This infographic by Carboun tells you everything you ever wanted to know about water and the Middle East but couldn’t be bothered to read Building on the blossoming debate on water and its complexities and Carboun’s first infographic on the carbon emissions from the region, comes this second infographic which aims to decode the water […]
Desalination is an expensive and energy-intensive way of removing salt from water to make it potable – Israel hopes it will provide 75% of its drinkable water by 2013 Despite several problems with the use of desalination (such as high costs and energy usage) and calls from experts to consider other options first, the Middle […]
When is energy-intensive desalination a last resort? One of humankind’s worst tragedies is currently unfolding in the Horn of Africa, and it is caused by the absence of water. Two years of failed rain, and subsequent drought and famine, is responsible for the daily deaths of roughly 2,000 people in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. According to […]
IDE Technologies wins ‘Best Company of 2011’ – but is it truly the best green company? Selected from among 15 Israeli clean technology companies, Israeli-global company IDE Technologies was recently awarded the title of ‘Best Company of 2011’ by the 2011 Cleantech Exhibition. The company was granted the award for its contribution to the field […]
A mental health hospital in Bethlehem is completely without water, and the mayor has been buying his own. Can Israel, Jordan and the PA make hydro peace? A Palestinian water and environmental engineer from Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), Nader al-Khateeb recently discovered that the mayor is among many in Bethlehem who have […]
Five governmental committees and eight scheduled discussions plan on painting the Israeli Knesset green tomorrow during “Environment Day”. Every one gets his or her day in court, and hopefully every important issue gets its appropriate representation in governmental legislation. Tomorrow is the environment’s day, as the Israeli Knesset will be observing it’s own “Environment Day”, […]
From recycling to water conservation, the East Jerusalem Environment Center is on a mission to improve the city and its neighbourhoods. Joining the ranks of influential green organisations such as Bustan and the Arava Institute is the newly formed East Jerusalem Environmental Center. Setup in September 2009 to work with two schools to reduce their […]
Saudi spends billions to win the food war. Without its oil wealth, Saudi Arabia’s 27 million inhabitants would eventually starve. At a recent social event, the country’s Minister of Agriculture Fahd Balghunaim warned that the ratio of food and water in the kingdom is perilously out of balance. But oil wealth currently ensures that its own […]
Yemen has the dubious distinction of being the first country that is expected to entirely run out of water, as the globe heats up. Its capital city Sana’a could be the first city to be emptied of its nearly half a million inhabitants by the catastrophic water scarcity that threatens billions by the the 2030s, […]
The ‘Green Mosques’ project hopes to help conserve water and electricity at 300 mosques- and save around US$1.5 million every year Water scarcity in the Middle East is nothing new- in fact, the region has been struggling to cope with drought and water shortages for centuries. The only problem is that today, modern urbanisation and […]
As a new political order struggles to assert itself in the autocratic states of the Middle East novel challenges – and possibilities – emerge. In looking toward the future, social Greens throughout the region would do well to coordinate an agenda geared toward a sustainable tomorrow.
This art installation by Matthew Laws & Hall Watts is an accurate portrayal of what our 2030 water consumption will look like. Few places are as water stressed as the Middle East. The Gulf countries have to live with the reality that their very existence depends on desalination, the Levant is scarcely better off, and […]
Take up the green challenge when you go to Hajj by following these four simple steps In the third and final installement of our Green Hajj feature we suggest some practical action reduce the carbon footprint of the average pilgrim. Based on the experiences of past pilgrims to Mecca, we put forward four simple yet […]
Israel powers up a new round of EUREKA grants – two make electricity from municipal water supplies A €33 million fund to help fuel the development of 25 projects in renewable energy, biotechnology and clean-tech industrial manufacturing across Europe was announced by the EUREKA network at a meeting in Israel Sunday. Since Israel’s chairmanship that […]
Speakers from Israel, Jordan, and Palestinian Territories will converge to make enviro-peace in this Ted-inspired event. The Guardian emphasizes the importance of cross-boundary cooperation in order to solve the pending water calamity that could grip the Middle East in a near-permanent state of discontent and suffering. No stranger to such challenges, Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians […]