The following is a KSCO commentary. Here is Kay Zwerling:

Dear Listeners,

I would like to share with you one of the many letters I have received from Israel since its inception which may also fascinate you as it does me.

The Israeli Ben Gurion University is itself a miracle made from innovation.

This letter for help was written to me some time ago when Israel was very young and struggling merely to survive.

I no longer receive those letters for help because Israel is happily on her own.

Here is the letter:

Dear Mrs. Zwerling,

With the earth’s temperature rising, and national resources dwindling, pollution worsening and the world’s population growing, the global environment faces a challenge of seemingly impossible proportions – one that can take a miracle of innovation and determination to surpass.

So, it is no surprise that to meet the toughest environmental challenges, the world is turning to a specialist in both impossibility and innovation. Israel – specifically – the foremost maker of miracles in a nation built on them.

Also, the Ben Gurion University of the Negev.

As one of BGU’s most loyal supporters, you know this institution itself is something of a miracle.

Israel occupies the one piece of ground in the Middle East where not a drop of oil resides. So, Israel is inventing methods for using what the Jewish State has in plentiful and permanently renewable supply – and that is the sun.

An Israeli physicist has invented a method using mirrors to concentrate the sun’s energy, multiply it by a factor of 1000, and convert it to electricity – at a lower cost and smaller environmental impact than fossil fuels.

Israeli and BGU innovations are ready. Having invented a way to harness the sun’s energy where it is useful, they have also figured out how to build homes which stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Scientists there have partnered with an Israeli company to develop windows for homes that keep the desert sun’s sweltering heat out during the summer – then can be reversed to solar heat the home in winter.

They are also revolutionizing water use, breeding fish in the desert, and re-using the water to irrigate olives, dates, and even grapes. By using each drop of water multiple times, they are maximizing this valuable and scarce resource.

These are examples of an exciting and promising convergence of technologies with environmental and economic promises.

And, this is the spirit the world needs to confront our most pressing environmental challenges – and this is an especially fitting moment to invest in it.

For KSCO, this is Kay Zwerling.

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