the sea canal from Eilat to the Dead Sea.
the environmental damages and the economic and social illogicality of the project I detailed in a previous article . In the meantime, existing alternatives have come up to solve the problem of the Dead Sea and to supply water to Jordan alike, options that cost little and are highly effective, alternatives whose damage to the environment is small and can be repaired, but apparently the political "attraction" of the other options is not "sexy" enough, no one will receive Oscar awards for the other options. There will be no Jordanian-Palestinian-Israeli cooperation, there will be no high-profile gatherings and "world peace" will not arrive, therefore the mad gallop in the illusory direction continues.
It's a gallop of dinosaurs that are still trapped in "your clothes made of concrete and cement" even if along the way we strip everything good and existing and destroy every good part. Dinosaurs whose thinking stopped in the fifties of the last century, or alternately those whose megalomaniac enterprise hides from their eyes a fair existence in a natural, human, and socially sustainable environment, dinosaurs and tycoons who simply do not understand what environment is, what nature is, and do not know the land where they are planning delusional folly .
The mass "altruism" that spread among the tycoons of the generation must wake up the green bodies and put them into immediate action, since the megalomaniacal capacity of each of them is great and frightening enough. The connection between them and our president may prevail over any logical planning move and consideration, all of them together can cause an environmental disaster of enormous proportions. There is already talk of passing laws and installing regulations that will bypass "bureaucracy", when in our case the meaning of "bureaucracy" will be a correct thought in which all immediate and future social and environmental aspects are considered, planning with partners who understand the issue in all respects will be "bureaucracy" and will be bypassed by draconian legislation Shuts mouths and silences objections. And so, "within two years" the patient's desiccation failure will return multiplied tenfold.
"The flowering of the wasteland", "industrial, residential, worn and recreational areas", "an open canal with 200,000 hotel rooms along it", "jobs for a million - Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians", these are just some of the delusions that the tycoons plan, or at least advertise, where?... In the "deserted" prairie, how and why...? To save the Dead Sea! indeed?
So, for the information of the "altruists", the Arava is not deserted, in the southern Arava from Eilat to the north for about 70 km, there are about 10 settlements where the most developed and best agricultural methods in the world are applied (independent of the depleting water reserves of the center of the country). Most of the settlements provide accommodation and recreation for tourists and vacationers, who come to enjoy sites and desert landscapes and a variety of activities in nature. Not one of the visitors is looking for the nearest industrial area.
In other settlements, the development of unique products of great economic value. In the Northern Arava - from Farn to the Dead Sea, a similar picture: developed agriculture and ecological tourism enable the sustainable exploitation of a unique and special region of land. Not a wasteland, not empty, not a space that Gallo has. Between the settlements of the northern and southern Arava is a desert and dry plateau, today a rifle is used as a training ground for the army, perhaps here one of the tycoons is planning an "open canal.... " So the planners should know and the "genius" should understand that: this plateau is about 200 meters above sea level! Now go out and calculate the economic viability of raising water 200 meters to flow in an "open channel", in an area where most winter nights the temperature is below 0 degrees and most summer days above 40 degrees. Here the genius will build 200,000 hotel rooms, and bring a million workers here. Let's mention by the way that today in Israel there are about 60,000 hotel rooms. Now the cynic will come and say that the project is not pure "altruism"!
Another altruist is planning "industrial and residential areas" to be built in the "Desert Prairie", Mr. Industrialist: We prefer the existing animals to the wasteland of industry.
The initial impulse/excuse for the megalomaniacal ventures is the need to save the Dead Sea, a real, important and urgent need, but there are simple, effective, cheap and less offensive ways to save the Dead Sea, the basis for saving should be correcting errors (not creating more errors), That is: the flow of water to the Dead Sea through the southern Jordan and at the same time an offset in the activity of the Dead Sea plants (also on the Jordanian side). In order to allow the flow of water in Jordan, water can be desalinated to meet the demand in the country, desalination can also be done by transporting water from the Mediterranean Sea towards Emek-Beit-Shan, and operating electric (hydroelectric) stations. Enough "sex-appeal".
The Arava and its inhabitants do not need bigoted "developers and investors", those for whom the Arava is a wilderness for sheep, who see an environmental problem and pretend to solve it... by destroying the environment. The Dead Sea does not need an (additional) megalomaniac plant that will cause destruction.
Mr. President, gentlemen of the "saviors" let our desert remain as it is. Remove your hands from the Arabah and you will harm the environment, the Dead Sea needs to be saved but not by destruction.
To all the green bodies, raise your head and act to prevent a disaster, remember the Bedouin and the whistling kettle, predators of all kinds must be destroyed while they are small!
20 תגובות
Too long for an obligatory short. I don't have time to read everything and don't be offended, I don't mean to offend, but your research is not that interesting.
A water canal is not the right solution. This is the most "comfortable" solution for entrepreneurs who control the place.
The correct solution is to flow water into the Dead Sea naturally and moderate the activity of factories from Israel and Jordan.
Just like it says in the article.
think 10:
Is it out of 100?
In a world where a shortage of fresh water is developing (a shortage that is predicted to even lead to wars) and where the solution that has been talked about for a long time is the desalination of sea water, do you offer us a way to salt fresh water?
seriously?!
The water we stole from the Dead Sea must be returned so that the sea does not disappear soon - how? Probably not by simply salting it in sea water but in clean water.
It should be suggested to the USA and Europe not to invest in the sale of arms to Syria (following a peace agreement?) to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel, but to invest in a project of buying water and transporting living water from rivers from Turkey through Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the West Bank, Sinai and Gaza. Instead of financing the provision of weapons Hadish, the chaining of the entire region in a project where everyone will depend on everyone else. Damage to Israel's water supply from the carrier will harm Gaza, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia and Jordan, everyone will have an interest in keeping the project active.
It is also possible to allocate some of the water to flow to the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee to generate electricity that will be used to pump the water in this project. The willow can develop from living water without destroying the Dead Sea with seawater.
To 1
A trending article and a good thing! Because it is controversial
And I'm interested in reading the readers' comments and what they think
Because the surfers on this site have extensive opinions on many subjects that even exceed the above articles, whether I agree with them or not!
Avi Blizovsky
It is clear that there are several alternatives behind which different interest groups. Isn't it possible that one of the groups is trying to thwart its rival to promote a certain program, you don't need a PhD for that. And there are other stirrers like the owners of the Israel Company who want to get the most out of the Dead Sea with maximum speed and minimum expenses. In my opinion, the current situation is very favorable for the production of the various minerals for which it competes in the world market. The dilution of the Dead Sea water will not work in the interests of the Ofer brothers and co. They do not lack resources to buy 100 doctors and 50 professors, maybe a little more. The Ofer brothers care about the greens just as much as they care about their workers in the Dead Sea factories who are exposed to various toxins without sufficient protection that may reduce profitability.
The "expert" who does not identify himself - #10 - demonstrates a lack of knowledge that is common in many, the intention of the Rev. and other lists on the subject to provide little of the knowledge
which will allow the issue to be brought up for discussion at an appropriate and respectable level,
11's response only shows how widespread ignorance is,
And it has already been said that "ignorance is not a flag worth waving"!
How exactly can the opponents pay, after all the funds they have, if any, are null and void in sixty compared to the capitalists promoting the megalomaniac plan?
The green cloak of self-righteousness in which the writer wraps himself cannot hide the shameless shame he received from those stirring this cauldron.
Infuriating and angry article. One should think twice or thrice before publishing such an article that can arouse opinions that are not correct.
The Sea Canal is the right solution, water in the Arabah, water in the Dead Sea, cheap electricity and more. But... as always there are casualties and the fear is rising that the reporter is representing them or some of them. The Dead Sea factories, public money given to a Phat family could be harmed. So on the altar of the good of the individual, the article tries to neglect the good of the many
Asaf:
By the way - you probably meant the Nobel Peace Prizes and not the Oscars.
For the optimistic nature lover:
You didn't understand the author's intention - he was talking about how the alternative solutions will not bring world peace and therefore they should not be used and prefer this solution which in his opinion (the very optimistic one - it must be said) may actually bring world peace.
And now to collect:
I do not know enough about the subject to judge the nature of the various solutions, but it is puzzling to me that you disdain the possibility of world peace or Jordanian-Palestinian-Israeli cooperation. Are these trivial things in your eyes? I am not claiming that the canal will necessarily create them, but that is not your claim! Your claim is Even if the Sea Canal leads, among other things, to these results, they are not worth the price.
It seems to me that this claim goes beyond your areas of expertise.
A. Ben-Ner
If I am not wrong then you are.
As Torricelli discovered at the beginning of the 17th century, suction can only raise water to a height of 10 meters (and today it is clear to us that suction raises the water using atmospheric pressure and this pressure is of one atmosphere - exactly the pressure of a column of water at a height of 10 meters).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelista_Torricelli
If I'm not mistaken, it's a pipe, not very large, say 1 m in diameter, and provided it's sealed throughout. If it dips at one end into the Mediterranean Sea and at the other end into the Dead Sea, and if it is completely full of water, then there will be a constant flow of water from the sea.
the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea even if it is not buried in the depths of the earth and this, with almost no energy investment. Even the initial investment in such a project will be infinitely small compared to the alternative of the canal (closed and open) with tourist entertainment sites and all that. In my opinion, there is no need to link the Sea Project with other economic and tourist projects because, what has been created is a monstrous "white elephant" that for decades has not been able to "raise itself" and weave skin and tendons out of pretension. It is better "one bird with two hands on the tree" or in direct words, it is better one small and dedicated project that works, than a huge "multipurpose" planning that we do not have enough power to carry out and whose results...who will contribute.
It only takes one prime minister with a little sense to understand what is needed, and make the right decision.
We turned to the rising sun,
Our path turns east again.
We look forward to a great time,
Keep your head up, our soul has not yet swum.
We carve a fate with a high hand,
Carrying in the heart a burning hope.
We remember that we have a nation,
We know, because we have a homeland.
We are going to the end of the obvious,
A dream of freedom together will come true.
We strongly advocate for tomorrow,
And column by column we will always go forward!
The article is indeed very badly written, but parts of it must be taken seriously: this will not be the first time that "megalomaniac" ventures for the needs of Nobel Prizes of one kind or another are made without considering the real needs on the ground. At the same time, as I already wrote at length in Assaf's original article (in the link he provided in this article), I think that under proper planning and objective evidence (not mine, that of the decision-makers) the option of the Sea Canal should be taken into account so that the gain will be greater than the loss. Of course, all those problems that the writer points out should be taken into account and everything should be done to eliminate them or minimize them to a great extent.
If filling the Dead Sea is really the whole point, it seems that desalination could meet the need for much less money. A water line from the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea also appears to be shorter. Let's hope that the decision makers will be professional and less politicians like the example of our beloved president.
Greetings friends,
Ami Bachar
The area sits on the fault line. Any failure will destroy the entire project of settlements in the Arava, especially those south of the Arava intersection in Eilat.
Although we really shouldn't expect "world peace" thanks to the canal, the benefit is great.
Saving the Dead Sea is not the only goal. Preserving nature is very important, but the overall political interest is also important. Investing in infrastructure has a positive direct relationship with employee productivity, a very problematic issue in Israel.
It must be believed that the environmental surveys (with an investment of 15 million dollars financed by the World Bank) will raise the environmental problems and solve them.
The huge project ignites the imagination and the people behind it are wise enough to provide a proper solution to the environmental and engineering problems.
By the way, the decision to build Highway 6 was made in 1974 and it took 30 years to get it started, in most Halmaot they don't charge differentially and at night it's empty, and they only built 2 lanes. Let's hope they learn from their mistakes...
I hope to see the canal in my lifetime
Not everyone has to agree with you, dictator!
It's been a long time since I've seen such a biased and objective article in a scientist