RECOVERY!
Amazingly, the apocalyptic environmental disaster that struck Israel a few weeks ago, has been mostly cleaned up. Thanks to environmental and military sources along with numerous volunteers, the tar saturated beaches are being cleaned. About 1,000 tons of tar washed up on Israel’s shores covering nearly 100 miles of beach along Israel’s shoreline, and to date about 600 tons have been removed. The Environmental Protection Ministry has declared the emergency over, “though the cleanup operations are still ongoing.”
The statistics tell the story of the cleanup: “Out of 101 official beaches 83 have passed the coastal tar index in recent weeks, with 82% of beaches reopening for public use. Of the total, 61% have been determined clean or with slight levels of pollution; 36% were found to have light to moderate levels of pollution; and 3%, almost all of them rocky beaches, are still significantly polluted.” Environmental Minister Gila Gamliel stated, “After a particularly intense month, we are moving to the next stage, and continuing to supervise the coastal authorities in further cleaning and removal of tar, to achieve a complete cleanup of the beaches.” To help pay for the massive cleanup, “Israel will advance a claim at the International Oil Compensation Fund seeking compensation for the environmental damage wrought by the spill.”
The Environmental Ministry has identified the ship which it believes caused the spill, ‘the Emerald,’ as it was suspected of “smuggling oil from Iran to Syria when the spill occurred in early February.”
From a historic environmental crisis to a goal of a “complete cleanup,” keep this ongoing project in prayer. And be amazed at an 82% cleanup of the impacted areas to date.
(Source: The Times of Israel)
