In October 2010, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) called out oil-producing Abu Dhabi for being one of the world’s highest emitters of carbon dioxide per capita. Now, less than three years later, the government’s environmental arm has turned the emirate into the eco-police.
When you Twitter, Google, or just spend leisurely hours checking facebook updates, how does this affect the environment? And think about all that data from YouTube, cloud storage, and blogger’s sites. Where does it get stored and how much energy does it consume? Whoishostingthis provides a really handy infographic giving you the breakdown of the [...]
It has been two years since Mohamed Ashraf Abdel Samad founded Shagara – a non profit organization that aims to green Cairo with urban rooftop farms and other carbon-sapping trees and plants – and virtually every day since has been a struggle. After studying for some time in Norway, where his “semi hippie” friends introduced [...]
Abu Dhabi has the world’s 5th highest proven oil reserve and the 6th highest reserve of natural gas. This is a hydrocarbon-based economy that – at first glance – should have no incentive to reduce their carbon footprint. And yet the United Arab Emirates as a whole seems to be taking climate change a lot [...]
The Speed Sisters, the Palestinian women’s motor racing team, are a Middle Eastern first: Independent and passionate, they’ve charted their own roadmap through a male-dominated sport, steering around family expectations, social pressures, community politics and an active military occupation. Zoom out and the nuances deepen – women in nearby Saudi aren’t permitted to drive . Racing is [...]
Every year it’s the same thing. Hundreds of delegates from around the world fly somewhere to agree to climate change solutions. Journalists bemoan the lack of progress, environmentalists criticize the amount of carbon emissions spewed into the atmosphere as a result and the public at large completely loses faith in the process. The UN Convention of [...]
This month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP18) will be hosted by Qatar, the tiny peninsula nation in the Persian Gulf that holds the world record for per capita CO2 emissions. According to a report entitled Indicators of Sustainable Development 2011 released by Qatar’s statistics’ authority, the state has experienced a 27% annual increase in [...]
If we all lived like the citizens of the UAE, we would need 5.4 planet earths to sustain us… Sometimes the best way to say something is not with words but images. And there is truly no better wake up call to the UAE than this amazing infographic designed by Tim De Chant. It shows [...]
The privately-owned Abdali development company promises that the new 384,000 sqm commercial center in the heart of Jordan’s capital Amman will offer “lush inviting spaces that beckon and call for your attention.” “Notice the elements subtly woven into the new downtown’s [sic] environment,” their web marketing person gushed. “Delight in the blossoming urban forest close [...]
Not to be outdone by Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, Dubai will soon begin construction on its own ‘sustainable city,’ where green transportation options include horses. Lest it seem that the new 743,000m2 development project entails a remarkable step backward, solar-powered vehicles are also planned, which is every bit as ambitious (and unlikely) as Masdar’s long-since-abandoned [...]
According to the World Wildlife Fund’s latest report, Qatar still has the world’s largest carbon footprint It’s been a couple of years since Qatar was awarded the ‘largest carbon footprint in the world‘ title (relative to the size of its population), but it appears little has changed since then. Despite various green initiative such as [...]
Determined to make a positive environmental contribution, the UK-based clothing manufacturer DGrade perfected a method that converts recycled plastic into yarn. They use 20% less water, 50% less energy, and produce 55% less carbon emissions than the cotton manufacturing process requires, and they have recently opened a branch in the Dubai mall. Their cost-competitive brand Dirtball [...]
Half as tall as the Burj Dubai, this soaring tower (if realized) could absorb some of Cairo’s crowds. How to deal with Cairo’s crowds is a complex dilemma that IAMZ Design Studio has approached with this soaring Father and Son Skyscraper. Inspired by the relationship between a father and son, the young Egyptian architect has [...]
Biodiversity preservation, waste management, and securing water sources are just a few of the principles being applied to convert Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh diving destination into an “green city.” Egypt’s Ministers of Environment and Tourism signed a tripartite agreement with the South Sinai governor to convert the popular Egyptian diving town Sharm el-Sheikh into a bonafide [...]
Recent discoveries have confirmed scientists’ longstanding fears that global warming would catalyze the release of millions of tons of potential greenhouse gas emissions locked up in ice and permafrost in the great white north. Layer after layer of plant debris that has not yet decomposed lies trapped in arctic and subarctic permafrost. As global temperatures [...]
At the ongoing Eye on Earth summit in Abu Dhabi, there has been a lot of talk about sharing environmental data. But we question whether knowledge is enough. As early as 1930, a British engineer named Guy Calendar warned that increased carbon emissions as a result of industrialization was beginning to raise the global surface [...]
Santa takes a ride on a camel in Doha, Qatar, where it was recently announced the COP 18 talks will be held. Santa has the lowest carbon footprint of them all. He doesn’t drive in fossil-fueled cars to deliver his eco-friendly gifts. Instead, he relies on his trusted team of reindeers. Not big meat eaters, [...]
Saudi is pulling out the pom poms to protect OPEC oil-producing nations from losing money as climate change negotiations start at the COP 17 circus in Durban. It’s that time of year again, when delegations suit up for the circus that has come to typify the United Nations Climate Change Conferences. Rich, polluting countries unwilling to [...]
Saudi Arabia is so confident that this postage stamp-sized will change the solar industry, they’ve invested $10 million into the project. Photograph by: Tim Fraser, Postmedia News Saudi Arabia has no intention of falling out of power when its oil runs out, which is why the kingdom has backed a potentially “game-changing” solar cell project [...]
Residents of Sharjah – the Emirate just north of Dubai – enjoy drying off in giant human dryers like these pictured above, which reportedly slash carbon emissions by half in some situations. With average temperatures of 104 degrees Fahrenheit during summer months, you’d think residents of Sharjah – an Emirate just north of Dubai – [...]
Considered a pest in California, a tamarix salt cedar tree found in the Arava Desert could sequester greenhouse gases on barren, desert land. Fears of global warming and its impact on our environment have left scientists scrambling to decrease levels of atmospheric carbon we humans produce. But Tel Aviv University researchers are doing their part [...]
A carbon calculator in Arabic will help Dubai residents track everything from food, travel to energy consumption The carbon emissions of Gulf nations in the Middle East are notoriously high. The UAE has one of the largest carbon footprints per capita in the world and the average citizen in the Gulf produces between two to [...]
Energy subsidies keeping petrol and electricity prices low in the Middle East are jeopardizing the chances of renewable energy projects The Middle East may be unique for many reason- the stunning souks, the hospitality of the people and explosive political mentality- but they are probably known for just one thing: oil. Indeed, Gulf nations have [...]
Although the Middle East’s carbon emissions make up a fraction of the global average, the Green Sheikh urges readers to follow these 6 tips to reducing their carbon habit. Carbon emissions in our region have doubled in the last few decades. In spite of our small contribution (a fraction even) to global emissions, the United [...]
Over the last thirty years, carbon emissions in North Africa and the Middle East (MENA) have doubled with citizens in the Gulf states producing up to 10 times the amount of CO2 as the average global citizen Awareness of the dangers of climate change may be on the increase in the Middle East but action [...]
Oil and gas companies believe that CCS will allow fossil-burning to continue unabated, but health leaders expose the potential for widespread human fatalities in the event of accidental leaks. The United States Department of Energy has pledged to match Masdar’s $700,000 carbon capture research program with $3 Million of US taxpayer money. In collaboration with [...]
Bill McKibben isn’t the kind of guy who takes getting arrested lightly. He’s doing it to save humanity from one of the most catastrophic dangers we have ever faced. The right wing has long maintained that America should reduce its oil dependency on the Middle East. Considered the root of the last war in Iraq [...]
Carboun, an organisation which promotes sustainability in the Middle East, has produced its first infographic which does a great job of mapping out the region’s carbon emissions I am huge fan of infographics – information as graphics – for the simple reason that they are a great way to get a handle on lots of [...]
Every web search sends 10 grams of carbon into the environment, making the internet one of the most polluting “industries” in the world. One of the most empowering and significant human developments, the Web is also one of the most destructive. Facebook (which eggs on eating disorders) and Twitter played an enormous role in the [...]
Climate change will disrupt every aspect of life in the next few decades, including the kernel of Middle Eastern culture. A Middle East without nuts is like Belgium without chocolate: virtually impossible to imagine. But a recent report published in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE (hat tip to Grist) shows that warm (and warming) countries [...]
The plastic bag story isn’t over yet, but it’s definitely on the right track. United Arab Emirates’ residents are awash with excitement over the Ministry of Environment and Water’s moves to ban conventional plastic bags by 2013. And so they should be. Plastic bags are the bane of natural existence. They leach toxic materials into [...]
Fans of formula one racing claim that energy saving techniques will ruin all the fun because cars won’t be as noisy! Just yesterday we reported on a floating Olympic stadium that could offset the sometimes heavy environmental costs associated with what we almost all love: sport. In preparation for 2022, Qatar will have to build [...]
The Gulf countries badly need to cut fuel subsidies in order to drive renewable generation projects, but in the current political climate, that would be suicidal. The nuclear travesty in Japan has gripped news headlines, while the Middle East political drama has taken back stage. But it is still having huge ramifications in the region. [...]
The Middle East has become one of the most popular tourist destinations, and is expected to become even more so, but the current unrest has taken its toll. Even though Dubai has been spared the awful drama that has gripped many countries in the Middle East – most dramatically Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya – the [...]
When the PRT plan at Masdar was scrapped, what exactly did we lose? The folks at Singularity Hub offer an interesting analysis of Masdar’s PRT failure. Why is it, David Hill wonders out loud, that we have made massive advancements in telecommunications but precious few in transportation? Masdar gave us the perfect opportunity to take the next [...]
Green Prophet’s Arwa measures her family’s carbon footprint to Hajj. Last year, my auntie and her family- the Hussains- did one of the most important things that a Muslim can do in their lives. They fulfilled one of the five pillars of Islam and went to Hajj which is a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi [...]
Arwa argues that population control is not the silver bullet that will solve climate change, rather over-consumption is the real issue According to the latest data coming from the UN, the world population will reach a staggering thirty billion people by 2300. Now, that’s a lot of people and a real sobering thought for those [...]
Dubai’s Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) launches the first “green station” in the UAE. The station features solar-powered lights, a waterless car wash system, eco-friendly products, and the vapor recovery system, a new technology that reduces carbon emission and fuel wastage.
To unclog Amman’s road arteries, the municipality hopes to bring its state-of-the-art public buses online by next year. While it’s neighbor brings Better Place electric cars online, a move that may reduce emissions but not congestion, Jordan is instead pursuing a state of the art BRT system for its capital, Amman, the site of several [...]
Enoc collects fuel vapors and incorporates other green elements into Dubai residential filling station. Last September, Dubai ran short on gas, while other Gulf countries re-evaluated their long term energy plan as a result of looming peak oil. Now The National reports that Dubai has installed a “green” petrol station that not only captures and [...]