- Risks Associated with Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Recycled Wastewater
Israel leads the world in effluent irrigation, recycling over eighty percent of its treated sewage. At the same time, a 40% drop in sperm count among Israeli males, the increasingly low age of menses among pubescent girls, the high rates of testicular and breast cancer all suggest that Israelis face high exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals. Is there a relationship between these two phenomena? In this three-year study, supported by the MERC program at U.S. AID, along with co-PIs, Shai Arnon, Nader el-Khateeb and Alfred Abed- Rabbo I seek to characterize the exposures and risks associated with a variety of endocrine disrupting chemicals in wastewater and its presence in the Israeli and Palestinian environments.
- Sustainable Population Policies for Israel
Israel's population has increased eight-fold during its 65 year history. The northern half of country which contains 93% of the country's people, is already one of the most crowded places in the develoed world. At the same time, Israel's present 3.0 Total Fertility Rate is by far the highest in the OECD. Within 35 years the country's population will double. After many years of work in the environment it became clear to me that the country's ecological challenges will not be successfully addressed if population pressures continue to increase. Because of cultural sensitivities, this topic is not a popular one for policy researchers. But it is critical to begin to consider the issue and the potential of demographic policy reform if Israel is to have a sustainable future. I am particularly interested in characterizing Israel's carrying capacity and the role of population density on human well being.
- History of Forestry in Israel
Israel's woodlands tell an extraordinary story. By 1918, centuries of deforestation had left less than 2% of the natural forests intact. The country's energetic afforestation efforts have been an exercise in "trial and error" as lessons were learned about how to manage woodlands sustainably in the drylands. As chair of the committee that oversees Israel's forestry policy in recent years, this topic is of particular interest to me. But Israel's experience also matters a great deal for an international community which faces the daunting task of restoring the planet's deforested drylands. Much of my historic research about forest management was the basis for All the Trees of the Forest, Israel's Drylands from the Bible to the Present, published by Yale University Press in 2013 and soon to come out in Hebrew.
As Israel and its neighbors continue to have their differences, the environment pays a price. Many countries in the world that were locked in conflict found that "peace parks" offer a ecologically friendly way to break the impasse. The potential of transboundary reserves and parks in the Middle East has been mentioned many times, but that there is a surprising lack of systematic research on the subject. A recent survey of Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian public opinions produced fascinating results about the possible role of peace parks in the region and their role in promoting a sustainable future.
