Israel is using green technology to help itself both economically and diplomatically, an Israeli official said at the Reitz Student Union on Thursday night.
Deputy Consul General of the Israeli Consulate General to Florida and Puerto Rico Paul Hirschson spoke Thursday in the Matthews Suite at the Reitz as part of “Israel Goes Green: Israeli Leadership in Green Technology.”
He discussed various environmental advances Israel has made in recent years in sustainability and other environmental challenges facing the country.
The event was sponsored by Gators for Israel and several other student organizations including Gators for a Sustainable Campus, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Geography Club.
Rafael Yaniz, the president of Gators for Israel, said Hirschson decided to make the trip to UF after Israeli Consul General Ofer Bavly encouraged him to do so.
“When we saw Hirschson’s background was in the high-tech sector, we decided to have him speak on Israeli environmental developments,” Yaniz said.
One of the sustainability practices Hirschson spoke about was water reclamation, or water recycling. Hirschson said Israel is utilizing the process to a much greater extent than any other country in the world.
He said the process in its simplest terms entails collecting the wastewater rather than letting it soak into the ground. The reclaimed water can be used for several purposes, including replenishing bodies of water and drip irrigation.
Jamie Schindewolf, the president of Gators for a Sustainable Campus, said if America adopts some of the same practices that are prevalent in Israel, it would see great progress in sustainability.
“We have a history of water problems in Florida, and it would be great if we could work towards a water structure like Israel’s,” Schindewolf said. “They have grabbed an opportunity and ran with it, and that is a model we should work toward.”
