A cargo ship bound for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with about 350 cattle on board sank off the south coast of Oman mid-afternoon last Saturday. The ship was heading to Somalia when it ran into trouble off Sur in the province of Asharqiyah Local media reports the ship may was probably overloaded, causing it to […]
Record rainfalls dumped on the region in this winter’s storms rendered a remarkable makeover of the Judean Desert, turning it from a Middle East dust bowl into rolling English hills. Israeli photographer Nir Cohen captured the transformation in these stunning images; see before and after photos above.
Forget coffins. At least the traditional ones. That was the idea we explored in a recent post on green burials, but that story overlooked a new product in the mortuary arts tool kit that takes burial full circle. The Capsula Mundi project by Italian designers Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel is an organic, biodegradable burial capsule that directly […]
Iranian architect Nader Khalili, founder of the California Earth and Architecture Institute and proponent of the- dare we say- revolutionary SuperAdobe building technique, would be proud. In the coming week from the 11th to the 14th of March 2015, l’Iran will inaugurate the first edition of “Regeneration of earthen architecture festival” which aims to promote earth […]
Shale gas exploitation in the Sahara is not the same as shale gas exploitation in the US. There are added complications, namely the dependence of fracking activities on a trans-boundary hydraulic system (the North Western Sahara Aquifer System), in a water stressed region, that depends primarily on that very system for its own water needs. As shown […]
Jordan’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources announced a new initiative that will convert all 6,000 of the kingdom’s mosques to solar generated power beginning this year. It’s part of a five-year program to decrease the nation’s reliance on crude oil while diversifying its energy portfolio to include more renewable energy sources, such as wind and […]
Food designer Chloé Rutzerveld has developed a concept for 3D-printed snacks that sprout plants and mushrooms from edible soil housed within a pastry or pasta shell. She envisions a day when your local grocer could print you out a takeaway boxful, and about 4 days later they’ll grow into lunch. In the burgeoning field of futuristic […]
Dubai developers reach a new zenith in outrageous investment with just-announced plans to build a tropical rainforest on the desert outskirts of the city. The forest will exist within a climate-controlled dome as a key feature of a new luxury housing development. But the real news within this news is that local environmentalists are complaining, finally.
Looking for a novel way to celebrate Purim in Tel Aviv next weekend? Wander over to 26 Gordon Street for a pop-up art show wrapped inside architecture that’s worth a visit on its own. Radical renovations are planned for a 1930’s building that will transform the Bauhaus beauty into the city’s first “green” retrofit of a protected structure. Before construction […]
The tire industry is one of the largest users of virgin rubber, blending it with sulfur and heating the mix to create ‘vulcanized rubber’. It’s a highly durable material that is notoriously difficult to recycle. Design schools, small rural start-ups, and major clothing manufacturers are all working to develop ecologically sound disposal options for spent tires. Some of […]
Israel and Jordan have signed a historic deal to press ahead with a plan to save the Dead Sea. The ‘Red-Dead’ project will build a plant near the Jordanian tourist resort of Aqaba that will desalinate water to be shared by Israelis and Palestinians. The brine left over from the desalination process will be channeled […]
Who says you can’t have your cup and eat it too? The maker of those chicken-like products sworn to be “finger-lickin’ good” is testing a range of 100% edible containers for takeaway coffee. Fast food giant KFC will be testing its new coffee cups in Britain this summer. Called “Scoff-ee” (a wordplay meaning “to eat […]
Mission Control for the Solar Impulse 2 is open for business, ready to guide the solar plane’s first flight around the world. Located in Monaco, the Mission Control Center (MCC) serves as project nerve-center, where a team of analysts and engineers will collect satellite-transmitted flight information to calculate and adjust the plane’s flight path. The plane will take off from […]
Collateral Repair Project (CRP) is a scrappy nonprofit in Amman, Jordan that brings critical help to people commonly referred to as “collateral damage” – urban refugees, victims of war and conflict, and those on the lowest rung of the local economic ladder. Read on to learn how a group of Amman’s most marginalized women are giving back to […]
Luxury usually comes at a high price, not only financially but environmentally too. But plans for a new building in the heart of Cairo hope to change this high cost to the environment, combining luxury living with eco-friendly technology. Real estate company, Abraj Misr, has just announced plans to invest 4.5 billion Egyptian pounds (US$589.7 […]