Israel NewTech has launched a interactive map of green Israeli innovations as part of a new Industry, Trade & Labor Ministry campaign that aims to showcase the country’s international influence in the clean tech and energy sectors. We have been frustrated with the slow pace at which Israel has incorporated some of its own homegrown [...]
Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology (EUT) and Hong Kong Polytechnic University have developed a fabric that traps water molecules present in fog. This clever new technology could have applications in dry coastal zones throughout Africa and the Middle East, where lack of water is increasingly both a humanitarian and security concern. To make the [...]
Water produced as a byproduct of natural gas extraction is one of the oil and gas industry’s biggest waste streams, according to the Environment News Service (ENS), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers are collaborating with scientists from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals to do something about it. A process called Humidification [...]
A host of private companies in Dubai and other emirates that have joined a voluntary initiative to reduce their energy and water consumption have experienced enormous success, demonstrating that it’s not impossible to do so. Last week the Emirates Wildlife Society – World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF) recognized five firms in particular for exceeding energy [...]
The United Arab Emirates could save approximately 30 per cent of its daily water use if multi-residential buildings implement greywater recycling programs, according to a recent report compiled by researchers from the University of Sharjah. Currently the average Emirati consumes roughly 550 liters of clean water every day, 30% of which is flushed down the [...]
In a bid to highlight our water use and waste, photographer Peter Holmes has created a series of memorable portraits of water use in different countries. “Statistics about water consumption are difficult to comprehend and are un-relatable to everyday life – this project attempts to make water consumption visible in a meaningful way.” Well, that’s [...]
October 16, 2012 is World Food Day as designated by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This years theme is agricultural cooperatives, and the winner of the World Food Prize for 2012 is Dr. Daniel Hillel of Israel. He was honored for his work in micro-irrigation and innovative irrigation methods for [...]
Four Turkish students collaborated to design Washit – a combined shower and washing machine that makes those 15 minute showers almost guiltless. Responding to the combined woes of water scarcity and excess water use in the bathroom, Ahmet Burak Aktas, Adem Onalan, Salih Berk Ilhan and Burak Soylemez created a shower box that collects, cleans, and [...]
Faced with water shortage in Amman, Laurie digs up some alternative solutions for generating more water. No water in my house last week in Amman, Jordan and I’m mildly freaked: I’d just taken delivery on some giant bottles for our water cooler, and I was up to speed on laundry. But no water means no cleaning. [...]
The relationship between Qatar and the UK keeps getting cozier – at least in the realm of architecture. First The Shard, which is owned almost completely by Qatar, was recently unveiled in London, and now the country’s first experimental eco-villa will be designed by a UK-based firm. Curtailed by the recession in their home country, [...]
Tomato sprouts growing with AC water: waste not want not! Another hot summer is now upon us and most people in the Middle East that have them are running their air conditioning units at full blast. Many people may not realize that their AC units are also producing large amounts of “run off” water that [...]
On his first visit to Ethiopia as President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi stressed his country’s desire to peacefully negotiate with other Nile Basin countries regarding a longstanding dispute over Nile River water rights. That Morsi visited Addis Ababa at such an early stage of his presidential term reflects his determination to maintain Egypt’s annual share [...]
On the grand scale of greenliness, the Radisson Blu scores pretty low, but they are making an effort that is worth writing about. On a recent visit to their branch in Dubai’s Media City, Michael Strauss, a contributing editor to the Green Traveler Guide, found their efforts to go green “sincere.” Committed to scouting out [...]
Step back, LEED. Back off, BREEAM. Easy there, Estidama: Qatar’s developing a new building standard and it’s called GSAS. Qatar’s revamped its QSAS green building rating system. Re-launched under a new name, the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) is muscling in as Middle East- North Africa’s green standard. Developed by the Gulf Organization for Research and [...]
Gmail offers recycling tips. Apparently, they’ve been doing this for years. What rock have I been under? I was doing some email spring cleaning during an especially snooze-inducing conference call, and there in my Gmail Trash file, up popped a random recycling tip. Newspapers can be reused as wrapping paper for gifts. I’ve been painting the New York [...]
Israel’s national water company, Mekorot (who we’ve interviewed here), is expanding with projects across the globe. It will build and operate two desalination plants in Cyprus to supply almost half of the country’s drinking water. Also on the horizon is a $180 million deal to build a water filtering facility along the La Plata River [...]
It may look like a castle, but this beautiful red-earth building is actually an 11-roomed hotel that receives 80% of its energy from the sun. And like the eco-lodge, Hassan and his wife Hélène of the Atlas Kasbah are no run-of-the-mill owners. He is Berber, she is French, and they both possess Masters Degrees in Sustainable [...]
Jordan’s mobile phone users will soon receive SMS tips on smart water use. It’s part of a public awareness campaign to alert Jordanians to the vital need to protect against pollution and reduce water consumption. (Well, at least alert Jordanians with cell phones, or more accurately, those with cell phones and contracts with the Zain [...]
Abu Dhabi hosts successful test of prototype water condensation, using wind power. A revolutionary way to condense water from the desert air, powered by – and housed within – a wind turbine has been tested in the UAE since October of 2011, by French innovation startup Eole Water. The ground-mounted version has proven that it can [...]
Within 50 years, water trapped hundreds of thousands of years ago will be depleted by Saudi desert farms using pivot irrigation. Water is a non-renewable resource in the Saudi desert, which only receives one inch of rain a year, so it makes sense to use existing resources very, very carefully, right? For ancient desert dwellers, [...]
Despite recent and heavy rains in Israel, the Sea of Galilee is still three meters lower than it should be Unusually heavy rains have helped restore water levels in Israel’s main water source, the Sea of Galilee or Lake Kinneret; a body of water that has been known since ancient times and until recently was [...]
It’s World Water Day today, relevant and necessary for the Middle East. Well, not quite, but I got your attention. Raise an icy glass filled with clean water: it’s World Water Day. In 1992, the United Nations General Assembly declared each March 22 to be World Day for Water, raising awareness of water issues at local and [...]
You don’t have to have a million-dollar set up to save water. Follow the links to 100+ simple water-saving tips. Sometimes we believe in short and sweet, and this is one of those times. Below you will find a link to a fantastic resource that provides a wonderful compilation of more than 100 water-saving tips, [...]
Abu Dhabi will no longer be sharing their precious groundwater. Dubai’s water scarce neighbor Abu Dhabi recently announced that it has banned all groundwater exports, Gulf News reports. Established yesterday at a Ministerial Service Council meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ban will keep [...]
Two-thirds of Tel Aviv’s water wells are too polluted to use. A recent study discovered that many Tel Aviv wells are polluted beyond suitability as drinking water sources. Data collected by the Health Ministry and Water Authority showed that 96 of a total 166 wells in the Tel Aviv area were closed due to contamination. [...]
Step in for this wonderful list of 12 easy ways to green your 2012. image via maliny The folks over at Nourishing the Planet have come up with a stellar list of simple steps that every person can take to green their lives. Although it is written with an American audience in mind, each of [...]
Before now, the environment has been glaringly absent from Egypt’s political agenda, but our friends over at Almasry Alyoum have compiled a fantastic list of would-be parliamentarians who seek to change that. Until now, the environment has never been on Egypt’s political agenda, but today’s parliamentary elections – albeit fraught with undue complexity and fears [...]
Yemen may be water poor but the country has a rich heritage of managing scare water resources effectively through community co-operation The arid and water scarce environment of Yemen makes life very difficult for the average Yemeni. Malnutrition and poverty are real problems which are only exacerbated by a widespread addiction to the narcotic, qat, [...]
The Alliance of Religions and Conservation has launched a special water conservation guide aimed at Muslim women and families Every year at Hajj, Muslims commemorate the struggle of Hajjar; an Egyptian hand-maid and second wife of the Prophet Ibrahim [pbuh] who was stranded in the desert without water for her child. The hajj pilgrims walk, [...]
The Great Man Made River: 70 percent of Libya’s fresh water comes from it. Muammar Gaddafi, the eccentric strongman of Libya for more than 42 years and often referred to as the Mad Dog of the Middle East, wound up dying like a dog at the hands of his own people. Now that he is [...]
Azad Nanakeli returned to his Kurdish home Erbil to find all of the wells contaminated with waste and chemicals. AU is one among many art pieces on display at Iraq’s first pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Fewer canvases are overflowing with pristine landscape scenes as unsustainable building programs throughout the Middle East encroach upon this [...]
Three Gaza strip smugglers were killed when wastewater leaked into a tunnel, causing it to collapse. Little is said about the drama that unfolds beneath Gaza each day, where many Palestinians continue to smuggle goods in from Egypt to the Strip. Although the Rafah border crossing was re-opened earlier this year and people can travel [...]
After fighting over the Nile for the last several months, Egypt and Ethiopia have kissed and made up. After a decades-long monopoly over the Nile river, Egypt became defensive when Ethiopia stood up to reclaim its rightful share of water. In addition to making public a plan to build what is now known as the [...]
Water conservation policies are being promoted in the naturally water poor nation of United Arab Emirates Considering that the United Arab Emirates is located in harsh and arid desert, the fact that the average resident uses around 364 liters of water a day – way above the global average of 200 litres- is surprising. Natural [...]
Power and water are inextricably linked in the rapidly growing Middle East. An exhibit hopes to green up both Desalination and water treatment have seen massive growth in the MENA region, which has now emerged as the largest market in the world. The region will have to build approximately three million cubic meters per day [...]
Green-fingered activists will be flocking to Jordan to attend the tenth International Permaculture Conference this September The bustling city of Amman and sweeping red sands of Wadi Rum in Jordan will be hosting the International Permaculture conference this month. The theme of the event is ‘Plan Jordan – Water’ which is rather apt considering that [...]
Farms like these must be cut off from fossil water under the desert, now “as precious as gold” With just 4 inches of rain a year, Saudi Arabia is already one of the driest places on earth. But unlike neighboring Israel, conservation is not part of the culture. Saudi water use is profligate, almost twice [...]
The Groasis Waterboxx inventions provides the perfect micro-climate for plants to grow in dead zones - deserts and mountain slopes. Read how it works.
Zam Zam holy water in Mecca is contaminated with arsenic, but researchers in the US have discovered a ridiculously simple technology that can render contaminated water safe to drink. Millions of people in the developing world are frequently hapless victims of arsenic poisoning. This is not because they have angry spouses, but because arsenic is [...]
At its extreme, it is human life itself that is at risk from water scarcity Can you imagine being this child’s mother? Perhaps she herself is also dying of starvation nearby, too weak to protect her dying child from this vulture that hovers expectantly nearby. Or already dead, perhaps. It may seem inconceivable that something [...]