Science finds a way to stop cow farts
Ideally we should all be living like this, with our own personal cow. Until that happens new research finds a way to slow methane development in cow stomachs.
Methane
For Some Iranians Meatless Monday Isn’t a Choice
Meat consumption in Iran has soared by 60 percent since 2005, according to the Omega Research Team (ORT), so the group is trying to convince locals to embrace Meatless Mondays. But for many, meat isn’t a choice.
Tapping Middle East Biogas Potential in Lebanon and Pakistan
Lebanon and Pakistan have each announced new biogas projects, tapping into a sustainable energy source that, unlike other renewable energy streams, solves two municipal problems – energy creation and waste processing. Biogas, primarily a mixture of carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen, is produced by decomposing organic matter. Add oxygen and create a high-efficiency fuel for […]
Japan Mines Seabed “Fire Ice” – The World’s Most Dangerous Source of Energy?
Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, a Japanese state-owned prospecting company says it has successfully extracted methane gas from an undersea methane hydrate deposit in the Nankai trench south of Japan’s main island of Honshu. This marks the first successful extraction of methane from such deep sea deposits. The team expects their pilot rig […]
A 1,700 Gigaton Carbon Bomb is Thawing in the Permafrost
Negotiators working on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol in Qatar ought to know that 1,700 gigatonnes of carbon lie buried in the permafrost, which is double the amount that currently wreaks so much havoc here on earth, reports UNEP. Then, as arctic temperatures rise as a result of global warming and the permafrost melts, […]
Wallboards from Waste Using Cow Pies
A novel way to turn cow poop into profits. Would you wear this molded fibre on your wall? The quest for construction materials with low environmental impact is leading product developers to new pastures. Literally, in the case of Noble Environmental Technologies Corporation, whose ECORE line of bio-based panels are made from cow poop. American […]
Israel’s 4MW Biogas Plant to Clean up After 14,000 Cows
Ridding Israel’s environment of the poop of chickens and cows is a fabulous way to usher in the Jewish New Year. Once it becomes fully operational in the next few months, the recently inaugurated Be’er Tuviya biogas plant will scoop up the waste of 14,000 cows and in total roughly 15% of all chicken and dairy farms […]
Save the Grace Combats Lebanon’s Year-Round Food Waste
We continuously shine a bright light on the issue of food waste during Ramadan and have provided tips for keeping it down, but throwing away perfectly good food is not something that only happens during the holy month or in the MENA region. It is a global phenomenon. Even though roughly 925 million people throughout […]
Destroying the Planet for Beef
Few ideas are more absurd to me than this: because people refuse to cut back on beef consumption, catastrophic levels of methane are being released into the atmosphere each year. Even Forbes wrote in a recent report that cutting back on meat is one of the fastest ways we can slash our carbon emissions and […]
It’s Game Over for Global Warming Unless We Act This Decade
Scientists warn that we are about to hit a tipping point beyond which it will be impossible to curb runaway global warming. Scientists gathered at the Planet Under Pressure Conference in London warn that failure to drastically slash greenhouse gas emissions this decade could push the planet past certain thresholds that would keep climate change […]
Top 10 Environmental Stories From the Middle East (2011)
2011 was a big year for the Middle East – not only politically but also environmentally. Step in to see 10 of our most popular stories. Much has been said about the great political upheavals that swept through the Middle East in 2011 – some for good and some for nought – but less attention […]
Swanky New Train Will Get Pax From Jeddah to Makkah in Under 30 Minutes
The Haramain High Speed Rail Project (HHR) in Saudi Arabia recently broke ground, which bodes well for the future of the Kingdom’s environmental/energy footprint. Phase II of Saudi Arabia’s 276 mile Haramain High Speed Rail Project (HHR) is now underway. The Kingdom is getting 35 swanky new trains and 4 stations designed by Foster + Partners […]
Giant Plumes of Gurgling Methane Could Fast-Track Planetary Warming
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 […]
UAE McDonalds Greases Its 100% Biodiesel Delivery Fleet
McDonalds is poised to recycle all of its vegetable oil from UAE branches into 100% biodiesel. In conjunction with Dubai-based Neutral Fuels, LLC, McDonalds UAE has committed to converting all of its used vegetable oil into a biofuel. Neutral Fuels LLC is the first commercial producer of 100 per cent biodiesel in the Middle East. […]
Cooking With Sheep Manure In South Hebron
Yair Teller is one Arava Institute alumni who is improving quality of life for Palestinians living in Susya, South Hebron. Despite the relative luxury of Tel Aviv and parts of Jerusalem, many people throughout Israel and the Palestinian territories continue to eek out a meager living with no access to basic amenities such as water, […]