Watch Out for Falling Palm Trees Near You
The date palm is an important part of the religious, cultural, and economic heritage of the Arabian Peninsula and the rest of the Middle East. But now it is being decimated by a tiny invasive beetle.
Why You Should Keep Young Children Out of the Middle East Sun (New Research)
Wearing full body clothing might not be the thing for everyone in the Middle East: but cover up the very young – especially those with light skin. Middle East sun exposure in the young leads to higher rates of skin cancer later in life.
The Real Jordan River Will Flow from the Sea of Galilee Once Again
The Lower Jordan River, the baptismal river of Jesus, has been dead at its source for some time. For the first time in ages, Israel is releasing native waters via a pump back to the historic waterway.
Nir Meiri’s Marine Light is a Sustainable Seaweed Lamp You Can Eat
Tel Aviv’s Nir Meiri recently unveiled Marine Light – a curious lamp shade made entirely of seaweed wrapped around a spindly metal frame. Eaten by coastal people all over the world and prized for its gelatinous and nutritional properties (see bottled algae superfood), and its use is being investigated for seaweed as biofuel, marine algae is harvested [...]
SmarTap e-Shower Cleans You Green
Thinking about 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit: This is how Asaf Shaltiel, the CEO of SmarTap, came up with the idea for an electronic “smart” eco-showerhead that can talk with computers and smart home devices.
Mare Nostrum to Save the Mediterranean Sea from Coastline Development
Over the millennia, the Mediterranean Sea has become much more than a transport hub for empires that control the region: It links nations, feeds countries, and its shores hold some of the world’s most expensive real estate and natural beauty.
Arabs and Jews Cooperate in Israel to Get Drugs Out of the Water
Why should a Palestinian man care if an Israeli woman is taking birth control pills? A new Israeli peace project focusing on shared water resources answers this question.
Blind Shrimp Spared from Extinction at Bible Zoo in Jerusalem
When Noah was told by God to load two of all animals onto a special hand-built ark, there was no mention of the blind shrimp species found only in Israel. There probably was no need to protect the small crustacean living happily underwater – until now.
Dogs Detect Cancer Cells in Petri Dish
Could woman’s best friend be the missing link in the diagnoses of agressive breast cancer types? Researchers at Ben Gurion University in Israel have conducted research proving that specially trained dogs can differentiate the smell of breast cancer cells from non-cancerous cells in cell cultures. The concept of using the sniffing ability of dogs to [...]
Earth Day Events in Jerusalem
About a decade ago Israelis were much better at green washing and consumerism than caring for our planet through social green action. That’s all changed. The country has leaped into putting environmental awareness at the top of people’s concerns. This year there are dozens of events going on around the country to celebrate April 22, [...]
Jordan Valley Boasts the Lowest Museum on Earth
Built at the lowest elevation on earth, and less than a year old, this jewel-box of a museum showcases the Dead Sea region’s rich past. After Israel, no nation has as many Biblical sites as Jordan. The Dead Sea gets several mentions in the Bible, and it’s where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. Jesus [...]
Great Guacamole With Israeli Avocados
Israeli avocado season has arrived. Plump, green avocados are grown from the north of Israel down to Jaffa in the center, all the way to agricultural communities in the southern Negev, such as Neot Semadar. It is both a local favorite and a major national export. In 2010 the pear-shaped green fruit’s sales reached one-third of [...]
Israeli Wildflowers Show Environmental Education Can Inspire Change
Today there are a dizzying variety of wildflowers blossoming across Israel, welcoming the months of spring. Fifty years ago some of these plant species were on the verge of extinction.
Ormat to Provide 330 Megawatts of Geothermal Energy in Sumatra, Indonesia
Indonesia has 40 percent of the world’s exploitable geothermal energy potential. A big congratulations to Ormat technologies of Yavne, Israel for signing a $254 million deal for providing geothermal energy in Indonesia! The first phase of the 330-megawatt Sarulla geothermal power station in Sumatra is due to begin operating in 2016. Sumatra lies in one [...]
Shark Visits Red Sea Bathers in Eilat
Is the Red Sea shark spotted at Eilat beach, Israel escaping illegal hunters in Egypt? While it’s rare to find sharks in the Mediterranean Sea (they are almost extinct), they are not so uncommon in the Red Sea. Its warm waters and ample food source bait sharks who sometimes get personal with bathers and divers. [...]
269life Activists Etch and Burn White Calf Branding Number Into Skin
This is not just “pretend.” Animal activists in Israel have started a movement where people are branded just like cows destined for slaughterhouse. Animal rights activism has taken a radical turn with a virulent new movement that has roots in Israel. Sasha Bojoor, 27, started 269life in order to create solidarity with a white calf [...]
Ancient Wine Press for “Pauper’s Wine” and Vinegar Unearthed in Israel
An ancient Christian wine press 1500-years-old was uncovered in Israel, telling more about the customs of the people in the Holy Land of days gone by. It may not have yielded a prize-winning bottle, but excavators in Israel are excited about uncovering an ancient wine press, probably used for making low quality wine and vinegar, [...]
Dusting Off Solar Panels With an Electric Charge
Dubai is prone to frequent dust storms. A new solar panel dust particle remover made in Israel boosts power and cleans off dust at the same time Solar voltaic panels, which at their best only have about 25 percent efficiency for converting direct sunlight into electricity, have even less efficiency than this when dust and [...]
Community Gardens Sprout in Israeli Desert Town
In September 2012, the Israeli desert city of Beersheva became the second municipality in Israel to staff the newly created post of community gardens coordinator. The multidisciplinary position was born through fruitful cooperation between two of the city’s municipality departments – environmental and welfare, following a strategic process aimed at reinforcing local community and environmental elements [...]
Dead Sea Mining Company Plans Dubious Merger With Canadian ‘Natural Resource’ Firm
An Israel Chemicals Dead Sea mining plant; Photo by Haaretz/Ofer Vaknin Despite the recent heavy rains and flooding in Israel that helped replenish water in the Dead Sea, the salt lake in the ‘lowest point on earth ‘ is still suffering from a sharp decline in water levels due in part to the ongoing mineral [...]
Traditional Passover Matzah Balls RECIPE
Matzah balls, the only Eastern European food that crossed over to Sephardic cuisine. While Ashkenazic Jews have enthusiastically adopted the spicy foods of Israeli’s Sephardic communities, there hasn’t been much culinary exchange from the other direction. Ordinarily, Sephardic Jews (Middle Eastern and North African origin) wrinkle their noses at the foods of Eastern European Jewry. [...]
SunDwater Solar Mirrors Focuses the Sun to Make Dirty Water Clean
SunDwater’s solar powered water distiller can convert polluted water like this into clean drinking water Chronic and even acute shortages of fresh drinking water is one of the developing world’s most serious issues today; especially in areas torn by internal conflict such as Syria. A number of viable methods for making water potable have been [...]
China’s Suntech Solar, Owing Millions, Faces Emminent Takeover
Suntech’s financial woes may have an effect on solar energy plant projects like this one Suntech Solar, the Chinese solar panel manufacturing company that became involved in a number of Middle East solar energy projects, including deals to sell home solar panels in Israel and a bid for Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City’s Nour 1 solar energy [...]
Israel’s First Bike Museum in Converted Chicken Coop
Bertini Derailleur racing bikes like this one were used by Israeli cyclists in the Rome 1960 Olympiad Bicycle riding, including bike sharing in Tel Aviv and traveling by bike in the Middle East have been popular topics that Green Prophet writers have enjoyed sharing with their readers. Those living in urban areas, where bike riding is [...]
Mediterranean Sharks Almost Gone Forever
Mediterranean sharks risk extinction while “serious implications” feared for marine ecosystems and beyond. Accidental catches and sharks for fin soup are to blame Shark populations in the Mediterranean and Black Sea have dropped dramatically over the last two centuries and now risk extinction, with serious implications for the region’s entire marine ecosystem and food chains, [...]
How Richard III Helps Green Burials
Remains of Richard III as found under Leicester parking lot. Multi-level burial may have prevented this from occurring Photo: Washington Post As human populations increase, finding greener ways to bury the dead are ranging from sea burials to more simple land burials such as those practiced by Jews and Muslims. Even more bizarre ways of disposing [...]
Food Waste in Rich Countries – The Most Un-Green Act of All
Even fallen fruit, like these apples, can be eaten if harvested properly Serious and even dire food shortages in Mid East countries like Egypt, combined with projected sharp increases in food prices in Arab Spring countries in 2013 are sharp indicators that millions – perhaps billions of people are now facing even more lack of [...]
Tideline Project Illustrates Rising Sea Levels
Jordan (where this Green Prophet lives) is not my Xanadu because it lacks an oceanic coastline: but, hey, if climate change keeps raising sea levels my dreams can (catastrophically) come true…Green Prophet’s brought you vivid images of NASA flood maps, and alarming predictions of Mediterranean basin flooding. This winter’s extreme precipitation may have added precious water to regional stocks, [...]
Israeli Teens Bottle Algae in “Algeed” Superfood Project for a Hungry Africa
Liquid algae may taste like sushi which is unknown in poor parts of Africa, but it is easy to grow with basic equipment like old plastic bottles, and it is packed full of protein – a veritable superfood. Just ask the Japanese who consume algae and algae derivatives as a way of life. Now, kids [...]
Foster + Partners Solar-Powered Brain Center is a First for Israel (PHOTOS)
Clad in building-integrated photovoltaic panels and an aluminum skin that mimics the brain’s neural mapping Foster + Partners, the same UK architectural firm that created the zero-carbon city Masdar, is about to break ground on their first project in Israel – a solar-powered center for brain studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Working with [...]
Israeli Cell Phone User Compensated $100 K for Ear Cancer
Cellphone usage outside is less risky than in a closed environment Cell phones have blamed for a number of environmental health problems, including collapse of bee colonies; and even problems with human sperm production. In fact, overuse of cell phones has even been considered as being more risky than other environmental hazards like car engine exhaust [...]
Arak and Pomelo Middle East Cocktail Recipe
Pomelo fruit and the Middle East arak are making one of the year’s hottest and refreshing new cocktails. Here’s the recipe. Baffled Once: Purchased as wacky Christmas gifts, the four bottles of arak inside our New York-bound suitcases were packed more carefully than human transplant organs are, but their bottle caps were as leaky as [...]
Golan Heights Slated for Oil and Gas Drilling…and Environmental Damage?
With everything else, this Hamat gader croc may have to put up with oil well drilling as well The Golan Heights, that disputed piece of real estate that Israel captured from Syria in 1967 is returning to world attention due to the possibility that there are oil and natural gas reserves in its southern sector. [...]
The Sperm Smugglers From Palestine
While tunnel smugglers in Gaza get blown out by sewage flushed into the tunnels from Egypt, Palestinian prisoners have found a new commodity to smuggle: their sperm! Six-month-old Muhannad Al-Zaben is already a celebrity among Palestinians, the so-called “Freedom Ambassador”. He is the result of smuggled sperm his father Ammar transferred to his mother Dalal [...]
MUV-e’s Folding Electric Trolley Goes from Land to Bus to Train
The MUV-e folding e-scooter from Israel can be personalized, linked to your smart phone, carried with you on the bus and stored in small apartments without taking much space. Estimated cost about $2000. Urban transportation has recently taken on new and innovative forms, which include gliding along on electric skates, and surfing city sidewalks on [...]
New Renault Twizy Electric Car Being Tested in Tel Aviv Rental-Share Plan
More than a skateboard, less than a car; that’s Renault’s new electric Twizy Tel Aviv’s serious pollution and car parking problems which were partially alleviated with the Tel-O-Fun bike sharing program back in 2011; and with proposed ideas to ban trucks during the morning rush hours. The city’s Municipality may now have an even better [...]
Eat Like A Sustainable Israeli: Tajine of Sweet Potatoes and Prunes RECIPE
A vegetarian slow-cooked casserole with a fine Middle Eastern blend of flavors. Sustainable cooking means healthy food from local sources and fair worker’s wages. Sustainable agriculture not only maintains, but also enriches the natural resources that our food supply depends on. Join Green Prophet as we tour the Middle East region offering the quintessential sustainable dishes [...]
Small American Farmer Sends Monsanto Seed Patents to Supreme Court
Vernon Hugh Bowman, farmer vs Monsanto, billion dollar seed and biotech company. It sounds like something from a book about the perils of the future, a future that is strangely today reality: The seed-engineering company Monsanto genetically engineers seeds to have desirable traits that make them hearty or the plants resistant to the effects of herbicides [...]
A Meteor, UFO or Starlings? Check Out This Super Nature Show in Israel
When I lived on a roof in Tel Aviv with my boyfriend Elad more than a decade ago, I would spend some evenings watching the Cypress trees sway and pray in the wind, and above them flocks of starlings painting the sky with their moves like tea leaves in a cup. Without a television it [...]
Knitting a Tree for Middle East Peace
Armed with knitting needles, Israelis and Palestinians are knitting for peace! The TikkunTree Project is a community knittivist art project dedicated to advocacy of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. This ambitious community art project is growing a tree, an enormous knitted tree whose fiber leaves and fruits and branches will shelter doves made of yarn: [...]