Seminar on Israel water technology to be held in Taipei

Want China Times, 2014-11-12

A K. B. Recycling Industrials booth at a new energy and technology expo
in Air port city, Israel, Feb. 19. (File photo/Xinhua)

A seminar on Israel's water technology will be held in Taiwan later this month to promote exchanges in the area, the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei said in a recent statement.

The seminar, slated to take place Nov. 28 in Taipei, will bring together representatives of eight Israeli companies who will share their technologies and products with Taiwanese firms in an effort to seek potential cooperation, said the office, which is co-organizing the event with Taiwan's Water Resources Agency.

The agenda will include discussions on desalination, waste water management, quality management of drinking water and recycled water, the office said.

As the government is planning to begin collecting water pollution control fees starting December, how to effectively handle waste water has become an important issue.

Israel has developed advanced technologies to deal with its waste water, 97% of which is reused for irrigation. It has also been exporting its water technologies, including desalination, waste water recycling and drip irrigation, to other countries, the office said.

Business meetings will also be arranged for Israeli and Taiwanese companies to explore cooperation opportunities, it added.

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much.

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four. ….”

'Great Garuda' wall to save Jakarta from rising sea level

A plan to build a billion-dollar dam to stop Indonesia's capital Jakarta from sinking into the sea has been launched. The project will take 30 years to complete, and create housing and jobs for almost a million people.

Deutsche Welle, 3 Nov 2014

The Garuda is a powerful, mythical creature, and the emblem of the Republic of Indonesia. It originally comes from an Indian myth, in which the creature – half-man, half-eagle - steals an elixir from the gods that promises immortality. The Jakarta metropolis is now trying to ensure its own future, by building the "Great Garuda" – a 35-kilometer-long protective wall in the shape of its namesake. The wall is placed on the country's coastline a few kilometers out to sea, designed to protect Indonesia's capital from the rising sea level.

Sinking metropolis, rising sea

The situation for the bustling metropolis is alarming. Built on a former swamp, Jakarta is serviced by drains largely left over from the Dutch colonial area. There is virtually no functioning waste disposal system, and clean water is in constant demand. So much groundwater is pumped into the city that the soil level sinks by about seven centimeters per year – in some districts this doubles to 14 centimeters. Meanwhile, ongoing climate change is seeing sea levels rise around the world. "This combination means that in 10 to 15 years large parts of Indonesia will be underwater," says Victor Coenen, team leader with Dutch construction company Witteveen + Bos' Jakarta office, who is the main contractor on the construction of the wall. At least half a million people will be directly affected by the wall's construction.

 A graphic of the finished Garuda
dam project

The Garuda dam project will help provide clean drinking water for Jakarta's residents

Now, in a joint initiative between the Indonesian and Dutch governments, a rescue plan has been formulated – one that will radically change the entire city's coastline. Behind the gigantic protective wall several lagoons will be built, acting as catchments for the thirteen rivers that flow into the Java Sea, while hopefully also helping to stop the annual flooding of parts of the capital during the rainy season. "All these rivers are so dirty we thought we should try tackle this problem at the same time," Coenen told DW. So that the lagoons don't also become polluted, sewage and water treatment plants, as well as garbage disposal infrastructure, will be built throughout the city. In addition, the dam is equipped with large pumping stations, helping to provide drinking water for the city's residents.

Integrated into the cityscape

During the project's implementation, both governments will rely on the expertise of several Dutch construction companies who already have experience with similar projects along the Dutch coast – though not on a scale like this. "Various components of this plan have already been implemented elsewhere in the world," says Coenen, referring, for instance, to the 30 kilometer-long Afsluitdijk, which has separated the IJssel River from the North Sea in his homeland since the 1930s. "What has not been done," the engineer continued, "is to completely integrate such a mammoth dam into a cityscape. There we are definitely entering uncharted territory."

Furthermore, behind the dam, on several artificially- created islands, a whole new neighborhood will rise, with housing for around 300,000 people and 600,000 new jobs. For this to happen the current coastline will have to be extended seven kilometers out into the sea. "This housing is desperately needed for a rapidly expanding Jakarta," says Coenen. "At the same time, the wall will have to be integrated into the new coastline. The difficulty lies in running the wall through the city, so that's it not easily recognisable."

A mammoth task

The "Great Garuda" wall in Jakarta is truly a mammoth project. It will cost up to 40 million US-dollars to construct, and is estimated to take around 35 years to complete. "It will be one of the three largest dams ever built in the world," says Victor Coenen. But he is confident the purely technical side at least will not be too problematic. "Many construction companies can handle a project like this. They have already proven they can do it."

More difficult is the financing, and the management of the project, which the Indonesian government is looking after. "If you just build a dam, that's no problem. Just sign a contract with a building contractor, you pay, and he delivers," said Coenen. "But if you are essentially building an entire new city, then there are so many contractors that it can be almost impossible to keep all the finances under control" – especially in a country like Indonesia, where rampant corruption remains a major problem.

"Large projects always involve large risks," said Coenen. But Jakarta is running out of time, and the engineer believes in the success of the project, even if he will not be in office when it is completed. By 2030 the dam will be standing, "but only in the middle of the century," said Coenen, "will the entire project be completed." This means it could take another 40 years for Garuda to lay his protective wings around Indonesia's capital.

Related Article:

'Great wall of Jakarta' plan to combat floods

Earth may have underground 'ocean' three times that on surface

Scientists say rock layer hundreds of miles down holds vast amount of water, opening up new theories on how planet formed

theguardian.com, Melissa Davey, Friday 13 June 2014

Three-quarters of the Earth's water may be locked deep underground in a
layer of rock, scientists say. Photograph: Blue Line Pictures/Getty Images

After decades of searching scientists have discovered that a vast reservoir of water, enough to fill the Earth’s oceans three times over, may be trapped hundreds of miles beneath the surface, potentially transforming our understanding of how the planet was formed.

The water is locked up in a mineral called ringwoodite about 660km (400 miles) beneath the crust of the Earth, researchers say. Geophysicist Steve Jacobsen from Northwestern University in the US co-authored the study published in the journal Science and said the discovery suggested Earth’s water may have come from within, driven to the surface by geological activity, rather than being deposited by icy comets hitting the forming planet as held by the prevailing theories.

“Geological processes on the Earth’s surface, such as earthquakes or erupting volcanoes, are an expression of what is going on inside the Earth, out of our sight,” Jacobsen said.

“I think we are finally seeing evidence for a whole-Earth water cycle, which may help explain the vast amount of liquid water on the surface of our habitable planet. Scientists have been looking for this missing deep water for decades.”

Jacobsen and his colleagues are the first to provide direct evidence that there may be water in an area of the Earth’s mantle known as the transition zone. They based their findings on a study of a vast underground region extending across most of the interior of the US.

Ringwoodite acts like a sponge due to a crystal structure that makes it attract hydrogen and trap water.

If just 1% of the weight of mantle rock located in the transition zone was water it would be equivalent to nearly three times the amount of water in our oceans, Jacobsen said.

The study used data from the USArray, a network of seismometers across the US that measure the vibrations of earthquakes, combined with Jacobsen’s lab experiments on rocks simulating the high pressures found more than 600km underground.

It produced evidence that melting and movement of rock in the transition zone – hundreds of kilometres down, between the upper and lower mantles – led to a process where water could become fused and trapped in the rock.

The discovery is remarkable because most melting in the mantle was previously thought to occur at a much shallower distance, about 80km below the Earth’s surface.

Jacobsen told the New Scientist that the hidden water might also act as a buffer for the oceans on the surface, explaining why they have stayed the same size for millions of years. "If [the stored water] wasn't there, it would be on the surface of the Earth, and mountaintops would be the only land poking out," he said.

Jakarta sinking as fast as 10cm per year

Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 04/23/2010 10:46 PM | Jakarta

Jakarta, the nation’s capital and largest city, is sinking at a rate of 10 centimeters a year, a recent study has found.

The main causes for this phenomenon, which has been evidenced in recent years by several major floods, are extensive land extraction due to groundwater exploration and pressure from high-rise buildings, which is pushing parts of the city into the underlying water table.

“The land has been sinking for a long time, and the coastline is now encroaching on the heart of the city,” a geodynamics researcher from the Bandung Institute of Technology Irwan Gumilar told The Jakarta Post.

Irwan was a member of a research team led by Professor Hasanuddin Z Abidin that monitored Jakarta from 1997-2009.

“Few people may realize that the land is sinking by 10 centimeters to 12 centimeters a year,” Irwan said.

The highest rate of subsidence was recorded in coastal areas in North Jakarta, including Muara Kapuk and Ancol, where extensive development had increased pressure on the relatively young and porous soil beneath.

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Jakarta Predicted to be Underwater By 2012

Jakarta Heading for Watery Grave, Experts Warn

The Jakarta Globe, Ulma Haryanto

Floods are an annual event in many parts of Jakarta. (JG Photo/ Afriadi Hikmal)

At least a quarter of Jakarta would be underwater by 2050 if current rates of development projects and groundwater harvesting continued unabated, a climate expert warned on Wednesday.

Armi Susandi, a climatologist from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), said the northern part of Jakarta would most likely be permanently submerged by 2015.

“I am talking about Cilincing, Muara Baru and Tanjung Priok”, he told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.

“Meanwhile the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport [located in Tangerang, Banten] will be underwater by 2030.”

In a 2009 ITB study on land subsidence and urban development in Jakarta, Indonesian and Japanese researchers showed that an increase in population and urban development activities in the capital was driving the subsidence because of the sharp increase in built-up areas and decrease in natural green spaces.

The problem has been exacerbated by factories, hotels and wealthy residents drilling their own deep-water bores to bypass the city’s water grid, sucking out the groundwater and causing further subsidence. Jakarta’s limited pipe network for clean water means that about 40 percent of residents have to pump their own groundwater.

The soft ground that makes up most parts of Jakarta, the weight of ever-expanding road infrastructure and buildings and the excessive exploitation of groundwater all play a part in the city’s subsidence.

In 2005, Armi, together with ITB oceanographer Safwan Hadi, created a simulation that suggested that by 2050 a quarter of Jakarta would be submerged by the sea.

“Sudirman and Kuningan areas will still be there by 2030,” he said, in an apparent reference to media reports on Wednesday that half of the city, including Sudirman in Central Jakarta and Kuningan in South Jakarta, would be inundated by seawater by 2030.

Armi explained that his simulation had used a spatial and periodical projection of the depreciation of the ground level in Jakarta versus the rising sea level. The simulation utilized what he called a “digital evaluation model,” which he applied to the Greater Jakarta area to project the impact if nothing was done between 2005 to 2050, using 5-year intervals.

According to his simulation, Merdeka Square and its surrounding areas in Central Jakarta would be under water by 2080. “So Sudirman and Kuningan should also be underwater in about that year,” Armi said.

The parameters used for his simulation were an average rise in sea levels of 0.57 centimeters per year, and a ground level subsidence rate of 0.8 centimeters per year. “So the average sinking rate will be 1.37 centimeters a year,” he continued.

However, the World Bank in 2008 said that Jakarta was sinking by as much as 4 to 10 centimeters annually.

Armi argued that the projection he made was according to actual sea and coastline conditions, and with the use of global positioning to measure the rate of sinking in Jakarta.

Despite his less-catastrophic prediction, Armi still called on the government to solve the problem. “Jakarta has to adapt permanently by building sea walls along the coastlines of North Jakarta. The walls should be built by 2015,” he said.

The wave breakers currently being built in North Jakarta, he said, would only help to prevent tidal surges during extreme weather conditions.

“What we need are sea walls,” he said, adding that the walls should be at least two to three meters above sea level and six meters thick to be able to protect the city from the ocean, which he predicted could rise by one meter by 2100. Ulma Haryanto