Israeli renewable energy company Phinergy has set out to reduce the amount of air pollution emitted by cars – among the world's heaviest polluters – with their innovative vehicles.

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According to CEO Avi Tzidon, Phinergy's cars use aluminum – one of the most common metals – to create energy, and as such, involve no pollution.

They are said to match the driving range of non-electric vehicles, reload to full energy capacity in less than 5 minutes, and are compatible with existing service networks.

"Phinergy's metal-air systems produce energy by combining metal, oxygen, and water. Oxygen is a key reactant releasing energy from metal," the company's website says.

The vehicles are set to be the most environmentally friendly on the market, as other electric alternatives are fueled with electricity provided by a polluting plant.

"Unlike conventional batteries that carry oxygen within a heavy electrode, metal-air energy systems freely breathe oxygen from ambient air, making the systems significantly lighter," Phinergy's website says.

Ahead of the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow in November, Phinergy presented their product to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, "including metal-air technologies and range extenders for electric cars."

This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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A coalition of more than 20 environmental and climate groups launched a campaign Monday calling for a ban on fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship across the European Union, similar to bans on tobacco advertising.

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More than 80 Greenpeace activists blocked the entrance to Shell's oil refinery in the Dutch port of Rotterdam to draw attention to the launch of the European Citizens' Initiative calling for the advertising ban.

The action comes less than a month before the start of the United Nations climate summit, COP26, in Glasgow. The 12-day summit aims to secure more ambitious commitments to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, with a goal of keeping it to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.

Activists used floating cubes emblazoned with fossil fuel-linked advertisements to block the entrance, along with the protest ship Beluga II, with the words "Ban Fossil Fuel Advertising" strung between its two masts. Activists also climbed a 15-meter (yard) oil tank and attached advertisement posters next to Shell's logo.

"I grew up reading signs about how cigarettes kill you, but never saw similar warnings in petrol stations or fuel tanks. It's frightening that my favorite sports and museums are sponsored by airlines and car companies," Chaja Merk, an activist on board the Greenpeace ship, said in a statement released by the group. "Fossil fuel adverts belong in a museum – not sponsoring them."

Shell said the company is investing billions of dollars in "lower-carbon energy. To help alter the mix of energy Shell sells, we need to grow these new businesses rapidly. That means letting our customers know through advertising or social media what lower-carbon solutions we offer now or are developing, so they can switch when the time is right for them."

Police moved in to break up the demonstration, boarding the Beluga II and detaining activists. More were detained at the oil tank. In total, 22 activists were arrested and a further 32 issued with fines, police said.

Shell said it respects the right to peaceful protest, "if it is done safely. That is not the case now. The demonstrators are illegally on our property, where strict safety protocols apply," the company said.

Calls for fossil fuel advertising bans are gaining traction. Earlier this year, Amsterdam imposed a ban in the city's metro network on ads linked to what it called "fossil products" such as gas-powered cars and cheap airline tickets. The municipality called the move a first step in a wider move to remove such ads from the Dutch capital's streets.

The campaign for a law banning ads linked to fossil fuels across the EU needs to gather 1 million verified signatures in a year. If it succeeds, the EU's executive Commission has to look at the request, but is not obliged to take action.

"This legislation would increase public awareness of products and technologies that are responsible for climate change and other environmental and health harms," the environmental coalition said on its website.

Coinciding with the launch, Greenpeace's Dutch branch published a report accusing major energy companies of large scale "greenwashing" in their advertising campaigns – defining  the term as "as a combination of both fossil fuel companies' advertisements promoting genuinely climate friendly initiatives, as well as their advertisements that promote false climate solutions as 'green.'"

The study analyzed more than 3,000 ads on social media by six energy companies and concluded that 63% amounted to greenwashing.

"We can confidently say that all the companies in the dataset are greenwashing, as their advertisements do not accurately reflect their business activities – either through an over-emphasis on their 'green' activities, or an under-emphasis on their fossil fuel activities," the report said.

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Sri Lanka was facing what a senior environmental official called "the worst beach pollution in our history" as a burning container ship continued on Monday to spill plastic debris into the sea off the capital, Colombo.

The Sri Lankan navy believes the fire was caused by chemicals being transported on the Singapore-flagged ship. It was carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tons of nitric acid and other chemicals that were loaded at the port of Hazira, India, on May 15. The fire has destroyed most of the ship's cargo.

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Debris – including several tons of plastic pellets used to make plastic bags – from the burning ship has washed ashore and is causing severe pollution on beaches. The government has banned fishing along about 80 kilometers (50 miles) of the coast.

Authorities have also warned residents not to touch the debris because it could be contaminated with harmful chemicals. The government's Marine Environment Protection Authority says chemicals have mixed with the seawater and could cause severe damage to marine species and coral reefs.

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A month after Israel's Mediterranean coastline was polluted by crude oil in one of the worst environmental disasters in decades, the Environmental Protection Ministry announced Wednesday that the "event" was over and the state of emergency had been lifted.

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The Environmental Protection Ministry said that local authorities would continue to work on the beaches that were still not graded "blue" – meaning low-level pollution or clean – according to its beach map.

Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said Wednesday morning, "After an especially intense month, we are moving to the next stage and continuing to support coastal authorities in their work to clean and remove the tar to allow the beaches to be fully cleaned. We thank the employees of the ministry, the local authorities, the volunteers, and the environmental groups, primarily Ecoocean, with whose help the incident was addressed quickly and effectively.

"We are continuing to work with the International Monetary Fund to demand compensation for the serious damage to Israel's beaches," Gamliel added.

A statement from the ministry noted that in the past few weeks, intensive clean-up efforts had restored 82% of the country's 101 official beaches to use.

"If we look at all the beaches, official and open, 61% are clean or have only very low levels of pollution; 36% are graded as having low-level to mid-level pollution; and only 3% of beaches are significantly pollution – mainly, Selaim Beach," the ministry said.

As of Wednesday, over 650 tons of mixed tar have been removed from the beaches, the equivalent of 83% of the pollution that washed ashore from the tanker.

The ministry also said it would work with local authorities to set up diving teams to conduct surveys to locate masses of tar underway, as well as look into the possibility of conducting an underwater cleaning campaign based on the results of those surveys.

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A team of Israeli investigators sent to Greece to inspect a ship suspected of causing an oil spill that has covered much of Israel's shoreline with tar has concluded the vessel was not responsible for the natural disaster, the Environment Protection Ministry said, Sunday.

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Israel has been looking at a spill from a ship that passed about 50 kilometers (30 miles) offshore on Feb. 11 as the possible source of what environmental groups are calling a disaster for wildlife.

"We will ... use all means until we find the environmental perpetrator responsible for the pollution," Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said in a statement, Saturday.

Volunteers and thousands of soldiers have been gathering daily on Israel's beaches to remove the clumps of sticky black tar, which have also been washing up in southern Lebanon.

Representatives for the Minerva Helen, a Greek-flagged ship suspected of being the source of the pollution, told Israel Hayom the vessel could not have been responsible for the spill.

"The tanker had no cargo [oil] on deck – it was completely empty. It reached Singapore via the Suez Canal and waited for orders between Feb.4-11. That is totally normal for this kind of ship," they said.

To bolster their position, the company quoted a report from the online shipping magazine Lloyd's List that quoted European sources as supposedly confirming that the "Minerva Helen could not be the source [of the pollution] because it was not at the location where the spill was reported to have occurred."

During a press conference on the investigation last week, the Environmental Protection Ministry refused to comment on any of the suspects, noting merely that it was receiving assistance from "shipping authorities in other countries."

Meanwhile, a team from the Israeli Air Force's Shoval drone unit located a new oil spill some 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Israel's shores. Earlier Saturday, Defense Minister Benny Gantz authorized the use of the unmanned aircraft to locate the spill, at the request of the Environmental Protection Ministry.

According to initial findings and models generated by the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, the spill is not expected to reach Israel's shores before March 1. Likewise, no international body has alerted Israel to the spill, and the Environmental Protection Ministry reported to the Malta-based Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Center on its findings thus far.

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Lefteris Arapakis rummages through various recycling bags at the port of Piraeus, next to Athens.

For a moment, his gaze settles on the sea, where a glass bottle is floating away. He has been cleaning the Mediterranean for four years and, in the bags, there are several tons of plastic.

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But his eyes remain fixed on the bottle that he could not retrieve from the water.

"Sometimes it is very difficult to know if our work has any impact," Arapakis, who has just won the UN Young Champion of the Earth for Europe 2020 award, told Efe.

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SupraPulp packaging from W-Cycle is plastic-free, fully compostable, safe, and durable enough to be used for greasy, wet, or hot food. Moreover, food packaged in SupraPulp can be frozen and re-heated – even in a microwave.

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The green packaging solution, manufactured from bagasse, the dry, pulpy fibrous matter that remains after sugarcane or sorghum stalks are crushed to extract their juice, is also oil and water resistant, which helps to avoid absorption or leakage.

Once used, SupraPulp can be disposed as organic waste.

According to W-Cycle co-founder and CEO Lior Itai, the sugarcase-based wrapping can be thrown away exactly the way people toss away plastic wrappers.

"This food-grade, compostable packaging is a one-to-one replacement for its plastic counterpart. There are other compostable solutions on the market, but SupraPulp has game-changing functionality consumers need when they want to heat, freeze, or microwave convenience food products. Plus, SupraPulp trays have a luxury look and feel compared to plastic, aluminum, or bioplastic containers," Itai explained.

W-Cycle CTO Joseph Siani said that the COVID pandemic was drawing attention to how we treat the planet and the future of the environment. Siani said there is now greater demand on brands to offer environmentally responsible products.

"Together, we can put an end to plastic pollution," Siani declared.

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CEO of OPC Energy Giora Almogi said Wednesday that OPC has recognized the potential of the US electricity market, with an emphasis on expanding operations into the field of renewable energy.

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According to Amogi, the US Energy Information Administration expects that coal-fired power plants and power stations based on fuel oil and diesel that produce some 130,000 MW will close by 2030, but that wind and solar-based power stations will be constructed that will produce over 230,000 MW of energy.

"There is growing momentum for increased development of renewable energy and a focus on a lower carbon approach to electricity supply," Almogi explained, adding that the US energy market was also modernizing its electricity grid and replacing coal and uneconomic nuclear assets with "efficient, highly flexible natural gas power plants."

Almogi said that CPV was a "pioneering company in its field" and operated in the biggest electricity markets in the US. Almogi also noted that since it was founded, CPV has constructed power plants with a total installed capacity of approximately 14,800 megawatts (MW), including approximately 9,950 MW of conventional stations in several markets, and wind-based power plants with a total capacity of approximately 4,850 MW.

"The deal also puts OPC directly into the areas of green energy, and especially into the areas of solar energy and wind energy," Almogi said.

OPC could obtain a holding in CPV of about 70%, and intends to bring in a number of Israeli capital investors. The company said it was negotiating with Migdal, Clal and Poalim Capital Markets.

The deal is pending regulatory approval.

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On Monday morning, Manor Guri of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority was patrolling the waters of the Rosh Hanikra Sea Reserve when he spotted two dolphins.

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"We were surprised at the sight of two dolphins during our marine patrol today. It made us very happy to encounter and follow animals in the Mediterranean Sea," Guri said.

Video: Manor Guri, Israel Nature and Parks Authority

The bottlenose dolphin is the most common marine mammal in Israel's coastal waters. The average size of a school or pod of these animals, which are classed as cetaceans, like whales and porpoises, numbers five members, usually nursing mothers and calves, or young dolphins of both sexes. Adult male dolphins tend to swim on their own or in pairs, and sometimes join pods on a temporary basis.

These dolphins live above the coastal shelf and sometimes venture into deep water. The total dolphin population off Israel's Mediterranean coast is estimated at 300-400.

The subspecies of dolphins that lives in the Mediterranean is considered an endangered one. The biggest risk to dolphins in this region is the danger of becoming trapped in fishing nets. Other dangers to the dolphin population include pollution, swallowing trash, and ecological damage to their food chain.

In 2017, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared Israel's Mediterranean coastal shelf an Important Marine Mammal Area after dolphins were sighted in the coastal waters over a period of years.

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Dozens were still missing after the explosion, which is also feared to have left as many as 300,000 people homeless in a nation already staggering from economic meltdown and a surge in coronavirus cases.

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"This morning, a decision was taken to create an investigative committee which in four days maximum must provide a detailed report on responsibility -- how, who, what, where? There will be judicial decisions," Wehbe said.

"It is an accident... preliminary reports indicate it is mismanagement of explosive products. This is very serious neglect that continued for six years. Those responsible for this horrible crime of negligence will be punished by a committee of judges," Wehbe vowed. "It is serious, and we take it seriously."

As of Thursday, Lebanese authorities had arrested 16 people suspected in the port warehouse explosion, including the port's general manager, Hassan Koraytem, the state news agency NNA reported.

NNA did not name the individuals, but quoted Judge Fadi Akiki, a government representative of the military court, saying that authorities had so far questioned more than 18 port and customs officials and others who worked in maintenance jobs at the warehouse.

Leader of Lebanon's Druze community Walid Jumblatt demanded an independent international probe into the explosion, which is feared to have left as many as 300,000 people homeless.

"We have no trust at all in this ruling gang," Jumblatt said, as cited by Reuters.

Speaking at a news conference at the end of a dramatic visit to Beirut, French President Emmanuel Macron also called for an international inquiry into the devastating explosion, saying it was an urgent signal to carry out anti-corruption reforms demanded by a furious population.

Macron has promised aid to Lebanon, but reassured angry citizens that no blank checks would be given to its leaders unless Lebanon enacted reforms and ended rife corruption.

The international Human Rights Watch also supported mounting calls for an international probe into the explosion.

"An independent investigation with international experts is the best guarantee that victims of the explosion will get the justice they deserve," HRW said.

Parts of this article were originally published by i24NEWS.

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