On April 22, 1970, the first-ever Earth Day took place, with huge demonstrations across the United States attracting some 20 million people. They took to streets, parks and halls, calling for a healthier, higher quality environment. Earth Day succeeded beyond all expectations, leading to the establishment of the first mass environmental movement in the US. Since then, the Earth Day idea has spread around the world, becoming a day during when people from all walks of life unite in thinking about the Earth, raising environmental awareness and mobilizing the public to local and global environmental struggles.
The Beautiful Israel Friends Association in Italy, led by Dario Coen, also made Earth Day, an annual event, inviting environmental organizations to Rome to discuss the state of the planet. This year, Dr. Aldo Winkler, a researcher at the city’s Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia and representatives of the Italian Council for a Beautiful Israel led a conference on air pollution and its impact on our lives.
The annual Rome Earth Fair attracts individuals and organizations from throughout Italy. Visitors of all ages came to the fair’s Friends of Beautiful Israel area to learn about environmental cooperation between Israel and Italy. Dr. Winkler, a specialist in geophysics and volcanology, delivered a lecture on his research in atmospheric pollution, anthropogenic (man-made) particulate matter and its impact on health, as well as a new magnetic methodology for monitoring particulate matter and discriminating between its natural and man-made sources.
Particulate matter (PM) is the single largest contributor to urban air pollution. The effects of inhaling PM10 (less than 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter) include asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases, birth defects and premature death; urban outdoor air pollution causes an estimated 1.3 million deaths annually, worldwide. Because tree leaves collect magnetic iron oxides from the anthropogenic PM (industrial and vehicular emissions) often associated with toxic heavy metals, the leaves are natural bio-monitors of airborne PM. This makes magnetic proxy mapping of tree leaves an effective, fast and inexpensive tool for tracking PM pollution. Magnetic methods are also help identify the sources of urban PM pollution in general, distinguishing between natural sources (e.g. Aeolian dusts, marine aerosols) and man-made ones (e.g. vehicles and industry). After a presentation on Israel’s internationally accredited National Air Monitoring Network, a general discussion was held, with many specific questions and interesting talking points. Dr. Winkler is particularly interested in cooperating with Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and scientific institutions in order to test his magnetic monitoring methods in its urban and industrial areas. Meetings like the one in Rome help spawn new collaborations, along with environmental, scientific and cultural knowledge-sharing between Italy and Israel.
The Italian Friends of Beautiful Israel holds frequent events and conferences on environmental issues, aimed at promoting coexistence, along with a better understanding of Israel’s role in the global environmental arena. You’re invited to visit the Italian Friends of Beautiful Israel’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/beautifulisraelitalia/