The Ben-Gurion Environmental Research Program

Are you interested in an environmental treat this morning? Then check out Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. They’re doing great work.

    Would you believe:

    *    drawing energy from algae;

    *    solar energy storage techniques that could eliminate the need for nuclear, coal or oil-based energy;

    *    desert agriculture that absorbs carbon dioxide gases;

    *    making every drop of water count;

     These are not full blown realities at the moment, but they are not dreams either. They are examples of the cutting-edge environmental innovation developed in at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

     Why? You've heard that necessity is the mother of invention. Well, Israel has an abundance of sun but no oil. It has desert sand in abundance that can be reconfigured into something like a sponge that absorbs carbon dioxide gases. It has sand and mountain dirt lacking water, but has invented ways to make the desert bloom. Israel now exports fruits and vegetables.

     Israel is dedicated to being a "green" nation out of self-interest, but its environmental survival is the world's survival as well.

     "From the desert for the world" is the mission at Ben-Gurion University these days, and I applaud their work.

Check it out: info@aabgu.org  or  www.aabgu.org