Route: From Habonim Beach to Netanya/Beit Yehoshua
Distance: 43.5 km / 27 miles
Time Waited: 30 minutes
The Story: The driver was 50+, large belly in tow, initially came across as a slob. We talked hiking trails for a while. He claimed to have hiked the Carmiel section of the trans-Israel hike, which is cool, except that... it doesn't exist. (I should know, I've done the northern part twice). He's a member of Misgav Am, but since he recently divorced and moved to Netanya, where he manages a potato packing plant (Israel harvests in August and April and exports to Russia and Europe). He's still a kibbutz member, returning on weekends to see his children, aged 16 and 18.
He was returning from the annual kibbutz-buddy gathering on the beach. For the first time each person was asked to bring their own dishes, to avoid using disposables, which "pollute the environment."
He built a grey water system for his packing plant. Potatoes are covered with dirt when harvested, and reach us clean. This requires a lot of water, which then carries whatever pesticides were used. The more water his plant re-uses, the less they dump (although the issue of concentration wasn't explained clearly). Such a system never pays itself off - the cost is high and water is still (relatively) cheap.
He believes that environmental and social education are of utmost importance: knowing more math won't turn kids into better people. People today believe money can buy anything; we've forgotten how connected we are to each other and to the natural world. The connection between excessive use of water and a general drought and shortage isn't being internalized.
Distance: 43.5 km / 27 miles
Time Waited: 30 minutes
The Story: The driver was 50+, large belly in tow, initially came across as a slob. We talked hiking trails for a while. He claimed to have hiked the Carmiel section of the trans-Israel hike, which is cool, except that... it doesn't exist. (I should know, I've done the northern part twice). He's a member of Misgav Am, but since he recently divorced and moved to Netanya, where he manages a potato packing plant (Israel harvests in August and April and exports to Russia and Europe). He's still a kibbutz member, returning on weekends to see his children, aged 16 and 18.
He was returning from the annual kibbutz-buddy gathering on the beach. For the first time each person was asked to bring their own dishes, to avoid using disposables, which "pollute the environment."
He built a grey water system for his packing plant. Potatoes are covered with dirt when harvested, and reach us clean. This requires a lot of water, which then carries whatever pesticides were used. The more water his plant re-uses, the less they dump (although the issue of concentration wasn't explained clearly). Such a system never pays itself off - the cost is high and water is still (relatively) cheap.
He believes that environmental and social education are of utmost importance: knowing more math won't turn kids into better people. People today believe money can buy anything; we've forgotten how connected we are to each other and to the natural world. The connection between excessive use of water and a general drought and shortage isn't being internalized.
