The island of El Hierro may seem an unlikely candidate to be a world leader in energy self-sufficiency. The most remote of the Canaries was once completely dependent on outside sources for its energy needs, with an economy held up almost entirely by agriculture and tourism.
But thanks to the Gorona del Viento wind and water plant, the island now saves over 7,000 tons of diesel fuel and avoids more than 24,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year – with greater savings planned when it incorporates solar energy into the plant by 2050.
And while the novel power plant is crucial to the savings, so is a grassroots community education program around energy efficiency. It provides locals not just with practical skills that will help them on the job market as future auditors or technicians, but spreads their knowledge to island residents.
When Israeli Arabs go to the polls this month in national elections, the most pressing issue they want addressed by leaders is neither the peace process nor the economy. In the last four years, the homicide rate in Israeli Arab communities has jumped 50%, vaulting violent crime – and the muted police response to it – to voters’ top concern by far.
Heavily armed crime organizations are blamed for the violence. But overall, experts say, the rise in crime is a product of several factors, including a decadeslong lack of investment in Arab communities that has led to disproportionately high levels of poverty and unemployment. Arab leaders are demanding that more national police resources be devoted to investigating the crime on their streets.
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On December 16, Nimr Suleiman was sitting in a house in al-Reineh with several friends when a group of armed men burst in and opened fire.
Suleiman was hit by a spray of bullets and died on the spot. While his death is still being investigated, it is believed that the intruders had intended to gun down one of his companions.
The killing marked a tragic new record for bloodshed among Israel’s Arab citizens: 90 homicides since the start of 2020. By December 28, the toll had hit 96, representing a harrowing 50 percent jump in the murder rate among Arab Israelis in only four years.