Meeting – November 25, 2008

Mr. Margolis talked about the group coming from the States (Utah.) We are planning a barbeque at Wescott’s house on January 12 (Monday – day1). We want to leave school at 1:00 to go to kibbutz Sdot Yam (my house) to have a barbeque, tour of the kibbutz and lecture given by Rami Tsadok – maring biologist, environmental advocate. We will travel together by school van or bus to the kibbutz and return to the school maybe by 6 or 7.

We also had an idea to take a trip on Saturday, January 17 with this group of students from Utah. Travel north to see an organic kibbutz and hear what they have to offer.

Other trip ideas: We have a 2 day trip planned (on the calendar) in March. You guys should brainstorm ideas – what would you like to do for these 2 days (if anything.)


Loise spoke to the club about a possible joint project with the Spanish club. Loise will keep us posted of ideas for collaboration.

El Hanan and Connal are still working on the paper recycling boxes – by winter break each high school room will have a paper recycling box.

Bonnie continues to work with the earth boxes.

Compost box is full – box still needs to be painted – Shirin??? Bahia????

Daniella, Laura and Allie are making posters for the elementary school and will also go into the kindergarten classes to raise awareness of environmental issues.

Reina continues to give an ecology tip at each Monday morning meeting.

Margolis’ dream is that someone will take over the newsletter – writing about our club and what we are doing.

ECO-X Summary from Elhanan

From the ECO-X Club


Dear all,

Since the beginning of the year and during the recent months in particular, the ECO-X club has been operating actively to help the environment of our school to support the theme of ecology. We would like to share with you some of the latest events that were organized by the club and could be evidently observed around the AIS campus.

On October 22, a bake sale was conducted during the lunch of the high school and after the academic day of that date. This successful fundraiser obtained a total amount of 700 NIS for the continuation of the club activity.

Another fundraiser was arranged by the initiation of the club members for the "Soccer Tournament" of November 13. With the responsibility and attitude of the students, this event has been proven to be fruitful as well, raising 900 NIS.

Besides these occasions, the ECO-X club has also arranged a bike trip for its members and any other interested attendees. This trip, which was scheduled for November the 15 through the 16, rode the participants to the Tabor Mountain on the Lower Galilee of the north. The students as well as the guiders Mr. Margolis and Mrs. Wescott enjoyed the biking routes, which were accompanied with impressive landscapes and group activities. The ECO-X trips are open to the wide community and intend to promote the care for the ecological environment and simultaneously the fun that the participants gather.

In addition, the club members meeting on a fixed basis on Thursdays of day 2's keep developing their personal projects in association with ecology. As some of the projects were already executed, furthermore of them will be presented around campus soon. Specific progress reports of them will be announced in the newspaper.

Have a great weekend!
ECO-X

Round-up of different ideas and a Great Site

Okay...First the great site: Students For Change I am really impressed with the ideas on this site. Start here and keep hitting NEXT. Read over this and find a few things that actually might make a difference.

During out last meeting a lot of ideas were generated. I am pleased that some people have started their projects. I am waiting for others to get going. What you do does not have to change the world, it only has to change your world a little bit. So, to those who still need a project or an idea, speak to others and develop something that you personally feel might make an impact in your own life and perhaps, a few of us around as well.

Great job to the people who conducted the BAKE SALE. The money raised for this will go into lessening the cost of those who travel on our trips.

In search changing your diet? As part of my own personal project of addressing medical issues in our family, I have been researching for months and months aspects of diet. I recently came upon this amazing group of women (and a few men) who promote GREEN SMOOTHIES. I never, ever thought that one could drink greens in such a pleasing manner, but their recipes are so good I've begun dreaming in GREEN. I really invite others to take a look at their site, and though it seems to be a bit more for woman, guys you too can get a lot out of this as it is certainly for athletes as well. So, so view the RAW Divas, click on their name.

Another great site is is Tim VanOrden's Running RAW site. This guy has some great Youtube clips too (you can find these from his site), and he explains his diet and how it has helped him become an elite athlete.

Why do I include diet site you ask? Well, first these folks recognize that our Western diet just is not working. We are using pesticides that are literally killing us, stripping the ground of nutrients, and living a lifestyle that might not always be healthy. These folks suggest that you can deal with many of the stresses that life throws at you through diet and the use of organic foods (why are they so expensive?!) as well. Great ideas on all of these site.

Mr. M

Oct. 16 Notes

Notes: October 16, 2008
Next Week:
1. Mr. M will send a permission slip out to those who want to come on the trip. I need to have the down payment by next week.
October 22 (Wed-Day One) Bake Sale During lunch and after school
Tamar will put this into the announcements
Posters: Allie/Bahia/Shirin
Outside of the cafeteria
Set up- loise/dana/connal/allie/bahia
Mika will speak about this TODAY
Bakers and Barkers:
 Mr. M/Allie/Mika/laura/bahia
We will make a schedule of who is covering.
Need a cashbox from Mrs. Martinez


November 13 Football Fundraiser

Eco Footprint

Hey environmentalists!

Check out this interesting site:
http://www.ecofoot.org/

You can only select from a choice of two countries, unfortunately, but it's still very eye-opening. The site asks the question, "How many planets does it take to support your lifestyle?" You fill in information about your lifestyle and it gives you a report at the end. I got 4.1. How many planets are needed for your lifestyle? Comment and let us know!

-Sofie

Meeting Notes

Meeting: Sept. 18

New People: Give Mr. M your name and Email


Mika:
 Has sent in application for bottle collection
 Coordinate this with Avi in the middle school (he keeps these in a shed)



Issues that need to be addressed:
 Review your commitment to community service and which role you chose.
o What did you say you would do?
o When do you plan on doing this?
o Do you need anything from us?
o When do you see yourself completing your project?

Mrs. Aaronson’s Talk
Solar Panels/Wind
 Solar panels will be installed at AIS
 Considered and educational tool
o About 42,000 NIS
 We are looking at solar and wind power companies in order to compare.
 ECO-X student can/should sit in on these meetings to provide suggestions in regards to this project.
Water
 Trying to get approval for the use of ground water for our fields and gardening
 Going through various ministries
o Will be able to buy from the farmers
 ????Can we utilize the water from the air conditioners?
o How could this be collected
 Faucets are been improved though we have found some that have not been addressed.
o Point out those to Mrs. Aaronson and give her this list.

Electricity
 Looking at the more regimented use of timers
 We are doing much better than last year

Paper
 Blue bags are being brought by cleaners to designated areas
o Ofra can show you where these are
o Goes to a recycling area (Mrs. A will tell us where this goes)
 Perhaps those in this group can “teach” others through demos or lectures how to reduce paper usage (suggest

a number of ways to do this).
 Weekly announcements-can we lower the number going out? Leave a stack in front of the school.
o Has now been put into a mass Emailer and will not be coming out in paper form as frequently.
 Tamar’s idea in which an additional printer in put into the library for rough drafts.

Misc
 Teachers using less plastic
 21 times for a mid. Schooler to “hear” something
 _____ times for a high schooler
 Movie: Did you Know?

Okay...

Having some difficulty posting right now. I am trying to cut and past info from Word documents and get them onto the blog. Will keep trying!

Things seen in the "environment."

Ithought that this was a bit funny so I am including this here. Mr. M

Earthbox Planting

Thanks so much to the students who have helped out planting in these Earthboxes. It is the start to a project that I hope will grow over the years. Mr. M

Trip Summary

The ECO-X Adventure

By: Sofie Kouropatov

On Saturday, March 29^th some of the members of the ECOX Club traveled with Ms. Phan, Mr. Margolis, and Mr. Roberts to Caesarea to kayak in the Mediterranean Sea. The waters were calm, the weather was lovely, and even though the author of this article fell into the sea about a dozen times, kayaking was a very enjoyable experience for all. After a couple of hours of paddling, bumping into each other with the accompanying war cries, and trying out tricks (such as forming a line and climbing into your neighbor's kayak) the ecologically aware students were soaking wet and starving.

Luckily, that problem was soon resolved as we were all welcomed to the home of the extremely hospitable Ms. Wescott. We proceeded to pig out on delicious barbequed hamburgers, hot dogs, humus, salad, and eventually our own homemade deserts while conversing and playing I Never (which resulted in a myriad of amusing things, such as asking strangers for sugar and angry dances).

The day wound down as we sat around quietly enjoying the view of the sea. Waking up next day, the trip seemed all but a dream, with only aching shoulders and a slight tan serving as reminders of a truly fun-filled day.

Looking back, trips in which we spend quality time with nature are to be cherished. The members of ECO-X were given another reminder of the environment we strive to protect. We would like to remind you that whether it’s the sea, the desert or the mountains, please remember to take care of your surroundings the best you can. And if you can do that while enjoying kayaking and hamburgers, all the better!

The ECO-X Club thanks Ms. Wescott for her hospitality!!

Eco-friendly shopping bags are on sale for 7 NIS. Please contact Hellen Phan (hphan@wbais.org), Jamie Margolis (jmargolis@wbais.org), or any ECO-X members for more information.

Another site of interest.

This is an interesting site that speaks about the environment as well how to make a more sustainable school cafeteria.

http://www.treehuggingfamily.com/weekly-green-audit-school-cafeteria/

Some Sites, Some Thoughts

I. I rode in the Yarkon Park in Ramat Gan Saturday afternoon. Most times I try to ride early in the morning to avoid the crowds. So, when I got there at 4:00 p.m. I had a great deal of people to contend with who ignored the bike icons plastered on the roads and wandered aimlessly into my path. But, besides the dangers that this imposed on me, I was appalled to see the amount of plastic waste blowing throughout the park. Yes, the garbage cans were overflowing, and shame on the Ramat Gan park services for this happens all the time and they certainly do not have enough cans to collect this, but shame on us too! There is no excuse, none whatsoever, to trash our lands like this in such a habitual manner. Also, how much plastic do we really need?

II. Check out this site on Plastic. Look at the PDF's as well as the video clip. It is helping to change my behavior.

III. Also, take a few minutes to look at this site as well. Go to The Story of Stuff and spend a bit of time watching and reflecting on this video. We really do need to take a few moments to consider "stuff" as we tend to (myself very much included) use so much.

IV. And of course the 60's. Here is some great music from that Era. These are live concerts as well.

Article By a ECO-X Member

Article on Olive Crops- By: Yael Davidov

Right now there are problems with olive crops in the world affecting mostly the areas of California, Turkey, and Greece. Most of these problems, but not all, are due to the change in climate and weather and the small range of temperatures that olive trees can endure. So far the olive trees has been grown mostly in the Mediterranean area and California because they require hot temperatures, and relatively dry air yet at the same time, a great deal of water in the ground in order to develop good fruit.

In California many olive crops have been destroyed due to irregular rain storms, winds, and frost. This was damaging to the trees because prior weather patterns had been hot and relatively dry. However, the global rises in temperatures has affected them greatly. Also, a region in northern California called Mendocino, has seen a recent and unusual freeze that did not kill the olive trees but did damage their yields. The exact impact of the freeze has not been fully evaluated, but it is in the process of being assessed. In the meantime, the county’s commissioner of agriculture Dave Bengston, urges the farmers not to prune the branches that appear dead in the hope that they might recover.

The small hope for the Californian region is its microclimates! These are areas where for some reason the climate is unlike that of a neighboring region. The crops in some of these areas have shown an average yield if not a better crop than the ones of the previous years.

Large fires recently took place in Greece, though this perhaps was not a direct effect of climate change, it is nonetheless of importance and might be indirectly a result of the climatic change. In the Peloponnesian area of Greece 454,000 acres of olive trees, and not to mention the livelihood of many people, have been lost in this massive fire. While it is believed that the total annual production of olive oil will not be greatly damaged, only about four percent, on a local scale about 50% of the people are now dealing with economic stress and instability. These are people whose entire lives since they were young have revolved around the growing of the tree and the production of the oil its fruits provide. The country’s leaders of course are putting forth a great amount of effort in order to provide support and money to these people, but the future is problematic because the trees take about seven to ten years after they are planted before they begin to yield fruits, and the government simply cannot afford to sustain all these people for that duration.

In Turkey too, the olives have had difficulties this year due to a drought that hurt the trees to a point where a seventy five percent decrease of products this year is expected. We, especially living here in Israel, a country who depends a lot on agriculture, should be able to understand the importance of a crop not only for eating but for those who depend on it for income and therefore should be very active in trying to help fight this issues such as global warming (at least that part for which humans are responsible) seeing the devastating impact it can have on people.

I think it is pretty clear that the environment has a big effect on agriculture, and while you might still have olives available to you in ten years to buy at the supermarket, one must realize the impact that the failure of this crop can have in human terms. Since so much of the world is dependent on agriculture of rice, or potatoes, or wheat or any other of the staple foods, it is surprising that the fight for a better earth is not greater and more urgent than it currently is at this time.