Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Kibbutz Reim, located in the western Negev, became one of the fi rst communities in the world
to rely exclusively on solar energy.
In addition, Israel has also been in the forefront of research on geothermal energy, biofuels,
the use of waste to generate low-cost electricity, improved effi ciency for existing fuels, and
wind farms. The government has set a goal of producing 10 percent of the nation's electricity
from renewable materials by 2020.
Among Israel's most innovative projects is the development of electric cars — not only the
vehicles themselves but a national system of battery swap stations and places where the auto-
mobiles can be recharged. The effort, in partnership with a Danish company, is intended to
reduce both Israel's dependence on imported oil and pollution.
NATURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
There are approximately 100 mammal, 500 bird, 100 reptile, 7 amphibian, and 2,600 plant
species in Israel. Protected species include types of vulture, gazelle, ibex, and leopard. The two
main wildlife reserves on Mount Carmel in the north and the Hai Bar reserve in the southeast
work to save existing species and to rebuild the populations of species that once lived in the
country but no longer do. Among the reintroduced species are Persian fallow deer and roe
deer in the north and onagers and Arabian oryx in the south. A special feature of Israel's loca-
tion is that it is on one of the world's major bird migration routes. An estimated 500 million
birds cross the country en route to Africa in the autumn and to Asia or Europe in the spring.
Israel has a wide variety of conservation areas, managed by the Nature and Parks Authority,
totaling 2,300 square miles (6,000 square kilometers)— about 20 percent of the country's total
territory. The 142 nature reserves were established to protect forests, oases, desert areas, and
sections of beach and sea. Another 44 national parks preserve archaeological and historic sites.
Large-scale natural disasters are infrequent although they do occur. Earthquakes, fl ash
fl oods in areas with low rainfall, small fl oods, freak tornados, and forest fi res are all on record.
The Land of Israel was hit by devastating earthquakes in 1202, 1546, and 1837: entire cities were
destroyed, and thousands died. In 1927, a big earthquake in the central region of the country
caused 300 deaths and the destruction of 1,000 buildings. Today construction codes have spe-
cial provisions to protect buildings in the event of an earthquake. The last major earthquake
was in 1995 in Eilat and the Sinai Peninsula, but modern methods of construction and com-
munication minimized the damage.
The worst fi re in Israel's history took place in the Carmel region near Haifa in December
2010. A teenage boy accidentally began the blaze, which burned across thousands of acres.
When a bus rushing guards to evacuate a prison was caught in the fi re, the forty-one pas-
sengers died. Several countries and the Palestinian Authority provided aid in extinguishing
the fi re.
Israel has a reputation for providing swift and effective aid to other countries facing natural
disasters. Some of the techniques developed by Israel for dealing with the results of war and
terrorism — such as special equipment to detect people trapped under fallen buildings — are
useful in these circumstances. Among major efforts in this regard were the search-and-rescue
and fi eld hospital teams sent to Turkey and Greece after the 1999 earthquake and to Mexico
 
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