Green Course Leadership Training Solid Waste Clean Air Water Campaign Public Transportation Campaign Greening the campus
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Green Course is Israel's largest environmental volunteer organization, with over 6,000 student volunteers in 23 chapters on campuses across Israel. Through Green Course, students are active in education and media projects to raise public awareness to environmental issues. Projects include work with schools and youth groups as well as work with students on issues such as greening the campus.
Leadership Training. Promoting the Next Generation of Environmental Leadership With fellows participating from 26 campuses across Israel, the Environmental Leadership Training Program is already having a tremendous impact on Israel's environment. Some of the achievements so far include managing hundreds of environmental projects across Israel, raising awareness and running campaigns for clean air, promoting solutions to the water crisis and to public transportation.
Solid Waste. Every year, approximately 5 million tons of waste is created in Israel alone. When compared to the population growth – the Israeli population grows by 2% annually while the amount of refuse grows by 5% annually. As the country's land dumps can no longer accommodate our growing needs and amounts of waste generation, new measures are necessary.
Clean Air. For years, factories in Haifa’s port have been polluting the air, raising cancer and cardiac ailments levels 23% above the nationwide average. Green Course's campaign for clean air in Haifa’s industrial port area emerges as major project.
Water. The "Red Line" below which pumping water is harmful to the lake is -213M, the “Black Line”, pumping below which causes irreversible damage is -215M. This means that Israel today is below the danger line and approaching the point of no return.
Transportation has a central role in the world we live in with an average 12% of our income being spent on it. Did you know that in the 90s alone the amount of cars in Israel doubled and that since 2000, every year 45,000 vehicles were added to the roads of Israel??
Greening the Campus. Established by Green Course in 2005, the Greening Campuses Project was endorsed by the Ministry of Environment in 2007 with the goal of encouraging academic institutions to adopt environment-friendly management policies.

Productive Protest at Metals Factory

By Avidan Waldman

הפגנה מול מפעל חוד מתכות On November 22th, Green Course was involved in a protest at the Hod Assaf Metakot plant near Acre. The residents of Kibbutz Kfar Masaryk, located near the factory, joined with Green Course, and the Coalition for Public Heath to protest the lack of health regulations at the plant. The protest included groups of children with masks and signs to display the health problems in the Kibbutz. This was not the first protest or complaint made against the plant and comes as a result of plant workers and surrounding residents developing serious cancers and respiratory diseases. Israel Assouline, an employee of the plant, developed terminal malignant cancer from the toxins that were released from the plant. They found extremely high levels of lead in his blood. He died on October 11. As a result of the protest, a meeting is scheduled in the Knesset to discuss the issue.

Primary Campaigns - 2009/2010

By Avidan Waldman

With the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen just around the corner, Green Course examines its own initiatives for the upcoming year and Israel’s position globally.

קמפיין צעדה ירוקה - מגמה ירוקה תל אביב 009

 

Our primary campaigns for the year are:

 

As always, Green Course continues to battle the powers on the construction of the coal power plant.

Israel, Green Course: United with the World on 350 Day

By Avidan Waldman

Along with over 180 countries worldwide, Israel was a part of the International day of Climate Action. This day, October 24th, was full of over 5,200 different activities from around the world and defined by thousands of pictures with the focus on the number 350. It was the most widespread day of political action in the planet's history with more than 21,000 pictures showing the results. Arava 350 - green course

The number 350 is extremely significant in the fight for climate change as the goal of the international community is to lower our emissions to reach 350 parts per million concentration of carbon in the atmosphere. This is the level that scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Public Transportation Day

By Avidan Waldman

As part of International Public Transportation Day (Oct 19), Green Course ran seminars and held events to promote public transportation

The end goal is a vastly improved public transit system throughout Israeli cities.
 

Public Transportation Day - Tel Aviv 2

In Tel Aviv, the event was held outside the Cinematheque, where Transportation Today and Tomorrow (TTT) held a special conference on the topic. The event, which was part of a joint venture with TTT, included Green Course members dressed up as Minister of Transportation, Yisrael Katz, and Mayor, Ron Huldai, with each one seemingly blaming the other for responsibility to enforce the bus lanes.  Everyone entering the conference saw our signs and heard our message while inside the Cinematheque Minister Yisrael Katz announced that police will begin enforcing the bus lanes next week.

A victory for public transportation!

 

Green Course wishes you a Shanna Tova!

Shana Tova from Green Course (Year 2009-10)

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