Reviving Gaza’s fishing sector hinges on restoring peace and safe access to the sea
When Hamas Palestinians attacked Israel they wouldn’t image this would lead to such a collapse of Gaza’s once thriving fishing sector. The situation could still be reversed quickly when peace is restored and fishers are granted safe access to fishing waters, along with the resumption of imports of essential fish production inputs and tools, says the UN’s FAO.
The impact of the ongoing escalation on the fishing sector is devastating, according to the UN. Gaza’s average daily catch between October 2023 to April 2024 dropped to just 7.3 percent of 2022 levels, causing a $17.5 million production loss.
The destruction of Gaza’s two main aquaculture farms, along with the hatchery facility, has also left the sector unable to produce alternative aquatic foods through aquaculture. According to one assessment, before the conflict over 6 000 individuals in Gaza, including 4,200 registered fishers and boat owners, relied on fishing as their main income. The sector supported around 110,000 people.
North of Wadi Gaza, which separates the northern and southern parts of the Strip, the Port of Gaza City has been severely damaged, with most fishing boats destroyed.
The damage to Gaza’s fishing sector has exacerbated an already dire food security crisis. Fish, once a vital source of protein and other essential nutrients for Gazans, is now nearly unavailable. And with Hamas holding food stocks hostage, the people are at wit’s end.
“In Gaza’s fishing areas now lie broken boats, torn nets, and ruined infrastructure, standing in stark contrast to the once-vibrant industry that supported thousands of fishers for generations,” said the FAO Deputy Director-General, Beth Bechdol. It is not clear if she was there personally.
“For Gazans, the sea was not just a source of food, but a source of livelihood and identity. FAO can assist to help rebuild Gaza’s fishing industry, but for this to happen peace must first be established and fishers must be allowed to operate their boats and cast their nets without fear of harm,” she added.
Ciro Fiorillo, Head of the FAO Office for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, stated, “FAO is ready to restart projects, replenish damaged boats and equipment, and inject emergency funds as soon as these key fishing inputs for production are allowed to enter the Strip, a sustained ceasefire is in place, and access to the sea is restored.
“This will help Gazan fishers resume their activities, revitalize livelihoods, contribute to economic recovery, and restore dignity to the people of Gaza.”
Before the escalation of hostilities, FAO supported over 4,000 Gazan fishers, improving food security, safety, and sustainability. Key initiatives like the marine cage project and enhanced fish stock monitoring, helped to establish inland fish farms, enhanced fishers’ skills, shared best practices, and supplied essential cold chain resources, including solar panels, ensuring a more resilient food source for Gaza.
Despite all the billions in aid given to Gaza, most of it was used to build tunnels and bombs and the fishing industry on its own could not survive without outside help, which raises an eye. How we can help Gazans?
All images supplied by the UN. December 2024. Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip.
A prolonged drought in Morocco is causing serious problems for the agricultural sector. Local Authorities predict that the 2024 wheat harvest will be reduced by almost 50 per cent. The Arab Spring happened during a drought and raising wheat prices. Can we expect upheaval in the Magreb connected to this prolonged drought?
This image above, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites on 3 August 2024, shows the province of Sidi Kacem, once the heart of cereal production in Morocco, but largely uncultivated this year due to a lack of water to irrigate crops.
According to the UN unit to combat desertification, Morocco is facing a severe crisis that threatens its agriculture and food security. A six-year drought, exacerbated by climate change, has deeply impacted the country’s cereal farmers, whose fields of wheat, maize, and barley once sustained both human and livestock consumption.
A solar paneled building in Morocco
The drought has not only reduced crop yields but has also transformed Morocco’s agricultural landscape, leading to significant economic and social challenges. As Morocco grapples with these difficulties, the government and agricultural sector are employing innovative strategies to combat the water crisis and safeguard the nation’s food supply.
Moroccan agricultural production consists of wheat, oranges, tomatoes, potatoes, olives, and olive oil. They also grow argan seeds for Moroccan oil.
The Impact of Drought on Morocco’s Agriculture
Morocco’s agriculture sector is highly vulnerable to changing climate patterns, especially the delayed and inconsistent rainfall that has plagued the country for years. Cereals, which occupy the majority of Morocco’s farmland, have seen a dramatic decline in both yield and acreage.
Visit a Moroccan farm:
In 2023, Morocco’s wheat harvest is projected to yield only 3.4 million tons, compared to the 6.1 million tons harvested the previous year. This decline has forced many farmers to leave their fields fallow, reducing both productivity and income.
The ongoing drought has also led to a reliance on wheat imports to meet domestic demand. Between January and June 2023, Morocco imported nearly 2.5 million tons of wheat, primarily from France.
The men of the desert
However, this solution may not be sustainable, as France itself faces declining harvests due to similar climate challenges. The Food and Agriculture Organization ranked Morocco as the sixth-largest wheat importer in the world in 2023, highlighting the growing dependence on external sources for staple foods.
Recognizing the severity of the drought, the Moroccan government has intensified its efforts to address the country’s water scarcity. One key initiative is the implementation of a national water management strategy, aligned with guidelines set out by King Mohammed VI. This comprehensive strategy aims to mitigate the impact of the drought through water conservation measures and the diversification of water sources.
Plans are in place to construct seven additional desalination plants by 2027, which will increase capacity by another 143 million cubic meters. This ambitious plan reflects Morocco’s commitment to addressing its annual water demand, which exceeds 16 billion cubic meters—87% of which is used for agriculture. Yet, over the past five years, available water resources have not surpassed 5 million cubic meters annually, underscoring the gravity of the situation.
Berrechid aquifer Morocco, FAO. To improve water governance, Sweden, the FAO and the Moroccan government install water meters to stop water theft by Moroccan farmers.
Europeans have flocked to dive sites in Egypt because of the low cost tourism and liveaboard boats. Sinai and Egyptian Red Sea coral reef diving is a 4-hour plane ride from Europe.
Now that Saudi Arabia is opening up to tourism, westerners can skip the controversial Maldive Islands and head to the Red Sea of Saudi Arabia instead. Built on a pristine island is Sheybara, a series of water pods that offer privacy, and exclusivity.
If you have ever been to Sinai for a famous dive adventure or snorkeling trip, beware of the dangers. We’ve written about the fatal live aboard dive boat accident in the Red Sea this last November, and one reader reached out, a regular traveller to Sinai, about his family’s harrowing boating experience in Sinai, Egypt. Moral of the story: bring life jackets for each of your family members when traveling in countries like Egypt, Sinai, India, Thailand and South America. Don’t expect any travel company or tour operator to have you covered. Here is David’s story:
Your post made me think of what happened in Sinai in 2023. It turns out that if you live through it you have a good story, if you don’t then well… During April, 2023 the family decided to go to Sinai.
One day we visited the Blue Hole near Dahab, we snorkeled around and decided to visit Ras El Satan and further on explore this wonderful lagoon. We left the Blue Hole around 1pm with one of the local fishing boats, it was just us 8 (5 adults, my two sons 13 and 3 and a 5 year old nephew) and the skipper. I noticed there were no life vests. It’s about a 30 minute boat ride depending on the current or tide.
Snorkeling in the Blue Hole, Sinai
Once there we spent time with the locals and visited the above. Around 4pm I figured we should head back to not be on the roads at dark. When we arrived back at the pier of Ras El Satan there was a large group of visitors who wanted to get back just like us.
This time the polyester boat was stacked with people to the point where I thought, this is unsafe and we should get off, now this was the last boat of the day. I estimate there were about 50 people on this tiny boat, tourists but mostly Egyptian families who were on a day out. Kids, grannies, families.
While leaving I saw a 15-year-old kid fueling the boat with a plastic bottle of gasoline which had large black chunks floating in it. Another red flag. Nobody wore vests as there weren’t any. The waterline was just meeting the waves but once in the water the engine pulled the boat out of the water. Now we’re in the water, engine full throttle, our captain at the steering wheel.
Snorkeling in Sinai
Half way into the trip the engine goes out. Consternation. The boat slows down and waves start pouring over the side. This is where my instinct kicks in. We weren’t far from the shore, I reckoned it’s 200 meters which we could reach by swimming. There are no boats around us and the shore is nothing more than sea bashing onto rockery that climbs up to 20 meters above sea level.
I understand from the panic on the boat that most people cannot swim so I’m now talking to my family to abandon the boat as soon as a big wave goes over it, leave all the bags and just make it to the shore, first get us to safety as it’s very likely that people who can’t swim would grab onto those who would be wanting to help. Horrible. I tell my big boy to get ready to swim to the shore and not look at anyone else, he’s a good swimmer I know he can make it. I tell my wife and that I’d take the small one and my cousin would take the nephew.
Now we are waiting for disaster as the skipper tries to revive the engine. I hear how he is messing up the gear and drowning the engine with fuel. Another person is trying to call but of course there is no reach. By now it’s about 5:30pm and evening is setting in. Two other men are trying to revive the engine and miraculously the engine kicks in again. To get a few hundred meters again and then give up again. The same scenario repeats.
Eventually the engine gets us to the pier at the Blue Hole where it eventually gives up. Now it’s dark. People with flashlights on the pier are yelling, total chaos and disorder. I think we are going to capsize as the swell is rough and we’ll be smashed onto the rocks. Another boat navigates next to ours and skippers are tying our boat to theirs.
A person in full panic tries to jump into the other boat and lands in the water between the two boats, luckily he’s pulled out right away. Eventually the two boats manoeuvre onto the pier and people hurry off. This could have easily ended bad and you would have read about it in the news. N’importe qui as we say in French.
_____
David’s experience is not unique. Another tourist reported various safety issues on a recent boat and snorkeling trip to the Blue Hole and Ras Abu Galum:
Sinai boat ride. Image via Tuljac.
“The most convenient access to the next stop is a ten-minute boat ride. Alternatively, one can take an unpaved trail parallel to the shore on foot or by camel. Despite its popularity, the boat service was very disorganized. It was hard for me to figure out whether there was any system for boarding. Everyone crowded around the tiny boat dock, and we waited a few minutes for our turn. These boats were small and pretty crowded. Each boat carries almost two dozen passengers, and It felt a little unsafe the moment we boarded.
“Our boat’s motor blew out a few minutes into the boat ride. Waster was very choppy, and we were left in a drift for a while before another empty vessel came to the rescue. Just when we thought it was smooth sailing, the water became so choppy that our boat slammed hard against the water’s surface.
“For a moment, we thought we might capsize. All of a sudden, one big wave tossed the boat so violently that a girl in our group was knocked unconscious briefly. She banged her head into the side of the boat and started to bleed incessantly. There was blood everywhere. Everybody except the boat operator was super worried. This was officially the worst day tour we ever had. Brian told me he was getting seasick and stressed.”
When Crocs first came into being, I had already owned a prototype pair of foam-injected slides from Italy. I thought they were the best invention since sliced cheese, until the soles wore out. Crocs were never my look, but the idea of a compostable, injectable foamy plastic is. Enter Balena.
They have worked with a number of fashion brands, as we point out here, and now Stella McCartney.
Their compostable, recyclable, and biobased material embodies the shared vision between Balena and Stella McCartney: a future where innovation meets circularity to create truly sustainable design.
This collaboration is a milestone for Balena and for the future of materials.
Kitty Shukman
“It’s proof of how far we’ve come and how much further we can go together,” says Balena founder David Roubach:
“When I started Balena, one of my dreams was to collaborate with Stella McCartney—a true pioneer in sustainable fashion. Today, I’m proud to share that this dream has become a reality. Our groundbreaking material, BioCir® Flex, is now featured in Stella McCartney’s S-Wave Sport trainers, part of her Autumn 2025 collection.
An estimate of the Sea Story accident and where tourists were rescued on the second day in the wreck
An estimate of the Sea Story accident and where tourists were rescued on the second day in the wreck. See the region of the accident on Google Earth here.
On November 25, a dive boat called Sea Story with 44 souls capsized an estimated 18 nautical miles south of Marsa Alam, Egypt on the Red Sea. Some were rescued within half a day from rescue boats and the Navy. on November 25 Another 5 people were rescued the following day, some 36 hours after capsizing. Rescue divers went down and pulled 5 living people and 4 bodies from the wreck. Seven people are still missing. In total, 11 people lost their lives on this dive boat.
There are rumors that suggest that some people may have been trapped inside the wreck for the next few days after rescue on November 26 but the divers may have been too afraid to enter the wreck for the sharks circling the craft. Others connected to the rescue say this is nonsense. That the boat was searched from room to room on November 26. Here is a rescue story from one of the rescue team here (in Arabic).
Whatever the rumors, in a sad turn of events a boat of rescue divers were within a “30 minutes” boat ride and they could have assisted in the operation, one diver wrote, after seeing the outcome.
Several naval vessels and aircraft from the Search and Rescue Center participated in the rescue operation for the missing tourists after the Sea Story accident in the Red Sea. Press handout
“At the time of the accident we were 30 minutes from the See Story boat full of professional technical divers with experience in salvaging from a sunken ship. One phone call and everything was different,” says Radik Simic in a popular Scuba diving Facebook group.
The families of those lost and those surviving still do not have accountability and closure. “What about foreign embassies and ambassadors? They should be responding because that’s what they’re paid to do. I don’t know what countries the divers were from to assist with this. Feeling incredibly sad to hear these obstacles impeding getting information, accountability and closure,” says one commenter on a recent article we posted to a Scuba diving group.
Could there have been a better outcome if dive boats and rescue divers are connected to a global alerts system? Can there be an app for that? How about a Whatsapp or Telegram chat group (international and country based) so that rescue divers the world over can get a call and rescue when in need? What diving group wants to start such an initiative?
An alert went out that a boat was in distress 18 nautical miles from Marsa Alam, which could be a radius that went out any 18 miles out from Marsa Alam. Other news reports from Egypt say the boat was 46 nautical miles south of Marsa Alam.
American diver Jeffy Lee has travelled to Egypt: “It makes my blood boil at the fact that a few of us even had knowledge of such a catastrophic event and I personally found out about it from this group,” he says. “None of the media even gave two shits about the incident because it wasn’t an exciting “story” for them. Eleven lives were lost, and could have been prevented had it not been the ignorance and failure to follow standard protocols.
“Being in the middle of the Red Sea is not like being stranded in the middle of the Pacific–help could have arrived from all the surrounding neighbors, from the Jordanians, Israelis, and Saudis, whom are all well trained with their respective responders and within close proximity. This is not the first time an incident occurred under Egyptian jurisdictions where they simply swept it under the rug,” he tells Green Prophet.
Another sour point in the rescue may be the Egyptian ego: “From my many visits and understanding of their culture, three words you’ll never hear them say are “I don’t know” or “I need help”, and I’ve had many engagements and interactions which would have made things much easier and not waste my time due to their inefficiencies. I experience the same in my culture in Asia as well. They’d rather save the face than to admit they “don’t know”, and such ignorance at the cost of human lives is irreprehensible in my books.”
Today, no one doubts the existence of black holes, but until 2019, they remained pure hypothetical speculation – even though the term itself, and logically, the accompanying hypothesis, dates back to the mid-20th century. Well, now that the Event Horizon Telescope has officially confirmed the factual existence of such holes, astronomers have been discovering more and more of them, which raises a pretty relevant question – what is the closest black hole to Earth and should we be anxious about the neighbour?
Not to bury such a dramatic lead, let’s just say that we’re safe for now – actually, we should remain safe for a very long time. And now, in the comfort of our newly confirmed safety, let’s learn a few curious facts about the closest black hole to Earth 2024 astronomical facts we know so far.
Closest Black Hole to Earth: Gaia BH1
In 2022, the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission, originally set to create a three-dimensional map of our galaxy, discovered a black hole, which, logically enough, was dubbed Gaia. The object is situated in the constellation Ophiuchus and is part of a binary stellar system – that is, a system that consists of two gravitationally tied objects. One of those objects is a star very similar to our Sun, and it’s thanks to the gravitational interconnections that ESA scientists could determine there is a black hole. The thing is, these holes are still tricky to spot with our optics, so the first thing that caught the astronomers’ attention was the slightly unorthodox star behaviour, indicating a strong pull from another object, which turned out to be Gaia.
Another peculiarity that initially made Gaia tricky to spot is its dormant state. Unlike most of its rapidly-feeding and growing ‘sisters,’ Gaia is relatively quiet. But just how quiet and, more importantly, how close? Currently, the closest black hole to Earth distance is estimated at 1,560 light-years from our planet.
On a cosmic scale, that is not too far but consider for a second that our entire solar system stretches only a few light DAYS across. In contrast, the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, is about 4.37 light-years away — a fraction compared to 1,560 – but still incredibly far. Right, the fastest travelling object humanity has made, the Parker Solar Probe, is heading towards the Sun at 635,266 km/h. But to reach Gaia, it would need 2,650,358 terrestrial years!
Now that you know what’s the closest black hole near Earth? And more importantly, that it’s not that close, we can exhale once again and learn a few more facts about these mysterious matter-devouring objects.
Biggest Black Hole Ever Discovered
While Gaia BH1 is the closest black hole to Earth, it is by no means the largest – not even close! These holes vary dramatically in mass, from a few times the mass of our Sun to millions or even billions of solar masses. In this regard, Gaia is about ten masses of our Sun. And the biggest title belongs to a quasar TON 618, weighing a staggering 66 billion solar masses! How far is this monster, then? Fortunately, way too far – 18.2 billion light-years!
What Happens if a Black Hole is Near Earth?
Black holes have a scary reputation for devouring everything in their path, but even this process, quick as it may be on a cosmic scale, is incredibly long from our human perspective. Assuming a hole, the mass of our Sun replaced our star at the centre of the solar system (just hypothetically, of course), the solar system planets would keep orbiting as if nothing had changed. We would lose our source of light and energy and freeze to death, but that’s an entirely different hypothesis.
Back to the subject of black holes, one of these would need to venture into the inner solar system to cause immediate trouble for Earth. The thing is, relative to their huge mass, the holes are very small. So, to exert any kind of immediate damage, a planet would really need to be in the hole’s vicinity. And our home system is relatively well-studied, so we can safely state no black holes are lurking around the corner.
Takeaway: Should We Worry about Black Holes?
As you have probably guessed already, the answer to that is a definite no. Even the closest black hole to Earth is incredibly far away on the scale of our solar system. Besides, the gravitational pull of the cosmic monster diminishes with distance – that, as we already explained, needs to be a close one to cause immediate damage. Of course, our telescopes keep developing, and we may discover new cosmic holes soon enough – some of them might even rob Gaia of its closest title. Still, there is every reason to believe our home system and our planet is safe.
All marathons count on sponsors for prize money and fiscal support. The Dubai Marathon will be supported by Xiaomi, an official partner for the 2025 event. Xiaomi is a Chinese designer and manufacturer of consumer electronics and related software, home appliances, automobiles and household hardware.
The collaboration brings together a global leader in smart technology and one of the most prestigious marathons in the world, which will be staged for the 24th time on Sunday, January One of the Middle East’s most recognised events and an iconic race attracting participants from around the world, the Dubai Marathon offers a unique platform for athletes, enthusiasts, and spectators.
A Saudi woman laces her shoes before a run.
Dubai Marathon Event Director Peter Connerton says, “This collaboration combines the spirit of athleticism with Xiaomi’s passion for innovation, perfectly complementing our goal to inspire and motivate runners of all levels.”
The partnership is expected to further elevate the event’s status as one of the region’s premier marathon races and the fastest race of its kind in the Middle East. With Xiaomi’s support, the marathon is set to deliver an engaging, memorable experience for participants and fans across the Middle East and around the world.
Registration for the Dubai Marathon, the 10km Road Race and the 4km Fun Run can still be made online at dubaimarathon.org.
The 2025 Dubai Marathon is supported by the Dubai Sports Council, adidas, the Channel 4 Radio Network, Xiaomi, ITP Media Group, Bisleri Water, Dubai RTA, Dubai Police and Dubai Municipality.
Iran's Anis El Doleh was the favorite of the Shah - and wore a mustache considere
Iran’s Anis El Doleh was the favorite of the Shah – and wore a mustache considered a sign of beauty, strength and grace
Women’s beauty standards change just like our taste in wallpaper. Some years one thing is in, another few years and bell bottoms have replaced skinny jeans. Same with beauty standards all over the world. If you know anyone from the areas of Tajikistan or Uzbekistan the people of today sing songs about the beauty of a woman’s thick black eyebrows.
Once upon a time in Iran, which was then known as Persia, women with light mustaches were considered beautiful. Here are some photographs from a period in history –– a time when a prince had 84 wives, and some of them had mustaches.
Nasir al-Din Shah and the Subtle Grace of the Persian Mustache
In the opulent courts of Qajar Persia Nasir al-Din Shah reigned as both a monarch and a connoisseur of beauty. Among his 84 wives, one stood above the rest: Anis al-Dawla, the Shah’s confidante and his favorite. Her charm was unmatched, but it wasn’t just her wit or elegance that captivated him—it was her adherence to a beauty ideal that, by today’s standards, might seem unconventional. Anis al-Dawla, like many women in the Shah’s harem, was said to have a delicate mustache, a feature celebrated as a mark of feminine allure in Persian culture.
Born in 1842 she was the daughter of an impoverished shepherd from Amamme village in Lavāsān, northeast of Tehran, and was employed as a maidservant to Jeyrān, the wife of the Shah, in the Qajar harem in 1859. She became the favorite of the shah after Jeyrān’s death in 1860.
Anis was the only wife to take meals with Nāṣer-al-dīn, a unique privilege, and to join him regularly at bedtime after he received visits from other wives. She was also the one with the mind: to openly criticize him and organise political opposition to government policies that she disagreed with. The Shah granted the Shahrastanak Palace to her.
To the Western eye, this strange mustache aesthetic might appear strange. But in 19th-century Persia, where the natural world intertwined with art and philosophy, the light mustache held profound symbolism.
Persian poets, many who were Sufi, and whose words shaped the cultural landscape, compared this feature to a shadow upon the moon—a subtle enhancement that amplified, rather than diminished, its radiance. A line from the great Hafez captures this sentiment perfectly:
“Her lip, adorned with a shadow’s trace,
Holds a sweetness time cannot erase.”
Nasir al-Din Shah’s court was a world where beauty transcended mere physicality. The fine mustache represented vitality, refinement, and balance. Anis al-Dawla embodied this ideal. Her confident demeanor and understated grace left an indelible mark on the Shah and the empire.
Portraits from the era reveal women with bold features: expressive eyes, arched brows, and, often, faintly shadowed upper lips.
Anis al-Dawla, exemplified a harmony of qualities—strength tempered with softness, confidence paired with humility. The light mustache, far from being an imperfection, was a testament to their connection with the divine balance of nature.
Some sources suggest that the Shah forced the women in his harem to gain weight and did not allow them to shave their moustaches. Eventually Iranian women tried to look like the European women who began to adorn the dreams of Iranian men. Moustaches were shaved, eyebrows were thinned and women tried to lose weight.
Today, as global beauty standards often lean toward botox and homogenization of certain western beauty standards, the story of Nasir al-Din Shah and Anis al-Dawla invites us to reconsider our perceptions. That said, are you ready for Januhairy?
It tastes a bit like bacon when you fry it, and it’s affordable and packed with protein. Meet the Sakondry (Zanna tenebrosa), a tiny jumping insect that has been a popular snack for hundreds of years, mainly in the rural areas of Madagascar’s east coast.
But it’s more than just a tasty treat and a booster for food security. With the help of the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme, these edible insects are also an innovative solution and potential game changer in helping to take the pressure off and preserve Madagascar’s endangered and distinctive primates – lemurs.
The SWM Programme, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) works to restore the balance between food security and wildlife conservation, especially consequential to Madagascar’s unique habitats.
The lemur enjoys protected status under Madagascar’s wildlife laws. However, around the remote villages in the country’s northeastern Makira Natural Park in the Analanjirofo region, this primate continues to be hunted for meat, putting its survival at risk. Wild meat, including lemurs, can account for up to 75 percent of local people’s protein and 14 percent of people’s iron intake in this part of Madagascar.
Sakondry offer a nutritious and sustainable alternative, helping to safeguard Madagascar’s lemurs. There’s just one problem: populations of the Sakondry itself, once abundant, have also declined, causing concern among local residents.
Climate change, forest and biodiversity degradation as well as dwindling rainfall have all conspired together to create an environment that’s fast becoming too dry for the Sakondry’s comfort.
Another challenge is that, according to field surveys, communities were harvesting the insects without accounting for their reproductive cycle, negatively impacting their numbers. Ideally, only larvae that have reached a certain developmental stage should be collected, avoiding the capture of breeding adults, which are already winged and easily recognizable.
Now, drawing on the innovative research of anthropologist and conservation biologist, Cortni Borgerson, the Programme has launched a community-based insect farming initiative.
Instead of communities relying on catching Sakondry in the forest, the initiative has introduced the production of lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus), called tsidimy by locals and a favourite with the Sakondry, which flock to feed on the bean plants’ sap.
Tsidimy, as a legume, is also a remarkable asset for sustainable agriculture. It enriches the nitrogen in the soil and reduces erosion. This nature-based solution offers a dual benefit: it ensures a steady supply of protein coming from both Sakondry and beans.
Sakondry insects in themselves are exceptionally nutritious, rivaling traditional protein sources. Per 100 grams, they contain 20.1 grams of protein, comparable to chicken, pork and beef. They also provide considerably more potassium, calcium and iron than traditional animal proteins. Add the protein and micronutrients from the beans into the equation and you have a substantial contribution to a communities’ nutrition.
With minimal investment and resources needed, Sakondry farming creates income opportunities, especially for rural women, who are taking the lead in managing production. The ambition is that in the future, Sakondry farming can be expanded, and the insects could be sold nearby, therefore providing additional income to families.
Scaling up this practice exemplifies how using nature-based solutions and reviving local traditions can address both human needs and conservation goals in Madagascar’s unique ecosystem.
Klamath National Forest, Yreka, United States, 2017
Klamath National Forest, Yreka, United States, 2017
A new study has found that the smartphones we all carry in our pockets could help collect weather data from the public to provide early warnings for wildfires and other extreme weather conditions.
All smartphones are equipped with multiple micro-sensors capable of collecting important environmental data, such as temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, magnetic field, light, sound, location, acceleration, gravity, and more. These data help us find our way or define our location and they warn us when the battery overheats or the device absorbs moisture — all in real time, without saving the data.
Professor Colin Price and student Hofit Shachaf from the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences used data collected from the global public via the WeatherSignal app (OpenSignal) to develop a methodology for assessing wildfire risk based solely on smartphone data collected by the public.
The researchers demonstrated that smart use of such data could support early warnings for severe wildfire events, especially since millions or even billions of data points are collected worldwide every day by our smartphones. Today, early warning systems in remote forested areas typically lack data due to the absence of weather stations in remote locations. (Some researchers are using using goats, dogs and elephants to predict the weather!)
We take our phones everywhere but the data is normally lost and not saved.
Collin Price
However, many companies have started to collect smartphone data to use for various purposes, with user consent. The researchers believe that this huge data source could aid in forecasting extreme weather and natural disasters.
One key parameter determining the likelihood of a wildfire is the moisture content in vegetation (essentially the fuel available for the fire), which, in turn, is determined by the temperature and relative humidity of the surrounding air. Both the temperature and relative humidity can be easily obtained from the public’s smartphones. But smartphone data do contain errors. The temperature reading might reflect the air conditioning in your office, while the humidity sensor might identify moisture when the user is taking a shower.
The researchers say the huge amount of data collected from smartphones allows us to remove outliers in the data set. Furthermore, since the micro-sensors are not calibrated before they are put in our phones, it was necessary to first calibrate the local smartphone data against commercial meteorological stations. This procedure turned out to be relatively straightforward, with just a single calibration needed to correct a smartphone’s readings.
After calibrating or “training” the device, the researchers analyzed major wildfire events: one was the massive fire in Portugal in July 2013. The results were surprising, with smartphone data collected from the public showing significant anomalies before and during these major fires.
“It’s surprising, but even though each smartphone has its own errors and biases, with large amounts of data from many smartphones, we can average out the errors and still retain useful data,” Shachaf says. “The large volume of data helps overcome issues associated with individual smartphones.”
“Given the rapid increase in the number of smartphones worldwide, we propose utilizing this data source to provide better early warnings to the public and disaster managers about impending natural disasters,” Professor Price concludes. “Better early warnings could prevent natural hazards from becoming natural disasters.”
Just days into President Ursula von der Leyen’s second EU Commission, leading European food giants including Danone and Unilever wasted no time in delivering a pointed challenge to new Agriculture and Food Commissioner, Christophe Hansen. In a 9 December letter, the group urges Hansen to develop an ambitious Vision for Agriculture and Food to accelerate Europe’s sustainable food transition, framing this undertaking as equally critical for the industry’s long-term competitiveness.
Central to their appeal is Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform – currently among Brussels’s hot-button issues – with the sector advocating for a new system of environmental payments that increase annually, helping farmers balance green and economic necessities. The Danone-led group is also pushing for boosted funding for young and new farmers to ensure EU agri-food resilience amid the aging sector’s major demographic challenges. Facing a tight budgetary situation, Hansen and von der Leyen will need to convene a wide range of stakeholders to implement this new vision and replace the past mandate’s ‘stick’-heavy regulatory approach with a ‘carrot’ system based on green farming incentives and innovative income support measures.
CAP overhaul anchoring future talks
In his first days in office, Commissioner Hansen has set a bold tone for reform, expressing his support for disbursing a larger share of the bloc’s €387 billion CAP subsidy programme to small, low-income farmers. Long its largest source of criticism, the CAP continues to disproportionately reward agribusiness giants, with the largest 20% of farms absorbing 80% of the budget due to the system’s outdated hectare-based payment system.
Acknowledging the budgetary constraints amid mounting defense and reindustrialisation priorities in Brussels, Hansen has characterised his call for a CAP overhaul that “better targets the support to those most in need” as an “evolution” to re-balance the farming support system in a financially feasible manner. Nevertheless, Hansen’s proposed changes could mark the CAP’s most profound reorientation in its six-decade existence.
This new approach follows the Commission’s recent compromises to dilute the environmental goals of last mandate’s Farm to Fork strategy, largely in response to the bloc’s sweeping farmers’ protests by farmers and MEP pressure ahead of the European elections. Yet, while the latter essentially amounts to shallow, albeit pro-farmer, political pandering, Hansen’s appetite for genuine innovation bodes well for the sector’s future.
Echoing Hansen’s strategic focus, the EU Council approved a set of conclusions on 9 December outlining key priorities for CAP revision, with the bloc’s 27 agriculture ministers stressing the need for farmers’ equitable remuneration, fairer and more transparent supply chains value distribution and bolstered competitiveness across the EU’s agri-food sector.
Dismantling lingering obstacles
This growing momentum for change reflects Brussels’s broader recognition that economic viability must underpin sustainable agricultural practices. On 10 December, Von der Leyen offered her own proposals to bolster the sector’s negotiating position, from mandatory contracts between farmers and food companies to softened competition rules for young farmers and tighter oversight of retail pricing, while Hansen has equally highlighted the exploitative, income-killing practices of major retailers.
Yet, despite these good intentions, the EU executive risks undermining the farmers they aim to support with a lingering vestige of the widely-discredited Farm to Fork agenda: the front-of-package nutrition label proposal. Indeed, the French creates Nutri-Score has once again found itself in a media storm, with French retail giant Carrefour recently mandating that suppliers display the label on all online products, threatening to publicly call out producers that fail to comply.
The EU cannot in good faith back a labelling system which the very supermarkets they aim to rein in are now using to pressure EU producers – particularly given that Nutri-Score has long disproportionately impacted the bloc’s small, local farmers. With its outdated algorithm, Nutri-Score continues to unfairly grade natural, traditional products, such as olive oil, PDO cheeses and cured meats, at the heart of Europe’s culinary heritage and balanced dietary traditions.
Local farmers across Europe have risen against this misguided imposition that undermines their competitiveness and supermarket bargaining power, prompting an expanding group of governments, including those of Portugal, Spain, Greece and Czechia, to snub the label. The agri-food industry’s biggest players, such as Danone, once a key backer of Nutri-Score, are equally starting to drop the label, recognising its misleading impact for consumers.
Even in France, independent nutritional research is increasingly proving Nutri-Score’s opponents right, contrary to the Nutri-Score team’s claims of unanimous scientific backing. The Commission should therefore consistently apply its emerging policy approach and relegate the labelling proposal to the past.
Scaling innovative new solutions
The EU executive must instead focus on novel ideas to bolster farmers’ competitiveness while facilitating the sustainable transition. Commissioner Hansen has encouraged the bloc’s farmers to explore “alternative income” streams to enhance the sector’s economic resilience, citing growing crops for biofuels, planting trees for carbon credit payments and optimising land usage with solar panels and other forms of green energy production.
The latter avenue, dubbed “agrivoltaics,” has emerged as a particularly promising solution over the past year, with the EU already recognising its potential by including funding and support mechanisms in innovation programmes such as Horizon Europe. Paired with tax incentives and credits for green energy and agricultural practices, the EU can help pave the way for farmers to unlock their full contribution to a “resilient, competitive and sustainable agri-food system European food system” – a mission von der Leyen has assigned the newly-launched European Board on Agriculture and Food tasked with de-polarising the policy debate and renewing ties with farmers.
The path forward demands bold leadership. The EU Commission will need to embrace the recent call from industry leaders like Danone and Unilever to balance environmental ambition with economic pragmatism, with CAP reform offering the foundation to launch this new agenda. Delivering targeted incentives and greater support for young and small farmers is not just a policy priority, but a necessity for the sector’s future. Now is the time to move beyond restrictive approaches and cultivate genuine cooperation at the heart of Europe’s agri-food system.
The family of a British couple still missing after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea have spoken of their "desperation" as they wait for news.
Jenny Cawson, 36, and her husband Tariq Sinada, 49, from Devon, are believed to be among seven people still unaccounted for after the Sea Story went down off the coast of Egypt early on Monday.
The family of a British couple still missing after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea have spoken of their “desperation” as they wait for news. Jenny Cawson, 36, and her husband Tariq Sinada, 49, from Devon, are believed to be among seven people still unaccounted for after the Sea Story went down off the coast of Egypt on November 25.
Accounts from divers that are in Egypt: the liveaboard boats wating to take divers to exotic dive locations are currently grounded. Could this have something to do with MAIB in the UK?
MAIB writes that these accidents include: the capsize of Carlton Queen on 24 April 2023 resulting in abandonment of the vessel with all passengers and crew rescued; a fire on Hurricane on 11 June 2023 resulting in the deaths of 3 UK nationals; the capsize of Sea Story on 25 November 2024 resulting in up to 18 fatalities/people missing, including 2 UK nationals, Jenny Cawson, 36, and her husband Tarig Sinada, 49, from Devon.
Another accident occurred this week but all 28 people were rescued. The accident allegedly included a refurbished wooden boat.
Michael Miles rescue from the Egyptian dive boat My Sea Story
Following the protocols in the IMO Casualty Investigation Code, the MAIB has formally registered the UK as a Substantially Interested State in the Egyptian safety investigations into these accidents.
From the evidence the MAIB has obtained so far, they write that “there is cause for serious concern about the safety of some of the Egyptian dive boats operating in the Red Sea.
“The Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents has written to the Egyptian Authority for Maritime Safety (EAMS) setting out his concerns and seeking full participation in the EAMS investigations. In the meantime, the MAIB is preparing a safety bulletin for publication setting out the areas of concern that individuals intending an afloat-based diving holiday in the region should take into account before booking.”
Sea Story, Egyptian live aboard diving vessel sinks. Many are still missing.
Sea Story, Egyptian live aboard diving vessel sinks. Many are still missing.
Globe-trotters, divers, sailors, cyclists, pilots on solar airplanes –– those heading around the world like to capture their adventures so their loved ones can follow. That’s what a tourist did when they boarded the M/Y Sea Story on November 24, this year, a liveaboard diving adventure luxury yacht promising 3 dives a day. Egypt’s Red Sea is the most population destination in the world for divers because of its proximity to Europe –– only a 4-hour plane ride to Cairo, then a day bus trip to the seashore town of Marsa Alam.
There were 33 tourists onboard, all seasoned divers, expecting to go on challenging and adventurous dives into the Red Sea coral reefs, with the help of a team of 11, divers, cooks and a captain of the boat. For reasons that no official is yet saying the 3-story yacht listed 3 times and on its third, tipped into the sea and did not recover its balance. At that moment 23 people, including crew managed to jump from the capsized wreck into the sea, and most found life boats back to shore.
The story ends tragically when a day and a half later rescue divers finally went in. They heard knocking on the boat and with a beloved family member inside, one of the Egyptian rescue team insisted they go in. According to some accounts the Navy prevented the rescue divers from going into the boat. According to others the divers were afraid to go in the water because of the sharks. But they did go in but it took 36 hours since the boat started sinking.
After 36 hours from capsizing (varying accounts say an alarm was sent to another boat at 1:30am, others say the sinking happened at 2:30 or 3:30am on November 25) 5 people were rescued from inside their cabins. Those close to the wreck said they were farther out than they should be and saw a ship in the shipping lane passing in the distance.
After reaching out to the booking company (Dive Pro Liveaboard), local divers in the region, some associated with the company and who have local intel, the Navy and the local dive association, The Chamber of Diving and Water Sports, no one was willing to give the exact location when the boat first sent its distress signal. Rumors circulating suggest that the captain was the cook and that perhaps he or others in charge were inebriated (stoned), but since the “Authorities” in Egypt aren’t speaking to anyone, survivors and families of those who have lost their loved ones in the accident, are doing their own guess work.
Sea Story rescue location November 26. Where 5 people were rescued and 4 bodies were recovered from a capsized and semi-floating shipwreck called Sea Story.
We still don’t no where the boat first listed and why. We don’t know where the boat finally sank, although one source that can’t be named says it is in 1000 meters of water.
The family of the victim sent us their last Polarstar location, and you can see it here below. They say they were getting a signal as of December 2. This is the last transmission they’ve had. The location was sent at 14:50 November 25, many hours after the boat would leave the Port Ghalib. And it was transmitting until December 2, according to her in-laws that sent us this information. Does this give us any more clues about what happened when the Sea Story sunk?
Located in the same ancient port where Jonah sailed off and made his fate with the whale, is a new wave-collecting power plant that officially went online this month. Though it’s been in place for a number of years as a pilot and generally inactive, the city of Jaffa welcomed the municipal company Atarim, in collaboration with Eco Wave Power and EDF Renewables Israel, to Israel’s first pilot station for generating electricity from sea waves.
Eco Wave Power is a NASDAQ-listed company (ticker: WAVE) holding 18 patents for innovative wave energy technologies. In addition to the Jaffa pilot station, the company is planning projects in the Port of Los Angeles with Shell and in Porto, Portugal, where its first commercial station will be built.
The company’s technology connects floaters to existing marine structures like breakwaters and piers. These floaters rise and fall with the waves, powering a hydraulic motor and generator located onshore. The system includes smart controls that lift the floaters out of the water during storms to prevent damage.
The project is led by Eco Wave Power founder and CEO Inna Braverman, a graduate of the “Women for Climate” program from the group C40.
Developed by the company Eco Wave Power, the station was built in collaboration with EDF Renewables. The power station is recognized as “pioneering technology” by the Ministry of Energy. For the first time, electricity generated from sea waves will power the country’s national grid—a historic milestone in the country’s renewable energy progress.
The city which is aiming to brand itself as a green city, says this launch “marks a significant step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing sustainable energy, reinforcing Tel Aviv’s status as a global innovation leader.” High-tech center, yes, green city –– um, not always. The city’s lack of financial support to one of its foundational cultural centers, the East West House (no comment from the Mayor Ron Huldai) and indecisions about cutting down trees don’t make it a green city, just because the city wishes it so.
Middle Eastern Jewish and Arab musical culture, ancient trees: these things make a city sustainable and shouldn’t be pushed aside to make way for “green progress” according to a ledger. The concept is ridiculous. Electric bikes and lack of speeding laws and order make Jaffa an un-walkable city in some of the busier areas. Plastic bags are given out freely. Residents barely compost or recycle home waste. The recent light rail train going online, however, has upgraded the city by 1000%. The CDP group gives Tel Aviv and A- for Sustainability.
Are you a woman for climate change? Check out C40 here. Maybe you can join.
A new UN report shows that nearly 1.4 billion hectares of land (just over 10 percent of the total global land area) are already impacted by salinity, with an additional one billion hectares at risk due to the climate crisis and human mismanagement. Soils became saline from water overuse. Aquifers become brackish and precipitation that is lacking cannot replenish the natural balance back to the soil, making them unsuitable for farming. This Saudi Arabian company Iyris is working to solve agriculture on brackish (salty aquifers and land).
So who are the worst-affected?
Today, 10 countries: Afghanistan, Australia, Argentina, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, the United States, Iran, Sudan, and Uzbekistan account for 70 percent of the world’s salt-affected soils.
The Global Status of Salt-Affected Soils report was presented today during the International Soil and Water Forum 2024 in Bangkok. The event discussed an action plan for halting and reversing soil degradation and water scarcity.
Excessive salinity reduces the fertility of soils and severely impacts environmental sustainability. In the countries most affected by this issue, salinity stress can lead to crops yield losses – such as rice or beans – of up to 70 percent.
This comes at a time when there is an urgent need to boost food production to feed a growing global population.
The report estimates the area of salt-affected soils at 1 381 million ha (Mha), or 10.7 percent of the total global land area. It further estimates that 10 percent of irrigated cropland and 10 percent of rainfed cropland are affected by salinity, although uncertainty remains high due to limited data availability.
Models of global aridity trends indicate that, under the existing trend of temperature increase, the affected area may increase to between 24 and 32 percent of the total land surface. The vast majority of aridification is expected to occur in developing countries.
The drivers of salinisation are both natural and induced by humans
The climate crisis is increasing aridity and freshwater scarcity. Rising sea levels are projected to place more than one billion people in coastal zones at risk of progressive flooding and salinisation by the end of the century. Additionallly, global warming is contributing to salinisation through the thawing of permafrost.
Inadequate agricultural practices also play a significant role. These include irrigating crops with poor-quality water, inadequate drainage, deforestation and the removal of deep-rooted vegetation, excessive water pumping in coastal and inland areas, the overuse of fertilisers, de-icing agents, and mining activity.
Strip coal mining
Global freshwater use, in particular, has increased sixfold during the last century, contributing to groundwater salinisation due to the overexploitation of aquifers for irrigation purposes.
Call for action
Since salt-affected soils account for at least 10 percent of land, their sustainable management is crucial to meet growing food demands. The report offers a series of strategies for managing salt-affected soils sustainably. Mitigation strategies include mulching, using interlayers of loose material, installing drainage systems and improving crop rotations.
Adaptation strategies include breeding salt-tolerant plants (such as halophytes, which flourish in mangrove swamps, tropical sand and cliff shorelines, and even salt deserts) and bioremediation – using bacteria, fungi, plants or animals to remove, destroy or sequester hazardous substances from the environment.
Jubail mangrove walk, Abu Dhabi. Saudi Arabia says they are planting 1.2 mangrove trees
By highlighting the critical link between sustainable soil management, water quality, and food production, “the report outlines strategies for the recovery of agricultural salt-affected soils, including emerging fields like saline agriculture and salinity bioremediation,” Lifeng Li, Director of FAO’s Land and Water Division, and Jorge Batlle-Sales, Chair of the International Network of Salt-affected Soils (INSAS), wrote in its Forward.
Consequences of drought in Iraq
The report also calls for a legal framework at the national and international levels to safeguard natural saline ecosystems and ensure the sustainable management of agricultural soils under irrigation, particularly in areas at risk of salinisation. The main goal is to protect productivity, quality, and overall soil health, ensuring food quality and quantity for future generations.
Portugal became the new Costa Rica during the Covid epidemic. Lax lockdowns and no need for vaccine certificates, combined with plenty of nature and freedom for global nomads made Portugal the go-to place for people around the globe. Full of entrepreneurial spirit that other countries may have lost Portugal now aims to be a medical cannabis hub of Europe and the world. America’s complicated relationships with Federal cannabis laws make doing business there complicated. Canada’s market is saturated with so many products and companies. Can the climate of Portugal do it better?
Canadian-founded and American headquartered Tilray is one of the companies doing business in Portugal. Tilray (Nasdaq: TLRY; TSX: TLRY) receives its second approval for a new medical cannabis extract in Portugal: Tilray Oral Solution THC10:CBD10. It’s a product that is built with half and half, CBD and THC.
Denise Faltischek, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of International at Tilray said: “This is a significant step towards meeting the critical needs of patient care and providing high-quality cannabis products and therapeutic options to those with specific medical conditions. The approval of this oral cannabis solution in Portugal is a testament to Tilray’s global commitment to increasing safe and regulated access to medical cannabis products for patients in need.”
Tilray Medical continues to be a global leader in the medical cannabis industry, offering a diverse portfolio of EU-GMP certified medicinal cannabis products. With operations extending over 20 countries, Tilray Medical is dedicated to supporting medical cannabis patient care worldwide through quality products accessible via healthcare practitioners. Its business in Portugal is a stepping stone to the rest of the EU.
Tilray Medical grew from being one of the first companies to become an approved licensed producer of medical cannabis in Canada to building the first GMP-certified cannabis production facilities in Europe, first in Portugal and later in Germany. Today, Tilray Medical is one of the biggest suppliers of medical cannabis brands to patients, physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, researchers, and governments, in over 20 countries and across five continents.
After we published this article, we feel a reader inquiry warrants an update. A cannabis grower with a nationally registered brand tells Green Prophet: “But what you don’t hear in your story is how littered with clandestine growers are in the police services.”
People planning on starting a cannabis business in Portugal beware
“Even though I have a letter from the health minister they destroyed my biolab and destroyed the project to make a natural remedy before covid emerged. Then they came back a second time and demanded I give them my seed bank about a year and a half later. And then last July they came back and repossessed all of my CBD products and the seed ban.
“This time they only counted the number of bags not the weight of the seeds inside the bags. That’s because you’re in Portugal the clandestine growers moonlighting is policeman are scared of border services catching them trying to import seeds. For this reason I’m keeping my business closed and moving to the Azores Islands to register recreational cannabis for exports.”
Sea Story rescue location November 26. Where 5 people were rescued and 4 bodies were recovered from a capsized and semi-floating shipwreck called Sea Story.
Sea Story rescue location November 26. Where 5 people were rescued and 4 bodies were recovered from a capsized and semi-floating shipwreck and dive boat called Sea Story.
On November 25, a dive yacht by the name of Sea Story listed and capsized several km out into the Red Sea off the coast of Marsa Alam Egypt. It was carrying 44 people and 11 people are presumed to have died. This number includes the 4 bodies found on the shipwreck at this location.
The GPS coordinates for the rescue can be accessed here on Google Earth.
The European survivors of this boating accident are being treated as suspects rather than survivors and the Egyptian Authorities have kept them in the dark about the fate of those dead and presumed dead because they are missing. An anonymous tipster gave Green Prophet the location of the rescue. We are still looking for the site where the boat listed on November, 25. And where the wreck drifted to and sunk some estimated 20 to 25 kilometers or more away from the rescue site.
A low-cost liveaboard in Egypt sounds like an adventure of a lifetime. Make sure it’s safe.
Is this the world's first church from 35,000 years ago?
Is this the world’s first church from 35,000 years ago?
Christians in Cairo worship in a cave because they aren’t given a choice. There is evidence that ancient worshippers once gathered in a cave. This may be the first communal expression of religion in the world, according to researchers who found the cave in Israel, in a region of the Levant known as the Cradle of Civilization. It is prehistoric evidence for the world’s first “church”.
Tour inside:
The rare prehistoric ritual complex has been uncovered in the darkest depths of Manot Cave in the Galilee region, Israel. The complex is enclosed naturally by impressive stalagmites that create a distinctive entrance to the site and features a unique and impressive rock with geometric engravings resembling a turtle shell.
“The rare discovery provides a glimpse into the spiritual world of Paleolithic hunter-gatherer groups who lived in our region approximately 35,000 years ago,” says Omry Barzillai from the University of Haifa and Israel Antiquities Authority.
Research team (L to R): Ofer Marder, Israel-Hershkovitz, Omry Barzilai. Prof. Ofer Marder, Prof. Israel Hershkovitz and Dr. Omry Barzilai in the Manot Cave. Credit: Omry Barzilai.
“The engraved rock was deliberately placed in a niche in the deepest, darkest part of the cave. The turtle-shell design, carved on a three-dimensional object, indicates that it may have represented a totem or a mythological or spiritual figure. Its special location, far from the daily activity areas near the cave entrance, suggests that it was an object of worship.
“Notably, there are prehistoric caves in Western Europe, with similar findings testifying these places held symbolic importance and served for ritual and communal activities.
A deer beam from the hidden hall in Manot Cave. Photo credit: Dafna Gazit, Israel Antiquities Authority
The study of this complex, published in the journal PNAS, was led by Dr. Omry Barzilai from the University of Haifa and Israel Antiquities Authority, Prof. Ofer Marder from Ben-Gurion University, and Prof. Israel Hershkovitz from Tel Aviv University.
Manot Cave has been excavated systematically since 2010 by the Israel Antiquities Authority, Tel Aviv University, and Ben-Gurion University. The cave is particularly well-known for its stunning stalactites and remains of habitation from several prehistoric cultures of the Upper Paleolithic period.
Ancient skull, via Tel Aviv UniversityInside the cave, via Tel Aviv University
Among its notable discoveries is a 55,000-year-old modern human skull, the oldest modern human fossil found outside Africa.
In course of study of the deep complex study the researchers uncovered ash remains in one of the stalagmite rings near the engraved rock, confirming the use of fire to illuminate the ritual space, likely with torches. Acoustic tests revealed that the complex has enhanced natural acoustics, which could have created a unique auditory experience for communal activities such as prayer, singing, and dancing.
Prof. Hershkovitz: “This is an unprecedented discovery of a space with ‘audio-visual equipment,’ centered around a ritual object (the turtle), which constitutes the first evidence of communal rituals in the Levant. It is no surprise that prehistoric hunters chose to conduct their rituals in the darkest part of Manot Cave, as darkness embodies sacred and hidden qualities, symbolizing rebirth and renewal.
“The establishment of ritual centers during the Upper Paleolithic was a central element in the development and institutionalization of collective identity — a necessary stage in the transition from small, isolated hunter-gatherer groups based on blood ties between individuals to large, complex societies.”
Inside the cave photo: Amos Frumkin / Hebrew University Cave Research Center
The chronological age of the ritual complex in Manot Cave was dated to 35,000 to 37,000 years ago, a period associated with the sudden emergence of the Aurignacian culture, known in Europe for its symbolic objects and cave paintings. “In our excavations in Manot Cave, we uncovered rich Aurignacian layers near the cave entrance that included flint tools, bone and antler implements, and shell beads,” said Prof. Ofer Marder from Ben-Gurion University.
In a small, hidden chamber adjacent to the ritual complex, a complete deer antler with signs of use was discovered.
“Antlers were used as raw material for crafting tools for various purposes by Upper Paleolithic cultures in Europe, and by the Aurignacian culture in the Levant. The placement of the deer antler in a hidden chamber adjacent to the ritual site may be connected to the ritual activities in the cave,” explained Barzilai.
The researchers also conducted 3D photographic mapping of the cave. “We found a clear separation between the ritual complex and the areas of regular activity at the cave entrance. This observation strengthens the hypothesis about the significance of the complex and the need to differentiate it from the areas where daily activity took place,” said Alexander Wigman from the Israel Antiquities Authority.
According to the researchers, the discovery of the ritual complex in Manot Cave sheds new light on the spiritual life of the Upper Paleolithic people in the Levant. “This research enriches our understanding of prehistoric humans, their symbolic world, and the nature of the worship rituals that connected ancient communities.
“Identifying communal rituals in the Paleolithic era marks a breakthrough in our understanding of human society and offers more than just a glimpse into ancient ritual practices. It reveals the central role of rituals and symbols in shaping collective identity and strengthening social bonds,” the researchers concluded.
Should cows be eating Bovaer so they produce less methane?
Should cows be eating Bovaer so they produce less methane?
Cows that make milk make methane gas and that gas is leading to more greenhouse gas emissions. One of the market solutions to reducing methane gas from cow farts and manure is a new biotech product marketed as Bovaer. The product, developed by DSM Firmenich from Maastricht, Holland says that when fed to a cow in their feed, when Bovaer gets to the cow’s rumen, it creates more microbes to help break down food. Like eating a probiotic.
Just ¼ teaspoon in a cow’s daily feed takes effect in as little as 30 minutes. As it acts, Bovaer is safely broken down into compounds already naturally present in the rumen, advertises the company. Less methane gas is produced in the process.
Bovaer, they say, is the most extensively studied and scientifically proven solution to the challenge of burped methane to date — “with more than 130 on-farms trials in 20 countries and more than 80 peer-reviewed scientific studies. In every case, it has proven safe for consumer, farmer and animal, having no impact on milk production or reproduction.”
Indeed, you can find clinical trials online from the United States (Penn State) and Canada (University of Alberta) where researchers report in the US and Canada significantly less methane production in dairy cows that are given the supplement, with the scientific name 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP).
In the UPenn study, “Administration of 3-NOP via the TMR at a concentration of 60 mg/kg of feed DM decreased daily enteric CH4 emission by 26% in early-lactation dairy cows. The enteric CH4 yield decreased by 21%, and CH4 emission intensity was decreased by 25%. Dry matter intake was lower in 3-NOP cows (by 5%), but ECM production was not affected, which resulted in increased ECM feed efficiency compared with CON cows.
Arla Foods, owner of the UK’s biggest dairy co-operative said on 26 November it will going to start using the supplement in its milk. Arla said it will work with grocery giants Aldi, Morrisons and Tesco to trial the use of the feed additive known as Bovaer across 30 British farms.
British shoppers threaten to boycott all three supermarkets and Arla brands, along with Lurpak butter.
“Bovaer is a relatively simple chemical that is broken down in part of cows’ stomachs, where it also inhibits a specific enzyme that produces methane,” says Prof Oliver Jones, Professor of Chemistry, The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. “Because it is broken down quickly, it is not absorbed whole and is not present in milk; it indirectly increases the fat content because substances that would have been converted to methanol are instead converted to fats.
“Worries over new technologies are nothing new. However, the use of food additives is quite strictly controlled in the UK and Europe,” he notes. You can’t just add anything to the food chain without safety testing (although it appears you can claim what you like on social media).
“Despite extensive testing in multiple countries; there is no evidence that Bovaer causes cancer (as it does not damage DNA) or that it is dangerous to consume milk or other products from cows treated with it. Neither does Bovaer prevent other methods of reducing methane emissions from cattle, such as selective breeding.
“One can’t directly compare the everyday use of Bovaer and the potential risks from its use in concentrated form. For example, Bovaer is claimed to be an irritant to the eyes and skin and potentially harmful by inhalation, but common salt is also an irritant to the eyes and skin, and water is clearly potentially harmful by inhalation.
“Context is extremely important when assessing risk, but entirely missing from the social media videos on this topic.”
One solution to industrial food is finding raw milk, though it is illegal to buy and sell raw milk in Canada and the United States, it is possible for communities to self organize and “share” milk this way.
I’d assume, just in general here, that if the community of milk drinkers want to be upset about something, they should look to cow hormones, and antibiotics fed to cows. This may be a bigger reason to be concerned.
States Where Raw Milk is Legal on Producing Farms
It’s against the law to buy and sell raw milk in Canada, and has been since 1991, when the federal government banned its sale due to concerns of food-borne illnesses. Pasteurization is a process that involves heating raw milk to at least 63 C to kill harmful bacteria, such as salmonella and E. coli.
Twelve of those states—California, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, Arizona, and Connecticut—allow farm sales of raw milk with no license. The rest require a license to sell on the farm.
Some people when the can drink goat, sheep and camel milk.
A steak grown in the lab made by Aleph Farms. It is meat grown in a lab, without animal suffering.
A steak grown in the lab made by Aleph Farms. It is meat grown in a lab, without animal suffering.
People in the Mediterranean already eat a balanced and healthy diet copied the world over. But there is a new trend in the United States and Canada. People that were once adherents to raw food and vegan diets are now eating more meat and are following a keto diet which high in protein and low in carbs. And studies are supporting the notion that unprocessed red meat is good for you. Are the rules of what’s healthy being overturned? What are the non-meat eaters saying?
There is conflicting but supportive evidence to eat less red meat and environmentalists say it’s good for the planet as it contributes to less cow farts and greenhouses gases. There is a huge debate now on whether methane-reducing Bovaer being added to a cow’s diet is good for people. The planet perhaps, but is it worth the risk?
Limiting red meat consumption, especially meat that is processed, may be a key to a sustainable and healthy diet, yet Americans are among the world’s largest consumers of red meat.
A new study reveals the demographics of American adults who choose not to eat red meat and finds that environmental concerns may matter more to them than health risks.
Researchers at Baruch College and the University of Southern California (USC) surveyed more than 7,500 adults as part of the Understanding America Study – a probability-based Internet panel of individuals 18 and older. They will present their research at the December annual meeting of the Society for Risk Analysis in Austin, Texas.
Is she eating meat, and if no, why?
When they analyzed the survey results, the researchers found that only 12 percent of participants reported they did not eat red meat. Adults who reported not eating red meat were more likely to have indicated that they:
were female
were 65 years of age or older
had a college degree
had an annual income of $60,000 or less
had voted for Democrats or Independents (vs. Republicans), and
self-identified as non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, or Asian (vs. non-Hispanic whites).
When asked to choose their top two concerns of the past year, the non red-meat eaters were equally likely to choose “environment and climate change” or “health/healthcare.”
In the analysis of survey results, environmental concerns were associated with self-reports of not eating red meat while health concerns were not.
“People may be more familiar with the environmental benefits of not eating red meat than with the potential health benefits,” says lead author of the study Patrycja Sleboda, assistant professor of psychology at Baruch College in New York City.
The authors suggest that public awareness of the environmental impacts of eating red meat may be increasing due to rising climate change concerns.
Red meat production is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and water usage, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Production of meat and dairy contribute to 72-78 percent of global food-related greenhouse gas emissions and 15 percent of total global emissions. By eating less red meat, people can lower their own contribution of greenhouse gas emissions.
The lack of a significant association between health concerns and red-meat eating may reflect a lack of clear dietary recommendations in the United States. Studies have shown that high levels of both unprocessed red and processed meat have been associated with elevated risk for colorectal, stomach, and pancreatic cancers.
The American Cancer Society recommends “limiting red and processed meat,” while the American Heart Association suggests people eat more plant-based proteins and meatless meals.
A liveaboard boat in the Red Sea, with Sinai in the backdrop
A liveaboard boat in the Red Sea, with Sinai in the backdrop
On November 25, a Red Sea dive boat capsized, leaving 44 tourists and crew fending for their lives. We have a saga of stories you can follow here about the Sea Story incident, including interviews with survivors. Timothy, a diver reached out to us hoping to raise concerns he had while diving in Egypt with the same company that charted the ill-fated Sea Story, but he travelled just a week earl
“I am a certified PADI divemaster with over 600 worldwide dives. I am not a survivor of the sinking – I was on a different boat the Sea Pearl, operated by the same company, during the week immediately previous to the sinking,” says Timothy, using his first name only.
Like survivors of the Sea Story, Timothy says Dive Pro transferred him to another boat last minute: “This often happens for operational reasons – desire to have boats travel fully booked; mechanical or logistical issues with the boats; crew availability; weather and conditions, etc. I had been booked onto the Tillis but was moved to the Sea Pearl about 48 hours before the trip was due to begin.
“This wasn’t an issue for me, but many others were annoyed that they could not travel on their preferred boat, or that they had paid for an upper-deck cabin but were now on the lower deck,” he says.
What message do you have for other divers booking liveaboard trips anywhere in the world?
Liveaboard in Raja Ampat
“Be very aware of safety concerns when researching a Red Sea live-aboard trip. Review your chosen boat’s safety provisions. Book (and insist upon receiving) an upper-deck cabin.
“Familiarise you and your buddy with your life jackets.”
What message do you have for divers whose intuition tells you the boat isn’t safe?
A low-cost liveaboard in Egypt sounds like an adventure of a lifetime. Make sure it’s safe.
“Trust your intuition. However there is little you can do other than take safety into your own hands.”
Will you dive in Egypt again and if yes, with who?
“Likely, but perhaps shore dives, and with a different company, which I will thoroughly research.”
Biohack with tomatoes and lycopene capsules made by
Biohack with tomatoes and lycopene capsules made by Lycored
A pre-clinical study recently published in Antioxidants finds that Lycored’s Lycomato product used in nutraceuticals has significant benefits for cellular health and aging. Results from this study show Lycomato can improve mitochondrial function, reduce oxidative stress, and protect against cellular damage—all factors that slow the cellular aging process and effect longevity.
Many of us are trying the high-protein keto diet to get fit and are eating protein shakes and enzymes. But have you looked at lycopenes?
To assess the effectiveness of Lycomato, based on lycopene, in delaying cellular aging, researchers treated cells with rotenone, a compound that triggers mitochondrial dysfunction.
Results showed that when cells were also pre-treated with Lycomato, mitochondrial function improved, mitochondrial ROS levels were reduced by about 70%, ATP levels restored to around 70% and the number of senescent cells was dramatically reduced to near-normal levels.
Together, results suggest Lycomato and similar phytonutrient-rich compounds could serve as potential agents for promoting cellular health and longevity.
Mitochondria, the energy (ATP) producers of cells, become less efficient and generate more harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS) over time. Increased oxidative stress damages cells, impairs cellular function, triggers cell senescence and accelerates aging. Studies suggest improving mitochondrial function can extend lifespan and promote healthier aging.
These findings support previous research demonstrating the beneficial effect of lycopene, the hero among the six standardized phytonutrients found in Lycomato, on telomere length, a factor deeply connected to cellular aging.
Elizabeth Tarshish, from Lycored states, “Healthier mitochondria generate less oxidative stress, provide more cellular energy and support improved cellular function, contributing to a slower aging process. We’re excited by the growing body of evidence that demonstrates Lycomato may help delay the aging process, extend cell lifespan, and maintain healthier tissues over time.”
Lycored is an international company at the forefront of discovering the beauty within by combining nature’s goodness with cutting edge science to deliver a sensory journey that impacts wellbeing. Established in 1995 in Israel, Lycored is the global leader in natural carotenoids for food, beverage and dietary supplement products. Read more about the company here. Or get some tomato recipes here and cook your way to staying young.
Iyris greenhouse team, the founders: Dr. Mark Tester, Dr. Ryan Lefers and Derya Baran
iyris delivers more resilient and reliable produce.
Iyris, a company from Saudi Arabia founded by foreign nationals, makes it easier to grow the likes of tomatoes – one of the world’s biggest fresh produce and processing crops – in environments increasingly impacted by climate change. The patented process, which tackles the challenges of hot climates, has the potential to revolutionize where crops are grown to address global food security issues.We interviewed one of the founders Mark Tester earlier this year on the innovation he championed. The company used to be marketed under RedSea Farms.
Their newly patented polyploid hybridization grafting process – mimics and significantly accelerates the natural evolutionary process of breeding genetic resilience into plant rootstocks. With this groundbreaking innovation, farmers can address, without having to change the way that they farm their land, their most urgent need: reliable, resistant crops that can mitigate and combat climate change.
The technology makes crops more resilient to stressful abiotic environments (e.g., salt, drought, heat and pests) delivering higher yields for farmers and reducing crop failure risk. The timescale and predictability of genetic resilience trait integration is significantly accelerated compared to previous methods.
Commercial trials of iyris’ current hybrid grafted diploid rootstocks, delivered an average 20-25% tomato plant yield increase over the best performing commercial alternatives. Expectations are that using this patented polyploid breeding process, yield increases will be even more significant. Results to date have demonstrated that polyploids can double yields when compared to diploids.
iyris grafts more desirable plants onto graftstock which is saline resistant
Uniquely, iyris’ plant science innovation allows multiple plant traits to be integrated simultaneously. Previously, scientists and breeders targeted single traits and experienced low predictability rates for even a single integration.
“These achievements in plant science are unprecedented and a significant moment in our mission to feed the world sustainably. iyris can now offer farmers a commercially validated and reliable solution addressing the environmental and economic challenges of today – in tomatoes alone, that’s worth billions of dollars annually,” says John Keppler, Executive Chairperson of iyris.
iyris’ published rootstock patent – ‘Polyploidization of interspecific tomato hybrids to create stable and fertile rootstocks’ follows decades of work and research, most recently at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), led by iyris co-founder, Professor Mark Tester – the world’s pre-eminent plant scientist. Professor Tester’s thesis developed from research (with his then – PhD student, Yveline Pailles) into resilient relatives of the tomato growing on sea-facing rock faces in the Galapagos Islands.
Mark Tester, Indiana Jones of the Plants in the Galapagos
With increasing global temperature, and dwindling freshwater resources, ground-breaking innovative agriculture solutions are vital to break the food-water-energy nexus. The impact of climate change on global farming is becoming starker every year, and global food production is estimated to need to increase by 50%, by 2050, to feed soaring population rates. iyris’ innovation is perfectly timed given its potential to change the way that crops are grown, allow sustainable agriculture in previously unviable territories for farming and protect farmers from crop failure risk.
With its resilient hybrid tomato rootstocks already available in the market, iyris has proven the commercial viability of their technology in open-field trials. iyris has partnerships with two of the world’s largest tomato producers, with more commercial agreements to come. iyris hybrid rootstocks outperformed the best available alternatives across multiple crop seasons, hybrid tomato rootstocks sales have already exceeded 1 million units.
Founders Mark Tester, Ryan Lefer
The market context is extremely positive. The processed tomato market (2023 data) is estimated at US$51.8 billion with 182 million tons produced annually. iyris and Professor Tester have already started research into other plant groups such as eggplants, melons and pumpkins, with the potential to increase commercial results and improve resilience exponentially.
The orange economy is an evolving concept based on the contribution and potential of creative assets to contribute to economic growth and development.
Is orange the pathway in to faith and reconciliation for people and planet? A monk going into a temple in Cambodia. And a design conference in Tashkent on AI. How can we resolve both worlds? Can orange lead the way?
The creative economy is about translating the inspiration of culture and ideas into high-value businesses and enterprises. For billions of people around the world their faith is a big source of inspiration and creativity. Artificial intelligence will be a major disruptor of our economy. It will also allow many people to join the ranks of the creative economy like never before. In essence, faith has a role to play in the unfurling of the next chapter in humanity’s economic story.
Indeed, prior to the contemporary era most acts of human creativity, we celebrate today were directly related to divine inspiration. This includes ancient artifacts like the bust of Nefertiti and the Pyramids to Renaissance objects like Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” a fresco which forms part of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican City.
The recently concluded 4th World Conference on Creative Economy in Tashkent did not deal directly with faith, but attracted diverse individuals from around the globe from supermodel Naomi Campbell who took the stage to a priest who sat in the audience. Faith was even more present in part because the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, who organized the event in partnership with United Nations Trade and Development and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, is involved in restoration works around the country.
Religion in many countries is a strategic reserve for what’s called the “Creative Economy.” For example, tourists around the globe include sightseeing to mosques, churches and temples in their itineraries. Similarly, history would suggest the pop stars of tomorrow are today members of youth choirs or similar groups.
“From a historic perspective the creative economy began with religious inspiration in many places. You can see that in very diverse areas from painting and music for example around the world. In a Muslim country [like Indonesia]… we embrace differences and members of other religions bring their own ideas to the development of the creative economy,” said Sandiaga Uno, Indonesia’s then Minister of Tourism.
Jameh Mosque of Isfahan, Iran is a major stop for tourists
Orange is a color often associated with the Protestant faith and in Asia with Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. It is also the color associated with the creative economy to differentiate — it from other macroeconomy buzzwords like the green economy and blue economy.
Monks in Thailand, dressed in orange
“This summit is about encouraging the talented people here not to leave the country. Instead of seeking high-paying positions abroad, we want to attract those jobs to Uzbekistan,” said Uzbekistan Minister of Digital Technologies, Sherzod Shermatov. “Digital platforms can help achieve millions of views globally, enabling monetization and additional income. We aim to create local role models and success stories, and by combining digital tools with creative talent, we can open new doors for our youth.”
Simple yet innovative farming technologies and techniques save natural resources while increasing incomes in Uzbekistan. Digital farming is helping these women prosper.
The growth and development of the Orange Economy offers a growing and important sector — especially because polls show that from fashion to video games these are sectors in the economy which a growing number of youths see as important to their futures. There are other ways in which the creative economy growth goes hand in hand with the development of faith
“By focusing on creating an ecosystem where creatives can thrive within their home countries—leveraging technology, financial management, and global platforms—[countries] can better capitalize on … cultural wealth and retain talent that might otherwise seek opportunities abroad,” said Felipe Buitrago, Colombia’s former Minister of Culture.
Comuna 13, Medellin: A model for Middle East peace? Image from Brown Political Review by Kayla Morrison, 2024
In the past, Buitrago also stressed that the Orange Economy can help build peace and reconciliation between diverse groups. In the past, he has pointed to the example from his own tenure as minister and the example of the Comuna 13 area of Medellín. Here, two rival gangs faced off together with little chance of reconciliation. What ultimately brought these two together was a joint music festival in which the two groups battled it out over competing forms of music (such as rap and reggaeton) in these days.
“Faith is a key element of the creative economy. Because freedom of expression and belief are necessary conditions for creativity,” Buitrago said, “You cannot not be creative and non-inclusive at the same time. … Of course faith is a delicate issue and you can’t force people to have certain beliefs but, overall religion has played a major role in fostering creativity. As reinforcing and building identity…which often allows people to cooperate in harmonious ways.”
Looking toward the future faith, creativity and technology will often intersect. The pathway from “prophet” to “profit” will not always be clear. However, creativity, at times fueled by faith, will help spur greater creativity where-in new technologies will allow the visionaries of the future to unlock new possibilities for collaboration, innovation, and mutual understanding more quickly than ever.
Joseph Hammond
Joseph Hammond is a former Fulbright fellow in Malawi and a journalist who has reported extensively from Africa, Eurasia and the Middle East. Hammond is also an Idove fellow at the African Union. He speaks enough Spanish and Arabic to discuss boxing, a sport he treasures.
Dive Pro Liveaboard has lost 2 boats this year. Sea Story tipped and sank a couple weeks ago. 11 tourists are dead, plus a number of crew.
Dive Pro Liveaboard has lost 2 boats this year. Another one caught fire in 2022. In November, Sea Story tipped and capsized in open water. Eleven tourists are presumed dead, plus a number of crew.
Dive Pro Liveaboard has lost 2 boats this year in the Red Sea. 12 tourists and a number of crew have died, yet the company is still taking bookings for Christmas
The Red Sea is a magical place. It’s in the mountains of Sinai where God first spoke with Moses and gave him the 10 commandments. The beautiful people, the food, the natural mix between sea and desert. The colors of purple, pinks, yellows, oranges, white and black. The coral reefs everywhere and diving in the Blue Hole is an adventure of a lifetime for many divers who do return again and again. Especially Europeans where Cairo is a 5 hour plane ride away.
But am Egyptian dive holiday went wrong for 33 tourists this past November when the second boat in the same fleet owned by the dive company Dive Pro Liveaboard listed, capsized and sunk. The accident happened on November 25, a Monday, in the early hours of the morning, as early as 2:30am near the area of Marsa Alam about 20 km out into the Red Sea.
In total there are 11 dead and/or missing from Germany, the UK, Poland and Egypt.
The dive operating company Dive Pro Liveaboard and the company that has facilitated the bookings of the trips have not responded to survivors requests for compensation or help. They have not responded to our requests to be interviewed. The Egyptian Navy’s emailed bounced. Dive Pro Liveaboard is based in Hurghada and based on its website is run by Ali Aref. They are still taking bookings for their remaining 2 boats.
“Crazy! Insanely bad management,” says a Reddit commenter. “They also ran a boat Sea Legend that caught fire in Feb where one German diver died. And in 2022, another of their boat also caught fire. How are they still allowed to operate? Makes you question the local systems and enforcement too.”
Both companies Dive Pro Liveaboard and the Dutch-based Liveaboard.com are continuing to book dive trips on risky boats despite the concerns. We have here an eyewitness who travelled on the Tillis, one of the boats being offered by Liveaboard.com currently on its Holland-based booking platform noting how they feared for their life on that boat. Yet only positive reviews are shown on the site.
Sea Story survivor Michael Miles told his daughter he booked on the Tillis (read here one tourists account of lack of safety standards on the boat) but was transferred to Sea Story. See screenshots from December 8 below that bookings are still being made for the dive boat company and if you read comments you will see that Liveaboard.com and Dive Pro Liveaboard in Egypt have a history of switching out boats. Why?
Liveaboard.com still carrying on booking holidays for the Dive Pro Liveaboard which lost 2 boats in the last year from catastrophic accidents that have killed 12 tourists and many crew.
Tillis booking liveaboard.com transferred to Sea Story boat on arrival. This was a common thing, as noted in the comments. Guest Michael Miles was switched from Tillis to Sea Story when he goat to the boat. Tillis went out on the trip but was not involved in the accident.
The fatal accident on November 25 has left dozens of survivors and the families of those who have died looking for answers and in the very least some financial compensation. Over the last 2 weeks, there are the questions we have collected, still unanswered. If you have any information about the Sea Story, answer in the comments below or email us seastory@greenprophet.com.
Open questions after the Sea Story dive boat tragedy
Where did the accident actually happen?
By the time the Navy arrived to the sinking boat several hours after it capsized, they cordoned off the area around the boat, and wouldn’t allow rescue crews from other dive companies in for another day, some 36 hours, on Tuesday. The reason is that there was a risk of a diver bubble entering an air pocket and changing the pressure in the boat. The whole boat could go down.
One source says the boat was in 12 to 15 meters of water, another said 1000 meters. What was it? In deep open water or closer to the shore? If you look at the maps of the Indian Ocean/Red Sea areas you don’t need to boat long to get into water reaching hundreds of meters of depth. Why did it take the Navy 36 hours to agree to let divers inside even though survivors could be heard knocking and whistling from the outside?
Eyewitness accounts put the boat as close to 20km to shore and as far as 80km. A shipping boat was seen passing by at 10am by the survivors curious to know the exact location of the wreck. Marsa Alam sea Story dive boat nautical maps by fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com.
Sea Story travelled from Port Ghalib at Marsa Shouna around 9 to 10pm. They were supposed to arrive at Sataya Reef after 6 or 7 hours at sea early in the morning. Around 2:30 am the boat went down within minutes (as many as 10), but the parts of the bottom of the boat floated about the surface. This is information supplied by survivors interviewed by Green Prophet.
Sea Story’s approximate location in the Red Sea/Indian Ocean. One source estimates 80 km out, another 20 km out in the sea. Depths are around 600m. Why is it reported that the boat sunk in 12 to 15 meters?
One survivor told Green Prophet that at 10:00 am a helicopter arrived at the wreck. Shortly after, he says (maybe one hour), the motor boats of the Masa Nakari, a dive center brought the survivors from the life rafts to the Polish liveaboard.
Why did it take the Navy so long to let rescue divers in?
Rescue divers reported hearing knocking sounds coming out of the boat, meaning there were people trapped inside after the initial rescue. From Monday there was knocking coming out of My Sea Story. Why did the Navy only let the private rescuers in on Tuesday?
Why did it take so long for the Navy to come? The boat started sinking around 2:30 am. The Navy showed up at around 10am or 11.
Why does the Navy have no dive guides? Or equipment?
Questions about the boat operator
Why did the Tillis and My Sea Story go out when there were warnings and advisors against going to sea?
Was the cook driving the boat?
Why was an inexperienced captain in charge of such a large vessel?
Where is the captain of the ship? Is he on the run? A Facebook eulogy by a friend suggested he killed himself; others say he was in jail. Maybe he is in hiding?
Why are people booking on one boat and getting transferred to another?
How are they still booking trips on Tillis?
Why is Liveaboard.com not refunding money to people afraid of the Dive Pro company in the Egypt who have booked trips on boats like Tillus, also unsafe remodeled boats?
Who is certifying an ancient dive boat as seaworthy?
Why was My Sea Story away from the dive site and why did they separate from Tillis, the sister boat on Sunday?
The Navy and the Egyptian Authorities
Why are there no images coming out from the Navy of the boat in the water?
Where is the wreck now?
Why are they hiding the original location of the wreck?
Why has the public not been told if the boat finally sank?
Why were rescued passengers denied their passports to go home unless they signed a waver?
One diver reported a hole in the boat? Was there a hole in the boat?
Why didn’t the marines try to prop up the boat from sinking? Use floatation equipment?
Where is the crew? Why aren’t they allowed to talk with the media?
Why are the actual divers who went into the Sea Story and saved lives, not being celebrated? Their contribution being told?
Who will compensate tourists and the crew who lost their lives?
Some speculate that the Navy has towed the boat from the site where the boat overturned into shore, close to a reef. Why?
The rescue team that went in rescued 5 people. They found 4 bodies. There were no other bodies on the boat. Were there people still alive in their cabins? According to this rescue story (we interviewed the daughter) the rescue crew could not get into all the cabins. Did they give up on them? Were the risks too great?
There is a debate on whether the boat was in 12-15 meters or in 1000 meters of water. This fact could have changed rescue strategies. Some sources say the boat was close to shore near a reef and eventually sunk in 12 to 15 meters of water. Other say 20 to 80km out in the open water, at about 1000 m depth and the boat was towed back to shore and sunk near a reef by the Navy.
December 10, update: We attempted to book a dive trip on the Tillis through Dive Pro directly. The reply from a rep named Zozo was “Which week, which route, here in Egypt or in KSA?”
If you have anything to contribute to this evolving story, send us an email: seastory@greenprophet.com
Flooded Mawasi plot (1983) along southern coast of the Gaza Strip Credit: Yair Friman
The researchers suggest that the early Islamic agroecosystems were ahead of their time
As global water resources become more strained, the insights gained from traditional agricultural systems could pave the way for the development of innovative, low-water-use agricultural practices to confront the growing challenges of water scarcity and food insecurity in arid and marginal regions.
A new study exploring traditional sunken groundwater-harvesting agroecosystems in coastal and inland sand (SGHAS) bodies of Israel, Iran, Egypt, Algeria, Gaza, and the Atlantic coast of Iberia offers fresh perspectives on ancient agricultural techniques that could inform modern sustainability practices.
The research, which combines geospatial analysis, archaeological findings, and historical documentation, sheds light on the innovative use of water-harvesting and soil-enrichment technologies developed in the early Islamic period and their continued relevance to contemporary agricultural challenges.
The paper stems from an international workshop at Bar-Ilan University (BIU) in 2023 on continuity-discontinuity of ancient water-harvesting agricultural systems that resulted in a special issue in the journal Environmental Archaeology.
This study on early Islamic (late 9th – early 12th century) Plot-and-Berm (P&B) agroecosystems located along Israel’s Mediterranean coast evolved into an investigation of the long-term viability of regional SGHAS as a sustainable agricultural model.
These methods to utilize water, typically found near urban settlements, leverage local organic material and urban refuse to enrich the inert sandy substrate, creating fertile grounds for growing crops such as vegetables, watermelons, dates, and grapes. Importantly, SGHAS systems provide a model for long-term water security by utilizing shallow groundwater in conjunction with rainfall for irrigation and groundwater replenishment.
The Israel Science Foundation-funded study was jointly headed by Prof. Joel Roskin from the Department of Environment, Planning and Sustainability at BIU and Dr. Itamar Taxel,Archaeological Research Department, Israel Antiquities Authority, along with post-docs Drs. Lotem Robins and Ruben Sanchez (BIU), Prof. Revital Bookman and doctoral candidate M.Sc. Adam Ostrowski (U. of Haifa).
Despite their initial success, early Islamic P&B agricultural systems in Israel were largely abandoned after the Crusader conquest and, surprisingly, were not reestablished. However, these traditional systems found renewed application in regions such as Iran, Algeria, the Gaza Strip, and parts of Iberia since the Middle Ages, where they continue to support agriculture in marginal environments.
With many arid and marginal regions facing expanding populations and decreasing water resources, these ancient water-harvesting practices can address the global challenge of sustainable agriculture.
The long-term use of these agroecosystems contributed to continuous, shallow groundwater availability, which is essential for agricultural production and local food security in arid regions. These systems, which include advanced soil-enrichment techniques and groundwater harvesting methods, show the resilience of traditional agricultural practices and their potential for modern adaptation in water-scarce regions.
Masseira agriculture north in Apulia, northwestern Portugal. Seaweed is collected for sand enrichment. The plot and berm are utilized by irrigation from well into 1 m deep groundwater. Today a wide range of local family-farm produce is sold at stands. Seaweed photos courtesy of Álvaro Campelo. Additional photos by Prof. Joel Roskin.
The researchers suggest that the early Islamic agroecosystems were ahead of their time, offering a glimpse into agricultural practices that were remarkably advanced compared to later agricultural systems. This understanding helps explain the approximately 400-year gap between the abandonment of early Islamic systems and the reappearance of SGHAS in the 15th century.
“We could not find written or factual evidence of the crops grown in early Islamic times, nor decipher the know-how and motivation for this original, exhaustive and ingenious effort to earthwork, enrich and cultivate sand. However, the inception of traditional Middle Age on SGHASs probably stemmed from a growing demand to cultivate the extensive new world influx of fruits and vegetables from arid zones and the Americas,” notes Prof. Roskin.
“We speculate that the Islamic agroecosystems provided several similar species to those found today in the traditional SGHASs. The reappearance in the Middle Ages and third expansion of SGHASs in the late 19th century early 20th century in Iberia suggests that this type of agriculture is adaptable to varying economic and cultural settings and therefore may possess potential for certain, current socio-agronomic scenarios.”
Navazo Spain: Oblique aerial photo of modern Navazo agriculture by Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain. The green pool water is next to a shallow well in the shed by the palm and shady vegetated berms are in the background. Photo courtesy R. Sanchez
While modern agriculture often relies on intensive water usage and depleting soil quality, traditional systems like SGHAS offer more sustainable, low-impact alternatives that can be adapted to contemporary needs. The study highlights the value of traditional agroecosystem models as analogues for contemporary agricultural challenges, particularly in the face of climate change and global food security concerns. While traditional agricultural methods cannot entirely replace modern, industrialized farming, they remain valuable in preserving local knowledge and expertise that have been honed over centuries. The study underscores the potential for integrating traditional agricultural practices—such as SGHAS—into modern sustainable agriculture solutions, particularly for communities facing water scarcity and environmental stresses.
The research further suggests that SGHAS-style systems, which rely on rainfall-replenished groundwater, offer a pathway for community-driven, ecologically sensitive farming practices. These systems are not only sustainable but also promote community engagement, resilience to climate change, and environmental stewardship. As traditional farming methods gradually fade in the face of industrial agriculture, these agroecosystems offer important models for creating locally adaptive, sustainable food systems.
Seconds before our bomb shelter alert started my dogs came to paw on the front door to be let inside. It’s as if they know something is coming before we do. “There are many anecdotes about animals being able to foresee disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, but hardly any systematic studies,” says Martin Wikelski, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell and professor at the University of Konstanz. “But scientists in this field don’t have it easy, either,” he grumbles. “One can quickly be dismissed as a sort of diviner.”
Animals can sense natural disasters like diviners: Goats on Mount Etna in Sicily, for example, become anxious before major eruptions. Their movement profiles may provide warning of imminent eruptions in future. Via Animal Behavior/ MaxCineHe is investigating the use of animals to predict events where technology fails or is not available and is part of a research group called Icarus to investigate these questions.
He would like to test whether animals can be used as biological early-warning systems for natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. He’s even had his idea patented: the project, which he submitted to the European Patent Office with the support of the technology transfer company Max Planck Innovation, is called DAMN (Disaster Alert Mediation using Nature). Insurance companies have already expressed interest.
He tells the story of Rome and that people were lying peacefully in their beds as danger approached from the north. The Celts were marching toward the city, threatening to destroy it. The geese woke sleeping inhabitants with their loud quacking and thus saved the Capitoline.
Today, every guide book on Rome includes the story of the vigilant geese, but this story is by no means the only example of animals prophesying impending doom. Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder, who died when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, reported that birds become restless before earthquakes. In modern times, too, we’ve seen time and again animals behaving strangely before natural disasters – and such diverse species as elephants, dogs, snakes, toads, fish, bees and even ants.
In February 1975, near the Chinese metropolis of Haicheng, numerous snakes were seen that had slithered out of their hideaways in the middle of winter and frozen to death in the snow. Shortly thereafter, the city was rocked by earth tremors with a magnitude of 7.3. The residents were evacuated in time due in no small part to the reptiles’ abnormal behavior.
Related: earthquake equipment can predict conflict an
In March 2009, at San Ruffino Lake in Italy’s Abruzzo region, the toads that are normally found here in great numbers suddenly disappeared in the middle of the spawning season. A few days later, an earthquake destroyed the nearby town of L’Aquila.
“When animals go crazy, run away from the sea and go to the highlands,” advises an Indonesian children’s song. It comes from Simeulue island, off the coast of Sumatra, close to the epicenter of the quake. Because the inhabitants had learned from their ancestors to correctly interpret the behavior of chickens and water buffalo, they were able to save themselves from the tsunami. Despite enormous property damage, there were only a few deaths on Simeulue.
Wikelski records animal migrations and behaviors around the globe. His focus isn’t restricted to migratory birds, but includes a broad range of wildlife. Using radio transmitters, he tracks storks on their way from Europe to Africa, monarch butterflies on their journey from Canada to Mexico, and the wanderings of rodents that disseminate seeds in the South American rainforest.
The small tachographs the scientist uses for this can not only report the exact GPS coordinates of the wearer, but also measure acceleration in different directions. This enables the researchers to draw conclusions about the animal’s behavior.
“This technology allows us to conduct our observations around the clock,” says Wikelski. “If we attach transmitters to different animals in regions prone to natural disasters and record their behavior, we can subsequently find out which animals would have redicted, for example, a volcanic eruption or an earthquake.”
Wikelski and his colleagues launched an unusual field trial in April 2011. “If we want to study how animals behave before a volcanic eruption or an earthquake, we can’t do it in the lab,” the researcher explains. “We have to actually wait for such an event to occur.”
Although Etna is one of the best researched volcanos in the world, it has not yet been possible to reliably predict such events over the long term – especially as regards the intensity of the eruption. Martin Wikelski and his colleagues thus wanted to find out whether there are animals that can do this better.
In their search for suitable candidates, the scientists also turned to ancient myths for inspiration: “Originally, we really did consider geese,” recalls Wikel ski. “Then we asked locals who have been living with their animals at the foot of Mount Etna for generations. They said: Forget the geese, use goats instead!”
The people in the region knew their animals extremely well and thus knew that they have a keen instinct for impending natural phenomena. “A shepherd then promptly made eight goats available to us,” reports the behavioral scientist.
Most of the time, the animals live in small herds on the slopes of the volcano. They are driven into the valley only twice each year. The scientists used one such opportunity to fit the goats with transmitter collars in place of the bells they would normally get. Weighing 390 grams, the devices, which Wikelski had specially produced for the experiment, record both the exact GPS position and the acceleration on three axes and allow the data to be read via a local radio network.
Researchers attach an Icarus sensor at the neck of a goat in Sicily. MPI of Animal Behavior/ C. Ziegler
Back home on their computer, the researchers can access the data and, using special software, visualize the movement patterns and the behavior of the goats on the monitor.
Whether the animals sleep, eat, run or jump over the lava rocks – each of these behaviors produces a characteristic acceleration pattern.
They confirmed that Wikelski’s idea actually worked: whenever a major eruption was imminent, the animals were already perturbed hours before, running up and down or hiding under bushes and trees when they had the opportunity.
The International Space Station is about to receive a small antenna to carry out the work to try and measure and understand nature’s 6th sense.
Wisdom, the albatross. It’s never too old to be a mom
You could say so many things are for the birds. The latest is having children in old age.
Jokes aside, scientists are happy to report that a a 74-year-old Laysan albatross with as many as 30 offspring is trying for another child.
The bird with the Latin name Phoebastria immutabilis, and called ‘Wisdom’, nests on the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, alongside nearly 70% of all Laysan albatrosses in Hawaii. She was first ringed as an adult in 1956 by the legendary ornithologist Chandler Robbins and is now the world’s oldest known banded bird in the wild.
Midway Atoll, Hawaii
“We are optimistic that the egg will hatch,” Jonathan Plissner, supervisory wildlife biologist at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge said in a statement. Millions of seabirds return to the refuge to nest and raise their young every year.
Wisdom and her partner, a bird called Akeakamai, have returned to the Pacific Ocean atoll since 2006. They mate for life, and lay one egg a year. Akeakamai has not been seen for the past several years and Wisdom has started speaking with other males since her return.
Albatrosses are not expected to live more than 50 years, making Wisdom a legend among birds. She hatched her latest chick a few years ago in February 2021, making her at least 70 years old.
Real trees are expensive and have their own hassles with procuring one if you live in the city, and getting rid of it along with its shedding needles. Plus, who wants to but a 10-year old tree whose destiny it is to die?
Entrepreneurs all over Europe from Paris to Ireland are coming up with novel ideas: Christmas tree rentals. You place an order for a tree, it gets delivered in time for the celebration, with its roots intact in a pot. You keep it watered and free from tinsel and when the time comes they pick it up and take care of it for the next holiday.
You can find the services in Paris, Cork, Ireland and in some cities in Germany –– companies renting out Christmas trees in the pot every year. Our friend in Paris says she has tried this service and it’s great! You rent a tree and then return it alive after the holidays. The trees last about 7 years from when rentals start and when they get too big for anyone’s home or office, they are planted in the forest to live out their next decades. This is a great way to reduce carbon emissions.
As an alternate, if you can’t find a tree rental company near you, you can turn to companies that sell live trees, and if you have ample space in your yard or have agreement with a local park or school you can plant the tree after the holiday, keeping it in its original pot.
Buy a tree that you can plant in your backyard, local church or graveyard
In California, you can reach out to The Living Christmas Company. Trees are pricey at several hundred dollars. But they have unique varieties like the Aleppo Pine, a variety that hails from Syria.
As more time passes since the Egyptian dive yacht sunk on November 25 off the coast of Egypt, survivors are asking questions of how so many things could have gone wrong. From lack of batteries in the life vests, to leaking life rafts, to an unresponsive Navy. Why did it take more than 36 hours for those that couldn’t escape the wreck to be rescued? Why was the rescue done by a private crew and not the Navy? And were their sounds of distress being heard for 36 hours before the rescue crew went in?
A modern motorized yacht called My Sea Story was underway in the Red Sea on November 25 with 44 people on board – including 33 tourists – when an accident occurred. The My Sea Story listed back and forth several times and then started sinking, with a portion of it staying afloat in the water. Twenty three jumped off the boat in 2 life rafts, but many people remained inside the boat unable to escape including Michael Miles, 70, from Vaud, Switzerland.
We spoke with his daughter about the rescue, which seemed like a miracle. But as time goes on survivors are doubting the Egyptian authorities, and the Navy which took credit for the rescue. Local divers have also sent us photos and updates that the people listed on the rescue team are not correct. Are the Egyptian authorities trying to hide something?
As of today, four fatalities are confirmed, seven people are still missing, 33 people have been rescued. The families of loved ones want answers.
Michael Miles, pictured below, was stuck in the boat for 36 hours, with his cabin mate, believing they would die. He left a goodbye message to his wife and daughter on his camera should he not survive. There was a pocket of air from which he could breath but time was running out.
Michael Miles rescue from the Egyptian dive boat My Sea Story, documented by Egyptian authories
According to several sources the boat started sinking between 2:30 and 3:30 am, and it took less than 10 minutes, but the Navy didn’t officially arrive until 5:30 am. It was dark and life saving equipment wasn’t functioning because nothing had batteries.
A number of our sources suggest the Navy had no interest in rescuing those still trapped inside. It is rumored that the Navy does not have a dive crew or the equipment to keep the capsized boat afloat.
Melvina Miles, the daughter of Michael told Green Prophet: “My father even put a trouser on the pothole to signal they were there and alive.
Location of dive boat accident
“He said also that there were no batteries in their life jackets so that their torches and trackers couldn’t work.
“They were also regularly blowing the whistles of their life jackets to signal their presence.”
According to Egyptians at the rescue site – believed to be an estimated 20km into the Red Sea from the Egyptian coast – knocking sounds could be heard from the boat but that the Navy wouldn’t let them access the boat for a rescue mission.
One reason a European dive operator gave us, was that it might be too dangerous in case an air pocket would change the balance in the boat bringing them all down with it.
Despite the risks, a number of divers went in, and brought out 5 people alive, and 4 bodies of crew and tourists.
“My father doesn’t understand why they took so long to search the boat for the missing people and also believes the only reason someone came to rescue them is because an Egyptian divemaster had his nephew missing and he managed the pressure the army to be able to search the boat for him,” says Michael’s daughter Melvina.
“The boat didn’t sink, it floated at the surface. My father had a window but it was too small to get out from and it was high above him. He was able to open it to get some air to it, so it was definitely outside the water. The thing is that in order to get out of the boat, they had to dive down the boat and into the corridors. That was maybe 10 meters. His cabin what as the bottom of the boat but as it got overturned he ended on the top at the surface
“My father is very grateful to be alive. We know there a lot of shady things with the Egyptian authorities but it would be too much energy for a probably disappointing result to try to sue them,” she says.
“He told me that captain of the boat was quite young and didn’t seem very experienced. He was not taking the waves in the correct way and before especially not when it got to the big waves. I believe it was one of the biggest reasons for the boat to sink. If a boat isn’t positioned correctly in the waves it is not good.”
Melvina noted that the company her dad booked the 5-day tour through Liveaboard.com, and they did not respond to her family’s dire situation when her dad was among those stuck inside the boat. No phone calls, nothing.
“Liveaboard never contacted my father to know how he was recovering. They don’t answer our phone calls either,” she says.
She is connected to a survivor’s group and is hoping to find justice in some way for what happened to her father and to the way the authorities treated her when she and her mother arrived to Egypt to comfort her father. “When I arrived in Egypt I called the hospital to speak to my father. The first thing they said was, you are the Swiss case, your father’s credit card credit is not high enough, you need to make a Bank transfer and if not we won’t let him out.”
“I was so shocked at this, and then really angry. When my dad arrived in Marsa Alam after being rescued, the officials came to make videos with survivors and the media but after this he got no help from the Egyptian authorities of any kind. Luckily my mother was already in Egypt. The accident was on Monday and Melvina arrived on Wednesday.
“What makes me the most angry is that my father almost died because they didn’t do what they could to save him and probably some the missing people could have been saved,” says Melvina.
“In some recent articles they say 6 deaths and 5 people missing which makes me believe they found more bodies but don’t want to make it official.”
Items that should not have have been out of place during an accident, hampered rescue efforts and maybe prevented more people from being rescued as they might have been trapped in their cabins.
“My father said that when the diver came to rescue him, the door of his cabin was blocked because of the debris and he had to help to open it. Apparently some other cabins doors were also blocked so they couldn’t search them.”
When the rescue team came they did not bring extra masks and shared regulators. It was deemed a risky operation with reports of sharks circling around the cadavers.
Melvina’s dad never encountered sharks: “He couldn’t see outside, the boat window was too high. He had to climb to open it to get some air inside because the water had some fuel from the boat. It was complicated and he got injured doing it.”
Survivors and the families of those dead and missing are asking: why did the Navy not do more to rescue the tourists? Did they neglect and even prevent rescue divers from going in? Where are the reports and investigation? Why was a dive boat most likely refurbished and not seaworthy out in the water against calls from the authorities that the sea was too rough? Who is going to compensate them for loss of personal effects and loss of life? How has the company that owns My Sea Story had 2 boats go down in the last 2 years and still operating?
Given that tourism industry is worth billions in Egypt and it’s the only lifeline to employment for millions, it’s probably the interest for Egyptian officials to brush this latest tragedy under the rug. Soon it will be Christmas season. One source who dove with the company in the past said he thinks that “Egyptians prefer missing tourists over dead bodies. Missing, for the Egyptian Authorities is a happier ending and it can mean anything, especially for insurance companies. Maybe they swam to the nearby Socotra Island? Or they have taken off together for a secret new life sipping cocktails in the Caribbean?”
Since the Gaza attack on Israel in 2023 tourism to nearby Sinai, Egypt has been deeply affected. Some resorts at a standstill. With thousands of people cancelling their holidays to the Red Sea region, considered one of the best diving spots in the world some parties may have an interest that the show go on.
It’s a long debated question, sometimes a joke, and it’s also become a serious competition. Who does hummus best in the Middle East? Hummus is a dip and a spread, but Middle Easterners eat it as a hearty breakfast, warm off the stove, with a pita, lemon, parsley and lots of olive oil. A dollop of cooked fava beans, ful, is also welcome among hungry working men. Since the Hezbollah started sending missiles to Israel, people from Lebanon have started engaging with Israelis across the border, asking for a hand in peace. Their common language: hummus.
One X account Mount Levnon, represents a Christian Maronite group of Lebanese. The identity of the account is anonymous but they are advocating for “a free Maronite state, committed to a Mediterranean alliance with Israel , Cyprus, and Greece.” And one of the ways they engage with Israel is by sharing hummus tips and secrets. (We have the best recipe of hummus in Israel, provided by Maxim founders – Jews and Arabs who co-own a restaurant in Haifa).
But Mount Levnon might not agree. “I’m raising my kids to be super friendly with Israelis, treat them like family, chat about anything under the sun. But the moment hummus or falafel comes up, that’s where we draw a BIG, BOLD RED LINE,” they write on their account, joking that real hummus is from Lebanon and that “fake” hummus is from Israel and it’s marketed under the Sabra brand.
One on team Israel, Klaas, writes. “If only there could be peace and open borders so we can come sit around the table together and fight this out once and for all.:
But When Mount Levon saw that Israelis were also making a version of hummus made from chocolate, the line was crossed.
Hummus chocolate from Israel
Mount Levnon, who is pro-Israel and is starting to learn Hebrew says jokingly, “I’m officially breaking the ceasefire, stop putting chocolate in your hummus. Come on Israel, we need to talk.”
Carlos Abadi on team Israel replies, “We surrender, admit to heresy, and accept the punishment.”
Slow Food chef Moshe Basson from Jerusalem who is from Chefs for Peace, told Green Prophet that hummus was eaten by Queen Ester in the Bible. It’s roots go way back. As for who made it first, maybe Adam and Eve? Who makes it best? The heat is on. Also don’t be surprised that if you visit Israel or Lebanon that locals fight over which joint makes the best hummus. Some more on the debate about hummus in Jaffa.
Make your Middle East friends proud with this genuine and tested recipe for hummus with ful
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword hummus, vegan
Prep Time 12 hourshours
Cook Time 3 hourshours
Soaking Time 12 hourshours
Servings 5people
Cost $10
Ingredients
1pounddried fava or haricot beans, soaked overnightorganic everything if possible
2cupsdried chickpeas soaked overnight
1 1/3cuptehini
6eggs
2lemons, juice of 2 halves and one more tbsp
2large onions
olive oil
5clovesgarlic
1bay leaf
water for cooking
Instructions
The Ful.Pick over the beans.Rinse them and put them to soak overnight in plenty of water. Next morning, drain the beans and put them up to cook in fresh water.Add a fat clove of garlic, a bay leaf, and some olive oil to the water. Cook the beans till tender. Favas take 1-3 hours. If you choose white beans, they will cook in far less time – up to an hour.When the beans are soft but not falling apart, crush 2 fresh cloves of garlic into a small bowl. Stir 1 tsp. each of salt and cumin in, and add this seasoned garlic to the bean pot. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice. Stir the beans up. Crush some of them with a potato masher or a fork, so that they’ll absorb the flavors of the seasoning. Let them cook another 5 minutes. Then either turn the flame off, or start serving.
The Hamine or Slow-cooked EggsYou can just boil eggs as usual, or take this opportunity to do it the old-fashioned way. Make several, it’s not worth the trouble for only one or two. Take 6 eggs and the peels from 2 large onions. Put it all in a pot. Cover the eggs and peels in plenty of cold water; bring to a simmer.Drizzle a layer of olive oil over the surface. This prevents the water from evaporating during the long cooking period. Simmer the eggs, covered, over the very lowest flame you can achieve for 6 hours or overnight. They are delicate, creamy eggs, unlike any others.
The HummusPut 2 cups of dried chickpeas in a separate bowl. Cover them with plenty of water and let them soak overnight. As with the beans, drain them, and cook in fresh water till soft. It’s not a sin to open a can of chickpeas either. Although fresh-cooked always taste the best, canned chickpeas still make good hummousDo not add salt to either beans or chickpeas till they are completely cooked and easy to mash.Put the cooked or canned chickpeas in a blender or food processor.
To them, add1 fat clove of garlic3 Tblsp. of tehiniSalt to taste Juice from 1/2 lemon2 Tblsp. olive oil
TehiniPut into a bowl:1 cup raw tehina paste3/4 – 1 cup water, depending on how thick or thin you like it1 fat clove garlic, crushedsalt olive oil juice of 1/2 lemon
Get BlendingBlend all the ingredients, either by hand or in the blender. If you’re not used to the ways of tehini paste, don’t be alarmed that it initially becomes very thick when mixed with water. Keep mixing, it will smooth out amazingly.
To serve:Spoon a generous amount of hummous onto the plate. Take the spoon and spread it into a neat circle, thinner in the middle.Spoon a ring of tehina on the inside of the hummous circle.Put a pile of hot beans in the center of the plate. Top the beans with a little chopped onion, chopped parsley, and a peeled, still-warm hamine egg. Squeeze lemon juice over the whole; drizzle olive oil over it. If you’re fond of hot sauce, drizzle a few drops of it over the dish too.Put some small plates or bowls with pickles, olives, sliced onions, or pickled lemons in them.Now tear a chunk off your pita and use it to scoop up some of everything. Savor every mouthful, it’s the real McCoy.
Archeologists from Germany and Israel found a 500-year-old Ming Dynasty shard on Mount Zion under a church which was built during the Ottoman Empire. It is the first piece of evidence that goes so back linking China to the Holy Land.
The rare 16th century CE Chinese inscription was discovered on a porcelain bowl fragment, reading: “Forever we will guard the eternal spring.”
Could the Chinese know and believe that under the city of Jerusalem lay the eternal spring?
This past summer, during routine procedures for the upcoming excavation season, Michael Chernin, an archaeologist at the Israel Antiquities Authority, suddenly spotted a colorful object sticking out of the dirt that had been cleared away while preparing the site.
When Michael pulled out the object and washed it, he recognized that there was an inscription on its bottom. Dr. Anna de Vincenz, pottery specialist, identified the inscription to be Chinese. At this point— the vessel was examined by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem’s researcher Jingchao Chen, who deciphered the inscription as reading, “We will forever guard the eternal spring.”
The team that found the pottery
The bowl dates back to 1520-1570, and originated in the Ming Dynasty. “Ancient Chinese porcelain vessels were previously found in Israel, but this is the first to bear an inscription,” say the researchers.
How did a dish make its way from China to Mount Zion? Historical writings indicate close 16th century trade relations between the Chinese Empire and the Ottoman Empire, then ruling the Land of Israel. According to Ming Dynasty annals, about 20 official Ottoman delegations visited the imperial court in Beijing during the 15th-17th centuries.
The trade relations between these empires are also described in travel books of merchants from this period. Thus, the writings of the Chinese scholar Ma Li from 1541 note colonies of Chinese merchants in Lebanese coastal cities such as Beirut and Tripoli. The work even mentions other important cities in the region such as Jerusalem, Cairo and Aleppo.
According to Israel Antiquities Authority Director Eli Escusido, “In archaeological research, evidence of trade relations between merchants in the Land of Israel and the Far East is known even from earlier periods – for example, of various spices. But it is fascinating to meet evidence of these relations also in the form of an actual inscription, written in the Chinese language, and in an unexpected place – on Mount Zion in Jerusalem”
The Galapagos of the Indian Ocean - Socotra Island in Yemen. Yemen is one of the driest countries on earth.
The Galapagos of the Indian Ocean – Socotra Island in Yemen. Yemen is one of the driest countries on earth. Image by Beth Moon.
We’ve all heard about the UN Climate Conference. COP29, was the latest and held in Baku. While there is much ado about these UN conferences bringing in diplomats from around the world to hobnob about the planet, most of the work gets done between the events. The UN climate event has a much lesser known cousin and it’s a COP for land, unattractively marketed as the NCCD COP and this year marks NCCD COP16, coinciding with the convention’s 30th anniversary. It will be the first time the event is held in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia, an area most impacted by desertification, land degradation, and drought.
Despite the prevailing stereotype that the Kingdom is a desert country, deserts only represent 31.75 percent of its diverse surface features. Still, water is scarce and aquifers are depleted and research institutes like KAUST are investing in new tech in areas like hydroponics (see Red Sea Farms – Iris) to grow food in the desert using brackish water. Saudi Arabia is also undertaking a massive project to plant a million mangrove trees, an effort to stop desertification.
This Eco Park opened in 2021 and is the first of its kind in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia dedicated to the preservation of mangroves. Oil company ARAMCO builds an eco park. Does anyone else see the irony?
But you came here for Land Cop. So what’s happening and how you can get involved. At this year’s CCD COP16, countries are expected to work with a dual approach, one through a negotiation track focusing on land restoration, drought resilience, and land tenure, and an action agenda focusing on voluntary commitments and actions on land, resilience, and people to reach the following goals:
Scale up land restoration efforts to restore 1.5 billion hectares of the globe by 2030
Boost resilience to intensifying droughts, sand and dust storms
Restore soil health and scale up nature-positive food production
Secure land rights and promote equity for sustainable land stewardship
Ensure that land continues to provide climate and biodiversity solutions
Unlock economic opportunities, including decent land-based jobs for youth
What the UNCCD Focuses on
A farmer’s field in Yemen gets a boost by rainwater collection pools. A new-old way to combat drought.
1- Land Degradation
Up to 40 percent of the world’s land is degraded.
The global area impacted by land degradation is approx. 15 million km², more than the entire continent of Antarctica or nearly the size of Russia. It is also expanding each year by about 1 million km²
46% of the global land area is classified as drylands, and 75% of Africa is considered dryland.
The efficiency of Nitrogen fertilizers is only 46% and 66% for Phosphorus; the rest runs off, with dire consequences for soils.
Degraded soils lower crop yields and nutritional quality, directly impacting the livelihoods of vulnerable populations.
Agricultural subsidies often incentivize harmful practices, fueling water overuse and biogeochemical imbalances. Aligning these subsidies with sustainability goals is critical for effective land management.
Every dollar invested in restoring degraded lands brings between $7-30 in economic returns. Policy and economic incentives are urgently needed to unlock a trillion-dollar restoration economy.
From 1998 to 2017, drought generated economic losses of about US$124 billion across the world.
1.84 billion people are drought-stricken, of which 4.7 per cent are exposed to severe or extreme drought and 85 percent live in low or middle-income countries.
Investing in drought resilience is one of the most cost-effective actions countries and regions can take, with returns of up to 10 times the initial investment.
3- People & Land Tenure
Drought, land degradation, and desertification disproportionately affect women, girls, indigenous peoples, local communities, and vulnerable groups like people with disabilities.
One billion young people living in developing regions are dependent on land and natural resources. Achieving global land restoration commitments requires youth involvement.
Areas managed by local communities are characterized by lower rates of deforestation and land degradation. Preserving traditional and local knowledge and recognizing its key role in land restoration is crucial.
The impacts of land degradation disproportionately affect tropical and low-income countries, both because they are less resilient and because the impacts are concentrated in tropical and arid regions.
Women, youth, Indigenous peoples, and local communities also bear the brunt of environmental decline. Women face increased workloads and health risks, while children suffer from malnutrition and educational setbacks.
The UNCCD COP16 (Land COP) will start on Monday, December 2nd. It will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December 2nd to 13th. It is the first time a desertification COP will be held in the Middle East.
UNCCD COP16 Agenda in Riyadh
Land Day (4 December): Focus on the role of healthy land in addressing climate change, job creation, and poverty alleviation, with emphasis on nature-based solutions and private sector engagement.
Agri-Food Systems Day (5 December): Highlighting sustainable farming practices for resilient crops, healthy soils, and ecosystem protection.
Governance Day (6 December): Exploring inclusive land governance and policies to strengthen equitable land management.
People’s Day (7 December): Emphasizing the involvement of youth, women, and civil society in land-related decision-making.
Science, Technology & Innovation Day (9 December): Aims to accelerate scientific advancements for land health and resilience.
Resilience Day (10 December): Focus on policies and technologies that foster resilience to climate change.
Finance Day (11 December): Aims to showcase innovative financial mechanisms supporting land restoration and drought resilience.
Diving is a beautiful hobby and pastime. It’s a sport that connects you with nature, new habitats and people, and gives you an opportunity to learn about marine life and the importance of saving the marine habitat, like kelp forests. But diving is a dangerous sport –– not only because you can be going 100 feet underwater kept alive by a tank but because there are hazards you can’t control connected to the safety of the dive ship you might choose. There is no place in the world where so many dive ships sink as in Egypt.
The busy location on the Red Sea is a favorite because of the location close to Europe, the charm of the Egyptian people, the gorgeous Red Sea and area around Sinai and the low cost. Low wages paid to divemasters and crew means a good price for customers, but it does not bode well necessarily for safety considerations. We interview a survivor’s family here.
Diver and researcher Jan-Philipp Lauer from Germany reached out to Green Prophet and said the ”that stability issues may have contributed to the sinking of the Sea Story. This should be further investigated.”
He tells Green Prophet: “Following last year’s Carlton Queen accident, I worked with Taucher.Net to shed light on why these accidents keep happening.”
“The calculations based on these photos showed that Carlton Queen’s stability was likely significantly lower than what would be considered adequate for a seagoing vessel. The same is, unfortunately, true for many diving liveaboards. There are no stability calculations for many of them.”
David Taylor, from Treswell in Nottinghamshire, thought he and his son Christian thought they were going to die when they realised they were trapped below deck on the Carlton Queen diving boat last year. “I started to lose the plot. I really was panicking we were going to die. There was no way to get out,” he told British media.
Make sure your liveaboard knows this safety audit checklist
The checklist is intended for maritime surveyors as many requirements are too technical for non-experts. It constitutes a stopgap measure since the same level of safety cannot be reached if a vessel is not built to appropriate classification society standards. For example, vessels with wooden hulls are not permissible under SOLAS.
“Since the bachelor thesis was completed,” Lauer adds, “we made significant progress with an independent audit program for diving liveaboards. A first version of an audit checklist is available on my website.
In summary, the thesis found:
1 fatality every 37.8 accidents in shipping, for example cruise ships and container ships, which must all be SOLAS-compliant.
1.2 or 2 fatalities per accident in diving liveaboard vessels (depending on the exclusion/inclusion of the Conception accident)
This difference, Lauer notes on his website, “in the level of safety offered by shipping versus diving liveaboards is alarming.”
Lauer notes on his website that since the sinking of the Titanic, strict regulations were put in place to ensure another accident wouldn’t lead to catastrophic loss of life like we saw back then. Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) was born.
SOLAS is an international maritime treaty designed to establish minimum safety standards for ship construction, equipment, and operation of ships and large boats. SOLAS is currently only mandatory for commercial vessels bigger than 500 gross tons or commercial vessels on international voyages (with some more exceptions). Smaller vessels can comply with SOLAS voluntarily. However, liveaboard vessels are generally smaller than 500 gross tons and do not engage in international voyages and thus SOLAS is not mandatory for them. Only national regulations apply to them.
None of the vessels involved in recent Red Sea and South Asian dive boat accidents were SOLAS certified.
Diver Emad Omran from Egypt reached out to Green Prophet and said that the boat was built too high for its size, and was “easily controlled by the wind” making it an easy target when the sea gets rough: “It wasn’t built for rough, hard seas,” he says.
The boat reportedly sunk near Sha’ab Sataya (also known as Dolphin Reef), off the coast of Marsa Alam, Egypt, on November 25.
“Actually it was built for easy kite surf live-aboard in a sheltered island environment,” he tells Green Prophet. Omran says that the owners of the boat “have no idea about diving or safety standards or even tourism creating a negative environment for dive operators in Egypt.”
The family of a British couple still missing after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea have spoken of their “desperation” as they wait for news. Jenny Cawson, 36, and her husband Tariq Sinada, 49, from Devon, are believed to be among seven people still unaccounted for after the Sea Story went down off the coast of Egypt early on Monday. FAMILY HANDOUT
The company who operated Sea Story is called Dive Pro Liveaboards, and the “company must stop operating in the Red Sea,” says Omran.
Dive Pro Liveaboards did not answer our request for comments. They also own the boat Sea Legend that caught fire in February, killing one woman.
Linda Korres, familiar with the dive company and friends with member of the crew who died last Monday, eulogizes her diver and friend Aladin. He was credited for rescuing people.
She said she felt something was wrong with this company when she went diving with them three years ago, on the boat Tillis.
“I am sure the reason the Sea Story had to go out in the storm was out of reckless greed with some bribery involved,” Korres says. “Sending these cheap and quickly built and remodeled multistory narrow ships out, that are not suitable for open sea is a death sentence! Any time. But especially in these weather conditions. These ships are too shallow, aren’t going deep into the waters, have no keel to keep them upright in wind and waves, which makes them likely to tip over.”
She adds that the “motors aren’t strong enough, they have no anchors, the rescue islands are often old and useless, the zodiacs broken. Often there are no life vests and the few that there are, are not suitable for open sea, as they have no collar. There are no smoke detectors, no evacuation routs lit with emergency lights.”
“We need more safety, international controls from PADI,” she tells Green Prophet.
PADI is an international licensing and certification process for divers and dive instructors.
“Egyptians involved are so afraid to go to jail or even afraid of death if they speak out in public,” she says.
“Meanwhile I had several Egyptians confirming these issues. Also that the vessel was in fact not 2 years new, but old and just remodeled. In photos from Sea Story you see loose furniture, cabinets that can’t be locked, no safety lighting, barely some smoke detectors, no emergency exit signs or lighting and how on earth would anyone be able to get the rescue islands from that top railing?
“We truly hope that the irresponsible owner of the ship Dive Pro Liveaboards, who already lost one of his four ships, the Sea Legend this year 22nd February, due to a fire and explosion, will be finally called responsible together with all the officials who looked away and still do for so many companies and ships in the Red Sea,” Korres added.
She recalls a trip out on one of the company’s boats, Tillis: “The furniture, sofas, tables and chairs were loose and slipped on the deck and the dining room with every wave. The beds had no railing. Several people fell out of bed at night and hurt themselves. Closets couldn’t be shut with locks and swung dangerously open all the time. The fridges on the deck couldn’t close properly, so that several times beer cans shot over the deck when the boat was rocking. We were lucky no one was hit.
“The crew could only use duck tape to secure drawers and the closets.”
The floor plan of the Sea Story dive boat. Divers are trying to rescue those who may be trapped inside.
She says that the crew or the captain of these boats are not to blame for the latest catastrophe: “They earn very little money and depend on the jobs. The owners don’t pay well and treat them badly. As result there is a new uneducated inexperienced hardly or non-English speaking crew every other trip. Instead of paying a fair salary and training them in all aspects and teaching safety regulations.”
A dive master earns about 300 Euros a week on a live aboard. The crew less, she says.
Some cabins had no life vests at all: “I remember very well desperately clinging to the bed, frightened as never before in my life, sobbing and crying silently in the dark on the first night, when sea was rough, not to scare my friend Caroline Strazzabosco with whom I shared an upper deck cabin.
“After some hours I realized she was just as scared to death as I was… sitting on her bed not letting go of her survival bag filled with water, medicine and cookies for us. Tillis got new paint, TVs and furniture a year after our trip. But I believe nothing improved or changed on the safety issues.”
Interior cabin, Sea Story
“Sea Story is said to be an only 2 year old ship. I doubt it. I rather believe it is one of the remodeled much smaller old ships. Often they just add some stories in height and cut the vessel to add some structure to make it longer… until it’s unrecognizable and receives a new name.”
Below are several reviews about the company from TripAdvisor sent to Green Prophet from Omran:
Klorres sent us a link to a German newspaper article that printed an interview with one of the Egyptian rescue divers – professional divers Ahmed Ashraf and Khattab Faramawi from Egypt who rescued their brother Youssef Faramawi from the wreck of the “Sea Story” who came to the site.
Ashraf explained the risks for rescue. Some more parts of the scrubbed interview can be seen below.
“The diver rescuing his brother reported (from Google translation German to English): “The wreck has a big hole. If the ship had been made of steel, it would have sunk immediately. But it is made of wood. During the accident, several air chambers had formed in the wreck. The largest was very close to the hole in the outer wall. When we dived, we had to be careful that our exhaled air bubbles did not connect with the air chamber. If it had grown so large that it had traveled to the hole in the outer wall, all the air could have escaped from the wreck. The ship would have plummeted into the depths with us in its belly in seconds. We would have had no chance.
“How deep is the sea at this point?
“I don’t know exactly, maybe 1000 meters? Too deep, in any case.”
Please let us know if you would like to share your story with this dive company in Egypt. You can email us diveaccident@greenprophet.com. We hope to keep Egypt a safe place to dive.
The October 7 attack was a shock and surprise to civilians and the Israeli military. But technology used for predicting earthquakes and seismic shocks can be used to detect future attacks, say researchers from Tel Aviv University. They have looked at the data leading up to the attack where Israel was breached, 1200 killed and 250 were kidnapped, and say that unusual activity can be sensed in seismic measurements taken at the time. Of course it’s retroactive data and conclusions but researchers reveal that on the morning of October 7th, approximately half an hour before the deadly terrorist assault, the stations recorded weak but widespread human-induced seismic noise.
The researchers attribute these anomalous seismic amplitudes to the unusual movement of heavy vehicles within the Gaza Strip heading toward organizational points along the Israeli border up to 20 minutes before the ground barrier breach
The researchers explain that forensic seismology is often used to monitor conventional and nuclear explosions. However, this is the first time in history that weak ground motions resulting from preparations for a terrorist attack have been identified by analyzing the characteristics of seismic noise induced by vehicular traffic.
They believe the discovery demonstrates the potential usage of seismic-based sensing technology to provide early warnings of terrorist activity.
The study, led by Asaf Inbal of the Department of Geophysics at Tel Aviv University’s Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences and Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, was published in The Seismic Record, a journal of the Seismological Society of America.
Israel has seen catastrophic earthquakes over the centuries and much of this data was gleaned from church records that reported back to the Vatican over the years. Israel has been saying for the last 30 years that a large earthquake can be expected at any time. Turkey is seismically very active in the last 10 years but recent research suggests that the tectonic plates between Turkey and Dead Sea Rift are not or no longer connected.
In Iskenderun, Turkey – one of the places most affected by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake centered in Kahramanmaraş
Inbal explains the data they found around the attack on October 7: “The Israeli Geological Survey operates a nationwide network of dozens of highly sensitive seismometers that continuously monitor ground motions. This network is primarily designed to detect and locate earthquakes and provide warnings of strong ground shaking caused by large-magnitude seismic events.
“However, three stations in the network—located in Amazia, Ktsiot, and Yatir, between 30 and 50 kilometers from Gaza—recorded unusual seismic noise levels early in the morning of October 7th, 2023. This noise can be attributed with confidence to the vehicular activity in Gaza as Hamas terrorists gathered for the attack. The time frame was between 6:00 and 6:30 AM, before the rocket fire began.
“The likelihood that the recorded signals originated from Gaza is over 99.9%.
“The motions recorded near the seismometers were in the range of tens of nanometers per second, whereas the minimum ground motion detectable by humans is several millimeters per second,” explains Inbal. “The characteristics of the noise originating from Gaza and captured by the Israeli stations are fundamentally different from those recorded at the same stations on previous Saturdays during those hours.
“We analyzed three years of data from the Israeli station trio recorded in the same time frame as the one leading up to the attack. We found no instance of a Saturday morning when correlated amplitudes were recorded at all three stations for over 10 minutes. It’s important to note that these stations are widely spaced, with each station primarily sensitive to seismic noise generated by nearby human activity.
“For instance, the distance between Ktsiot and Amazia is about 80 kilometers, and on previous Saturdays, there was no correlation between the data recorded at these stations. On the morning of the attack, when local activity near the stations was minimal, we found unique widespread seismic amplitudes, which monotonically increased with time approaching the attack.
“No known natural or human source on the Israeli side could have generated seismic signals with a distribution and intensity similar to those attributed to Hamas movements. Although the outdoor music festival near Re’im generated some seismic noise, our analysis shows that this noise does not match the strength or location of the noise sources recorded by the Israeli seismic network on October 7th.”
The analysis indicates the seismic noise detected began at 6:00 AM and intensified as the attack approached. Occasionally, the noise contained short bursts strong enough to pinpoint their source and track their progress. The location and intensity of these sources in Gaza suggest vehicle movements advancing southward and northward within Gaza, from Rafah in the south to the Erez crossing in the north, during the 30 minutes leading up to the attack.
“We have good resolution along Salah al-Din Road, a major thoroughfare crossing Gaza from Rafah in the south to Beit Lahia in the north,” says Inbal. “We can confirm with high certainty that their forces moved along this route at speeds of 25 to 50 km/h. Observations from stations dozens of kilometers from Gaza’s border indicate convoys of heavy vehicles such as bulldozers and trucks carrying operatives.
“Three minutes before the attack began, we detected noise sources reaching the northern end of Gaza near Beit Lahia and the southern end near Khan Yunis. At the same time, we continued receiving signals from central Gaza, near Nuseirat. We know the assault began almost simultaneously along the entire border, so these seismic observations provide further evidence of the extensive deployment of Hamas forces, likely enabling the simultaneous breach of the ground barrier.”
Sea Story, Egyptian live aboard diving vessel sinks. Many are still missing.
Sea Story, Egyptian live aboard diving vessel sinks. Many are still missing.
An Egyptian yacht built in 2022 has sunk, leaving passengers trapped inside the boat since Monday. The live aboard diving boat encountered large waves Monday morning in the Red Sea, and capsized quickly. Some 28 people were rescued right away on Monday by the Egyptian Navy, the Egyptian authorities say they have recovered four bodies.
By Thursday afternoon some seven people were missing and recent rescue efforts revealed that a number of people were rescued from their cabins. The yacht is in about 12 meters of water with a part of it poking above the surface. Ongoing rescue operations hope to find and return those who may be trapped inside their cabins.
The floor plan of the Sea Story dive boat. Divers are trying to rescue those who may be trapped inside
The survivors and the missing are an international group of divers and an Egyptian crew. The boat sunk within 5 minutes in the early morning. No doubt many passengers were still in bed.
A coral reef in the Red Sea
The Sea Story was a live-aboard diving boat meant to bring divers to their dream dive destinations in Egypt. The yacht left its port near the Egyptian town of Marsa Alam on Sunday for a five-day diving trip. On Monday it was believed to be hit by a large wave which caused it to sink. In total 33 passengers have been rescued, along with four bodies.
Inside the Sea Story
The owner of EcoOcean, a research vessel that conducts environmental research in the Red and Med Sea, told me once about the power of the Red Sea and the time that they almost capsized. A storm blew in and being a vessel registered in Israel they could not dock at Saudi Arabia or Sudan and had to keep going despite the risk of capsizing. The Red Sea in the area of the Sinai Peninsula is remarkably calm but go more south and it can be wild.
See below footage from divers onboard the Carlton Queen documenting its sinking and rescue last year.
Diver Ian Cilia from Malta, told Green Prophet: “I was on this boat..absolutely beautiful boat. Probably owners had to recover the money they spent on it by going out in atrocious conditions. Cost peoples lives. Just my opinion.”
Questions have already been raised about diving operations in the region. This isn’t the first time a tourist boat has seen trouble. Last June, three British tourists died after a diving yacht caught fire on the Red Sea. Another yacht, the Carlton Queen, capsized and sank near Hurghada earlier last year. No one died, but the passengers onboard said the vessel was not seaworthy. Also at Hurghada, tourists are shocked to see restaurants serving sharks and manta rays on the menu.
Balena and Lemon Jelly make the world's first circular bag
Balena and Lemon Jelly make the world’s first circular bag
Balena, which develops a soft recycled plastic that can be used for shoes and other fashion items, announces its release of our first material-made limited-edition handbag in collaboration with Lemon Jelly. The company has collaborated with companies such as Vivo Barefoot in the recent past.
The company first revealed a compostable shoe in 2022 and then went on to create or develop a B2B model where it offers the soft and flexible bioplastic to a range of companies in the fashion industry. It’s an antidote to fast fashion.
Balena, eco and biodegradable sandal slide, plastic, eco plastic, biocir, cycles of decomposition
Balena and Lemon Jelly have created the NYSSA bag—crafted from BioCirflex, Balena’s proprietary biobased material—which is fully compostable or recyclable, creating a breakthrough in sustainable design and circular fashion. Let it go to waste in the compost bin or bring back into the cycle of plastics. They have circularity in the bag!
“Designed to be both durable and biodegradable,” says Balena, the company, “the NYSSA bag embodies circularity. It’s available exclusively online in deep black and amber yellow, with a sleek matte finish, launching worldwide at the end of November. This collaboration celebrates the strengths of both Balena’s material science innovation and Lemon Jelly’s commitment to responsible fashion.”
International materials science specialist Balena has also partnered with UK’s 3D-print label Variable Seams to showcase the “durability and wearability of Flextex3D, which enables the 3D printing of fabrics and garments.”
Earlier this year they partnered with Zulu Kuki, known for his boundary-pushing creativity and deep appreciation for cultural influences, and who has taken footwear design to a new level with this collaboration.
Zulu Kuki shoes
His design philosophy, inspired by automotive culture—specifically the sleek, functional lines of 70s racing cars like the Porsche 935—translates into a shoe that is both visually striking and functionally advanced. This shoe is more than a fashion statement; it’s a reflection of a future where innovation meets sustainability.
W-Cycle, an innovator in sustainable food packaging, and Melhoramentos, a publicly traded Brazilian company with activities spanning publishing, renewable forestry, and real estate (Altea), announced a strategic partnership. Together, they aim to produce compostable “plastics” or packaging made from renewable materials that naturally decompose within 100 days.
The agreement, valued at a minimum of 3.45M USD and set for an initial term of three years involves the supply by W-Cycle to Melhoramentos Latin America with its proprietary food-grade packaging formula and consulting services. These resources will help Melhoramentos produce its new advanced biodegradable packaging.
Melhoramentos will also incorporate their own high-performance cellulose fibres sourced from their extensive renewable forestry operations covering more than 80 million square meters.
“There has long been a global demand for more sustainable packaging solutions,” says Rafael Gibini, CEO of Melhoramentos. “Our collaboration with W-Cycle opens the door to a new and inspiring use for our cellulose-based natural resources. Together, we’re ushering in a new era that could eventually phase out single-use plastic packaging and pave the way for a more sustainable future.”
“Partnering with such a renowned industry leader is a pivotal moment in our journey,” says Isaac Rome, CEO of W-Cycle. “It will open up a wide scope of opportunities for both companies to deliver impactful, high end affordable packaging solutions by blending expertise and creativity.”
The clean-tech start-up W-cycle made a breakthrough in greener food packaging with its patented food-grade SupraPulp material. SupraPulp comprises a line of formulas that cleverly combines sugarcane waste (known as bagasse) or other sidestreams such as eucalyptus wood fibers and banana leaves with additives to produce molded fiber packaging.
Making plastic from sugarcane waste, known as bagasse. Image via Wikipedia
This material is transformed into a new generation of highly functional food trays able to contain both frozen and heated foods. The molded-fiber containers are impervious to oil and water and need no plastic lamination for barriers. SupraPulp trays can sustain any type of frozen food and juice run-off without leakage through the container.
The trays are designed to withstand extreme temperatures ranging from -40° freezing to 220°C heat. And, they are compostable.
Nature’s answer
”Our ecological packaging formulations help food packaging manufacturers break away from plastic PET materials, allowing them to create robust containers that are suitable for freezer to oven/microwave convenience,” says Rome. “The added game-changer of using SupraPulp trays is that they can be tossed away guilt-free: The material will simply decompose, reintegrating back into the earth from which it originated within roughly 100 days.”
Plastic can take hundreds of years to decompose. According to the United Nations Environment Program, approximately 400 million tons of plastic waste is generated per year. Only a small fraction is recycled. The vast majority (95%) ends up in landfills or gets dumped into the ocean, causing havoc to marine life and to the human body where it makes its way through the food chain and through the air we breath.
W-cycle’s SupraPulp containers are already helping catering companies, ready-meal producers, in-flight caterers, institutions, food take-away services and multinational food companies to sever ties to plastic containers. In addition to tailoring pulp formulations for Melhoramentos, as part of the partnership W-cycle will provide R&D support in molded fiber production. This includes testing different formulations and their compatibility with various types of fibers, including those produced by Melhoramentos through its forest cultivation operations.
“As pioneers in ecological food packaging, W-cycle brings extensive expertise in molded fiber properties, complementary materials, and their performance under different conditions, along with a deep understanding of manufacturing processes and equipment needs,” says Gibini.“This will be instrumental in helping us design food packaging options that are high performing, cost-effective, and can work in harmony with the environment.”
According to a report by Grand View Research, the global bioplastics market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18.8% to reach $44.77 billion by 2030. The growth is attributed to the increased demand for sustainable bio-based products from sectors including consumer goods, food and beverages, and packaging solutions, among others. Invest in bioplastics, invest in the future of our planet.
How can policy makers promote less plastics?
Ban or charge for single-use plastics — but be careful to tighten any loopholes, such as allowing shops to offer thicker, ‘reusable’ plastic bags that end up in the bin anyway. Like the bags sold at Walmart.
Make plastic producers pay — by charging by weight, making them pay for recycling, or by rewarding the inclusion of recycled material. This depends on having effective, safe recycling centres.
Crack down on microplastics by banning microbeads from cosmetics. Microplastic filters in washing machines can help too, but it would be better to promote a shift in how textiles are made — a perfect candidate for an international treaty
Now, Slow Food Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with the Culinary Arts Commission, will participate in the Saudi Feast Festival from November 27 to December 6 at the Abadi AlJohar Arena in Jeddah.
Slow Food in Saudi Arabia
Under the theme Taste the Culture, Slow Food invites visitors to experience an immersive celebration of Saudi Arabia’s rich culinary heritage, with a special focus on the Ark of Taste program—a global initiative that catalogs endangered food products. The Ark of Taste is a living catalog of delicious and distinctive foods facing extinction.
At the heart of the event lies Slow Food’s commitment to preserving traditional food products, highlighting the work of local communities across the Kingdom who are dedicated to safeguarding their culinary traditions.
The Slow Food presence at the festival will showcase the diverse and unique flavors of Saudi cuisine, with particular emphasis on more than 120 Ark of Taste products representing the food diversity of the 13 Saudi Regions, from Al-Hassawi Rice to Figra Mountain Honey, from Iqt to Al-Bakaya Date Palm.
A key highlight of the event will be the launch of the Arabic edition of Good, Clean and Fair, the seminal book by Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini, which embodies the values of the Slow Food movement.
Visitors will have the opportunity to engage with Slow Food Saudi Arabia by signing up for membership, nominating new products for the Ark of Taste, and exploring Slow Food Travel experiences—unique opportunities to discover Saudi Arabia’s diverse culinary landscapes in greater depth.
What are some examples of protected Slow Food from Saudi Arabia?
Currently, Saudi Arabia has documented 13 protected food items under the Slow Food movement’s Ark of Taste, an initiative to safeguard traditional foods at risk of disappearing. These items represent the country’s diverse culinary heritage and include:
In Iskenderun, Turkey - one of the places most affected by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake centered in Kahramanmaraş
In Iskenderun, one of the places most affected by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake centered in Kahramanmaraş
Earthquake energy can travel vast distances, shaking the ground far from its origin. This energy moves even more swiftly along tectonic plate boundaries and across their intersections. When powerful earthquakes struck along the East Anatolian Fault in February 2023, between Syria and Turkey, their impact was expected to extend along the Dead Sea Fault, from the Red Sea to Turkey, and affect its surrounding regions. These significant faults are well-known as intersecting plate boundaries.
Nonetheless, the anticipated strong earthquakes did not occur along the Dead Sea Fault.
While this may seem like an anomaly, researchers from the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Haifa and the Geological Survey of Israel claim that the initial perception was wrong, claiming that the plate boundaries are not connected.
Earthquakes in Turkey are particularly strong and corrupt authorities don’t oversee building standards are to code
“Our study shows that the strong earthquakes of the East Anatolian Fault were not channeled along the Dead Sea Fault since they are not tectonically connected, as most scientists assume. The seismic energy produced by the source is absorbed through small aftershocks in the intermediate regions – i.e., in Syria and Lebanon, but not preferably channeled along the Dead Sea Fault ” explained Prof. Uri Schattner of the University of Haifa, one of the authors of the study.
In February 2023, some of the strongest earthquakes in the history of the Middle East occurred in southeast Turkey, killing tens of thousands of people. The current study, published recently in the journal Tectonophysics, was conducted jointly with Dr. Amit Segev and Dr. Nadav Wetzler from the Geological Survey of Israel. The researchers sought to examine why the major earthquakes in Turkey did not cause significant aftershocks along the Dead Sea Fault and the countries along its 1000+ km trace.
They gathered the earthquake data from the Israeli and Turkish seismic monitoring networks, collected between 2000-2022 from Eilat to Turkey and in all the neighboring countries, and analyzed all their seismological components. The researchers also reviewed all previous geological, geophysical, volcanic and tectonic studies to better understand the Dead Sea fault development in the past millions of years. “We wanted to go back to square one and re-examine if these two major fault systems are actually connected,” explained Dr. Segev.
The findings confirm the northward development of the Dead Sea Fault, gradually separating between the Sinai and the Arabian plate over millions of years. However, they show an interesting trend. The modern earthquakes are concentrated along the southern portion of the fault, from the Red Sea to the Sea of Galilee, where the cumulative displacement is 105 km between Sinai and Arabia (the east side is moving north relative to the western side). From Lebanon northwards, earthquakes occur across a much wider area, including the Syrian Palmyra and Aleppo regions. In these areas, displacement along the Dead Sea Fault diminishes significantly—around 16-4 km in northwestern Syria—and is absent at its supposed junction with the East Anatolian Fault.
“This finding enhances our understanding of how seismic energy dissipates in earthquake-prone areas. It may help improve our preparedness for seismic events by showing that the Dead Sea Fault is not directly connected to the East Anatolian Fault. This finding is critical in managing seismic risk in our region and raises new questions concerning the type of earthquakes that may occur in northern Israel,” noted Dr. Wetzler from the Seismological Division of the Geological Survey of Israel.
The researchers add that the meeting area between the Dead Sea and East Anatolian Faults may be considered a natural laboratory for studying the processes in which tectonic junctions are formed between plate boundaries. “A plate boundary such as the Dead Sea Fault can be found in many other places, such as the San Andreas Fault in California. They are part of the global tectonic network of plate boundaries. Our study shows how a plate boundary junction is created,” Dr. Segev explained.
“Our findings enhance our understanding of crustal structures across the Middle East,” concluded the researchers. “This knowledge provides better tools for assessing earthquake distribution and propagation, marking a significant step towards improving regional seismic risk and hazard assessment”.
A 3D printed terracotta tile used in Abu Dhabi, UAE
A 3D printed terracotta tile used in Abu Dhabi, UAE
ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment company, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), the region’s largest environmental regulator, and Archireef, a climate technology company based in Hong Kong, have deployed artificial 3D printed terracotta reef tiles to aid coral restoration in the Persian Gulf off the shore of Abu Dhabi.
The tiles were designed by a team of marine biologists and architects and produced through custom 3D clay printing in Archireef’s new production facility.
Natalie Levy works with artificial, terracotta reefs to restore life in the Red Sea.
The partnership between ADQ and Archireef funds research and development of eco-engineering solutions for marine biodiversity restoration – combining scientific research with the use of the latest technologies in 3D printing, IoT, and AI.
“Our partnership with Archireef brings a unique and innovative coral restoration method to Abu Dhabi to safeguard our Emirate’s natural environment and promote sustainable development. It is a memorable moment for ADQ to be part of this project providing a lifeline to endangered coral reefs, which is the first of its kind in the UAE and the wider region.
Underlining our commitment to adopting practical solutions powered by R&D and innovation to address environmental challenges, this biodiversity restoration initiative aligns with our ESG aspirations, and we believe it will have a positive impact not only on our planet but also on local communities we operate in,” said Anas Jawdat Albarguthi, Chief Operating Officer at ADQ.
Source: Archireef.
In contrast to other types of artificial reefs, the 3D printed terracotta reef tiles are environmentally friendly and engineered to closely mimic the natural pattern of corals and prevent sedimentation build-up, which is a major threat for corals. It basically chokes them.
The plantation site is at Um Khorah Island in the Al Dhafra Region, in Abu Dhabi, housing around 1,200 coral fragments grown in specialized nurseries, owned by EAD.
Abu Dhabi waters are home to 34 different types of hard coral. In 2017 alone, the Emirate lost most of its corak, 73% of its reefs, due to mass coral bleaching, caused by an increase in water temperature due to climate change, manmade coastal disruption and the shipping industry and pollution.
The study introduces a method known as “a coral reef ecosystem transplant” (aCRET), where researchers transferred biomimetic terracotta (clay) tiles embedded with a diverse community of organisms—including invertebrates and beneficial microorganisms—from a healthy reef to a nearby damaged reef.
Terracotta tiles make artificial reefs for coral reefs to regrow
The corals from the damaged reef were then attached to these tiles. The results demonstrated notable improvements in coral health, including increased photosynthetic efficiency, higher populations of symbiotic algae, and reduced stress levels. These findings suggest that transplanting a healthy ecosystem can significantly boost coral resilience and physiological function.
The researchers designed the biomimetic terracotta tiles to replicate the complex 3D structure of natural coral reefs, providing a perfect environment for diverse organisms to thrive. After allowing the organisms to grow on the tiles for six months, the tiles—along with their rich, biologically active substrate—were transported to the damaged reef located six km away.
This is what a healthy coral reef looks like in the Red Sea
Following an additional six months, corals on these tiles showed substantial improvements compared to corals grown on tiles with substrate from the damaged reef. In a parallel experiment, the researchers confirmed that the transfer of substrate from a damaged reef to a healthy reef produced less favorable results, reinforcing the benefits of the healthy reef ecosystem transplant.
The study, just published in the journal Nature Communications, was led by Natalie Levy and Prof. Oren Levy from Bar-Ilan University in collaboration with Prof. Ezri Tarazi of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and Prof. David Bourne of James Cook University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
Natalie Levy works with artificial, terracotta reefs to restore life in the Red Sea
“This innovative approach underscores the critical role of healthy reef ecosystems in restoring coral health and resilience,” said Dr. Natalie Levy, lead researcher of the study. “The results highlight the potential of ecosystem transplantation as an effective, sustainable restoration tool that can be integrated with other coral restoration methods like coral gardening and artificial reefs.”
A 3D printed terracotta tile used in Abu Dhabi, UAE
The study’s findings point to aCRETs as a viable and flexible solution for coral reef restoration globally, especially in areas facing significant environmental stress. This cost-effective technique could complement and enhance existing restoration strategies, helping to protect and restore coral ecosystems vital for marine biodiversity. However, the researchers stress that for the best outcomes, local reefs should be selected as close as possible for transplanting, and additional long-term studies are essential to fully understand the ecological impacts on different coral species and reef environments.
“This research advances our understanding of coral restoration and provides an invaluable tool to help address the ongoing global coral crisis,” said Prof. Oren Levy. “By using healthy ecosystems to regenerate damaged reefs, we can work towards more resilient, sustainable coral ecosystems that may one day recover from climate change and other threats.”
This pioneering study paves the way for a new wave of coral conservation efforts and offers hope for reversing the alarming degradation of coral reefs worldwide.
Teenagers – the bastion of youth and health. But in Canada a teenager is now in critical condition after being infected with a version of the H5N1 avian influenza flu virus. Doctors and epidemics researchers are on high alert. According to news outlets in Canada the teen is in stable but critical condition, and has developed acute respiratory distress syndrome, where the lungs become so damaged that they can no longer supply enough oxygen to the body.
The teen developed symptoms on November 2, and was hospitalized at the British Columbia children’s hospital on November 8. The teens symptoms started with conjunctivitis – an infection in the eyes – along with a fever and a cough.
Viral genome sequences from the virus suggest that this is a mutated form of H5N1 — which is related to the one infecting US dairy cattle but this permutation might be better at infecting people through the human airway. If true, it could mean that this virus could rapidly evolve to make the jump from birds to humans. “There is reason to be concerned,” says immunologist Scott Hensley. “But not reason to totally freak out.”
“The fact that we have a first human case in Canada is not at all surprising, given what is happening in the US and Europe, as well as what is happening in domestic bird flocks in British Columbia,” said Dr. Brian Ward, a professor of medicine at McGill University, researcher with McGill’s J.D. MacLean Centre for Tropical Diseases, and co-director of McGill’s Vaccine Study Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
“Millions of migratory waterfowl are flying over Canada right now, many of which may be carrying or infected with the virus,” he added. “The bottom line is that increasing evidence of mammal-to-mammal spread among dairy cows, elephant seals, and mink and ermine farms is worrisome, but we don’t need to sound the sirens yet.”
Infected birds shed the avian flu in their saliva, nasal secretions, and feces. Birds become infected when they have contact with the virus as it is shed by infected birds. There is a danger when birds from poultry farms are overcrowded and wild birds contact the industrial ones under stressed conditions.
Canada’s CDC shows how bird flu gets passed to humans. You don’t need direct contact with the bird to get it.Bird flu and how it spreads. Just breathing in a bird flapping its wings can be enough.
Kurds resist solar farms on their nature reserve in Turkey
Kurds resist solar farms on their nature reserve in Turkey
Residents of Çanakyayla which is a Kurdish-majority village in Turkey’s Bitlis Province, have successfully halted a solar energy project, citing ecological concerns and displacement risks, the Mezopotamya Agency reported on Monday. The victory followed lobbying efforts led by the Ecology Commission of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party.
The solar energy project, was planned by a company owned by Vahit Çiller, a former MP of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party, and was scheduled to begin in December. Following a meeting with ministry officials, the environmental impact assessment process was frozen.
A Kurdish family in Turkey. This community that has a mountain that looks like Mount Fuji has stopped a solar energy power plant. Via Facebook.
Semra Çağlar Gökalp, DEM Party deputy for Bitlis, applauded the decision. “The planned site is a protected nature reserve with vital water resources. Halting this project is a victory for both the environment and the community,” she said. Gökalp highlighted that the location’s ecological sensitivity made the project untenable.
The village leader, Hikmet Karabalık, warned of the devastating impact the project would have had on the community. “This initiative would destroy our water sources and roadways, leaving 20,000 cattle without access to water and forcing residents to leave the area. Such destruction is unacceptable,” Karabalık said.
While the decision to suspend the project was celebrated, DEM MP İbrahim Akın cautioned that similar proposals might reappear. “Energy companies, often with international backing, continue to push harmful projects. Although this is a win for now, we must remain vigilant,” Akın stated.
Additionally, deforestation and environmental degradation in areas such as Tunceli (Dersim) and Şırnak (Şirnex), often linked to military operations, have drawn condemnation from environmentalists and local communities.
Ataturk Dam
There are 145 mine projects in such an important area, when in fact it should have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Euphrates ecosystem is being heavily damaged, says Barış Yıldırım, a lawyer in Turkey. Read here how Turkey is destroying archeology and wildlife without hesitation.
Tel Aviv one of 7 cities to win a world Green City Awards 2024
Tel Aviv has won Future Green City award for the Tel Chubez Agricultural Farm and the Lira Shapira initiative in Tel Aviv. The award was made at the Future Green City World Congress held in Utrecht, Netherlands. (In other news Tel Aviv gets an A- for sustainability).
The project was selected alongside six other cities for its unique model that bridges urban sustainability with community engagement that encourages a sustainable urban lifestyle.
Lira Shapira is a green local currency that rewards residents for separating organic waste for compost to enrich the farm’s crops. For every kilogram of organic waste separated and processed, residents receive one Lira, which can be spent at local businesses—thus not only protecting the environment but also strengthening the local economy and community.
Lira, the name for the old form of currency in Israel, can be spent on buying food from the garden.
The initiative is operated by local residents from the Shapira neighborhood in collaboration with the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality’s Environmental and Sustainability Authority.
Ruth Molcho, represented Lira Shapira at the congress: “Receiving this award was especially moving, as we realized that our small initiative at the Shapira neighborhood was gaining global recognition.”
Tel Chubez is an urban agricultural farm located in the Shapira operating on principles of a circular economy. This vacant city land was transformed three years ago into a farm, providing residents with a green, productive space within the City, increasing wellness and access to fresh and healthy food while strengthening community resilience and increasing biodiversity.
Tel Aviv–Yafo is constantly growing with massive construction and infrastructure projects. Preserving urban nature and connecting residents to it, maintaining and increasing the quality of life in this intense urban growth are significant challenges. Shapira neighborhood is located in the southern part of the City. In addition to the urban renewal phases, it has been identified as a vulnerable neighborhood in the climate change era dealing with more extreme heat waves and potential floods.
Refugees from Sudan learn how to be modern farmers on a roof in South Tel Aviv. This is a project from 8 years ago to show how hydroponics can feed people in dense urban environments.
The farm, occupying four dunams, is being maintained by city employees, Lira Shapira NGO and volunteers. The cultivation method incorporates principles from permaculture and Biodynamics without any pesticides, focusing on growing local species following the seasons and a variety of over 60 fruit trees and local wildflowers that create an ecological system and habitat for birds and insects. The farm includes workshop plots where courses and training sessions are held to transfer the practices to participants’ yards to improve biodiversity and attract butterflies and honeybees.
Tel Chubez was included in the City Urban Nature Sites Index, together with 100 more sites. It is on the infrastructure layer, and future planning will have to avoid violating the area, as it has become an anchor for future urban green belts.
Tel Chubez became a green anchor for residents, plants and animals within a relatively short time. A model for collaboration internally in the municipality and externally with non-profits and businesses working together to build a new nature-based platform where environmental, social, economic and health positively impact.
Oceanwell harvests fresh water from the deep of the sea
Oceanwell harvests fresh water from the deep of the sea
OceanWell secures $11M in series A to build deep-sea water farms as a new approach to desalination, with less energy used, no waste
Desalinating water seems like the golden solution to a dry world. Israel does it. Saudi Arabia does it. Island communities are doing it. But desalination should be a last resort because it’s energy intensive and it has environmental coastal effects. The salty brine is devastating to animals and plants on the shore. Could a novel solution from the US mine water from deep in the sea, using the ocean pressure as the means to drive osmosis through desalination membrane cells?
OceanWell water farm visualization
OceanWell, a water technology company based in Los Angeles, announced $11 million in Series A funding this week to scale its modular deep-sea water farms and launch California’s water farm pilot with Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD).
OceanWell is developing modular deep-sea water farms made up of pods that harness natural hydrostatic pressure at depths of 400 meters for reverse osmosis desalination. Each pod can produce up to one million gallons of fresh water daily, and the modular design allows for scalable projects based on demand.
Each pod requires 1.5MW to operate to pump water from the pod to the shore. And the salt water released from the process is not considered detrimental to the ocean floor.
This technology ensures ultra-clean water by filtering out salts, bacteria, viruses, pesticides, and PFAS, while its components are engineered for durability in harsh deep-sea environments. Unlike traditional desalination methods that are energy-intensive and threaten marine life, OceanWell’s technology reduces energy consumption by up to 40 percent, while protecting marine life and eliminating toxic brine disposal.
“Our goal is to provide utility-scale, reliable and sustainable freshwater solutions that can supply clean drinking water to communities across the globe,” said Robert Bergstrom, Founder and CEO of OceanWell. “We’re grateful to our investors whose collective expertise across water technology, manufacturing and infrastructure project development will be invaluable to our company, and particularly as we look to scale up operations in the coming months.”
Kubota Corporation, a century-old leader in water infrastructure manufacturing, the family office of Jon Hemingway of Carrix Ports, and Charles McGarraugh, former head of metals trading at Goldman Sachs, participated in the round.
There is a rising mismatch between clean water supply and demand – with experts projecting that 5 billion people could be without clean drinking water by 2050. The problem is driven by rising demand for water in key economic sectors like agriculture, industry and manufacturing and compounded by the effects of climate change such as drought and flooding.
How the pods work
Since 1970 water demand has increased by 1.7x, while global supply has dropped by 50 percent. OceanWell aims to provide affordable, abundant freshwater with its deep-sea pods, which produce 1 million gallons per day of potable water each. OceanWell’s first water farm is being developed in its home state, California.
Since its founding in 1890, the Osaka, Japan-based Kubota Group has been working to solve social issues through superior products, technologies, and services in the areas of food, water, and the environment. To address the globally worsening issue of water scarcity, Kubota has increased investment in cutting-edge water technologies. Japan is a large island in need of alternative freshwater solutions.
“One of Kubota’s goals is to provide comprehensive solutions for the entire ‘water circulation loop’ from water production and supply to wastewater treatment and reclamation. OceanWell’s innovative technology, which can provide a stable long-term supply of potable water to water utilities in water-scarce regions, is indispensable for achieving this goal,” said Eiji Yoshioka, Director and GM of the Water and Environment Infrastructure Consolidated Division of Kubota.
Today’s announcement comes a year after OceanWell partnered with Las Virgenes Municipal Water District to establish California’s first water farm, aimed at supplying fresh drinking water to a region recovering from years of record-breaking drought.
A US Navy Seals dive test pod
Previously, the company completed prototype testing at the US Navy’s Deep Ocean Simulation Facility. OceanWell is supported by a working group of 24 state water authorities in California and aims to build 15 water farms across the globe.
Mudhif, from the Arab Marsh people built at Dubai Design Week
Mudhif, from the Arab Marsh people built at Dubai Design Week
We got so much international attention when we wrote about the Iraqi mudhouse called a mudhif built with US veterans and Iraqi refugees in the US. You can read the story here. Vernacular architecture is that built without a plan by local people is taking the world by storm as people consciously and subconsciously are drawn to simpler times when design was functional and from materials that nature made.
The proof is in the pudding at Dubai Design Week where a designer from Kuwait, with Mesopotamian origins, recreates an Iraqi or Mesopotamian mudhouse. Don’t you feel like you’d like to step inside?
In the US they were constructed of phragmites, an invasive reed grass, and built on the grounds of the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education in Northwest Philadelphia.
Ola Znad, the designer, turns the traditional gathering place for Marsh Arab communities into a multi-sensory experience. The buildings were designed, of course, for centuries before without any one person taking claim. She says they were crafted in Iraq from locally sourced reeds and mud: the materials that have supported Marsh Arab communities for generations.
According to the paper The Ecology of the Mudhif, the mudhif was built and used, by the Marsh Arabs of the region, until 1993 when Saddam Hussein began to drain and dam the marshes, in an attempt to destroy the life and culture of those Arabs. But after his defeat 10 years later in 2003, the Arabs dug up his dykes, canals and damns, re-flooded the marshes and began to resume their ancient way of life.
Inherently nomadic, the author muses: “the prejudice against a fixed life is strong, only the lowest of the tribe will condescend to remain stationary; but change is in progress.”
The paper notes that mudhifs were built by the culture which not only developed the world’s first cities, with their great mud-brick ziggurats and temples; it also invented writing, for the keeping of temple records. And of course, for sustenance, the cities had to be surrounded by agricultural villages hence, in the marshes, buildings constructed entirely of reeds. Is this why our pull toward them is strong?
By portraying the Mudhif as an open and inclusive space, Znad says she “reflects the traditional architecture of the Marsh Arabs and emphasizes the contemporary need for sustainable design.”
This is true in every culture everywhere especially the UAE which has designed itself out of the desert from scratch over the last 50 years. It may be why cardboard was also featured this year. We are all going back to the basics.
Enjoy the photos and if you are at the Dubai Design Week this week drop us a line.
An overwhelming majority of the Israeli public is concerned about climate change. Some 1,180 respondents from all adult population groups in Israel were asked about their knowledge and attitudes towards climate change and its impacts on the environment, economy, society, and health. While Tel Aviv may get an A for Sustainability, the survey looked at parts of Israeli society.
The survey was conducted by the National Institute for Climate Policy Research in cooperation with the Laboratory for Communication Research and Social Bias headed by Dr. Yossi David from the Department of Communications Studies, and in consultation with climate researcher Dr. Avner Gross, all from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The data was collected between June 26-30, 2024 by the research institute ‘Panel-Hamidgam’.
The breakdown of climate concerns
Concern about climate change crosses political lines.
77% of the Israeli public is concerned about climate change; the difference between right-wing and left-wing voters is smaller than expected: 72% of right-wing voters and 89% of left-wing voters express concern about climate change.
There is an understanding that the climate crisis is man-made.
There is high trust in science and scientists (63%) compared to very low trust in social media (only 14%).
There is a willingness to change behavioral habits for the sake of environmental protection (36% are willing to eat less meat, 33% are willing to travel more by public transport).
How the study was developed and why
Bike lanes in downtown Tel Aviv
One-third of survey participants expressed a willingness to change their behavior for the sake of environmental protection. 36% are willing to eat less animal-based food; 33% are willing to travel more by public transport; 24% are willing to fly less and only 13% are willing to pay higher taxes to promote environmental protection.
“It seems that the public is readier to change their habits than policymakers believe,” said Tamar Zandberg, head of the National Institute for Climate Policy Research at Ben-Gurion University and former Minister of Environmental Protection.
“The most significant change that Israelis are willing to make is in their dietary habits, although the issue is not usually associated with climate change in Israel. Our conclusion, therefore, is that it is not only possible but necessary to think about more ambitious policy measures. The public is eager to hear from decision-makers as moral compasses and are waiting for a call to action at the individual and community level, in order to reduce environmental damage.”
Another key finding from the survey indicates that the majority of the Israeli public (77%) is concerned about an increase in air pollution influenced by human activities, such as burning fuels; 76% are concerned about extreme events, such as fires, heatwaves, and floods; and 51% are concerned about the flooding of coastal cities due to rising sea levels.
For most Israelis, climate change is caused by humans, but belief in conspiracy theories that challenge the scientific consensus on climate change is also high. 62% of respondents believe that there are economic interests behind the claims about climate change; 58% of respondents believe that there are political interests and 40% believe that science is divided on whether there is climate change.
“The Israeli public is surprisingly knowledgeable about the dangers of the climate crisis, despite the lack of sufficient public discussion on these issues,” noted Dr. David.
The findings also show that the Israeli public wants change but doesn’t have enough reliable information. Most of the Israeli public from all political backgrounds (63% in total) has high trust in science and does not trust social media. The highest level of trust is in scientists and academics (63%); trust in friends and family is also prominent (59%), 40% expressed trust in the Ministry of Environmental Protection and only 14% expressed trust in social media. The high trust in scientists and science indicates the need to make scientific knowledge about climate change and environmental protection accessible to the public.
“This is one of the most interesting findings of the survey in my opinion. This finding indicates the public’s thirst for reliable scientific knowledge and the ability of such knowledge to influence public attitudes,” explained Dr. Gross. “It seems that the involvement of academia in the climate discourse in Israel and in direct dialogue with the public is crucial.”
The entire Israeli public recognizes the need to promote policies that will enable adaptation to climate change. There are some differences between right-wing and left-wing supporters, but they are significantly smaller than the differences in other countries, particularly the United States.
It seems that self-identifying leftists tend to be slightly more concerned than rightists about the impacts of climate change; they are more supportive of promoting policies to reduce climate change and are more willing to change behavior to cope with climate change than rightists.
An overwhelming majority (89%) of respondents from the left expressed concern about an increase in air pollution resulting from human activities, while the center (76%) and the right (72%) expressed similar concern. The differences found were relatively small compared to the United States and indicate that attitudes towards climate change have not yet been fully politicized in Israel.
Women are more concerned than men
Examining the differences between men and women shows that women are more concerned than men about the impacts of climate change. While an overwhelming majority (85%) of women expressed concern about an increase in air pollution resulting from human activities, a smaller majority (69%) of men expressed similar concern. Women are more supportive of promoting policies to reduce climate change and are more willing to change behavior to cope with climate change than men. 43% of women are willing to eat less animal-based food compared to 28% of men; 35% of women are willing to travel by public transport compared to 30% of men; 26% of women are willing to fly less compared to 22% of men.
“The data on the differences between men and women is similar to the data we know from other places around the world,” emphasized Dr. David. “However, the differences between right and left in Israel are smaller than in the United States, for example, indicating that the issue has not been fully politicized in Israel.”
Tamar Zandberg added that “this indicates that there can be broad and cross-party support for more significant policy measures to address the climate crisis.”
The survey findings show that an overwhelming majority of the Israeli public believes that climate change is dangerous to humanity and that the government should prepare for climate change.
“Public attitudes and perceptions towards the climate crisis are critical elements in humanity’s response to the greatest challenge in its history,” explained Tamar Zandberg. “Governmental policy actions – local, national, and international – require agreement, support, and even public pressure for their implementation. This is the time for climate decision-makers to establish a series of actions that will reduce the ongoing damage to the environment and correct behavior-changing laws, as suggested in the survey.”
The Emirates Development Bank (EDB) has signed a financing agreement of $27 million USD with Yellow Door Energy (YDE), a leading sustainable energy partner in the MENA region, to support the development and operation of over 60 solar photovoltaic (PV) plants across the United Arab Emirates.
EDB’s financing will expand YDE’s portfolio of solar PV systems, enhancing its capacity to lease solar power plants through solar leases, also known as power purchase agreements (PPAs) tailored for industrial and commercial enterprises. Under this strategic collaboration, Yellow Door Energy will offer leasing opportunities to major industrial players in the UAE.
These companies will benefit from long-term access to clean electricity, significant energy cost savings, and promotion of sustainable energy usage across the nation.
Yellow Door Energy solar installation
Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Development Bank, said: “Our strategic collaboration with Yellow Door Energy marks a new milestone in our mission to enhance the UAE’s renewable energy landscape and accelerate its journey towards a net-zero future.”
Jeremy Crane, Group CEO of Yellow Door Energy stated: “As a company founded and headquartered in the UAE, we deeply value our relationship with the nation’s leading federal bank. Together, we are committed to supporting businesses in reducing their energy costs, enhancing resilience, and achieving their sustainability and Net Zero goals.”
EDB’s plan to provide AED 30 billion in financing to support five priority sectors, including renewables, underlines its crucial role in driving economic growth and fostering a more resilient economy.
Since the launch of its strategy in 2021, EDB has provided a cumulative total of AED 12.97 billion in financing, including more than AED 1.78 billion to empower the renewable energy sector, further consolidating its position as a leader in sustainable finance. Seems like the UAE is a hot place to be for financing and developing renewable energy projects.
The global import food import bill is expected to increase by 2.2 percent from the previous year to more than $2 trillion in 2024, pushed up by higher prices for cocoa, coffee and tea and also buoyed by higher import costs for fruits and vegetables, according to Food Outlook, a report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
Import expenditures on cocoa, coffee and tea are anticipated to increase by 22.9 percent, accounting for more than half of the overall increase in value terms. That reflects soaring international prices for these commodities due mostly to weather conditions and logistics issues. Cocoa prices reached almost four times their ten-year average earlier this year, those for coffee nearly doubled, and those for tea rose 15 percent above their usual long-term levels.
Exports of these commodities play an important role in the economy of numerous countries, FAO economists noted. Coffee export earnings in Burundi and Ethiopia typically cover nearly 40 percent of their respective food import bills, tea does the same for more than half of Sri Lanka’s bill, and Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa exports more than offset all of the country’s food import costs.
Meanwhile, declining import bills for cereals and oilseeds offer relief to lower-income countries. High-income countries account for two-thirds of the global food import bill and will face a 4.4 percent increase in 2024, while the bills for upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income and low-income countries are likely to contract.
The FAO Food Outlook, a biannual publication, offers updated forecasts for the production, trade, utilization and stocks of major food staples as well as explores a series of topical themes. In particular, olive oil and fertilizers are featured in the latest issue.
FAO’s latest forecasts point to favourable output outlooks across most basic foodstuffs, although global production systems remain vulnerable to risks from extreme weather events and rising geopolitical tensions and policy changes which could tip delicate demand-supply balances and dampen prospects for international trade in food commodities and global food security.
Wheat and coarse grains output is expected to decline in 2024 from high levels but remain above utilization rates. Rice, meanwhile, is a bright spot, with the 2024/25 season poised to mark a record-breaking harvest, which could enable global rice utilization, reserves and international trade to increase. Per capita food intake of wheat and coarse grains is expected to decline somewhat in Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries while that for rice is expected to increase by 1.5%.
Global meat and dairy production is forecast to increase moderately while that for sugar declines. Worldwide fisheries output is set to expand by 2.2 percent driven by aquaculture. Soybean and palm oil outputs are on course to expand while those for rapeseed and sunflower seeds contract. Global vegetable oil consumption could exceed production and lead to stock drawdowns for the second consecutive season, while robust crushings are expected to result in expanding global inventories for oilmeals.
As Europe faces mounting environmental challenges, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s decision to skip the COP29 climate summit in Baku signals a troubling lack of urgency. While the Commission cites its “transitional phase” as the reason for her absence, this explanation feels hollow against the backdrop of an escalating climate crisis that demands the EU’s full attention and leadership. COP29, held in a country economically tethered to fossil fuels, is already mired in controversy. Von der Leyen’s absence only adds to concerns that the summit will lack the commitment needed for substantive progress.
The climate summit’s agenda this year is as pressing as ever, focusing on critical topics such as funding climate action in developing countries and establishing frameworks for carbon trading. With the frequency of climate-driven natural disasters increasing worldwide, immediate action is essential. In Spain’s Valencia region, for instance, deadly floods have recently destroyed homes and taken lives, serving as a sobering reminder that climate change is not a future threat—it is already here. Against this urgent backdrop, von der Leyen’s absence could be interpreted as a troubling signal that the EU has other, more pressing concerns than addressing the climate crisis.
An Inconvenient Absence Amid Global Turmoil
Von der Leyen is not alone in her decision to miss COP29; other prominent leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and the outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden, are also skipping the summit. However, the EU’s role as a climate leader sets it apart, particularly as it faces the likelihood of a less climate-conscious U.S. administration. Without strong EU representation, there is a risk that COP29 will be dominated by fossil fuel-producing countries like Azerbaijan, which holds a vested interest in slowing the transition away from oil and gas. This situation threatens to turn the summit into more of a greenwashing spectacle than a forum for meaningful action.
European lawmakers and environmental advocates have voiced their disappointment. Michael Bloss, a German Green MEP, called von der Leyen’s decision “a fatal signal,” while WWF’s climate specialists warned that the absence of key leaders could undermine confidence in global climate commitments. The climate crisis will not pause for political convenience, nor will it wait for ideal conditions to act. Europe’s climate leadership is critical, particularly as other global powers waver on their commitments.
The EU’s Complicated Climate Commitments
In recent years, the European Union has prided itself on its ambitious climate policies, from the European Green Deal to its commitment to cut emissions by 55% by 2030. Yet, von der Leyen’s absence from COP29 raises questions about the EU’s true priorities. As discussions around implementing the European Green Deal remain contentious, the debate on front of pack labeling systems such as Nutri-Score somehow continues to attract attention. This controversial system, which rates foods based on a simplified color code, has sparked endless debate and backlash. This focus reflects misplaced priorities, as time is diverted from more significant issues like climate action.
Initially implemented in France in 2017, Nutri-Score aims to help consumers make healthier food choices by ranking products from green “A” to red “E.” However, this attempt at nutritional clarity has been met with widespread backlash for oversimplifying complex dietary information, confusing consumers, and undermining cultural food traditions that define the European diet. It has also been criticised for encouraging the consumption of proteins, which often translates into eating meat – hardly an environmentally friendly consumer choice.
The EU’s emphasis on initiatives like the harmonization of labeling over pressing climate issues can appear tone-deaf in the current context. Prioritizing these debates while Europe endures deadly climate-induced events sends a confused message to the world.
Financing and Transparency: The Stakes of COP29
COP29 is a critical moment for securing climate finance for developing nations—a key factor in enabling them to implement their climate action plans. Developing countries have long called for clear commitments from wealthier nations, not just promises. Yet, the financing debate has stalled, with disagreements over the amounts, sources, and mechanisms of support. With the EU’s leadership role diminished by von der Leyen’s absence, there is a real risk that the conference will yield only superficial outcomes.
Azerbaijan, as COP29’s host, has established the Baku Global Climate Transparency Platform, intended to enhance transparency in climate commitments. But Azerbaijan’s poor track record on transparency, coupled with its dependence on fossil fuels, calls into question its commitment to meaningful climate action. The country ranks high in corruption indices, and restrictions on civil society have intensified ahead of the summit. The irony of a petro-state presiding over a climate summit is not lost on observers, and von der Leyen’s absence only adds to the perception that the EU is failing to lead.
The Path Forward: A Call for Focused Climate Leadership
The stakes at COP29 could not be higher. From the latest global temperature records to the devastating floods in Valencia, the evidence of climate change’s impact is undeniable. Europe, with its legacy of environmental leadership, has a unique responsibility to push for substantial progress, particularly as other global leaders falter in their commitments. The EU’s leaders must urgently re-evaluate their priorities to reflect the gravity of the climate crisis. Instead of being sidetracked by secondary issues or internal political considerations, Europe needs to focus on the larger picture, pressing for robust international commitments and ensuring that financing mechanisms meet the scale of the challenge.
In von der Leyen’s absence, the EU delegation will be led by climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, but the symbolic weight of Europe’s top official missing the summit will linger. As world leaders convene in Baku, the hope is that they can overcome the limitations imposed by the summit’s context and make real progress on climate action.The world needs a climate commitment it can count on, not only when it is politically convenient but when it matters most.
Sari Beeri from MIT uses AI to map city trees for urban planners and to assess the impact of climate change
Sari Beeri, lead author
The Irish philosopher George Berkely, best known for his theory of immaterialism, once famously mused, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
What about AI-generated trees? Probably wouldn’t make a sound, but critical nonetheless for things like conservation efforts to adapt our urban forests to climate change. To that end, scientists from MIT CSAIL, Google, and Purdue University’s novel “Tree-D Fusion” system merges AI and tree-growth models with Google’s Auto Arborist data to create accurate, 3D urban trees.
Tree-D Fusion takes a single view image (left) and reconstructs a 3D simulation ready tree model. The tree model can be used to simulate growth over time with a detailed branching structure with leaves. We provide a dataset of 3D reconstructed tree models from 600,000 Google Street View images.
The project produced the first-ever large-scale database of 600,000 environmentally aware, simulation-ready tree models across North America. This helps urban planners understand where they can build more green lungs. Cities like Toronto get a 17.5% green canopy, while Tel Aviv gets a 17%.
“We’re bridging decades of forestry science with modern AI capabilities,” says Sara Beery, MIT EECS Assistant Professor and MIT CSAIL Principal Investigator, a co-author on a new paper about Tree-D Fusion. “This allows us to not just identify trees in cities, but to predict how they’ll grow and impact their surroundings over time. We’re not ignoring the past 30 years of work in understanding how to build these 3D synthetic models, instead, we’re using AI to make this existing knowledge more useful across a broader set of individual trees in cities around North America, and eventually the globe.”
Orange trees help passively heat and cool in this Foster + Partners sustainable building. But are these sparsely planted trees enough?
Tree-D Fusion builds on previous urban forest monitoring efforts that used Google Street View data, but branches it forward by generating complete 3D models from single images. While earlier attempts at tree modeling were limited to specific neighborhoods, or struggled with accuracy at scale, Tree-D Fusion can create detailed models that include typically hidden features, such as the back side of trees that aren’t visible in street-view photos.
A forest of trees in Jaffa
AI trees and implications for making cities cooler, safer, better maintained
The technology’s practical applications extend far beyond mere observation.
City planners could use Tree-D Fusion to one day peer into the future, anticipating where growing branches might tangle with power lines, or identifying neighborhoods where strategic tree placement could maximize cooling effects and air quality improvements. They can map how trees might respond to climate change or stop catastrophic flooding. These predictive capabilities, the team says, could change urban forest management from reactive maintenance to proactive planning.
Oranger Suspendu, a hanging orange tree in Old City Jaffa by Ran Morin
“This high level of specificity in tree simulation has broad applications in forestry, where species and genera vary in growth, ecological roles, and climate resilience,” says Jan Stejskal, Assistant Professor at Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, who wasn’t involved in the research. “Also, it enables city planners to simulate how urban forests affect air quality, shade, and biodiversity, helping optimize tree planting for urban cooling, carbon sequestration, and habitat creation, ultimately fostering more sustainable cities.”
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (and many other places)
The researchers took a hybrid approach to their method, using deep learning to create a 3D envelope of each tree’s shape, then using traditional procedural models to simulate realistic branch and leaf patterns based on the tree’s genus. This combo helped the model predict how trees would grow under different environmental conditions and climate scenarios such as different possible local temperatures and varying access to groundwater.
Now, as cities worldwide grapple with rising temperatures, the research offers a new window into the future of urban forests. In a collaboration with MIT’s Senseable City Lab, the Purdue University and Google team is embarking on a global study that reimagines trees as living climate shields. Their digital modeling system captures the intricate dance of shade patterns throughout the seasons, revealing how strategic urban forestry could hopefully change sweltering city blocks into more naturally cooled neighborhoods.
“Every time a street mapping vehicle passes through a city now, we’re not just taking snapshots — we’re watching these urban forests evolve in real-time,” says Beery. “This continuous monitoring creates a living digital forest that mirrors its physical counterpart, offering cities a powerful lens to observe how environmental stresses shape tree health and growth patterns across their urban landscape.”
Rothschild Boulevard trees along the bile path in Tel Aviv, Photo by Yonatan Honig (Courtesy – Tel Aviv Jaffa)
AI-based tree modeling has emerged as an ally in the quest for environmental justice: By mapping urban tree canopy in unprecedented detail, a sister project from the Google AI for Nature team has helped uncover disparities in green space access across different socioeconomic areas. “We’re not just studying urban forests — we’re trying to cultivate more equity,” says Beery. The team is now working closely with ecologists and tree health experts to refine these models, ensuring that as cities expand their green canopies, the benefits branch out to all residents equally.
While Tree-D fusion marks some major “growth” in the field, trees can be uniquely challenging for computer vision systems. Unlike the rigid structures of buildings or vehicles that current 3D modeling techniques handle well, trees are nature’s shape-shifters — swaying in the wind, interweaving branches with neighbors, and constantly changing their form as they grow. The Tree-D fusion models are “simulation ready” in that they can estimate the shape of the trees in the future, depending on the environmental conditions.
“What makes this work exciting is how it pushes us to rethink fundamental assumptions in computer vision,” says Beery. “While 3D scene understanding techniques like photogrammetry or NERF excel at capturing static objects, trees demand new approaches that can account for their dynamic nature, where even a gentle breeze can dramatically alter their structure from moment to moment.”
The team’s approach of creating rough structural envelopes that approximate each tree’s form has proven remarkably effective, but certain issues remain unsolved. Perhaps the most vexing is the “entangled tree problem”, when neighboring trees grow into each other, their intertwined branches create a puzzle that no current AI system can fully unravel.
The scientists see their dataset as a springboard for future innovations in computer vision, and they’re already exploring applications beyond street view imagery, looking to extend their approach to platforms like iNaturalist and wildlife camera traps.
“This marks just the beginning for Tree-D Fusion,” says Jae Joong Lee, a Purdue University PhD student who developed, implemented and deployed the Tree-D-Fusion algorithm. “Together with my collaborators, I envision expanding the platform’s capabilities to a planetary scale. Our goal is to use AI-driven insights in service of natural ecosystems – supporting biodiversity, promoting global sustainability, and ultimately, benefiting the health of our entire planet.”
The Great African Seaforest is a unique large-scale marine ecosystem that covers about 1000 kilometres of the South African coast line.Credit: Jannes Landschoff
Kelp forests are some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth. We might know kelp as a superfood but in the sea it provides shelter, food, and breeding grounds for countless marine species. Unfortunately, these vital underwater habitats are in decline due to factors like climate change, pollution, and overfishing. With millions of divers exploring the world’s oceans, there’s a unique opportunity to engage the dive community in protecting these ecosystems. And we want to show you how by interviewing a leading expert in the field who also dives! Meet Dana Janke from Canada!
Diver and marine ecologist Dana Janke
Dana Janke, Seaforestation Coordinator, B.Sc, B.I.T. from Ocean Wise, tells us that divers can help by participating in citizen science programs, joining underwater clean-ups, and following sustainable diving practices to minimize disturbance to fragile kelp habitats.
Engaging divers in kelp forest preservation not only aids conservation efforts but also fosters a deeper appreciation for these underwater forests and the roles they play in ocean health. Through education and responsible diving, divers can contribute to the restoration and preservation of kelp forests, safeguarding these incredible ecosystems for future generations.
1. There are millions of divers worldwide, many traveling to remote locations with extensive kelp forests. Can you list the top 10 most important kelp forests that intersect with recreational diving? For example, are there kelp forests in places like Egypt, where many US and European divers go? How can they get involved?
North Vancouver Island, especially Port Hardy, has beautiful kelp forests that attract divers globally. In my opinion, it’s some of the best diving in the world. Other top kelp forest diving locations include Monterey Bay and the Channel Islands in California, the Cape Town region in South Africa, Tasmania and Southern Australia, Norway, Japan, New Zealand, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca (BC and Washington).
Kelp is generally associated with cold waters, so it’s unlikely you’d find kelp forests in Egypt that resemble those in the Ocean Wise and Kelp Forest Alliance’s “Monitoring Kelp Forest Ecosystems” guidebook.
2. How can divers help kelp forests if they lack a background in marine biology?
The first step is to learn a bit about local marine life! One of my favorite parts of diving is discovering underwater critters and algae, then searching for them in ID books after the dive. I love Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Encyclopedia of Invertebrates, Seaweeds, and Selected Fishes by Andy Lamb and Bernard P. Hanby, as it covers a lot of marine life in the Pacific Northwest. I recommend asking your local dive shop for ID book suggestions for your area.
Participating in clean-up dives is also helpful. Pollution significantly impacts ocean health, so any opportunity we, as a dive community, can take to care for the ocean is essential.
3. How can dive centers create training material to add kelp forest preservation to their sustainable travel practices?
A great start is hosting educational workshops—virtual or in-person—that teach divers about the importance of kelp forests and the stressors causing their decline. Helping divers understand the many benefits of kelp forests is the first step.
Next, hands-on experience and training are key, starting with how to ID kelp species underwater (it can be challenging!). Ocean Wise and the Kelp Forest Alliance’s Monitoring Kelp Forest Ecosystems Guidebook offers step-by-step instructions on monitoring various metrics. Dive centers can use it to create training materials on dive monitoring techniques and recognizing signs of kelp health decline.
4. Can individual divers make a difference? How? What’s the biggest impact?
Yes! Individual divers can significantly impact by collecting data, raising awareness, and promoting responsible diving. Citizen science is critical in expanding scientific knowledge, as data collection is time-consuming and costly. Data from citizen scientists is becoming increasingly valuable for research.
Many organizations utilize citizen science in kelp forest research. Kelp Tracker 2.0, a web-based platform by The Nature Conservancy Australia, allows divers to map and record kelp observations along the Tasmanian and Australian coasts, informing local restoration projects. The Puget Sound Restoration Fund’s All Eyes on Deck project, in partnership with Reef Check Foundation, trains volunteer divers on species identification and survey protocols to collect data on kelp forest health in the Pacific Northwest. Platforms like iNaturalist also allow users to record species observations and validate identifications, providing invaluable data for science and conservation.
I suggest finding citizen science dive programs in your area and getting involved. Knowledge gaps on kelp status and health exist, and programs like these help close them over time.
5. Can divers be harmful to kelp forests? Are there places they should avoid?
Divers help restore kelp forests
Divers can be detrimental to kelp forests. These forests are often dense and challenging to navigate, so it’s easy to disturb or damage them, especially if you’re new to diving. Diving lets us explore often-overlooked underwater worlds, but it’s essential to dive respectfully. If you’re a beginner or haven’t mastered skills like buoyancy, I suggest avoiding kelp forests until you’re more experienced. Also, consider diving with a local guide who knows the sites well and can guide you through a safe, low-impact dive. Remember to take only photos, leave only bubbles, and respect the underwater flora and fauna (no touching!). Know your limits and stay within them.
6. Could universities partner with dive centers to train divers who are also biologists?
That’s a fantastic idea! While we don’t currently have a specific program, we are exploring a volunteer-driven program for 2025 and beyond. We’ll keep you in the loop!
More about Dana Janke, Seaforestation Coordinator, B.Sc, B.I.T.: Dana is a passionate environmentalist with a background in ecological restoration. She has been an avid diver for the past decade and works as a PADI Divemaster, guiding divers around British Columbia’s coast in Canada, introducing them to the unique flora and fauna found under the water. She mergePacifuc Pacific s her interest in restoring BC’s ecosystems with her passion for the marine environment in her role as Coordinator for the Seaforestation Initiative at Ocean Wise.
More about Ocean Wise:
Ocean Wise is a global organization that builds communities that take meaningful action to protect and restore our ocean. Together – with business leaders, researchers, community members, governments and ocean lovers around the world – we are monitoring and protecting whales, fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity, protecting and restoring fish stocks, innovating for a plastic free ocean, educating and empowering youth.
Tel Aviv’s seaside marathon set for February 28, 2025
The Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality announced that the Tel Aviv Marathon, Israel’s largest sporting event, will take place for the 16th time on February 2025. Early registration at a discounted rate is now open for all runners—both amateur and professional—across various race categories until December 1, 2024. Marathons in the Middle East are best enjoyed in the winter when the weather is cool. Get our best marathons guide here.
Over 40,000 runners are expected to participate in one of the five scenic urban routes throughout the city, including along the iconic coastline: Marathon (42.195 km), Half Marathon (21 km), 10K Race, 5K Race, and a Kids’ Mini Marathon on February 26, 2025 (800 meters and 1.2 km).
The marathon takes you through Jaffa along the seashore
“The 2025 Tel Aviv Marathon will return with full force in February 2025,” says the city’s mayor Run Huldai. “This marathon is an important event for our city, a city that breathes and lives sports. In these times, we need to remind ourselves that sport is not only for physical health but also as a remedy for the soul. Through sports, we allow ourselves to both feel pain and find comfort, and we remember that both body and spirit have enabled us to overcome many challenges before.
“This time too, we will succeed and rebuild, and we are proud to continue hosting this unique marathon that unites the entire nation. I invite everyone to join us, and I hope we will soon see our hostages back with us, together.”
How the Tel Aviv Marathon will be Sustainable
Reducing bottle usage by over 60% by using of biodegradable cups at water stations along the course, The empty 1.5-liter bottles used for refilling will be collected and recycled after the race.
Recycled non-woven fabric bags will be used for race kits. During registration, participants will have the option to either purchase an official running shirt from a leading brand or receive a discount on the registration fee, thereby reducing demand on the global textile industry. If the plastic non-woven bags are the ones they are mentioning, note that these bags are not green at all and usually take more plastic with them to landfill.
“Pay It Forward” a social green project will also take place as part of the marathon, inviting all participants to bring sports clothing (excluding shoes) for donation on race day. The donated items will be laundered, folded, and given to charities for distribution to those in need
Reducing print as part of its green initiative, runners will receive the marathon guide in digital format, and all promotional signage along the course will be recycled at the end of the event.
There are so many ways to do sustainable tourism in the Middle East. Get our Middle East marathon guide here.
Lovegrove's parametric cardboard pavilion for Dubai Design Week.
Lovegrove’s parametric cardboard pavilion for Dubai Design Week.
You know the old saying: I can’t afford to dress so poor as I am not so rich? This looks like the take by British designer Ross Lovegrove’s when creating his parametric cardboard pavilion for Dubai Design Week.
The pavilion is to mark the debut of Deond, the design studio he co-founded with creative director Ila Colombo after moving to the United Arab Emirates.
The centerpiece of this project is their Enfold pavilion, a striking structure that captivates the eye with its 945 sheets of recycled cardboard. Each sheet has been meticulously hand-folded into trapezoidal modules that gracefully overlap, forming a stunning design around a circular timber frame meant to resemble a palm tree.
Remember when this $9 cardboard bike from Israel took over the design world by storm? Design doesn’t need to be permanent. Especially in a city and environment that is so opulent and over the top. Sometimes simple and natural is the most deluxe.
Pieces of a 3D created wetsuit the firm is creating.
A Jewish woman in Damascus, Syria when Jews were allowed religious freedom in Syria. Her shoes are better than Lady Gaga’s. (1865, hand colored photo from the Institut du Monde Arabe).
We didn’t meet a single Jew when we visited Syria because it’s not safe for them under the Captagon-pushing Assad Dynasty, and it’s not allowed to even say the word Israel when you are out and about but we would like to see these shoes make a comeback and dancing again in Damascus.
A farmer's field in Yemen gets a boost by rainwater collection pools. A new-old way to combat drought.
A rainwater collection cool in Yemen
Rainwater tanks have become an essential item in Israel where people are afraid that an Iranian attack will threaten their domestic water supply. But like the ancient Nabateans who knew how to sequester water in the desert, the modern Swiss collect water from farm roofs and homes to water their gardens. They may pay a tax in Switzerland, but the rain is either free or cheap and it’s charged with beautiful ions that plants love.
It might seem obvious but in countries starving and on the brink of disaster from an internal terror group taking over, Yemeni farmers are finding relief in growing their harvest but getting access to basic farming tools such as rainwater collection systems. The UN is helping give them the know how to build rainwater tanks. The Houthis in Yemen are using water as a weapon in war. But a not so sophisticated water pool can pull people out of misery
A farmer’s field in Yemen. With the construction of rainwater tanks farmers can now grow vegetables year-around in Utmah district, Dhamar Governorate.
The UN reports that Yemen’s agriculture sector, a lifeline for millions and a cornerstone of the nation’s economy, has been severely affected by extreme climate change. Continued conflict with the Houthis has further exacerbated the situation, contributing to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and widespread food insecurity.
In an effort to address water scarcity caused by climate change, two rainwater harvesting tanks were constructed in in Bait Al-Samhi Village, Dhamar Governorate, improving access to water for community members. Each rainwater tank has the capacity to hold 940 cubic metres of water.
Fouad, a farmer in Bait Al-Samhi Village, is confident that the project will significantly increase production in the coming season. He explains, “We rely on rainfall to irrigate our crops. During the winter, our lands become dry, and agriculture ceases due to the lack of irrigation water. Before the project, the situation was very difficult. We had no source to irrigate our crops after the rains stopped, which led to crop failure and financial losses. Now, after the project, the situation has changed. I can farm even after the rainy season.”
Working against the Houthis to give rainwater to the Yemenis
Rainwater harvesting tanks enhance food security for families by supporting farmers to reclaim degraded agricultural lands, and improve irrigation systems. Mutee, the coordinator of the local community committee, says, “Climate change has affected agricultural lands in the region. Due to water scarcity, many people have abandoned farming.”
Mutee explains that the project was implemented to ensure continued farming activities of the local population, which is their primary source of income.
He adds, “The project has positively impacted community members by expanding their cultivated lands, increasing crop production, and improving their living conditions.”
Saeeda, a mother of five, pictured below, was strongly affected by land degradation due to climate change.
She says, “I grow corn and vegetables during the rainy season, but in winter, farming stops due to water scarcity.”
She explains how the rainwater harvesting tanks will enable her to continue farming after the rainy season.
“Now, I have been able to cultivate two plots of land and will increase the cultivated area with the irrigation from the tanks. Things have changed, and I feel happy when I see my farm green and the crops thriving without damage.” Saeeda hopes her land will remain green enough to cultivate several times in a single season.
The project has created job opportunities for local community members in Bait Al-Samhi, providing income and helping them to acquire new skills through a cash-for-work program.
Bader, a father of six and a community member who worked on the rainwater harvesting tanks project, says, “The project provided me with a temporary job for 45 days, which helped me support my family and meet their basic needs while serving the community.”
“In addition to improving agricultural production in the long term, the rainwater harvesting tanks have created job opportunities to help people financially,” says Abdullah, an engineer and project officer with UNDP’s local partner, SFD. Pictured below.
The project has increased local farming areas and improved food security by providing approximately 124 farmers with access to alternative water sources.
A great start. Now how can all farmers get access to this beautiful and easy opportunity?
Study the opportunity to help Yemen below (in Arabic).
At the Hindu cow dung festival via the Hindustan Times
Rise in nitrous oxide emissions endangers pathway to 1.5°C, the ozone layer, and human health
Nitrous oxide (N₂O), a potent greenhouse gas, is rapidly accelerating climate change and damaging the ozone layer, jeopardizing the 1.5°C warming target and posing a serious threat to public health, according to a new United Nations report.
Launched at the COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Assessment, published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), signals that emissions are rising faster than expected, and that immediate action is required to curb the environmental and health impacts of this super pollutant.
Nitrous oxide is approximately 270 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of warming the planet, and currently responsible for approximately 10 percent of net global warming since the industrial revolution. Primarily emitted from agricultural practices such as the use of synthetic fertilizers and animal manure (cow farts), N₂O is the third most significant greenhouse gas and the top ozone-depleting substance still being released into the atmosphere.
Sum up on nitrous oxide
The report warns that without urgent action on rising N₂O emissions, there is no viable pathway to limiting global warming to 1.5°C and provides tangible tools to reduce emissions by more than 40% from current levels.
The Assessment shows that N₂O is currently the most significant ozone-depleting substance being emitted, risking exposing much of the world’s population to higher UV levels and an increase in skin cancers and cataracts.
Taking ambitious action to reduce N₂O emissions could help prevent up to 20 million premature deaths globally by 2050 due to poor air quality and avoid the equivalent of up to 235 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2100.
Implications and recommendations
The findings from the Assessment are clear: urgent action on N₂O is critical to achieving climate goals, and without a serious reduction in emissions, there is no viable path to limiting warming to 1.5°C in the context of sustainable development as outlined in the Paris Agreement. Abating N₂O emissions could avoid up to 235 billion tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions by 2100 – the equivalent of six years’ worth of current global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.
This Assessment identifies practical, cross-sectoral abatement strategies that could cut N₂O emissions by more than 40 percent from current levels. Through transforming food production systems and rethinking societal approaches to nitrogen management, even deeper reductions could be achieved, offering a critical opportunity to move the world closer to its climate, environmental, and health goals.
The Assessment also shows that N₂O emissions from the chemical industry can be quickly and cost-effectively abated; agricultural and industrial practices impact the natural nitrogen cycle, leading to increased N₂O emissions.
Simultaneously reducing nitrogen oxide emissions and ammonia would also significantly improve air quality, potentially avoiding up to 20 million premature deaths globally by 2050. Abatement measures would also enhance water quality, improve soil health, and protect ecosystems from the impacts of nitrogen runoff.
The Assessment underscores the need for immediate and ambitious action to reduce N₂O emissions, as part of a broader strategy to tackle super pollutants, which, alongside efforts to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions, will put the world on track to meet long-term climate, food security, and health goals.
Kaveh Zahedi
“Addressing nitrous oxide emissions is essential for ensuring sustainable, inclusive and resilient agriculture that simultaneously helps countries achieve their climate and food security goals. As the Assessment clearly shows, there are ways to produce more with less, by improving the efficiency of nitrogen use in agriculture and reducing excessive nitrogen application,” said Kaveh Zahedi, Director of FAO’s Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment.
“Abating N₂O emissions could avoid up to 235 billion tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions by 2100,” stated David Kanter, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, NYU and Co-Chair of the Assessment. “This is equivalent to six years’ worth of current global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.”
“A sustainable nitrogen management approach not only reduces nitrous oxide emissions but also prevents the release of other harmful nitrogen compounds,” said A.R. Ravishankara, chemist and atmospheric scientist, Colorado State University and Co-Chair of the Assessment. “This could improve air and water quality, protect ecosystems, and safeguard human health, all while maintaining food security.”
“The ozone layer is crucial for all life on Earth. For decades, parties to the Montreal Protocol have worked hard to safeguard it. This Assessment highlights the need for continued vigilance, commitment and action for the ozone layer to recover as soon as possible to its pre-1980 levels,” said Megumi Seki, Executive Secretary of the Montreal Protocol Ozone Secretariat, United Nations Environment Programme.
“This Assessment sounds the alarm on a relatively forgotten super pollutant that contributes greatly to climate change and air pollution,” said Martina Otto, Head of Secretariat of the UNEP-convened Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
“By using the abatement tools highlighted in the Assessment that are already available to us, we can yield multiple benefits across climate, clean air, and health,” she added.
Me and my family travelled to Ethiopia this past April. People were dirt poor and happy for small handouts and our business, but they were happy. It was clear that if they could many people in Ethiopia would leave. One must be in a terrible place to want to leave one’s home and culture. Instead of focusing on refugees, the world needs to put more attention in helping people stay in their country, supports the UN. Happy, healthy people don’t want to leave home.
Hiking in Ethiopia, not far from Addis Ababa
“We must come up with better ways to help people and communities become more resilient to climate change’s impacts, to ensure that people who are especially vulnerable have the chance to adapt and thrive,” said Director General Amy Pope of the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).
As world leaders gather at the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (known as COP29) in Azerbaijan this year this organization says they need more concrete and sustainable solutions for the communities most affected by the impact of climate change to help them stay.
Climate adaptation and resilience measures are needed for people who want to remain in their home, ensuring their livelihoods can sustain and recover from the impacts of climate change: “We must come up with better ways to help people and communities become more resilient to climate change’s impacts, to ensure that people who are especially vulnerable have the chance to adapt and thrive,” she said.
Flooding in Spain and North Carolina this year makes people worry about how unprepared we are when climate events hit. Climate migration is not just a concern of the future, it is the present reality for millions globally, DG Pope noted. Last year alone, disasters caused more than 26 million internal displacements (GRID 2024, IDMC). Syria is a prime example.
In the Horn of Africa, for instance, recurrent droughts and flash floods have pushed entire communities, especially pastoralists and smallholder farmers, to relocate in search of water and grazing land. In Bangladesh, rising sea levels and frequent cyclones have led to the displacement of coastal populations, forcing families to migrate to urban areas in search of stability.
Meanwhile, parts of Central America have experienced severe droughts that have decimated agricultural livelihoods, compelling thousands to move in search of work and resources. These examples demonstrate that climate migration is a pressing issue today, affecting diverse populations across continents.
Rewilding in Ethiopia. People finding eco-tourism in Wenzi, not far from Addis Ababa
Around the world, climate change is influencing how and why people move. It prompts some to move for job opportunities as its impacts change livelihoods. In extreme cases, communities dealing with extreme impact of climate change and are no longer possible to adapt are compelled to relocate to safer areas. It is important that there are solutions in place that protect and support those who want to stay, those on the move and those needing or wanting to move.
“The Azerbaijani government’s contempt for civic freedoms is putting independent groups and critical media on the path of extinction,” said Giorgi Gogia, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “This is not the image the government should be projecting of itself on the eve of COP29.
“It is not too late for the government to improve its reputation by freeing imprisoned critics and immediately ending the use of spurious charges against civil society, but it needs to act now.”
According to the group the authorities aggressively targeted three of the independent online news platforms that remain in Azerbaijan, including Abzas Media and Toplum TV. They arrested and criminally prosecuted at least 12 of these 3 platforms’ media professionals and several other affiliated individuals. They have hacked social media accounts and blocked websites. They have also arrested reporters with other outlets and leaders of several unregistered groups, as well as trade union activists and others who dared to criticize or protest government policies.
Among those arrested and in detention is veteran human rights defender Anar Mammadli, who in the weeks before his arrest co-founded a climate justice initiative with the aim of advocating civic freedoms and environmental justice in Azerbaijan ahead of COP29. He is awaiting trial on spurious smuggling charges.
The Maiden Castle, Baku
In July 2023, the authorities arrested a renowned economist and anti-corruption activist, Gubad Ibadoghlu, who specializes, among other things, in revenue transparency in the oil and gas sector. Currently under house arrest, Ibadoghlu is awaiting trial on bogus charges related to counterfeit currency production and extremism and faces up to 17 years in jail if convicted.
Under international law, the Azerbaijani government has obligations to protect the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association. This includes the ability to form a legal entity to act collectively in a field of mutual interest.
The European Court of Human Rights has issued numerous judgments finding that the Azerbaijani government’s failure to register independent NGOs violated the right to freedom of association. In at least one of these cases, the court found that authorities restricted rights with the “ulterior purpose” of punishing the applicants for their human rights activities.
“Through a combination of unjust detention and restrictive NGO rules, the Azerbaijani government is trying to eradicate civil society,” said Andrea Prasow, executive director of Freedom Now. “States and UN officials should urgently call on Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionally free arbitrarily detained activists and commit to upholding human rights at COP29 and beyond.”
Majid Al Futtaim, a leading shopping mall developer opened the Middle East’s first net-positive mosque under the name of its late founder, Majid Al Futtaim. The mosque, located in Dubai integrates sustainable and modern design practices in support of the UAE’s Green Agenda 2030, ensuring energy efficiency, resource optimisation, and minimal environmental impact.
“The opening of the first net-zero emissions mosque in the Middle East is an achievement that reflects our deep commitment to the principles of sustainability, this project represents a significant shift in the field of environmental sustainability and highlights our fruitful collaboration with Majid Al Futtaim in implementing this initiative,” says Ahmed Darwish Al Muhairi, General Manager, Islamic Affairs & Charitable Activities Department.
Middle East’s greenest mosque in Dubai
“It serves as a live example of a successful partnership between the public and private sectors, setting a new standard for responsible innovation in building and maintenance, it also aligns with the noble Islamic values that advocate for environmental preservation and protection.”
As a result of a series of key sustainable features, the Majid Al Futtaim Mosque is set to become the first bespoke project to achieve BREEAM certification.
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is a sustainability assessment method that is used to masterplan projects, infrastructure and buildings.
This assessment recognises measures of performance, which are set against established benchmarks, evaluating the building’s specification, design, construction, and use.
The mosque’s construction incorporates advanced mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems, renewable energy sources, and sustainable building practices designed to achieve a net-positive status.
Inside the Dubai green mosque powered by renewable energy
Key features include a robust renewable energy system with 203 solar photovoltaic panels, providing a total installed solar capacity of 116.73 kWp and generating over 204,121 kWh annually, providing more than 115% of the mosque’s energy demand.
The excess green energy is supplied back to the grid to be used across the communnity. Additional energy-efficient systems include a solar-powered hot water system, LED lighting, an efficient HVAC setup, EV charging stations and a Building Management System (BMS) to optimise energy consumption. Water efficiency, air quality, and non-toxic materials have been employed to ensure a healthy environment, with responsibly sourced, low-carbon materials prioritised to reduce its overall carbon footprint.
The first of its kind structure reinforces Majid Al Futtaim’s commitment to building a cleaner tomorrow as the Group’s aim to achieve net positive in carbon and water for all its operating companies by 2040.
On the occasion of the president of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Morocco, the French company Veolia and the Kingdom of Morocco signed yesterday a MOA for the establishment of a strategic partnership to develop on an exclusive basis a seawater desalination project that will be the largest in Africa and the second largest in the world.
It will supply drinking water to regions of the Kingdom particularly affected by drought.
Located near Rabat on the Atlantic coast, a great surfing spot, the project will be structured as a public-private partnership, involving the construction, financing and operation for 35 years, by Veolia, of a seawater desalination plant. With a capacity of 822,000 m3 of drinking water per day, or 300 million m3 per year, it will ensure the supply of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and Fès-Meknès regions to meet the water needs of nearly 9.3 million inhabitants.
This initiative is part of the Moroccan national energy strategy, launched by King Mohammed VI, which aims to strengthen water supply security and to face the challenges of climate change.
As a global leader in water technologies, Veolia will bring the best of its cutting-edge expertise in desalination for a reference plant in terms of efficiency, innovation and environmental protection. Its operational expertise will also ensure high plant performance by balancing investment and operating costs, thus ensuring the most competitive water price over the entire life cycle of the facility. The facility could be powered by low-carbon electricity, mainly from renewable sources.
Against a backdrop of climate change, which is particularly affecting the Mediterranean region, this partnership comes at a time when Morocco is facing unprecedented water stress. The country is experiencing its worst drought for 40 years, with rainfall continuing to decline and reservoirs at historically low levels, threatening agriculture, drinking water supplies and, more broadly, the country’s economy. Seawater desalination is therefore becoming an essential solution to these urgent challenges.
Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, said: “With a long history of partnership, we are thrilled and honoured to write this new page with the Kingdom of Morocco and Moroccan citizens to meet the challenges related to the environment and water. We are fully aware of the urgency of the situation and proud to contribute to this major project, which will strengthen the country’s water resilience. We will put the best of our international expertise and our long-standing presence in the region at the service of the Kingdom for a reference project in terms of performance and sustainability.
An Aspen forest in Utah, Pando, is known as the world's oldest living being.
An Aspen forest in Utah, Pando, is known as the world’s oldest living being.
Researchers have taken the DNA from ‘Pando’ — a vast forest made up of a single root system sprouting nearly 50,000 cloned quaking aspen trees in Utah and it seems to confirm that it is one of the oldest organisms on Earth.
The Latin name Pando means “I spread,” and the forest is one single living thing –– one one tree that has cloned itself tens of thousands of times. Pando consists of approximately 47,000 individual stems all connected by a single, vast root system.
Do those trees have eyes?
Aerial outline of Pando. (Lance Oditt/Friends of Pando)
Researchers sequenced hundreds of samples from the Populus tremuloides and found that it is between 16,000 and 80,000 years old. They were also able to track patterns of genetic variation spread throughout the tree, offering clues about how it has adapted and evolved over the course of its lifetime.
Located in central Utah on the Fishlake National Forest, Pando is approximately 1 mile southwest of Fish Lake on State Highway 25. Go on a road trip to see spots of nature, not cities. Your soul will thank you.
The best thing about Japan is the Japanese toilet and the bathing scene called the onsen. Well there could be other things but this is what you will miss the second you leave Tokyo’s airport. Japanese toilets and bathhouses are clean, the seats are warm, they self clean, and if you are lonely they speak to you. Public bathrooms have seats for hanging toddlers and well, the whole scene even in the smallest grungiest noodle bars is uplifting. Now if you live in a small space, trust that Japan will make your bathroom better.
Bathtope by LIXIL, a Japanese company, is a portable Japanese bathtub that hangs, and then folds after the bath is clean and dry.
What kind of bathroom will enrich our lives in this era of diversifying lifestyles, the company asks?
“Simple yet luxurious and minimalistic yet free, where we have reached is a new bathroom space that balances the abundance of people and the earth,” they write.
LIXIL is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the domestic plumbing and tile business, and has created “bathtope,” a new concept for bathroom space, as a new step towards the next 100 years.
The company designers say their underlying question was: “Is it okay for the daily bathing habits that have been loved by many people in Japan to remain the same? Therefore, we considered how bathroom space could accommodate diverse personalities and lifestyles, how it can change flexibly, and explored bathing methods and frequency that would both reduce the burden on the global environment and provide enjoyment. And the concept we derived is an ambiguous style that is neither a shower room nor a bathroom, and the idea came from the traditional Japanese concept of haretoke.”
We create a sense of richness in each, by dividing the immersion bath to soothe the mind and body on special days as “Hare,” and the shower bath to wash away the dirt and stress of daily life as “Ke.”
A bathroom that allows us to freely transform into a single space brings freedom of choice according to time, season, and mood. We believe this is one of the answers to accepting diversity, providing new manners and customs, and connecting bathing culture to the next generation.
In an oil wealthy state like Saudi Arabia luxury has no limits. And the latest is LEED certified.
A new Red Sea resort in Saudi Arabia called Shebara Island is already taking pre-bookings for its glamorous pod hotels, a cool SAR 9,000 a night, which equals about $2,400 USD. No big deal if you’ve berthed your mega-yacht at its shores.
Powered by the sun, the resort features 73 pods that rival the best of luxury from the Maldives seeing a downturn in tourism for its racist policies on religious freedom.
With 73 overwater and beachfront villas powered by sunlight, this resort is where nature and sustainability come together at The Red Sea
Saudi Arabia is hoping to become booming hotspot for business and tourism and has started creating 15-minute cities like Neom.
Shebaya, the latest from dozens of new projects announced, is LEED-Platinum property which is built to “minimise its environmental and literal environmental footprint by cantilevering the accommodation spaces above the coral reefs with only a few square meters of ground impact at the base of the supporting column.
“The result is an aerial accommodation ‘pod’ that almost seems to defy gravity and suspends the guest directly above and within the beauty of an untouched marine eco-system; an observation platform for guests to witness the fish, birds and turtles that thrive in the area,” says a handout.
The entire project is powered by a centralized solar farm and fresh water is supplied from a solar powered desalination plant. Recycling of waste material takes place on the island minimizing the need to bring or remove materials from the site.
The design language of the resort compliments the uniqueness of the site. The approach to the façade design has been to minimize visual impact, employing a highly reflective stainless-steel skin polished to a mirror finish. These reflective orbs float, almost imperceptible, reflecting the colors and surface patterns of the ocean, the intense colors of the sky as they change throughout the day.
Desalination and power plant powered by the sun
This approach serves to lessen the visual impact of the architecture on the surrounding environment while also greatly improv the building’s energy performance with a near 100% reflection of the solar gain at the mirror surface. These heavily insulated spaces can be effectively cooled with minimal energy losses.
The interior space of the project provides spacious room for the guests, with detailing, and finishes inspired by the interiors of luxury yachts. The room offers panoramic views to the sea with sliding doors that open to a deck, a seating area and an infinity pool with uninterrupted views of the sea and horizon beyond.
The robot clipped off a piece of a fuel rod that weighed less than 3 grams from inside the Unit 2 reactor core and brought it back to the lab assess its radioactivity.
Analysing the melted fuel debris this way is essential to determine how best to remove, store and dispose of the roughly 800 tonnes that remain. Countries like Germany have shut down their nuclear energy plants while countries like Turkey, aligning with terror entities, fires up its first ones.
Workers at Fukushima watch the retrieval operation from the control room. Image credit: TEPCO
“From the results of primary containment vessel internal investigations, we have deduced that the accumulated debris on the surface of the floor inside the pedestal is solidified molten material that consists of fuel elements and also may contain a lot of metal,” TEPCO said in a statement.
“By analyzing the attributes of the sampled fuel debris we will directly ascertain information such as the composition of debris at the sampling location and radioactivity density,” added TEPCO.
Japanese teams have tried to isolate and retrieve bits of radioactive fuel in the past. This was the first successful attempt. Knowing more about the radioactive nature of the spent fuel will help TEPCO decommission the reactor.
The origins of writing in Mesopotamia (the birthplace of the Jewish Bible’s Abraham and which is modern day Iraq) lie in the images imprinted by ancient cylinder seals on clay tablets and other artifacts, say a research group from the University of Bologna.
The researchers have identified a series of correlations between the designs engraved on these cylinders, dating back around 6,000 years, and some of the signs in the proto-cuneiform script that emerged in the city of Uruk, located in what is now southern Iraq, around 3000 BCE.
The study, published in Antiquity, opens new perspectives on understanding the birth of writing and may help researchers not only to gain new insights into the meanings of the designs on cylinder seals but also to decipher many still-unknown signs in proto-cuneiform on pottery vessels.
“The conceptual leap from pre-writing symbolism to writing is a significant development in human cognitive technologies,” explains Silvia Ferrara, professor in the Department of Classical Philology and Italian Studies at the University of Bologna.
“The invention of writing marks the transition between prehistory and history, and the findings of this study bridge this divide by illustrating how some late prehistoric images were incorporated into one of the earliest invented writing systems.”
Among the first cities to emerge in Mesopotamia, Uruk was an immensely important center throughout the fourth millennium BCE, exerting influence over a large region extending from southwestern Iran to southeastern Turkey.
In this region, cylinder seals were created. Typically made of stone and engraved with a series of designs, these cylinders were rolled onto clay tablets, leaving a stamped impression of the design.
Photograph of proto-cuneiform tablet showing signs discussed in the article. Credit: CDLI – Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative
Starting in the mid-fourth millennium BCE, cylinder seals were used as part of an accounting system to track the production, storage, and transport of various consumer goods, particularly agricultural and textile products.
It is in this context that proto-cuneiform appeared: an archaic form of writing made up of hundreds of pictographic signs, more than half of which remain undeciphered to this day. Like cylinder seals, proto-cuneiform was used for accounting, though its use is primarily documented in southern Iraq.
“The close relationship between ancient sealing and the invention of writing in southwest Asia has long been recognized, but the relationship between specific seal images and sign shapes has hardly been explored,” says Ferrara. “This was our starting question: did seal imagery contribute significantly to the invention of signs in the first writing in the region?”
To find an answer, the researchers systematically compared the designs on the cylinders with proto-cuneiform signs, looking for correlations that might reveal direct relationships in both graphic form and meaning.
Diagrams of proto-cuneiform signs and their precursors from pre-literate seals. Credit: CDLI – Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. There are others below.
“We focused on seal imagery that originated before the invention of writing, while continuing to develop into the proto-literate period,” add Kathryn Kelley and Mattia Cartolano, both researchers at the University of Bologna and co-authors of the study.
“This approach allowed us to identify a series of designs related to the transport of textiles and pottery, which later evolved into corresponding proto-cuneiform signs.”
This discovery reveals, for the first time, a direct link between the cylinder seal system and the invention of writing, offering new perspectives for studying the evolution of symbolic and writing systems.
“Our findings demonstrate that the designs engraved on cylinder seals are directly connected to the development of proto-cuneiform in southern Iraq,” confirms Silvia Ferrara. “They also show how the meaning originally associated with these designs was integrated into a writing system.”
What is cuneiform?
Cuneiform tablet
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era.
Avocado is a leader in organic mattresses in the United States.
Avocado is a leader in organic mattresses in the United States.
What you sleep on 8 hours a night matters. New mattresses off gas harmful chemicals to you and your loved ones. As we lean towards finding more sustainable sleeping options, Avocado Green Mattress, the leader in organic mattresses, is proud to announce that the Avocado Green Mattress, Eco Organic Mattress, and Eco Organic Kids Mattress have earned the highly esteemed OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 certification. Avocado helps you get a sustainable night’s sleep.
The OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 is a globally recognized, independent testing and certification system for raw, semi-finished, and finished textile products at all processing levels, as well as accessory materials used. For a finished innerspring mattress to be OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certified, every component, from the outer fabric to the threads, foams, and other accessories, must be tested and found safe from more than 1,000 substances known to be detrimental to human health.
“Mattresses can contain harmful materials, adhesives, and flame retardants. Given the intimate and prolonged exposure we have to our mattresses, it is crucial to consider their potential impact on health,” notes Mark Abrials, Chief Marketing & Sustainability Officer of Avocado Green Mattress.
Unlike some brands that only certify select components of their mattresses, Avocado Green Mattress has achieved STANDARD 100 certification for the finished innerspring mattress — and is the first in the United States to do so. This comprehensive certification means that every part of the Avocado Green Mattress, Eco Organic Mattress, and Eco Organic Kids Mattress, from the outer fabric to the pocketed innersprings, is tested for harmful substances and found to be within safe limits.
As Avocado Green Mattress looks to the future, the company remains dedicated to not only being the best in the world but also the best for the world. The company’s efforts to combat climate change, enhance social equity, and promote sustainable practices are more than just part of its business model; they are a call to action for businesses and individuals alike to contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world.
Follow their standards?
Are you a bed manufacturer that wants to do better? Avocado is “Best for the World” Certified B Corporation, Fair Trade Certified, Climate Neutral Certified, OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 certified, meet MADE SAFE standards, a two-time winner of the Good Housekeeping Sustainable Innovation Awards, and are the Pinnacle Award Winner from 1% for the Planet. Fast Company lists Avocado as a “Brand that Matters.”
Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE National Rail Network, signed a landmark agreement with Emerge, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar and EDF Group to solarize the railway network’s freight terminal in Ghuweifat.
The total installed capacity is comprised of a 600 kWp ground-mounted solar PV system in addition to a 2.56 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), and upon completion is expected to generate up to 85% of the terminal’s electricity consumption.
The agreement was signed by Ahmed Al-Yafei, CEO of Etihad Rail Infrastructure and Eng. Abdulaziz AlObaidli, Chairman of Emerge, and witnessed by His Excellency Shadi Malak, CEO of Etihad Rail, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, and Luc Koechlin, CEO EDF Middle East.
Under the terms of the agreement, Etihad Rail will leverage Emerge’s technology to generate solar power to supplement its Ghuweifat freight terminal with renewable energy during daylight hours, thus, offsetting night-time energy consumption as well as reducing CO2 emissions by more than 8,500 tons over the duration of the contract.
We are leading the charge in the shift to a low-carbon and energy efficient economy. By collaborating with Emerge and initiating the transition to solar power, we are not only reducing our environmental impact, but also building greener and more resilient supply chains, thus, supporting our nation’s goals and ambitions for a more sustainable future,” says Shadi Malak, CEO of Etihad Rail.
This initiative represents a significant step in Etihad Rail’s long-term commitment to environmental stewardship, directly contributing to its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy. Furthermore, it demonstrates Etihad Rail’s leadership in driving forward the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategy, supplemented by the railway network’s contribution to reducing CO2 emissions in the UAE road transport sector by 21% annually by 2050.
The Ghuweifat freight terminal serves as a key hub for facilitating seamless cross-border operations. With its strategic location at the border with Saudi Arabia, the terminal is uniquely positioned to accelerate sustainable logistics solutions regionally, aligning with Etihad Rail’s objectives to foster more eco-friendly freight operations.
By integrating solar technology into its network, Etihad Rail’s Ghuweifat terminal will eventually become self-sufficient, harnessing renewable energy to operate sustainably and reduce its carbon footprint, thus, setting a new standard for efficient and green logistics and infrastructure.
Emerge, a joint venture between Masdar and EDF Group, was formed in 2021 to develop distributed solar, energy storage, and hybrid solutions for commercial and industrial applications. As an energy services company, Emerge offers clients full turnkey solutions through solar power agreements at no up-front cost to the client.
IUAE and KSA border at Ghuwaifat. Image via Overland Birds
Etihad Rail connects the emirates, linking industrial and commercial centres with 11 terminals, including four major ports: Ruwais Inland Terminal, Ruwais Port, ICAD, Khalifa Port, DIC, Jebel Ali Port, Al Ghail Dry Port, Fujairah Port, Ghuwaifat Terminal, Shah Terminal, and Habshan Terminal.
Ghuwaifat is a small town in the far west of the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The place forms a border crossing to Saudi Arabia on the transit road to Qatar. Ghuwaifat belongs to the urban area of Sila, which extends in the west to the border with Saudi Arabia.
China makes a $1 billion deal with Turkey to build EVs in Turkey circumventing EU tariffs imposed on Chinese electric cars.
China makes a $1 billion deal with Turkey to build EVs in Turkey circumventing EU tariffs imposed on Chinese electric cars.
Turkey imposes tariffs on solar panels when it hurts its local economy but it speaks from the other side of its mouth when it stiffs Europe by helping China evade high tariffs on electric vehicles sold in Europe.
China evades tariffs through a $1B car factory it is building in Turkey. Meanwhile Volkswagen is seeing 3 factories shut down and 30,000 people laid off.
Keep Europe European
According to the Turkish General Directorate of Imports as of September 27, Energy Trend is reporting that Turkey has imposed a tariff of $25 per square meter on photovoltaic modules imported from Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Croatia, and Jordan. But exemptions have been made for JinkoSolar’s Malaysian subsidiary, JA Solar’s Vietnamese subsidiary, Trina Solar’s Thai subsidiary, and Vina Solar, a Vietnamese module manufacturer acquired by Longi Green Energy a few years ago.
On November 25, 2023, Turkey’s Ministry of Trade announced that, at the request of Turkish companies, it had launched an anti-circumvention investigation into photovoltaic modules originating from China. The investigation seeks to determine whether Chinese products are being exported to Turkey via Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Croatia, and Jordan to evade anti-dumping duties.
Turkey suspects that some companies from these five countries are using “transshipment” to circumvent the previously imposed $20 per square meter countervailing duty on Chinese photovoltaic products. After months of review, the Turkish government decided in March this year to impose a new tariff of $25 per square meter on photovoltaic products imported from these countries, a 25% increase over the previous tariff.
This is rich considering that Turkey is helping China circumvent EV trade tariffs as together China and Turkey build a $1B Chinese EV company, BYD, on its soil so that China and Turkey can both profit from EU electric vehicle tariff exemptions. Currently any China-made electric car would see a high tariff and tax if it gets sold in Europe – which does not make them a viable purchase in Europe. Meanwhile Volkswagen is laying off employees in Germany because of the lowered costs of cars coming from Asian countries like China.
Volkswagen is seeing 30,00 layoffs and the closure of three factories: “This is the plan of Germany’s largest industrial group to start the sell-off in its home country of Germany,” Cavallo added, not specifying which plants would be affected or how many of Volkswagen Group’s roughly 300,000 staff in Germany could be laid off.
Turkey is not part of the EU for a reason. It is playing dirty against Western values with Iran, Syria and China and its dealings with Chinese businesses to avoid EU tariffs should be investigated. Trump as the new US president will probably restructure this unholy alliance, but not before the quality of life in Europe crumbles further from globalism.
Omar Elboghdady, co-founder and CEO of Viridia Tech.
Saudi Arabia-based Mirai Solar, a Saudi-based solar-powered shade system out of KAUST, received the $30,000 second place prize.
Omar Elboghdady, co-founder and CEO of Viridia Tech.
Egypt-based agritech Viridia Tech has been named the overall winner of the 2024 Mega Green Accelerator, awarded the $100,000 grand prize in Saudi Arabia for their impactful data analytics platform, which helps farmers grow crops more sustainably and efficiently.
Viridia Tech has been named the overall winner of the 2024 Mega Green Accelerator, following an exciting industry Demo Day held in Riyadh where eight startups from across the Middle East and North Africa region showcased innovative solutions addressing food security, clean energy transitions, and the circular economy.
The Mega Green Accelerator, launched in 2023 by PepsiCo, SABIC, AstroLabs, and eleven other strategic partners, received over 350 submissions. The eight selected startups participated in a six-month programme of trainings and workshops, mentorship from business leaders, and opportunities to network, scale their businesses, and gain access to investors.
“PepsiCo has been a key partner in the region for 70 years, and we remain committed to supporting progress and empowering the next generation. Through MENA Innovates, we are focused on driving meaningful change by backing startups and advancing broader initiatives that promote innovation across the region. We look forward to seeing how the startups will contribute to a more sustainable future,” said Wael Ismail, Vice President of Corporate Affairs, PepsiCo AMESA (Africa, Middle East, and South Asia).
At the Demo Day, Egypt-based Viridia Tech was awarded the $100,000 grand prize for their artificial intelligence and data analytics platform, which provides real-time insights and recommendations to help farmers grow crops more efficiently and sustainably and forecast yields accurately.
Foreign-founded but Saudi Arabia-based Mirai Solar out of KAUST produces an innovative solar-powered shade system, received the $30,000 second place prize.
Mirai solar for carparks
The Mega Green Accelerator is part of PepsiCo’s MENA Innovates programs, which champion entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability through a series of events and initiatives that celebrate groundbreaking ideas and inspire future leaders.
Eight startups, including Mrüna and The Surpluss (UAE), AHYA TECHNOLOGIES (KSA), YY ReGen (Lebanon), P-VITA (Egypt), and Kumulus (Tunisia), were selected for this year’s edition of the Accelerator, led by PepsiCo, SABIC, AstroLabs, and eleven strategic partners.
Mega Green Accelerator entry requirements
None of the companies in the competition included submissions from Israel – a proven, global leader in agtech, solar and water tech. Green Prophet calls on Saudi Arabia aiming to be a global tourism and business hub by 2030 to fight antisemitism in all its forms, including the exclusion of Jewish candidates from MENA prizes and exhibitions. It is common for the Arab world to circumvent antisemitism by inviting “Palestinians” who can be Arab Israelis, without letting the Jewish Israeli members of the MENA region participate. Decades of quiet antisemitism are no longer acceptable in contests and calls to actions by EU-funded, UN-funded and privately-funded contests.
About the start-ups participating in the 2024 edition
UAE
Mrüna, inspired by the Arabic word for resilience, is a consulting and distribution company dedicated to developing innovative urban solutions. Their flagship product, BiomWeb, is a nature-based solution that utilizes emerging technologies to treat and manage wastewater for reuse.
The Surpluss is a US-patented award-winning climate technology start up that helps SMEs reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, profitably, through resource sharing through a digital sustainability exchange.
Saudi Arabia
Mirai Solar expands the utilization of solar energy beyond conventional applications via its proprietary Mirai Screen – a lightweight and foldable electricity generating shade screen. Mirai’s solutions dramatically improve the energy use efficiency of food production and smart buildings for a sustainable future.
AHYA TECHNOLOGIES is a climate software and AI start-up building a unified platform for scaling climate action across the Middle East North Africa & Pakistan. Ahya has two core products in AhyaOS – AI powered greenhouse gas emissions operating system and Tawazun – omni-channel voluntary carbon marketplace.
Lebanon
YY ReGen is an innovator in agritech and renewable energy committed to transforming the way customers’ ventures are powered, watered, and grown. They focus on a more affordable, less pollutive, and regenerative approach to create a sustainable future.
Egypt
Viridia Tech offers a platform enabling crop analytics at scale for industrial agricultural companies offering unprecedented monitoring capabilities and refined recommendations resulting in double digit improvements in yield, unit economics and sustainability metrics.
P-VITA is a pioneer biotechnology hub that specializes in producing natural raw materials for the cosmetics, and food & beverage industries through innovative and patented processes with utilizing AI and IoT technologies to reduce carbon footprint through automated processes.
Tunisia
Kumulus a water tech startup that turns air into fresh drinking water through innovative AWG machines. Their machines make drinking water more accessible, sustainable, and economical for hotels and businesses across MENA and southern European regions.
While we know that bats echolocate for short distances, for the first time science shows that bats can navigate in nature over many kilometers using only echolocation, without relying on other senses
Blind as a bat is an expression but now scientists show how bat navigation using sound really works when navigating long distances. Could this advance help propel autonomous vehicles or robotics in the future that look to biomimicry for inspiration?
“For the first time, we have shown that bats are able to navigate great distances in open areas with their eyes closed, using only echolocation; they even create a mental acoustic map of their surroundings,” say researchers from Tel Aviv University.
While we know that bats echolocate for short distances, for the first time science shows that bats can navigate in nature over many kilometers using only echolocation, without relying on other senses: “It’s well-known that bats are equipped with a natural sonar, allowing them to emit sound waves that bounce back from nearby objects, helping them navigate. However, it’s also known that bats use their sense of sight during flight.
Laboratory studies have shown that bats are able to navigate within enclosed spaces using only echolocation — but sonar ‘sees’ only about 10 meters ahead, so what happens under natural conditions, in open areas stretching over many kilometers? Can bats rely solely on echolocation for long-distance navigation?”
Kuhl’s pipistrelle bat
The research was led by Prof. Yossi Yovel.
The innovative research, carried out over a six-year period, utilized a unique tracking system installed in Israel’s Hula Valley. Using this GPS-like technology, the researchers were able to track the flight of tiny bats from the species known as Kuhl’s pipistrelle, each weighing only six grams —— the smallest mammal ever to be monitored in this way.
For the study, the researchers collected around 60 bats from their roost in the Hula Valley area and moved them about three kilometers away from the roost — still within their familiar habitat. A tag was attached to each bat, and the eyes of some were covered with a cloth strip, temporarily preventing them from seeing during flight, though they could remove the covering with their feet upon landing.
In addition, the researchers employed techniques to temporarily disrupt the bats’ sense of smell and magnetic sense, thereby creating conditions in which they would be able to find their way home using only echolocation. Remarkably, the bats managed to return to their roost without difficulty.
In the second phase, the researchers built a computerized acoustic model of the bats’ natural environment in the Hula Valley.
the researchers were able to track the flight of tiny bats from the species known as Kuhl’s pipistrelle, each weighing only six grams
Prof. Yovel explains: “This model is based on a 3D map of the area where the bats navigate, reflecting the echoes that the bat hears as it uses echolocation to journey through its surroundings. In examining the bats’ flight paths, we discovered that they choose routes where the echoes contain a lot of information, which helps them navigate. For example, an area rich in vegetation, such as bushes and trees, returns echoes with more information than an open field, making bats less likely to fly over open terrain. We also found that some areas are characterized by distinct echoes, which are picked up by the bats.
“These findings strengthened our hypothesis that in any given area, bats know where they are based on the echoes. The bats effectively create an acoustic map in their head of their familiar environment, which includes a variety of active ‘sound landmarks’ (echoes) — just as every sighted person has a visual map of their everyday surroundings.”
Green Roof and solar panels on Boston Medical Center
Green roof urban farm and solar panels on Boston Medical Center
In urban jungles and in medical settings it’s refreshing to see food gardens popping up as green roofs. Hospitals are to treat ailing folks, yet the food served to patients is usually over processed and of low quality.
Boston Medical Center (or BMC) is an academic medical center that delivers a model of healthcare where innovative and equitable care empowers all patients to thrive. In June this year Recover Green Roofs celebrated the opening of Newmarket Farm at Boston Medical Center and its 7300 square foot rooftop farm with wheelchair accessible green space.
With raised beds, a pollinator garden, plus an outdoor classroom, the design process highlights a critical collaboration between BMC, Recover Green Roofs, and Higher Ground Farm. Marking Recover’s second design and installation on BMC’s campus following the initial Boston Medical Center Power Plant Farm, both sites collectively forge new community partners and enhance access to fresh foods.
A portion of each harvest is donated to several South End nonprofits, including Rosie’s Place.
In 2022, Mayor Wu established GrowBoston to promote urban agriculture and food production, deploying funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. GrowBoston provided $300,000 to support the expansion of Newmarket Farm. The farm features a unique green roof media blend developed by Ben Flanner of Brooklyn Grange and Chuck Duprey at Naturcycle. They used a locally manufactured version of the innovative blend developed for the Javits Center Expansion Rooftop & Farm, optimized for deep growing crops, long term performance and water management. The growing media depth ranges from 19-23 inches and large growing beds with a granular drainage base retain tens of thousands of gallons of rainwater throughout the year, reducing the need for irrigation.
A high-tech custom drip irrigation system supplements regional rainfall.
Managed by Sarah Hastings, BMC’s Rooftop Farmer, and Higher Ground Farm, the farm adds valuable green space to the Newmarket District, addresses food insecurity, and offers culturally relevant fresh foods. Cultivating hard-to-find produce, they grow aji dulce, Malabar spinach, Callaloo greens, bok choy, napa cabbage, cranberry beans, and Japanese turnips, among others.
Because of Newmarket Farm’s location overlooking the Boston skyline, it also optimizes sun-loving fruit, including tomatoes, and flowers that attract pollinators. A covered seating area provides education and outreach classes to students from Boston Public Schools, members of local community organizations, and staff & patients to get hands-on training on hyperlocal vegetable gardening. Plus, both BMC rooftop farms serve as a model for other hospitals, understanding that the local environment is intrinsic to supporting the overall health and wellbeing in our communities.
The eyes of Aishagul Duganova, a 48-year-old mother of three, light up as she talks about her new greenhouse, which is bringing with it a new stability amidst her family’s health problems and money troubles.
In the village of Koram, around 150 kilometers east of Almaty in Kazakhstan, Aishagul’s life has been marked by her husband’s debilitating injury and the severe illnesses of her elderly parents-in-law.
With her family completely reliant on her, Aishagul was caught between the demanding care they required and the necessity to earn money; yet she was unable to take advantage of work opportunities too far from home.
Before her husband’s accident, Aishagul worked with him in the field, and they sold their produce in local markets. But as his condition worsened, she could no longer leave him alone, pushing the family into a cycle of debt to cover medical expenses and sustain their children.
“Every day, I had to make a choice— care for my sick family or leave them behind to work. It was a choice no one should have to make,” Aishagul shares, her voice tinged with the fatigue of years of caregiving.
A turning point came when Aishagul’s sister-in-law, aware of her dire situation, introduced her to a greenhouse harvesting training programme. This initiative was part of the broader Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) project, known as CACILM-2, and funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).
Among its objectives, the project equips rural women in Kazakhstan with the skills and resources to adopt sustainable farming practices and make a living from agriculture. The training course provided by FAO’s partner, the Local Community Foundation of Enbekshikazakh District, Aishagul has improved her vegetables and produce-growing skills, allowing her to independently cultivate food.
Pavel Kavunov, an agronomist working at the Foundation, explained the training offered by the project: “We focused on practical, climate-smart agriculture techniques that ensure these women can produce quickly and sustainably.”
He imparted information on the characteristics of seedlings, their root systems and important aspects to consider during planting. “It’s about giving them the tools and the knowledge to succeed on their own terms,” he added.
This local expert presence ensures that the women farmers are not only trained but also have continual access to advice and problem-solving techniques, which is vital for the sustainability of their agricultural activities.
FAO also worked with Aishagul and nine other women to install 100 square metre, tunnel greenhouses on their lands. This collaboration has empowered them to cultivate vegetables all year-round in their backyards, opening the door to economic independence and lasting stability.
As the women learn to manage their micro-farms, they are supported by a network of agronomists and coordinators, such as Bakytgul Yelchibayeva, who assist them in connecting with local markets and buyers. “Our goal is to go beyond providing initial support by creating a lasting infrastructure that enables these women to thrive independently,” she explains.
Aishagul is now making the most of her new greenhouse, growing cucumbers and other vegetables to support her family. “This greenhouse has changed everything. It allows me to be with my family when they need me and still provide for them,” she explains. Encouraged by her success, Aishagul hopes to build a sustainable farm that also helps other women in her community learn and grow together.
In addition to the greenhouse, the project supported women farmers with tillage materials and cucumber seeds. Together, the women sold 3 992 kilograms of produce, earning roughly double what they would typically make. The boost in income from this extra produce helped improve the lives of 64 people, strengthening their community’s farming efforts.
The CACILM-2 project is providing targeted training, resources and coaching to rural communities in Central Asia, addressing several critical barriers such as inadequate job opportunities and lack of information. Moreover, through partnerships with local foundations and experts, participants forge connections with local markets and introduce their products to potential buyers, ensuring a reliable outlet for their produce.
By empowering rural women with the tools and knowledge to undertake agricultural ventures, FAO is promoting equality of opportunity, enhancing their economic stability and independence.
Slain Japanese doctor and canal builder gets his dream honored
Slain Japanese doctor and canal builder Tetsu Nakamura gets his dream honored
Tetsu Nakamura, also known as Kaka Murad, was a Japanese physician and honorary Afghan citizen who headed Peace Japan Medical Services, an aid group known as Peshawar-kai in Japanese.
A Japanese doctor and humanitarian Tetsu Nakamura lived in Afghanistan for more than 3 decades leading humanitarian projects. His biggest dream was to realize a water canal project to give irrigation water to farmers in the Nangarhar province. His life was cut short in 2019 by a suspected group of armed Taliban militants believed to be sent from Pakistan. This year Nakamura’s dream came to life and 5 years after his death his largest project out of hundreds, a 20-mile canal, brings life-giving water to people who need it the most.
Nakamura canal in Afghanistan opened in 2024. Source of photo unknown
Born in Japan, Nakamura had been granted honorary citizenship in Afghanistan, reflecting the deep connections he forged with the country through his extensive humanitarian work. Apart from medical aid in the early years, he focused on constructing water canals, which were crucial for irrigation and agriculture in the arid region.
The same location in 2003 and 2009 along a canal Dr. Nakamura helped build. They are reminiscent of old Japan village canals. Photographs courtesy of Peshawar-kai/PMS.
After his murder (the Taliban has halted the investigation into the murder since taking over) Nakamura’s canal project resumed with support from the Japanese government continuing his legacy: Nakamura constructed multiple health centers and hundreds of water projects related to irrigation, canal construction, and clean water access.
His most significant achievement was the creation of a 20-mile canal sourced from the Kunar River, which now irrigates hundreds of acres of farmland. He has impacted millions of people.
Photographs courtesy of Peshawar-kai/PMS.
Following Nakamura’s passing, a non-governmental organization named PMS has taken up the cause to continue building canals and dams in the region.
Here is a beautiful film on his impact. Let’s not let terror win. Watch the movie, Water, Not Weapons below. And let us ponder: what is it that draws a man to leave his country and change the world in places that need help? Is there something inside of you that wishes to do the same?
Textile materials with piezoelectric properties can be obtained in the form of yarns and filaments, woven fabric structures, knitted fabrics.
Wear a dress from this silk and light up the room, literally
Imagine a sweater that powers electronics to monitor your health or charge your mobile phone while running. This development faces challenges because of the lack of materials that both conduct electricity stably and are well suited for textiles. Now a research group, led by Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, presents an ordinary silk thread, coated with a conductive plastic material, that shows promising properties for turning textiles into electricity generators. Imagine a dress you are wearing that lights up the night – literally!
Textile materials with piezoelectric or thermoelectric properties can be obtained in the form of yarns and filaments, woven fabric structures, knitted fabrics.
Thermoelectric textiles convert temperature differences, for example between our bodies and the surrounding air, into an electrical potential. This technology can be of great benefit in our everyday lives and in society. Connected to a sensor, the textiles can power these devices without the need for batteries. These sensors can be used to monitor our movements or measure our heartbeat.
Since the textiles must be worn close to the body, the materials used in them must meet high demands on safety and flexibility. The silk thread that the researchers tested has a coating made of a conducting polymer. It is a plastic material with a chemical structure that makes the material electrically conductive and well adapted to textiles.
“The polymers that we use are bendable, lightweight and are easy to use in both liquid and solid form. They are also non-toxic,” says Mariavittoria Craighero, who is a doctoral student at the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology, and first author of a recently published study.
Enhanced stability and conductivity
The method used to make the electrically conductive thread is the same as used in previous studies within the same research project. Previously, the thread contained metals to maintain its stability in contact with air. Since then, advances have been made to manufacture the thread with only organic (carbon-based) polymers. In the current study, the researchers have developed a new type of thread with enhanced electrical conductivity and stability.
“We found the missing piece of the puzzle to make an optimal thread – a type of polymer that had recently been discovered. It has outstanding performance stability in contact with air, while at the same time having a very good ability to conduct electricity. By using polymers, we don’t need any rare earth metals, which are common in electronics,” says Mariavittoria Craighero.
To show how the new thread can be used in practice, the researchers manufactured two thermoelectric generators – a button sewn with the thread, and a piece of textile with sewn-in threads. When they placed the thermoelectric textiles between a hot and a cold surface, they could observe how the voltage increased on the measuring instrument.
The effect depended on the temperature difference and the amount of conductive material in the textile. As an example, the larger piece of fabric showed about 6 millivolts at a temperature difference of 30 degrees Celsius. In combination with a voltage converter, it could theoretically be used to charge portable electronics via a USB connector. The researchers have also been able to show that the thread’s performance is maintained for at least a year. It is also machine washable.
“After seven washes, the thread retained two-thirds of its conducting properties. This is a very good result, although it needs to be improved significantly before it becomes commercially interesting,” says Mariavittoria Craighero.
Can meet functions that these textiles require
The thermoelectric fabric and button cannot be produced efficiently outside the lab environment today. The material must be made and sewn in by hand, which is time-consuming. Just sewing it into the demonstrated fabric required four days of needlework. But the researchers see that the new thread has great potential and that it would be possible to develop an automated process and scale up.
“We have now shown that it is possible to produce conductive organic materials that can meet the functions and properties that these textiles require. This is an important step forward. There are fantastic opportunities in thermoelectric textiles and this research can be of great benefit to society,” says Christian Müller, Professor at the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology and research leader of the study.
The Green Mediterranean Diet Shows Promise in Keeping Brains Young
Age-related brain atrophy, the gradual loss of neurons and shrinkage of brain tissue, is a natural part of aging, which can lead to cognitive decline and other neurological issues. While so far aging cannot be prevented, recent research from an 18-month dietary intervention offers hope that lifestyle and dietary changes can slow brain aging. A new international study, led by Ben-Gurion University, as part of the DIRECT PLUS Brain MRI trial, has brought to light how blood sugar control can significantly impact brain health.
Brain age, as evaluated by MRI measurements of the hippocampus and lateral ventricles, reflects the biological aging of the brain, which can differ from a person’s chronological age. Chronological age is the number of years lived, while brain age indicates the brain’s actual health. Typically, as we age, the hippocampus shrinks and the lateral ventricles expand, serving as markers of brain aging. Some individuals have a brain age younger or older than their chronological age. A younger brain age suggests better cognitive health, while an older brain age may indicate accelerated aging and increased risk of cognitive decline.
The study, which was published recently in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was conducted by an international team of brain and nutrition experts, including researchers from Ben-Gurion University, Harvard University, Leipzig University, and more. The research was primarily carried out by Ph.D. student Dafna Pachter and overseen by Prof. Iris Shai, along with several international collaborators.
A previous study published two years ago American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, reported that Mediterranean (MED) and green-MED diets significantly attenuated age-related brain atrophy by ∼50% within 18 months.
In the current study, the researchers aimed to understand the mechanism by which the slowing of brain atrophy occurs.
The study found that a decline in HbA1c, and key markers of long-term blood sugar levels, are associated with significant positive changes in specific brain regions commonly affected by age-related atrophy. Brain MRI results showed that lower HbA1c levels corresponded to greater deviations in the thalamus, caudate nucleus, and cerebellum – areas crucial for cognitive function, motor control, and sensory processing. The study suggests that improved blood sugar control could be one of the most important factors in slowing down age-related brain changes.
Earlier research has highlighted the benefits of the Green Mediterranean (Green-Med) diet, including better blood sugar control. The Green-Med diet is rich in polyphenols from plant-based sources like Mankai (a high-protein aquatic plant) and green tea, while being low in red and processed meats. The current study further strengthens this connection by suggesting that the Green-Med diet may not only support metabolic health but also exert protective effects on brain structure and function.
One of the Largest Brain MRI intervention Studies in the World
The DIRECT PLUS trial, one of the longest and largest brain MRI studies conducted to date, involved approximately 300 participants who were divided into three dietary groups. Whole-brain MRI measurements were taken before and after the 18-month trial to track changes in brain health. The researchers used Hippocampal Occupancy (HOC), as a proxy for brain age which predicts future risk of dementia. HOC typically decreases with age. Interestingly, some participants exhibited a brain age either younger or older than their chronological age.
Using NeuroQuant, an FDA-authorized fully automated tool, the research team quantified and segmented the brain MRI-derived data. The study aimed to examine whether improved glycemic control and specific dietary components could slow down brain aging. The results indicated that participants who managed to improve their blood sugar levels and achieve normal glucose status experienced a more pronounced attenuation of brain aging. Notably, those who consumed higher amounts of green tea and Mankai duckweed shakes demonstrated the most significant improvements in both blood sugar levels and brain health.
Glycemic Control and Polyphenols: The Key to a Younger Brain Age?
The study’s lead researcher, Prof. Iris Shai, from Ben-Gurion University, an adjunct professor at Harvard University, and an Honorary Professor at Leipzig University, explains, “Maintaining low blood sugar levels, even within the normal range, shows promise for preserving a younger brain, especially when combined with a healthy diet and regular physical activity. Specifically, polyphenols found in plant-based foods may cross the blood-brain barrier and help reduce brain inflammation, which is crucial for memory”.
Dafna Pachter, a Ph.D. student and the first author of the paper, adds, “This trial offers a safe approach to potentially slow down our brain aging—by adopting the components of a green-Mediterranean diet.”
A Pathway to Reducing Age-Related Cognitive Decline
This study is one of the first large-scale trials to directly link dietary changes, particularly those associated with the Green-Med diet, to improved glycemic control and slower brain aging. While further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms at play, these results suggest a potential avenue for reducing the risk of age-related cognitive decline through relatively simple dietary adjustments.
The DIRECT PLUS trial was funded by grants from the German Research Foundation (DFG), Israel Ministry of Health, Israel Ministry of Science and Technology, and the California Walnuts Commission. None of the funding providers were involved in any stage of the design, conduct, or analysis of the study, nor did they have access to the study results before publication.
What is the Mediterranean Diet?
The best diet starts with a healthy plate of food. Experts the world over suggest the Mediterrean Diet for heart health
The Mediterranean diet isn’t a strict diet plan but rather a way of eating based on the dietary traditions of Crete, Greece, and Southern Italy during the mid-20th century. This area now includes food from Lebanon and Israel. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains, fish, olive oil, small amounts of dairy, and red wine offered extensive health benefits.
Green Prophet has thousands of recipes that follow the Mediterrean Diet. Start here.
Researchers say that the money invested in green taxation in Israel does not achieve its public goals. Instead of reducing pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and encouraging electric vehicles, it has become a strategic pricing tool used by car importers to influence their profits.
A study indicates that the green tax reform implemented in Israel for 15 years with the aim of reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions has not achieved its goals. Based on the findings of the study Ben-Gurion University of the Negev published a surprising recommendation: to abolish all tax brackets for polluting vehicles and leave only one broad tax benefit for the purchase of electric vehicles.
In Israel, unlike the rest of the world, the green tax system on new vehicle purchases determines benefits in tax rates based on emission level. Thus, vehicles with low pollution ratings receive a benefit of up to 16,530 shekels, while vehicles with high pollution ratings receive no benefit at all. In 2023, there was a significant increase in the purchase of electric vehicles in Israel, from 45,270 in 2022 to 95,761, accounting for 27.4% of all new vehicles. This is a significant increase compared to previous years and reflects a clear trend of changing public preferences.
Fifteen years after the green tax reform, a research group led by Prof. Ofir Rubin and Prof. Stav Rosenzweig from the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management and the Goldman Sonnenfeldt School of Climate Change at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev examined its impact and found that from 2016 onwards, the impact of the green tax was offset and became virtually meaningless. It appears that drivers who purchased efficient cars gradually increased their mileage, creating a “rebound effect” that grew until it completely nullified the impact of the tax.
Between 2016 and 2023, the state granted benefits totaling over NIS 34.5 billion, but did not create the desired savings in energy or pollution levels.
Transportation is one of the human activities with the most severe impact on the environment and climate. The main reason for pollution and emissions from transportation stems from the fact that modern transportation relies heavily on fossil fuels, which exacerbates the effects on global warming and environmental damage. Additionally, the global economic damage from air pollution is estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Economic losses include medical treatment costs for diseases such as asthma, loss of workdays, and decreased productivity.
The researchers say that the money invested in green taxation in Israel does not achieve its public goals. Instead of reducing pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and encouraging electric vehicles, it has become a strategic pricing tool used by car importers to influence their profits.
The lack of government oversight over vehicle pricing has allowed importers to generate high profits from tax benefits without fully passing them on to consumers. Therefore, the consumer response to tax benefits was minimal and did not generate a meaningful change in purchasing habits, which is one of the reasons why there was only a partial impact on the environment.
The National Institute for Climate and Environmental Policy Research recommends a simpler and more focused policy, which will include, on the one hand, the abolition of purchase tax benefits for polluting vehicles and, on the other hand, the imposition of a distance-based road tax, where the price will be calculated according to distance and travel time, with higher rates during peak hours. Such a tax can help reduce traffic congestion and reduce emissions.
Tamar Zandberg
“These measures offer a practical and focused tax system that will directly impact the reduction of air pollution and encourage the transition to electric vehicles, while maintaining simplicity and flexibility in the tax system, without the need for oversight of the pricing strategy of car importers,” explained Tamar Zandberg from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She is the former Minister of Environmental Protection. “These recommendations are designed to encourage the transition to clean energy and reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions more effectively,” she concluded.
In the arid landscape of Yemen’s West Coast, water is often a distant dream. For many years, families have endured long walks under the scorching sun in search of clean water. “We walk for hours, just for a few jerrycans of water,” shares Hassan, a father of four who arrived in Yakhtol five years ago. “Some days, we come back empty-handed. It feels like the water is slipping further out of reach.”
The war in Yemen (see how the Houthis use water as a weapon in war) has forced over 4.5 million people from their homes, and many have sought refuge in rural villages like Yakhtol. As more displaced families arrive, often with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, the strain on already scarce resources grows. The expanding population is now forced to compete for access to water, shelter, and basic services, further exacerbating the challenges faced by both displaced individuals and local residents.
On Yemen’s West Coast, families endure long daily treks to collect water – a lifeline that remains scarce for millions. Photo: Moayad Zaghdani
The declining soil fertility, increasing salinization of water sources, and rising sea levels have severely threatened agriculture along Yemen’s coast, particularly in Yakhtol. A once-modest fishing and farming community now has to battle for its very survival.
Yakhtol’s residents, who once relied on small-scale agriculture to sustain their families, now find it nearly impossible to grow crops or feed their livestock. The climate has become increasingly hostile to traditional farming methods. Small-scale fishing, which had also been a lifeline for the local economy, is in decline. As crops fail and fish stocks dwindle, the population is left with fewer options.
Families on Yemen’s West Coast often rely on unsafe water sources, increasing the risk of disease as clean water remains difficult to access. Photo: Moayad Zaghdani
Mohammed Ali, another resident of Yakhtol, knows this all too well. “If there is no water, we cannot live – water is life,” he says. Each day, he wakes before dawn to search for water, a task that consumes his mornings and drains his energy. His daily trips to communal water points are fraught with uncertainty. “How long will I have to wait? Will I find enough water to support my family? Will I find any at all?” he asks.
This struggle for water is compounded by years of conflict that have ravaged the infrastructure once vital to Yakhtol’s survival. The water system, originally built to serve 200 homes, is now stretched beyond its limits, trying to meet the needs of over 1,500 families, including hundreds of displaced people who have sought refuge from violence in frontline areas.
To address these challenges, the United Nation’s-run International Organization for Migration (IOM) has stepped in to restore the water infrastructure. Through the rehabilitation of pipelines and the construction of new water points, IOM’s intervention helps alleviate the burden on families like Hassan’s and mitigate conflict over resources. The project also addresses health risks by ensuring that both host communities and displaced families have reliable access to clean water.
IOM’s water projects in Hays and Yakhtol are providing vital relief to thousands of displaced families and local residents, ensuring access to clean water in one of Yemen’s most water-scarce regions. Photo: IOM/Moayad Zaghdani
As part of its efforts in Yakhtol, IOM has also worked on expanding the water-distribution network. This includes installing larger pipes and constructing additional water-storage facilities, ensuring that the limited supply is efficiently distributed across the community. Solar-powered water-pumping systems have been introduced, providing a sustainable energy source that reduces reliance on expensive and often unavailable fuel.
Furthermore, IOM is working to help communities better withstand extreme weather events like floods. This involves upgrading the water system to improve its flood resilience, carefully planning to avoid areas that are prone to flooding and creating protective measures such as gabion walls. Additionally, automatic chlorinators will be installed to disinfect water.
The expansion of water infrastructure in Yakhtol brings hope to families like Mohammed’s, who have endured years of hardship. “I used to take water for granted,” Mohammed recalls. “Now, even a single drop feels like a precious gift.”
Sami, a father of twelve in the Hays displacement camp, constantly worries that his children will miss school to fetch water. Photo: IOM/Moayad Zaghdani
While progress has been made in Yakhtol, similar struggles continue in other parts of the West Coast. In a displacement camp in Hays, Sami, a father of twelve, shares a familiar story of hardship. “Most of the people who go to fetch water here are children; they don’t go to school because they have to help,” he explains. The lack of access to clean water has deprived his children of education, forcing them into a cycle of daily household chores.
In Hays, IOM is working to address the severe water shortage by constructing a new well that will provide clean and reliable water to thousands of displaced families and host communities. This well is a critical lifeline in a community where the daily search for water has long consumed families’ time and energy. By providing a consistent water source, IOM’s intervention not only eases the physical burden on families but also reduces health risks linked to contaminated water.
Despite the challenges in accessing water, Yemeni parents hold onto hope for a future where education can be prioritized. Photo: IOM/Moayad Zaghdani
Despite these efforts, the challenges remain daunting. Climate change and extreme weather events across Yemen continue to amplify the country’s water crisis, adding to the pressures of conflict and displacement. Despite the daunting challenges, Sami remains optimistic: “We support each other through the hardships,” he says.
As communities continue to grapple with these overlapping crises, the work of organizations like IOM offers a glimmer of hope. Through the rehabilitation of water systems and the provision of essential aid, IOM is helping to restore dignity and stability to families pushed to the brink by conflict and climate change.
Families like Sami’s and Hassan’s understand that while clean water is essential, it is only part of what is needed to rebuild their lives. “We need more than just water,” Hassan says. “We need our children to be able to go to school. We need to feel safe.”
An ancient Maya city has been found hidden in plain sight”beneath the jungle in the Mexican state of Campeche. Archaeologists used a laser technique called LiDAR to scan the area, “accidentally” discovering the forgotten complex, which contains pyramids, amphitheatres and sports fields.
“The government never knew about it, the scientific community never knew about it. That really puts an exclamation point behind the statement that no, we have not found everything, and yes, there’s a lot more to be discovered,” said researcher Luke Auld-Thomas working on the site.
The new research, published in the journal Antiquity, was led by Tulane University anthropology doctoral student Auld-Thomas and his advisor, Professor Marcello A. Canuto.
Luke Auld Thomas
They think the site, which they’ve named Valeriana, might have housed up to 50,000 people, which supports claims that Maya lived in complex cities or towns, not in isolated villages.
The team used lidar, a laser-based detection system, to survey 50 square miles of land in Campeche, Mexico, an area largely overlooked by archaeologists. Their findings included evidence of more than 6,500 pre-Hispanic structures, including a previously unknown large city complete with iconic stone pyramids.
“Our analysis not only revealed a picture of a region that was dense with settlements, but it also revealed a lot of variability,” said Auld-Thomas: “We didn’t just find rural areas and smaller settlements. We also found a large city with pyramids right next to the area’s only highway, near a town where people have been actively farming among the ruins for years.
The Middle American Research Institute (MARI) at Tulane University has been pioneering the use of lidar technology in archaeological research. Over the past decade, MARI has built a state-of-the-art Geographic Information Systems (GIS) lab, to analyze remote sensing data, such as lidar. The lab is managed by Francisco Estrada-Belli, a research professor in Tulane’s Department of Anthropology.
Ancient Mayan city found in jungle in Mexico – study area
Lidar technology uses laser pulses to measure distances and create three-dimensional models of specific areas. It has allowed scientists to scan large swaths of land from the comfort of a computer lab, uncovering anomalies in the landscape that often prove to be pyramids, family houses and other examples of Maya infrastructure.
This research may also help resolve ongoing debates about the true extent of Maya settlements.
Ancient buildings clustered on a hilltop are revealed by a narrow transect of lidar survey data. Lidar technology uses laser pulses to measure distances and create 3D models of specific areas. (Photo courtesy Luke Auld-Thomas)
“Because lidar allows us to map large areas very quickly, and at really high precision and levels of detail, that made us react, ‘Oh wow, there are so many buildings out there we didn’t know about, the population must have been huge,’” Auld-Thomas said. “The counterargument was that lidar surveys were still too tethered to known, large sites, such as Tikal, and therefore had developed a distorted image of the Maya lowlands.
“What if the rest of the Maya area was far more rural and what we had mapped so far was the exception instead of the rule?”
The study highlights the transformative power of lidar technology in unveiling the secrets of ancient civilizations. It also provides compelling evidence of a more complex and varied Maya landscape than previously thought.
“Lidar is teaching us that, like many other ancient civilizations, the lowland Maya built a diverse tapestry of towns and communities over their tropical landscape,” Canuto said. “While some areas are replete with vast agricultural patches and dense populations, others have only small communities. Nonetheless, we can now see how much the ancient Maya changed their environment to support a long-lived complex society.”
This image shows nine candidate landing regions for NASA’s Artemis III mission, with each region containing multiple potential sites for the first crewed landing on the Moon in more than 50 years. The background image of the lunar South Pole terrain within the nine regions is a mosaic of LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) WAC (Wide Angle Camera) images. Credit: NASA
This image shows nine candidate landing regions for NASA’s Artemis III mission, with each region containing multiple potential sites for the first crewed landing on the Moon in more than 50 years. The background image of the lunar South Pole terrain within the nine regions is a mosaic of LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) WAC (Wide Angle Camera) images. Credit: NASA
America’s space agency NASA has identified nine potential landing regions for its upcoming Artemis III mission, the first crewed Moon landing since 1972.
The regions are all near the lunar South Pole, an area of the Moon that has never been explored. Selection criteria included terrain suitability, lighting conditions and communication capabilities with Earth.
“The Moon’s South Pole is a completely different environment than where we landed during the Apollo missions,” says Sarah Noble, Artemis lunar science lead. “It offers access to some of the Moon’s oldest terrain, as well as cold, shadowed regions that may contain water and other compounds.”
These regions contain diverse geological characteristics and offer flexibility for mission availability. The lunar South Pole has never been explored by a crewed mission and contains permanently shadowed areas that can preserve resources, including water.
The refined candidate Artemis III lunar landing regions are, in no priority order:
Peak near Cabeus B
Haworth
Malapert Massif
Mons Mouton Plateau
Mons Mouton
Nobile Rim 1
Nobile Rim 2
de Gerlache Rim 2
Slater Plain
To select these landing regions, a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers analyzed the lunar South Pole region using data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and a vast body of lunar science research.
Factors in the selection process included science potential, launch window availability, terrain suitability, communication capabilities with Earth, and lighting conditions. Additionally, the team assessed the combined trajectory capabilities of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and Starship HLS (Human Landing System) to ensure safe and accessible landing sites.
“Artemis III will be the first time that astronauts will land in the south polar region of the Moon. They will be flying on a new lander into a terrain that is unique from our past Apollo experience,” said Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist. “Finding the right locations for this historic moment begins with identifying safe places for this first landing, and then trying to match that with opportunities for science from this new place on the Moon.”
NASA’s site assessment team will engage the lunar science community through conferences and workshops to gather data, build geologic maps, and assess the regional geology of eventual landing sites. The team also will continue surveying the entire lunar South Pole region for science value and mission availability for future Artemis missions. This will include planning for expanded science opportunities during Artemis IV, and suitability for the LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) as part of Artemis V.
Under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface, and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all.
Maybe you’ve gone on a diving trip to Sharm el Sheik. Or maybe you are one of the tourists who sit with the Bedouins at a housha for weeks at a time enjoying the slow life close on the Red Sea close to Nuweiba. I’ve been to Sinai about 10 times and when I go to a hotel there is one thing that makes me very happy at the breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet: preserved lemons.
Trankila Beach in Sinai
The lemons in Egypt are small, not much bigger than a walnut, and when preserved upgrade their status by a mile. You can eat them with hummous and tehina on bread, or take a little bite with every savory dish you fancy. Sometimes I just eat them whole, picking the seeds out with my teeth. We have a recipe for preserved lemons already on Green Prophet but this one is a bit different. You cut the lemons differently, keeping them whole.
In the video below I walk you through the set by step process. Get yourself some Egyptian lemons and you can do it with me step by step.
Fermented lemons are a treat when you are traveling to Egypt. Stay at a hotel in Sinai and enjoy the fermented Egyptians lemon offered at most meals. It’s a staple pickle when you travel to Sinai or Egypt. We’ve even found them in Jordan.
A basic husha in Sinai. This was our home for a week. Basic and good.
This recipe works with any kind of lemon, but if you can get your hands on walnut-sized lemons from Egypt, even better. If you are using other lemons cut them so the width is no bigger than a centimeter or half an inch.
The smaller you cut them the better the flavor as they will ferment better. Add salt. We added about 5 tablespoons to 4 cups/ one liter of water. You can add garlic. Better to place it on the bottom as if it floats to the surface it will go moldy.
Add some weights to keep the lemons from floating.
Leave for about 5 to 10 days according to your taste. Do not tighten the lid or it might explode.
Eat alone with bread or add to sauces and soups and any dish you can imagine. Preserved lemon is a wonderful spice that adds a layer of flavor to anything savory. It will bring you back to your driving trip at Sharm el Sheikh in no time.
An easy way to bring the taste of Egypt into your home.
Course Appetizer, Condiment
Cuisine Egyptian, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
Keyword Easy, fermented food, spice
Servings 100
Cost $4
Equipment
1 Jar with a lid Can you glass or ceramic
2 Weights You want to hold down the lemons and garlic so they don't float
Ingredients
4 cups Egyptian lemonsYou can use regular lemons as well, don't worry. Try to find organic as you will be eating the peels
5tbspkosher saltIt's also known as pickling salt
10 clovesfresh garlicYou can skip this if you like but garlic makes everything better
4cupswater
Instructions
Soak the lemons for a few hours
Cut each small Egyptian lemon in a cross going only 1/2 way or 2/3 of the way through. You can keep the seeds in
Remove peel from garlic, slice in half
Add garlic and lemons to the jar throwing in a spoon of salt as you go up. Make sure it's only lemons on the top. You don't want the garlic floating to the top.
Fill to the top with water
Add weight on top so nothing floats above the water
Add lid or plate on top. But don't screw down the lid or the jar can explode
Watch for 4 to 10 days as the lemons ferment. End fermentation by bringing to the fridge. Taste and end when the lemons are tangy and not too bitter.
Transfer to smaller jars and share with friends
How do you cook with fermented lemons?
Add fermented lemons to your salad dressing. Add the rind and pulse in a food blender or grind with a mortar and pestle.
The flavor of lemon and salt is very intense. Rinse the piece before cooking with it. The best part is the peel – some cooks scoop the pulp out and discard it.
Consider these ideas for pickled lemons:
Chop a little piece fine and mash it into a vinaigrette dressing.
Gently mix a few fine slices into steamed broccoli; drizzle some olive oil over everything.
Add a teaspoon of chopped preserved lemon to pea soup.
Put a little bowl of those bright yellow lemon quarters on the table to accompany lamb chops.
Prepare a fillet of fish with a drizzle of olive oil, some chopped basil or green onion, and a few thin slices of preserved lemon. Bake or pan-fry.
The Cairo administration has justified the destruction of this Ottoman heritage site by declaring it was not a historic monument. This mosque was destroyed to create a parking lot. Photo via Aktuel Tarih
Rapid urban development in Egypt isn’t considering the UNESCO-protected sites in the city, like this mosque in the City of the Dead, demolished and in ruin
Locals are reporting that Egypt is demolishing ancient history by knocking down the Al-Qarafa Cemetery in the City of the Dead, a UNESCO-protected site, to build a new highway through Cairo.
The City of the Dead, or the Cairo Necropolis,is also also referred to as the Qarafa in Arabic, is a series of Islamic-era necropolises and cemeteries in Cairo, Egypt. They run north and to south of the Cairo Citadel, below the Mokattam Hills and outside the historic city walls, covering an area of about 4 miles long.
This cemetery is is part of Historic Cairo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. According to people who live in Cairo, the area is home to stunning Islamic architecture, such as domes, minarets, and graves, some of which are over 1,200 years old. It also contains the resting places of Egypt’s most influential figures, such as those from the Muhammad Ali Royal Dynasty.
On the Urban Hell Reddit forum, one contributor says, “The Egyptian government and local authorities are highly corrupt, that’s why they are willing to destroy this cemetery without a second thought.”
Another reader defends the move, saying “They’re not “destroying it”. They’re putting an elevated highway through a four-mile wide cemetery. No registered historic buildings are being destroyed. The space this will take is a drop in the bucket. It would be nice if they didn’t have to but Cairo has grown 4x in population since 1970 and sacrifices must be made.”
Source unknown
Another one comments: “Reminds me of when Egypt destroyed trees in urban areas so property developers can sell the idea of “greenary” being exclusive and luxurious in gated communities. Or property developers leaving building facades unfinished so they don’t pay property tax. Or building a highway through apartments complexs or even through Alexandria’s ancient coastline
“Egypt needs to introduce new urban planning laws regarding historic sites, environment and facades before we see a highway ramp up to the Pyramid of Giza with a Starbucks on top.”
The government’s project is destroying a “unique, architectural, historic fabric,” said Ayman Wanas to the Associated Press. He is an official with the government department that lists distinctive buildings and wrote in his resignation letter posted online. “It’s a waste of Egypt’s historic, valuable heritage which is irreplaceable.”
Hundreds of activists were killed at Tahir Square in Egypt following the Arab Sprint uprising that started in 2011. Some sites list more than one thousand. We met Mohammed Gohar in Montreal who told us how he saved 17 Christians from certain death by hiding them in his TV station building during one of the protests. He was granted asylum in Canada for his bravery. Virginity checks and other awful violations faced the demonstrators as well.
The work on redeveloping Cairo, despite its rich architecture from the past is part of a mega-building campaign by their President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to reshape the home of 20 million people. His government is putting up massive freeways and flyovers at a furious rate while encouraging the growth of gated suburban compounds outside the city while building a giant new capital in the desert.
Dubai Design Week, the Middle East region’s leading design festival will mark its milestone 10th edition from November 5 to 10. It is the Persian Gulf region’s first globally recognised design week.
This year’s festival will reflect on a decade of design and its influence on the UAE’s dynamic and expanding interior design and furniture market, now estimated at USD 26 billion. The 2024 program will honour the local community, creative talent and regional design vernacular it has aimed to nurture over the past 10 years, while celebrating the city’s evolution as a global design hub.
Dubai Design Week 2024 will bring together over 500 established and emerging designers and brands from more than 40 countries to showcase new design thinking in the form of installations, exhibitions and experiential mediums. Fueled by rapid urbanisation, a strong real estate market, developments in infrastructure, diversification of the economy and evolving tastes and aesthetic needs of residents, businesses and tourists, Dubai Design Week has matured from its inception in 2015 into a major international design event.
Its success can be attributed to its forward–looking programming, a commitment to innovation and support of local talent and its role in shaping Dubai’s identity as a thriving global centre for design and creativity in the Middle East. It has become a platform for emerging, pioneering and established designers to showcase their work, connect with industry professionals, and gain exposure in the Middle East and beyond.
The anchor event of Dubai Design Week, Downtown Design, will again take place at its home on the d3 Waterfront Terrace from 6 to 9 November. Acclaimed as the region’s leading fair for contemporary and high-quality design, Downtown Design showcases the latest collections, innovative products and design solutions, complemented by a line-up of creative pop-up concepts, installations and networking events, alongside a line-up of talks, keynotes and master classes at The Forum.
Downtown Design is the ultimate destination for those seeking the latest trends in interior design, furniture, lighting and home accessories.
A key highlight of this year’s Dubai Design Week is the launch of Editions, the region’s first limited-edition art and design fair, running from 6 to 9 November. Over 50 galleries, design studios and collectives will exhibit contemporary design, photography, prints, ceramics and works on paper. Positioned alongside Downtown Design’s dynamic program and offering pieces at a range of prices, Editions paves an alternative route to art and design collecting, opening up the opportunities to a wider audience.
Dubai Design Week’s annual design competition, Urban Commissions, returns this year with the theme ‘Tawila’, meaning ‘table’ in Arabic, inviting designers and architects to propose innovative community furniture that explores the table beyond its form and as a facilitator of exchange, tradition and communal experiences.
This year’s winner is Altqadum, a research-based design studio from Oman that specialises in architecture, interior and objects design, led by Marwan Albalushi, Najd Albalushi and Abdulrahim Alkendi.
Their Bab Al Salam Mosque in Muscat is one of Time magazine’s ‘World’s Greatest Places 2024’.
bab al salam mosque
Dubai-based architectural and interior design studio, Bone will present a pavilion made entirely from pre-fabricated earth blocks in collaboration with Fetdeterra, technical specialists in rammed earth architecture from Spain; Japanese architectural firm, Mitsubishi Jisho Design, will invite audiences to experience a traditional tea-house made from 3D printed waste sawdust; tech-driven multidisciplinary practice DEOND, founded by Ross Lovegrove and Ila Colombo, will explore the notion of phygital therapy with an AI-infused ‘second skin’ fabric that responds to the body’s state of being; as well as other installations made from various organic and upcycled materials including banana fibre, soybean wax, henna, Himalayan salt, terracotta and scrap metal.
Japan teahouse
Japan teahouse for people and pigeons
Monocle will bring the world of design, culture and business to the heart of Dubai for the month of November, launching at Dubai Design Week; celebrating creativity and craftsmanship with Monocle’s shop and café takeover of FRAME in d3, Art Jameel Shop will offer commissioned products by regional designers, and a dedicated retail space featuring social-impact driven brands including MADE 51, a global brand created by the UNHCR – UN Refugee Agency showcasing artisanal homeware and accessories crafted by refugees, and iIn addition, Abu Dhabi-based community arts space 421 will present design-led products by local and regional craft makers through their shop Dukkan421.
Abwab, meaning ‘doors’ in Arabic, is a program that supports designers from the South West Asian and North African (SWANA) region by commissioning installations or pavilions each year thematically remodelled to reflect relevant global and regional contexts.
Since its inception in 2015, over 180 designers from countries including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, India, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the UAE have participated in Abwab. Noticeably missing in this list is Israel nearby, despite the the country giving birth to leading global designers and architects such as Moshe Safdie and Ron Arad.
A pavilion built from old bed springs.
For the 2024 Dubai Design Week edition, practitioners were invited to propose designs with a focus on vernacular architecture and how community-centric architectural methods—rooted in local materials and technique—can intersect with new environments. This is a topic we have covered extensively on Green Prophet. See our interview with Sandra Persik, the editor of the book Habitat.
The FAO of the UN helps livestock survive in Gaza.
The FAO of the UN helps livestock survive in Gaza.
Now that Israel has declared UNRWA a non-entity, there are other organizations that can fill the void and give humanitarian relief for the Gaza civilians. One of them is UNICEF, another is the FAO, which helps people around the world.
Amid the ongoing horror of the conflict and alongside the tens of thousands of human victims in Gaza, Hakmah El-Hamidi has lost at least half of her animals. She has been raising livestock since she was a child, waking up at 7 a.m. to feed and care for them, repeating this task in the afternoon and evening.
“There is no food, no barley, no fodder and also no water during the conflict; we had over forty heads of livestock, and now they’re twenty or even less,” says Hakmah, a resident of Al-Zuwayidah in central Gaza Strip.
These losses have dealt a heavy blow to her family’s livelihood. Nonetheless, Hakmah says, “The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has helped us a lot when they provided us with fodder. Thank God, our animals have gotten healthier and stopped dying.”
She says the veterinary kit provided by FAO also “helped me a lot; it has vitamins and anti-flea spray. The animals were getting bitten by fleas so I spray it, as you can see. It’s really good.”
Despite the challenges of security and access faced by all the humanitarian agencies bringing aid to Gaza, FAO has distributed fodder to over 4 400 livestock-keeping families in Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah governorates of Gaza. Veterinary kits were additionally given to about 2 400 families to improve animal health and preserve livelihoods across the Strip. The kits include much-needed inputs to safeguard animals’ health, such as multivitamins, disinfectants, salt blocks and iodine wound sprays.
Of course, the support Hakmah has received is far from enough. She says she still needs more fodder, more medicines and roofing material to protect her animals.
The ongoing hostilities have caused the collapse of local food production and contributed to the rapid deterioration of food security in Gaza. Some 86 percent of the population or 1.84 million people in Gaza are facing high levels of acute food insecurity with the risk of famine persisting across the whole Gaza strip.
According to satellite data in a recent assessment carried out by FAO and the United Nations Satellite Centre, over two-thirds of cropland has been destroyed.
FAO’s rapid assessments also indicate that almost 15 000 or 95 percent of Gaza’s cattle have died, and nearly all calves have been slaughtered. Fewer than 25 000 sheep (around 43 percent) and only about 3 000 goats (around 37 percent) remain alive. Dramatic losses are also reported in the poultry sector, with only 34 000 (or 1 percent) of the birds left living.
A man in Gaza cooks food on his roof using a solar cooker, powered by the sun. From the archives.
Ward Saeed, originally from El-Zetoun in Gaza’s old city and now displaced in Deir al-Balah, is another livestock keeper who has suffered overwhelming losses of her animals in the course of a traumatic year.
“We were displaced and moved south because of the war. We took our animals with us and lost half of them— most of them— along the way. These are the only animals left, and they are our only livelihood source,” she says. But for her and her family, trying to find food for the livestock means risking their lives amid falling missiles.
Ward also says, “We benefited from FAO’s support, the fodder and the veterinary kit, but this is not enough, we need more.”
She says the most important needs are livestock fodder, shelter and food. And fodder is next to impossible to find amid the enormous numbers of displaced people who are all desperately trying to feed themselves and their animals.
Given that agricultural aid is one of the key components of humanitarian assistance, helping farmers to strengthen their resilience and feed their communities and families, it comes as little surprise that fodder was the most important pre-war import in Gaza. Almost 650 trucks were entering the Strip with fodder every month, before 7 October.
FAO, supported by the Governments of Belgium, Italy, Malta and Norway, is working closely with the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture and local non-governmental organizations to distribute the fodder and veterinary kits to Gaza’s livestock keepers.
The operation has faced logistical and security-related obstacles, particularly the restrictions at crossings and the collapse of law in Gaza, which constrains the delivery of aid.
But FAO is ready to scale up efforts to deliver more inputs to Gazan farmers and herders, once access and security conditions are fully restored. New deliveries will include feed concentrate, greenhouse plastic sheets, plastic water tanks, vaccines, energy blocks, plastic sheds, animal shelters and more veterinary kits.
For Gaza’s livestock keepers, like Hakmah and Ward, this support from FAO and its partners to help sustain their battered livelihoods can’t come soon enough.
Neom is a megalomaniac’s dream in Saudi Arabia where dozens of towns, cities and resorts like The Line, a mile long city will cut through the desert to the Red Sea, and all join together in a futuristic utopia. The first of the endless series to be opened, claim the Saudis, is Sindalah an island covering 84 acres. It opened this month to the public with celebrities like Will Smith and Tom Brady smiling on location to bring the Americans over on their mega yachts.
Saudi Arabia announces massive construction projects on a weekly basis hoping that its oil wealth will attract western tourists, as it builds out other dreams for its locals in a parallel universe.
Below is an image of the intended result. The two images below are the actual construction state of Sindalah.
Sindalah as imagined by contractorSindalah under constructionSindalah, October 28, Google EarthWill Smith and Tom Brady at Neom’s Sindalah, eco luxury yacht resort on the Red Sea
Set to welcome up to 2,400 guests per day by 2028, the island will also generate around 3,500 jobs.
Boasting an “impressive marine ecosystem”, Neom developers provide no available reports on environmental assessment or how it will protect coral reefs, dolphins or marine life. We reached out and received no comment.
Sindalah’s PR unit says its surrounding waters are home to 1,100 species of fish – 45 of which are unique to NEOM waters, in addition to more than 300 coral species.
In line with Neom’s commitment to sustainability and conservation, preservation of Sindalah’s natural marine habitat has been central to the island’s development, and guests are invited to dive beneath the surface to explore its wonders for themselves, writes marketing material. Where are the commitments and environmental standards kept?
From What’s On Saudi Arabia: “Dozens of yachts from around the world have landed at the state-of-the-art marina at the Sindalah Yacht Club in NEOM as the destination approaches its grand opening. Also spotted on one of the super yachts was Tom Brady, the American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 23 seasons.”
Sindalah, before and after (after is a rendering – not the actual after)
We have dove off the waters of Egypt and no one is preparing you on how to behave in a coral reef environment. With luxury mega yachts expected to crash every party, how does Sindalah expect to protect the environment?
Sindalah will host 38 restaurants, nightlife and golfing for guests who can stay at none of 440 rooms and 88 villas, as well as 218 luxury serviced apartments.
If you have ever given birth vaginally there is an unspoken reality. Labor feels like you need to go to the toilet and it’s common for women to poop when the baby is being born. If we think nature knows best, it seems counter-intuitive that a brand new baby would be exposed to faeces while being born, but new clinical research suggests there is an immunity benefit.
In early results of a clinical trial, Helve found that babies fed 3.5 mg of poo versus those that were given a placebo, showed an obvious increase in microbial diversity.
While the results are positive, researchers emphasize that this method should not be replicated at home, says Helve from the University of Helsinki: “You have to be certain that the faecal matter that you give to the newborn doesn’t include pathogens that could cause a disease.”
Researchers are asking these questions because birth by C-section is associated with an increased risk of many immune-related diseases, suggesting that the lack of maternal microbes in early life may have long-term health consequences for children. With women afraid of the pain of birth, and doctors afraid of lawsuits, more and more women opt for C-section.
Over the years global caesarian section rates have significantly increased from around 7% in 1990 to 21% today surpassing the ideal acceptable CS rate which is around 10% to 15% according to the WHO.
Vaginally born infants receive healthy gut bacteria from the mother at birth through the vaginal canal, and from around the mother’s anus. But C-section babies are not exposed to maternal faecal microbes and this prevents the natural transfer of microbes from mother to baby, the researchers say.
The children in the study were followed for 24 months during which time, stool and blood samples were collected from the child and mother and analysed for changes in the bacterial diversity in the microbiome between groups, and to assess immunological changes associated with the transfer such as response to vaccinations and function and interaction of immune cells in vitro. The trial has recruited 90 healthy pregnant women scheduled for elective C-section since 2019.
All of the mothers were asymptomatic (no diarrhoea or abnormal bowel functions) and none had been prescribed antibiotics or travelled outside of Europe in the three months prior to screening. Some mothers had pathogens in their bodies and they were screened out for the procedure.
Are you a diver that runs a dive shop or a hobby diver that loves the sea and wants to change the world? A researcher of forest ecosystems? A concerned citizen? The Canada and UK-based Ocean Wise and the Kelp Forest Alliance have released a new guidebook to help monitor kelp ecosystems globally.
Kelp forests may seem like just seaweed, but they are foundational for life both underwater and on land. Kelp – also known as dulse – itself is a superfood, but in the water and alive kelp support an astonishing array of biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services that help mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Kelp forests hold significant cultural and existence value for Indigenous peoples and local communities. These underwater forests are vital for the health of our planet, but unfortunately, kelp forests are disappearing at an alarming rate.
“Over 50% of kelp forests have declined in the past 50 years due to climate change and ecosystem imbalances. Global efforts to protect and restore these necessary ecosystems have never been more urgent. But to make a compelling case for kelp forest conservation, you must be able to measure their value and the impact of your interventions,” says Carlos Drews, Executive Vice President of Conservation, Ocean Wise.
Divers restore kelp forests
Ocean conservation has been around for decades but kelp restoration is a relatively new frontier. Still in its discovery phase, kelp restoration research has focused on uncovering the most effective ways to protect and restore kelp forests. But reversing the global loss of kelp requires scalable, innovative, cost-effective, and collaborative efforts. This new handbook hopes to be the the missing link to making this a global effort.
Conservation without proper monitoring and reporting is at best an estimation, say the guide creators. That’s where this guidebook comes in—offering standardized methods to ensure data can be assessed, shared, and compared across projects.
“We spend our hard-earned conservation dollars trying to help kelp forest ecosystems, but we rarely place the same investment in tracking the outcome of those efforts. When we fail to accurately monitor and report on the outcomes of these projects, we do ourselves a disservice,” says Aaron Eager, Program Director, Kelp Forest Alliance.
“We are currently missing opportunities to understand what makes some projects more successful than others. This gap also impedes our understanding of the benefits these ecosystems provide and a result, we are unable to effectively communicate their importance to society. This document will help guide monitoring efforts and give the kelp forest community a common language when comparing data.”
Global kelp restoration efforts include active projects in 13 countries including Canada, Australia, Chile, Denmark, and the United States.
Ocean Wise is a globally focused conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our ocean. Through research, education, public engagement, and international collaborations, we empower communities to fight three major ocean challenges: ocean pollution, overfishing and climate change.
By equipping and empowering individuals, communities, industries, and governments, we can create a future where people and our oceans can thrive. Ocean Wise is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia with staff across Canada and Chile, and operates conservation projects that make national and international impact.
About Kelp Forest Alliance
The Kelp Forest Alliance (KFA) is a global network of scientists, conservationists, and stakeholders dedicated to protecting and restoring 4 million hectares of kelp forests by 2040. We promote research, conservation, education, and restoration efforts worldwide. The alliance offers evidence-based strategies for effective and ethical kelp forest management, advocates for stronger policies, and aims to deepen public awareness and connection to these often-overlooked ecosystems.
Divers play a critical role in saving and restoring kelp forests, which are vital marine ecosystems. These underwater forests support biodiversity, sequester carbon, and protect coastlines. Here’s how divers contribute to the conservation and restoration of kelp forests:
How divers can help preserve kelp forests
One of the primary threats to kelp forests is the overgrazing by sea urchins, particularly in areas where natural predators, like sea otters, have declined. Divers help by:
Urchin Culling: Divers manually remove overabundant sea urchins, reducing their numbers and allowing kelp to regrow.
Targeted Removal: They focus on areas where sea urchins are particularly damaging, helping to restore balance in these ecosystems.
Planting and Restoring Kelp
In some areas, kelp populations have declined to the point where natural regrowth is limited. Divers can assist by:
Replanting Kelp: They collect kelp spores or young plants and replant them in damaged areas to encourage regrowth.
Seeding Efforts: Divers can attach kelp spores to artificial substrates or rocks to help new kelp beds establish.
Monitoring and Research
Divers are often involved in scientific research that helps track the health of kelp forests:
Ecological Surveys: They monitor kelp health, sea urchin populations, and other environmental factors.
Data Collection: Divers gather data on water quality, temperature, and biodiversity, which can help scientists understand the impacts of climate change and human activity on kelp forests.
Marine Debris Removal
Trash and fishing gear can damage kelp forests by entangling plants and marine animals. Divers contribute by:
Removing Debris: They collect discarded fishing nets, plastic waste, and other debris that can harm kelp forests.
Studying how magma behaves underground could help harness powerful geothermal energy. Scientists from the Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT) in Iceland plan to drill into the magma beneath the Krafla volcano, starting in 2027.
Pressure and temperature sensors will be placed in the first of two boreholes to track changes to the magma, which could help predict volcanic eruptions.
The second will house a test run for a new type of geothermal power station. “[Magma] are the heat source that power the hydrothermal systems that lead to geothermal energy. Why not go to the source?” says Yan Lavallée, volcanologist and head of KMT’s science committee.
Krafla is one of the world’s most active volcanic areas, where temperatures approach 2,372°F (1,300°C). The greatest challenge to accessing this energy is not having the equipment melt.
Iceland has been harnessing the Earth’s geothermal energy for a while — where it drills into underground regions to produce steam from heated water. Ormat from Israel is a leader in this space. Water in a magma chamber inside a volcano isn’t steam, but rather it’s “supercritical” — it’s water water so hot and under pressure that it’s not liquid or steam, but that fourth state of matter close to a vapor.
In theory a magma geothermal plant has the potential to produce at least 10 times the power of a traditional geothermal plant.
According to researchers Iceland’s ongoing volcanic eruptions may continue on and off for years to decades, providing renewable energy but also threatening the country’s most densely populated region and vital infrastructure.
The eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula have forced authorities to declare a state of emergency, with a series of eight eruptions having occurred since 2021. This southwestern region is home to 70 percent of the country’s population, its only international airport, and several geothermal power plants that supply hot water and electricity.
The most recent eruption in May through June triggered the evacuation of residents and visitors of the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, a popular tourist attraction, for the third time in more than two months.
Although Iceland sees regular eruptions because it sits above a volcanic hot spot, the Reykjanes Peninsula has been dormant for 800 years. Its last volcanic era continued over centuries however, prompting scientists to predict the renewed volcanism to be the start of a long episode.
Under an hour’s drive from the island’s capital city Reykjavík, the eruptions pose considerable risks for economic disruption, and they leave evacuated communities uncertain of a possible return.
An international team of scientists has been watching the volcanoes over the past three years. Analyzing seismic tomography imaging and the composition of lava samples, they’ve uncovered parts of the geological processes behind the new volcanic era. They predict the region may have to prepare for recurring eruptions lasting years to decades and possibly centuries.
The researchers report their findings in a paper published June 26 in the journal Terra Nova. The project included collaborations from the University of Oregon, Uppsala University in Sweden, University of Iceland, Czech Academy of Sciences and University of California, San Diego. The work follows an earlier Nature Communications study of the initial Reykjanes eruptions in 2021.
Some of the risks of tapping into magma for geothermal energy are the risks of creating earthquakes. Sudden changes in flow could endanger operations and there is currently no equipment that can safely handle the excessive heat. Also magma releases gases like sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and carbon dioxide (CO₂), which could pose local environmental hazards and contribute to atmospheric pollution if not managed properly.
Neuroscientist Carina Heller has joined a cadre of investigators who are filling in gaps in women’s health research by hopping into brain-imaging machines themselves. Credit: Ann-Christine Buck
Neuroscientist Carina Heller has joined a cadre of investigators who are filling in gaps in women’s health research by hopping into brain-imaging machines themselves. Credit: Ann-Christine Buck
Ask anyone in science and it’s known that areas that get the most funding are issues that affect more men than women, such as heart disease and prostate cancer. She had a question and got some of her own answers: A scientist in the US scanned her own brain over the period of a year to document how the brain is affected by the birth control pill. We know that some women report weight gain and other unwanted side-effects, and now we have a look into the brain.
For 75 days over the span of a year University of Minnesota neuroscientist Carina Heller’s morning ritual included climbing into her university’s brain scanner at 7:30 a.m. and lying perfectly still for an hour and a half — without falling asleep. She believes she is the most scanned woman in science.
She found a rhythmic pattern of change in brain volume and connectivity between brain regions over the course of her natural cycle, with volume and connectivity dipping slightly while she was taking the pill. Heller has joined a group of investigators filling gaps in women’s health research by scanning their own brains.
Her work builds on the work of Laura Pritschet who is now a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Pritschet scanned her brain for 30 consecutive days during her natural menstrual cycle and then for 30 more days while taking oral contraceptives in a project Pritschet calls 28andMe, after the genetics firm 23andMe in South San Francisco.
Heller’s goal was to catalogue how her brain changes during her menstrual cycle, with and without oral contraceptives and what that might mean for women’s health. Her research might inform women as to whether or not they want to take the birth control pill which alters a woman’s hormone cycle.
It’s just the beginning but her findings suggest that brain morphology and connectivity change daily throughout the natural cycle and are influenced by birth-control pills with preliminary results presented at the annual Society for Neuroscience conference.
Women in the Taliban-controlled country of Afghanistan are already banned from showing their bodies and faces in public. A new blow to dehumanizing women is the ban of the sound of women’s voices in public.
Like the regime in Iran that controls women singing in public and showing their hair, the restrictions in Afghanistan are more fierce and among them ban women from being friends with non-Muslims and from entering national parks. Women are not allowed to work at NGOs that support women. Women can’t work in any legal profession, they can’t work for the government, or go to the gym or drive.
The Taliban published a list of “vice and virtue” laws this past summer which were approved by their supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. The vice and virtues edicts are exhaustive and oppressive: Afghan women must completely veil their bodies – including their faces – in heavy clothing at all times in the public setting so men will not be led to temptation and vice.
Woman and man in Afghanistan
Among religious Jews, women are not encouraged to sing in public so men refrain from attending women’s concerts if they so choose. But women are allowed to speak in public, even encouraged to do so. But in Afghanistan and in Iran women’s voices are considered an instrument of vice and will not be allowed to be heard talking in public under the new restrictions. They cannot sing or real aloud if it can be heard from outside their home.
“Whenever an adult woman leaves her home out of necessity, she is obliged to conceal her voice, face, and body,” the new laws state.
Two Afghan medicine students (Left & Center) listening to their Professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Kabul, as they examine a plaster showing a part of a human body – January 1962 (STAFF/AFP via Getty Images)
March 31, 2024: Taliban closed several female educational centers in Kabul for registering female students beyond 6th grade.
April 2024: The Taliban’s Education Department of Kabul Province issued a commitment letter to owners of private schools, outlining a series of ten points to which the owners/administrators are pledging adherence. One of these points declares, “I confirm my agreement to adhere to the decision to suspend schooling for female students from grades 7 to 12…” Source: copy of the letter
June 4, 2024: The Department of Education in Bamyan issued a letter, signed by Qari Enayatullh Sahaar, stating that in all schools where students follow both Hanafi and Jafari jurisprudence, but only use textbooks based on one of these jurisprudences, the textbooks will be replaced with books from both Hanafi and Jafari traditions. Source: copy of the letter
March 24, 2024: The Taliban leader stated that the public stoning of women shall be enforced, and the Taliban will not bend to the pressure of the West.
December 30, 2023: The Taliban’s Ministry of Economy issued a letter calling on local and international organizations to refrain from implementing projects focused on peace, conflict resolution, advocacy and public awareness as they are not considered a need. Source: copy of the letter
August 15, 2024: The Taliban’s department of economy instructed NGOs to remove the word “woman” from their organizational names. Source: contacts on the ground
February 28, 2024: The Taliban’s spokesperson for the Ministry of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Abdul Ghaffar Farooq, announced that women appearing on television must wear black hijab and with their faces covered only leaving their eyes visible.
April 2024: The Taliban in Helmand verbally instructed media outlets to refrain from airing women’s voices. Source: field contacts
April 2024: Media outlets were verbally instructed to ban women from co-hosting shows with male journalists and refrain from reporting on women’s rights and violence against women. Source: media contacts
May 5, 2023: Banned young and unmarried women from going to health centers and shrines in Kandahar province.
January 2024: In Farah, the governor has issued a verbal order making wearing of black color hijab, face mask and gloves mandatory. Source: contacts on the ground
January 2024: In Logar, the religious police made announcements through loudspeakers in mosques and in public stating that women and girls should refrain from wearing white pants, and shoes when going out and that those ignoring the order have no right to complain about the consequences. Source: contacts on the ground
January 2024: In Paktia, the vice and virtue authorities announced through mosques that women are prohibited from wearing black Arabic hijabs, as they reveal the eyes. Instead, women are mandated to exclusively wear burqa. Source: contacts on the ground
February 14, 2024: Mullah Abdul Haq Waseeq, head of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence, has directed its units to stop organizations from taking inappropriate photos (mixed male/female) during aid distribution, and during meetings, particularly of women. Violators are instructed to be reported to the directorate for appropriate action. Source: copy of the letter
May 26, 2024: The Taliban required couples in Herat to present their “marriage certificate” to allow them to eat together in restaurants.
July 3, 2024: The religious police in Daikundi issued an announcement mandating that women must comply with the hijab requirement within five days. The specified hijab style must be Arabic. After the deadline, violators will face punishment and imprisonment, with responsibility falling on both the individual and her family. Source: copy of the announcement and sources on the ground
July 5, 2024: The religious police in Daikundi issued an announcement mandating that women must comply with the hijab requirement within five days. The specified hijab style must be Arabic. After the deadline, violators will face punishment and imprisonment, with responsibility falling on both the individual and her family. Source: copy of the announcement
July 17, 2024: The Vice and Virtue authorities in Faryab have re-issued a ban prohibiting women from visiting three parks (Khawja Ghaar, Dara Shaakh, and Dara Rang) in Gurziwaan District. The ban has been confirmed through an official letter and corroborated by contacts on the ground.
July 31, 2024: The Taliban issued a new edict under their ‘Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Law’, which was published in the Ministry of Justice gazette, listing previously imposed restrictions as well as additional ones, including women’s voice in public and prohibiting friendship with non-Muslims. Source: copy of the edict
August 26, 2023: Taliban Minister of Vice and Virtue during his visit to Bamiyan announced that women are henceforth not allowed to enter Band-e Amir national parkBand E Amir National Park: forbidden for women
March 27, 2022: Banned women from traveling abroad without a mahram (husband or guardian) and without a legitimate reason.
January 16, 2023: Instructed travel agencies not to sell tickets to women without a mahram.
Loads of vitamin supplements, including leading American supplement company SmartyPants founded by Courtney Nicols who we interviewed for Charity:Water uses sugar as a sweetener. A new invention from gummy supplement manufacturer TopGum Industries, has created HoneyGum, a line of all-natural, honey-based functional gummies. The new product joins the company’s rapidly expanding portfolio of advanced dietary supplement gummies.
What makes this gummy unique is TopGum’s utilization of pure, high-dose liquid honey as opposed to commonly used powdered honey. Harnessing the ancient wellness benefits of pure liquid honey, HoneyGum seamlessly blends one of nature’s finest ingredients into its advanced gummy formulation technology.
The company will introduce the new line, alongside its innovative Caffeine Gummicino, IronGum, and others at SupplySide West, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, on Oct 30 to 31.
Honey is enjoying a revival among consumers. According to CNBC Honey is a key trending flavor in multiple food and beverage products. People everywhere including me are raising honey bees at home to access pure, local honey. Much of the honey you find in supermarkets will be adulterated: the bees fed with sugar, pesticides and the honey boiled as a form of pasteurisation. Read here about the benefits of raw honey. And here to know if your honey is real or fake.
TopGum creates nutraceuticals in these health categories:
Honey Sleep Relaxation: Features honey (500mg) with chamomile extract, GABA, L-theanine, and valerian in a calming, lemon-chamomile flavor, designed to help promote restful sleep.
Honey Immune: This gummy is enhanced with 500mg honey, elderberry, vitamin D (1000IU) and other vitamins in a vibrant mixed-berry flavor.
Honey Immune Ginger: Combines ginger, propolis, and honey (500mg) in a refreshing apple flavor.
Honey Energy: Delivers 500mg honey-infused energy via B-vitamins and caffeine in a bright tangerine flavor.
High-Dose Honey: Offers the highest amount of honey in a single gummy, enriched with biotin for beauty-from-within, and comes in a natural, light brown hue.
You can theoretically skip the product and just make these honeys at home. Functional foods and neutraceuticals are also found in the CBD market in the US where Walmart is adding CBD to coffee products. As my old fashioned GP used to say: if you eat a healthy diet there is no need for vitamins.
Still people want promise and vitamins may be the way to help achieve mental and physical health on top of eating a balanced diet, preferably the Mediterranean Diet.
“Combining liquid honey into a stable gummy matrix in a way that hits the right texture and flavor notes is a complex process,” explains Jennifer Toomey, Head of New Product Development, US, for TopGum. “But it was important for us toshowcase the benefits of honey without the unnecessary additives that can come with a dry or powdered ingredient.
“The new line of honey-based functional gummies is designed to meet the diverse needs of consumers in their active lifestyles,” asserts Eyal Shohat, CEO of TopGum. “Each HoneyGum product is carefully crafted to deliver a holistic, wellness solution in a deliciously chewy and convenient format. This new gummy series is a prime example of how TopGum can innovate a full line of products responding to consumer demands for functional supplements that can deliver a flavorful and enjoyable experience.”
The HoneyGums were created using TopGum’s technology for combining pure liquid honey with the company’s fiber-based prebiotic gummy matrix. This process leverages the natural sweetness and prebiotic benefits of fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) with the natural goodness, signature flavor and sweetness of honey. The gummies come in a unique, hexagonal shape, as inspired by natural honeycombs, for tactile and visual appeal.
NASA’s Europa Clipper yesterday began its voyage to investigate a vast ocean buried under the icy crust of Jupiter’s moon Europa. If Europa is found to have the ingredients for life, that discovery would drastically expand the chances of finding life on icy worlds in other solar systems, according to Nature.
The spacecraft will make crucial manoeuvres in space, such as deploying radar antennas, to prepare for its arrival in 2030. “We’re watching through our fingers with excitement,” says planetary scientist Kathleen Craft. “Everything needs to go right.”
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the Europa Clipper spacecraft aboard is seen at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the mission, Sunday, Oct. 13, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA
With its massive solar arrays extended, Europa Clipper could span a basketball court (100 feet, or 30.5 meters, tip to tip). In fact, it’s the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission. The journey to Jupiter is a long one — 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) — and rather than taking a straight path there, Europa Clipper will loop around Mars and then Earth, gaining speed as it swings past.
The spacecraft will begin orbiting Jupiter in April 2030, and in 2031 it will start making those 49 science-focused flybys of Europa while looping around the gas giant. The orbit is designed to maximize the science Europa Clipper can conduct and minimize exposure to Jupiter’s notoriously intense radiation.
Technicians encapsulated NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside payload fairings on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fairings will protect the spacecraft during launch as it begins its journey to explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
But, of course, before any of that can happen, the spacecraft has to leave Earth behind. The orbiter’s solar arrays are folded and stowed for launch. Testing is complete on the spacecraft’s various systems and its payload of nine science instruments and a gravity science investigation. Loaded with over 6,060 pounds (2,750 kilograms) of the propellant that will get Europa Clipper to Jupiter, the spacecraft has been encapsulated in the protective nose cone, or payload fairing, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, which is poised for takeoff from historic Launch Complex 39A.
Launch Sequences
The Falcon Heavy has two stages and two side boosters. After the side boosters separate, the core stage will be expended into the Atlantic Ocean. Then the second stage of the rocket, which will help Europa Clipper escape Earth’s gravity, will fire its engine.
Once the rocket is out of Earth’s atmosphere, about 50 minutes after launch, the payload fairing will separate from its ride, split into two halves, and fall safely back to Earth, where it will be recovered and reused. The spacecraft will then separate from the upper stage about an hour after launch. Stable communication with the spacecraft is expected by about 19 minutes after separation from the rocket, but it could take somewhat longer.
About three hours after launch, Europa Clipper will deploy its pair of massive solar arrays, one at a time, and direct them at the Sun.
Mission controllers will then begin to reconfigure the spacecraft into its planned operating mode. The ensuing three months of initial checkout include a commissioning phase to confirm that all hardware and software is operating as expected.
While Europa Clipper is not a life-detection mission, it will tell us whether Europa is a promising place to pursue an answer to the fundamental question about our solar system and beyond: Are we alone?
This artist’s concept depicts NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft in orbit at Jupiter as it passes over the gas giant’s icy moon Europa (lower right). Scheduled to arrive at Jupiter in April 2030, the mission will be the first to specifically target Europa for detailed science investigation. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Scientists suspect that the ingredients for life — water, chemistry, and energy — could exist at the moon Europa right now. Previous missions have found strong evidence of an ocean beneath the moon’s thick icy crust, potentially with twice as much liquid water as all of Earth’s oceans combined. Europa may be home to organic compounds, which are essential chemical building blocks for life. Europa Clipper will help scientists confirm whether organics are there, and also help them look for evidence of energy sources under the moon’s surface.
Europa Clipper’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.
An AI generated image of Heracleion before it sank to the sea
In Egypt, there’s a fascinating underwater mystery that’s been captivating archaeologists and history lovers alike: the ancient city of Heracleion (also known by its Egyptian name, Thonis). Once a bustling port city located near the mouth of the Nile, Heracleion was a key hub for trade and religion. But, over time, it vanished beneath the Mediterranean Sea just off the coast of Alexandria. How this happened is still a mystery.
Heracleion was an important city as far back as the 12th century BCE and remained significant through the Ptolemaic period. The city got its name from the legendary Greek hero Heracles (Hercules), and the Egyptians called it Thonis. It played a crucial role as the entry point to Egypt for many foreign traders. However, sometime around the 2nd century CE, it disappeared under the waves, likely due to a combination of natural disasters like earthquakes, rising sea levels, and soil liquefaction (where the ground becomes unstable and sinks). Maybe it was an ancient tsunami?
Franck Goddio by CHRISTOPH GERIGK
For centuries, Heracleion was thought to be nothing more than a legend. That all changed in the year 2000, when French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team stumbled upon its remains buried under layers of sand and silt in Abu Qir Bay, not far from Alexandria.
Statue of Amun-Ra – via Franck Goddio
What Divers Found
Since its rediscovery, Heracleion has given us an incredible look at the past. Divers have uncovered massive statues, the remains of grand temples, and treasures that hint at the city’s wealth and influence.
Monumental Statues and Temples: Some of the most remarkable finds include giant stone statues of pharaohs and Egyptian gods. One particularly impressive statue is of Hapi, the god of fertility and abundance. These figures once stood in front of temples dedicated to deities like Amun and Osiris, towering over those who came to worship.
Ancient Ships and Sphinxes: Archaeologists have found over 60 shipwrecks in the area, as well as sphinxes and other relics. The ships, some of which were loaded with goods, offer a glimpse into Egypt’s role as a major player in Mediterranean trade.
Religious Artifacts: Heracleion was also a spiritual center. It’s believed that one of the city’s major roles was hosting religious festivals, like the Mysteries of Osiris. Processions would sail from Heracleion to the nearby city of Canopus as part of a sacred ritual. Many religious artifacts and offerings left by worshippers have been discovered in the ruins of the city’s temples.
Jewels and Coins: Among the treasures recovered are golden coins, jewelry, and weights that show just how prosperous the city was. These artifacts reveal how tightly Egypt was connected to the Mediterranean world, especially Greece, in terms of both trade and culture.
The discovery of Heracleion fills in the gaps about Egypt’s ancient past, but it also highlights just how interconnected civilizations in the Mediterranean were. The city was more than just a local port—it was a thriving center where goods, ideas, and cultures mingled.
The city likely sank gradually due to natural disasters, including earthquakes, combined with a slow rise in water levels. But it seems a major flood might have been the final blow, covering it with silt and water, which ironically helped preserve many of its structures and artifacts for over a thousand years.
The underwater archaeological research in Thonis-Heracleion is ongoing until today. Franck Goddio estimates that only 5 percent of the city have yet been discovered.
Today, Heracleion is considered one of the greatest underwater archaeological finds ever made. New discoveries are being made with each dive, revealing more about this long-lost city and its people. The underwater ruins continue to fascinate historians, explorers, and anyone with a love for ancient history.
Who is Franck Goddio?
Franck Goddio is a pioneer of modern maritime archaeology. As the grandson of Eric de Bisschop (navigator, writer, inventor of the modern catamaran, and specialist of ancient navigational routes in the South Pacific), a passion for the sea and wanderlust runs in Franck Goddio’s veins.
After graduating from the École Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Economique in Paris, Franck Goddio conducted economic and financial counselling missions in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia for the United Nations, and later for the French Foreign Ministry. He was a financial advisor to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and various other governments.
In the early 1980’s he decided to dedicate himself entirely to his passion – underwater archaeology – and founded the Institut Européen d’Archéologie Sous-Marine (IEASM), of which he is currently president. Franck Goddio has initiated and directed a number of excavations on shipwrecks including seven junks from the 11th-16th century, two Spanish galleons and two trading vessels of the British East India Company.
Notable among these excavations are the San Diego (a Spanish galleon from the famous Manila-Acapulco-Sevilla trade route) and the Royal Captain (a British East India Company ship, where complex technical problems due to the great depth (350 m) had to be overcome during the mission), as well as the Orient, Napoleon Bonaparte’s Flagship during his campaign in Egypt.
According to dive experts on sites like Trip Advisor, it is not possible to dive at the protected site and doing so could lead to jail or fines.
One user writes: “There is no way you will be allowed to dive there as a tourist. Attempting it by using some sort of desperado “dive company” could result in VERY hefty fines or even in a prison sentence if the equipment or the circumstances suggest that you were attempting to plunder the site.
“If you have legit credentials as an underwater archeologist it’s a different matter and you should pursue the usual channels.”
One diver I spoke with on the Facebook Group Divers Uncensored said you can dive there: “Not much extant except for plenty of broken amphorae,” he says.
The country of Azerbaijan wants to be the center of Islamic architectural heritage. Does that justify knocking down heritage sites that are churches?
The symposium titled “Islamic Architectural Heritage of Shusha City,” organized by the Shusha City State Reserve Department and supported by ICESCO (Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), has concluded in Shusha, Azerbaijan.
Held over two days as part of the events marking Shusha’s designation as the “Cultural Capital of the Islamic World” for 2024, the event attracted over 80 architects from Türkiye, Egypt, the UAE, Tunisia, Kenya, Jordan, Italy, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and Azerbaijan.
Aydin Karimov, Special Representative of the Azerbaijani President in Shusha district, Ilgar Isbatov, Deputy-Chairman of Azerbaijan’s State Committee of Urban Planning and Architecture, Pietro Laureano, a representative of UNESCO, and Bilal Çelebi, a representative of ICESCO, highlighted Shusha’s unique architectural significance.
They described the event as highly important in terms of the history and significance of Islamic architecture, adding that the symposium significantly contributed to the development of architecture.
The event featured panel discussions on topics such as “Urban regeneration of historical fabrics,” “Modern life of monuments,” and “Sustainable architecture: material, design, and implementation.”
Is Islamic heritage incompatible with Armenian Christian churches?
There was no mention of the past and ongoing Armenian genocide happening at warp speed in Azerbaijan or the complete eradication of Christian culture in Shusha City. Churches that were not destroyed are being dismantled. A sustainable city is one that welcomes all kinds of religions and its architecture, past and present. That’s what the West believes as it welcomes immigrants from all over the world who are free to practice their faith and build their homes of worship.
The Caucasus Heritage Watch has reported that Azerbaijan has destroyed a 177-year-old church in the city of Shusha (Shushi), in Nagorno-Karabakh in the last year. The open-source cultural sites watchdog, reported that the St Hovhannes Mkrtich church is gone. They analyzed satellite imagery appearing to show that the church was completely destroyed between 28 December 2023 and 4 April 2024.
If you are in Baku and can make it to Shusha this week give them an ask.
St. Hovhannes Mkrtich Church in Shusha. An Armenian Church. Image via Caucasus Heritage Watch.
What happened to Shusha Church? Satellite imagery showing the St Hovhannes Mkrtich church in December 2023 (left) and April 2024 (right). Image via Caucasus Heritage Watch.
Ibex Protected Area, located 180 km south of Riyadh, joins IUCN Green List, which sets the global standard for protected and conserved areas management
Out of more than 300,000 protected areas worldwide, Ibex Protected Area becomes the 78th to have achieved the standards of the IUCN Green List.
The listing of Saudi Arabia’s first Protected Area represents a major milestone in the Kingdom’s commitment to ensure its protected areas are managed to the highest possible international standards.
The Ibex Protected Area, managed by NCW, is the first in Saudi Arabia to meet all the required criteria and achieve the highest standard, joining an exclusive list of less than 80 Protected Areas out of over 300,000 protected areas worldwide.
Situated in the Tuwaiq mountain range in central Saudi Arabia and covering 1,840.9 km², the Ibex Protected Area is a rugged plateau that supports a variety of flora and fauna. Established as a protected area in 1988 at the request of local communities to safeguard a small herd of ibex, a threatened species of Ibex. As a result of NCW’s dedicated efforts, the ibex population, which has existed in the area for milennia, has significantly rebounded.
The Ibex Protected Area also provides a habitat for other vulnerable species including mountain, rock hyraxes, foxes, birds, and reptiles. The area is home to diverse vegetation such as acacia trees, shrubs, herbs, and grasses.
The inclusion of the Ibex Protected Area in the Green List is a global endorsement of the effectiveness of its management and conservation efforts. It highlights the success in protecting its rich natural resources, enhancing habitats, and promoting biodiversity.
“The Ibex Protected Area’s Green List status not only elevates its international standing but also advances our broader conservation and sustainable development initiatives. We are actively working with our partners in the wildlife sector to bring all our national protected areas up to this l standard,” said Dr. Mohammed Qurban, CEO of the National Center for Wildlife.
The National Center for Wildlife currently manages 11 protected areas across Saudi Arabia. Since 2017, NCW has supported the expansion of Saudi Arabia’s marine protected areas from 3.6 percent to 6.5 percent and its terrestrial protected areas from 4.5 percent to 18.1 percent.
The listing of Saudi Arabia’s first Protected Area represents a major milestone in Saudi Arabia’s commitment to ensure its protected areas are managed to the highest possible international standards.
NCW collaborates closely with local communities, promoting sustainable development, ecotourism, scientific research opportunities, and preserving natural heritage, contributing to the prosperity of the surrounding region and the Kingdom as a whole.
This achievement also represents continued progress of Saudi Arabia’s journey to reach the 30×30 Global Biodiversity Goal, which aims to protect 30% of Earth’s lands and oceans by 2030. Since 2017, Saudi Arabia has increased its marine protected areas from 3.6% to 6.5% and its terrestrial protected areas from 4.5% to 18.1%, and is on pace to reach 30% of both by 2030.
Children as young as 8 years have fingerprints on 4,500 year-old pottery vessels found in an archeology site in Syria
Archaeologists analyzed 450 pottery vessels made in Tel Hama, a town at the edge of the Ebla Kingdom, one of the most important Syrian kingdoms in the Early Bronze Age (about 4,500 years ago), and found that two thirds of the pottery vessels were made by children – starting at the ages of seven and eight.
Along with the use of children for the needs of the kingdom, they also found evidence of the children’s’ independent creations outside the industrial framework, which illustrate the spark of childhood even in early urban societies. The research was led by Akiva Sanders from Tel Aviv University in cooperation with researchers from Copenhagen.
The findings were published in the journal Childhood in the Past.
“Our research allows us a rare glimpse into the lives of children who lived in the area of the Ebla Kingdom, one of the oldest kingdoms in the world,” says Sanders. “We discovered that at its peak, roughly from 2400 to 2000 BCE, the cities associated with the kingdom began to rely on child labor for the industrial production of pottery. The children worked in workshops starting at the age of seven, and were specially trained to create cups as uniformly as possible – which were used in the kingdom in everyday life and at royal banquets.”
As is well known, a person’s fingerprints do not change throughout their life. For this reason, the size of the palm can be roughly deduced from measuring the density of the margins of the fingerprint – and from the size of the palm, the age and sex of the person can estimated.
The pottery from Tel Hama, on the southern border of the Kingdom of Ebla, was excavated in the 1930s, and since then has been kept in the National Museum in Denmark. From the analysis of the fingerprints of the pottery it appears that most of them were made by children. In the city of Hama city two thirds of the pottery was made by children – the other third was created by older men.
Akiva Sanders from Tel Aviv University
“At the beginning of the Early Bronze Age, some of the world’s first city-kingdoms arose in the Levant and Mesopotamia,” says Sanders. “We wanted to use the fingerprints on the pottery to understand how processes such as urbanization and the centralization government functions affected the demographics of the ceramic industry. In the town of Hama, an ancient center for the production of ceramics, we initially see potters around the age of 12 and 13, with half the potters being under 18, and with boys and girls in equal proportions.
“This statistic changes with the formation of the Kingdom of Ebla, when we see that potters were starting to produce more goblets for banquets. And since more and more alcohol-fueled feasts were held, the cups were frequently broken – and therefore more cups needed to be made.
A palace in the ancient Syrian kingdom of Ebla
“Not only did the Kingdom begin to rely more and more on child labor, but the children were trained to make the cups as similar to each other as possible. This is a phenomenon we also see in the industrial revolution in Europe and America: it is very easy to control children and teach them specific movements to create standardization in handicrafts.”
Modern, handmade pottery vessels Bauhaus and brutal style by Kloosterman Clay. Today child labor is considered a crime.
However, there was one bright spot in the children’s lives: making tiny figurines and and miniature vessels for themselves. “These children taught each other to make miniature figurines and vessels, without the involvement of the adults,” says Dr. Sanders. “It is safe to say that they were created by children – and probably including those skilled children from the cup-making workshops. It seems that in these figurines the children expressed their creativity and their imagination.”
Some of the tools to help treat breast cancer and breast cancer re-occurance risk may be harming women as well. It’s known that radiation and chemotherapy take a toll on the body in the short term but in a new study, treatments against breast cancer can also cause significant long term affects that speed up the aging process in survivors.
In a new study led by investigators at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center doctors found that common breast cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, may accelerate the biological aging process in breast cancer survivors.
The findings, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, show that markers of cellular aging—such as DNA damage response, cellular senescence, and inflammatory pathways—significantly increased in all breast cancer survivors, regardless of the type of treatment received.
This suggests that the impact of breast cancer treatments on the body is more extensive than previously thought.
“For the first time, we’re showing that the signals we once thought were driven by chemotherapy are also present in women undergoing radiation and surgery,” said study lead author Judith Carroll, an associate professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA: “While we expected to see increased gene expression linked to biological aging in women who received chemotherapy, we were surprised to find similar changes in those who only underwent radiation or surgery.”
Advances in cancer therapies have greatly improved survival rates, with an estimated 4 million breast cancer survivors in the US today and over 6 million expected by 2040. However, breast cancer is linked to accelerated aging, impacting physical abilities, independence, and lifespan. Biological aging processes, which drive conditions like fatigue, cognitive decline, frailty, and cardiovascular disease, appear to be a major factor.
Evidence suggests that cancer treatments, like chemotherapy, can increase the risk of earlier onset of these aging-related conditions, making it crucial to understand the specific pathways involved to better target and manage them.
To examine how gene expression related to aging changes over time in women diagnosed with breast cancer, the team conducted a two-year longitudinal study that tracked women undergoing breast cancer treatment prior to receiving treatment and again following treatment to see how their biological aging markers evolved.
The team tracked the gene expression in their blood cells using RNA sequencing, focusing on markers that signal biological aging — including a process known as cellular senescence, which is when cells stop dividing but don’t die. These so-called “zombie cells” accumulate over time and can release harmful substances that damage nearby healthy cells, contributing to aging and inflammation.
The data was then analyzed using statistical models to help identify aging-related changes.
The team found that regardless of treatment type there was an increase in expression of genes that track cellular processes involved in biological aging. Specifically, genes that capture cellular senescence and the inflammatory signal from these cells, indicating that their immune cells were aging faster than normal.
They also saw increases in DNA damage response genes, which are genes that are expressed when there is DNA damage. Although chemotherapy did have a slightly different pattern, similar to what others have shown, they also noted changes in women who did not receive chemotherapy.
“The results suggest women who receive treatment for breast cancer have a pattern of gene expression that indicates increased DNA damage and inflammation, which could be important targets for recovering from cancer and having a better quality of life in survivorship,” said senior author of the study Julienne Bower, professor of psychology in the UCLA College and psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and member of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“We’ve only just begun to understand the long-term consequences of cancer therapy and these findings are a critical step toward understanding the biological pathways that drive many post-treatment symptoms in breast cancer survivors,” added Carroll. “Our goal is to find ways to improve survivorship, not just in terms of years lived, but also in quality of life and overall health.”
The team is now exploring a new biomarker that measures a woman’s biological age and the pace at which she is aging. This could help determine whether the aging signals detected during cancer treatment have a long-term effect on biological age. The team plans to investigate factors that may influence this, with a focus on protective behaviors such as exercise, stress management and healthy sleep patterns. Green Prophet previously covered the hunt for a breast cancer biomarker. You can read it here.
Light will be planted in Bolivia during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
Light will be planted in Bolivia during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
The United Arab Emirates is serious about supporting renewable energy, clean water and smart agriculture. Part of the way they support impact companies is through the Zayed Sustainability Prize. Named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the United Arab Emirates, the Zayed Prize this year was selected for companies and research that harness AI and other technologies to reduce carbon emissions and ensure access to clean energy, water, food and health care.
The jury selected the 33 finalists from 5,980 entries, representing a 15 per cent increase in submissions over last year.
Each winner of the six categories, health, food, energy, water and climate action categories will receive $1 million in prize money, while the six winning Global High Schools will all take home $150,000. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on January 14 as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. Green Prophet has been invited to the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in the past and it offers a taste of future-thinking sustainability issues. At least in the dream world.
“The Zayed Sustainability Prize continues to honour the enduring legacy of Sheikh Zayed, whose visionary leadership in sustainability and humanitarianism guides the UAE’s mission to uplift livelihoods worldwide by fostering development in some of the most vulnerable regions,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Cop28 President and director general of the Zayed Sustainability Prize.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
“By leveraging emerging technologies, such as AI, carbon capture and removal, tidal energy, precision agriculture, biomimicry and climate analytics, they are addressing the needs of the moment while inspiring the next generation to innovate and drive sustainability in impactful ways,” said Dr Al Jaber.
“This year’s prize finalists showcase the remarkable steps being taken around the world to address urgent needs with creativity and determination – offering a vision of a more sustainable future,” said Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, chairman of the prize jury.
“From enhancing biodiversity and food security through innovative technology, to providing critical energy and healthcare solutions for underserved populations, these pioneers are reshaping our world.”
The jury for the Zayed Sustainability Prize with Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Cop28 President and director general of the Zayed Sustainability Prize (centre right). Photo: Zayed Sustainability Prize
Offering a better tomorrow
This year’s health category finalists focus on delivering quality healthcare services to underserved and remote communities. Those shortlisted include Periwinkle Technologies, an SME from India that deploys Smart Scope, an AI-enabled cervical cancer screening device that provides results in 30 seconds. The Israeli Femtech company MobileODT already offers such a solution and is already on the market.
In the area of Food and Agtech prizes were given for empowering small-scale producers, promoting sustainable food preservation, and transforming arid land into productive farms. One featured company is Nafarm Foods from Nigeria that has developed hybrid solar dryers that make tomato paste.
Energy category finalists include Palki Motors Limited, an electric car company from Bangladesh that manufactures local, low-cost electric cars with solar-powered battery swap stations.
The water finalists include the High Atlas Foundation, from Morocco, which provides a solar-powered pumping system to increase groundwater extraction.
High Atlas Foundation
Climate action finalists were chosen for focusing on advancing carbon capture, ecosystem restoration, and building climate resilience and include Distant Imagery from the UAE: which specialises in the development of AI-powered drones for environmental monitoring, seed planting and habitat restoration.
The high school finalists are divided into six regions, with candidates selected for offering project-based, student-led sustainability solutions.
Sustainability finalists
Health
Periwinkle Technologies – India
Rology – Egypt
Telemedan – Chile
Food
ABALOBI – South Africa
Nafarm Foods – Nigeria
Xinjiang Shawan Oasis Sustainable Development Institute – China
Energy
D-Olivette Global Enterprise – Nigeria
Palki Motors Limited – Bangladesh
Turbulent – Belgium
Water
Elman Teknoloji Ltd – Turkey
High Atlas Foundation – Morocco
SkyJuice Foundation Inc – Australia
Climate action
Distant Imagery – UAE
Hyera Inc – US
OpenMap Development Tanzania
Global High Schools
The Americas
Centro de Estudios Tecnológicos del Mar 07, Mexico;
Institución Educativa San Nicolás de Tolentino, Colombia
Mulgrave School, Canada
Sub-Saharan Africa
Mpesa Foundation Academy, Kenya
Sakafia Islamic Senior High School, Ghana
St Kizito High School Namugongo, Uganda
Middle East & North Africa
Benlahrech Said High School, Algeria
Merryland International School Abu Dhabi
Obour STEM School, Egypt
Europe & Central Asia
Baku Modern Educational Complex, Azerbaijan
Gebze Bahçeehr Science & Technology High School, Turkey
Kayaköy, a ghost town in southwestern Turkey stands as a haunting reminder of the religious turmoil that once shaped Turkey. This village was once part of a thriving community with its stone houses, churches: its history is inextricably linked to the larger political shifts of the early 20th century and the dislocation of entire communities due to the collapse of empires and the drawing of new national borders.
Kayaköy was known as Levissi until the early 20th century and was home to a population of predominantly Greek Orthodox Christians, coexisting peacefully with their Turkish Muslim neighbors. The town’s hillside location offered stunning views of the surrounding valleys and hills, and it boasted a bustling, self-sufficient community.
Its residents were known for their craftsmanship, especially in stonework, and they built homes that sprawled over the hills in orderly rows, each meticulously designed to preserve sunlight and ventilation without blocking one another’s views.
Kayakoy is a protected site you can visit
At the town’s peak, Kayaköy was vibrant with schools, churches, businesses, and homes—an ideal symbol of harmony between different ethnic and religious communities. But during the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the rise of nationalism, and the aftermath of World War I a new reality would unravel this peaceful coexistence.
Kayaköy became a ghost town in the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey. In the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish War (1919 to 1922), the Treaty of Lausanne was signed, mandating a compulsory population exchange. This treaty forcibly relocated around 1.5 million Greek Orthodox Christians from Turkey to Greece and 500,000 Muslims from Greece to Turkey.
Kayaköy’s Greek residents were among those impacted by this forced exchange, and they were uprooted from the land they had called home for generations.
The town’s Greek Orthodox churches, such as the Panagia Pyrgiotissa, were left abandoned. Though Muslim families moved to Kayaköy to replace the Christian Greeks, many of them found the area inhospitable, preferring to settle elsewhere.
Over time, Kayaköy was completely abandoned.
Kayakoy
Today, Kayaköy stands as an open-air museum and a memorial to the forced migrations. Tourists can wander among the stone houses and visit the two large churches, which have been partially restored, but the eerie quiet remains. If you love ghost towns – this one is worth a visit.
The Middle East North American beauty market is estimated at $60 billion by 2025 and it currently sits at $46 billion USD according to The Middle East Market Report. MENA countries include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Tunisia, Afghanistan, Libya, Morocco, Greece and sometimes Turkey.
Currently valued at $46 billion, the MENA beauty industry is projected to grow to $60 billion by 2025, driven by a young, addicted population and rising incomes.
A MENA woman. She could be from Morocco, Lebanon, Israel or Yemen.
There is a growing demand for “A-beauty” (Arab beauty) products that cater specifically to regional preferences and color palettes, and skin tone, and a surge in local brands like Saudi-based Asteri and Omani luxury fragrance house Amouage. Israeli-conceived Moroccan Oil and Yes To products are some better known ones in the mainstream.
One standout trend is the region’s focus on heritage and local ingredients, with many consumers in places like Saudi Arabia prioritizing brands that preserve cultural traditions. See the folk Bedouin beauty products of Miriam Aborkeek.
E-commerce is expected to hit $50 billion by 2025, driven by high online engagement, particularly in Saudi Arabia, where 82% of the population consumes digital content regularly.
Beauty categories such as skincare, make-up, and fragrance will see double-digit growth, with the global fragrance market expected to reach $7.21 billion by 2032, largely influenced by the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
A sea robin Prionotus carolinus tasting with its legs.
A sea robin Prionotus carolinus tasting with its legs.
We met a Russian scientist who is convinced that people can see with their skin. He’d like this research: leggy fish called sea robins that can taste with its legs.
The northern sea robin (Prionotus carolinus) uses its six legs to stroll the ocean bottom and to taste the sea floor for buried prey.
Sea robins are unusual animals with the body of a fish, wings of a bird, and walking legs of a crab. Now, researchers show that the legs of the sea robin aren’t just used for walking. In fact, they are bona fide sensory organs used to find buried prey while digging. This work appears in two studies published in the Cell Press journal Current Biology.
“This is a fish that grew legs using the same genes that contribute to the development of our limbs and then repurposed these legs to find prey using the same genes our tongues use to taste food—pretty wild,” says Nicholas Bellono of Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.
It’s “the weirdest, coolest fish I’d ever seen”, says developmental biologist David Kingsley.
Bellono, along with Kingsley of Stanford University and their colleagues, didn’t set out to study sea robins at all. They came across these creatures on a trip to the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. After learning that other fish follow the sea robins around, apparently due to their skills in uncovering buried prey, the researchers became intrigued and took some sea robins back to the lab to find out more. They confirmed that the sea robins could indeed detect and uncover ground-up and filtered mussel extract and even single amino acids.
As reported in one of the two new studies, they found that sea robins’ legs are covered in sensory papillae, each receiving dense innervation from touch-sensitive neurons. The papillae also have taste receptors and show chemical sensitivity that drives the sea robins to dig.
“We were originally struck by the legs that are shared by all sea robins and make them different from most other fish,” Kingsley says. “We were surprised to see how much sea robins differ from each other in sensory structures found on the legs. The system thus displays multiple levels of evolutionary innovation from differences between sea robins and most other fish, differences between sea robin species, and differences in everything from structure and sensory organs to behavior.”
Through further developmental studies, the researchers confirmed that the papillae represent a key evolutionary innovation that has allowed the sea robins to succeed on the seafloor in ways other animals can’t. In the second study, they looked deeper into the genetic basis of the fish’s unique legs. They used genome sequencing, transcriptional profiling, and study of hybrid species to understand the molecular and developmental basis for leg formation.
Their analyses identified an ancient and conserved transcription factor, called tbx3a, as a major determinant of the sea robins’ sensory leg development. Genome editing confirmed that they depend on this regulatory gene to develop their legs normally. The same gene also plays a critical role in the formation of sea robins’ sensory papillae and their digging behavior.
“Although many traits look new, they are usually built from genes and modules that have existed for a long time,” Kingsley said. “That’s how evolution works: by tinkering with old pieces to build new things.”
The findings show that it’s now possible to expand our detailed understanding of complex traits and their evolution in wild organisms, not just in well-established model organisms, according to the researchers. They are now curious to learn more about the specific genetic and genomic changes that led to sea robins’ evolution.
Last week, the first schizophrenia medication in decades with a new mechanism of action won US regulatory approval. The drug, KarXT (sold as Cobenfy), targets proteins in the brain known as muscarinic receptors, which relay neurotransmitter signals between neurons and other cells.
Activating these receptors dampens the release of the chemical dopamine, a nervous-system messenger that is central to the symptoms of schizophrenia.
The approval is an example of what molecular pharmacologist Andrew Tobin calls “an emerging golden age of muscarinic drug development”.
The area has its roots in antiquity, he notes: ancient Egyptians treated airway disease by breathing the smoke from a herb containing a muscarinic receptor antagonist.
Now, with a better understanding of the receptor’s biology and advances in drug design, these medications offer promise for other hard-to-treat neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease which can be treated with a Middle East secret you can buy at the supermarket.
Microplastics and your testicles: a poster from the NY subway train
Microplastics and your testicles: a poster from the NY subway train
Plastic pollution is creating a ‘plastisphere’: a widespread habitat that includes pathogenic viruses and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, a group of environmental researchers highlights. The problem has no easy fix, but the ecosystems of the plastisphere must be thoroughly studied, with consistent sources of funding and backing from policymakers, if we’re to mitigate the risks posed by the pathogens lurking within.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Waleed bin Salman, Vice Chairman of Etihad Clean Energy Development, Yousuf Mohammad Ali, DSVP Group Procurement and Logistics at Emirates Group. Abdul Nasser Akil Abbas, Executive Director and Board member of Etihad ESCO. Dr. Waleed Alnuaimi, CEO of Etihad ESCO. Devarajan Srinivasan, SVP Facilities and Asset Management at Emirates Group.
L to R: Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Waleed bin Salman, Yousuf Mohammad Ali, Abdul Nasser Akil Abbas, Waleed Alnuaimi, Devarajan Srinivasan.
In a significant move towards enhancing energy efficiency and sustainability, Emirates the official airline of the UAE has partnered with Etihad Clean Energy Development to launch a large-scale solar energy project at the Emirates Engineering Centre in Dubai.
The signing ceremony took place at the World Green Economy Summit 2024 in the presence of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, and Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group; and Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, and Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).
The project includes the development, engineering, procurement, construction, testing, and commissioning of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at Emirates Engineering Centre, along with 20 years of operation and maintenance services.
A total of 39,960 solar panels will be installed, providing 37% of the facility’s annual energy consumption and reducing CO2 equivalent emissions by over 13,000 tonnes each year when fully operational. The total capacity is 23,177 kWp, with an estimated annual generation of 34,301,960 kWh.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, stands in front of the the first world functional 3D printed offices during the official opening in Dubai May 23, 2016.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said: “This initiative highlights Emirates’ commitment and continued investment in renewable energy solutions as part of our sustainability strategy. By integrating solar energy into the Emirates Engineering Centre, we are significantly reducing our carbon footprint while supporting the UAE’s clean energy goals. We are pleased to partner with Etihad Clean Energy Development in this solar PV project, which adds another milestone in our sustainability journey and greatly expands the number of solar installations at our facilities.”
Saeed Al Mohammed Tayer said: “Etihad Clean Energy Development, a leading provider of energy efficiency solutions in the region, will spearhead the project, showcasing its expertise in delivering high-performance energy systems. Through this partnership, Etihad Clean Energy Development and Emirates Airline will ensure the long-term operational efficiency of the solar PV systems while achieving substantial reductions in carbon emissions and energy costs. We are proud to collaborate with Emirates Airline on this landmark project. Our partnership not only supports the UAE’s vision for a sustainable future but also sets a precedent for renewable energy adoption in the aviation sector.”
With a 20-year agreement for operation and maintenance, the solar PV systems will contribute to long-term environmental benefits, ensuring that the Emirates Engineering Centre continues to operate efficiently using clean energy. This project is part of both companies’ broader efforts to support the UAE’s sustainability agenda, which focuses on reducing reliance on non-renewable energy sources and driving progress towards a low-carbon future.
Other Emirates-owned and managed facilities in Dubai with solar panel installations include: the Emirates Flight Catering facility, and The Sevens Stadium which boasts the region’s first and largest solar carport at a sporting facility.
Global warming could increase the threat posed to whale sharks from large ships, according to a new study published in Nature Climate Change.
Researchers from the Marine Biological Association (MBA) and University of Southampton predict that increased ocean temperatures will see this already endangered species driven into new habitats crossed by busy shipping lanes.
The study predicts that the co-occurrence of whale sharks and large ships could be 15,000 times higher by the end of the century compared to the present day.
Lead author Dr Freya Womersley, Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the MBA and University of Southampton said: “These shifts in the whale sharks’ habitat were most extreme under high emission scenarios. A global reshuffling could lead to core habitat losses in some areas as well as increased co-occurrence with shipping traffic as oceans warm and other variables change.”
Whale shark injuries up close
Whale sharks, the world’s largest fish, are highly mobile and responsive to changes in temperature. Recent evidence suggests they are also particularly vulnerable to ship strikes – where large marine animals are struck and injured, often fatally, by large vessels in the global fleet.
Researchers used whale shark satellite-tracking data coupled with global climate models to project the distribution of whale sharks under three different future climate scenarios.
The models project core habitat losses of over 50% in some national waters by 2100 under high emissions (where we continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels), with the greatest potential losses in Asia. Under a sustainable development scenario (in line with the target of no more than 2°C of global warming), some areas showed a gain in core habitat, notably in Europe.
“The shifts we predict are likely to be less extreme if we are able to slow warming and mitigate climate change, suggesting that even complex, multi-factor impacts of climate change can be somewhat alleviated by our actions,” says Professor David Sims, co-author and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southampton and MBA.
The team paired the distribution maps with information on shipping traffic density to determine if these habitat shifts would see whale sharks move into more heavily trafficked areas in the future, potentially increasing the likelihood of ship strikes.
They found that some newly suitable habitats overlapped with busy shipping routes. This was the case in the US part of the north Pacific Ocean, the Japanese part of the eastern China Seas, and the Sierra Leonian part of the north Atlantic Ocean, among many other sites globally.
Some areas, such as the Mexican part of the Gulf of Mexico, saw reductions in co-occurrence, where core habitats shifted into more coastal waters, away from the busy shipping routes in the centre of the Gulf.
Professor Sims says: “Overall ship co-occurrence increased under all future climate scenarios, even if shipping remained at current levels, rather than its anticipated expansion of up to 1,200 per cent by 2050.”
Womersley added: “We show that climate change has the potential to indirectly impact highly-mobile marine species through interacting pressures of humans and the environment. This highlights the importance of factoring climate change into discussions around endangered species management.”
Perhaps a software engineer can help solve this by timing migrating patterns with shipping routes.
Scientists at The University of Texas at El Paso and Stanford University were recently surprised to find that the natural community of zooplankton — tiny, aquatic animals known to graze on bacteria— present in freshwater and saltwater do not clean water that is contaminated with fecal microorganisms. That means poo.
The research, published today in the biology journal mSphere, reveals important insights about the limitations of zooplankton in treating bodies of water that have been contaminated with fecal organisms, the team said. A 2017 US water quality inventory revealed that over 50% of rivers, bays and estuaries were unsafe for at least one use, in many cases because of fecal contamination.
“When sewage is released into clean bodies of water and humans are exposed to it, it can lead to illness in humans,” said Lauren Kennedy, Ph.D., assistant professor of civil engineering at UTEP, who is the corresponding author on the study. “Our research seeks to understand what factors can render pathogens unable to infect people. In other words, how long does it take for the water to become safe for recreation again without any forms of outside intervention?”
Kennedy explained that water from sewage and septic tanks can accidentally enter bodies of freshwater as a result of accidents, inadequate water treatment or corroded infrastructure.
The authors hypothesized that zooplankton naturally present in water might graze on microorganisms from fecal contamination, inactivating the organisms and effectively “cleaning” the water.
To test this idea, the team added a virus called MS2 and the bacteria E.coli to samples of freshwater and saltwater taken from the San Francisco Bay area of California. MS2 and E.coli are considered useful proxies for scientific research, Kennedy said, because they are present at high concentrations in sewage and their presence often indicates fecal contamination in the environment. The water samples naturally contained both “large” particles like zooplankton, sand and dirt, and “small” or dissolved particles like salt.
They found that the large particles, including zooplankton, did not have a significant effect on the inactivation of the pathogen proxies. The small particles, however, seemed to have a greater impact. The pathogen proxies were inactivated at higher rates in high-salinity water, for example, ocean water taken from San Pedro Beach.
“I am proud that we were able to provide another perspective to consider for surface water remediation efforts,” Kennedy said.
The research, she added, is an important step forward in understanding the limits of zooplankton as natural “cleaners” of contaminated water. The next phases of the research will focus on the impact of salinity on pathogen survival in contaminated waters.
Gift giving might be better friendship glue than a late night support chat
There is an expression from Jewish sages: choose a rabbi, buy a friend. Research now shows that at least the second part of the expression rings true when put to the test.
Researchers found that the next time you’re looking to cheer up a friend or loved one, giving them a small gift — flowers, candy, a homemade treat — may lift their spirits faster and better than a supportive talk or text chat.
A new research paper co-authored by Hillary Wiener, assistant professor of marketing at UAlbany’s Massry School of Business, finds that receivers of support “perceive a gift to be a larger sacrifice” by the support giver rather than a conversation. This perceived difference in sacrifice results in gifts being more effective at “promoting emotional recovery” or, in other words, making recipients feel better.
The paper, “Money can buy me love: Gifts are a more effective form of acute social support than conversations,” was published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology. Co-authors are Holly Howe from HEC Montreal and Tanya Chartrand from Duke University.
“A gift that’s given — outside of a birthday or holidays — feels more like they were really thinking about you. They went out of their way to do something special for you,” Wiener says of the findings. “And it’s that feeling of being cared about that makes people feel better.”
Sustainable gifts are simple and natural
The research deployed seven studies, including a behavioral analysis of live interactions between 81 pairs of genuine friends with actual sacrifices of time and money. In that study, the friends were assigned roles of “support givers” and “support receivers.”
The latter group wrote private notes, unseen by researchers, about situations for which they wanted support. The former group, the givers, were further divided to either give a small gift or to have a talk with their friend. Researchers checked to ensure the gifts and time were of comparable value. As expected, the support recipients reported feeling better after receiving the gifts versus having the talks. The six other studies examined aspects such as why recipients perceive gifts as a larger sacrifice, the intentionality of the gift and how direct enjoyment plays a role.
Wiener knows that the finding may seem counterintuitive, perhaps even controversial to some.
“I think there’s this idea in society that … talking to others can be difficult and that you shouldn’t just buy your way out of doing it,” says Wiener. “What I really like about this finding is that it’s kind of a win-win where the thing that feels easier for the giver is actually more beneficial for the recipient.”
Wiener and her research partners acknowledge more studies need to be done and caution that constant gifts and higher perceived levels of sacrifice could actually cause feelings of indebtedness or even guilt in the recipient. If you’re thinking that springing for a shared gift experience, like a spa treatment or kayaking trip is the perfect answer, the researchers say to consider that the gesture could be perceived by the recipient as partially self-motivated.
A key region of Antarctica is getting warmer and therefore greener with alarming speed — a trend that will spur rapid change of Antarctic ecosystems say climate change researchers.
“It’s the beginning of dramatic transformation,” says remote-sensing specialist and study co-author Olly Bartlett.
Vegetation cover across the Antarctic Peninsula has increased more than tenfold over the last four decades, new research shows.
The new study – by the universities of Exeter and Hertfordshire, and the British Antarctic Survey – used satellite data to assess how much the Antarctic Peninsula has been “greening” in response to climate change.
It found that the area of vegetation cover across the Peninsula increased from less than one square kilometre in 1986 to almost 12 square kilometres by 2021.
Published in the journal Nature Geoscience, the study also found this greening trend accelerated by over 30% in recent years (2016-2021) relative to the full study period (1986-2021) – expanding by over 400,000 square metres per year in this period.
In a previous study, which examined core samples taken from moss-dominated ecosystems on the Antarctic Peninsula, the team found evidence that rates of plant growth had increased dramatically in recent decades. This new study uses satellite imagery to confirm that a widespread greening trend, across the Antarctic Peninsula, is under way and accelerating.
“The plants we find on the Antarctic Peninsula – mostly mosses – grow in perhaps the harshest conditions on Earth,” said Dr Thomas Roland, from the University of Exeter.
“The landscape is still almost entirely dominated by snow, ice and rock, with only a tiny fraction colonised by plant life.
“But that tiny fraction has grown dramatically – showing that even this vast and isolated ‘wilderness’ is being affected by anthropogenic climate change.”
Norsel Point. Credit Dan Charman
Olly Bartlett, from the University of Hertfordshire, added: “As these ecosystems become more established – and the climate continues to warm – it’s likely that the extent of greening will increase.
“Soil in Antarctica is mostly poor or non-existent, but this increase in plant life will add organic matter, and facilitate soil formation – potentially paving the way for other plants to grow.
“This raises the risk of non-native and invasive species arriving, possibly carried by eco-tourists, scientists or other visitors to the continent.”
The researchers emphasise the urgent need for further research to establish the specific climate and environmental mechanisms that are driving the “greening” trend.
“The sensitivity of the Antarctic Peninsula’s vegetation to climate change is now clear and, under future anthropogenic warming, we could see fundamental changes to the biology and landscape of this iconic and vulnerable region,” said Dr Roland: “Our findings raise serious concerns about the environmental future of the Antarctic Peninsula, and of the continent as a whole. In order to protect Antarctica, we must understand these changes and identify precisely what is causing them.”
When exposed to static for 30 minutes daily, the fungal soil microbe Trichoderma harzianum, pictured here, grew more massive and produced more spores than microbes kept in silence.U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service/Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory via Wikimedia Commons
Medical marijuana growers swear by it: that music from different styles enhances the growth of their plants. This is the reason why parents in the 80s played Mozart to their embryos.
There may be something to it:
Soil microbes enjoy bouts of white noise finds scientists in a new research project. Fungal soil microbes that promote plant growth seem to get a boost from white noise. Researchers say it’s like hosting an underground rave.
Members of the the Flinders ecoacoustics team listening to soil (left to right): Dr Jake Robinson, Associate Professor Martin Breed, Nicole Fickling, Amy Annells and Alex Taylor. Photo and animation by Traci Klarenbeek (Flinders University).
When scientists periodically played a noise similar to radio static to Trichoderma harzianum, the fungi grew bigger and produced more spores than other samples grown in a soundproof booth. The vibrations might stimulate mechanoreceptors in Trichoderma’s cell walls, which alters the expression of genes involved in growth, suggest researchers.
Barely audible to human ears, healthy soils produce a cacophony of sounds in many forms – a bit like an underground rave concert of bubbles and clicks.
Special recordings made by Flinders University ecologists in Australia show this chaotic mixture of soundscapes can be a measure of the diversity of tiny living animals in the soil, which create sounds as they move and interact with their environment.
With 75% of the world’s soils degraded, the future of the teeming community of living species that live underground face a dire future without restoration, says microbial ecologist Dr Jake Robinson, from the Frontiers of Restoration Ecology Lab in the College of Science and Engineering at Flinders University.
This new field of research aims to investigate the vast, teeming hidden ecosystems where almost 60% of the Earth’s species live, he says.
“Restoring and monitoring soil biodiversity has never been more important.
“Although still in its early stages, ‘eco-acoustics’ is emerging as a promising tool to detect and monitor soil biodiversity and has now been used in Australian bushland and other ecosystems in the UK.
“The acoustic complexity and diversity are significantly higher in revegetated and remnant plots than in cleared plots, both in-situ and in sound attenuation chambers.
“The acoustic complexity and diversity are also significantly associated with soil invertebrate abundance and richness.”
Gulf oil companies want to support circular startups.
Gulf oil companies want to support circular startups: Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun
The Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), the voice of the chemical industry in the Gulf region, is pleased to announce the launch of its brand-new networking platform – the “GPCA Startup Nexus” – which will debut during the Annual GPCA Forum from 3 to 4 December 2024 at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, in Muscat, Oman.
For the first time, “GPCA Startup Nexus” will provide young startup companies with a stage to present their unique and forward-looking technologies to a broad audience of investors, experts and decision-makers from chemical companies and international players.
During the forum10 young and motivated startups engaged in advancing the circular economy and climate action will showcase their technologies in Shark Tank-style presentations and take questions from the audience.
During the forum, they will have the invaluable opportunity to forge new connections with large established companies and international investors and promote their solutions. The aim is to create a network of mutual exchange that catalyzes collaboration and to stimulate investments.
The deadline to submit applications and become part of the GPCA Startup Nexus has now been extended until October 7, 2024. Startups established less than seven years ago and with a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) higher than 4 will have the opportunity to apply for one of the coveted places in the two technology fields – circular economy and climate action.
The top five companies in each of the two categories will be shortlisted by an Expert Panel, comprising seven esteemed industry veterans with significant leadership experience in research and innovation at chemical and petrochemical firms.
GPCA will provide eight more startups, which have not been established yet or whose technology has not progressed beyond TRL 4, with the opportunity to apply, connect with potential investors and promote their brand through short “elevator pitch” presentations.
Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, Secretary General, GPCA, commented: “In line with our effort to stimulate collaboration and innovation in the chemical ecosystem, we are providing a unique opportunity to emerging and established startups from around the region to take part in the “GPCA Startup Nexus” and present their successful innovations and technologies in the field of circular economy and climate action on the sidelines of the 18th Annual GPCA Forum. We truly believe that the solution to climate innovation depends on cross-sector collaboration, where stakeholders from across the board come together, share their experiences and knowledge and collaborate for a cleaner, more resource-efficient and smarter future.”
Last year 2023 saw the highest ever increase in renewable energy jobs, from 13.7 million in 2022 to 16.2 million, according to the newly released Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2024 by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). The 18% year-on-year leap reflects the strong growth of renewables generating capacities, together with a continued expansion of equipment manufacturing.
A closer look at the report’s data, however, shows an uneven global picture. Close to two-thirds of new global solar and wind capacity were installed in China alone last year. China leads with an estimated 7.4 million renewable energy jobs, or 46% of the global total. The EU followed suit with 1.8 million, Brazil with 1.56 million, and the United States and India, each with close to 1 million jobs.
As in the past few years, the strongest impetus came from the rapidly growing solar photovoltaics (PV) sector, which supported 7.2 million jobs globally. Of these, 4.6 million were in China, the dominant PV manufacturer and installer. Enabled by significant Chinese investments, Southeast Asia has emerged as an important export hub of solar PV, creating jobs in the region.
Liquid biofuels had the second-largest number of jobs, followed by hydropower and wind. Brazil topped the biofuels ranks, accounting for one third of the world’s 2.8 million jobs in this sector. Soaring production put Indonesia in second, with a quarter of global biofuels jobs.
Due to a slowdown in deployment, hydropower became an outlier to the overall growth trend, with the number of direct jobs estimated to have shrunk from 2.5 million in 2022 to 2.3 million. China, India, Brazil, Vietnam and Pakistan were the largest employers in the industry.
In the wind sector, China and Europe remain dominant. As leaders in turbine manufacturing and installations, they contributed 52% and 21% to the global total of 1.5 million jobs, respectively.
Africa’s impact still small
Despite a great promise from Desertec, bringing solar power from Africa to Europe, Africa’s impact is still small. Africa continues to receive only a small share of global renewables investments, which translated into a total of 324,000 renewables jobs in 2023.
For regions in urgent need of reliable and sustainable energy access like Africa, and especially in remote areas, decentralised renewable energy (DRE) solutions–stand-alone systems that are not connected to the utility grids–present an opportunity to both plug the access gap and generate jobs. See Innovation: Africa. Removing barriers for women to start entrepreneurship initiatives in DRE can stimulate the sector, resulting in improved local economies and energy equity.
Acknowledging the high degree of geographic concentration, Francesco La Camera, IRENA Director-General, said, “The story of the energy transition and its socio-economic gains should not be about one or two regions. If we are all to fulfil our collective pledge to triple renewable power capacity by 2030, the world must step up its game and support marginalised regions in addressing barriers impeding their transitions progress. Strengthened international collaboration can mobilise increased finance towards policy support and capacity building in countries that are yet to benefit from renewables job creation.”
To meet the energy transitions’ growing demand for diverse skills and talents, policies must support measures in favour of greater workforce diversity and gender equity. Representing 32% of the renewables total workforce, women continue to hold an unequal share even as the number of jobs keeps rising. It is essential that education and trainings lead to diverse job opportunities for women, youth, and members of minority and disadvantaged groups.
“Investing in education, skills, and training helps reskill all workers from fossil fuel sectors, address gender or other disparities, and prepare the workforce for new clean energy roles. It is essential if we are to equip workers with the knowledge and skills that they need to get decent jobs, and to ensure that the energy transition is a just and sustainable one. A sustainable transition is what the Paris Agreement requires of us, and what we committed to achieving when we signed up to the Agreement,” explained ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo.
This 11th edition of the Annual Review is part of IRENA’s extensive analytical work on the socio-economic impacts of a renewables-based energy transition. This edition—which is the 4th edition developed in collaboration with ILO–underscores the importance of a people- and planet-centred approach to achieve a just and inclusive transition.
It calls for a holistic policy framework that goes beyond the pursuit of technological innovation to rapidly meet the tripling target at the lowest-possible cost, and prioritises local value creation, ensures the creation of decent jobs, and builds on active participation by workers and communities in shaping the energy transition. Building on its expertise on the world of work, the ILO contributed the report’s chapter on skills.
The report is found here.
IRENA or The International Renewable Energy Agency is an intergovernmental organization, founded in 2009, and mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is based in Masdar City, UAE.
Masdar Accelerates U.S. Renewables Expansion, Closes Acquisition of 50% Stake in Terra-Gen
The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company known as Masdar in the UAE has bought a 50 percent stake in Terra-Gen, one of the largest independent renewable energy producers in the United States, from Energy Capital Partners. Masdar is the same company that created the ambitious but failed zero-energy city outside of Abu Dhabi.
ECP is one of the largest private investors in power and renewable assets in the United States says it has fully exited its position in Terra-Gen in connection with the closing of the transaction. Igneo Infrastructure Partners, a global infrastructure investment manager, retains its existing 50 percent stake in Terra-Gen.
Before the Terra-Gen acquisition, Masdar’s US portfolio of utility scale wind, solar and storage assets had a generating capacity of more than 1.4GW. The US market and Terra-Gen’s scalable platform will play important roles as Masdar executes its plan to build 100GW of capacity in its global renewable energy portfolio by 2030. Also it is important for the UAE to develop strong business ties with the west as it looks to distance itself from unstable regimes such as the Iranian Islamic Republic, and countries like Turkey which are aligning with Russia in energy production such as nuclear.
While Qatar funds terror and unrest, the UAE has become a partner that the west can trust.
Terra-Gen wind turbines
Terra-Gen’s gross operating portfolio currently comprises 3.8GW of wind, solar and battery storage projects, including 5.1GWh of energy storage facilities across 30 renewable power sites throughout the US, predominantly in California and Texas.
Terra-Gen is currently developing more than 12GW of wind, solar and battery storage projects in the US, with its projects in California, Texas and New York, including a 386MW of Texas wind and California solar project, and 512MWh of California energy storage facilities, with commercial operations anticipated in 2025.
Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar, says: “The UAE and U.S. have long been partners in efforts to advance clean energy, a collaboration culminating in the Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE) agreement.
“Masdar has a strong track record of supporting US renewable energy projects, and the acquisition of Terra-Gen reaffirms this long-standing commitment. We are now on target to surpass our goal of having 10GW of integrated renewable generation capacity in the US by 2030.
Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, the CEO of Masdar says: “Terra-Gen’s experienced management team and scalable platform make it the ideal partner, as we work to increase our presence and investment in the US as part of Masdar’s commitment to a long-term strategy in this important market.”
Masdar’s commitment to the US market reflects the UAE’s strong ties to the country. In January 2023, UAE and US officials announced that US$20 billion will be allocated to fund 15GW of clean energy projects in the US before 2035, led by Masdar and a consortium of US private investors, under the Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE) between the two countries. Earlier this year Microsoft invested $1.5 Billion USD to co-develop AI with G42, a UAE based company now working with Nvidia to build weather forecasting models to combat climate change with AI.
Saudi Arabia is pouring billions of its oil profits from its family-owned oil business Saudi Aramco to make Saudi Arabia an attractive destination for Westerners. Saudi Arabia wants to rival the United Arab Emirates in its openness to Western values and business. It was not long ago (6 years) that Saudi Arabian women were allowed to drive. But now with the investment into Saudi Arabia’s mega-developments called Neom, the country has started inviting and paying American influencers to live in the15-minute city being created at the Red Sea, called The Line.
South Africa influencer Jessica Ashley Herman has moved into a Neom complex in Saudi Arabia with her family, and commenters on social media, X are not kind. “Low security prison vibes,” writes one user.
“Is this supposed to convince people to work out in the desert for a penal colony?”
“Looks like nothing any sane person would want to live the rest of one’s life.”
“Dude this is the stuff of nightmares.”
“Oil pipeline camp vibes.”
“We were promised stuff from an 80s sci-fi film and we got an 80s office park.”
Planned cities are difficult to build. When the United Arab Emirates built Masdar as the world’s first zero-carbon city, good thing they kept the flop of a city small. It never became a thing, and when engineering students moved into it they weren’t even allowed to write about it and its problems. We did have a secret submission years ago. It’s posted here.
So what about you? Think you will relocate to Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia is investing billions to make the desert and Red Sea area the playground for the rich and famous hoping it can become the new Cannes. We believe that a city without a purpose and a heart will flop.
Also worth noting, the Houthis had been firing rockets at Saudi Arabia before they took up the cause to support the Hamas and fire rockets at Israel. If Saudi Arabia can’t join some peacekeeping force ASAP no westerner will want to set foot anywhere close to the Red Sea.
Among the lush and fertile lands in the northwestern region of Iran, the Bactrian camels roam the area once again. The revival of this specific Iranian camelid species takes place in Ardabil city, a bustling capital surrounded by the Moghan plain. A symbol of Ardabil’s cultural heritage, these camels were facing the threat of extinction due to changing land use and to the high cost and scarcity of fodder.
“Our ancestors cared for the Bactrian camels for generations, motivated not by profit, but by a deep passion for these magnificent animals,” reflects Ashkan Dadjoo, a 28-year-old camel producer. “But sustaining them became increasingly challenging as our pastures shrank, making way for farmlands.”
Recognizing the livelihood and economic potential of these animals, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the local Ministry of Agriculture – Jahad, embarked on a transformation of the camelid sector to tap into activities such as agritourism, livestock feed production, wool and milk processing.
Camel wool made from bactrian camels
Bactrian two humped camel in Iran
FAO’s project centred on the conservation of Bactrian camels and equipped local communities with knowledge on sustainable camel production practices as well as on harnessing the potential of camelid products.
Ensuring the health of camels
The health and conservation of the Bactrians were first and foremost for the project.
To ensure this species’ continued existence, FAO assisted in establishing the Bactrian Camel Owner Cooperative where camel herders receive proper training, equipment and tools to care for their animals. For example, FAO provided feeding equipment such as a mill mixer and silage bagger, which allowed herders to produce enough feed for their own herd and to earn income from selling supplementary feed. The initiative was vital in ensuring that the camels received sufficient nutrition, essential for their health and long-term productivity.
Additionally, FAO supplied small-scale herders with nutritional supplements, vaccines and medicines to help improve the well-being of their camels. A study tour to Dubai on camel breeding and advanced reproductive techniques gave camel herders valuable insight into embryo freezing and artificial insemination.
Emaciated camel in Charmshahr, Iran. This is a one-humped camel.
The project also provided herders with the knowledge and capacity to capitalize on agritourism opportunities. An agritourism expert and a facilitator who worked closely with local nomads were brought in to teach herders ways to attract tourists interested in traditional camel herding and the cultural heritage of Ardabil. Their guidance on marketing these experiences not only focused on economic benefits but also on the importance of preserving the cultural and environmental significance of the camels.
Moreover, incorporating technology into camel production practices boosted conservation efforts for this unique species. The introduction of the Sareban Yar application, which records the overall health performance of the camels, was customised to include the Bactrian species and thus enabled camel producers to efficiently manage their herds. Microchips were also introduced to identify the camels, helping the government to keep track of the population and further strategic conservation efforts.
“FAO entered the scene when Bactrian camels were on the verge of extinction and made us realize that with unity, we can pave the way toward preventing extinction while generating income,” says Mohammad Shahandeh, a camel producer and participant in the project trainings.
Reviving skills
Central to the transformation of Ardabil’s camelid sector were the women of the community, whose traditional weaving skills were also revitalised and enhanced with new technology.
FAO’s initiative provided training and workshops for wool processing. With new equipment such as manual yarn spinning wheels and fabric weaving machines, the women can produce higher-quality fabric more quickly than in the past.
The project started with the delivery of camel wool to South Khorasan Province where it was distributed to various workshops for processing. The women spin the processed wool to obtain high-quality yarn which is then used to create assorted wool products such as fabric and socks.
With the market value of processed yarn exceeding the value of raw wool, these processing workshops created a space for the women to utilize their traditional skills, enhancing their livelihood opportunities and empowering them to make economic decisions for themselves.
The revival of Bactrian camels in the Moghan plain not only preserved an important cultural heritage but also prompted a growth in livelihoods, while promoting sustainable production of camelid products for the future.
DairyX is successfully crafting next-gen teasty casein micelles using precision fermentation
DairyX Foods Ltd. announces a major advancementin creating authentic milk proteins without cows, using precision fermentation. The food-tech start-up has developed a method to produce casein proteins that can self-assemble into micelles. Micelles are the primary building blocks of dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt.
DairyX has also refined a complementary technology to enhance the gelation of its casein micelles, considered the holy grail of the industry. DairyX’s gelating micelles enable manufacturers to produce firm, stretchy and creamy products using their traditional dairy-making processes.
Creating a smarter casein with precision fermentation
Consumers can’t resist dairy’s taste and robust health benefits. Casein micelles are key to the appealing sensory profile of dairy products.
DairyX’s precision fermentation technology uses microorganisms (specifically yeast) to produce smart casein proteins. “Not all caseins produced using precision fermentation are alike,” explains Maya Bar-Zeev, PhD, Head of Product Development and Downstream Processing. “We trained yeast to produce the next generation of casein. DairyX’s patent-pending casein is an advanced form created to precisely and effectively organize into micelles.”
“The industry knows quite well that caseins are extremely hard to produce using precision fermentation, so our initial goal was to solve this problem. Once we successfully crafted caseins, the next major challenge was to upgrade caseins so they could self-assemble into gelating micelles to produce the dairy properties manufacturers are seeking,” explains DairyX CEO and founder Arik Ryvkin, PhD.
Currently, manufacturers of animal-free dairy products use additives, like stabilizers, emulsifiers and thickeners, which don’t perform as well as cow’s milk and can add unpleasant aftertastes. These fail to satisfy consumer cravings for a real dairy experience.
“DairyX caseins have amino acid sequences identical to those of their animal counterparts, making them, in fact, non-genetically modified,” explains Galit Kuznets, Head of Strain Development and Fermentation. “Our casein also eliminates the need for hormones and antibiotics applied in dairy farms.
For consumers, taste and price are dairy’s two most important features. DairyX addresses taste with its innovative caseins while also making non-animal dairy affordable. The company is creating yeast strains that produce exceptionally high casein yields in short timeframes. This approach ensures that DairyX’s ingredients are cost-effective – a crucial factor for adoption by dairy manufacturers.
One of the reasons BeyondMeat hasn’t taken off widely with consumers and its sales sluggish is the price point – the vegan burgers are 3 or 4 times the cost of real beef. That and the burgers leave an awful lot of coconut aftertaste and a bit of havoc on the stomach.
“Another significant challenge that dairy companies face is adapting their production facilities to use new ingredients,” Bar-Zeev explains. “This is why we created a drop-in replacement for milk that does not require process changes or retooling.”
Worldwide, 270 million cows spend their lives in the production of dairy products. Not only does this impact the cows, it also harms the environment. Dairy production is responsible for over 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions and uses excessive farmland and water. Totally eliminating cow’s milk as a food source is not practical, so DairyX is devoted to lowering the dairy industry’s dependence on traditional milk as a raw ingredient. Doing so promotes sustainability, improved animal welfare, and the use of precious land and water for better causes.
Founded in 2022, DairyX investors include: Peregrine Ventures, Jesselson, Phibro Animal Health Corporation, the Israel Innovation Authority and Incentive – Peregrine’s Incubator. The company has signed a letter of intent with CSM Ingredients and several other dairy partners.
Believer Meats from Israel
Israel is the biggest consumer of vegan food by capita. And one of the world centers for cultivating meat and dairy alternatives. Read more here.
Mellow mornings with CBD based coffee creamer heading to Walmart
Mellower mornings with CBD based coffee creamer heading to Walmart
You could find a CBD-based body scrub online, but until now Walmart was staying away from CBD-based nutraceuticals. In a new announcement this week you can now make your morning more mellow with CBD-enhanced products you can find at Walmart. CBD are the non-hallucinogenic molecules found in the cannabis plant otherwise known as medical marijuana.
The initial offerings of CBD Life Sciences, Inc. (OTC PINK:CBDL) will include Nano CBD Coffee Creamer, Mellow Mornings, and CBD Pain Cream, which have seen growing demand in local markets.
These products will now have national distribution, broadening our customer base across the US announces CBD Life Sciences: “By entering the Walmart Marketplace, we are now accessible to one of the largest retail platforms in the world, boasting over 120 million monthly visitors. This launch strategically positions CBDL to significantly increase brand visibility and consumer base.”
The company says that their yearly forecasts project a substantial revenue boost, with a projected increase of 35% in annual sales due to this new distribution channel. Revenue growth over the past 12 months has already seen a 20% rise, and they expect accelerated growth driven by this expansion.
“Our launch on Walmart Marketplace represents a monumental step forward in our growth strategy,” said Lisa Nelson, CEO of CBD Life Sciences, Inc. “We are not only expanding our reach but enhancing our capacity to deliver value to our investors. The CBD market is poised for explosive growth, and with this new distribution channel, we are strategically positioned to capitalize on the rising consumer demand.”
“As a small but rapidly growing company, we recognize that entering high-traffic marketplaces like Walmart is a powerful catalyst for scaling. We continue to prioritize innovation in our product lines and have seen positive feedback from both consumers and local retailers.
“With our products now on Walmart Marketplace, we anticipate a sharper competitive edge and a much larger footprint in the booming CBD sector, which is projected to reach $47.22 billion by 2028.
Octopus kicks away freeloading fish. In new footage, octopuses were seen punching ‘opportunistic’ fish, individuals that attached themselves to the hunting group but did not help them find food. (Eduardo Sampaio)
Octopuses recruit fish from the right “school” of thought to help them get food
Octopuses and fish have been caught on camera teaming up to hunt for prey. In a new study from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, researchers caught 13 instances of the cross-species collaboration over 120 hours of footage, showing a big blue octopus (Octopus cyanea) working with different fish species to capture meals.
Each of these scenes hinted at complex group dynamics, with different species adopting different roles. “The other fish provide several options, and then the octopus decides which one to take,” says animal-behaviour researcher and co-author Eduardo Sampaio who published his findings in Nature Ecology & Evolution. This comes on the heels of first-ever marine research that shows how coral reefs are eating laxatives and our blood pressure medication.
An octopus–fish hunting pack searches for prey. Credit: Eduardo Sampaio and Simon Gingins
“There’s this element of shared leadership.”
In new footage, shown above, octopuses were seen punching ‘opportunistic’ fish, individuals that attached themselves to the hunting group but did not help them find food. There is evidence for getting rid of freeloading friends in nature. Don’t feel guilty if you too have to kick your friend off your couch.
The octopuses also seemed to adapt and respond to different situations.
Dr. Eduardo Sampaio from the Cluster of Excellence “Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour” and researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior. Credit: Victor Rault / Captain Darwin
In some groups, certain fish species — especially blacktip groupers (Epinephelus fasciatus) — were opportunistic, attaching themselves to the group without helping to find food. In some of these cases, octopuses would use their tentacles to ‘punch’ these opportunists in what seemed to be an attempt to punish them or get them to leave the group. Sampaio, pictured above, says that the team is interested in studying whether octopuses can recognize individual fish that have previously exhibited opportunistic behaviour.
UAE-based AI company G42 has announced a strategic partnership with US chipmaker Nvidia to create advanced AI solutions for climate technology, specifically focused on improving global weather forecasting accuracy. This comes in the heels of a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft earlier this year.
As part of the collaboration, the companies will establish a climate tech lab and an operational base in Abu Dhabi, reflecting the UAE’s increasing investments in artificial intelligence.
Abu Dhabi with its investments through its renewable energy investment-wing Masdar, and its home to the international energy group IRENA, proves it can be a trusted partner and East-West bridge to American tech firms that have relied on cooperating with Israel to access the Middle East. The UAE has become what Saudi Arabia and its ruled wishes it could be. Saudi Arabia is building out nonsense “sustainable” 15-minute cities like the Line that likely no-one but the construction crew will want to live in.
The Line, a 150-mile mirrored vertical, linear city, Construction has started.
This move is part of the UAE’s broader efforts to diversify its economy away from oil, with government-backed G42 playing a central role.
Recent US-UAE collaborations include Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in G42 and the opening of two new AI centers in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, Abu Dhabi’s MGX investment company is joining a $30 billion AI infrastructure fund alongside BlackRock and Microsoft.
The announcement comes just ahead of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed‘s first visit ever to the White House, where discussions with President Biden will focus on AI, economic cooperation, and regional security. (Related: The UAE goes nuclear).
G42, a UAE-based artificial intelligence (AI) technology holding company, and Microsoft Corp. today announced a $1.5 billion strategic investment by Microsoft in G42. The investment will strengthen the two companies’ collaboration on bringing the latest Microsoft AI technologies and skilling initiatives to the UAE and other countries around the world.
As part of this expanded partnership Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, will join the G42 Board of Directors.This expanded collaboration will empower organizations of all sizes in new markets to harness the benefits of AI and the cloud while ensuring they are adopting AI that adheres to world-leading standards in safety and security.
Building on the two organizations’ long-standing collaboration in AI and digital transformation initiatives, Microsoft’s investment deepens the reciprocal commitment to this strategic partnership. G42 will run its AI applications and services on Microsoft Azure and partner to deliver advanced AI solutions to global public sector clients and large enterprises. G42 and Microsoft will also work together to bring advanced AI and digital infrastructure to countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa, providing these nations with equitable access to services to address important governmental and business concerns while ensuring the highest standards of security and privacy.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan
H.H. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of G42, said: “Microsoft’s investment in G42 marks a pivotal moment in our company’s journey of growth and innovation, signifying a strategic alignment of vision and execution between the two organizations. This partnership is a testament to the shared values and aspirations for progress, fostering greater cooperation and synergy globally.”
The partnership will also support the development of a skilled and diverse AI workforce and talent pool that will drive innovation and competitiveness for the UAE and broader region with the investment of $1B in a development fund for developers.
“Our two companies will work together not only in the UAE, but to bring AI and digital infrastructure and services to underserved nations,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft Vice Chair and President. “We will combine world-class technology with world-leading standards for safe, trusted, and responsible AI, in close coordination with the governments of both the UAE and the United States.”
The commercial partnership is backed by assurances to both governments through a first of its kind agreement to apply world-class best practices to ensure the secure, trusted, and responsible development and deployment of AI.
Microsoft and G42 (also a name for a Glock handgun) will work closely and elevate the security and compliance framework of their joint international infrastructure. Both companies will move forward with a commitment to comply with US and international trade, security, responsible AI, and business integrity laws and regulations.
The company G42 says, “Our name, inspired by Douglas Adam’s, ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, where 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything, remains our inspiration to unleash the power of advanced technologies, and particularly hashtag #AI, to explore new frontiers for humanity.”
Coral reef hunters find 10 human pharmaceuticals in the Red Sea
Coral reefs are being bathed in common household pharmaceuticals from blood pressure medication to laxatives antidepressants: A new study from Tel Aviv University at the Red Sea detected traces of 10 common medications in coral samples collected from both shallow and deep sites in the Gulf of Eilat.
Sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic used for respiratory and urinary tract infections, was found in as many as 93% of the sampled corals.
The researchers obtained a list of the most commonly used pharmaceuticals in Israel from their health services. Testing for 18 of these compounds, they detected 10 of them in the coral samples. Not even a single sample, retrieved from either shallow or deep water, was found to be drug-free.
The 10 pharmaceuticals found in the corals belonged to different categories: antibiotics, blood pressure medications, antiplatelet agents, calcium channel blockers, laxatives, proton pump inhibitors, statins, and antidepressants.
Studied coral genera Acropora sp. and Favites sp. growing on artificial substrates in the Underground Restaurant study site.
The alarming study was led by Prof. Noa Shenkar and her PhD student Gal Navon, in collaboration with the Hydrochemistry laboratory led by Prof. Dror Avisar. The results were published in the prestigious journal Environmental Pollution.
“In this first-of-its-kind study, we conducted a large-scale investigation for detection of pharmaceuticals in corals,” says Prof. Shenkar. “We sampled 96 reef-building stony corals representing two types, Acropora sp. and Favites sp., in shallow sites (5-12 meters) as well as deeper sites beyond the limits of recreational diving (30-40 meters).
Coral reefs, the depths and the drugs they are exposed to
“We were surprised to find an extensive presence of medications even in the deep-water corals – which usually escape contaminations affecting corals in shallower areas.”
“What does the presence of pharmaceuticals in corals actually mean? Clearly, the corals did not receive a prescription for antibiotics from their doctor,” explains Prof. Shenkar. “These medications are taken by humans to affect a certain receptor or biological pathway, and they can also impact other organisms.
Noa Shenkar underwaterNoa Shenkar
“Previous studies, conducted by both our lab and others, have revealed many examples of this negative impact: estrogen from birth control contraceptive pills induces female features in male fish, impairing reproduction in certain species; Prozac makes some crabs aggressive and reckless; and antidepressants damage the memory and learning abilities of squids.
“There is no reason to believe that corals should be immune to such effects. For instance, if our pharmaceuticals should disrupt the spawning synchrony of coral populations, it would take us a long time to notice the problem, and when we do, it might be too late.”
Studied coral genera Acropora sp. and Favites sp. growing on artificial substrates in the Underground Restaurant study site.
“Stony corals build coral reefs, and the types we studied are very common in the Gulf of Eilat,” adds Gal Navon. “Coral reefs are a cornerstone of marine biodiversity. They provide food, shelter, and spawning sites to numerous species, and support the human fishing and tourism industries. Today this delicate ecosystem is under pressure as a result of climate change, pollution, and overfishing. The presence of pharmaceuticals in coral tissues adds another layer of concern, indicating that human activities even contaminate faraway marine environments.”
“Clearly these medications save lives, and we have no intention of requesting people to reduce their use,” says Prof. Shenkar. “However, we must develop new sewage treatment methods that can effectively handle pharmaceutical compounds. Also, each of us must dispose of old medications in ways that do not harm the environment. Ultimately these drugs come back to us. I know people who avoid medications, but when they eat a fish, they might unknowingly consume a ‘cocktail’ of drug residues absorbed by the fish from the marine environment.”
Persian social media is full of young people who say they were shot in the eye by security forces
The year is 1403 in the Persian calendar
Travel around China and the time zone never changes. Compare this to Canada which is about the same size as China and Canada switches time zones 3.5 times from one coast to the other. It is normally known as the China Standard Time (CST).
The current weekend in Iran as it is means Iran only matches the global markets for four consecutive days of the week, harming economic growth, according to to economists in Iran.
While the Iranian parliament agreed to shift the weekend this past May 15, the Islamic Guardian Council, rejected it saying it will harm Islamic values.
Persian social media is full of young people who say they were shot in the eye by security forces
Iran, once a western-like country with freedom of culture, movement, dress, and expression is now run by Islamic ideologists who impose sharia law on Iranian people who are not Muslim or who identify as secular. Iran also has an Islamic morality police that arrest women for not wearing the appropriate Muslim dress code. Some women have died in custody of the morality police. Others have lost eyes protesting the tough, conservative control the Iranian regime has on the people.
Some of the outspoken people from Iran are saying the recent attack on the Iranian-funded Hezbollah is poetic justice. Hundreds of pagers blew up last week, causing blindness in hundreds of terrorists who were waiting for commands from Hassan Nasrallah.
“The hypocrisy is glaring: the same regime that intentionally blinded peaceful ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protesters in Iran is now offering medical care to Hezbollah operatives who lost their eyesight to pager explosions,” says Masih Alinejad, an activast against the Iranian regime, who is based in the US: “Two years ago, when people took to the streets to peacefully protest the brutal murder of #MahsaAmini at the hands of the morality police, the IRGC and some Hezbollah operatives shot people in the eyes and blinded them.
“Now, on the second anniversary of the uprising, the very regime’s ambassador to Lebanon and its other proxies have lost their eyes.”
A space elevator, also called a space bridge, star ladder, or orbital lift, is a proposed type of planet-to-space transportation system, often depicted in science fiction. The main component of a space elevator would be a cable anchored to the surface and extending into space.
Futuristic Japan is planning one for the year 2050. Obayashi Corporation aims to connect Earth to space with an 80,000 mile cable made from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) allowing 30 passengers to be launched into space at about 150mph, getting them to a space station in about a week.
Japan’s Obayashi Corporation space elevator
The discovery of CNTs by a Japanese engineer in 1991 has pushed this vision forward, with potential launches of the construction project to begin as early as next year. Japan is not the first to come up with the idea of a space elevator.
In 1895, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky proposed to build a space elevator that could reach from Earth into space; it never got off the ground, but in 1957 another Russian – Yuri Artsutanov – came up with a more plausible idea. It wasn’t built either, but he had a chance to judge a team of Israeli students who were tackling the concept anew.
In Japan, the the space elevator construction would be multi-stage process with materials transported via rocket to low Earth orbit where a spaceship will use electric propulsion to ascend to geostationary Earth orbit.
One of the significant advantages of the space elevator, says the Obayashi Corporation is its cost-effectiveness and sustainability. Traditional rocket launches are expensive and polluting. Each launch could cost just a few thousand dollars, making space access more affordable and frequent. This project aligns with Japan’s goals for carbon neutrality by 2050, providing a greener alternative to current space travel technologies.
Maybe they can figure out a way to get space junk out of orbit at the same time.
Obayashi Corporation is one of five major Japanese construction companies along with Shimizu Corporation, Takenaka Corporation, Kajima Corporation, and Taisei Corporation. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is one of the Nikkei 225 corporations. Its headquarters are in Minato, Tokyo.
About 25 years ago when the environment movement was becoming a thing, we heard the strangest idea: that people were opting out of having children to save the planet.
We spent a few days with an editor at Grist magazine in Helsinki who told us she is child-free and proud –– here is her essay. And it’s been a topic of shame and ridicule in the eco movement if you do have kids.
Environmental concerns and climate change has been a top reason for at least 5% of Americans to remain childless, data from the Pew Research Center shows.
A relatively obscure movement believes there is a more radical way for us to save the planet: by depopulating to the point that people go extinct.
The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (VHEMT) is an environmental movement, led by Les Knight that calls for all people to abstain from reproduction in order to cause the gradual voluntary extinction of humankind. VHEMT supports human extinction primarily because it would prevent environmental degradation.
It’s voluntary head Les Knight advocates: “May we live long and die out.” He posts material on X that support women’s rights in Iran but which denies that rapes by Hamas in Israel were committed, not linking to the fact that the dehumanization of women in Iran is directly caused by the Iranian jihadists who are funding Hamas terror.
Some gene lines should be discontinued.
The Shakers, a now defunct sect of Christianity practiced celibacy, communal living, confession of sin, egalitarianism, and pacifism. According to material from the Alfred Shaker Museum in the US, the Shaker population started to decline slowly in the 1860’s not because people were dying off: one of the reasons the Shaker population started declining was because of the fact that many people didn’t believe in the Shaker’s religious views.
Shakers were minimalist designers and are admired for that in today’s design world.
Shaker Design re-imagined in New York
As time went on, more and more people practiced other religions instead, such as Catholicism.
House with solar panels on it engulfed in flames. Some blame Israel for the pager attack and attack on iPhones and solar panels in Lebanon. DW: claims are false.
House with solar panels on it engulfed in flames. Some blame Israel for attack on iPhones and solar panels in Lebanon. DW: claims are false.
After Hezbollah-targeted pagers and walkie talkies blew up last week killing dozens and wounding hundreds of Hezbollah terrorists, a rumor started from Lebanon that the cyber group also attacked solar panels.
According to fact checkers at Deutsche Welle, a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget (the German CBC or BBC), the claims are false.
While Israel has never claimed that they caused the pager explosions, DW writes:
Claim: Other social media users insinuated that Israel had caused solar panels to burst into flames. “Lebanon: Sabotaged solar panels have started significant electrical fires. Over 500 individuals have been reported injured so far”, this user wrote featuring an Israeli flag. Attached was an image of burning solar panels and a house on fire.
DW Fact check:False. There are no documented cases of exploding solar panels in the current attacks in Lebanon. The image shown on X is a collage of two old pictures.
So far, only pagers and walkie-talkies exploded in Lebanon according to both regional and international news, says DW. While Hezbollah and Iran both hold Israel accountable for the explosions it’s not confirmed who is responsible for the attacks. Those Lebanese who invested in foldable and portable solar power systems are safe, granted they did not rent their garage to the Hezbollah as a missile-launch pad.
An interview with BioprocessH20 Tim Burns, company CEO, entrepreneuring wastewater treatment for the Food and Beverage industry
Water is the most extensively used raw material in the food and beverage industry. It is used for processing, as an additive to products, but also as a cleaning agent. But waste can’t just go down the drain.
Due to heavy loads of chemicals and biological waste, industrially processed water needs to be filtered before it goes to the municipal water treatment center. The industrial sector can have an impact on the environment and economy as a result of rising water demand and wastewater production. In some US states aquifers have run dry. With the increasing scarcity of drinking water, the reuse of wastewater has become an important economic and ecological concern. Optimizing water consumption and wastewater reuse in the food industry is necessary for business reasons and a growing list of environmental ones enforced by governments.
Food processors, industrial manufacturers, automobile manufacturers, oil and gas companies and more all need to be mindful of the wastewater they produce when they conduct their core business.
All forms of waste, whether liquid or solid, require specialized treatment methods before disposal. Where do companies turn? What does the future look like? We speak with the world leader in sustainable wastewater treatment, BioprocessH2O, an American company from Rhode Island that mimics nature in their system designs. Clients like Coca Cola use their system to meet wastewater standards in the food industry.
Tim Burns
Tim Burns, the CEO of BioprocessH2O shares some insight into a global challenge of wastewater treatment and its potential for reuse.
Give us an overview of why companies turn to you.
Companies turn to us for our expertise in the wastewater field. We have some of the best engineers in the business, and are confident in the systems that we build. We have helped some of the biggest companies in the US get control over their wastewater, and because of that many turn into repeat customers.
Are there non-US locations you work with and what special challenges do you face outside the US?
We work with companies across the world, with a focus in North America. Each country has its own unique regulating body, that has its own set of parameters or rules that they adhere to. This makes it different from the US, as not all regulators are concerned with the same things.
When you work with non-US companies, let’s say EU, Canada and the Middle East. If you work there, or want to work there, how are the standards and demands different?
The testing standards, and goals, are different in many of the countries you mentioned. For example, in the Middle East we recognize that the biggest water related questions are around desalination and water reuse, to help the countries there that do not get much rainfall get more access to water. This is different from the US, Canada and the EU that has ample rainfall, ands main concern tends to environmental and public health harm reduction.
Working with Coca Cola
What do you love most about your job?
I love that we get to solve hard challenges for our clients, while helping the environment and public health.
What frontline technologies is your company looking at? If you could invent a time machine, what would the future look like for your business in 20 years?
We actually are now a preferred partner for Zwitterco which has developed a new membrane that has promising lab results, and we hope this translates into promising installations for our clients. The Zwitterco membranes use a certain type of material which has both a negative and positive charge, this in effect reduces the amount of membrane fouling expected in a membrane system.
To the second part of the question, I think that in 20 years from now, we will be a lot better about testing, and pinpointing sources of wastewater than we are today. If we could have a “magic” technology, it would be one type of filtration method that worked for all types of pollutants.
What research centers around the world are doing the best work in wastewater remediation?
That is a good question. I would say the best research still comes out of universities. For example, the Reverse Osmosis, and the new membranes I have talked about previously, both came out of partnerships with labs from universities. This is very common across industries, not just ours. You see this in tech, as well as biotech and pharma.
How do things get trickier in areas where aquifers are depleted, like in California, or let’s say in Saudi Arabia?
We expect people in this region to be more concerned with water use reduction, instead of just water filtration. As water becomes more scarce, it becomes more expensive, leading to higher input water costs for manufacturing plants.
Could you work with agriculture solutions that use treated greywater? If yes, how. Hydroponics, aquaponics, greenhouse ag or conventional farming.
Yes this is common in our industry, where a farm will need to filter their wastewater, and then are actually able to use the filtered water to water their crops of something of this nature. While wastewater filtered by our systems are not always drinkable, it is often clean enough to use for other purposes.
What does a company need to do today to ensure they can scale their water treatment solutions so they will be relevant in 15 years?
A lot of the time it comes down to planning ahead. We work with our clients to understand their production goals now, and in the future, to figure out the size of the water system that needs to be installed in order to handle and plant expansions that may be in the future.
Now how can we ensure that we scale? I think we just need to stick to our plan, which is to give our customers the best systems we can at a fair price. This allows us to show our competence, and has helped grow our name in the wastewater industry.
Give us a bit about your background.
I have had a very entrepreneurial career. I left the corporate world early on, and helped scale a chemical disposal company working with the founders. From there I founded a few companies, one of which was bioprocessAlgae, which aimed to turn Algae into biofuel. I have a finance/business background and took up a masters in environmental science from Brown University.
Marmosets use specific vocal labels to address other individual members of their species. When researchers separated pairs of marmosets with a barrier, they found that they used distinct ‘phee calls’ for the monkey on the other side.
“We think that this behavior is important for [marmosets’] social cohesion and therefore it’s crucial for their survival,” says neuroscientist and co-author David Omer.
Omer published his research in Science, along with a team of researchers from the Hebrew University. The researchers, led by graduate student Guy Oren, recorded natural conversations between pairs of marmosets, as well as interactions between monkeys and a computer system. They found that these monkeys use their “phee-calls” to address specific individuals.
Even more interestingly, the marmosets could discern when a call was directed at them and responded more accurately when it was.
“This discovery highlight the complexity of social communication among marmosets,” explains Omer. “These calls are not just used for self-localization, as previously thought— marmosets use these specific calls to label and address specific individuals”.
The study revealed that family members within a marmoset group use similar vocal labels to address different individuals and employ similar sound features to code different names, resembling the use if names and dialects in humans.
This learning appears to occur even among adult marmosets who are not related by blood, suggesting that they learn both vocal labels and dialect from other members of their family group.
“Marmosets live in small monogamous family groups and take care of their young together, much like humans do,” says Omer. “These similarities suggest that they faced comparable evolutionary social challenges to our early pre-linguistic ancestors, which might have led them to develop similar communicating methods.”
This research provide new insights into how social communication and human language might have evolved. The ability of marmosets to label each other with specific calls suggests they have developed complex brain mechanisms, potentially analogous to those that eventually gave rise to language in humans.
Aaron James, an electrical lineman who lost an eye and much of his face to an electrical accident, is the first person to receive a face transplant that includes a whole eye.
The operation involved several innovative techniques, including 3D-printed guides that helped surgeons fit the donor’s bone to James’s face and a transplanted piece of carotid artery that provides the donated eye with its own blood supply.
The eye responds to light, although researchers don’t believe it will connect to James’s brain well enough to restore his sight. “100/10, made medical history,” James’s daughter posted on TikTok. “Still bald headed, tho.”
Transplants can restore sight, mobility and even reproductive rights. The first womb was transplanted in Turkey more than 10 years ago, giving hope to women who were unable to conceive.
Beard transplants, a cosmetic procedure, are growing more common as Middle Eastern men enjoy wearing beards as a sign of religious devoutness and masculinity.
Success of the recent whole eye and face transplant was reported in the medical journal Jama. While the patient could not exactly “see” the researchers say that there was successful regrowth of blood vessels, meaning:
“The successful revascularization of the transplanted eye achieved in this study may serve as a step towards the goal of globe transplant for restoration of vision.”
The Ziggurat of Ur, located in the province of UR-Nasiriyah, Dhi Qar, Iraq. Built in the 21st century BC by King Ur-Nammu, the Ziggurat of Ur was used as a temple to worship the moon good "Nannar". This 4,000 year old piece of archaeological history dates back to the first civilization's in human history, beginning with the Sumerians.
The Ziggurat of Ur, located in the province of UR-Nasiriyah, Dhi Qar, Iraq. Built in the 21st century BC by King Ur-Nammu, the Ziggurat of Ur was used as a temple to worship the moon good “Nannar”. This 4,000 year old piece of archaeological history dates back to the first civilization’s in human history, beginning with the Sumerians.
The Iraqi city of Nasiriyah has clocked the world’s highest temperature in the last day reaching a scorching 48.7°C (119.7°F), according to data from the American Placerville station. The Nasiriyah News Network reported that the Placerville station’s data showed that there are 15 cities worldwide registering extremely high temperatures due to climate change.
Nasiriyah was top of the list, followed by another Iraqi city, Basra, which recorded 48°C (118.4°F).
Already prone to high temperatures, climate change is expected to have a disastrous effect on the Middle East. Syria’s drought 15 years ago led to a violent civil war that has left millions of people refugees –– people who now continue to seek refugee status in countries such as Canada and in Europe.
Iraq, home to the Euphrates River, and the ancestral birthplace of Abraham, has been experiencing more frequent heatwaves in recent years. Neighbors Iran and Kuwait also record record temperatures. A heatwave in Saudi Arabia this year in Mecca turned tragic when more than1,300 died from heat exhaustion –– tour companies took advantage of lax visa requirements, which led to overcrowding making the heat wave intolerable.
A low-energy Mudhif, or Iraq marshland reed hut. Keeps cool passively.
Local authorities have not yet commented on any measures being taken in Iraq to address this extreme weather event or how they will protect people. Iraq is asking people to turn down their air conditioners as not to strain the electricity grid.
TotalEnergies are looking to build a solar power plant in the Basra area.
Iraq’s state-run power company Tavanir reported on August 8, electricity consumption peaked at 79,872 MW – about 10% higher than the same period last year — and that brown and blackouts would face the nation.
One weather station in the south of the country reached a heat index of 82.2°C (180°F) and a dew point of 36.1°C (97°F), which might be the highest such readings ever recorded on Planet Earth. Welcome to our new reality.
Arava Power’s first US solar photovoltaic facility beginning commerical operation in Uvalde County, Texas. It will power 43,000 homes in the San Antonio area of Texas.
The project marks Arava’s first solar energy project in the US which was developed with Israel’s leading oil and gas retailer Paz Group and funded in partnership with the insurance company Menora Mivtachim at a total cost of $330 million USD.
Project SUNRAY spans an area of approximately 1,200 acres and is leased for a cumulative period of 50 years. It includes over 500,000 solar panels and is expected to produce 515 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year. The result will prevent the emission of 225,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and provide clean electricity to 43,000 homes in the San Antonio area each year.
The SUNRAY project sells 50% of the generated electricity under a 12-year power purchase agreement, and the remaining half is sold on the electricity market in Texas.
“Project SUNRAY is the result of great partners and collaboration with tremendous institutions from the United States, Israel and globally. For Arava Power Company, this isn’t just about breaking new ground in the United States —it’s about demonstrating the power of our platform from development through asset management over our history and across geographies,” said David Rosenblatt, Co-Founder of Arava Power.
Ketura3 solar field by Arava Power Co in Israel
“Arava Power’s first project in the United States is a testament to our commitment to quality work and represents the growth we are undertaking.”
Rosenblatt co-founded Arava Power in 2008 with Ed Hofland.
Arava Power and Paz Group began developing the SUNRAY project in 2021, after acquiring it from OCI Energy. They completed financial closing in 2023 and as of last month, finished the construction work and received approval for commercial operation.
“We succeeded in developing our first US project under extremely challenging market conditions,” added Ilan Zidkony, CEO of Arava Power “Over the past few years, our team had to contend with regulatory upheavals, an almost unprecedented inflationary environment, and a complex financing landscape. Our company is proud of this achievement and are grateful for the confidence of top-tier partners and financiers.
“The commercial operation of SUNRAY is a key milestone in Arava Power’s U.S. vision, with a portfolio of projects in various stages of development totaling 1.3 gigawatts across the US.”
Morgan Stanley serves as the Tax Equity partner in the project and together with an additional investor made an investment of approximately $150 million.
It’s down in the history books of legends. How could the Jews hold onto the fortress of Masada for years without food and water? According to the common myth, the Romans laid siege to the Dead Sea fortress of Masada for three long years. A new survey using advanced technologies indicates that the siege was probably a much quicker affair: more like weeks.
Researchers in Archaeology at Tel Aviv University used a range of modern technologies, including drones, remote sensing, and 3D digital modeling, to generate the first objective, quantified analysis of the Roman siege system at Masada.
Findings indicate that contrary to the widespread myth, the Roman army’s siege of Masada in 73 CE lasted no more than a few weeks.
The study was conducted by Guy Stiebel, together with Hai Ashkenazi to attempt a new understanding of what really happened at Masada. The paper was published in the Journal of Roman Archaeology.
Why the siege against the Jews started?
The First Jewish Revolt against the Romans started in 66 CE after years of political instability. One of the first acts in this war was the seizure of Masada from its Roman garrison by a group of Jewish rebels. At the beginning of the rebellion, the Jewish forces managed to defeat an army led by Cestius Gallus, the governor of Syria.
Masada circumvallation wall and its sections. (Drawing by H. Ashkenazi, Base Map after Netzer Reference Netzer1991, Plan A.)
Later, after suffering heavy losses in the field, and following the arrival in 67 CE of a second expedition led by Vespasian and his son Titus, the local militias usually avoided meeting the Roman forces in the field and took shelter in fortified towns and forts, most of which had been built during previous periods.
This led to a war characterized mainly by Roman siege warfare. Several years of careful Roman advance culminated in the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE, and though the Romans faced bitter resistance from the city’s defenders, the city was conquered and destroyed within that same year.
About three years later, the Romans followed the remaining rebels to their last stronghold – Masada. The amount of effort invested by the Romans in chasing these last few hundred rebels to their final refuge in the middle of the desert may seem surprising.
Some researchers argue that it was done in order to completely assert Roman rule over the country, to send a message to other potential rebels, and to “restore the impression of Roman might”; others have recently claimed that the Romans’ aim was to protect the valuable Balsam (opobalsamum) perfume production center at the nearby oasis of Ein Gedi.
Masada legend lasted weeks, rather than years
The researchers used drones carrying remote sensors that provided precise, high-resolution measurements of the height, width, and length of all features of the siege system. This data was used to build an accurate 3D digital model, enabling exact calculation of the structures’ volume and how long it took to build them.
Researcher Stiebel says: “We use drones, remote sensing, and aerial photography to collect accurate high-resolution data from Masada and its environs, with special emphasis on three aspects: the water systems, the trails leading to and from the palatial fortress, and the Roman siege system.
“The collected information is used to build 3D digital models that provide us with a clear and precise image of the relevant terrains. In the current study we focused on the siege system, which, thanks to the remote location and desert climate, is the best-preserved Roman siege system in the world.”
Dr. Stiebel adds: “For many years, the prevailing theory that became a modern myth asserted that the Roman siege of Masada was a grueling three-year affair. In recent decades researchers have begun to challenge this notion, for various reasons. In this first-of-its kind study we examined the issue with modern technologies enabling precise objective measurements.”
Reliable estimates are available of the quantity of earth and stones a Roman soldier was able to move in one day, the researchers explain. Ashkenazi says: “We also know that approximately 6,000-8,000 soldiers participated in the siege of Masada. Thus, we were able to objectively calculate how long it took them to build the entire siege system – eight camps and a stone wall surrounding most of the site.
“We found that construction took merely about two weeks. Based on the ancient historical testimony it is clear that once the assault ramp was completed, the Romans launched a brutal attack, ultimately capturing the fortress within a few weeks at the most.
“This leads us to the conclusion that the entire siege of Masada lasted no more than several weeks.”
Says Stiebel: “The narrative of Masada, the Great Jewish Revolt, the siege, and the tragic end as related by Flavius Josephus, have all become part of Israeli DNA and the Zionist ethos, and are well known around the world. The duration of the siege is a major element in this narrative, suggesting that the glorious Roman army found it very difficult to take the fortress and crush its defenders.
“For many years it was assumed that the siege took three long years, but in recent decades researchers have begun to challenge this unfounded belief. In our first-of-its-kind study we used objective measurements and advanced technologies to clarify this issue with the first data-driven scientific answer.
“Based on our findings we argue that the Roman siege of Masada took a few weeks at the most. As empires throughout history have done, the Romans came, saw, and conquered, quickly and brutally quelling the uprising in this remote location.
“Our conclusion, however, detracts nothing from the importance of this historical event, and many baffling questions remain to be investigated.
“For example: Why did the Romans put so much effort into seizing this remote and seemingly unimportant fortress? To answer this and many other intriguing questions we have initiated a vast, innovative project in and around Masada … to ultimately shed new light on the old enigma: What really happened at Masada?”
The gold dust bought at Walmart may make your graduation photo pretty. But one blow and it's forever cycling as microplastics that will get into our lungs.
The gold dust bought at Walmart may make your graduation photo pretty. But one blow and it’s forever cycling as microplastics that will get into our lungs.
Girls exposed to certain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may be more likely to start puberty early, according to new research published in Endocrinology, the flagship basic science journal of the Endocrine Society.
EDCs mimic, block or interfere with hormones in the body’s endocrine system.
There has been an alarming trend toward early puberty in girls, suggesting the influence of chemicals in our environment. Early puberty is associated with an increased risk of psychosocial problems, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and breast cancer.
“We conducted a comprehensive screen of 10,000 environmental compounds with extensive follow-up studies using human brain cells that control the reproductive axis, and our team identified several substances that may contribute to early puberty in girls,” said study author Natalie Shaw, M.D., M.M.Sc., of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in Durham, N.C.
Look out for musk ambrette
Musk Ambrette listed as a problematic chemical for endocrine health
Those substances include musk ambrette, which is a fragrance used in some detergents, perfumes, and personal care products, and a group of medications called cholinergic agonists.
“More research is needed to confirm our findings,” noted Shaw. “But the ability of these compounds to stimulate key receptors in the hypothalamus — the gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor [GnRHR] and the kisspeptin receptor [KISS1R] — raises the possibility that exposure may prematurely activate the reproductive axis in children.”
According to the research team, musk ambrette is potentially concerning because it can be found in personal care products, and some rat studies have suggested it can cross the blood-brain barrier.
Children are less likely to encounter cholinergic agonists in their daily lives.
Canadian and European regulations restrict musk ambrette use because of its potential toxicity, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed the fragrance from its “generally recognized as safe” or GRAS list. Yet it is still available on the market in some personal care products.
“This study suggests that, out of an abundance of caution, it is important for parents to only use personal care products for their children that are federally regulated,” Shaw said.
As part of the study, the research team screened a Tox21 10,000-compound library of licensed pharmaceuticals, environmental chemicals and dietary supplements against a human cell line overexpressing GnRHR or KISS1R. They conducted follow-up analysis using human hypothalamic neurons and zebrafish, finding that musk ambrette increased the number of GnRH neurons and GnRH expression.
“Using human hypothalamic neurons and zebrafish provides an effective model for identifying environmental substances that stimulate the KISS1R and GnRHR,” said co-author Menghang Xia, Ph.D., from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) in Bethesda, Md., which is part of NIH. “This study was a multidisciplinary team effort, and it showed that we can efficiently reduce the time and cost of assessing environmental chemicals for their potential effects on human health.”
It developed out of the cannabis and medical marijuana industry, but not hydroponics is a good source of food
It developed out of the cannabis and medical marijuana industry, but now hydroponics is a good source of food in Bhutan.
Like millions around the world, Kinley Wangmo and her family were left without a source of income during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. Unlike most of the world, this Bhutanese mother found a livelihood solution in hydroponics farming, which involves growing plants in a special nutrient-rich water instead of using soil.
What began as a simple interest soon blossomed into a profound passion. She attended online trainings and saw that this innovative technique was also full of promise for addressing the challenges of food security and land fragmentation in her landlocked Himalayan homeland.
Hydroponics uses less water and is more productive than soil-based agriculture and can be carried out all year round. Though hydroponics can be expensive and difficult to install, all it requires at its most basic level is the plants, water, a container and a source of light.
To save on the cost of importing hydroponics systems, she learned extensively from international experts and customised their approaches for Bhutanese farmers.
Using her previous experience as a contractor, undertaking everything from plumbing to electrical jobs, Kinley, who also currently runs a hardware shop, leveraged her skills and self-taught know-how to build a hydroponics system using the deep flow technique, which catches and recycles water using pipes. The system is low-cost, efficient and made using readily available materials.
It’s also easy to maintain, making it accessible and practical for small-scale farmers in Bhutan’s rugged terrain.
Kinley started Bhutan Hydroponics in a small-scale greenhouse in the Changzamtok area of the capital, Thimphu, back in 2020.
In early 2024, Kinley was one of the 30 recipients of funding support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as part of its Peri-urban and Urban Farming project in Bhutan, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.
The project helped her with land development, equipment and materials for the farm, as well as seeds on a cost-sharing basis, and technical support with installing the greenhouses, garden structures, irrigation systems and digital equipment she needed for the venture.
Her vision is steadily taking shape with the establishment of three spacious greenhouses.
“The main benefit of hydroponics is that it helps plants and vegetables grow faster than traditional soil farming, and it takes up less space,” Kinley explains. “In a greenhouse, we can control everything to make sure the plants grow well.”
Kinley is keen to share her knowledge to help communities in Bhutan become more independent. “The pandemic showed us how important self-sufficiency is.”
She’s been a passionate advocate for increasing the use of hydroponics in the country, offering her expertise in setting up systems and selling her adapted hydroponics system at a cost that’s highly favourable compared with imported equipment.
About one-third of Bhutan’s population faces food insecurity. With shrinking, fragmented land holdings and many working-age adults moving from rural to urban areas, labor-intensive agriculture is becoming increasingly challenging.
The pandemic also showed the reliance of urban areas on food imported from abroad or from rural areas. In this, Bhutan’s Department of Agriculture has been pushing ahead with its strategy to promote urban farming.
Kinley also advocates for self-sufficiency and safe food in urban areas, like the capital in which she lives.
“In urban areas where food security is a pressing issue, I am dedicated to making freshly harvested, nutritious food accessible to everyone. Amidst busy lifestyles and the challenge of accessing quality food, we aim to reduce food waste and promote healthier eating habits,” says Kinley.
Bhutan’s economy relies heavily on agriculture, livestock and forests; this sector supports about 57 percent of the population. Even though the agriculture sector is growing in absolute terms, the share of the national Gross Domestic Product has been steadily decreasing due to rapid growth in other economic sectors.
On top of that, agricultural productivity is being undermined by an array of factors including urbanization and rapid development, crop damage by wild animals, land fragmentation, pests and diseases, rising temperatures and a shortage of agricultural inputs. As a result, Bhutan’s goals of food security and self-sufficiency are becoming harder to achieve.
FAO’s project is addressing these issues by helping to move crop production closer to consumers and meeting growing demand in urban areas while showcasing new technologies for transforming agrifood systems, as well as creating more jobs and income opportunities especially for women and young people.
Now, Kinley employs nine people, mostly single mothers and youth. Her current focus is on growing lettuce, which her team has harvested three times in five months and supplied to chain of hotels in the country. She currently grows two lettuce varieties and plans to cultivate three more types and recruit more staff in the future as her business continues to grow.
“Despite the challenges, I promote technology to inspire young people and women in agriculture because it’s simple,” Kinley says, adding that technology makes agriculture more appealing because it is less physically arduous and cleaner than conventional farming.
Since she expanded her business early this year, she has been selling lettuce and salads in the capital and nearby towns. She says that if she can further expand the business, she would be able to meet the rapidly growing market demand.
With her initiative full of innovative promise, Kinley is making an important contribution to the future of food, inspiring others and forging a new agricultural development model for Bhutan.
On January 1 the first day of the new year this year, I woke up with a very positive attitude, despite microplastics. Although we enjoyed the turn of the year night with friends until quite late, I chose to stick to my diet, not to drink alcohol, not to eat after 8pm, and of course, not to smoke. Having fun, does not require abusing my body, I thought, or putting my health at risk, after all.
So, this morning, I woke up without a hangover. Instead, I had a very positive and optimistic attitude. To the extent that I even went for a swim, despite the sea water cold, but extremely refreshing, temperature. In the clear blue waters, observing the fish and sun reflection on the sea bottom, among other things, I thought, well, about climate change. If climate change is here to stay for the next few decades (depends on us really), I wondered, instead of trying to fight it, why not make it our partner and make the most out of it?
For one thing, the weather is warmer, drier and more moderate. No extreme heat or cold during the year – with the exception of the summers, of course, which are heating up considerably, almost unbearably in many parts of the world. Also, not counting the days that some areas of the planet cope with extreme weather events and catastrophes.
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a Washington, DC global yearly surface temperature has been in the rise since the 1940s and the global average surface temperature has increased by 1 degree Celsius since pre-industrial era (1800 to 1900).
Temperature increases as global emissions of greenhouse gases also increase. According to 2022 Global Climate Report from NOAA National Center for Environmental Information, 2022 was the world’s 6th warmest year on record (1880 to 2022). Further, every month of 2022 ranked among the ten warmest for that month.
Therefore, in general, there is no doubt, that except for extreme weather events that will certainly affect the daily routine of many communities around the planet, in more frequency and intensity, we should expect warm weather and late winters.
With this moderate weather expected, people who travel south to warmer climates, don’t really need to travel anymore, as these areas are now more vulnerable to hurricanes or other extreme weather events due to rising temperatures. These people could choose to stay and enjoy the warm weather at home. That potentially cuts down considerable travel, primarily, air travel. It also brings people closer, as people don’t leave home but make more contacts in the neighborhood, and get to know their neighborhood better.
Cutting down on travel – air or land – may be a considerable intervention to reduce emissions as, according to scientists, they affect the rising temperatures.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, 65% of global GHG emissions come from carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and industrial processes. Transportation was responsible in 2010 for 15% of global GHG emissions, including road, rail, air and marine transportation. They rely by 95% on petroleum-based fuels. Even electric vehicles that charge from the grid, most of that electricity, in most cities, comes from burning fossil fuels. According to NOAA, in 2022, global average carbon dioxide set a new record high reaching 417.06 parts per million. Nearly 50% higher than the average before the Industrial Revolution.
The moderate weather is also encouraging more physical activity outdoors. More walking and biking for local commute and travel of short distances. No need to take the car. Walking and biking encourages more physical exercise, which pollutes less and builds a healthier body. Being healthier, also means, less visits to the doctors, and less need for medication.
Let’s start placemaking, making cities safer for walking
The benefits are obvious. Once in a routine of physical exercise, then more benefits come. Like, walking longer distances, getting to know your local neighbors and shops, stop and talk to people, get more accustomed to where you live.
Become, what Jane Jacobs used to call, the ‘eyes of the street’. The benefits are again obvious. More people walking the streets, less crime on the streets, more local businesses, less need for travel longer distances. More people on the streets of the neighborhood, more urban furniture and public interventions can take place by the community through Placemaking. Therefore, we can grow better neighborhoods and more resilient communities.
According to the World Health Organization all physical activity counts. It can be done as part of work, sport and leisure or transport (walking, wheeling and cycling), preferably on a daily basis. On the other hand, too much sedentary behavior can be unhealthy.
It increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, and type-2 diabetes. According to the WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behavior, 150 to 300 of physical activity per week and 60-minutes moderate aerobic physical activity per day, offers significant health benefits and mitigate health risks for children, adolescents, adults and older adults. The Guidelines ‘At a Glance’ can be a great handbook to start changing habits this new year.
Moderate weather also cuts down the need for more clothing. Which, reduces our need to shop more, either online or in shops, cutting down on travel emissions for us, and considerable emissions from the production and delivery of products from one end of the globe to another.
Skateboarding in Australia where the weather is always great.
Changing our attitude and habits, will also send a new message to the clothing industry to cut down on (over) production and perhaps focus on quality and endurance of products with less synthetic materials, which also pollute our air and water. Rather than spend more to increase production and then try to sell.
According to a report by the BBC, the fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global emissions, as new fashion trends aim for fast fashion, and cheap, mass-produced clothing with new lines being released constantly. GHG emissions are not the only impact of clothing over-production and over-consumption on the planet. Cotton for the fashion industry uses about 2.5% of world’s farmland. Synthetic materials, such as polyester, require up to 342 million barrels of oil annually.
Washing polyester clothes releases microfibers that contribute by more than 30% to global microplastics pollution. Dying of clothes requires 43 million tons of chemicals annually. Clothing production also uses a lot of water. A t-shirt, for example, requires 2,700 litres of water and a pair of jeans 10,000 litres of water. The list goes on.
At work, moderate weather allows people to be outdoors more. To walk, or bike to work. Also, to even open a window at the office – if operable windows are available – increasing natural ventilation and refreshing indoor air. As a result, productivity increases at work, and allows people to leave work on time, and spend more free time outdoors, with family and friends, enjoying the good weather in the neighborhood.
According to the World Green Building Council, staff costs, including salaries and benefits, typically account for about 90% of business operating costs. Therefore, increasing air quality at work may appear a modest improvement in employee health or productivity. However, it can have a significant financial benefit for employers.
Often more, than any other financial savings associated with efficiently designing and operating an office building. Improving indoor air quality (IAQ) through high ventilation rates and low concentrations of CO2 and pollutants, may improve productivity by 8-11%.
At home, more sunshine days means we can solar heat water for showers, without consuming energy. Also, if we have south facing windows, we can passive solar heat the living space from the sun. We can also use the warm outdoor air to refresh and ventilate our home indoor air by opening windows, without the need for a mechanical system and without consuming energy.
Is your hot water warmed by the sun?
Moderate weather also encourages less need for heating, therefore less emissions from burning fossil fuels. Also, moderate weather encourages more outdoor activity. More engagement with the outdoors, may lead perhaps to adopting new habits, such as gardening and growing our own vegetables and managing our organic waste in a composter in our garden. The benefits are obvious, considering the pollution and land appropriation for landfills, the pollution from emissions and particles in the air from garbage truck traffic in our neighborhood streets, not to mention noise and the potential for traffic jams and accidents. Also consider how we contribute in reducing the chemicals harming the rivers and lakes from industrially produced fertilizers (remember ‘The Silent Spring’?). Organic fertilizers will benefit our garden, our neighborhood and our city. And of course, the nearest river or lake or sea.
According to the US Department of Energy solar water heaters can be a cost-effective way to generate hot water for home use. They can be used in any climate and the only fuel they use, sunshine, is free. They also have some smart suggestions about further energy-saving strategies to lower heating bills, if a back-up system is required. As a matter of fact, some hotels are not only heating water for showers from the sun, but also heating pools and heat water for the kitchen, from solar systems.
According to the University of Georgia, a well-tended, fruitful garden can supply a family with a variety of nutritious, healthful fresh vegetables. Gardening can be a rewarding hobby, and a way to improve physical fitness. Fresh garden vegetables can supplement quality fresh, frozen or canned vegetables of bought food at the local market, or supermarket.
A food composter that is rolled by kids as a game
Composting is nature’s way of recycling. Many cities around the world encourage citizens to compost and provide the infrastructure for individual or municipal composting. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency composting is one of the most powerful actions one can take to reduce trash, address climate change, and build healthy soil. By turning food scraps and yard trim into compost, we transform our waste streams into a beneficial, value-added soil amendment and use it to protect the environment and create resilient communities.
Having a composter at home involves minimal effort, equipment, expense, and expertise and can be fun. You benefit by building healthier soil, preventing soil erosion, conserving water, and improving plant growth in your garden and yard. If you wish to compost but you lack the space, it is possible to join local municipal or community composting programs. It is worth finding out and start composting!
A more moderate weather, may also change our psychology, and make us more contemplative and aware of nature around us. Perhaps this will make us also more attuned to the surrounding ecology and more sensitive to our daily routine. To be more balanced, more accommodating to other people, and perhaps running our lives with more intention. Be more present and appreciative of the ‘now’, enjoy, respect, and honor the ‘now’ and the good that it has inherently, even if we are obliged to deal with a crisis or a problem. Because, like the climate crisis, every crisis has its inherent solution built-in its DNA. This is where we need to focus and find the positive in the negative.
Obviously, there is a lot more to be done to address the climate crisis. But, walking on the moon took one first step. Walking the talk, will lead to more appetite for more, and more initiatives will be born. Once we are in the ‘solution’ – rather than the ‘problem’ – mindset, the rest will follow. Once we tackle the low-hanging fruits, it is easy to come up with more solutions. Solutions that do not require investing in expensive and complicated technologies. The solutions are simple, and inherent in us. We don’t need more to solve the crisis.
So, join me in closing this year with the right foot(print) and the right attitude for our lives, our loved-ones and for the planet.
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Elias Messinas a Yale-educated architect, urban planner and author, creator of ECOWEEK and Senior Lecturer at the Design Faculty of HIT, where he teaches sustainable design and coordinates the EU Horizon program SINCERE, which aims to optimize the carbon footprint of cultural heritage buildings, through innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective restoration materials and practices, energy harvesting, ICT tools and socially innovative approaches. www.ecoama.com and www.ecoweek.org
Yossi Our runs Bees for Peace to teach women how to become urban beekeepers
Yossi Oud teaching a biodynamic beekeeping class, Tel Aviv
Beekeepers are setting up hives in a neighborhood near you, but most will just be part of the conventional system which use the same tools that may have contributed to the decline of bees in the first place. Biodynamic beekeepers are different, using a more nature-centered approach: they oppose moving hives for pollination, mass harvesting honey, and killing and replacing the queen every year. They open the hive when the moon is right, and use natural medicine like chamomile tea to treat the hives.
I first learned about biodynamic beekeeping in Israel from Yossi Oud, who studied the Rudolf Steiner methods of beekeeping via German colleagues.
With 24,000 species of bees in the world, Israel is home to about 1,300 species, compared to a total of 600 species in a country as large as Canada, says Oud, an Israeli beekeeper and teacher who works with biodynamic beekeeping methods. He says Israel is unusually rich in bee species, and this is due in part to the country’s plant diversity. I took a course with him and visited his biodynamic hives on the roof of Tel Aviv’s mall, Dizengoff Center, and at his bee farm outside Jerusalem.
“Israel is the land of milk and honeybees, and a special area and hotspot for animals, plants and bees,” says Oud. “Of the 1,300 species of bees in Israel, 8 of them are social bees,” he tells Green Prophet.
The local bee for the most part, which is the Syrian bee, is extinct, he notes. This is an aggressive bee which has been replaced by an imported Italian bee which is now common in wild hives, urban hives and in commercial hives. The Italian bees were brought to Israel in the 1930s to support the vineyards, he says.
Because there is such a wide diversity of plants in Israel, he stresses, this is reflected by the large range of bee species. It all goes together.
Natural and urban beehives on the roof of Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Center
What makes the honey bee different from other bees is the honey stomach which creates honey and which is also 95% of their diet, says Oud, noting that people and honeybees have had a strong connection for thousands of years as seen in cave art in France that depicts a kind of bee agriculture. Bees were also domesticated in ancient Egypt.
Honey is a magical elixir. Mystical even. And our love for it goes way back to the earliest signs of advanced civilization, he notes.
Urban beekeepers collecting honeybee honey in Jaffa, Israel. Image by Karin Kloosterman for Green Prophet
Bees and Islam
ystically, all major world religions have a connection to bees, and Islam is no exception: “In the Quran, Chapter 16 is named after the bees” says Oud who is Jewish but who works with Muslim and Christian Palestinians to help them learn the trade of beekeeping in a project called Bees for Peace.
Why is there an entire chapter on the bees in the Quran, The Bee?
Islam and the bees: Be like a bee
Within the chapter, two verses cover the essence of the honeybee:
And your Lord inspired the bee: build homes in mountains and trees, and in (the hives) they build for you.
Then eat from all the fruits, following the design of your Lord, precisely.
The Bee (Arabic: النحل; an-nahl) is the 16th chapter (sūrah) of the Qur’an with 128 verses. It is named after the honey bees mentioned in verse 68, and contains a comparison of the industry and adaptability of honey bees with the industry of man.
An-Nahl, Chapter 16 (verses 68 to 69) talks about a variety of topics, but Allah, according to Muslims, specifically chose the title The Bee to catch the attention of the readers. Bees are said to be Allah’s miracles; the way they function and how they behave, are to be held as an example.
According to some Islamic traditions, everyone needs a sheep and bees to ensure prosperity for the coming year.
In Judaism, the bee is not kosher but you can eat its honey, which is a rare ruling as you can’t drink milk from a non-kosher animal such as a camel. Deborah (Dvora in Hebrew), who was a prophet, is also associated with bees. Dvora means bee in Hebrew.
In the Bible, honey is mentioned 61 times and its meaning is often linked with prosperity and abundance. In the third chapter of Exodus, when God called Moses to lead the slaves out of Egypt, he called him to lead them to a land that will flow with milk and honey. This is the land of modern day Israel.
In the Song of Songs of the Old Testament (4:11-16): “Your lips, my beloved and (promised) bride, drip honey as the honeycomb; Honey and milk are under your tongue, And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.”
Honey is a ritual food eaten during the Hebrew holiday called Rosh Hashanah, which celebrates the Jewish New Year. “May you have a sweet year,” is a common blessing as people eat apples dipped in honey.
A natural hive made from mud for the bees
What is biodynamic beekeeping?
To further the understanding of biodynamic beekeeping, we are to view the colony as one creature, explains Oud. What does the hive know? For most of us it’s a mystery but we do know that each worker female lives about 6 weeks, there is one queen and a small percentage of male drones.
The biodynamic queen lives for 6 or 7 years, and the worker bee has about 16 jobs, among which is making propolis, the immune system of the hive, which is collected from tree resin, says Oud.
Ayelet at Kibbutz Nir Galim sells beekeeping gear and supplies for urban beekeepers in Israel.
The job of the male drones? While they might look like loafers who can’t even feed themselves, male bees bring genetic diversity from one hive to another on their travels,, says Oud. They mate with the the new emergent queen once a year in the spring when she flies out of the hive, and the rest of the colony follows her in a swarm to establish a new colony.. And that is how bees give birth, according to biodynamic beekeeping. The old queen stays in the hive and raises her new brood after the rest have left.
Bees give so much sweetness in life and health as well, but they can be credited for bringing people together in the Middle East when politicians fail. Oud has started a number of educational programs in Israel including Bees for Peace where he teaches Muslim woman how to be urban beekeepers. is your honey real or fake? “When people learn to work for the bees’ welfare, much sensitivity and gentleness is developed, and that could translate into our daily life. In this way the bees teach us to act for society, to live in co-existence, let go of stigmas, and help us get closer to ourselves, others, the land and the world,” says Oud.
Oud started Bees for Peace to join hearts and create cooperation between Christians, Muslims and Jews, Palestinians, Israelis and Jordanians. The initiative helps build bridges through the bio-dynamic bee keeping method in multiple constellations – amongst kids in schools, through courses and activities for adults coming from different sectors and cultures and in diverse joint initiatives.
Biodynamic is a term developed inside the teachings of anthroposophy, developed by the spiritualist and educator Rudolph Steiner from Austria in the early 1900s. There is dozens of Steiner schools in Israel, also known as Waldorf Schools, and Oud comes from that education system as an educator and teacher. There is even a biodynamic farm in Egypt called Sekem.
Bees for Peace emphasizes empowerment of women from “traditional houses” (whether Muslim, religious Jewish or other disempowered populations), who usually don’t go out of the house to work. They learn the art of beekeeping on their rooftop or from their garden and can make a small income from honey, beauty products, or other products derived from the wax of the hive.
The conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah group in Lebanon has made it difficult for women in northern communities to tend their hives. Many hives have died says Oud, and I spoke with one Muslim woman who says she misses her hives like her family. She was staying at a hotel in Nazareth, unable to live in her village in the north as its constantly being bombarded by missiles.
The Marj Ibn Amer Almond project in the Jezreel Valley trained Israeli and Palestinian women to grow bees by the biodynamic method, in order to increase the number of bee hives in the area, to enhance the women’s involvement in the almond agriculture and to increase the almond yield, especially in light of the decreasing numbers of bees in the area and in the world.
The project was carried out by the El-Hukayer organization, an NGO dedicated to socio-economic development within Palestinian society in Israel.
Palestinian beekeepers on a roof in Jerusalem. Honey women, via Haaretz
Tlmei Achva is an educational agricultural farm in the city of Lod, for Muslim-Jewish kids and teenagers, secular and religious, where they work and grow bees together.
There is an urban beekeeping farming project in the city center of Jerusalem.
There is a biodynamic beekeeping course at Ecome center and in the city of Jericho, West Bank. The NGO works to empower Ethiopian women through growing bees and building traditional Ethiopian bee hives.
The Honey Women of East Jerusalem is a project in collaboration with the Sinsila Center and the Mosella Association.
Have a swarm? Call SOS for the Bees. Locals who find a swarm or an unwanted hive should not use poison to kill them.
SOS for the Bees is a volunteer-run group that collects swarms and re-homes hives. In Hebrew, it is Magen D’vorim Adom. You can call Yossi Oud and his team of volunteers will run to collect the bees.
The new discovery from TAU may lead to future practical applications, such as UVB treatments for sexual hormone disorders. The breakthrough opens up for further discoveries in basic science, “As humans, we have no fur, and our skin is thus directly exposed to sunlight. We are only beginning to understand what this exposure does to us, and the key roles it might play in various physiological and behavioral processes. It’s only the tip of the iceberg,” says Prof. Carmit Levy Tel Aviv University who led the study.
Researchers have found that exposure to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight enhances romantic passion in humans. In the study, men and women were exposed to UVB (ultraviolet radiation type B) under controlled conditions, and the findings were unequivocal: increased levels of romantic passion in both genders.
Sun + Skin = Love
The study revealed that exposure to sunlight affects the regulation of the endocrine system responsible for the release of sexual hormones in humans. The discovery may lead to practical applications down the line, such as UVB treatments for sexual hormone disorders.
In animal models, the effect was dramatic: the females’ hormone levels rose significantly, enlarging their ovaries and prolonging their mating season; the attraction between males and females increased; and both were more willing to engage in sexual intercourse.
The researchers repeated the experiment on the animal model, this time removing from the skin a protein called p53, which identifies DNA damage and activates pigmentation during exposure to sunlight as protection against its adverse effects. The removal of the protein eliminated the effect of UVB exposure on the animals’ sexual behavior, convincing the researchers that exposure to radiation through the skin was the cause of the observed hormonal, physiological and behavioral changes, and that the protective system is also responsible for the regulation of sexuality.
Furless Humans and Sun Exposure
In the 32 human subjects of the study, all treated with UVB phototherapy at the Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov) and Assuta Medical Centers, both genders exhibited a rise in romantic passion, and males also noted an increase in levels of aggression.
Similar results were found when the subjects were asked to avoid sunlight for two days, and then tan themselves for approximately 25 minutes. Blood tests revealed that exposure to sunlight resulted in a higher release of hormones like testosterone compared to one day before exposure. A rise in testosterone in males during the summer was also found in analyses of data from the Israeli health maintenance organizations Clalit and Maccabi Health Services.
Prof. Carmit Levy (on the left) & PhD student Roma Parikh.
The study was led by PhD student Roma Parikh and Ashchar Sorek from the laboratory of Prof. Levy. UVB phototherapy was administered to the subjects at the Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov) and Assuta Medical Centers. The groundbreaking discovery was published as a cover story in the prestigious scientific journal Cell Reports.
The cost effectiveness of wind farms could be significantly improved by reducing the speed of wind turbines that are clustered together, which could improve their longevity and also reduce noise pollution. A team of researchers from the University of Adelaide led by Dr Rey Chin looked at the operation conditions of wind turbines, investigated those conditions relative to power output and performance, and how turbines interact with each other.
“We have found that the efficiency of wind turbines arranged in wind farms in which turbines are clustered together can be improved by reducing the rotational speed of wind turbines at the front of the group,” said Dr Chin, Senior Lecturer, School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide.
“The power extracted from the wind turbine behind the first is significantly less – up to 30 per cent of the turbine in front of it – because of the effect that the wake has.
“By reducing the rotational speed of the leading turbines, the speed of the ones behind can be increased so that all the turbines in a group spin at the same speed.
Al Marmoom Wind Farm
“This might have a small impact on the total energy generated by wind farms, but this is outweighed by important benefits, some of which are hidden but some, such as reduced noise pollution, are more obvious.”
There are currently 110 wind farms operating across all Australian states and territories of which 31 wind farms, comprising a total of 599 turbines, are more than 15 years old. A wind farm typically has a nominal design life of 20 to 30 years, though some wind farms are now designed for a minimum operating life of 30 years.
Wind turbines cost approximately AUD $7 million each to build and cost around half a million dollars to decommission.
“Up until now, wind turbine technology has been implemented quickly without much consideration for end-of-life planning,” said Dr Chin.
“Wear and tear on a turbine can be significantly reduced by slowing down its rotational speed and will increase its longevity and improve their cost effectiveness.
“Turbines are currently over-designed. By optimising the performance of individual turbines clustered together the design and manufacturing process that goes into making turbines can be simplified and with significant cost savings.”
“Noise pollution is the most significant negative aspect of wind farms and is often cited in opposition to proposed new farms,” said Dr Chin.
“Reducing the noise that farms make by minimising the rotational speed of wind turbines makes this important source of green energy more acceptable for people living nearby.”
The team’s findings will be of great use for the wind farm industry to more carefully plan future farms using more accurate business case analyses.
Valley fever is an emerging fungal disease in the western United States that most often causes flu-like symptoms, but can also cause dangerous or even deadly complications.
By analyzing data on reported cases of Valley fever in California, which have increased dramatically over the last two decades, researchers from University of California San Diego and University of California, Berkeley, have identified seasonal patterns that could help individuals and public health officials better prepare for future surges in Valley fever cases.
The findings also have important implications for how the changing climate can exacerbate the threat of infectious diseases. The findings are published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas.
The researchers collaborated closely with the California Department of Health (CDPH) to analyze all reported Valley fever cases in California from 2000 to 2021. By comparing these to seasonal climate data, they discovered how the disease cycles seasonally across different California counties and identified how these cycles are influenced by drought periods.
The researchers found that while most cases occur during the period from September to November, there were differences in seasonal patterns and timing between counties and years.
“Most seasonal infectious diseases show a peak in cases every year, so we were surprised to see that there were certain years during which few or no counties had a seasonal peak in Valley fever cases,” said author Alexandra Heaney. “This made us wonder what was driving these differences in seasonality between years, and based on the timing we observed, we hypothesized that drought might be playing a role.”
The researchers found that on average, counties in the San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast regions had the most pronounced seasonal peaks, though the peaks started earlier in San Joaquin Valley.
“This is valuable information to time public health messaging aimed at educating the public about the symptoms of Valley fever and how to protect themselves,” added Heaney.
Valley fever is caused by spores from the soil-dwelling Coccidioides fungus. People contract Valley fever by inhaling infectious spores that become aerosolized when the soil is disturbed by wind or human activity. Valley fever is most likely to affect people who are exposed to airborne dust frequently, including those who work outdoors. However, the disease is not contagious.
Valley fever has long been a problem in the American Southwest, but the number of cases has skyrocketed in recent years, tripling from 2014–2018 and again from 2018–2022, according to the CDPH. However, because it is still relatively rare, and because it causes similar symptoms to other respiratory infections, including COVID-19, Valley fever is often misdiagnosed.
When left untreated, the fungus can cause severe damage to the respiratory system and spread to other parts of the body, such as the skin, bones and even the brain, the latter of which can be deadly.
“Knowing when the Valley fever season starts and how intense it will be can help health care practitioners know when they should be on high alert for new cases,” said corresponding author Justin Remais. “This is the first study to pin down exactly when disease risk is highest in all of California’s endemic counties, as well as places where the disease is newly emerging.”
The researchers observed that during drought periods, seasonal peaks in Valley fever cases are less severe. However, when the rains return, these peaks are particularly high. One hypothesis to explain this pattern is that droughts allow heat-resistant Coccidioides spores to outlast their less-hardy competitors. When rains return, the fungus is able to proliferate widely with less competition for moisture and nutrients.
Another hypothesis suggests that the links between Valley fever and drought may be due to drought’s impact on rodents that host the Coccidioides fungus. Because rodent populations decline during droughts, and because dead rodents are thought to be an important source of nutrients for the fungus, it may be able to survive and spread more easily in drought conditions.
“This work is an important example of how infectious diseases are influenced by climate conditions,” said Heaney. “Even though droughts appear to decrease Valley fever cases in the short term, the net effect is an increase in cases over time, particularly as we experience more frequent and severe droughts due to climate change.”
Individuals can help protect themselves against Valley fever during dry and dusty periods by minimizing time outdoors and wearing face coverings that can block dust. The researchers also emphasize the need for more thorough monitoring of the Valley fever fungus, which can be difficult to detect.
The team is now expanding the range of their analyses to include other Valley fever hotspots in the United States.
“Arizona is much dustier than California and has very different climate dynamics, and about two thirds of cases in the United States occur in Arizona, so that’s where we’re looking next,” said Heaney. “Understanding where, when, and in what conditions Valley fever is most prevalent is critical for public health officials, physicians, and the public to take precautions during periods of increased risk.”
A little brown bat with white-nose syndrome. Credit: Marvin Moriarty/USFWS
We often curse some animals we don’t like in nature. Mosquitoes come to mind as the first choice. And a lot of people don’t like bats because of the movies, but they are masterful at pest control. According to the US Forest Service bats catch 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in an hour, and a nursing mother eats approximately 4,500 insects every night.
When insect-eating bats are wiped out by a new fungus found in the US known as ‘white nose syndrome’, farmers turn to pesticides for pest control — possibly leading to knock-on effects for human health and the survival rates of babies.
Researchers compared counties in the northeastern United States where the white nose fungus had killed most bats to those areas where the disease hadn’t yet spread.
In places where bat populations had crashed, farmers used 31% more insecticides and infant deaths not due to accidents or homicides rose by 8% — numbers that the authors suggest might be linked. Where bats remained, there was no change in pesticide use or infant mortality.
Tricolored bat from Avery County, North Carolina, with white-nose syndrome. Credit:Gabrielle Graeter/NCWR.
White-nose syndrome (WNS) according to the NGO in its name is a disease that affects hibernating bats and is caused by a fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, or Pd for short. Sometimes Pd looks like a white fuzz on bats’ faces, which is how the disease got its name. Pd grows in cold, dark and damp places.
White nose syndrome in bats. Little Brown Bat; close up of nose with fungus, New York, Oct. 2008. Credit: Ryan von Linden/New York Department of Environmental Conservation
It attacks the bare skin of bats while they’re hibernating in a relatively inactive state. As it grows, Pd causes changes in bats that make them become active more than usual and burn up fat they need to survive the winter. Bats with white-nose syndrome may do strange things like fly outside in the daytime in the winter.
Where did White-nose Syndrome Come From?
Biologists first saw bats sick and dying from white-nose syndrome in 2007 in caves near Albany, New York. However, cave explorers in that area had taken a photo of bats with a white powder on their noses the year before, so white-nose syndrome has been in North America at least since 2006.
According to the whitenosesyndrome website white-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats in North America. At some sites, 90 to 100 percent of bats have died. Several species are affected, with the hardest-hit being the northern long-eared bat, little brown bat, and tricolored bat.
There is no cure for white-nose syndrome, but scientists from all over the world are working together to study the disease, how it spreads and infects bats and what we can do to control it. Several experimental treatments, including a vaccine and making changes to bat habitats, are in progress and will hopefully lead to increased survival of bats from this devastating disease.
Highly endangered but still kicking: researchers from Israel have found the breeding ground of a rare sea creature, a kind of ray once thought to be a shark, called the guitarfish. The long-term study at the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa found that the coast between Ma’agan Michael and Dor Beach serves as a nursery ground for the blackchin guitarfish and the scientists are working to get it declared a nature reserve.
Dor Beach is a popular place for people from all over Israel to swim. It is free to enter but you need a car to get there.
Blackchin guitarfish is a cartilaginous fish in danger of extinction.
The researchers found that concentrations of juvenile guitarfish develop from the end of August through early November.
“A nursery ground is a natural area where animals, particularly marine species, gather during the early stages of life. A nursery ground is defined as an area that enhances the animals’ chances of survival during the sensitive early stage of life by providing optimum conditions in terms of food, protection against predators, and shelter from extreme environmental conditions. Following the study findings, we hope this area will be declared a nature reserve when the young guitarfish gather here so they can be protected,” says PhD student Eynav Cohen, one of the study’s authors.
The guitarfish, also referred to as shovelnose rays, are a family, Rhinobatidae, of rays. The guitarfish are known for an elongated body with a flattened head and trunk and small, ray-like wings. The combined range of the various species is tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate waters worldwide.
Guitarfish populations are in constant decline around the world, and in the Mediterranean Sea in particular, mainly as a result of net fishing. These fish are now classed at the highest level of extinction risk for vertebrates.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the blackchin guitarfish is in critical danger of extinction. The researchers add that there is a lack of biological and ecological knowledge about guitarfish, including population sizes along Israel’s coast and worldwide. Most of the existing knowledge comes from commercial fishing data.
This study was the first time a monitoring program for guitarfish in Israel was established.
The researchers hope that their study’s findings, confirming that the area serves as a nursery ground for the blackchin guitarfish, will motivate national to regional regulatory bodies to declare the area as a marine nature reserve when the guitarfish are present.
So little is known about the Mediterranean Sea and its biodiversity. Since the establishment of the Suez Canal and the linking of the Med Sea to the Red Sea biodiversity has become under threat due to invasive species such as the jellyfish taking over. Egypt earns almost $10 Billion USD a year for the canal which allows ships to bypass Africa on their way to Europe but Egypt has denied its culpability in the biodiversity invasion.
The Egyptian National Authority for Tunnels has contracted a consortium to renovate its Cairo Metro Line 1. The group includes France-based Colas Rail, Egypt‘s Orascom Construction and Japan’s Hitachi Rail in an 800 million EUR) ($1.1 B USD) contract, split between the three companies.
The Line 1 in Cairo metro is the oldest underground train line in Egypt and is the heart of the city’s urban transport system, carrying 1.5 million people daily. The new investment will increase capacity on the line.
Cairo commuter train
“We are proud to have supported the National Authority for Tunnels over more than 40 years in the construction of reliable, low-carbon urban mobility infrastructure in Cairo and Alexandria,” said Hervé Le Joliff, Chairman of Colas Rail. “The modernisation of line 1, which Colas Rail helped to build in the 1980s, represents a new challenge. Over the next few years, many of the world’s major cities will have to modernise their underground railway lines to keep pace with the growing demand for mobility among the population.”
The trains of Cairo. Look at the trash everywhere.
Under the contract, Colas Rail will work with Orascom to modernize the electric power supply and electromechanical systems in stations, tunnels and on the rail track.
Hitachi Rail will upgrade the signaling, control and telecommunications infrastructure.
This work will be completed during the day while maintaining commercial operations on the line. The project is expected to start in October 2024 and will run for 64 months.
Alessio Bencivenni, Head of Ground Transportation Systems for Egypt, Hitachi Rail said: “Our solution will enable greater safety, reliability and capacity on the line and deliver more seamless and sustainable journeys for passengers in Cairo.”
A farm in Turkey threatened by sinkholes. Image via ABC News: Tom Joyner
A farm in Turkey threatened by sinkholes. Image via ABC News: Tom Joyner
In the fertile plains of Turkey known as the Konya Plain and celebrated as the country’s breadbasket, an eerie phenomenon is taking shape. More than 2,600 sinkholes have appeared in the last years and experts believe it’s from drought and a reckless use of the country’s groundwater draining the aquifers.
Deadly sinkhole in farmers’ field Turkey. The above images via Reddit
Varying in size the sinkholes are starting to threaten not on the farmers’ lives but residential areas as well including the regions of Cihanbeyli, Yunak, Kulu, Sarayönü and Kadınhanı, where the farmers’ rely on grain production.
While sinkholes are believed to occur in nature, experts in Turkey say the sudden increase is manmade. Officials at the the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and the Sinkhole Application Research Center at Konya Technical University are closely monitoring the situation.
Turkish environmentalists were killed for protecting the land. The least we can do is petition that justice is served.
The government had issued rules for sterilizing feral dogs and cats on the streets. The policies weren’t enforced and now the animals are paying the price.
Ethiopia has built a dam on the Nile to meet 60% of its power needs. Downstream countries Sudan and Egypt are furious as this threatens their water supply. They are asking for UN intervention –– or war?
The Nile River as we know it is the large river that floods wide areas of Egypt, allowing for the farming of wheat, beans, cotton and fruit –– and tourism. But the Nile is one of the longest rivers in the world, and one of the two major sources of the mighty Nile starts in Ethiopia at what is known as the Blue Nile at Lake Tana. The Blue Nile is the source of 85% of the Nile water. The second source starts lower down in Uganda and passes through Sudan.
Over the years Ethiopia has been building a dam called the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) about 10 miles east of Sudan to supply its energy needs. Ethiopia has been building Africa’s largest hydro-electric dam since 2011. The landlocked country, which I visited this year, has one of the lowest rates of access to modern energy services, with its energy supply primarily based on biomass, followed by oil (5.7%) and hydropower (1.6%).
The main purpose of the GERD in Ethiopia is power generation, and its 13 turbines are expected to produce about 16,000 GWh of electricity annually which will double Ethiopia’s previous output of electricity and provide power to 60% of the country’s population. If you have ever visited Ethiopia you will understand how meaningful this is.
The GERD dam was completed in 2023
In 2023, Ethiopia filled the GERD reservoir to completion and Egypt, opposed to the GERD project, announced this was a violation of international law.
In the image below via the US Government site USGS you will see the area of GERD before the dam was built, and then a second photo of the water it required to fill the dam area near completion.
The GERD reservoir is in a deep gorge, so its surface area is relatively small compared to its volume. This means less water will be lost to evaporation than in desert reservoirs. The lake’s capacity is about twice the volume of Lake Mead formed by the Hoover Dam in the United States.
Including the Aswan High Dam in Egypt, which forms Lake Nasser and has the capacity of four times the volume of Lake Mead, two of the world’s largest dams are now on the Nile River system, in two different countries.
But Egypt is not happy about the Ethiopian dam, despite it building its own dam on the Nile: “We are ready to exercise our right to defend and protect the rights and interests of the Egyptian people, in accordance with the UN Charter,” said a warning letter issued to the Ethiopian government, addressed to the President of the UN Security Council and signed by the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Badr Abdelatty this month.
Egypt calls for the intervention of the UN in regards to filling of the GERD. Egypt says that Ethiopia is violating previous international agreements: “Egypt is almost entirely dependent on the Nile River for its renewable water resources, that are indispensable for the vital human needs and fundamental rights of Egyptians,” the letter states.
“Even though the Nile River has witnessed consecutive above-average flood seasons in recent years, which has relatively protected Egypt from major harm, the continuation of Ethiopian policies, as announced by the Ethiopian Prime Minister on 26 August 2024, could result in an existential threat to Egypt as well as the rights and interests of the 150 million citizens of both downstream countries, and would consequently jeopardize regional and international peace and security.”
For this reason, Egypt declares that after “having exhausted all amicable means, including those repeatedly resorting to the Security Council, in hopes of persuading Ethiopia to desist from its unlawful unilateral policies and accept any of the existing compromise solutions that balance the interests and rights of all parties, the Government of Egypt, therefore stands ready to exercise its rights to defend and protect the rights and interests of the Egyptian people, in accordance with the United Nations Charter.
“Egypt urges the Security Council to assume its responsibilities under Article 24 of the UN Charter, by taking appropriate measures to ensure that Ethiopia cease its unlawful unilateral practices in the Nile Basin,” the letter concludes.
Egypt recently signed a military agreement with the Somali governments to deploy Egyptian troops in the Horn of Africa which borders Ethiopia.
“Such policies are at odds with the aspiration of most regional countries to enhance cooperation and integration among themselves, instead of sowing seeds of strife and differences between peoples bound by ties of brotherhood and common destiny,” Abdelatty said addressing the UNSC president.
Abdelatty said the dam will have “serious negative effects on the two downstream countries” which are Egypt and Sudan.
Is Egypt the pot calling the kettle black? Egypt built the Aswan Dam or the Aswan High Dam, as one of the world’s largest embankment dams, built across the Nile in Aswan, Egypt, between 1960 and 1970. It is about 600 miles from the Sudan border.
Like many other dams in the world, the Aswan dam had negative effects leading to water-borne disease, a rising water table that damaged urban sewer systems, damaging ancient monuments, and it deteriorated agricultural fields. The lack of rich sediment in the water drove high artificial fertilizer use and wiped out fish populations.
Egypt is not an angel in other ecological ways: It disregards the effects of the Suez Canal which is destroying ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea despite the man-made canal bringing in an estimated $9.4 billion USD (2023) in revenue. Egypt was not abiding by UN law when it allowed for billions of dollars of terror money to siphon into its borders through to Gaza over the last 15 years. And it easily allowed Hamas terrorists to cross into Egypt and fly out of its sovereign borders to countries like Turkey and Qatar.
When it comes to ecological deodorant I’ve tried them all in countries around the world. The deoderant crystals, roll-ons, and pots of paste you slide onto your pits with your fingers. It’s come to a point where I can’t trust the eco deodorants because they don’t work, and I can’t stand the non-eco solutions because of the fake smells and the obvious health risks.
Ask my friends on a sunny afternoon in the Middle East: don’t hug me. I smell.
Now it hasn’t been put to the true test of weeks or months, but so far so good: It seems that I have found deodorant salvation in a little non-plastic tube made by a company in New Mexico – a 60-person team making products, mainly deodorant under a brand called Humble.
I bought a Humble deodorant at Nature’s Emporium near Toronto. The scent I found – bergamot and ginger is – a pleasure, with bergamot being my favorite go to scent. It’s light and citrusy.
Humble’s simple tube makes it easy to apply a few layers of the creamy but dry when applied.
The fact that Humble works is what works for me. I have read some mixed online reviews about it staining clothing:this might be from the MCT, a coconut derived oil used in the formulation but I haven’t noticed any problems. My wardrobe is pretty basic and since I have a sweat problem I tend to avoid pastel colors and colored silks. I work and live in my clothes and Humble, so far so good.
The main ingredients in Humble are things you can probably cook together on your own from products you buy at a pharmacy: MCT, corn starch, baking soda, and beeswax. And that’s what you will love about this product.
A FIFA stadium for the World Cup 2034 in Saudi Arabia
It’s 10 years away and hopefully the Houthi conflict in the Red Sea far behind them: Saudi Arabia has already revealed plans for 15 of its 2034 World Cup stadiums. This will be the second FIFA World Cup to be help in the Middle East after Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The stadiums will host the World Cup and includes a venue built at the 15-minute city, The Line. Another is based on the surface of the bark of a tree.
A total of 11 new stadiums will need to be built, with 3 under construction. Two of Saudi Arabia’s largest stadiums will be renovated for the event and 2 others expanded. How can we ensure that worker’s rights in Saudi Arabia are upheld?
A Guardian report issued in February 2021 found that more than 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in Qatar since the award of the tournament. The death records were not categorised by occupation or place of work but it is assumed they were accidents that took place during construction of the stadium, pointing to modern-day slavery conditions in Qatar that still has not seen much media attention.
“Trade unionists have used the COP18 discussions in Qatar to bring the silent but disturbing plight of migrant workers to light. While the emirate boasts about its plans to build a bevy of solar-powered stadiums in advance of the 2022 World Cup in addition to a host of other eco-boosting projects, very little has been said about who is going to do the work. Like Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, Qatar relies very heavily on migrant workers, who do all the dirty work but receive few of the benefits of their hard, miserable labor.”
FIFA is set to confirm Saudi Arabia as the host for the 2034 event in December, with the country the only bidder for the event. Who is going to hold FIFA and Saudi Arabia accountable for worker’s rights when basic media is not allowed to report from Saudi Arabia?
Read on for details of the 15 stadiums set to host games at the 2034 World Cup:
New Murabba Stadium, Riyadh, unknown architect
The New Murabba Stadium will be surrounded by rock-like forms divided by canyons: “Its design replicates the layered overlapping planes and peeling planar texture of the bark of the native acacia tree,” according to the bid placed.
King Salman International Stadium, Riyadh, by Populous
This venue will host the World Cup 2034 final and will be the country’s largest stadium when complete. It is designed by the architecture studio Populous, and will have a capacity of 92,000.
“The stadium will blend into its surrounding topography, with terrain and natural habitat forming part of the stadium’s roof,” said the official submission.
“Aside from its aesthetic appeal, this design will provide effective shading and ventilation tailored to the desert climate.”
Roshn Stadium, Riyadh, ROSHYN Gruop
“The stadium is designed as a dynamic part of the urban fabric, encouraging the community to walk around and through the facility,” announced the bid.
King Fahd Sports City Stadium, Riyadh, by Ian Fraser, John Roberts, Michael KC Cheah
First opened in 1987, the King Fahd Sports City Stadium is covered with a distinctive fabric roof supported on a series of masts. Set in east of Riyadh, it is being refurbished by Populous to increase seating from 58,000 to 70,000.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium, Riyadh, by Populous
Named after Mohammed bin Salman, the stadium is planned about 20 miles from Riyadh and the cliffside stadium will include attendee stands on three sides with a large, retractable LED wall occupying the other side. There are no sustainability elements supplied.
“The bowl has been designed to optimise the spectator experience, featuring a unique three-sided arrangement to allow for spectacular views out towards the Tuwaiq cliffs,” wrote the official bidders.
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium, Riyadh, Populous
“The stadium design draws inspiration from the ‘culturally contextualized modernism’ principles of Salmani architecture,” said the bid.
The stadium will include solar panels and locally sourced materials.
South Riyadh Stadium, Riyadh, Populous
Influenced by “Salmani architecture”, the South Riyadh Stadium will be located in the south Riyadh. “The facade blends modernity with the rich architectural language and material palette of the area,” according to the bid.
King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, by Michael KC Cheah, renovation by Populous
This is one of the two existing stadiums that will be expanded for the World Cup so it can seat 46,000 during the tournament instead of 33,000 currently.
King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah, by Arup
This venue was opened in 2014 by Arup and can hold 62,000 people. It will be refurbished for the World Cup: “Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Sports City Stadium is an elegant, respectful and versatile complex that combines traditional Islamic architecture with innovative design to form a highly functional, sustainable and flexible building,” said Arup.
Qiddiya Coast Stadium, Jeddah, Populous
This colorful stadium will be built aboutu 30 miles outside Jeddah.
“It is designed as a physical representation of the vibrant relationship between people and water, energy and matter, with its design also evoking the ripple effect of a Mexican wave,” said the bidder.
“Its form undulates; its vibrant color palette is rich and joyful.”
Jeddah Central Development Stadium, Jeddah, by GMP Architecten
This is being built as one of the anchor buildings of the Jeddah Central giga project and will include a 45,000 seat stadium designed by German studio GMP Architecten. The idea is to look like historic structures, though Saudi Arabian historic buildings were essentially palaces and buildings made from mud. See the House of Saud.
“It echoes the traditional architecture of Jeddah’s historic Al Balad district, while embracing technological advancements and innovative building design,” said the bidder.
“It features three tiers, with an outer concourse connected to four surrounding ‘villages’. The stadium bowl is fully covered by a semi-translucent roof, with a retractable inner roof and a 360-degree LED screen.”
King Abdullah Economic City Stadium, Jeddah, unknown architect
Located 60 miles from Jeddah, the King Abdullah Economic City Stadium will form part of a planned new city on the Red Sea Coast. The drum-shaped stadium will have a capacity of 45,000.
Aramco Stadium, Al Khobar, by Foster + Partners and Populous
With a concept by UK studio Foster + Partners and now being designed by Populous, the Aramco Stadium is under construction in Al Khobar.
“The stadium’s architecture celebrates the sea’s dynamic nature and its profound influence on the local community,” said the bid: “Its whirlpool-shaped design mimics overlapping sails and draws on graceful, natural wave motifs, to blend seamlessly with the coastal landscape.”
King Khalid University Stadium, Abha, a renovation by Populous
Located in Abha, the King Khalid University Stadium is stadium number 2 that will be expanded and retrofitted to accommodate a larger crowd.
Abha, UN Habitat, Saudi Arabia
The stadium can hold 12,000 and it will be increased to 45,000 during the World Cup.
(L to R) Sergey Khodorov, Maxim Varenik, Dr. David Ehre and Prof. Igor Lubomirsky
Piezoelectric materials transform energy of walking, cycling or your car driving over them into energy. But piezoelectric materials require lead. A new piezoelectric ceramic produced in Prof. Igor Lubomirsky’s lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science belongs to a class of materials that are the backbone of many essential technologies but that unfortunately also create an environmental problem because they usually contain lead, which is highly toxic.
The surprising thing about the Weizmann ceramic was that it could perform just as well as other materials in this category while being entirely nontoxic.
The new material falls into a class of substances that become deformed when exposed to an electric field, undergoing strains and stresses that are widely exploited in a slew of devices to produce tiny, precise movements. In cell phones, for example, the slight deformation induced by voltage can set off the charging process or move the lens to create autofocus. In industrial inkjet printers, a plate buckles when voltage is applied, ejecting a controlled amount of ink.
Using platforms inserted within sidewalks Pavegen converts steps into electric power (while also generating data and even rewards)
At present, materials that undergo such deformations – they are known as electrostrictors or piezoelectrics, depending on the underlying mechanism – are a major source of lead pollution. Because electrostrictive and piezoelectric components tend to be too small to be recycled, tons of lead regularly end up in landfills. Even though lead has been phased out from most other applications in the Western world, these materials are so indispensable that their use continues to be permitted.
Previous attempts by scientists around the world to produce lead-free electrostrictive or piezoelectric materials have been only marginally successful: Some are too chemically reactive, others too difficult to make. In contrast, the Weizmann substance – cerium oxide laced with about ten percent zirconium oxide – is inert and simple to manufacture. But perhaps its major potential advantage is that compared to materials currently in use, it can produce the same deformation while having a much lower dielectric constant, which means that it stores less electric charge – that is, it requires less energy to do the same work.
“For about ten years we’d studied something considered utterly useless. Now we’ve suddenly obtained a material with potential engineering applications”
The new ceramic’s source materials are cheap and readily available. Both cerium and zirconium are relatively abundant in Earth’s crust and are mined all over the planet for a variety of industrial applications. Cerium oxide, for example, is commonly used in powdered form to polish lenses and as a catalyst in catalytic converters, devices that reduce harmful emissions in cars.
The ceramic might therefore offer an attractive and environmentally friendly alternative to existing electrostrictive or piezoelectric materials. But when, over a decade ago, Lubomirsky first started the research that would lead to its discovery, practical applications were far from his mind. His team had discovered that under certain circumstances, the mechanical properties of cerium oxide – in pure form and when laced with impurities – didn’t fit the classical picture. The electrostrictive effect was about 100 times stronger than expected according to the predominant theory – still too tiny to be of practical use, but intriguing. The team continued to explore it.
Electronic waste. A major environmental headache
About three years ago, Maxim Varenik, a PhD student in Lubomirsky’s lab, performed an experiment that produced startling results. He introduced trivalent impurities – atoms with a chemical valence of three, that is, having three electrons in their outer orbit – into cerium. When he applied voltage to the resultant substances, he noticed an interesting, regular phenomenon: The smaller the inserted atoms were in size, the greater the electrostriction. Because the increases in electrostriction had occurred along such a neat, straight line, he was curious to continue experimenting with ever smaller atoms. However, he ultimately ran out of trivalent impurities; none of the smaller ones he had already tried could be dissolved in cerium oxide.
Varenik then decided to introduce zirconium, the substance usually used in catalytic converters, even though it has four electrons in its outer orbit rather than three. To his and everyone else’s amazement, the electrostriction of the material he created didn’t move up by a notch, as had happened with the other experimental materials. Rather, it shot up about two hundredfold.
Lubomirsky (left) and Varenik. The desirable deformation
“For about ten years we’d studied something considered utterly useless – we did it for the sake of scientific curiosity,” Lubomirsky says. “Now we’ve suddenly obtained a material with potential engineering applications. The strains and stresses produced within it by voltage are on a par with those observed in the best commercial materials.”
In addition to exploring the properties that might make their ceramic attractive for industrial use, scientists in Lubomirsky’s lab are trying to explain why its electrostrictive performance was so far off the classical charts. “This is not an animal we’ve ever seen in our zoo,” Lubomirsky says.
Ever since discovering this nonclassical electrostriction, Lubomirsky’s team has been studying it in collaboration with Prof. Anatoly Frenkel of Stony Brook University, one of the world’s leading experts on a type of spectroscopy known as EXAFS. Recently, they were joined in this research by the theoretician Prof. Yue Qi of Brown University.
Their task, however, is far from being complete. “We still don’t fully understand what happens in this material,” Lubomirsky says, “but that’s precisely what makes it interesting.”
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People in the Middle East have understood that privacy and protection from the intense heat outside go hand in hand. The mashrabiya is an ancient Arab invention to passively cool buildings and keep strangers from looking in. But not all of us can invest in architecture additions. Or frosted glass. And when there is a heat way or instant privacy needed, no need to go far. You can use a Scandinavian trick that puts a few coats of yoghurt on your windows to create a fritted or frosted glass appearance.
Make shift curtains, use yoghurt to frost glass.Above and below images via Scandimama
The yoghurt is easy to apply with a small roller brush, it doesn’t smell, it doesn’t attract insects, it doesn’t degrade and it can be washed off simply with a cloth and water once the heatwave (or your privacy issues) are over. It’s a also a cheap and easy solution if you are renting or are allergic to dust from heat blocking curtains.
Buy sugar free Greek yoghurt – the higher the fat content the better. Oak yoghurt works. If you use a lower fat content, the effect will be more opaque.
Map out section of window that you want to frost. You can take out straight lines, heart shapes, or buy stickers or stencils to map out your design.
Above and lower image of taping off windows for yoghurt frost via Reddit
Roll on 2 or 3 coats of yoghurt on the inside of your window. (You can also use the exterior side if you live in an area that doesn’t get extensive rain.) It is possible to dab on the yoghurt with a sponge.
When dry and you have achieved your desired effect, pull away your tape and stencils and voila!
When dry you can scratch out designs as well using a hard piece of plastic like an old credit card.
If you want a more permanent solution, you can use acrylic paint to “frost” the glass but this is harder to remove. The previous owners of the house I bought self-frosted the bathroom windows in my bathroom this way and it is impossible to remove the bad paint job, Go for the yoghurt.
A new study has found that vultures, much like humans, experience changes in movement habits and social relationships as they age. Young vultures frequently move between roosting sites and hang out a lot with their friends. During adolescence, they spend about half their nights at a permanent site at home and the other half at other sites.
In old age, however, vultures scale back on socializing, preferring to “stay home.”
The study followed 142 Eurasian Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) and is among the first to shed light on the behavioral changes in aging animals in the wild.
The researchers utilized a database accumulated over 15 years from GPS devices attached to 142 vultures that tracked them for periods of up to 12 years. The vulture, a social bird, sleeps in roosts on cliffs. By cross-referencing the vultures’ ages with the GPS data on their roosting sites, the researchers discovered that as the vultures aged, they increasingly preferred to stay at the same roosting site.
A vulture in captivity learns to join the flock
The study was led by Marta Acácio at Tel Aviv University and Prof. Noa Pinter-Wollman of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The findings were published in the prestigious journal PNAS.
“Vultures are a locally endangered species in Israel, with only about 200 individual vultures remaining. They are closely monitored to determine the best possible conservation methods. We thought about what else could be gleaned from the extensive database we have accumulated over the years and agreed it would be interesting to explore how vultures age,” says Spiegel.
“Tracking the same individuals in the wild over many years is often very challenging, but the transmitters we use to monitor the population provided us with a rare opportunity to observe the aging process in vultures specifically and in animals generally.
It turns out that aging vultures behave a bit like humans and are more inclined to stay at home. When they are young, vultures like to explore new sites and frequently move between places; the likelihood that a young vulture will sleep at the same site two nights in a row is low.
When they reach adolescence at the age of five, this behavior stabilizes, and as adults they spend 50 percent of their nights at the same site and the other 50 percent at other sites. When they are old, from the age of 10 onwards, they no longer have the energy to be “out and about,” and return consistently to the same site.
According to Spiegel, these fascinating findings on the aging of birds also have very practical implications for conservation efforts. “This new study can help us better protect vultures’ roosting sites in the wild. Additionally, we have now seen that older vultures have fewer social connections, which can help us to prevent poisoning. The transmitters are connected to a system that sends an alert to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and to us by phone, if the vulture is not moving or has landed in a dangerous place, indicating that it may have been poisoned. Unfortunately, this happens frequently.
The danger arises when a vulture descends on a poisoned goat carcass, not knowing that a farmer has poisoned the carcass in order to kill stray dogs. Being social birds, vultures do not come down alone, leading to the risk of dozens of vultures dying at once. Understanding how wide the poisoned vulture’s social circle is will significantly help in mitigating the damage.”
It is important to note that vultures play an important ecological role in the disposing of carcasses. Studies have shown that the extinction of vultures ultimately leads to the loss of human lives, due to the rise of diseases such as rabies. In India, for example, a recently published study revealed that the extinction of vultures due to poisoning resulted in the deaths of half a million people over the course of five years.
Just as the weather heats up in the Mediterranean a nasty surprise makes it uncomfortable to surf and swim. After Egypt created the man-made Suez Canal to link the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea a nightmare of invasive animal, plant and bacterial species have overtook the Mediterranean Sea.
They compete with fish and habitat, causing harm to natural ecosystems. It’s been over 150 years since the canal was created and there is little evidence that Egypt has done anything to protect habitats on either side of the canal. Toxic jellyfish and invasive lionfish are two of the more well known invaders. Most worrisome has been the arrival of the Lagocephalus Sceleratus, an extremely poisonous bony fish commonly known as the silver-cheeked toadfish.
Desalination plants could create a salinity barrier that would slow the invaders from traveling back and forth but meanwhile research continues on the expansion and behavior of the newcomers.
The phenomenon of migrating from the Red to Med Sea is called the Lessepsian migration (or the Erythrean invasion). It is more rare for the migration to happen in the opposite direction.
One jellyfish, the invasive Rhopilema nomadica, is a nomad jellyfish indigenous to tropical warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Since the 70’s it has been also found in Mediterranean Sea, where it entered via the Suez Canal. It is now the the commonest jellyfish in the southeastern Mediterranean, and they actually direct themselves and “swim” to the west while swimming, according to researchers who studied them.
“Until now, it was assumed that jellyfish aggregations swim in a random manner, so that their direction is dictated solely by water currents…We discovered that along the coast of Israel, jellyfish swim toward the west, i.e., against the direction of the waves,” said Dr. Yoav Lehahn of the Department of Marine Geosciences at the University of Haifa, the editor of the study.
Jellyfish belong to the phylum Cnidaria and have existed for around 500 million years without any morphological changes. Researchers’ knowledge about jellyfish is still very limited in many respects. One of the biggest unknowns about jellyfish aggregations is the nature of their movement and migration patterns.
The lack of understanding of this aspect impairs the ability to prepare for the arrival of jellyfish at various facilities, such as power stations and desalination plants. “If the jellyfish were passive – in other words, if they were not able to move independently and simply drifted along in sea currents, we could predict the arrival of aggregations. We cannot do so, and this suggests that jellyfish have swimming capabilities that we do not yet understand,” the researchers explained.
The data collection stage in the study was complex: a light airplane flew along the coastline from Ashkelon in the south to Nahariya in the north, mapping the distribution of aggregations and identifying the largest ones. Next, the researchers monitored and photographed the direction of progress of the aggregations using drones operated from a nearby research boat.
The researchers examined the direction in which the aggregations swam relative to the sea currents and waves and found they swim collectively at a speed of around 10cm a second, moving to the west in a counter-wave direction. By so doing, they distance themselves from the coast and increase their chances of survival. The researchers added that the swimming patterns may vary between different jellyfish species and different maritime environments:
“When the strong tidal currents are dominant, it is possible that the jellyfish would swim against the current rather than against the waves, in order to reduce the risk of being swept onto the beach. In other cases, jellyfish may prefer to stay close to the coast, in inlets or estuaries. Swimming toward the open sea may not always be the first choice – the underlying objective is to reach a place where they have the best chances of survival.”
After storms, for example, large numbers of jellyfish are swept onto the beach, because they were unable to overcome the undertow created by the waves, the researchers note. The study advances our understanding of their movements, and in the future may allow us to predict when accumulations will arrive on coasts and when they will depart.
During the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year, the Suez Canal revenues hit a record-breaking $9.4 billion. Canal revenues are a key source of foreign currency for Egypt alongside tourism. Egypt should be earmarking a significant amount of these profits to helping protect the ecosystems that have been devastated. Why is no one holding Egypt accountable?
The Walmart Foundation has provided the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) a four-year grant that will significantly boost its work in Indonesia. The grant will support a landscape initiative in southern Aceh Province: a key region for forests and biodiversity and for smallholder farming communities.
Aceh is home to the highly biodiverse Leuser Ecosystem, frequently referred to as the “Last Place on Earth.” It is indeed the last place on Earth where orangutans, tigers, elephants, and rhinoceros are found to coexist.
The grant will enable WCS to support the Government of Indonesia in protecting and restoring this valuable forest and peatland landscape and improving the livelihoods of rural communities living at the forest edge.
Home to the Sumatran Orang-utan, the Aceh forest is considered the last place on earth.
Aceh Province has 3.5 million hectares of forest, which play a key role for biodiversity and in mitigating climate change but are threatened by the expansion of agricultural and industrial activities. Meanwhile, communities bordering important forest areas often experience poverty and have limited options for sustainable livelihoods.
These challenges play out in southern Aceh where the province’s last remaining intact peatland ecosystem—Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve—meets Gunung Leuser National Park, which makes up part of Southeast Asia’s largest intact rainforest. This area is also the only place where Sumatran elephant, orangutan, tiger, and rhino co-exist in the wild.
“Specifically, the grant will enable WCS to strengthen support for the government and a multi-stakeholder collaboration to translate national and provincial plans and conservation targets to the local level, supporting livelihoods and ecosystem integrity at scale,” said Joe Walston, Executive Vice President for WCS Global. “We are grateful for the Walmart Foundation’s commitment to help advance an inclusive multi-stakeholder platform for the landscape, ensuring the most vulnerable are part of developing sound management plans for the region.”
Field-based ‘SMART’ patrols and conservation area management plans will enhance the protection of key areas, including the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve and other management units that serve as crucial habitat and wildlife corridors for endangered species.
Capacity building with 500 smallholder oil palm farmers will improve on-farm productivity and, along with broader community engagement and support for Forest Farmer Groups, will help to foster improved and more sustainable livelihoods, and reduce encroachment pressures facing the forest.
Said Julie Gehrki, VP and Chief Operating Officer, Walmart Foundation: “The rainforests and peatland ecosystems of southern Aceh are critically important for wildlife, people, and palm oil production. These are critical contributors to our global ecosystem and supply chain and we look forward to seeing how this work helps advance a more sustainable and inclusive landscape approach in the region.
“We’ve made a commitment to help protect, restore, or more sustainable manage at least 50 million acres of land by 2030—and the conservation efforts catalyzed by this work can act as an important contributor.”
An insect species that evolved 130 million years ago is the inspiration for a new research study to improve navigation systems in drones, robots, and orbiting satellites. The dung beetle is the first known species to use the Milky Way at night to navigate, focusing on the constellation of stars as a reference point to roll balls of dung in a straight line away from their competitors.
Swedish researchers made this discovery in 2013 and a decade later, Australian engineers are modelling the same technique used by the dung beetle to develop an AI sensor that can accurately measure the orientation of the Milky Way in low light. This advance could be used to create better navigational technology for drones.
University of South Australia remote sensing engineer Professor Javaan Chahl and his team of PhD students have used computer vision to demonstrate that the large stripe of light that forms the Milky Way is not affected by motion blur, unlike individual stars.
“Nocturnal dung beetles move their head and body extensively when rolling balls of manure across a field, needing a fixed orientation point in the night sky to help them steer in a straight line,” Prof Chahl says. “Their tiny compound eyes make it difficult to distinguish individual stars, particularly while in motion, whereas the Milky Way is highly visible.”
In a series of experiments using a camera mounted to the roof of a vehicle, the UniSA researchers captured images of the Milky Way while the vehicle was both stationery and moving. Using information from those images they have developed a computer vision system that reliably measures the orientation of the Milky Way, which is the first step towards building a navigation system.
Their findings have been published in the journal Biomimetics.
Lead author UniSA PhD candidate Yiting Tao says the orientation sensor could be a backup method to stabilise satellites and help drones and robots to navigate in low light, even when there is a lot of blur caused by movement and vibration: “For the next step I want to put the algorithm on a drone and allow it to control the aircraft in flight during the night,” Tao says.
The sun helps many insects to navigate during the day, including wasps, dragonflies, honeybees, and desert ants. At night, the moon also provides a reference point for nocturnal insects, but it is not always visible, hence why dung beetles and some moths use the Milky Way for orientation.
Prof Chahl says insect vision has long inspired engineers where navigation systems are concerned.
“Insects have been solving navigational problems for millions of years, including those that even the most advanced machines struggle with. And they’ve done it in a tiny little package. Their brains consist of tens of thousands of neurons compared to billions of neurons in humans, yet they still manage to find solutions from the natural world.”
An innovative development by researchers allows for the conversion of the wet raw waste that we throw in the trash into liquid and solid biofuels, without the need to dry the waste. The researchers assess that at the national level, fuels produced from organic waste can, among other things, can create a significant amount of fuel for consumers.
The study was done in the small country of Israel but serves as a pilot for American states and regions in Europe and Canada that would like to challenge reusing bio-organic waste – some already collected and separated at the household level like in York Region, Ontario.
Israel’s waste problem, like most countries in the world, is escalating. In 2019, the country generated approximately 5.8 million tons of municipal waste, averaging about 1.76 kg of waste per person per day — about 30 percent more than the European average.
This figure increases every year by about 2.6 percent. Currently, about 80 percent of household waste in Israel ends up in landfills. Organic waste presents a significant challenge, harming the environment through greenhouse gas emissions, leachate formation, and the pollution of air, water, and soil, often accompanied by unpleasant odors.
“Organic waste emits methane, which is a greenhouse gas, and also contaminates groundwater,” explains Prof. Alexander Golberg, a study leader at Tel Aviv University. “The treatment of waste is a critical issue. Landfill sites in Israel are reaching capacity, and despite the desire to reduce landfill to a minimum, we are forced to open new sites, because there is no other solution. The major advantage of our proposal is that we will reduce the need for so many landfill sites. Municipalities invest considerable funds on waste transportation and treatment, and this solution has the potential to significantly cut those expenses.”
In order to assess the potential of municipal waste in Israel, the researchers analyzed the results of a groundbreaking 2018 survey conducted by E. Elimelech et al. from the University of Haifa. The survey examined the composition of the garbage produced by 190 households in the city of Haifa over the course of a week. The findings revealed that measurable organic waste constitutes about 36.4 percent of food waste and about 16.4 percent of total household waste. The category of measured organic waste was further analyzed, showing that it comprised 67 percent fruits and vegetables, 14 percent breads, pastas and cereals, 8 percent eggs and dairy products, 5 percent by-products such as peels and skins, 3 percent meat, fish and poultry, 2 percent sweets and cookies, and 1percent soft drinks. In general this organic waste contains around 80% water.
“The results of this survey formed the basis for the waste model in our study,” says Prof. Golberg. “We built a continuous reactor — which will eventually be adaptable for solar energy usage — to heat the waste to 280 degrees Celsius, and we were able to significantly reduce the amount of water and oxygen in the biofuel. We found cost-effective catalysts that make it possible to control the ratio between the liquid and solid fuel products.
“Solid fuel can be used as biochar, effectively sequestering carbon dioxide for extended periods. The biochar can be burned in power plants like regular coal, and liquid biofuels, after upgrading, can power planes, trucks, and ships.”
Using the representative model of the measured organic waste, the TAU researchers successfully produced liquid biofuel with a yield of up to 29.3 percent by weight and solid fuel with a yield of up to 40.7 percent based on dry raw material. This process is versatile and suitable for treating any wet organic waste or residue, for example, organic waste from food factories, institutional kitchens, and hospitals.
The researchers conclude: “The production of biofuels from organic waste components can significantly reduce the volume of municipal waste sent to landfills, thereby decreasing environmental pollution of soil, water, and air. Moreover, reducing landfilling will lower greenhouse gas emissions and decrease reliance on oil and coal. Converting waste into energy also offers a local solution for Israel’s energy independence and security.”
This is a map of love in your brain. Love for children activates the brain the deepest ways. Then romantic love.
This is a map of love in your brain. Love for children activates the brain the deepest ways. Then romantic love.
All we need now is an Elon Musk Neurolink to stimulate the desired center and we can be forever in love with our partners: a new study has mapped out various love centers in the brain, leading to new ways we can stimulate love on a path to being more productive and satisfied beings.
We all have used the word ‘love’ in a bewildering range of contexts — from sexual adoration to parental love or the love of nature.
New imaging of the brain may shed light on why we use the same word for such a diverse collection of human experiences, called love:
You see your newborn child for the first time. The baby is soft, healthy and hearty — your life’s greatest wonder. You feel love for the little one.
Love for your child is the deepest
The above statement was one of many simple scenarios presented to fifty-five parents, self-described as being in a loving relationship. Researchers from Aalto University in Finland applied functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity while subjects mulled brief stories related to six different types of love.
Love for children is the deepest
“We now provide a more comprehensive picture of the brain activity associated with different types of love than previous research,” says Pärttyli Rinne, the researcher who coordinated the study: “The activation pattern of love is generated in social situations in the basal ganglia, the midline of the forehead, the precuneus and the temporoparietal junction at the sides of the back of the head.”
Love for one’s children generated the most intense brain activity, closely followed by romantic love. “In parental love, there was activation deep in the brain’s reward system in the striatum area while imagining love, and this was not seen for any other kind of love,” says Rinne.
Love for romantic partners, friends, strangers, pets and nature were also part of the study, which was published this week in the Cerebral Cortex journal, Oxford University Press.
According to the research, brain activity is influenced not only by the closeness of the object of love, but also by whether it is a human being, another species or nature.
Unsurprisingly, compassionate love for strangers was less rewarding and caused less brain activation than love in close relationships. Meanwhile, love of nature activated the reward system and visual areas of the brain, but not the social brain areas.
Pet-owners identifiable by brain activity
The biggest surprise for the researchers was that the brain areas associated with love between people ended up being very similar, with differences lying primarily in the intensity of activation. All types of interpersonal love activated areas of the brain associated with social cognition, in contrast to love for pets or nature — with one exception.
CBD is often turned into an oil but it can be delivered in beverages and edibles for pain relief, romance
Subjects’ brain responses to a statement like the following, on average, revealed whether or not they shared their life with a furry friend:
‘You are home lolling on the couch and your pet cat pads over to you. The cat curls up next to you and purrs sleepily. You love your pet.’
“When looking at love for pets and the brain activity associated with it, brain areas associated with sociality statistically reveal whether or not the person is a pet owner. When it comes to the pet owners, these areas are more activated than with non-pet owners,” says Rinne.
Not only can understanding the neural mechanisms of love help guide philosophical discussions about the nature of love, consciousness, and human connection, but also, the researchers hope that their work will enhance mental health interventions in conditions like attachment disorders, depression or relationship issues.
Isgandar Shiralizada’s passion for all things related to bees and honey began as a child at his family home in Bilasuvar, a town in the southern region of Azerbaijan. His mother made a delicious variety of honey-based desserts, especially the popular, local sweet pakhlava, with its honey-soaked layers. These delectables sparked Isgandar’s curiosity about the creatures that produced the honey.
“Every spoonful of honey was a mystery to me, making me wonder about the bees and their world,” he recalls.
Isgandar fondly remembers when every winter, his mother would buy three kilograms of honey from a neighbor, and he would tell her, “One day, I will keep bees, and we will have our own honey.”
This childhood dream set the foundation for his future in the honey sector.
Starting in his early twenties, Isgandar and his mother invested in their first bee colony. This modest start gradually expanded, with both his beehives and skills growing year by year.
He received mentoring by Hikmat Aliyev, a renowned beekeeper in this area of Azerbaijan, who taught him the art and the hidden secrets of beekeeping. He also attended several training courses in the country and abroad. In Türkiye, Isgandar joined local beekeepers for sessions on market access and the formation of cooperatives, and there he also gained practical experience in innovative beekeeping techniques.
Isgandar’s career truly flourished after he joined a course offered by the UN’s FAO, funded by the Government of Azerbaijan. This initiative, part of the “Increasing Youth Employment in Agriculture” project, equips young men and women in rural areas with the skills necessary for careers in agriculture, focusing on agribusiness and entrepreneurship development.
In a country where over a quarter of the population is aged between 14 and 29, youth employment presents a major challenge in rural areas. Agriculture is a vital sector for Azerbaijan, employing 36.3 percent of the workforce and providing significant household income in rural areas.
One of the major reasons for youth unemployment in rural areas is limited education or professional skills, coupled with restricted access to entrepreneurship opportunities and services.
“Enhancing employment for rural youth and women through training and agricultural support is vital in Azerbaijan, helping to combat intergenerational poverty and promoting social and gender inclusion,” said Nasar Hayat, an FAO Representative in Azerbaijan.
For Isgandar, FAO’s support was a catalyst that transformed him from a local beekeeper into an innovator in the field.
He devised the “Smart Bee Houses” that he presented at TechnoFest, a prestigious technology festival held in Türkiye. These bee houses are innovative devices that are designed to combat bee diseases and optimize honey production. Through sensors placed inside the bee house, beekeepers can monitor for varroa mites, humidity and hive weight through an application that alerts them of issues without the need for physical intervention, setting a new standard in beekeeping practices.
The FAO project also equipped Isgandar with essential agricultural tools to enhance his business, including a water tank and pump to ensure a steady water supply for his bee gardens. This setup contributed to the health of his gardens, significantly improving both the quality and quantity of his honey production.
With the increased earnings, Isgandar expanded his number of beehives to 60.
“Before the project, I could only produce up to one ton of honey each year, but now, my production has doubled to two tons annually,” Isgandar proudly shared.
With the backing from FAO, he has not only become economically independent, but in turn, FAO found in Isgandar the perfect ambassador to engage youth and share his passion for beekeeping with the next generations.
With a wealth of international experience, Isgandar wished to teach others what he learned.
“I want to become a mentor; I can’t keep this all to myself,” he exclaims.
He found an opportunity to share his knowledge through a beekeeping training programme at the Bilasuvar Vocational Lyceum.
Isgandar currently gives a course for aspiring young beekeepers, where he imparts everything from the essentials of beekeeping to the use of innovative technologies to combat bee diseases.
“The excitement of young people about beekeeping makes me really happy, and I see it as my job to help them love and appreciate this work,” Isgandar says.
“Every day I’m equipping students with vital skills, preparing them to be the next generation of beekeepers who can contribute to enhancing the agricultural sector in Azerbaijan,” shares Isgandar, who sees vast potential in his country and is committed to ensuring that young people see it too.
After teaching, he spends time at his farm checking on his bees or assisting other beekeepers in the area with their hives.
Isgandar sees his own children’s enthusiasm for apiculture as evidence of its appeal as a career for youth.
“My daughter Asmanur and my son Ismail love bees and bee products. They get excited every time I put on my protective suit,” he says. Though at age two and three, they are too young to join him now, their interest is undeniable. “They always ask when they can come with me to the apiary. Especially my daughter, she’s really eager to start.”
Isgandar believes introducing young people to beekeeping not only connects them with nature but also opens the door to sustainable and profitable career opportunities.
For ambitious young individuals, like Isgandar’s children and students, the beekeeping sector offers a viable and rewarding career in a field ripe for innovation and growth.
During growth sunflowers “dance” so as not to block the sun from each other. A recent study sheds light on a scientific puzzle that has occupied researchers since Darwin
Sunflowers shift around rapidly in a form of dance that has perplexed scientists since the times of Darwin. A new study discovers that plants that grow in dense environments, where each plant casts a shadow on its neighbor, find a collective solution with the help of random movements that help them find optimal growth directions. In this way, the study sheds light on a scientific puzzle that has occupied researchers since Darwin, namely the functional role of these inherent movements called “circumnutations”.
The research was conducted under the leadership of Prof. Yasmine Meroz from Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Prof. Orit Peleg from the University of Colorado Boulder in the USA.
“Previous studies have shown that if sunflowers are densely planted in a field where they shade each other they grow in a zigzag pattern – one forward and one back – so as not to be in each other’s shadow,” says Prof. Meroz.
“This way they grow side by side to maximize illumination from the sun, and therefore photosynthesis, on a collective level. In fact, plants know how to distinguish between the shadow of a building and the green shadow of a leaf. If they sense the shadow of a building – they usually don’t change their growth direction, because they “know” that will have no effect. But if they sense the shadow of a plant, they will grow in a direction away from the shadow.”
The research was published in the prestigious journal Physical Review X.
In the current study the researchers examined the question of how sunflowers “know” to grow in an optimal way to maximize capture of sunlight for the collective, and analyzed the growth dynamics of the sunflowers in the laboratory, where they exhibit a zig-zag pattern.
Meroz and her team grew sunflowers in a high density environment and photographed them during growth, taking pictures every few minutes. The photographs were then combined to create a time-lapse movie. By following the movement of each individual sunflower, the researchers observed that the flowers were “dancing” a lot.
According to the researchers (from Israel and the US), Darwin was the first to recognize that all plants grow while exhibiting a kind of cyclical movement (“circumnutation”) – both stems and roots show this behavior. But until today, – except for a few cases such as climbing plants, which grow in huge circular movements to look for something to grab onto – it was not clear whether it was an artifact or a critical feature of growth.
Why would a plant invest energy to grow in random directions?
Prof. Meroz: “Sunflowers ‘dance’ to find the best angle so each flower would not block the sunlight of their neighbor. We quantified this movement statistically and showed through computer simulations that these random movements are used collectively to minimize the amount of shadow.
“It was also very surprising to find that the distribution of the sunflower’s “steps” was very wide, ranging over three orders of magnitude, from close to zero displacement to a movement of two centimeters every few minutes in one direction or another,” she explains.
The sunflower plant takes advantage of the fact that it can use both small and slow steps as well as large and fast ones to find the optimum arrangement for the collective. That is, if the range of steps was smaller or larger the arrangement would result in more mutual shading and less photosynthesis.
This is somewhat like a crowded dance party, says Meroz, where individuals dance around to get more space: if they move too much they will interfere with the other dancers, but if they move too little the crowding problem will not be solved, as it will be very crowded in one corner of the square and empty on the other side. Sunflowers show a similar communication dynamic – a combination of response to the shade of neighboring plants, along with random movements regardless of external stimuli.
Manufacturers are always in the market for new solutions that are environmentally conscious and have minimal impact on the environment. Ideally, these materials should also be potent and effective solutions to many problems. Dead Sea magnesium chloride has already been proving its worth and increasing its impact many times over. There are numerous different ways that companies are using Dead Sea magnesium chloride. This presents a unique opportunity for manufacturers looking to make a splash in their industry and move towards a better ecological footprint.
What is Dead Sea Magnesium Chloride?
Dead Sea magnesium chloride is a compound that stands out in the pack due to how soluble it is as well as its absorption rate, plus it is easy to get. This makes it something that a bucketload of industries are going after from natural cosmetic companies to agriculture! As the name hints, it comes from the Dead Sea, which is extremely salty, thus making it a pretty bountiful resource for the brine that ends up becoming magnesium chloride.
Changing the Industry for the Better
Dead Sea magnesium chloride gives manufacturers the great ability to go green and swap out some of their less-than-friendly methods for this salty but green one instead. Here are some industries that can definitely benefit from going for Dead Sea Magnesium Chloride.
Agriculture: Including dead sea magnesium chloride in fertilizers improves soil health, enriches crop-zapping plants with additional nutrients, and promotes eco-friendly farming. Plants that are given a boost of the mineral are better equipped to ward off pesky pests and diseases, which means less synthetic pesticides from the big bad chemical companies.
Cosmetics: The beauty industry is no stranger to the oh-so magical powers of Dead Sea magnesium chloride. Across the world, formulators are tuning in to this miracle ingredient to create calm, cool, and collected skin care solutions. Ditching synthetic add-ins in favor of natural alternatives is great for your customer’s skin and your brand reputation.
Water Treatment: Dead Sea magnesium chloride, as part of a water treatment process, can be a healthy alternative to cruel chemical treatments. This can help neutralize and or ‘soften’ hard water without endangering any humans! Making the planet happy AND salty!
De-Icing Agent: Want a de-icer sans those pesky chemicals that might affect your pets or you? Then go for Dead Sea magnesium chloride!
Bath Products: Hailing back to its health and wellness roots, magnesium chloride is a wonder ingredient that makes bath salts and other spa treatments that much more fab. The ingredient helps your muscles to relax and soak away the stress of life––a sure sign of a scienced-up holistic hero.
Sourcing Dead Sea Magnesium Chloride from ICL Industrial Products
If you want to get your hands on Dead Sea Magnesium chloride, then ICL Industrial Products is the place you want to go! ICL’s advanced extraction technique allows them to take already stellar magnesium chloride (as extracted from the Dead Sea) and turn a great ingredient into an even better one. Also, this is the sort of company that puts people and the planet first.
Dead Sea Magnesium For The Future
All in all, Dead Sea magnesium chloride is a smart, new ingredient to consider for long-term sustainability. From elevating your product line to lowering your overall impact, Dead Sea magnesium chloride can help you grow consumer trust by aligning yourself with a growing community of industry leaders who are turning intentions into action. Use Dead Sea magnesium chloride and experience the positive spillover effect!
The latest pardon by King Mohammed VI would encourage farmers “to engage in the legal process of cannabis cultivation to improve their revenue and living conditions,” Mohammed El Guerrouj, the head of Moroccan cannabis regulator ANRAC, told Reuters.
Morocco’s first legal cannabis harvest weighed 294 metric tons back in 2023, according to officials.
This year it is expected to be higher as the number of farming permits increases officials allow farmers to cultivate a local strain called Beldia.
About a million people live in northern Morocco where cannabis is now the main economic activity. People have been growing and smoking it for generations, along with tobacco in long-stemmed pipes.
Legalization was meant to stop trafficking and improve the farmers’ income. It has awarded 54 export permits last year. Here is a great research article on the history and challenges of cannabis and medical marijuana in Morocco from 2017.
CBD is a natural medicine that can have a profound affect on mediating pain and anxiety. It is now being tested to help kids with autism, in Israel
CBD is a natural medicine that can have a profound affect on mediating pain and anxiety. It is now being tested to help kids with autism, in Israel
SciSparc (NASDAQ:SPRC), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company that uses cannabis for various treatment modalities, has started a clinical trial for cannabis-based drug SCI-210 aimed at treating symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum disorder in children. The trial, which is currently underway at Soroka Medical Center in Israel, has enrolled and dosed the first five patients.
The study is a double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled trial that will include 60 subjects between the ages of 5 and 18 over a period of 20 weeks. The aim is to evaluate the efficacy of SCI-210, a combination of cannabidiol (CBD) and CannAmide, against standard CBD monotherapy in managing ASD symptoms.
CBD does not contain the psychotropic elements found in the cannabis plant.
The trial’s design was developed in consultation with the National Autism Research Center, Israel’s leading autism research institution.
SciSparc’s CEO, Oz Adler, expressed satisfaction with the enrollment pace and anticipates that the trial will contribute new scientific data to aid those affected by ASD. ASD is a neurological and developmental disorder that influences social interaction and communication skills, with symptoms and severity varying widely across the spectrum.
The company’s strategic plan is to first commercialize SCI-210 in the Israeli market, followed by other countries, subject to regulatory approvals.
SciSparc specializes in cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals and has other drug development programs targeting conditions such as Tourette Syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, pain, and status epilepticus.
The company is publicly traded in the US on the NASDAQ.
Suncable links solar power between Australia and Singapore
Suncable links solar power between Australia and Singapore
Australia has just approved to build the world’s largest solar energy and battery farm in order to export energy to Singapore. The project, which will include an array of panels, batteries and, over time an undersea cable linking Australia with Singapore, is backed by tech billionaire and eco activist Mike Cannon-Brookes.
SunCable‘s US$24 billion project is slated for Australia’s remote north and will power three million homes in the first stage of deployment.
“It will be the largest solar precinct in the world –- and heralds Australia as the world leader in green energy,” said Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. Energy production is expected to start in 2030 with four gigawatts of energy for domestic use.
Two extra gigawatts would be sent to Singapore via an undersea cable, supplying about 15 percent of the city-state’s needs.
SunCable Australia’s managing director Cameron Garnsworthy said the approval was “a landmark moment in the project’s journey”.
SunCable’s first project, AAPowerLink, will harness and store renewable energy from one of the most reliably sunny and windy places – Australia’s Northern Territory –for 24/7 transmission to Darwin and Singapore.
This new project is a sign of the times as countries around the world move away from oil-based and polluting fossil fuels. Germany, for instance, decommissioned its last nuclear reactor last year in 2023 as nuclear is very problematic due to the radioactive energy it emits. Even oil-leaders such as Saudi Arabia says it wants to transition away from fossil fuels.
Turkish animal activist Insane Huseyin posts thousands of images of abused animals in Turkey. Locals and governments turn a blind eye.
Dog cull begins via Dom Dyer, on X.
“Has the photo become a poster of the evil that kills innocent animals by injecting them with laundry drugs?” writes Huseyin. “The world is angry and cursing.”
Abused dogs in Turkey
“A man was arrested in Istanbul for trying to stop dog catchers from illegally darting stray dogs without a vet in attendance. People will now end up in prison for trying to stop Presidents Erdogan’s dog genocide,” writes Dominic Dyer.
Man, identity unknown, arrested for trying to stop dog darts.
On Sunday, September 1, 2024, at 15:00 PM, animal rights activists in Turkey will demonstrate to demand justice for Turkish strays and stand in solidarity with Turkish activists risking their lives and liberty to oppose the bloodshed.
Demonstration against killing dogs in Istanbul, via Dom Dyer on X.
They invite all people to join us to call on the Turkish government to repeal the massacre law. This demonstration is hosted by Animal Save Movement and In Defense of Animals. An event will also be hosted in London outside the Turkish Embassy.
“Do not visit Turkey. Go to Greece instead,” says Nioh Berg on X.
It’s not the first time Turkey murdered its stray dogs. In 1910 80,000 strays were sent to a barren island to die. The massacre left a scar on the local psyche and many believed was to blame for the Ottoman defeat in the Balkan Wars & WWI.
T. conica from the Red Sea. (A) the sponge seen in the Gulf of Aqaba at 30 m in depth before sampling. (B) image showing the sponge's external maroon (ectosome) and interior blue (endosome) parts following sample removal.
T. conica from the Red Sea. (A) the sponge seen in the Gulf of Aqaba at 30 m in depth before sampling. (B) image showing the sponge’s external maroon (ectosome) and interior blue (endosome) parts following sample removal.
We know the giant clam from the Disney film Moana. He collects diamonds and pearls. But in a new real life discovery, scientists working at the Red Sea have found sea sponges use glittery metal to ward off predation.
The study found that sponges in the Gulf of Eilat on the Red Sea have developed an original way to keep predators away. The researchers found that the sponges contain an unprecedented concentration of the highly toxic mineral molybdenum (Mo). In addition, they identified the bacterium that enables sponges to store such high concentrations of this precious metal and unraveled the symbiosis between the two organisms.
The study was led by PhD student Shani Shoham and Prof. Micha Ilan from TAU’s School of Zoology. The paper was published in the leading journal Science Advances.
The researchers explain that sponges are the earliest multicellular organisms known to science. They live in marine environments and play an important role in the earth’s carbon, nitrogen, and silicon cycles. A sponge can process and filter seawater 50,000 times its body weight every day.
With such enormous quantities of water flowing through them, they can accumulate various trace elements – and scientists try to understand how they cope with toxic amounts of materials like arsenic and molybdenum.
Twenty to 30 years ago, researchers from a lab collected samples of a rare sponge called Theonella conica from the coral reef of Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean and found in them a high concentration of molybdenum. Molybdenum is a trace element, important for metabolism in the cells of all animals including humans, and widely used in industry.
“In my research, I wanted to test whether such high concentrations are also found in this sponge species in the Gulf of Eilat, where it grows at depths of more than 27 meters,” says PhD student Shani Shoham: “Finding the sponge and analyzing its composition I discovered that it contained more molybdenum than any other organism on earth: 46,793 micrograms per gram of dry weight.”
She notes: “Like all trace elements, molybdenum is toxic when its concentration is higher than its solubility in water. But we must remember that a sponge is essentially a hollow mass of cells with no organs or tissues. Specifically in Theonella conica, up to 40% of the body volume is a microbial society – bacteria, viruses, and fungi living in symbiosis with the sponge.
One of the most dominant bacteria, called Entotheonella sp., serves as a ‘detoxifying organ’ for accumulating metals inside the body of its sponge hosts. Hoarding more and more molybdenum, the bacteria convert it from its toxic soluble state into a mineral. We are not sure why they do this. Perhaps the molybdenum protects the sponge, by announcing: “I’m toxic! Don’t eat me!”, and in return for this service the sponge does not eat the bacteria and serves as their host.”
No sponge farming for rare metals
Molybdenum is in high demand, mostly for alloys (for example, to make high-strength steel), but according to Shoham, it would be impracticable to retrieve it from sponges: “The concentration is very high, but when translated into weight we could only get a few grams from every sponge, and the sponge itself is relatively rare.
“Sponges are grown in marine agriculture, mostly for the pharmaceutical industry, but this is quite a challenging endeavor. Sponges are very delicate creatures that need specific conditions.
“On the other hand, future research should focus on the ability of Entotheonella sp.bacteria to accumulate toxic metals. A few years ago, our lab discovered huge concentrations of other toxic metals, arsenic (As) and barium (Ba), in a close relative of Theonella conica, called Theonella swinhoei, which is common in the Gulf of Eilat.
“In this case, too, Entotheonella was found to be largely responsible for hoarding the metals and turning them into minerals, thereby neutralizing their toxicity. Continued research on the bacteria can prove useful for treating water sources polluted with arsenic, a serious hazard which directly affects the health of 200 million people worldwide.”
BioprocessH20 works with nature to reduce effluent and pollution in the food and beverage industry.
BioprocessH20 works with nature to reduce effluent and pollution in the food and beverage industry.
Food processors specializing in dairy, meat, confectionery, and beverage production are restricted from disposing of animal byproducts or wastewater through standard drainage systems. All forms of waste, whether liquid or solid, require specialized treatment methods before disposal.
The world leader in the sustainable space of wastewater treatment is BioprocessH2O, an American company from Rhode Island that mimics nature in their system designs.
The company offers sustainable water filtration devices that help their clients become EPA-compliant. Their products are adaptable to different industries and global locations.
The company is currently focused on expanding its partnerships within the global food and beverage manufacturing sector, specifically targeting firms that face challenges in managing liquid waste. They are already helping large companies and publicly-traded entities future-proof their factories to meet evolving environmental standards and by doing this the company assists both their clients and the environment.
Current clients include giants like Haribo, Coca Cola and Kraft Heinz. Even the US Border Services trust BioprocessH2O with treating wastewater at their facilities in the US.
BioprocessH20 and Coca Cola
The food and beverage industry faces unique challenges in wastewater management, because effluent produced is diverse and can include biological and organic elements that have special health and environmental risks.
A common theme is the need to reduce biochemical oxygen demand, BOD, in effluent across industries.
Other pollutants vary on whether or not they are present and may include nitrogen and phosphorus, inorganic contaminants, pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Companies that show traces of such problematic pollutants can be met with heavy fines, negative press, environment lawsuits and risks to shareholders.
Current success stories include Hood, which reduced biochemical oxygen (BOD) demand by more than 90% with BioprocessH2O’s sustainable treatment solution. Coca-Cola also upgraded a failing treatment system, to a new MBR system, reducing BOD from 25,000 mg/L to less than 50 mg/L; and Guggisberg Cheese which achieved over 90% BOD reduction for permit compliance.
Consider the case study of Kraft Heinz which needed to meet new permit limits while accommodating increased production capacity. Consulting with BioprocessH2O Kraft Heinz implemented a comprehensive wastewater treatment system that included an equalization tank, screening, and a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR), achieving effluent quality well within permit limits, with BOD levels below 250 mg/L and TSS levels below 5 mg/L.
How does an MBBR Work? Understanding the Basics
The Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) at its core uses the power of microorganisms to effectively treat wastewater. The solution is made up of biofilm carriers, which are small plastic elements that provide a large surface area for microorganisms to grow on. These are matched with an aeration system that gives oxygen to the biofilm, breaking down pollution using the power of nature.
Current competitors in this space include Ecologix Systems, World Water Works, and Evoqua. BioprocessH2O stands out for deep industry knowledge, customer support, and competitive pricing, says a company spokesperson.
Founded in 2007 with 2 guys and a dog, the company has grown to 20 people to include satellite offices in Western Massachusetts and Florida. The ROI varies from project to project. The quickest ROI, the company notes, was for a product recovery case and was 8 months until they broke even.
Who needs BioprocessH2O? Services are ideal for industries with varying wastewater compositions from landfills, food and beverage, manufacturing, pulp and paper, petrochemical, all the way to mining and cities that need wastewater management. After treatment, the clean water is separated from the carriers and discharged.
When companies work with the leading experts in wastewater management they not only ensure operational sustainability but also set standards among the competition.
It’s tempting to take advice from a TikTok video but hair is as unique as its wearer, making care an important aspect in one’s overall health and wellness routine. From understanding your hair type to learning the best shampooing technique (yes, there is one!), proper care and your diet can prevent certain types of hair loss and leave your hair looking healthier than ever.
“An optimal hair care routine isn’t just about keeping your hair looking its best,” says Dr. Deeptej Singh, a board-certified dermatologist in Albuquerque, NM. “It also prevents damage and promotes growth, ensuring your hair stays strong and resilient.”
To keep your hair healthy and looking good, Dr. Singh suggests following these tips:
Learn your hair type. Whether you have curly, straight, coarse, fine, or another type of hair, there are products and routines that will work for you. Choose hair care products that say they’re made for your hair type. You may see hair types described by numbers and letters, going from fine, straight hair to thick, tightly coiled hair.
Wash your hair based on how often it gets dirty or oily. If you have straight hair and an oily scalp, you may want to shampoo every day. If your hair is dry, textured, curly, or thick, shampoo when needed — at least once every 2 to 3 weeks as needed. If you see flakes in your hair, common reasons could be not shampooing frequently enough, or not using the right conditioner, oil, or scalp moisturizer for your hair type.
Apply shampoo to your scalp, instead of the entire length of your hair. This way, you cleanse and wash away built-up products, dead skin, and excess oil, but avoid drying your hair too much.
Use conditioner after washing. Conditioner moisturizes and detangles your hair and makes it easier to manage. If you have fine or straight hair, apply conditioner to the ends of your hair. However, if your hair is dry or curly, apply conditioner to the entire length of your hair.
Be gentle with your hair. Hair is delicate when it’s wet, so use a wide-tooth comb instead of a brush to detangle wet hair. Slowly comb the ends of your hair first then keep combing higher to detangle your hair with minimal damage.
If you have thick or curly hair, the best time to comb is in the shower before rinsing out your conditioner.
Wrap your hair with a towel or t-shirt to gently absorb the moisture, as roughly rubbing your hair dry can cause damage.
Protect your hair from heat — no matter your hair type, excessive heat can cause damage. Limit blow drying and use of tools like flat or curling irons. Use low or medium heat settings and a product to protect your hair from the heat.
“If you notice any issues with your hair health, a board-certified dermatologist can recommend personalized hair care routines based on a person’s hair type, scalp condition, and any underlying medical issues or conditions,” said Dr. Singh. “We can advise patients on the effectiveness and safety of various types of products and ingredients, helping them to choose the best options for their needs.”
Make your own shampoo? It’s easy if you start with a basic soap, like Dr. Bronner’s castille soap. We love their regeneratively farmed chocolates too!
Make your own shampoo:
1/4 cup Castile soap (we used Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint)
1/4 cup coconut milk, (from a carton)
1/2 tsp jojoba oil (can use olive oil), but may create a more oily feel)
10 drops essential oils, optional (we love bergamot)
How to make your own homemade shampoo:
This is a no cook recipe! Mix all room-temp ingredients together in a measuring cup or something with an easy pour spout and then pour it into your desired bottle.
Shake well before use and apply about 1 tablespoon each time you wash your hair.
If swallowed, water beads can continue to grow in the body and cause potentially fatal intestinal or bowel obstructions, according to Health Canada.
If swallowed, water beads can continue to grow in the body and cause potentially fatal intestinal or bowel obstructions, according to Health Canada.
Water beads are superabsorbent polymer chemicals, water beads are also known as jelly beads, hydro orbs, crystal soil and gel beads. They are also called sensory beads, used as play tools for children with autism and other developmental conditions. They can be found in the dollar store and may be a marvel to touch and play with but have become a serious health hazard for young children. Parents may buy them by the hundreds or thousands and misplaced beads which are ingested can lead to death. Orbeez is a common name brand.
Researchers in the United States reported 8000 hospital visits related to water beads in a one-year period from from 2007 through 2022 and found the number of these visits increased rapidly by more than 130% from 2021 to 2022. Many cases were probably not reported.
According to Greenmatch, a consumer environmental watchdog, Orbeez beads are damaging to nature and they are a risk to wildlife who might swallow them. Due to growing concerns about their impact, retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target have stopped selling water beads marketed towards children. But they are easily found elsewhere and marketed for different purposes such as floral arrangements.
Orbeez are made of sodium polyacrylate (a type of polymer), composed of acrylic acid, sodium hydroxide and some coloured pigment – and water, once added to increase the size.
While the ingredients that make up water beads are not directly considered to be harmful to the environment, and sodium polyacrylate is technically biodegradable – the issue is that it can take an incredibly long time to break down naturally and is the reason, therefore, that many consider this a non-degradable substance, according to Greenmatch.
There are some things on this planet we can live without
Researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Policy and Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital published a study on the polluting water beads in the in American Journal of Emergency Medicine where they have asked for regulations to prevent water bead-associated injuries.
Water beads are made from super-absorbent material that can swell to hundreds of times their original size when exposed to fluids. They are commonly sold as child sensory products, gel projectiles for toy “gel blaster” guns, and decorations. If swallowed, they can expand in the gastrointestinal tract and cause intestinal blockage and even death. They can also cause injury if placed in the ear canal or nose.
According to Consumer Reports the beads are also toxic and dangerous to the environment. The watchdog said that the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warned parents and caregivers about water beads this past fall, it cited a panoply of potential risks to children. The tiny, superabsorbent and super-expanding Dollar Store item toys can cause intestinal obstruction if swallowed, lung damage if inhaled, or hearing loss if put in the ear, the agency said.
But there is another potential harm to consider, aside from what the beads’ growth inside the body can do. The beads themselves may be toxic. A mechanical engineer at the CPSC has tested a number of brands of water beads for acrylamide. Acrylamide is a known carcinogen that is also toxic to the nervous system, reproductive system, and brain.
The letter comes following a Consumer Reports investigation into water beads, which featured the stories of several children who were severely injured after they swallowed or inhaled water beads—and, in one case, died.
According to the recent study on the dangers of water beads, there were an estimated 8,159 visits to U.S. emergency departments from 2007 through 2022 involving water beads among people younger than 20 years.
More than half (55%) of cases involved children younger than 5 years. Most emergency department visits in this study involved children swallowing water beads (46%), followed by putting water beads in the ear (33%) or nose (12%). Eye injuries made up 9% of cases in this study.
Most patients were treated and released (92%). The proportion of cases admitted was highest among children younger than 5 years (10%), and this age group accounted for most (90%) of admissions in this study. All admissions among children younger than 5 years involved swallowing water beads.
“The number of pediatric water bead-related emergency department visits is increasing rapidly,” said Gary Smith, MD, DrPH, senior author of the study and director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s. “Although swallowing objects and putting them into an ear or the nose are common among children, water beads pose a unique increased risk of harm because of their expanding properties, and they’re hard to detect with X-rays,” he says.
Water beads in dehydrated form are often sold in sets of tens of thousands, which makes it more likely that misplaced water beads in the home will not be noticed until found by a young child, a group known for exploring their environment by placing objects in their mouth – especially objects like water beads that look like candy.
Water bead toy safety is covered in the ASTM toy safety standard, ASTM F963. The standard addresses bowel obstruction by limiting the size of water beads to the narrowest part of the gastrointestinal tract of a small 18-month-old child. “The current safety standard is inadequate,” said Dr. Smith. “Serious outcomes have occurred to children younger than 18 months, and one-fifth of the water beads swallowed in this study were among children younger than 18 months with the youngest child being 7 months old. Therefore, using intestinal measurements for 18-month-olds is not adequate.”
The ASTM F963 toy safety standard also does not address water beads marketed to individuals 14 years or older as gel blasters or used for home decoration or other purposes.
Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate (S.4298, Esther’s Law) in May 2024 would ban water beads that expand by 50% or more with hydration or expand to a size of 3 millimeters or larger. This legislation followed a similar bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R.6468) in November 2023, titled the “Ban Water Beads Act,” and applies to water beads marketed not only as toys, but as educational materials, art materials or art material products, or sensory stimulation materials or sensory tools.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is also considering regulation of water bead safety. Major U.S. retailers have stopped selling water bead toys in stores and online.
“Many parents are not aware that water beads can be harmful to children,” said Marcel Casavant, MD, co-author of this study and physician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “If children younger than six years or with developmental delays live in or visit your home, keep water beads out of your home and talk with your childcare directors, preschool teachers, therapists, and others who may be using water beads with young children.”
A natural raw water spring in Nipissing, Ontario. It’s a place where you feel God in the water.
The Voice of God is Upon the Waters: a look at water in the Talmud, the Torah and Kabbalah
With 60% of our bodies being composed from water and 71% of our planet being covered in water, clearly water is a critical factor in life.
Water is composed of two parts hydrogen to one part oxygen: H2O. In Biblical Hebrew water is called mayim, מים, which is also two parts “mem” (מ) to one part “yud” (י).
The second verse in the Bible says: “…and the Divine Presence hovered upon the surface of the waters.” This is followed by the famous “Let there be light”, followed by the next event which tells about a firmament inside the water which separated the upper waters from the lower waters.
The Hebrew letter “yud” is unique among the letters because it hovers over the baseline. Its numerical value 10 is equated with the 10 Sefirot. The Sefirot (from the Kabbala) are considered the schematic of Creation which in turn are considered the Divine Presence which “hovered upon the water” and brought the appearance of light.
The “mem”, being the middle letter of the Hebrew alphabet, is associated with the center and stability. The letter’s sound being onomatopoeia of humming, mem is regarded by the Jewish Sages as a vibration, wave or frequency.
The yud comes from above and splits the vibration/wave constituted by the mem in to two mems, like the splitting of the upper and lower waters.
If we break apart the word for water, we have the first “mem” with the first “yud” and then the second “yud” with the second “mem”. In the latter case the “yud” and “mem” combine to spell the word for sea, ים, just like the narrative of the Bible says: “God gathered in the lower waters and called them seas”.
In the first case the letters “mem” and “yud” spell the Hebrew word for Who, מי. Who is one of God’s highest names since its numerical value equals 50, known in the Kabbalah as the 50th Gate of Wisdom where opposites transform into oneness.
The numerical value of water in Hebrew is 90 which correlate to the Hebrew letter “tzaddi”, צ, and a reference to a holy person. This is because a holy person, like rain, brings life and Divine Kindness from above to even the lowliest places on earth.
When the holy person needs to purify, s/he immerses in a Mikveh which consists of 40 units of water corresponding to the numerical value of “mem”.
When the world needed purification it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. When the Israelites erred in the desert they had to be encapsulated in a period of 40 years in order to be purified. If a person wishes to purify bad character traits and turn them into positive ones, s/he should practice the new habits for 40 days when then they will have become part of one.
The Talmud quotes R. Eliezer as saying that all the water in the world comes from the Atlantic Ocean where the clouds sweeten the salt before it is released as rain. According to R. Yehoshua all the water in the world comes from heaven. The Talmud goes on to explain the cycle of evaporation and condensation.
However, of the four rivers mentioned in the Torah as coming out of the Garden of Eden, the Euphrates River runs on a higher altitude than the others and this makes it the source of all water on earth. The Talmud says its water reaches mountain springs through underground channels that work their way up like a ladder.
In Talmudic times it was estimated that a person used approximately 25 liquid meters of water a day. When assessing the water needs of a city this is very important information.
For example when discussing water rights, the Talmud says that if one city has enough water for its own and another city’s survival, but not for its own laundry, then the first city should keep the water for laundry. This is because a dirty person could easily develop skin boils, for which there is a cure whereas dirty clothes can lead to dementia which is incurable.
In the End of Days, says the (Green) Prophet, God will bring forth a freshwater spring from Jerusalem whose waters will heal all illnesses.
With flash floods, droughts, and record-breaking heatwaves, there is no doubt that climate change’s impact is becoming more significant. In Canada, experts warn that climate change is changing the country as we know it. For instance, backyard rinks may become a thing of the past, given how raging temperatures are making ice formation harder. Similarly, wildlife is also in danger as lack of water sources and increasing incidences of forest fires impact their habitats.
Climate change is also directly impacting human health. Studies have found that the eyes are especially vulnerable, with rising vision issues partly attributed to climate concerns.
All eyes on climate change
To date, a growing number of Canadians suffer from some degree of vision impairment. Numbers from Statistique Canada reveal that up to ¼ of all respondents experience ocular issues serious enough to require correction. As such, in just the fourth quarter of 2023, sales of medical devices, such as corrective eyeglasses, were almost $700 million nationwide.
Apart from genetic and medical reasons, like diabetes, eye problems can also be caused by exposure to harmful elements. With climate change, these elements are more prevalent, with intense sun rays, extreme weather events, and increased pollution being the most pressing. In line with this, the World Economic Forum even states that climate change is more harmful to eye health than other vision-impacting factors. As such, it’s important to implement eye-protective measures in our daily routines.
Daily habits that can protect the eyes from climate change
Wear sunglasses
Because of climate change, the ozone layer is severely damaged, causing sun rays to penetrate the surface of the Earth unfiltered. This has been directly connected to a rise in eye conditions like photokeratitis, and photoconjunctivitis. What’s more, up to 20% of all cataract cases today are believed to be the result of too much UV exposure. To prevent this from happening to you, make sure to wear protective sunglasses whenever you’re outside.
Available from retailers like Clearly and Warby Parker, shades offer 100% UV protection for the eyes. In the event that you already have refractive errors, opt for prescription sunglasses instead. Fashionable retailer Ray-Ban has models that are available in many trendy styles, including Aviators and Wayfarers in bio-based frames. While they may look like normal sunglasses, the lenses can be treated with your particular prescription. This eliminates the need to swap between eyewear or forego shades for the sake of your glasses.
Use eye drops
Another reason eye problems are more widespread with climate change is the more concentrated levels of impurities in the air. Note that traffic-related air pollution alone has been connected to the development of severe eye allergies and even diseases that cause vision loss, like glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). With this in mind, it’s important to keep your eyes cleansed of impurities. Aside from your natural tears, artificial drops can help.
As seen on manufacturers like Bausch + Lomb, these products can gently lubricate the eyes and help flush out irritants. Just make sure that the eye drops you use are cleared by Health Canada. Since these products go right into the eye, it’s important that they’re not contaminated or lacking in preservatives that prevent microbial growth.
Wash your hands
Since climate change can cause ocular discomfort, you may be tempted to rub or scratch your eyes as a means to soothe them. However, this is dangerous as it can lead to corneal abrasions or the entry of bacteria. In worst-case scenarios, this can lead to trachoma. The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide and is spread through personal contact, like if your hands touch your eyes.
So, while you really should make it a point not to touch your eyes unnecessarily, it’s still best practice to keep your hands clean just in case you forget. Washing with soap and water is best, but using a gentle sanitizer can also work. Hand sanitizer maker Fluid Energy states that sanitizers use up to 80% alcohol, meaning they can kill most bacteria and viruses on your hands.
Overall, climate change shows no signs of slowing down. Environmental reports estimate that fossil fuel production, carbon emissions, and surface heating will only increase. It’s time to take control of your wellness and protect your vision.
A solar-powered water harvester rendering developed by KAUST researchers can extract 2 to 3 liters of water per day during the summer months. Courtesy.
Expensive emergency-style devices used by armies can be run by generators and pull water from air. They work like air conditioners. And here are 5 ways you can re-use your air conditioner water. Water generation companies from Israel like Watergen have been in the market for a decade and have been made to connect to solar systems. They are bought by agriculture developers for hydroponics in off-grid locations and they can be used at hotels where water might need to be shipped in weekly. Consider that even in countries like Jordan people still get weekly water deliveries!
Even in arid parts of the world, there is moisture in the air. This moisture could provide much-needed water for drinking and irrigation, but extracting water out of air is difficult because it takes a lot of energy. A new technology developed by KAUST researchers in Saudi Arabia may consistently extract liters of water out of thin air each day without needing regular manual maintenance.
Harvesting water from air is not a new idea, or even a new technology, but existing solar-powered systems are clunky.
According to the researcher postdoc Kaijie Yang, who led the study, “solar-powered harvesters work in a two-stage cycle. An absorbent material first captures water from the air, and once it is saturated, the system is sealed and heated with sunlight to extract the captured water.
“Alternating between the two stages requires either manual labor or a switching system, which adds complexity and cost. The new harvester developed at KAUST requires neither — it passively alternates between the two stages so it can cycle continuously without intervention.
“Our initial inspiration came from observing natural processes: specifically how plants efficiently transport water from their roots to their leaves through specialized structures,” she says.
Looking at plants gave the team the key idea for their new system. “In our system, mass transport bridges play a crucial role as a connection between the ‘open part’ for atmospheric water capture and the ‘closed part’ for freshwater generation,” explains Yang.
The mass transport bridges are a collection of vertical microchannels filled with a salt solution that absorbs water. The water-rich salt solution is pulled up the channel by the same capillary action that pulls water up plant stems, and then the concentrated salt solution diffuses back down to collect more water:
“By optimizing the transport of mass and heat within the system, we enhanced its efficiency and effectiveness,” says Tingting Pan, another postdoc who worked on the project.
During testing the system in Saudi Arabia, each square meter produced 2 to 3 liters of water per day during the summer, and about 1 to 3 liters per day in the fall. During the tests, the team ran the system for several weeks without the need for maintenance.
They also showed that it could be used as a direct point source to irrigate Chinese cabbage and desert trees.
“The materials we used were a water-wicking fabric, a low-cost hygroscopic salt and a plastic-based frame. We chose the materials for their affordability and availability, so we anticipate the cost is affordable for large-scale application in low-income areas,” says Qiaoqiang Gan, one of the study’s senior authors.
Turkey suffered a devastating earthquake in its southeast region of Antakya in 2023. Not because they weren’t prepared but because of the failures and corruption inside the Turkish building authority where contractors cut corners without oversight.
Antakya, built on the site of the ancient city of Antioch, was one of the cities hit hardest by the earthquake on Feb. 6, 2023. Much of the modern city crumbled.
But Antakya needs to be rebuild and the the UK-based starchitect firm Foster + Partners announces it is working closely with several local NGOs and Turkish civil agencies (including the Turkish Design Council, the Turkish Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism) to rebuild Ankara sustainably and hopefully securely this time.
Buro Happold, MIC-HUB, and Turkish practices DB Architects and KEYM Urban Renewal Centre collaborated on the Antakya proposal. The plan will reportedly be implemented in a 30-square-kilometer (11.6-square-mile) planning area.
They are using farming language such as the “regeneration plan” which includes eight separate ‘design principles and among them are to:
Build on safe land,
Improve circulation,
Improve open spaces,
Create new districts,
Layer neighborhoods,
Enhance connectivity at a city and neighborhood scale, and, finally,
Build back.
No timelines for its start or completion have been provided at this time.
New Antakya, safe and sustainable?
The full details of Foster + Partners’ plan for an urban recovery of the earthquake-damaged Turkish city of Antakya and Hatay province have been made publicly available for the first time since the project was announced last October.
Bruno Moser, Senior Partner, Head of Urban Design, Foster + Partners said: “We have been inspired by the resilience of the people of Antakya, and share their passion for their unique, historic city. Our strategy does not offer a ‘one size that fits all’ vision.
“It balances the historic spirit of the place with improvements and enhancements that will support a sustainable future for Antakya. We have developed the vision underpinned by the fact that reconstruction following a natural disaster is not merely about buildings but about rebuilding communities, feelings of safety and belonging, and rebuilding trust.”
An estimated 53,000 people died from the 2023 earthquake.
And with an estimated 80 percent of the city destroyed, there is an urgent need to reimagine and rebuild for future generations. The new Foster + Partners masterplan, the firm says, “aims to retain the cherished spirit of the town and pre-earthquake characteristics in terms of scale, relationships, and configurations, reinforcing the local character and climate.”
Hatay City render of the revtalized Hatay city | all images courtesy of Türkiye Design Council
A significant part of the process has been understanding and embedding Hatay’s rich history into the vision. Other recent and historic disasters were used as case studies, with comparable rebuild attempts used to distil best practice that will support a sustainable future for Antakya.
The masterplan seeks to respect the urban character of the area and build anew in a way which makes the residents feel like they can be at home in the revitalised city. The design principles stipulate the need to retain the character of the historic streets of Antakya, overlaying on the existing road network and retaining the building scale and façade rhythm, according to Foster + Partners.
Antakya was colonised by the Turkish Empire but it was first known as Antioch on the Orontes – an Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. It was one of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, serving as the capital of the Seleucid Empire and later as regional capital to both the Roman and Byzantine Empire. If you travel around Turkey today you will find thousands of archeological sites throughout the country surrounded by farms and villages.
Scientists in Haifa, Israel have developed a new path for understanding how cannabis-extracted CBD helps children with autism. They have found that preparations of CBD-rich cannabis products or extracts reduce anxiety and other autistic symptoms in children, according to data published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research. Ayelet David and Eynat Gal led the study out of Haifa University.
Israeli scientists assessed the efficacy of CBD-dominant cannabis extracts in a cohort of 65 children (ages 5-12 years) with autism. Study participants consumed customized doses of cannabis extracts for six months.
“We observed significant differences in the autistic children’s overall anxiety and in some anxiety subtypes. Significant improvements were observed in RRBI [restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests], including the total score, and specifically in compulsive, ritualistic, and sameness behaviors,” reported the researchers who concluded that “Our study suggests positive implications for CBD-rich cannabis treatment in alleviating anxiety and RRBI symptoms in autistic children.
“We strongly recommend further double-blind, placebo-controlled studies using standardized assessments to validate these findings.”
The findings are consistent with other studies which find that cannabinoid (or CBD) treatment provides symptom improvements in children with autism. We have consulted with Dr. Alan Shackleford, a leading physician in medical cannabis in the United States and Israel, who has also said to us in personal communication that he believes some amount of THC is needed to see an effect.
Observational studies have also shown that the use of cannabis can provide benefits to adults with autism. In 2023, a randomized trial from Israel compared CBD-enriched extract (20:1 CBD:THC) and purified cannabinoids in the same ratio to placebo in a three-arm crossover design in 150 patients with autism aged 5 to 21 years.
The authors reported tolerability with improvements in disruptive behaviours and core autism symptoms.
The Bible calls the Land of Israel the Land of Milk and Honey. We are urban beekeepers and the honey in Israel is divine. Another contestant for being a honey country is Yemen, on the coast of the Red Sea. We’ve tasted raw honey from Yemen (read about the 8 kinds, some from the sidr tree) and next Sunday, the activities of the National Festival of Yemeni Honey and Bee Products will be launched in Al Sabeen Park in Sana’a under the slogan “Yemen the home of honey”.
The festival, organized by the Honey Unit of the Higher Agricultural and Fisheries Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture aims to promote Yemeni honey, revive its status, market Yemeni brands of this cash crop globally, as well as enhance its role in economic growth and reach self-sufficiency with its products.
Yemen beekeepers. Courtesy of the FAO.
Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world, and like the Hezbollah has taken over Lebanon, Yemen is home to the Houthis, a global Islamic terror group that operates as a state within the state.
Radwan Al-Rubai from the agricultural ministry said that the festival will be an annual event seeking to promote Yemeni honey of various types and high quality.
The UN is playing an active role in supporting beekeepers in Yemen. And we know from our friend in Israel that Bees for Peace, a project by beekeeper Yossi Oud, works to keep women from all religions and walks of life connected to nature and to a means for making their own money.
Yemen Honey from the Sidr tree, magical honey from paradise according to the Quran. Most of the honey on this piece of wax is not capped and not good for consumption. Via the FAO.
Al-Rubai said that Yemen bees are different from all types of bees in the world, and the honey is extracted in areas free of chemicals. Beekeepers do use toxic chemicals to control varoa mites and it would be difficult to know whether or not if these products are being used by individual beekeepers.
A haunting socotra tree in Yemen. It’s tree sap that looks like blood is used to treat wounds.
The new soon-to-be annual honey festival, to last 6 days, feature Yemen’s honey associations, producers and marketers of honey from a number of governorates. The week will include scientific sessions and seminars on honey productivity managed by experts and researchers in this field. Yemen is also home to unusual socotra tree or dragon tree that bleeds. We wonder what honey from this flowering tree might taste like.
The Just Stop Oil (JSO) activists who vandalized Vincent Van Gogh‘s Sunflowers (1888) painting with a can of soup are waiting to be sentenced, according to JSO press material.
The 22-year-old activists Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland, “came within the width of a pane of glass of destroying one of the most valuable artworks in the world,” said Southwark Crown Court Judge Christopher Hehir.
It’s been 2 years since the incident and Holland and Plummer were remarkably only sentenced from visiting any museums or galleries, or for carrying glue, paint or adhesive materials in a public setting.
Holland and Plummer launched a can of tomato soup on the glass of the centuries-old painting, stating: “What is worth more, art or life? Is it worth more than food? Worth more than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting, or the protection of our planet and people?
“The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of oil crisis.”
Data source: Energy Institute – Statistical Review of World Energy (2024); The Shift Data Portal (2019)
Plummer and a third activist, Jane Touil, were imprisoned after painting Heathrow airport a few days ago. Just Stop Oil says they are working to defend them and with groups internationally to demand governments establish a fossil fuel treaty, to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.
Phoebe Plummer and Jane Touil appeared before Judge Neeta Minhasat at Westminster magistrates court this afternoon, after taking action at Terminal 5, Heathrow Airport yesterday. They have been remanded to HMP Bronzefield until August 28th at Isleworth Crown Court, where they will appear for a case management hearing.
Yesterday, the pair used fire extinguishers to spray water-based paint at the departure boards in the terminal. The Crown is alleging £50,000 worth of damages.
Plummer said at the hearing: “Sending peaceful protestors like me to prison isn’t going to prevent us from resisting. You’re upholding an abysmal system. And you’re doing that to maintain business as usual. You won’t be protected from the climate emergency.”
Speaking before the hearing Jane Touil said: “I have become increasingly terrified about climate breakdown and increasingly appalled by politicians’ failure to take appropriate action. Convinced that the most effective thing I could do as an ordinary person was to take direct action to highlight the catastrophic situation we’re in, I became a Just Stop Oil supporter.”
“I was arrested for the first time in April 2022 and have been arrested several times since. I spent a short time on remand in prison after climbing an M25 gantry in November 2022. I will continue to act on my conscience to protect life and to challenge the greed, corruption and cowardice that are killing people right now. I refuse to die for fossil fuels.”
The two must be “prepared in practical and emotional terms to go to prison” when their case is heard on September 27 by Judge Hehir, who has sentenced five JSO activists who committed similar offenses to a prison sentence of up to five years:
“The government continuously proves that they have little to no interest in attempting to curb climate change,” said Holland’s lawyer, adding: “They have proven that they have a great deal of interest in investing time and money into prosecuting young people trying to fight for the future of themselves and their children.”
Activists from various countries have targeted art and public spaces and private businesses over the past few years to raise awareness to the climate emergency. The tone was set by Greenpeace in the 70s when it started taking over whaling boats.
While it may seem heroic, Green Prophet does not support acts of violence and vandalism as a means to justify the end. Educating the next generation creatively might develop the next zero-energy super-fuel. Just Stop Oil activists are banging on an old drum that creates divisiveness and hate.
It may not be a question you ask yourself every day in the city, but if you venture north in countries like Canada where wild bears are a mythical creature to be revered and feared, it just may happen that you will be offered bear meat. My friend hunted a bear on my land in Northern Ontario and a number of my friends spoke about eating the wild meat. It was turned into a well-cooked roast and this was probably a good thing.
According to local media sources in Canada wild game, including bear and deer may be harboring a parasite in its muscle called trichinellosis. If the meat is not cooked well this parasite can spread to your muscles. There are some reported cases documented by the CDC, The Centers for Disease Control.
Human trichinellosis cases in the United States are rare and are usually acquired through consumption of wild game according to the CDC.
The Centers for Disease Control presented microscopic evidence of ‘encapsulated larvae in a black bear meat muscle.’ (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
They commented on cases of people in the US who had eaten wild black beat from Canada. Among eight people who shared a meal that included the meat of a black bear harvested in Canada and frozen for 45 days, 6 trichinellosis cases were identified. The meat was grilled with vegetables and served rare; two cases occurred in persons who ate only the vegetables. Freeze-resistant Trichinella nativa larvae were identified in remaining meat frozen for less than 15 weeks.
It is possible to eat wild game but it is important to know how to cook it. Cooking meat to an internal temperature of greater than 165°F (74°C) is necessary to kill Trichinella spp. parasites. Trichinella-infected meat can cross-contaminate other foods, and raw meat should be kept and prepared separate from other foods to prevent cross-contamination.
Emily Jenkins, a professor of veterinary microbiology who has done extensive research on zoonotic parasites including trichinella, said the disease “pops up every couple years associated with bear meat” and as recently as 2021, she told the CBC, a state-funded media source from Canada.
She says it often comes up with tourists because Indigenous people who harvest wild animals are aware the meat must be well cooked: “It’s often tourists, hunters coming from away who will take a souvenir home with them … so it’s fairly common that people who don’t have that protective knowledge are the ones who unfortunately become infected and that they’ve also shared the meat widely because it’s a delicacy, a gourmet thing,” Jenkins said.
“We’ve had massive outbreaks in France, for example, associated with bear meat from Canada, just because people didn’t necessarily have that protective knowledge.”
So if you are offered wild meat from beer, deer, moose or any other animal – make sure it is well done. Eating meat from the wild is essential for many people who live in Northern Ontario, where I have a home. A young buck harvested after a road kill a few days ago gave someone in my family about 40 pounds of meat. That helps take the pressure off of rising bills and is a natural way to live with the wild.
Turkish legislators have approved a law that make it legal to kill any number of the estimated 4 million stray dogs that are on the country’s streets.
Thousands of animal lovers have joined protests across Turkey calling for the removal of an article in the law that would allow for strays to be euthanised. Opposition lawmakers say the bill is a “massacre law”. The law was passed this week.
“Unfortunately this is true… we’re so sorry and angry,” our treehugger and activist friend Gökçe Uygun from Istanbul told Green Prophet. It hasn’t started just yet because it was only approved in the parliament 2 days ago, she said.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed the measure into law, thanked his ruling party: “Despite the opposition’s provocations and campaigns based on lies and distortions, the national assembly once again listened to the people, refusing to ignore the cries of the silent majority,” he said.
Yet there are gentle nature lovers in Turkey who plant forests of trees. There are treehugging journalists in Istanbul. Like Turkey itself which straddles the East and West, there are people actively for and against the killing of pets.
About about 4 million stray dogs roam Turkey’s streets and rural areas. Most are harmless but they sometimes build up in packs and attack people. Many Muslims are terrified of dogs. Turkey is a Muslim majority population.
Why don’t Muslims like dogs?
Dogs are revered in Judaism for not barking when the Jews were escaping Egypt. They are loved by the pharaohs – tomb paintings of the pharaoh Tutankhamun show him in his chariot with his hunting dogs and Rameses the Great is depicted similarly. With Khufu and his companion, dogs were often buried with their masters in order to accompany them closely in the afterlife.
King Mutt: a dog mummy buried in Egypt. As many as eight million dogs and other animals were buried in the tomb found in 2015 [Getty]But meet a Muslim and there is a good chance they will be terrified of your dog. Why?
Dog is kalb in Arabic: كَلْب, dog which is similar to “kelev” in ancient Hebrew and there are different views on dogs and Islam. The Sunni Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence says the laws of impurity of dogs are different between wild dogs and pet dogs, and only consider the saliva of the former to be impure; on the other hand, some schools of Islamic law consider all dogs as unclean (najis).
Hundreds of people gathered in Istanbul and issued a message to the government which also supports Hamas terrorists: “Your massacre law is just a piece of paper for us. We will write the law on the streets. Life and solidarity, not hatred and hostility, will win.”
Animal lovers in the capital, Ankara read: “We are warning the government again and again, stop the law. Do not commit this crime against this country.”
Turkey’s main opposition party said it would work to cancel this law at the supreme court.
Endorsement, however, by Turkey’s unstable leader, could provoke locals to kill dogs when no one is supervising.
While Turkey had endorsed a law to catch, spay and then release stray dogs, critics say the law was not enforced. The same way building code laws in Turkey exist, but corners are taken and “safe” building crumble when there is an earthquake.
Others blamed the growth in the stray canine population on a failure to implement previous regulations, which required stray dogs to be caught, neutered, spayed and returned to where they were found.
An oyster plague in oysters and now there is a worrying plague that has started in Greece, worrying farmers about their livestock. A goat plague, also known as Peste des Petits Ruminants, was detected for the first time in Greece last month. While the virus does not seem to infect humans, it is highly contagious among goats and sheep and can kill between 80 and 100% of those infected.
To combat the spread of the plague first found in the 1942, Greece has banned the movement of goats and sheep around the country, made up of a mainland and about 6,000 smaller islands. Greece also shares a 150 mile border with Turkey –– also a lover of goat and sheep meat.
“The movement of sheep and goats for breeding, fattening and slaughter is banned throughout Greece,” said Greece’s agriculture minister Costas Tsiaras said.
Iranians love sheep meat and the special fat found in the tail of their special breed.
New infections are active in the central Larissa region and in Corinth in the south.
The ban had been introduced “with the aim of limiting the spread and eradication of the disease”.
The ministry also said an investigation was under way to determine the source of the plague, and it may be from imported meat.
If a case is found an entire group of livestock from the farm must be killed. Since July 11, about 7,000 animals have already been culled according to the BBC.
Greece is a goat loving country and has the highest number of goats in Europe. The milk from Goat and sheep is used to make feta cheese – a trademark Greek product.
There are some very good arguments for Slow Food and eating food grown from smallhold farms, regenerative farms and which are grown locally. Globalism has created an influx of invasive pests. These diseases and insects are kicking down forests in Canada, they are infecting lakes and seas (jellyfish and zebra mussels) and they are affecting our meat and milk.
Butterflies and moths collect so much static electricity whilst in flight, that pollen grains from flowers can be pulled by static electricity across air gaps of several millimetres or centimetres. The finding reported in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, suggests that this likely increases their efficiency and effectiveness as pollinators. Butterflies typically eat nectar, not pollen, for food.
The University of Bristol team also observed that the amount of static electricity carried by butterflies and moths varies between different species, and that these variations correlate with differences in their ecology, such as whether they visit flowers, are from a tropical environment, or fly during the day or night. This is the first evidence to suggest that the amount of static electricity an animal accumulates is a trait that can be adaptive, and thus evolution can act upon it by natural selection.
Lead author Sam England explained: “We already knew that many species of animal accumulate static electricity as they fly, most likely through friction with the air. There had also been suggestions that this static electricity might improve the ability of flower-visiting animals, like bees and hummingbirds, to pollinate, by attracting pollen using electrostatic attraction.
“However, it wasn’t known whether this idea applied to the wider array of equally important pollinators, such as butterflies and moths. So, we set out to test this idea, and see if butterflies and moths also accumulate charge, and if so, whether this charge is enough to attract pollen from flowers onto their bodies.”
Their study involved 269 butterflies and moths across 11 different species, native to five different continents and inhabiting multiple different ecological niches. They were then then able to compare between them and see if these ecological factors correlated with their charge, establishing if static charging is a trait that evolution can act upon.
England added: “A clearer picture is developing of how the influence of static electricity in pollination may be very powerful and widespread.
“By establishing electrostatic charging as a trait upon which evolution can act, it opens up a great deal of questions about how and why natural selection might lead to animals benefiting or suffering from the amount of static electricity that they accumulate.”
In terms of practical applications, this study opens the door to the possibility for technologies to artificially increase the electrostatic charges or pollinators or pollen, in order to improve pollination rates in natural and agricultural settings.
“We’ve discovered that butterflies and moths accumulate so much static electricity when flying, that pollen is literally pulled through the air towards them as they approach a flower.
“This means that they don’t even need to touch flowers in order to pollinate them, making them very good at their jobs as pollinators, and highlighting just how important they might be to the functioning of our flowery ecosystems.
“For me personally, I would love to do a wider survey of as many different species of animal as possible, see how much static electricity they accumulate, and then look for any correlations with their ecology and lifestyle. Then we can really begin to understand how evolution and static electricity interact!” says England.
What is the taste of honey from bees collecting pollen durin a war? Do snakes feel stress? A new study shows that war impacts the least expected creatures
Animals too feel the effects from the stress of war, finds a new study conducted at Tel Aviv University’s School of Zoology. Researchers reveal that the Israel-Hamas war has had a severe impact on animals.
The study, which focused on geckos, found that the sound of explosions from fired rockets induces stress and anxiety in these creatures, leading to a sharp increase in their metabolic rates — an energy cost that, if chronic, may be life-threatening. The researchers hypothesize that these stress responses characterize many other animals, especially those who live in the conflict zones in northern and southern Israel.
Shahar Dubiner, one of the researchers said: “Our research was conducted in a laboratory at Tel Aviv University and pertained to the reverberations of explosions from interceptions in the Tel Aviv area. However, given the unequivocal results showing symptoms of stress, we can infer that animals that are in the immediate conflict zones in the south and north of the country, where the intensity and frequency of fire are much higher, suffer from significantly more severe stress and anxiety symptoms that may endanger their lives.”
Left to right: Prof. Shai Meiri and Prof. Eran Levin.
The study was led by Shahar Dubiner, Prof. Shai Meiri and Prof. Eran Levin — in collaboration with Reut Vardi of the University of Oxford. The study was published in the journal Ecology.
The sounds of war are a sort of sound pollution which probably also affect marine life like whales, coral, dolphins and baby oysters.
“The most tragic aspect of war is the loss of human life, among both soldiers and civilians. However, animals are also severely affected, both directly and indirectly, in ways that may threaten their survival. A few weeks before October 7, we began working on a long-term study to measure the rate of energy consumption of small ground geckos of the species Stenodactylus sthenodactylus.
“We obviously did not foresee the outbreak of the war, but unintentionally, we recorded the energy consumption of five geckos during the rocket barrages launched into Tel Aviv in the first month of the war,” says Prof. Shai Meiri. Recently, Meiri published a study on rain and biodiversity.
A photo of Shai Meiri
The study’s findings showed that at the sound of the bombings, the geckos’ metabolic rate jumped to double what it was when they were at rest. Their breathing became faster, and they clearly exhibited signs of stress.
The experiment lasted up to four hours after the barrages, yet even within this timeframe the geckos did not calm down and return to their resting levels. Moreover, even after a month of continuous fighting, the geckos did not acclimate to the sound of the explosions — their stress response remained unchanged.
Prof. Levin notes that “A state of stress is detrimental to both humans and animals. To compensate for the increase in oxygen consumption and depletion of energy reserves, animals need to eat more. Even if they manage to find food, in the process they expose themselves to predators and lose opportunities to reproduce.
“In a situation of ongoing conflict, such as the current reality in Gaza, the Gaza Envelope, and along the Israeli-Lebanese border, the metabolic cost can be significant and have a real impact on the energy reserves and activity periods of reptiles and other animals. This can exacerbate their conservation status, especially for species that are already endangered.”
The researchers note that the findings of this study are consistent with another experiment conducted during Operation Guardian of the Walls, in which they also observed a stress response in a small snake of the species Xerotyphlops syriacus.
The world is becoming too bright for bats. Baby oysters, too, are finding that sounds from us humans are causing them stress and is preventing them from moving away from “home” to settle into new environments, finds a new study. Noise pollution in seas may also be responsible in part to the proliferation of the oyster parasite multinucleate sphere X, or MSX, rendering oysters weak.
According to scientists at the University of Adelaide, oysters need specific sound cues to migrate and move around. Though they don’t swim, baby oysters do need to find the right habitat and ecosystem for them to live inside:
“The ocean’s natural sound is gradually hushing due to habitat loss, leading to a quieter natural environment increasingly drowned out by the crescendo of man-made noise pollution,” explained lead author Brittany Williams.
“Numerous marine larvae rely on natural sounds to navigate and select their dwellings, so this interference poses a problem for conservationists aiming to attract oysters to restored reefs using natural sounds.”
We know that shipping noises after whales and dolphins but marine noise pollution affects the less known creatures, some which are keystone species: “Noises from shipping, machinery and construction, for example, are pervasive and pose serious environmental change that affects both terrestrial and marine animals,” says Williams.
According to the research, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, marine organisms appear particularly vulnerable to the intensification of human-made or anthropogenic noise because they use sound for a range of activities, including to sense their surroundings, navigate, communicate, avoid predators, and find mates and food.
The teams have used a special kind of habitat “speaker” to help the oysters: But, “Our previous work demonstrated that novel acoustic technology can bolster oyster recruitment in habitat restoration projects, but this new research indicates potential limitations of this speaker technology,” said Dominic McAfee, who was part of the research team.
In environments where there is a lot of human noise pollution, the speakers did not increase larval recruitment.
Scientists all over the world have been playing specific seascape sounds using a loudspeaker to attract baby oysters. In the big scheme of things if the oysters are being attracted to harvesting islands where they are culled we can assume that natural selection will eventually wipe out the oysters who come for the call.
Oyster reef restorations are taking place in countries like America. This image shows surviving oyster reefs in Virginia.Aileen Devlin/Flickr, CC BY
“This suggests that noise pollution might cloak the intrinsic sounds of the ocean, potentially exerting profound ramifications on marine ecosystem vitality and resilience,” said co-author Professor Sean Connell, from the University of Adelaide and the Environment Institute.
While acoustic enrichment may be less effective along noisy metropolitan coastlines and urbanised waterways, the researchers are still optimistic about the application of the technique in less trafficked areas.
Another option: stop eating too much shellfish, and let the ocean dwellers take their own course.
Running in a bathing suit means you can jump straight into a river, lake or the sea. But protective clothing is more important in direct sun.
Running in a bathing suit means you can jump straight into a river, lake or the sea. But protective clothing is more important in direct sun.
The summers seem to be getting hotter every year and if you spend too much time in over 100 degree F heat there will be physiological consequences. Temperatures have soared this year especially in the Middle East. Temperatures in Dubai can exceed 109 degrees in July and August and states like Florida, Hawaii and Arizona are starting to sweat more than ever. But as Olympians land in Paris, we wonder, is it safe to work out in the heat?
Look to countries like Saudi Arabia more than 1300 people in Mecca in the scorching heat this past June during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
So what’s in store for this summer? Scientists predict that 2024 may outrank last year as the hottest year on record. As Americans, Europeans and Middle Easterners continue to grapple with the summer heat, many are wondering, “Should I be exercising outside?”
Well the answer is, you can. But a New York Institute of Technology expert explains why safely acclimating to exercising in hotter environments has its benefits.
Alexander Rothstein instructor and coordinator for New York Tech’s exercise science program, discusses the safest times to exercise outside, the importance of staying hydrated, and how the body acclimates to the heat.
He notes that, by safely performing outdoor exercise in hotter months, athletes can increase beneficial proteins found in many tissues, including the heart, lungs, and skeletal muscles.
Alex Rothstein
“Work your way up or spend certain amounts of time maybe increasing the duration over a training period to get used to the hot weather. That’s very important,” says Rothstein, a certified strength and conditioning coach. “Our bodies develop something called ‘heat shock proteins,’ which literally help us handle the shock of the heat.”
He also discusses why athletes training for summer races or other outdoor athletic events can benefit from training in conditions that mimic competition settings, as well as how heat can increase workout intensity.
“When performed in hotter settings the same amount of exercise may require more energy expended, so you can get more bang for your buck.
“The stress is also greater. Therefore, your body is going to spend more time adapting or will need to adapt to a greater extent for training in the heat compared to a temperature-controlled environment.”
There are also smart choices one can make when exercising in the summer and hot climates:
Choose your workouts in the morning or later in the day when the sun is less intense: hours before 10am and after 3PM . Stay hydrated, and where sun-protective clothing and hats. If you can, choose running by the seaside to get a cool, ionizing breeze, and like the expert said, work your way up to it.
A Saudi woman laces her shoes before a run.
Exercising in the heat, like hot yoga, has benefits, but it needs to be done in a safe and smart way — not all at once.
As a kid growing up in Manhattan I remember when the “environment” became the important issue. Every Friday in 1968 I would stand with my mother next to the 59th street bridge at the City’s first recycling facility washing plastic bottles, the term “smog” had been coined and new phrases like pollution of the air and water became household terms.
Jump cut to over 55 years later and “environment” has become the big issue. New terms and new concerns have been introduced, but at the core the same urgency remains to get things done.
What if we could jump cut back through time 2,500 years ago to the city of Pumbedita, near the modern day Fallujah, Iraq. There we would find a large Jewish population famed for its Academy, whose scholarship, together with the city of Sura, gave rise to the Babylonian Talmud.
The Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law and Jewish theology, would grow so large that a person who read a folio a day would complete one cycle of the Talmud in seven and half years.
To the surprise of many, buried among these pages are jewels of information about the “environment”.
The late Dutch-Israeli scholar, Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld, was the first to map out environmental issues found in the Talmud:
To paraphrase Dr. Gerstenfeld, he writes that the prohibition of wanton destruction, called in Hebrew bal tashhit (‘do not destroy’), is the principle in Jewish law that elaborates Judaism’s attitude toward the environment.
War has signaled a period of destruction from time immemorial, from the poisoning of wells in ancient times through policies of ‘scorched earth’, the nuclear destruction of humans and the ecosystem in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to Iraq’s intentional pollution of water with oil in the Gulf War.
Jewish laws of trees and war
Yet the Torah teaches that even in times of war, Divine commandments impose certain constraints concerning the environment: “In your war against a city, you must not destroy its trees. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Only trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed.”
Maimonides mentions further extensions of this principle, pointing out that bal tashhit refers not only to periods of war, but to all times. However, he also states that it is not considered destruction to cut down a fruit tree which is causing damage to other trees or a field.
One of the oldest collections of rabbinical traditions, the Sifrei, written around 300 CE., extends the legislation of wanton destruction to prohibit interference with water sources. The Talmud extends it to include an uneconomical use of fuel.
A far-reaching interpretation of bal tashhit is found in the Talmud: Rabbi Hisda says: “Whoever can eat bread made from barley and eats bread from wheat, transgresses the prohibition of bal tashhit.” Rabbi Papa says: “Whoever can drink beer and drinks wine, transgresses the prohibition of bal tashhit.”
The Talmud indicates, however, that these opinions are not accepted, as one should not eat inferior food, but rather care more for one’s body than for money.
This is because Jewish law forbids a person to damage his own health. The injunction goes beyond the conventional boundaries of environmental interest, which tends to limit itself to damage to third parties and not to what one does to oneself.
Hunting also deals with destruction. Hunting as a sport was addressed in Jewish society long before modern environmentalism emerged. The 18th century Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, when asked whether it is permitted to hunt game, was surprised that anyone should even ask this question and simply answered: “How can a person go out to kill a living creature only for pleasure?”
In recent years noise has increasingly come to be considered a problem of health protection as well as nuisance. The Mishnah states that neighbors can prevent the opening of a store in a common courtyard by claiming that they cannot sleep due to the noise of customers entering and exiting; however, they cannot object to the noise of a hammer or a grinding mill in a craftsman’s home; nor can they object to the noise children make if one of the courtyard’s residents is a school teacher.
(The Mishnah or the Mishna is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. It is also the first major work of rabbinic literature, with the oldest surviving material dating to the 6th to 7th centuries BCE.)
Visit the Peoples’ Talmud to learn more about ancient Jewish wisdom
What we covered here is the tip of the iceberg on just one subject relating to environmental concerns. If you wish to read Dr. Gerstenfeld’s doctoral theses, please go here. If the wisdom of the Jewish ancients is of further interest, there is now a free, open-to-the-world platform of Talmudic wisdom launched in Dubai, UAE, in the winter of 2022 called The Peoples’ Talmud which makes the Talmud accessible to layman and scholar in user-friendly English.
About Gedaliah Gurfein
Gedaliah has been involved in the high-tech world since 1994 both in Jerusalem, New York and Beijing. He has also been a teacher of the Talmud since 1974 and is currently the spiritual leader of two Igbo communities in Nigeria.
In one sampling on Animals, it is written: “Wild animals are usually called wild because they cannot be domesticated and used in labor. However, as Ben Gurion once said, “If an expert tells you it can’t be done, get another expert.”
The Talmud says that there were people who so understood animal nature that, despite the nature of wild donkeys, they were able to utilize wild donkeys to turn their millstones.
Bella Hadid, Adidas campaign for the 1972 Munich Olympics shoe re-release
Bella Hadid, Adidas campaign for the 1972 Munich Olympics shoe re-release
Adidas, a popular sport shoes and clothing company has inflamed the hearts and minds of the global Jewish community after featuring supermodel Bella Hadid as the face of their 1972 vintage shoe release to promote the upcoming summer Olympics.
Bella Hadid who identifies as a second generation Palestinian (on her dad’s side) is prominently anti-Israel marking yet again the liability that brands take on when they hire antisemitic or racist celebrities that they cannot control. Kanye West was fired by Adidas and his profitable shoe campaign following a series of antisemitic remarks. It took a few weeks for Adidas to make the ack
According to prominent X commentator Eli David, Adidas has a problematic history and “was founded by Adi Dassler, a member of the Nazi party who used to sign all his letters with “Hei| Hitler” at the end.”
“First unveiled in 1972, the introduction of the SL 72 sneaker was the spark plug that initiated a paradigm shift in the realm of running shoes,” the company said in a press release on July 15.
Adidas has issued an apology for “any upset or distress caused” by featuring Hadid in advertisements for its 1972 Munich Olympic sneaker relaunch. Adidas chose Hadid for its SL72 campaign, commemorating the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Olympics by reviving their classic sneaker from the 70s.
The1972 Munich Olympics continued despite a Palestinian terror attack that killed 11 Israeli athletes and one German police officer. For Jews around the round the choice of Bella Hadid was more than an oversight.
“I’m not afraid to lose modeling jobs and I will continue to speak up on Palestine,” announced Hadid. Her supporters on X show images of her holding a map of Israel saying “this is Palestine.”
Do you think Israelis are being oversensitive or should brands start using AI models to endorse their brands given the polarizing potential of celebrities who use their star status for political gain?
No more space diapers! Scientists have developed a prototype to recycle urine in space. This tech could be used in hydroponics for growing food and medical cannabis.
If we look at Frank Herbert’s Dune novels is mostly desert, with extreme heat and an almost total absence of water and inhabitants rely on stillsuits, which recycle water from sweat and urine to sustain them in the dry environment. Drinking purified moisture from the body is not just a fantasy invention, however – it could soon be reality for astronauts, thanks to a prototype urine collection and filtration system inspired by stillsuits.
Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University have developed a new spacesuit, inspired by Frank Herbert’s Dune, that recycles urine via a filtration backpack to extend spacewalks and improve hygiene. Unlike the traditional NASA suits, which have led to issues like UTIs, the new design features a vacuum-based external catheter and forward-reverse osmosis, though NASA has yet to adopt the technology.
Outside the safety of a space station, spacewalkers rely on their suits for oxygen and protection from the environment. Over the five to eight hours of a typical mission, they may also need to relieve themselves, which is often uncomfortable and unhygienic. It is also wasteful, as the water from urine is not recycled in current suits, unlike wastewater on the International Space Station.
No more astronaut diapers?
Astronauts have long complained about a lack of comfort and hygiene when using the maximum absorbency garment (Mag diaper), NASA’s ‘waste management system’ that essentially works like a multi-layered adult nappy made of superabsorbent polymer.
“The Mag has reportedly leaked and caused health issues such as urinary tract infections and gastrointestinal distress. Additionally, astronauts currently have only one litre of water available in their in-suit drink bags. This is insufficient for the planned longer-lasting lunar spacewalks, which can last 10 hours, and even up to 24 hours in an emergency,” said Sofia Etlin, research staff member at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University, part of the study detailing the new suit.
The new design includes a vacuum-based external catheter leading to a combined forward-reverse osmosis unit to provide a continuous supply of potable water, with multiple safety mechanisms to ensure astronaut wellbeing.
The urine collection device includes an undergarment made of multiple layers of flexible fabric. This connects to a collection cup of moulded silicone, with a different shape and size for women and men. The inner face of the collection cup is lined with polyester microfibre or a nylon-spandex blend, drawing urine away from the body.
An RFID tag linked to an absorbent hydrogel activates a vacuum pump when moisture is detected, sucking the urine into the filtration system. There, the urine is recycled with an efficiency of 87% through a two-step, integrated forward and reverse osmosis system. This uses a concentration gradient to remove water from the urine, as well as a pump to separate water from salt.
While the prototype looks bulky we could call on SpaceX designers to make the final look more appealing.
How the urine recycling system could look attached to the back of a spacesuit (Credit: Karen Morales)
The purified water is then enriched in electrolytes and pumped into the in-suit drink bag, available for consumption. Collecting and purifying 500ml of urine should take only five minutes, the researchers claimed.
“Our system can be tested in simulated microgravity conditions, as microgravity is the primary space factor we must account for. These tests will ensure the system’s functionality and safety before it is deployed in actual space missions,” said Dr Christopher E Mason, the study’s lead author.
Sultan Al Neyadi, SpaceX Crew-6 mission specialist, will be the first United Arab Emirates astronaut to fly a normal International Space Station rotation. He will likely spend a half-year in space. (Image credit: SpaceX)
The system, which integrates control pumps, sensors, and a liquid-crystal display screen, is powered by a 20.5V battery with a capacity of 40 amp-hours. Its total size is 38x23x23cm and it weighs 8kg, which its developers said should be “sufficiently compact and light to be carried on the back of a spacesuit”.
NASA has been growing potatoes in Mars-like conditions since the 80s using hydroponics. This new space suit could work in Peeponics, growing food from urine.
A crew will orbit the Moon in 2025, followed a year later by a landing on its south pole.
Lilium is on the verge of selling 100 electric flying taxis to Saudi Arabia’s state-owned airline, Saudia, finalizing a framework deal set up in late 2022. Saudia recently started an interesting coffee campaign to raise cultural awareness about Saudi Arabia.
Electric flying taxi companies, including Lilium and rival Volocopter GmbH, are in a crucial phase, seeking additional funding to achieve certification which is complicated when they are flying in civilian zones and cities.
Lilium’s small aircraft, equipped with small ducted fans and two pairs of wings, aims to start flying their flying taxis by 2026.
The latest news boosted Lilium’s shares by 2.7 percent in New York trading, bringing the company’s market value to $550 million.
A more modest way to get around might be this Swiss-made solar powered taxi which we featured when it rolled into Israel more than 10 years ago.
As the European Commission prepares for a new term beginning in November, a seismic shift in the distribution of power among its directorates-general looms large. The draft proposal seen by Euronews reveals that the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) stands to lose significant authority over food safety, transferring crucial responsibilities to other departments. This reorganization is set to reshape the landscape of food policy in the EU, with potentially many positive outcomes given the diffused responsibilities in the sector and its societal importance.
Under the proposed changes, DG SANTE would cede control over pesticide approval, animal welfare, plant health, plant varieties, and new genomic techniques to the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI). Furthermore, other food safety concerns would shift to the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST), effectively decentralizing DG SANTE’s extensive influence over food-related issues.
Shifting battlegrounds
Currently, DG AGRI oversees the EU’s substantial farm subsidies program, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which constitutes a third of the EU budget. Enhancing DG AGRI’s mandate could transform it into a comprehensive food department, managing the entire food system rather than merely agricultural production. This expansion would allow DG AGRI to address food security, agricultural trade, food waste, and other agri-food industry policies more cohesively.
The proposed shift in responsibilities is not merely administrative but could reignite contentious debates, particularly around the Front-of-Pack (FOP) label requirement laid out under the Farm to Fork strategy. This debate, highly contentious and political, has been dominated by those in support of Nutri-Score, a colour-coded label created by France, and those who oppose it. With an empowered DG AGRI, the creation of a senior official dedicated to the food system becomes a distinct possibility. Such a position could be particularly appealing to Italy, which, like other Member States, must appoint a Commissioner for the upcoming five-year term. Italy, among other countries of South Europe, notably Portugal but also Romania and Bulgaria, has vocally opposed the Nutri-score label, arguing that it unfairly discriminates against the Mediterranean diet and traditional foods.
Nutri-Score malaise
Nutri-score has faced persistent criticism since its introduction, one of the primary ones being that it grossly oversimplifies nutritional information and thereby potentially misleading consumers. By grading foods from A to E based on their nutritional profile, the system fails to account for the complexities of diet and nutrition. Critics argue that it penalizes traditional and artisanal foods, which might have higher fat or sugar content but are consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet.
Additionally, there are concerns about the bias inherent in the Nutri-score system. Southern European countries, in particular, contend that the label is skewed against their culinary traditions. Foods like olive oil and certain cheeses, staples of the Mediterranean diet known for their health benefits, receive lower scores despite their nutritional value when consumed as part of a holistic diet. This has led to accusations that Nutri-score tends to favour industrial, processed foods that can be reformulated to achieve better scores, rather than whole, natural products.
Although Nutri-score will remain under DG SANTE’s jurisdiction for the moment, this could change if DG AGRI were to evolves into a comprehensive, centralised food authority. In that case, the FOP debate could shift to a department prepared to overthrow the entire FOP label debate to start from fresh and thus sparking fresh controversies. The reshuffle as a great opportunity
Despite the turbulence, this restructuring presents several opportunities that could greatly improve the division of power, functioning and effectiveness of the European Commission. For DG SANTE, the streamlined portfolio allows a sharper focus on core public health issues, enabling it to play a significant role in global health initiatives such as the World Health Organisation’s pandemic accord and the rollout of new health data legislation. A more concentrated mandate could ensure that DG SANTE addresses public health concerns with greater efficiency and precision, potentially leading to more informed decisions in areas including the FOP label and much beyond.
Regarding DG AGRI, the consolidation of agriculture and food system responsibilities under one roof promises enhanced decision-making efficiency and effectiveness. The agri-food sector, currently embroiled in protests over low food prices, environmental regulations, and non-EU agricultural trade, could benefit from a more holistic approach. Farmers across Europe have voiced concerns about the bureaucratic complexities of the CAP, which has recently leaned towards greener policies.
Case in point are the farmer protests ongoing since late 2023 sparked by frustration by the pressures on their livelihoods. A restructured DG AGRI, equipped with broader powers, could address these grievances more effectively. The potential to streamline policies and reduce bureaucratic hurdles could alleviate some of the sector’s burdens, fostering a more sustainable and economically viable agricultural landscape. Indeed, a more unified DG AGRI might strike a better balance between farmer needs, consumer demands, and sustainability as the new European Commission begins its new mandate later this year.
As the European Commission moves towards this significant reshuffle, the implications for food safety, agricultural policy, and public health are profound. Whether these changes will lead to improved efficiency and effectiveness or spark new conflicts remains to be seen. However, the stakes are undeniably high, and the outcomes will shape the future of Europe’s food system for years to come.
A Tesla Cybertruck is powered using lithium ion batteries
A Tesla Cybertruck is powered using lithium ion batteries
A novel sub-class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) in lithium ion batteries is a growing source of pollution in air and water.The findings were published in a peer-reviewed study in Nature Communications this week.
Testing by the research team further found these PFAS, called bis-perfluoroalkyl sulfonimides (bis-FASIs), demonstrate environmental persistence and ecotoxicity comparable to older notorious compounds like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
Lithium ion batteries are a key part of the growing clean energy infrastructure, with uses in electric cars and electronics, and demand is anticipated to grow exponentially over the next decade.
“Our results reveal a dilemma associated with manufacturing, disposal, and recycling of clean energy infrastructure,” said Texas Tech University’s Jennifer Guelfo an associate professor of environmental engineering: “Slashing carbon dioxide emissions with innovations like electric cars is critical, but it shouldn’t come with the side effect of increasing PFAS pollution.
“We need to facilitate technologies, manufacturing controls and recycling solutions that can fight the climate crisis without releasing highly recalcitrant pollutants.”
The researchers sampled air, water, snow, soil and sediment near manufacturing plants in Minnesota, Kentucky, Belgium and France. The bis-FASI concentrations in these samples were commonly at very high levels. Data also suggested air emissions of bis-FASIs may facilitate long-range transport, meaning areas far from manufacturing sites may be affected as well.
Analysis of several municipal landfills in the southeastern U.S. indicated these compounds can also enter the environment through disposal of products, including lithium ion batteries.
Toxicity testing demonstrated concentrations of bis-FASIs similar to those found at the sampling sites can change behavior and fundamental energy metabolic processes of aquatic organisms. Bis-FASI toxicity has not yet been studied in humans, though other, more well-studied PFAS are linked to cancer, infertility and other serious health harms.
Treatability testing showed bis-FASIs did not break down during oxidation, which has also been observed for other PFAS. However, data showed concentrations of bis-FASIs in water could be reduced using granular activated carbon and ion exchange, methods already used to remove PFAS from drinking water.
“These results illustrate that treatment approaches designed for PFOA and PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) can also remove bis-FASIs,” said study author Lee Ferguson, associate professor of environmental engineering at Duke University. “Use of these approaches is likely to increase as treatment facilities are upgraded to comply with newly enacted EPA Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFAS.”
Guelfo and Ferguson emphasize this is a pivotal time for adoption of clean energy technologies that can reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
“We should harness the expertise of multi-disciplinary teams of scientists, engineers, sociologists, and policy makers to develop and promote use of clean energy infrastructure while minimizing the environmental footprint,” Ferguson said.
“We should use the momentum behind current energy initiatives to ensure that new energy technologies are truly clean,” Guelfo added.
A solar energy plant in Turkey: Record growth in renewables must be significantly topped up in the remaining 7 years to meet the UAE Consensus energy target set at COP28
The Renewable Energy Statistics 2024 report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) based in the UAE shows that despite renewables becoming the fastest growing source of power, the world risks missing the tripling renewables target pledged at the UN conference COP28.
To stay the course, the world will now have to grow renewables capacity at a minimum 16.4% rate annually through 2030.
The unprecedented 14% increase of renewables capacity during 2023 established a 10% compound annual growth rate (2017 to 2023). Combined with the constant decreasing additions of non-renewable capacity over the years, the trend sees renewable energy on its way to overtake fossil fuels in global installed power capacity.
However, if last year’s 14% increase rate continues, the tripling target of 11.2 Terawatts (TW) in 2030 outlined by IRENA’s 1.5°C scenario will fall 1.5 TW short, missing the target by 13.5%.
Furthermore, if the world keeps the historic annual growth rate of 10%, it will only accumulate 7.5 TW of renewables capacity by 2030, missing the target by almost one-third.
“Renewable energy has been increasingly outperforming fossil fuels, but it is not the time to be complacent,” says IRENA Director-General, Francesco La Camera.
“Renewables must grow at higher speed and scale. Our new report sheds light on the direction of travel; if we continue with the current growth rate, we will only face failure in reaching the tripling renewables target agreed in the UAE Consensus at COP28, consequently risking the goals of the Paris Agreement and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
“As custodian agency tasked with monitoring the progress, IRENA is committed to support countries in their pathways to meet the target, but we need concrete policy actions and massive mobilisation of finance at full speed to reach our destination together. Consolidated global figures conceal ongoing patterns of concentration in geography. These patterns threaten to exacerbate the decarbonisation divide and pose a significant barrier to achieving the tripling target,” he added.
COP28 President Dr Sultan Al Jaber said, “Today’s report is a wake-up call for the entire world: while we are making progress, we are off track to meet the global goal of tripling renewable energy capacity to 11.2 TW by 2030.
A meeting of IRENA folks in Abu Dhabi, 2019
“We need to increase the pace and scale of development. That means increasing collaboration between governments, the private sector, multilateral organisations, and civil society. Governments need to set explicit renewable energy targets, look at actions like accelerating permitting and expanding grid connections, and implement smart policies that push industries to step up and incentivise the private sector to invest.
“Additionally, this moment provides a significant opportunity to add strong national energy targets in NDCs to support the global goal of keeping the 1.5°C target within reach. Above all, we must change the narrative that climate investment is a burden to it being an unprecedented opportunity for shared socio-economic development.”
In terms of power generation, the latest data available for 2022 confirmed yet again the regional disparity in renewables deployment.
Who is leading renewable energy growth?
Asia holds its position as leader in the global renewable power generation with 3 749 Terawatt hours (TWh), followed for the first time by North America (1 493 TWh). The most impressive jump occurred in South America, where renewable power generation increased by nearly 12% to 940 TWh, due to a hydropower recovery and a greater role of solar energy.
With a modest growth of 3.5%, Africa increased its renewable power generation to 205 TWh in 2022, despite the continent’s tremendous potential and immense need for rapid, sustainable growth.
Acknowledging the urgent need for support and finance, IRENA is advancing the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa (APRA) initiative and is preparing an investment forum focused on APRA’s member countries later this year.
Read the full Renewable Energy Statistics 2024 including the highlights, here.
Masdar's new solar energy park in Sharjah in cooperation with French energy company EDF.
Masdar’s new solar energy park in Sharjah breaks ground in cooperation with French energy company EDF.
The Emirate of Sharjah oil and gas industry leader, Sharjah National Oil Corporation (SNOC) of the United Arab Emirates, and Emerge Limited, a joint venture between Masdar and the EDF Group, celebrated a significant milestone today with the groundbreaking ceremony for the largest solar installation in Sharjah to date. EDF is for Électricité de France SA, commonly known as EDF, a French multinational electric utility company owned by the government of France.
The 60MWp ground-mounted solar PV plant, located at SNOC’s Sajaa Gas Complex, will generate enough clean energy to offset 66,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually, equivalent to removing more than 14,600 cars from the road each year.
The project supports SNOC’s commitment to decarbonization and its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2032. It will significantly decrease SNOC’s dependence on traditional fossil fuels for its operations and provide a cost-effective source of clean energy.
The project aligns with the United Arab Emirates’ ambitious Net-Zero 2050 strategy. By promoting renewable energy sources, this initiative contributes to the UAE’s transition towards a more sustainable, environmentally conscious future for Sharjah and the wider region.
The UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative is a national drive to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, making the Emirates the first Middle East and North Africa (MENA) nation to do so. The initiative aligns with the Paris Agreement, which calls on countries to prepare long-term strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 C compared to pre-industrial levels.
SNOC Chief Executive Officer, Hatem Al Mosa, said “SNOC is happy to witness this significant milestone on its path to achieve Net-Zero by 2032 across its own operations and to support the Emirate of Sharjah’s sustainability agenda and commitment to protecting the environment.”
Michel Abi Saab, Emerge General Manager, said: “This project will empower SNOC to achieve its decarbonization goals, and also to secure a more cost-effective energy future for the Emirate as a whole.”
Emerge will handle the entire project lifecycle under a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) agreement. This includes financing, design, procurement, construction, operation, and maintenance of the solar modules for a period of 25 years.
Summer means it’s watermelon time! This juicy, fruity, vitamin-packed superfruit not only quenches thirst but also tastes great. It’s an easy snack to bring along in packed lunches to the beach or on a picnic. And if you find yourself with extra watermelon and don’t want to waste any, you can even make jam from the rind.
Readers of Green Prophet have made note that watermelon rinds, particularly the white parts, may function as a natural Viagra. We turned to published literature to investigate. While it’s not marketed as a natural Viagra, some research indicates that watermelon may act as a mild aphrodisiac, potentially helping men with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction.
Watermelon’s libido-boosting properties are attributed to an amino acid called citrulline, which is concentrated in the rind.
According to this 2023 study, watermelon may plays a role in treating male infertility and improving sexual function. This popular fruit, enjoyed worldwide for its nutritional and health-promoting qualities, has been linked to biological mechanisms that enhance aphrodisiac and fertility effects.
The overview study suggests that watermelon can improve semen quality, reverse erectile dysfunction, enhance testicular redox status, and improve gonadotropin secretion.
Watermelon ice is nice and sexy
“These effects are linked to its constituents, including vitamins and phytochemicals such as phenols and flavonoids, which contribute to its antioxidant properties,” the researchers reported in their summary.
“Watermelon has also been noted for its antimicrobial, anti-helminthic, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antihypertensive properties, which may support its therapeutic use.”
If you’re not already enjoying watermelon regularly, consider trying these recipes to increase your intake naturally.
Kongō Gumi is a Japanese construction company, purportedly founded in 578 A.D., making it the world's oldest documented company. What can we learn about building sustainable businesses from them?
Kongō Gumi is a Japanese construction company, purportedly founded in 578 A.D., making it the world’s oldest documented company. What can we learn about building sustainable businesses from them?
A friend recently asked me how to build a 100-year-old sustainable company. I thought about it for a while and decided to invoke the assistance of my trusty googlizer to look up the oldest business in the world. Kongo Gumi, the oldest, continuously operating corporation in the world came up.
Established in 578 AD in Osaka Japan, this construction company remained in family hands for 40 generations. Certainly, I could glean some insight from this success story. But alas, the story had an unhappy ending. Kongo Gumi dissolved into bankruptcy in 2006.
After considering all the textbook methods of analysing company success from strong competitive advantage, to erecting and fortifying barriers to entry, investing in better ways of producing your goods and services, establishing a strong brand or reputation and focusing on growing markets, I had generated a list in my head of rather un-instructive dribble.
According to leading investors, the keys to building a long-term successful business revolve around building something you understand, that you do better than the competition and that your market wants, needs and is able to pay for, at a price level that generates profits for you. Simple. But Kongo Gumi did all this for many generations. They built the first Buddhist temple in Japan. They were the first Japanese construction firm to use cement in their buildings. They were first to use CAD/CAM technology in Japan. So, what went wrong?
Why did Kongo Gumi die after hundreds of years?
There may be all kinds of operational, market and or management issues that complicate the picture. Throughout the whole 1,400 years of this company with hundreds of leaders, not one of which had an MBA, some added value and others detracted. Some left the company stronger than when they started and some left the company weaker. That could be measured in dollars and sense by the ledger or stacks of cash in the safe. But the company survived. It was sustainable.
What was critical, throughout these years, was that cash flow had to be positive, more often than not, or management would begin to eat into reserves previously built up. Throughout these years, there must have been periods of great abundance and periods of great scarcity. And in the end, what we know, is that cash flow was sacrificed enough that they were running out of reserves.
The owners were motivated to gamble the company’s future on excessive, unsustainable and unsupportable debt. When tough market conditions hit in 2006 the company was forced to declare bankruptcy and be taken over by another construction company. The company had survived 1,300 years of poor market conditions by focusing on cash flow. And in the midst of the greatest building boom in Japan, Kongo Gumi did not focus on the cash flow.
Cash flow is the common variable among all companies that must be positive, more than negative, to ensure survival. This might be the most important variable to monitor to ensure long-term viability of an organization. When cash flow is declining, work backward to figure out why and how to improve or your company will not be sustainable and thrive.
Michael Cooper offers a research service to help people invest in 100-year-companies. To learn more about his research newsletter email michael@greenprophet.com
China makes a $1 billion deal with Turkey to build EVs in Turkey circumventing EU tariffs imposed on Chinese electric cars.
China makes a $1 billion deal with Turkey to build EVs in Turkey circumventing EU tariffs imposed on Chinese electric cars.
The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) company BYD just signed a $1 billion USD promise with Turkey’s Industry and Technology Ministry to open a plant in the country. This is a historic deal for the Turkish automotive sector which needs the jobs and which serves as an easy bridge to Europe.
The agreement is for BYD to set up a manufacturing plant and an electric and rechargeable hybrid car production facility to manufacture f 150,000 vehicles a year. There will also be an R&D center for sustainable mobility technologies set up in Turkey.
Given the latest war between the Ukraine and Russia Turkey has made its side clear by aligning with China, Russia and Iran. This may prevent imports to Europe, setting up the Turkish car plants to export to Asian countries nearby.
The plant will is expected to employ up to 5,000 people and will start production at the end of 2026.
“Thanks to Turkey’s unique advantages such as its developing technology ecosystem, strong supplier base, extraordinary location and qualified workforce, BYD’s investment in this new production facility will further improve the brand’s local production capabilities and improve logistics efficiency,” the Chinese automaker said in a statement.
“We aim to reach consumers in Europe by meeting the increasing demand for new energy vehicles in the region,” it added.
Turkey is the third largest automobile manufacturer in the Europe area although the EU has been clear that it will not accept Turkey into the EU. It exports an annual amount of over $35 billion in cars.
The new plant will be built in the western Manisa province.
Just after the news went live the the EU increased tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese EVs to combat undermining European rivals.
Turkish-made cars enter an EU customs union that dates to 1995. Carmakers like Fiat and Renault opened plants there in the 1970s, with Ford, Toyota and Hyundai.
The new deal between Turkey and China will circumvent the high tariffs on Chinese-made cars.
Finjal collection from Saudia airline to celebrate Saudi Arabian coffee culture.
If you have ever travelled to Turkey or anywhere in the Middle East you will learn that hospitality centers around a small but strong cup of coffee. A sign of Arabian hospitality is sitting guests down with a special coffee pot called a dallah, where dark coffee is boiled, sometimes with cardamon pods and then poured into tiny finjal cups from which you sip the sweet black magic.
Saudi Arabia is wanting to show the world a taste of Saudi Arabia culture by showcasing five collectable coffee cups called finjals that include signs that reflect a certain region in Saudi Arabia. Ceramic vessels and pottery are having a moment as more people yearn for the local and the handmade. Hamada, a Japanese potter and Bernard Leech, a British one, explored this need more than a 100 years ago – as a means to get away from the mechanical and industrial soulless items we bring into our lives.
Karin Kloosterman, Green Prophet founder, has also done a lot of work in pottery and ceramics and recently developed AI prompts to create pottery glazes that could be made using materials on Mars. Eventually as people settle the Red Planet, they will seek out handmade, local items that will need to be made from scratch on Mars. Spaceships can only carry so much.
So sit back and enjoy a finjal that reflects Saudi history and culture.
Saudia, the national carrier of Saudi based in Jeddah, created the Saudia Saudi Coffee Finjal collab with the Saudi Culinary Arts Commission.
Want to make some Arabian coffee? We have an expert-level recipe here. More expert advice? Never say no when you are offered coffee in the Middle East.
In light of fashion being responsible for nearly 20% of total global waste, industry players have become increasingly conscious of their resource consumption and overall environmental impact. This has also led to the rise of slow fashion, providing consumers with a more sustainable option for their apparel, footwear, and accessories. Embracing slow fashion also leads to multiple benefits beyond the consumer staying stylish while also saving storage space. These include less waste in landfills, reduced carbon emissions, and cleaner water.
Among the segments in the broader fashion industry currently experiencing significant transformations toward sustainability and environmental commitment is eyewear. While eyewear is typically associated with single-use plastic waste from acetate frames and packaging, the following tips can guide you through making more responsible and environmentally conscious choices for eyeglasses and sunglasses.
Shop local
One of the most straightforward ways to reduce your carbon footprint when shopping for eyewear is to support local brands. Not only do you get the opportunity to uplift local craftsmanship and independent fashion designers, but you also ensure your eyewear is made of locally and responsibly sourced materials. For example, the Ottawa-based brand SKRP (pronounced “scrap”) prides itself on Canadian-made products, including skateboard sunglasses made of Canadian maple wood and recycled materials. These sunglasses are available in various stylish options, such as round, aviator, and Wayfarer style.
Look for recycled materials
Find your grandfather’s glasses for the best recycled look of slow glasses
Another way eyewear brands are committing to sustainable practices is by transforming their production processes and prioritizing recycled materials over traditional plastics like acetate. To illustrate, eyewear brand Jimmy Fairly has partnered with Reformation for a sustainable sunglasses collection that uses bio-acetate, a type of acetate made with plant-derived renewable materials like wood pulp. This capsule collection features a wide range of frame styles to suit varying tastes and preferences, from classic cat-eye Joan to statement-making Josephine with its oversized frames and contrast lenses. Meanwhile, eco-friendly brands are tapping into renewable materials like vegetal or oil-based resin for equally durable and sustainable eyewear lenses.
Consider packaging and delivery
Besides the frames themselves, packaging and distribution processes in the eyewear supply chain can also create a significant amount of carbon emissions. So, while e-commerce can help you gain access to more affordable and sustainable options you may not find in your local area, consider whether or not their packaging materials and delivery options minimize environmental impact. In this case, a viable option would be Eyebuydirect, among the leading retailers in Canada offering sustainable in-house collections of glasses online. Such eyewear collections are made of bio-nylon, bio-acetate, wood, and recycled plastic bottles, but you can further reduce your carbon footprint through its eco-friendly storage cases and packaging materials. Eyebuydirect also partners with logistics providers using sustainable solutions for green shipping.
Opt for timeless styles
Lastly, nothing says slow and sustainable like shopping for frames that you can use for many years since they will never go out of style. So, instead of basing your frame choice on every short trend cycle, prioritize brands like Dutil Eyewear, whose stylish frames have been seen on A-list celebrities like Meryl Streep. With its core brand values being cleanliness, timeliness, and simplicity, the Canadian company showcases a curated selection of classic frame styles, such as Big Ben Sun, which are oversized sunglasses with a tortoiseshell pattern that can match any type of wardrobe.
If you enjoyed reading this, check out the rest of the articles here at Green Prophet for more news and resources on sustainable living.
A lone yacht in the middle of the sea. Are top paid CEOs out of touch with people and our planet?
A lone yacht in the middle of the sea. Are top paid CEOs out of touch with people and our planet?
Tomorrow’s quintessential question; How do we share the wealth? Should it all go to one person? Or one trust fund? In the extreme, this is where the trends indicate we are going.
According to Bernie Sanders, 4 hedge fund managers make more than 120,000 kindergarten teachers, today. The trend toward extreme inequality is unrelenting and affects everyone.
The top 10 US-based CEO‘s generated $1,563 million in personal compensation 2022. Nine of 10 of these CEO’s led companies which generated less than 10% increase in shareholder wealth.
Seven CEO’s oversaw billions in shareholder declines throughout the year. But this did not stop the CEOs from collecting. Admittedly, 2022 was a tough year for the stock market in general. But what does this say to other employees about paying for performance?
The message to other executives and middle managers is to take what you can while the taking is available. For the rest of us, this is the time to apply pressure for change.
Top 10 US-based CEO Pay in 2022
Larry Fink, the CEO of Blackrock
Blackrock CEO $253 million
Alphabet CEO $226 million
Hertz CEO $182 million
Peloton CEO $168 million
Live Nation CEO $ 139 million
Oracle CEO $ 138 million
Sarepta Therapeutics $ 125 million
Pinterest $123 million
CS Disco $ 110 million
Apple $ 99 million
Source: c-Suite Comp via CNBC
How do you profit from this? Use it as a benchmark of honesty. When a company says in bold print, “we value our employees” and then pays its CEO a gross amount for non-performance and pays employees a living wage, you can understand the limits of his/her words.
Although the issues are more nuanced than one simple calculation, it definitely indicates the issues deserve our attention.
Does Elon Musk deserve a 56 billion USD pay package? Does this make a sustainable company?
Does Elon Musk deserve a 56 billion USD pay package? Does this make a sustainable company?
First let’s define excess pay. Excess pay is when you pay for something that you do not receive. When hiring executives to run your company, you are right to expect a certain level of performance excellence. When you don’t receive that performance excellence you might feel cheated.
When you get the performance you expect you may be very happy to pay absolutely large compensation if it is a small percentage of the value created.
Top Paid CEOS in the US, via Equilar
Elon Musk who led the development of a $500 billion company, Tesla, may rightly deserve his $56 billion USD compensation package while another CEO who generated no value in 10 years is not worth his $600k annual compensation package. We can debate how much value Elon actually oversaw and when that value was created. But the basic premise of shareholders earning $1.00 and offering a slice to the top dog in the organization seems reasonable.
If the $1.00 is followed by a billion zeros then I expect the captain of the ship to have earned a princely sum for guiding the enterprise to safe lucrative shores.
How do these pay packages affect workers and shareholders?
1. Extreme excess pay changes CEO decision making – perpetuates losing businesses which over-compensate the CEO and under-compensate everyone else such as employees and shareholders.
2. Dilutes shareholders’ position – if the executives issue themselves 1% of the company every year it starts to add up over 10 years. I have seen small companies issue 4% of shares annually.
3. Reduces cash that otherwise could be used to fund growth and enterprise development. 4. Demoralizes workers and investors and can create envy.
5. Motivates other executives and middle managers to request more and create a new escalation of unnecessary expense.
The effects of over-paying become dramatic over a lifetime for any company trying to create a sustainable business of any kind. Real effects include reduction in workers wages compounding into lower savings compounding into lower investment levels and compounding into generating lower income from investments.
Ouch that all hurts the common man, woman, and their children. And what can we do to change this inequality as individual investors looking to create prosperity for all? We can attempt to cap the run away compensation packages, but the resistance will be relentless.
Or we can learn to leverage our knowledge and profit by it. That is my approach. I supply information so people can invest in companies that will last 100 years or more.
Subscribe to Green Prophet to get my free generational wealth tips that help promote financial equality.
A contrarian with an even temperament. These characteristics are useful in investment markets when coupled with a Western University (Canada) economics degree, CFA designation, years of finance and investment industry experience and most importantly, access to the teachings of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.
My career started in 1990 working with a couple second rate Toronto-based finance boutiques and a couple first rate investment firms. I was involved in private equity and venture capital, financing approximately $50 million worth of transactions, finding target companies, performing valuation analysis and documentation, negotiating terms and pitching deals to institutional investors.
In 2015 Cooper Financial Research was refocused toward the DIY investor. A successful track record based on my personal portfolio was developed. New investors were provided with access to replicate my allocations through a weekly newsletter service.
Can you eat honeycomb? Are there any dangers or health benefits?
Can you eat honeycomb? Are there any dangers or health benefits?
With the proliferation of urban beekeepers I asked myself: Is it safe to eat beeswax from the honeycomb? I told some friends I had a hive and several of them asked specifically for the honeycomb with living, raw honey in it. Commercial honey, we know is pasteurized, so the healing enzymes in honey are killed. But honeycomb is “just wax” I thought. Won’t it get stuck in my intestines or merge with my teeth? Surely they just mean to chew on it like bubblegum?
But, no. Several people I spoke with said that honeycomb is good for you and it’s sought out as a natural medicine. Beekeeping expert, Yossi Oud, from Bees for Peace, Israel told me that beeswax is good for your teeth and your throat and you should it with natural honey. Scientific studies (linked below) confirm this.
Yossi Oud, a biodynamic beekeeper teaches Palestinian women how to keep bees
For centuries, bee-derived products such as propolis, honey and beeswax from the honeycomb have been used as natural therapies in folk medicine due to their properties and their high content of bioactive compounds. Today, there is renewed interest in apitherapy due to its preventing and healing properties for wounds, rheumatism, and gastrointestinal disorders.
Is there any scientific research out there to support any of these heath claims? In a recent study from Egypt published in Veterinarian Medicine sheep were fed beeswax as part of their diet and the results were impressive and included reduced carbon emissions and better health outcomes for the animals:
The researchers write that beeswax inclusion in the feed formulation is good for sustainable farming. Beeswax in feed “enhanced the nutrient digestibility by enhancing rumen fermentation and decreasing the ammonia emissions,” they wrote.
Adrian Pepe, an artist who works with sheep in Lebanon. Beeswax has a place in regenerative farming, along with artists like Pepe.
Feeding farm animals beeswax is regenerative farming
The use of 4 g/day of beeswax supplementation in growing Assaf lambs could promote zootechnical performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation and thus lower the cost of feed formulation and support the sustainability of lamb farming.
In this study researchers investigated pesticide residues in honey and beeswax. As bees forage miles away from the hive, it is hard to create 100% ecological honey unless you live in a forest with a large organic buffer.
The scientists concluded in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry that “the food consumption of honey and beeswax contaminated with these residues considered separately does not compromise the consumer’s health, provided proposed action limits are met. In regard to residues of flumethrin in honey and in beeswax, “zero tolerance” should be applied.”
How can consumers check for contamination? How can you know flumethrin wasn’t used?
Flumethrin is a pyrethroid insecticide. It is used externally in veterinary medicine against parasitic insects and ticks on cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and dogs, and against the treatment of parasitic mites in honeybee colonies. It is commonly used to treat varoa mites.
According to Merck who makes the product, flumethrin is toxic to organs, should not contact your skin, eyes, or be breathed. It may damage an unborn child. According to the Government of Canada, this material isn’t a danger to health if used correctly. But how many beekeepers might make a mistake and contaminate a hive and all the honey with the material?
What does it do to the fitness of the hive?
Whenever we ask a question, we find so many more questions waiting to be solved.
If your honey is organic, you might be spared from potential toxins. You can treat mites with natural formulations from chamomile tea, salt and honey, to dusting with organic demerrara sugar and using oxalic acid vapors.
Eat beeswax with honey and olive oil
Some studies suggest that beeswax might help lower cholesterol levels, it may prevent infections, and help protect the stomach from ulcers caused by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
This review of existing studies on eating beeswax or honeycomb showed an antimicrobic effect of beeswax against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger: “these inhibitory effects are enhanced synergistically with other natural products such as honey or olive oil.”
Beeswax can be used for a variety of other natural uses. I made sunscreen using beeswax honeycomb and tea. You can cut it with a seed oil that’s low on flavor and use it as a wood polish. It’s great for kitchen tables that get a lot of wear and tear. And you can make natural candles from beeswax. Most candles you buy today are parafin and derivatives of fossil fuels. Better to have some natural wax in your life.
So what are you waiting for? Miriam visited a beehive and got swarmed. I started a beehive and it’s been an ever-ending discovery into nature, the environment, and to myself.
And yes, the honey test works. Want to know if your honey is real or fake? Try this test.
Want to try to eat other non-organic food to see if it helps your health? Have you tried charcoal in your ice-cream or diatomaceous earth?
Tel Aviv is becoming a sustainable city by focusing on pedestrians and noisy cars.
Tel Aviv is becoming a sustainable city by focusing on pedestrians and noisy cars.
Hurried honking is a thing arguably invented by New Yorkers and is too common in the Middle East in Jordan, Israel, Syria, Lebanon Egypt and even southern Italy. The culture of waiting and honking is quite prevalent in the Middle East and around the Mediterranean. But all that honking gets to you.
It startles drivers, frays the nerves of pedestrians and pets and those working and living nearby face untold effects on their health and immune system.
To combat impatient honkers Tel Aviv, the startup city, has developed an automated system to detect a honk and activate a camera to determine if it’s hurried honking or honking for another purpose. Honkers will get a bill in the mail for about $125.
Don’t Honk signs are coming down in New York because people just ignore them. It’s a bid to declutter the city.
The country has already rolled out camera-based ticketing when people drive in public transport zones in cities and between them. The noise challenge gets answered by this new honking operation that will collect millions in fines in the first year.
Honking is like talking in the Middle East. It works but only because our tolerance for waiting while an inconsiderate person is chatting from their car to a friend on the road has worn down. We know that complaining doesn’t go far to change things, but honking can get a reaction – if only for a moment.
“Although the law states that one must honk only when there is real danger, many drivers still honk to encourage the driver in front of them to start driving, even before the traffic light changes to green,” Ron Huldai, the mayor of Tel Aviv said in a statement. “This bad habit is about to disappear from our urban lives, with the help of a unique identification technology that was developed especially for this purpose.”
Cameras connected to dozens of microphones will be set up on Tel Aviv streets to automatically detect honking outlaws. Expect a fine in the mail – if the post can actually find you. Mail service in Israel is notoriously bad.
The Middle East also has a poor track record for worker’s rights. Luckily those in Bahrain will get an outdoor work siesta during midday starting Monday, July 1. Labour Minister Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan said that this measure has significantly improved worker health and productivity, aligning with Bahrain’s commitment to safe working conditions and international labor standards.
The ban runs from 12pm to 4pm and aims to protect workers from the intense afternoon heat which is unbearable even in the shade.
In Middle East countries like Qatar more than 6500 foreign workers have died since the World Cup was hosted there. Some sources suggest this might be underestimated and that the numbers of undocumented workers dying is likely much higher. Qatar has been blamed by UK media for practices of modern day slavery.
Rub' al Khali, Empty Quarter, Saudi Arabia (Wikipedia)
Rub’ al Khali, Empty Quarter, Saudi Arabia (Wikipedia). Turns out the “Empty” is full of oil
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister announced Aramco‘s discovery of seven new oil and gas deposits in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province and Empty Quarter.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that Saudi Aramco found two unconventional oil fields, a light Arabian oil reservoir, two natural gas fields, and two natural gas reservoirs.
In the Eastern Province, the “Ladam” unconventional oil field was discovered, producing very light Arabian oil at 5,100 barrels per day, along with 4.9 million standard cubic feet of gas daily. The “Al-Farouk” oil field produces 4,557 barrels per day of ultra-light oil and 3.79 million cubic feet of gas per day.
The “Unayzah B/C” reservoir in the Mazalij field produces 1,780 barrels of light oil and 0.7 million cubic feet of gas daily.
In the Empty Quarter, the “Al-Jahaq” field produces 5.3 million cubic feet of gas from the “Al-Arab-C” reservoir and 1.1 million cubic feet from the “Al-Arab-D” reservoir.
The “Al-Katuf” field flows at 7.6 million cubic feet of gas and 40 barrels of condensate per day.
The “Hanifa” reservoir in the Asikra field yields 4.9 million cubic feet of gas per day, with the “Al-Fadhili” reservoir adding 0.6 million cubic feet of gas and 100 barrels of condensate daily.
Does that mean the price of gas will go up? Or go down? What about Saudi Arabia’s so-called sustainability vision for the year 2030? Looks like business as usual.
The Temple of Bel stands in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, adjoining a desert oasis with palm trees and bountiful water. Constructed in the first two centuries of the Common Era, the temple served for nearly two thousand years as a sanctuary for locals and as a site of significant archaeological interest. In 2015, the temple was destroyed by ISIS explosives. Here is the before and after photos.
The Temple of Bel stands in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, adjoining a desert oasis with palm trees and bountiful water. In 2015, the temple was destroyed by ISIS explosives. Here is the before and after photos.
We visited Palmyra 20 years. Its pillars preserved standing tall in the middle of the desert and strangely out of place in Syria, a memory from another time when Romans were expanding their empire. Some say this ancient city would make Rome blush.
The Temple of Bel stands in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, adjoining a desert oasis with palm trees and bountiful water. Constructed in the first two centuries of the Common Era, the temple served for nearly two thousand years as a sanctuary for locals and as a site of significant archaeological interest. In 2015, the temple was destroyed by ISIS explosives. ISIS went on a blowing up rampage and destroyed whatever was in its way, such as Jonah’s Tomb.
Palmyra was the capital of an independent and far-reaching Roman-style empire, expanding its borders beyond Syria to Egypt and much of Asia Minor. Islamic jihads hated the idea that traces of ancient infidels should remain in Muslim countries.
In “The Future of the Temple of Bel in Palmyra after its Destruction,” a new paper from the Bulletin of the American Society of Overseas Research, authors Maamoun Abdulkarim and Jacques Seigne argue for the urgent need to intervene in the restoration of the temple, and to facilitate the return of the Palmyrene population, in order to ensure this World Heritage site’s enduring existence.
The Temple of Bel was built on an ancient tell and consecrated to a Mesopotamian god. The central cella structure stands in a courtyard, surrounded by Corinthian columns. During the temple’s long history, the building was variously used as a church, and then a mosque, before being converted into a residential shelter, which was its function through the early 20th century.
Between 1920 and 1946, Syria and Lebanon were governed under the French mandate, and during this time, French authorities interested themselves in the preservation of Syria’s antiquities. The villagers of Palmyra were displaced from the Bel sanctuary into a settlement constructed nearby while the French administration catalogued and cleaned the temple site.
And although the residents of Palmyra returned to their home following the French archaeological mission, they would be forced to flee again in 2015 and 2016, during two occupations by ISIS. Once a population of some 40,000, by 2022, only 2,000 people had returned to the village inside the temple walls.
The bombs ISIS detonated in the summer of 2015 caused great damage to the Temple of Bel, but did not succeed in destroying the structure entirely. Specialists visiting the site after its 2016 liberation from the terrorist group were able to confirm that although the walls of the cella had collapsed, along with columns of the surrounding porticos, a large western gate and the foundations of the temple walls remained intact.
Nevertheless, write Abdulkarim and Seigne, the structure’s devastation disastrously impacted not only the site itself but also the lives of the citizens surrounding it. The return of the Palmyra community is crucial, the article authors write, “not only because they are a source of labor and practical expertise, but also due to their collective memory and ownership of the site. They are a part of its story.”
The story of the Temple of Bel is long and complex, including not just its origins in the age of the Roman Empire and its archaeological significance to visitors from across the world, but even, the authors note, its catastrophic bombing at the hands of extremists. The marks of destruction, they write, “are only another stage in the life of an exceptional, unique monument.”
Yet despite this context, preservation, continue Abdulkarim and Seigne, is ultimately paramount. The site in its current state could pose dangers to those that visit it. Furthermore, the Temple of Bel’s place in the history of Syria must be stabilized. They add, “Palmyra has witnessed the worst of times—the authors’ plea is for global cooperation and a shared ambition to protect the Temple of Bel, ensuring the return of a far more positive narrative.”
My experience in Syria is that nothing was being protected or preserved by western standards. Visitors had no supervision to archeological sites, payment was a couple of dollars to explore and locals often tried to give us or sell artifacts looted from the rubble and monuments. Meanwhile Syria is building its economy on a drug trade, Captagon. The archeology that they overtook when Arabs moved to Palmyra should be preserved as a legacy to all Middle Eastern heritage.
Robots in agriculture can also convert data into machine learning operations.
French energy giant EDF have made an investment in agRE.tech, a pioneering startup in the Agrivoltaic sector
The company has completed a pre-seed fundraising round, securing approximately $2 million USD for the development of an advanced robotic operating system tailored for agrovoltaic fields.
The start-up agRE.tech is pioneering the development of advanced robotics technology and artificial intelligence for use in agriculture and climate management. This innovative approach addresses manpower challenges in agriculture, increases productivity, and supports the global goals of large-scale green energy such as solar energy production within the same agricultural areas.
This fundraising round saw notable contributions from key players in the economy, including Zemach Mifalim (Zemach Regional Industries) and EDF. Zemach Mifalim, a co-initiator of agRE.tech, leads the way through the “Kinneret Innovation Center,” specializing in climate and agriculture.
EDF, the French Energy giant, brings its international expertise in energy to the project, furthering the vision of leveraging agricultural spaces for green energy production.
Over the past year, agRE.tech has been dedicated to developing an advanced robotic operating system tailored for agrivoltaic areas. This system, integrated into existing photovoltaic infrastructure, utilizes artificial intelligence to execute complex agricultural tasks autonomously, such as selective spraying, pruning, and harvesting. Additionally, it oversees the control and maintenance operations of the solar fields.
CEO and co-founder Elad Levy brings a wealth of experience in robotics, having previously served as Founder & CEO of Roboteam, a company with thousands of robotic systems deployed worldwide. Elad leads the team alongside Yaniv Marmur, a seasoned expert in multidisciplinary systems engineering, serving as CTO. The company has filed several patents in the field and has already established a development field above a vineyard where its robotic operating system is operational.
The Agrivoltaics market, which combines solar energy production with agriculture, presents a $4 billion opportunity. agRE.tech is poised to accelerate and expand this market to tens of billions of dollars with its groundbreaking technology.
agRE.tech is currently in the advanced stages of establishing the first commercial fields with integrated robotic capabilities in both local and international markets, including Italy, where a significant budget of 1.7 billion euros has been allocated for grovoltaic projects.
“After over a decade in defense and civil robotics, we identified climate and agriculture as burgeoning fields where we can contribute to global efforts addressing the climate crisis and food security,” says Elad Levy, CEO of agRE.tech. “The convergence of these sectors presents immense potential for technological and business innovation. It’s a great honor for us to have esteemed companies like EDF and Zemach partnering with us to spearhead the robotic agrivoltaic sector and pave the way for a sustainable future for all”
EDF, with an installed capacity of approximately 137GW and an installed solar capacity of over 3,000MW, is a frontrunner in renewable and solar energy. The company invests heavily in international research and development in the agrivoltaic field, anticipating significant growth in the coming years.
Just recently EDF invested in the The Dumat Al-Jandal wind farm with a capacity of 400MW, stands as a pioneering endeavor in Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy landscape in an ancient land. It’s Saudi Arabia’s first wind farm. At 400MW, it is the largest wind farm in the Middle East, displacing almost one million tonnes of CO2 annually.
The wind farm is located 900 kilometers north of Riyadh in the Al Jouf region of north-western Saudi Arabia. The project is 51 per cent owned by EDF Renewables and 49 per cent by Masdar.
Developed by a consortium led by EDF Renewables (51%) and Masdar (49%), with the client being Saudi Aramco this project not only marks the kingdom’s inaugural utility-scale wind power initiative but also ranks among the largest wind farms in the Middle East.
Solar thermal collectors made like honeycombs trap more heat from the sun to heat homes in cold countries like Germany.
TIGI (TASE: TIGI), a provider of renewable heat generation and storage solutions and services with offices in Israel and Austria, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership with Eren Groupe, a leading global player in energy transition. Eren will participate in a fundraising round to become a minority shareholder of TIGI and boost its growth. Heat can be transferred straight from the sun and pumped to storage and where it’s needed, showed Maria Telkes in the US decades ago.
Up to 40M Euros will be made available for equity financing of projects providing capacity to finance projects valued at 100M Euros.
Maria Telkes and the Dover Sun House. The large windows faced the sun and collected heat and stored the energy in salts. Dover Sun House was one of the world’s first solar-heated houses.
As the energy market transitions from natural gas to renewable energy, the heat sector has become a focal point, representing a large share of global energy demand. Recent developments, particularly in the wake of the war in Ukraine, have triggered an increased drive for transition away from fossil fuels.
TIGI has recently completed the acquisition of Austrian-based SOLID, a leader in large-scale solar thermal heating systems. TIGI and SOLID installed over 250 systems in over 30 countries and cater to a variety of industries and geographies. Finalizing the agreement with Eren, a pioneer of renewable energies in Europe, creates a combined global partnership that spans technology leadership, global execution, and strong financial capacity.
“We are pleased to be partnering with TIGI to jointly form a first-of-its-kind renewable heat project platform,” commented Yonatan Shek, Managing Director of Eren Groupe. “We believe that large-scale renewable thermal energy presents a considerable global opportunity that was previously underserved but has recently gained momentum. I believe that by joining all three companies’ expertise, technology, and know-how, we set the premise for the next important step of our journey to facilitate the energy transition and a route for further decarbonization.”
Zvika Klier, CEO of TIGI, states, “This marks the dawn of a pivotal journey for TIGI. We are excited to join forces with Eren to provide a platform for Heat-as-a-Service projects. This collaboration and the recent announcement with SOLID take us one step closer to being a renewable heat powerhouse, offering end-to-end solutions globally. With a tightly focused international team and projects spanning multiple continents, TIGI is set to make a significant impact on the global transition to clean energy.”
Earlier this year TIGI bought SOLID, a global player in the renewable heat domain, of which TIGI holds 90%. This strategic consolidation enables TIGI to combine its renewable heat technology with SOLID’s global experience and execution capacity in solar-thermal systems, placing TIGI in a key position to expand into new markets and become a leader in the International Renewable Heat Energy sector.
“The acquisition of SOLID will enable us to develop and implement renewable energy-based heat projects for commercial, industrial and district heating uses on a global scale,” said Klier.
“TIGI and SOLID will work diligently to expand our joint reach and to further enhance our offering in the Heat-as-a-Service business model. The landscape of renewable heat is undergoing a seismic shift, and by joining forces with such a notable team, we are well positioned to serve this significant opportunity.”
Historically Israel has a great tract record for collecting thermal heat. Almost every Israeli home has a Dude Shemesh, a solar thermal unit that heats shower water and kitchen water from the sun.
Florida carpenter ants (Camponotus floridanus) bite off injured nest mates’ limbs to save them from deadly infections. It’s the first example of animals other than humans performing such life-saving amputations.
“The ant presents its injured leg and calmly sits there while another ant gnaws it off,” explains animal ecologist and study co-author Erik Frank. “As soon as the leg drops off, the ant presents the newly amputated wound and the other ant finishes the job by cleaning it.”
Life stages and kinds of carpenter ants
That ants can amputate limbs to stave off infection is a revelation to many homeowners. Those who deal with carpentry ants probably aren’t happy about this new and would rather seek out natural solutions to keep the ants away.
We have a short guide here on natural solutions to keep ants out of your kitchen. Natural pest control always starts with eliminating the habitat and food source for critters like ants. As carpenter ants can get into foundations and destroy frames of homes, non-natural solutions might need to be combined with more holistic methods.
Gulf Contracting & Landscaping (GCL), an Al Khayyat Investments (AKI) company, has unveiled one of the UAE’s largest horticulture nurseries in a move to further optimize local natural resources while serving its customers across the UAE. The expanded nursery is located in Al Rahba, Abu Dhabi, covering 1.25 million sqft and holding more than a million plants that thrive within the local climate. Trees make cities and towns more beautiful and can reduce local temperatures by 10 degrees C because of canopy cover and tree respiration.
Plants and Trees of the Persian Gulf area include:
The facility has undergone remarkable growth since its formation in 2007, with GCL steadily acquiring adjacent nurseries in Abu Dhabi as well as developing sites in other emirates. Today, GCL nurseries are home to over 300 varieties of plants, shrubs, trees, and ground cover for use in GCL’s landscaping projects as well as for external developments.
Along with the expanded Al Rahba site, GCL is enlarging its nurseries across the UAE and GCC, and is planning to build a new facility – set for completion in 2025 – that will span more than 1.5 million sqft.
The announcement comes at a time when the UAE is rapidly transforming its outdoor spaces and advancing green developments, embodied in recent plans such as the Dubai Quality of Life Strategy 2033, which includes developing over 200 parks in the emirate alone, and the Abu Dhabi 2030 Urban Structure Framework Plan, which aims to improve the liveability of the capital’s residents.
“At GCL, we are committed to playing an integral role in making the UAE greener in line with the leadership’s vision for enhancing quality of life,” said Rami Hamad, CEO of GCL. “Moreover, we see great potential to provide local, sustainable solutions for such projects, using the latest engineering technologies to maximise efficiencies and preserve natural ecosystems.”
Today, GCL provides end-to-end expertise in site preparation, landscaping, infrastructure, civil works, aquatic works, design and fit out, allowing the company to create everything from manicured greens to strikingly designed public and private spaces. GCL’s design and turnkey implementation capabilities span parks, streetscapes, public realms, residential community areas, as well as golf courses, sports fields, and cycling and jogging tracks.
Maldives Minister Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem, was suspended and arrested along with her two siblings on charges of performing witchcraft on the Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu. Where are the feminists and Greta Thunberg when we need them?
The Maldives, in the news recently for its refusal to accept Israeli Jews as tourists to its series of sinking islands southwest of India, has suspended its environment minister on accusations of black magic.
According to local news sources, the Maldives Minister Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem was suspended and arrested along with her two siblings on charges of performing witchcraft and black magic on the Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu.
Shamnaz, who was a state minister at the Ministry of Environment, was arrested on June 23.
Maldives, a Muslim majority nation, does not allow non-Muslims to become citizens. It is a great destination for halal-observant Muslims, but may be intolerant to “others” ways of life. Wearing bikinis on a public beach is forbidden and tourists are only allowed to wear swimwear in tourist-only beaches, making one wonder what is an Apartheid state these days, when the term is thrown around so loosely against democratic nations that it’s now cringe.
We could not confirm what kinds of witch-craftery Minister Fathimath has performed. But the nation is 100% intolerant to the rich history of the island which included Buddhism and Hindu traditions of the past. Believing in any other tradition may have you imprisoned for years.
Some of the practices we are seeing today in some Muslim nations reminds us of the Inquisitions, forced conversions and “burn the witch” problems of Europe hundreds of years ago.
For the Cornell researchers trying to date the famous Hellenistic-era Kyrenia shipwreck, which was discovered and recovered off the north coast of Cyprus in the 1960s, the real treasure was not gold coins, but thousands of almonds found in jars among the cargo.
The almonds, combined with newly cleaned wood samples and the team’s modeling and radiocarbon-dating expertise, led the Cornell Tree-Ring Laboratory to identify the likeliest timeline of the Kyrenia’s sinking as between 296-271 BCE, with a strong probability it occurred between 286-272 BCE.
Kyrenia model
The team’s paper, “A Revised Radiocarbon Calibration Curve 350-250 BCE Impacts High-Precision Dating of the Kyrenia Ship,” was published on PLoS ONE in June. The lead author is Sturt Manning, Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Classical Archaeology in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The Kyrenia has a storied legacy as the first major Greek Hellenistic-period ship to be found, in 1965, with a largely intact hull. From 1967-69, it was excavated along with its cargo, which included hundreds of ceramic vessels, then reassembled offsite and scientifically studied.
“Kyrenia was one of the first times it was realized this type of rich evidence from the classical world could be found largely intact more than 2,000 years later on the seabed, if you could find it,” said Sturt Manning. “It was a bit of a landmark moment, the idea that you actually could dive, excavate and bring up a classical-era ship and so discover this long-past world directly. Shipwrecks are unique time capsules, and you can get amazing preservation.”
For the last six decades, the Kyrenia has provided archeologists and historians with key insights into the development of ancient ship technology, construction practices and maritime trade. To date, no fewer than three Kyrenia replicas have been produced and launched, and these reconstructions have yielded considerable information on ancient ships and their sailing performance.
However, the timeline of the Kyrenia’s provenance and the exact date of its sinking has always been vague at best. The initial efforts to date the ship were based on its recovered artifacts, such as the pottery on board and a small batch of coins, which initially led researchers to estimate the ship was built and sank in the later 300s BCE.
“Classical texts and finds at port sites already told us this era was significant for widespread maritime trade and connections all around the Mediterranean — an early period of globalization,” Manning said.
“But the discovery of the Kyrenia ship, just under 15 meters long, likely with a crew of four, dramatically made this all very immediate and real. It yielded key insights into the practicalities of the earlier part of a millennium of intense maritime activity in the Mediterranean, from Greek through Late Antique times.”
The first volume of the final publication of the Kyrenia ship project, released last year, argued the wrecking date was a little later, closer to 294-290 BCE, but the primary piece of evidence — a poorly preserved, nearly illegible coin — was not watertight.
Manning’s team, which included co-authors Madeleine Wenger ’24 and Brita Lorentzen, ’06, Ph.D. ’15, sought to secure a date.
The perils of polyethylene glycol
The biggest hurdle for accurately dating the Kyrenia has been another artifact, one from the 20th century: polyethylene glycol (PEG). Excavators and preservationists often applied the petroleum-based compound to waterlogged wood to prevent it from decomposing after it was lifted out of the ocean’s oxygen-free environment.
“PEG was a standard treatment for decades. The trouble is it’s a petroleum product,” Manning said, “which means that if you’ve got PEG in the wood, you have this contamination from ancient fossil carbon that makes radiocarbon dating impossible.”
Manning’s team worked with researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands to develop a new method to clean PEG out of wood, and they demonstrated it on PEG-treated Roman-era samples from Colchester, England, that already had established dendrochronological (tree-ring sequence) dates.
“We removed the PEG from the wood, we radiocarbon dated it and we showed that in each case, we got a radiocarbon age consistent with the real (known) age,” Manning said. “We basically got 99.9% of the PEG removed.”
They used that technique to remove PEG from a Kyrenia sample that Manning and collaborators had tried, and failed, to accurately date 10 years ago. The team also now dated a tiny, twisted piece of wood that was salvaged from the Kyrenia in the late 1960s but was too small to be included in the reconstruction, thus avoiding PEG-treatment. It subsequently sat in a jar of water in a museum for 50-odd years.
The dates showed that the most recent preserved tree-rings from these timbers grew in the mid-later 4th century BCE. Because the samples did not include bark, the researchers couldn’t determine the exact date the original trees were felled, but could say the date was likely after approximately 355-291 BCE.
Organic evidence
Working with the Kyrenia’s original excavation team, the researchers examined its various artifacts, including the pottery and coins, with a focus on organic materials, including an astragalus (a sheep or goat ankle bone once used for games and divining rituals in several ancient cultures) and thousands of fresh green almonds found in some of the large amphorae, i.e., ceramic jars. These “short-lived” sample materials helped define the date of the ship’s last voyage.
The team applied combined statistical modeling with the dendrochronology of the wood samples to get a level of dating that was much more precise than previous efforts. The modeling identified the most likely range of dates for the final voyage to be between 305-271 BCE (95.4% probability) and 286-272 BCE (68.3% probability) — several years more recent than current estimations.
But there was one big hiccup along the way. The new dates didn’t align with the international radiocarbon calibration curve, which is based on known-age tree-rings and is used to convert radiocarbon measurements into calendar dates for the northern hemisphere.
Manning took a closer look at data behind the calibration curve, which has been assembled over many decades by dozens of labs and hundreds of scientists. He discovered that the period between 350 and 250 BCE had no modern accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon data behind it. Instead, the calibration curve in this period relied on only a few measurements conducted in the 1980s and 1990s using an older type of radiocarbon-dating technology. With collaborators in the U.S. and the Netherlands, the team measured known-age single-year sequoia and oak samples to re-calibrate the curve for the period 433-250 BCE. That not only helped clarify a big spike in radiocarbon production caused by a minimum of solar activity centered around 360 BCE, but also led to important revisions to the curve in the period around 300 BCE — improvements that were critical to dating the Kyrenia.
Manning anticipates the new findings will not only clarify the timeline of the Kyrenia and its cargo but will also help researchers using the calibration curve for very different projects.
“This revised curve 400-250 BCE now has relevance to other problems that researchers are working on whether in Europe or China or somewhere else in the northern hemisphere,” he said. “Half of the people who cite the paper in the future will be citing the fact that we’ve revised the radiocarbon calibration curve in this period, and only half will be saying the Kyrenia shipwreck is really important and has a much better date.”
Co-authors include researchers from the Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory, the University of Groningen and the University of California, Irvine.
Plastic is one of the greatest inventions of all time. It allows us to preserve food and water easily and cheaply. Its light weight nature makes it ideal in cars, airplanes and in shipping. Out lives would not be the same without out. But as plastics become cheaper, and more accessible, the plastic waste and pollution problem is too hard to ignore. wnat to be motivated to do better without changing your lifestyle forever?
July, for environmental activists around the world has become a month to go Plastic Free. You have probably seen videos and testimonials of people who try and do zero waste year round. Now is a challenge for you to try it out for a month. There is lots you can do.
Who started plastic free July?
Plastic Free July
Plastic Free July was started by Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, the founder of the Plastic Free Foundation, and a small team in local government in Western Australia, and is now one of the most influential environmental campaigns in the world. The idea is take on a challenge, small or big, and see what kind of impact you can make for the month of July.
How can you go plastic free?
Some ideas are bringing a usable coffee cup to your favorite cafe. Some of the hipper ones have been running loyalty shelves for years, allowing regulars to store their mugs on the wall. We saw this years ago at University Toronto at Diablo’s Cafe. Also at Cafelix in Jaffa.
Artists like Coldplay are offering limited release album made using waste plastic recovered from the Rio Las Vacas river in Guatemala by the Ocean Cleanup. The Nile River has a plastics cleanup program as well where byproducts are being turned into new objects.
But the best way to reduce plastics is by not using them in the first place. Common sense ideas are being canvas bags for shopping and avoiding the so-called reusable bags, made from plastic but which degrade quickly and are more polluting that simple plastic bags.
Buy in bulk at your local grocers that offer bulk and come with your own containers. Bulk Barns and bulk buying has always been around. You just need a little pre-planning and it’s easy to skip the waste.
Choose to buy natural fibre clothing and not that made from polyester and synthetics.
We don’t want to tell you to ditch your plastic aligners used to straighten your teeth, but if you are considering orthodonture work, consider a non-plastic solution to be on the safe side.
Microplastics and orthodontic plastic aligners. Is there a health risk of keeping plastic in your months for weeks, months and years?
Getting rid of plastic for a month also sounds like a nice project Christians could try for the 40 days leading up to lent. (See Christians go on a carbon fast). Elevate your spiritual life and doing good by the planet will make a lot more sense. We know that when we spend a lot of time in nature, all the things of city life suddenly make less sense. Who cares about new clothes anyway? Second hand is the best.
Same temperature, less energy: HT Materials co-founder and CEO Thomas Grizzetti
An HT Materials Science factory
Dublin based HT Materials Science (HTMS) has developed a breakthrough energy savings solution called Maxwell that can slash operating costs, increase system capacity in new and existing builds and offer carbon credits
Water is the universal heat transfer fluid for commercial and industrial HVAC systems. While water is plentiful and cheap there are additives to water which can improve its thermal capacity and that’s the elegant and planet-smart idea from Irish-Italian company HT Materials Science based in Dublin, Ireland.
HTMS has developed a heat transfer fluid branded Maxwell to increase the thermal capacity of water –– allowing it to store up to 20% more energy than water alone. At only a 2% additive to water, Maxwell can provide up to a 20% increase in performance and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in no small way.
HT Materials Science was founded in 2018 to develop a heat transfer fluid for commercial and industrial HVAC markets. Among its investors are Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, which led a €15M Series A round in 2021, and Barclays Bank, via its Sustainable Impact Capital portfolio.
Maxwell shows how small breakthroughs in science contribute to the advance of meeting renewable energy goals in big ways. The usual payback for clients who install the fluid is approximately 3 years.
Maxwell is non-toxic and non-corrosive with a useful life of about 10 years. Data centers, hospitals, commercial real estate and manufacturing facilities are the company’s main target sectors. Maxwell is applicable to all closed loop HVAC systems generally serviced by chillers, water source heat pumps, energy recovery systems.
Same temperature, less energy: HT Materials co-founder and CEO Thomas Grizzetti
HT Materials Science CEO Tom Grizzetti tells Green Prophet: “There has certainly been development activity in heat transfer fluids over the last decade-plus. However, the combination of product stability, proven performance and client engagement has been elusive.
“With Maxwell, a multi-patented product, we bring to market a solution that was developed to satisfy both the science and the business sides of the equation. These efforts have resulted in a stable product with provable performance and ultimately significant client engagement,” he adds.
Liquid energy in a jug of Maxwell
Maxwell is an engineered suspension of sub-micron aluminum oxide particles in a base fluid of water or water/glycol (that last part is significant since it means Maxwell can be used in systems that use either water or glycol as their base fluid)—resulting in reduced energy use, emissions, maintenance and costs; and an increase in system capacity.
Same temperature, less energy
HT Materials Science manufacturing facilities
Consider that heating and cooling are attributed to almost half of our planet’s energy consumption, and about 40% of carbon dioxide and equivalent carbon emissions.
Among HT Material Science’s first industrial clients is the German based alumina producer Almatis. By installing Maxwell into the plant’s cooling system, HTMS increased the system capacity by up to 20% while increasing operational output.
The company recently earned a Green Product Award for its work at a facility owned by Johnson & Johnson and for its project with Tabreed at a 600,000 square-foot campus in Abu Dhabi. Tabreed provides cooling services for Samsung, UAE malls, and a geothermal system at Masdar.
Working at the HT Materials Science lab
HT Materials Science is on a mission looking to expand throughout the Middle East as countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia develop manufacturing and technology parks to keep production facilities like electric cars close to home.
Maxwell is a pretty neat fluid that will be a game changer for carbon accounting globally.
Markets in Tunisia will soon lack greens which require heavy amounts of water
Markets in Tunisia will soon lack greens which require heavy amounts of water
Tunisia is witnessing a worsening water crisis as the demand exceeds the available supply, reported the Tunis Afrique Presse this week.
“The reserves of Tunisian dams have reached their lowest levels in different regions in the country,” Chawki Ben Mansour, central director of the National Company of Water Exploitation and Distribution (SONEDE), said.
The water reserves stored at Tunisian dams are estimated at around 720 million cubic meters, recorded a regression of around 200 million cubic meters compared to the same period last year, Mansour said, calling on citizens to support water-saving policies. Prices for water went up 16% this year, while prices for consumers stayed stable.
Mansour said that SONEDE launched a water awareness campaign a week ago to inform citizens of the severe drinking water situation caused by the drought and lack of rainfall.
According to Euronews is also a ban on using drinking water to wash cars, clean streets or public places and water green areas: “Anyone who breaks these restrictions faces penalties that range from fines to imprisonment for up to six months.”
Strange creatures live in the deep seas. Mining will destroy ecosystems.
Strange creatures live in the deep seas. Mining will destroy ecosystems.
Norway’s Ministry of Energy has presented a proposal for the announcement of the first licensing round for deep sea mining of seabed minerals on the Norwegian continental shelf for public consultation. The proposal sets out the areas where the companies will be able to apply for exploitation licenses, so that exploration and gathering knowledge about whether there is a basis for sustainable mineral exploitation on the Norwegian shelf can begin.
Despite green groups suggesting the great harm deep sea mining can do to yet explored underwater ecosystems, Norway plans to go ahead, championing a need to do it for the environment, they say.
The country states:
“The world needs minerals for the green transition, and the government wants to explore if it is possible to extract seabed minerals in a sustainable manner from the Norwegian continental shelf. A large majority of the Norwegian Parliament supports the government’s step-by-step approach to the management of seabed minerals.
“This announcement is an important next step in the management of our seabed mineral resources. Environmental considerations are taken into account in all stages of the activities. Today, we are presenting our proposal for areas to be announced in the first licensing round for seabed minerals for public consultation. We plan to award licenses in the first half of 2025’,” said Minister of Energy Terje Aasland.
A large majority in the Norwegian Parliament endorsed the government’s proposal to open an area on the Norwegian continental shelf for seabed mineral activities and the main lines of the management strategy. On the basis of this, the King in Council decided to formally open an area in the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea for mineral activities on April 12 this year.
“Access to minerals is crucial to ensure that the world succeeds with the transition to a low-emission society. Minerals from the Norwegian seabed can become a source to meet parts of this demand. Norway’s long experience with responsible and sustainable management of ocean-based resources, makes us well positioned to take the lead and manage these resources in a responsible and sustainable manner,” said Aasland.
The areas open to licensing from Norway are shown below.
The public consultation the Norway Government says is a part of the first licensing round for mineral activity on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Following the consultation, the Ministry will go through the consultation responses. After this, the first licensing round will be announced.
The announcement will, among other things, include a deadline for the companies, and information about requirements and conditions that will be put on applicants related to, among other things, the environment. As part of their application, the companies will be requested to include a proposal for a work program for the area to which they are applying.
Received applications will be processed in accordance with published and known award criteria. The Ministry aims to award licenses during the first half of 2025. Licensees under an exploitation license must prepare a detailed work program tailored to the area covered by the license and the resources that are assumed to be there. Such activity is assumed to have minimal environmental impacts but will contribute to important knowledge and competence building.
The work program will normally have submission of a plan for exploitation or relinquishment of the area as the final milestone.
Licensees will also be required to share data with the authorities, which is important for building knowledge about resources, the environment and natural assets. Norway will have a step-by-step and responsible development of seabed mineral activities on the Norwegian continental shelf.
The World Wildlife Fund is not happy:
Karoline Andaur, CEO of WWF-Norway, expressed her grave concerns over this announcement: “Licensing almost 400 blocks for deep seabed mining flagrantly disregarded environmental expert advice and the robust criticism directed at the Norwegian government by the international community. This marks a significant blow to Norway’s reputation as a responsible steward of the oceans.
“The Norwegian government is misleading the public by claiming they have only opened areas for exploration. That is not true. The reality is that the licences granted will be for exploration. Experience from the petroleum industry indicates that once significant investments are made, halting projects due to environmental concerns becomes nearly impossible.”
“The strategic impact assessment conducted by the government reveals a lack of sufficient knowledge regarding the vulnerable ecosystems of the deep sea, rendering it impossible to accurately assess the potential consequences of exploration or exploitation. This move risks triggering an environmental catastrophe with irreversible damage to marine biodiversity,” she says.
Plastics are all around us. Despite Greenpeace diehards wanting to ban them, along with the oil industry that fuels ships, plastics have transformed our lives allowing us to fly in airplanes, preserve and store water, and produce clothes and everyday products cheaply and effectively. But there is a cost as plastics don’t biodegrade, most plastics are not recycled, and they can enter the food chain and our bodies in teeny, invisible bits known as microplastics. Scientists find microplastics in water, in dust, in bits that chip off of plastic bottles we drink from –– and now the obvious –– from brushing our own teeth. (Slide down if you are looking for the study on plastic oral retainers).
Microplastics, according to the NIH in the US, can affect the human body by stimulating the release of endocrine disruptors. Microplastics can carry other toxic chemicals such as heavy metals and organic pollutants during adsorption, which can adversely affect the human body.
In a new study by dental researchers in India, and published in the journal Environmental Pollution, researchers looked at the impact of using plastic toothbrushes and microplastics. Brushing one’s teeth is abrasive, no doubt, and plastics must most certainly be chipping off from toothbrushes. Is it time for natural bristles and the miswak stick, used in Africa and in Arab countries as a natural toothbrush?
The miswak is a teeth-cleaning twig made from the Salvadora persica tree. It shows antibacterial activity which may help control the formation and activity of dental plaque.
Brush your teeth with the stick from a tree? It’s called a miswak. Find them for sale in African markets.
The Indian researchers from the Meenakshi Ammal Dental College and Hospital explain that the “environmental input of microplastics from personal care products has received significant attention; however, less focus has been paid to oral healthcare products.”
They looked at microplastics in commercially available oral healthcare products such as toothbrushes, toothpastes, toothpowder, mouthwash, dental floss, and mouth freshener spray that have a pan-India distribution.
All products showed microplastic contamination, where toothbrushes showed the maximum particles (30 to 120 particles/brush) and mouth freshener sprays (0.2-3.5 particles/ml) had the least abundance, they report.
Fragments, fibres, beads, and films were the various shapes of microplastics observed, where fragments (60%) were dominant. Various colors such as pink, green, blue, yellow, black, and colorless fragments were observed, where colorless (40%) particles were dominant.
Microplastics were categorized into three sizes: <0.1 mm (63%), 0.1-0.3 mm (35%), and >0.3 mm (2%).
Four major types of polymers, such as polyethylene (52%), polyamide (30%), polyethylene terephthalate (15%), and polybutylene terephthalate (3%), were identified.
The researchers call for deeper investigation into microplastics and oral health. Which got me thinking after my daughter wore plastic Invisalign liners for a year to correct a minor overnite:
Are there microplastics shedding off of plastic aligners?
Microplastics and orthodontic plastic aligners. Any risk?
A study in 2023 that simulated the mouth environment in the lab found yes, that microplastics were being separated from clear orthodontic aligners. They looked at the leading brands of plastic aligners and compared them: “This in vitro study highlighted for the first time the detachment of microplastics from clear aligners due to mechanical friction. This evidence may represent a great concern in the clinical practice since it could impact human general health,” the researchers wrote.
They looked at orthodontic clear aligners from different manufacturers: Alleo (AL); FlexiLigner (FL); F22 Aligner (F22); Invisalign (INV); Lineo (LIN); Arc Angel (ARC), and Ortobel Aligner (OR). For each group, two aligners were immersed in artificial saliva for 7 days and stirred for 5 h/day, simulating the physiological teeth mechanical friction.
After 7 days, the artificial saliva was filtered; then, filters were analyzed by Raman Microspectroscopy (RMS) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), respectively to chemically identify the polymeric matrix and to measure the number and size of the detected microplastics.
The results: aligners AL, FL, LIN, ARC, and OR were composed by polyethylene terephthalate, while F22 and INV ones by polyurethane. SEM analysis showed that the highest number of MPs was found in Arc Angel and the lowest in Invisalign (p < 0.05).
Avoid micrplastics and buy a wooden, natural fiber toothbrush
These studies forecast the community health risks linked to microplastics in oral healthcare products. Using a wooden toothbrush with natural bristles may help.
Is it time to go back to metal braces? We can’t say. We will wait for more research but you might want to take this research into your own hands and –– mouth.
Archaeologists in Crete have discovered a 4,000-year-old structure that the Minoans may have used for rituals.
Archaeologists in Crete have discovered a 4,000-year-old structure that the Minoans may have used for rituals.
Archaeologists have unearthed a unique and mysterious Minoan monument on a hilltop on the island of Crete and which is overlooking the newly planned airport, the Greek Culture Ministry announced recently. The new discovery in Crete may be legendary Minotaur labyrinth, from the time of King Minos.
The remains of the building had been found on a hill at Kastelli at 1640 feet in a spot planned for the airport’s radar system.
“It is a unique discovery of particular interest,” Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said, with the ministry statement adding that it is the “first of its kind” found on Crete.
The circular stone building is 19,300 square feet in size and contains eight “nearly labyrinthine” rings connected via small openings, it said.
The intended use of the complex is not known but researchers speculate it was for rituals about 4,000 years ago. A large quantity of animal bones was found on the site, suggesting animal sacrifices were part of the rituals.
Radar systems will be planned for a new location. Of the 10 million travelers expected annually to the new Crete airport ready in 2027 — look down as you fly over some important history.
Depiction of Minoan mariners
The Minoans were a naval superpower of the Bronze Age era who originated on Crete and other Aegean islands until about 1500 BC. A possible Minoan cargo ship was found sunken off the coast of Israel recently during routine exploration for natural gas. The discovery suggests that Minoans were expert navigators who used technology to navigate by the sun, moon and stars as the ship was far from the coastline when it sunk.
Masdar, a renewable energy investor and also the name of the zero-energy town outside of Abu Dhabi is buying a Greek renewable energy company Terna Energy for the equivalent of 3.2 Billion Euros, equal to about 67% of the company’s outstanding shares at completion of the transaction. Masdar plans to launch an all-cash mandatory tender offer to acquire all the remaining outstanding shares of the company with the intention of reaching 100%.
It is the largest ever energy transaction on the Athens Stock Exchange, and one of the largest in the European renewables market.
The deal is expected to provide significant capital investment in Greece and other European countries, supporting Terna’s contribution to Greece’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) and the EU’s net zero by 2050 target. The proposed acquisition demonstrates the scale and ambition of Masdar’s growth plans in the region, and further solidifies Masdar’s role as a trusted global energy transition partner to governments, investors, developers and communities across the globe.
“We are injecting capital and global expertise to accelerate Terna Energy’s expansion, supporting Greece’s renewable energy ambitions and extending Masdar’s global reach.
“We look forward to completing the transaction and starting to work with Terna Energy’s leadership team to supercharge their ambitious growth plans in support of Greece’s energy transition,” says Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar.
Established in 1997, Terna is a leading European clean energy platform, with a track record of more than 25 years of delivering innovative and sustainable projects. The company specializes in financing, developing, constructing and operating renewable energy facilities, focused on wind, solar, hydroelectric and pumped storage projects.
The company has recently announced its growth plan targeting renewable energy operational capacity of 6GW by 2030. With a strong portfolio of projects in Greece and Europe, Terna is the largest investor in the renewables energy sector in Greece.
Masdar has retained Rothschild & Co. as sole financial advisor, and Simmons & Simmons, Bernitsas Law, Latham & Watkins as legal advisors, in connection with the transaction and financing.
Terna Energy is a Greek renewable energy company that is listed on the Athens Exchange. The company is a subsidiary of Greek conglomerate GEK Terna, which through its subsidiary Heron SA is as well involved in the construction and operation of thermoelectric power generation fuelled with natural gas.
Extreme flooding in Dubai two months ago shows unprepared the UAE is for extreme weather events. Artificial islands, massive buildings like the Burj and malls without connection to stormwater pipes or sewage systems shows the lack of planning for the city, once a fishing village, that was built up in a frenetic pace in the last 20 years.
With runways that looked like the Great Lakes in Canada and malls and parking lots flooded, Dubai understands that it’s time to upgrade and has announced an $8 billion plan to build an extensive stormwater runoff system, following unprecedented floods that paralyzed the city two months ago.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler, announced the ambitious project on social media, highlighting its significance in addressing future climate challenges. Foreign workers, of which Dubai is plentiful, will be charged with building the massive infrastructure project. We hope human rights conditions and decent salaries will be part of the deal.
Set to be completed by 2033, with construction starting immediately, Dubai’s rainwater drainage network will cover all areas of Dubai and is designed to absorb more than 20 million cubic meters of water daily, enhancing the UAE’s drainage capacity by 700 percent. This makes it the largest project of its kind in the region. Will the rainwater be put to use or will it just go down the drain? Rainwater is important for replenishing aquifers and staving off desertification. Perhaps it could be channeled to planting trees in the city to reduce the daily temperatures and which will also improve extreme flooding events in the case of high levels of precipitation.
The announcement comes in the wake of record-breaking rains that hit the UAE on April 16, leading to widespread flooding. The deluge, the heaviest in 75 years since records started resulted in the deaths of at least four people and caused significant disruptions, including at Dubai International Airport which was washed out.
Global warming, driven by fossil fuel emissions, is believed to have intensified these rains. The severe weather also affected neighboring Oman, where 21 people lost their lives.
In other weather-related events between the 14 and 19 June 2024, at least 1,301 people on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca died due to extreme heat, with temperatures exceeding 50 °C, making it one of the deadliest Hajj to date.
This new infrastructure plan in Dubai aims to prepare the city for future climate events, ensuring the city remains resilient in uncertain uncertain conditions.
Thinking about a trip to Dubai? Have a technology to offer them that could help with stormwater runoff? Start here.
Singapore-based SingAuto has received approvals to start building “the world’s largest” commercial EV industrial district in Abu Dhabi, growing the UAE’s sustainable transportation sector.
SingAuto’s Chris Chen said that construction will start after final regulatory approvals, stating the UAE’s role in leading green energy and intelligent innovation in commercial electric vehicles.
“The UAE is not just the economic and innovation hub of the Middle East; the country is leading the transition towards clean energy and high-tech industries so it is the ideal base for our ambition. Our focus on sustainability and innovation, aligning with the UAE’s goal of 44% clean energy by 2050, will redefine the logistics industry.
“We aim to create a more sustainable, innovative, and efficient logistics landscape through advanced technologies and global partnerships. Our vision is to be your trusted partner, ensuring long-term success for our customers.”
If you visit Middle East cities like the true startup innovator of Tel Aviv you will notice an obvious change in city air pollution since the municipality started switching out diesel-fueled buses to an all-electric fleet. The first electric bus in Tel Aviv started operating in 2013. Israel also pioneered self-driving technology such as MobileEye.
The imported Singapore project in the forward-thinking UAE, is developed with local partners, and it shows Abu Dhabi’s commitment to investing in sustainability and innovation.
SingAuto recently launched its flagship S1 cold chain logistics vehicle in Abu Dhabi, targeting the UAE for its sustainable goals. The company is also considering joining Abu Dhabi’s Smart and Autonomous Vehicles Industry cluster. The Dubai police in the UAE recently added a Tesla Cybertruck to its fleet.
The UAE declares that it aims to lead smart transport systems, with initiatives like the Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy, seeking to transform 25% of the Emirate’s transportation to autonomous mode by 2030.
This month it announced progress on self-flying helicopters – or air taxis: The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai is planning to introduce Autonomous Air Taxis or self-flying taxis. In September 2017, a two-seater AAT underwent a successful maiden concept flight. This is the first of its kind in the world. The effort echoes Dubai’s Autonomous transportation Strategy that seeks to achieve 25 per cent of transportation in an autonomous way.
Air Taxi, Dubai. A self-driving helicopter.
The aerial taxi has autopilot or autonomous flying capability thus enabling the movement of people without human intervention or a need for a pilot. The taxi will be integrated with public transport systems such as metro, tram, public buses, marine transit modes and taxis in Dubai.
It has a variety of unique features that include top security and safety standards and multiple substitutes in all critical components such as propellers, motors, power source, electronics and flight controls. It has 18 rotors to ensure safe cruising and landing of the taxi in case of any rotor failure and it is fitted with a full aircraft emergency parachute. I
t also boasts of luxurious interiors and leather seating.
SingAuto announces plans to establish five manufacturing hubs worldwide, starting with China and the UAE, to expand its global reach.
Clean, safe water is a limited resource and access to it depends on local bodies of water. We know there are systems that pull water from thin air but they typically work like an air conditioner does, and they use an extreme amount of resources to end up with water.
We know thanks to water generating companies like WaterGen and Drinkable Air work in dry regions that have some water vapor in the air. To harvest small amounts of humidity more effectively, researchers in ACS Energy Letters have developed a compact device with absorbent-coated fins that first trap moisture and then generate potable water when heated.
They say the prototype could help meet growing demands for water, especially in arid locations.
Earth’s atmosphere holds trillions of liters of fresh water as vapor, but it’s challenging to collect this colorless, transparent and dilute gas. We feel water in the desert in the morning on our tents and we see dew drops on the plants so we know it’s there.
Previously, researchers developed systems that trap dew or fog, pooling the liquid into containers. But in dry areas that don’t have much dew, special materials like temperature-responsive hydrogels, metal-organic frameworks or zeolites (crystalline aluminosilicates) may help pull small amounts of moisture from the air and release the water when heated.
For these absorbents to be practical for real-world use, they need to be incorporated into compact and portable devices with a waste heat source, such as applications that run at high temperatures or systems that emit heat as a by-product. So, Xiangyu Li, Bachir El Fil and colleagues developed a humidity harvester that could fit those specifications.
The researchers designed water-adsorbent “fins” by sandwiching a copper sheet between copper foams coated in a commercially available zeolite. Compared to previous studies that focused on material development, the authors say that the co-design of the adsorption bed with material properties resulted in thin adsorbent fins, which are compact and can quickly harvest water.
For proof-of-concept demonstrations, they created a device with 10 small adsorbent fins placed side by side on a copper base plate about 2 millimeters apart, a distance that maximizes moisture capture from desert-like air containing 10% relative humidity.
Within an hour, the fins saturated and then released the trapped moisture once the base reached 363 Fahrenheit. Extrapolating to 24 collection-release cycles, the team calculated that 1 liter of absorbent coating on the fins could produce up to 1.3 liters of potable water per day in air with 30% relative humidity — a volume two to five times greater than previously developed devices.
The work identifies a key opportunity for rapid moisture capture and water harvesting from dry air, multiple times per day. With further development, this system could be integrated into existing infrastructures that produce waste heat, such as buildings or transportation vehicles, to provide a cost-effective option for generating potable water in arid regions, the researchers say.
Maria Telkes, a solar energy pioneer, developed solutions like this with even less complexity. One of her prototypes for collecting water from seawater was developed for the American army. It’s time already to start putting low-tech solutions into action – much needed for refugees in Africa, and now for Palestinians in Gaza who need to achieve a better future for themselves than what Hamas has offered.
he moments when the jugs come out of the water in a special basket built in their honor.
(photo credit: Emil Eljam)
The moments when the jugs come out of the water in a special basket built in their honor. (Photo credit: Emil Eljam)
A 3,300-year-old cargo with hundreds of ancient pots was discovered 60 miles off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean Sea. Antiquities researchers say this is the world’s most ancient ship to be found in the world in the deep seas, proving that ancient mariners possessed ancient tech and wisdom to traverse the sea without a line of sight to the coast.
Sunken ship and ancient amphorae on the sea floor off Israel’s coast
The ship’s cargo was found during a standard seafloor sweep by the natural gas company Energean, operating in the East Mediterranean – and now working with Israel’s Antiquities Authority to physically extract and bring up sample vessels from the ship. The contents were positively identified as Late Bronze Age Canaanite storage vessels.
Energean -a leading E&P natural gas company operates the Karish, Karish North, Katlan and Tanin offshore natural gas fields near Israel.
“The ship seems to have sunk in crisis, either due to a storm or to an attempted piracy attack – a well-known occurrence in the Late Bronze Age,” says Jacob Sharvit, Head of the Israel Antiquities Authority Marine Unit.
“This is a world-class history-changing discovery: This find reveals to us as never before the ancient mariners’ navigational skills – capable of traversing the Mediterranean Sea without a line of sight to any coast. From this geographical point, only the horizon is visible all around. To navigate they probably used the celestial bodies, by taking sightings and angles of the sun and star positions,” he says.
Ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, Minoans, Mesopotamians, Greeks, and Vikings relied on the stars for navigation. By observing the movements of specific stars and constellations, early navigators were able to estimate their latitude and navigate along the coastlines and rivers.
A quartermaster takes a sun sighting from the navigation bridge of the USS Alaska in 1945. U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE PHOTO ARCHIVE
“It turned out to be a sensational discovery, far beyond what we could imagine,” says Karnit Bahartan, Environmental Lead at Energean.
The company’s technicians planned a unique, complex operation and even built a special tool to enable extracting artifacts with minimal risk of damage to the entire assemblage.
A robot sent to investigate estimates the ship is about 14 yards long. The muddy bottom conceals a second layer of vessels, and it seems that wooden beams of the ship are also buried within the mud, say the researchers.
The discovery of this boat now changes the understanding of ancient mariner abilities: It is the very first to be found at such a great distance with no line of sight to any landmass.
“The vessel type identified in the cargo was designed as the most efficient means of transporting relatively cheap and mass-produced products such as oil, wine and other agricultural products such as fruit. Finding such a great quantity of amphorae on board one single ship is testimony to significant commercial ties between their country of origin and the ancient Near Eastern lands on the Mediterranean coast,” Shavit adds.
Only two other shipwrecks with cargo are known from the Late Bronze Age in the Mediterranean Sea – the boat from Cape Gelidonya and the Uluburun boat; both found off the Turkish coast. Yet both of those shipwrecks were found relatively near the shore, and were accessible using normal diving equipment.
Photos collected from the ancient ship underwater
Based on these two finds, the academic assumption until now was that trade in that time was executed by safely flitting from port to port, hugging the coastline within eye contact. The discovery of this boat now changes the understanding of ancient mariner abilities: It is the very first to be found at such a great distance with no line of sight to any landmass.
Energean (LSE:ENOG, FTSE 250, TASE:אנאג, TA-35) is a London-based independent E&P company focused on developing resources in the Mediterranean. The multi country 1bn+ boe portfolio is 80% gas weighted, producing up to 150k boepd. Energean is committed to sustainable development and to be a net zero emitter by 2050.
Thailand is known for luxury travel, great massages and food, unbeatable weather, lots of smiles and miles of beaches. But as inflation rises and the standard of living increases for Thai people, finding luxury on Phuket in your price range won’t be easy.
For about $200 a night you can get a room in a medium+ star hotel close to the beach, the strip of shops that offer mango shakes, pancakes, pad thai. For much less you can travel to the North and visit hill tribes and villagers in the areas of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, which is really not to be missed. We sent our kids to live with a hill tribe in Chiang Mai. You can too!
A resort in the jungle, on Phuket Island, Thailand
But if you can increase your budget for a few days, a trip to Keemala, an eco luxury resort in the jungle, offers a mini vacation inside the regular fun of Thailand. It costs about $900 a night for a luxury pod, with two floors, and a private pool, and for a few days you can dream away to the sound of crickets at night and quiet during the day at the large pool or spa.
Daily yoga lessons in a cave and cultural enriching crafts (like weaving plant fronds) are part of the deal at Keemala, along with the regular fare you can find at any Thai spa: massages, facials, and alternative treatments.
Keemala caught my eye from the sea when we were on a boat trip coming home from a hidden beach. It’s not on the beach in Phucket, but a half hour walk or short taxi drive to a small Muslim village down by the coast.
The concierge gives you a checklist of what you expect before your arrival, including what kind of pillows you like and how many. You will be given hand-crafted luxury soaps and creams and coffee you can grind in an old fashioned coffee grinder in the mini bar area on the first floor of your pod.
Me posing for my husband in our treehouse at Keemala. Just kidding. This is a promo shot from the hotel. The kids loved the pool and we had a unit just like this one. An upper bedroom on the top floor and a lower bedroom on the lower.
Every evening at sunset, some of the crew put on drums and bells and march around the property in a traditional ceremony the likes you won’t find at any beach bar on a strip in Phuket.
Keemala at night, Phuket Thailand by Karin Kloosterman
Arriving to Keemala is a chance to feel true Thai hospitality and luxury, started every morning with a delicious, healthy breakfast, made to order and on buffet in the restaurant that looks from up high over the sea.
The only complaints are that the hydroponic farm wasn’t operational when we visited, and the kids activities only happened once. There were a couple of Asian influencers busy taking way too many photos eating breakfast and by the pool, but it was sort of funny as well, especially seeing how bored their kids were by it all.
Other than that the kids enjoyed our treehouse in the jungle and three nights was perfect for feeling rested so we could enjoy the festival of Songkran or New Year’s Eve.
HVAC systems release water in the summer. Not the safest for your pet to drink, but okay if you top it up with mineral-containing water.
HVAC systems release water in the summer. Not the safest for your pet to drink, but okay if you top it up with mineral-containing water.
The summer months are upon us and in some towns and cities the air conditioners and HVACs are turned on night and day. If you are connected to a solar system (read DIY solar – pros and cons) , good for you because this means guilt-free cool air circulating through your home. But most of us still get energy the old fashioned way, from the grid.
But the water that comes from our air conditioner can be put to use. If you can stream it to a hose and bucket, here are some ways you can make good use of your air conditioner water. Note that air conditioner water is essentially without any minerals or salts so it is not safe to drink it long term. It will leach salts and minerals from your body or from your pet’s body. It’s essentially distilled or demineralised water and itself is not necessarily toxic.
So if your air con is leaking water, first figure out if it’s normal or if its a problem with your unit. Call the air conditioner service person near you if it’s leaking in irregular areas and directly out of the machine. The best way to find the best person at local prices is to ask a WhatsApp or Telegram group or a friend, if you need someone you can trust.
Consider that some condensate on the edges of the air conditioner can be normal if the air is super humid. In this case wipe it down occasionally and put a towel on the floor to make sure it doesn’t damage your hardwood floor or carpet. If it’s leaking or dripping, make sure it is not near electrical outlets or plugs.
Air conditioner and HVAC water uses:
To water plants.
It can be stored in a bucket to wash your car.
You can have an outdoor shower with the wate
One reader asked on AC water uses if it can be used to iron clothes. Yes, great idea!
Save in a bucket to wash your hair. Shiny hair here you come!
Pipe it into your pool or kiddie pool, or make a pet pool in the backyard for your dogs and chickens. (Here is how to start a chicken coop).
Until we all have windcatchers like the ones in Iran, we will need to fire up the air conditioners and try our best at using less energy and repurposing the water. All the big business tech that claim to “pull water from thin air” like Watergen is essentially massive gas guzzling air conditioners. If you think you can do better, try! A great idea for an impact company.
Little is known about faith groups and how they deal privately with health issues. In a new study US researchers wanted to figure out how Muslim communities deal with cancer screenings. The results show that in some areas the rates are significantly lower than the general population and that Muslim women depend more on their faith when it comes to health issues.
The study looked at screening behaviors of Muslims in the Washington, DC, area, highlighting the influence of cultural and religious beliefs on health practices. The study, conducted in collaboration with key faith leaders from four mosques in the region, underscores the need for culturally and religiously sensitive health initiatives to improve cancer screening rates among Muslims, reports the researchers in the Journal of Cancer Education.
The Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, which includes parts of Virginia and Maryland (DMV), is home to one of the largest and most diverse Muslim communities in the United States. Despite this, cancer screening behaviors within this community remain under-researched.
To address this gap, a comprehensive needs assessment was conducted with 203 participants recruited through community outreach and engagement efforts. This collaborative approach ensured that the questions posed were both religiously and culturally sensitive.
Key findings from the study include an overall lower rate of screening among the Muslim population surveyed than in the DMV:
Colorectal Cancer Screenings: 35% of both men and women reported receiving a screening for colorectal cancer with colonoscopy, a much lower rate than overall in the DMV area (DC: 82%; Virginia: 67.6%; and Maryland: 72.5%);
Mammogram Screenings: 56% of women surveyed reported receiving a mammogram screening, a much lower rate than overall in the DMV (D.C.: 80%; Virginia: 76.2%; and Maryland: 81.2%);
Prostate Cancer Screenings: 45% of men reported receiving a prostate cancer antigen test (a higher rate than overall in DC, but lower than in Virginia and Maryland); and
Cervical Cancer Screenings: 83% of women reported receiving screening for cervical cancer (comparable to the overall rate in the DMV).
The study also revealed that many participants relied on their faith to guide their cancer screening decisions. Women were more likely than men to rely on their faith when dealing with health concerns.
“Findings from our study highlight that religious and cultural beliefs may play a role in influencing health behaviors; however, to better understand those roles, we need to continue to engage with the Muslim community in the DMV area in order to create an avenue for providing health education in a religiously and culturally sensitive way,” said Aisha Choudhri, a community health educator at the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington.
Participants expressed a strong interest in having health initiatives related to cancer education, screening and survivorship integrated within mosques. This preference suggests that mosques could serve as vital centers for health education and intervention, leveraging the trust and influence of faith leaders to promote better health outcomes.
It’s a heard sell to live in the Middle East if you need to relocate from the US or Europe for work. There are the dusty apartments, there are the uprisings, the conflicts. There is the heat. To help accommodate for luxury tastes Cairo is getting a new development for wealthy urbanites. It’s a far cry from Hassan Fathy’s sustainable vision of New Gourna.
Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy
Mercon Developments, a leading real estate company, announced the launch of its latest project, “Nurai,” situated on 16 acres in a prime location in the Lotus area at Golden Square, the heart of New Cairo.
“Nurai” represents a breakthrough in the concept of integrated urban communities, showcasing unique and distinctive designs never seen before in the Egyptian real estate market, according to PR material, but which looks like the American dream. With a total investment of approximately 10 billion EGP ($200 million USD), the project comprises 350 units, aiming to achieve targeted sales of around 3 billion EGP by 2024.
With a mixed-use residential and commercial development, the project features dedicated spaces for sports, cycling tracks, swimming pools, and water features, alongside commercial zones, recreational facilities, picturesque landscapes, luxurious entrances, and advanced security systems, as well as hotel units boasting modern designs that blend sophistication with luxury.
From the project’s inception, the company has adopted a strategy focused on meticulous planning and continuous market research to introduce a distinct product.
Additionally, the collaboration with renowned engineering consultants, led by Omar Okail, adds further value to the project, as his visionary designs breathe life into the compound, with every unit boasting exceptional views, luxurious natural ventilation, and unique natural lighting, creating an environmental balance that emphasizes the company’s commitment to sustainability.
“Nurai” is part of Mercon Developments’ expansive plan in the Egyptian market, aligning with the company’s strategy of selecting prime locations to enhance project success. The company is committed to sustainability and upholding social and environmental responsibility, using eco-friendly building materials and designs based on renewable energy. This reflects our vision of delivering integrated urban communities. While catchphrases of sustainability are thrown around in a press release, not much details about what this really means is included in the vision.
They weren’t prepared for 116F or 47C degree heat: about 20 people have died from Jordan and Iran and more are missing amid the ongoing Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. Officials to urge worshippers to avoid the blistering heat as climate change take its toll on the region.
Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims are encouraged to take at least once in their lifetime to Mecca, the holiest site in Islam. It began on Friday and ends on Wednesday. Hajj means “pilgrimage made to the Kaaba“, a journey that Muslims believe will clean their souls from sins – the same way Jews and Christians would make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to the Holy City. But no-one should expect to die on the journey.
Shocking videos of people left on the side of the road to die are circling on Twitter, prompting people to ask why are other pilgrims leaving the bodies alone, and also asking why the Saudi authorities aren’t taking care of the situation by warning people about the dangers of heat stroke and death by extreme climate events.
The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to the city of Mecca. It began on Friday this year and will run until Wednesday. Muslims often travel to Medina as well during the pilgrimage.
Covid shut down Hajj, but not an intense heat wave that has killed an estimated 20 people on June 17.
Temperatures have been high during this pilgrimage in the past years when it fell on summer months. AccuWeather reported a high of 113 degrees F (45 degrees C) in Mecca on Monday, June 17. But AFP reported that the Saudi weather service recorded a reading of 125 degrees F (52 C) at the city’s grand mosque.
The Saudi Health Ministry said that 2,764 pilgrims on Sunday suffered from heat stress.
What can Saudi Arabia do to keep people cool? Start planting trees. Natural shade offered by trees allows the air to circulate, cooling ground temperatures as well. Trees cool our cities by providing shade but also by releasing water vapor from their leaves, which cools the air when it evaporates. Trees can provide up to 10 degrees C less (or 18 F less).
In the meantime, cooling mists, personal umbrellas, staying hydrated. Or, perhaps, postponing the Hajj to the evening time when the sun has set.
Tips to stay cool during Hajj
Cool shades isn’t enough. Plastic shades create a greenhouse effect blocking air circulation.
Avoid direct exposure to sun.
Use light-colored umbrellas.
Drink enough water to replace lost fluids.
Sit in shade and cool areas.
Get enough sleep and rest.
Do not rush to perform the rituals of Hajj to avoid fatigue.
In a new study US researchers found that mice fed a regular serving of extra virgin olive oil exhibited a reduction in numerous inflammation biomarkers.
Senior Author Dr. Domenico Praticò is a Professor at the University of Temple Lewis Katz School of Medicine, and Director of ACT, coordinated the study. He is also the Scott Richards North Star Charitable Foundation Chair for Alzheimer’s Research, Professor and Director of the Alzheimer’s Center at Temple, and Professor of Pharmacology at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.
Until more research on humans is done, why not drink a spoon a day like this researcher inspired by Jewish traditions?
A trash sorting robot can help avoid contact with hazardous waste
A trash sorting robot can help avoid contact with hazardous waste
Can a garbage collecting robot find me a pile of money in a mattress? Can it spare real-life sorters from the dangers of e-waste? Will they take over jobs and a way of life?
Plenty of people the world over rely on livelihoods out of sorting trash. My father did it for years. And I joke to a lot of people that he found me at the side of the road. But the same people and children who pick through trash are also exposed to an overload of toxic chemicals and e-waste. My dad was always burning out the plastics on the copper wire he found and I believe it contributed to the cancer he succumbed to.
Today’s robots can already be programmed to accurately recognize many objects through vision and touch. Tactile information, obtained through sensors, along with machine learning algorithms, enables robots to identify objects previously handled.
But sensing is often confused when presented with objects similar in size and shape, or objects unknown to the robot. Other factors restrictive to robot perception include background noise and the same type of object with different shapes and sizes.
Children in China play in electronic waste
In Applied Physics Reviews, researchers from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China worked to break through the difficulties of robotic recognition of various common, yet complex, items.
Humans possess many different types of touch sensing, one of which is temperature: cold metal, warm wood. The researchers aimed to mimic this ability by designing a robotic tactile sensing method that incorporated thermal sensations for more robust and accurate object detection.
The Chinese team created a layered sensor with material detection at the surface and pressure sensitivity at the bottom, with a porous middle layer sensitive to thermal changes. They paired this sensor with an efficient cascade classification algorithm that rules out object types in order, from easy to hard, starting with simple categories like empty cartons before moving on to orange peels or scraps of cloth.
To test the capabilities of their method, the team created an intelligent robot tactile system to sort garbage. The robot picked up a range of common trash items, including empty cartons, bread scraps, plastic bags, plastic bottles, napkins, sponges, orange peels, and expired drugs.
It sorted the trash into separate containers for recyclables, food scraps, hazardous waste, and other waste. Their system achieved a classification accuracy of 98.85% in recognizing diverse garbage objects not encountered previously. This successful garbage sorting behavior could greatly reduce human labor in real-life scenarios where so much goodness goes to landfill.
Can you train the robot hands to find a pile of money in a mattress or gold hidden in an old shoe? We will keep an eye out for this one but also be mindful of trash sorting communities in the world that depend on upycyling.
Well known trash sorting communities in the world include:
The Zabbaleen (Cairo, Egypt): The Zabbaleen are informal Christian garbage collectors who recycle a significant portion of Cairo’s waste. They have developed an efficient system using pigs too! that sorts and repurposes materials from household waste, making them a critical part of the city’s waste management.
Zabaleen in Cairo via Wikipedia
The Catadores (Brazil) are cooperative groups of waste pickers who collect and recycle materials from urban waste. They play a vital role in Brazil’s recycling efforts and have helped formalize the recycling sector. Several movies have been made about the importance of garbage collecting for these people.
The Zero Waste Town (Kamikatsu, Japan) has committed to becoming a zero-waste town by implementing extensive sorting practices. Residents separate waste into 45 different categories to maximize recycling and composting.
Kamikatsu, Japan
The Dharavi (Mumbai, India) is one of Asia’s largest slums but it is a hub for recycling and waste management. Small-scale industries in Dharavi recycle plastics, metals, and other materials, contributing significantly to Mumbai’s waste reduction.
Salmon is paired with red wine in this perfect Mediterranean Diet dish
Salmon is paired with red wine in this perfect Mediterranean Diet dish
Over the past three decades, rates of colon and rectal cancers—collectively known as colorectal cancer—have steadily risen among people under the age of 50. It’s particularly striking to researchers because rates have been declining among older people during the same time period.
Young people tend to be diagnosed at later stages of the disease, making it harder to cure.
“In past years, we’ve thought of colorectal cancer as a disease of aging,” said Joel Mason, a gastroenterologist and Senior Scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts. “If you look at the absolute incidence rates, it’s still higher amongst older people, but the rate is going up steadily in young people, whereas it’s going down in older people. It’s a disturbing trend.”
Mason said that the rates are rising too quickly to be attributed to genetic changes. “It seems most likely to be an environmental factor or combination of factors,” he said, “but we can really only speculate at this point.”
Working in stressful environments like online businesses where work never stops can be one of the problems. Social media and stress about where one fits in could be another.
The obesity epidemic may be partly to blame, because having excess body fat is associated with a higher risk of being diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Mason said declining rates among older people may be due to effective screening and an increased awareness of protective lifestyle factors like a healthy diet and regular exercise.
For those looking to reduce their risk of colorectal cancer, Mason said studies have consistently found that a healthy diet and exercising at least three times a week are associated with lower rates, while being overweight and smoking are associated with higher rates.
“Among all the common cancers,” Mason said, “colorectal cancer is one where the risk is most sensitive to dietary factors.” Over the past few decades, multiple studies have shown that colorectal cancer risk can be reduced with a diet that contains plenty of fruits, vegetables, and fiber, and much less (if any) processed meat, red meat, and alcohol. Processed meat includes bacon, sausage, ham, hot dogs, and luncheon meat.
A Turkish salad high in lycopenes
Some common symptoms of colorectal cancer are rectal bleeding, iron-deficiency anemia, and a distinct change in bowel habits. All of these symptoms also can be caused by other less dire conditions, such as hemorrhoids, menstrual bleeding, and food sensitivities. In light of rising rates of colorectal cancer in young people, Mason said providers and patients shouldn’t be too quick to attribute rectal bleeding to hemorrhoids or iron-deficiency anemia to menstrual bleeding.
“I hate to raise the anxiety level of younger people,” he said, “but the trends are very disturbing and in balance maybe it is worth making our younger population a little more vigilant about symptoms that need to be paid attention to.”
So in the space sector news, there are some results in from the four civilian passengers of the Inspiration4 spaceflight about what happens to untrained-for-space bodies in orbit: during a short 3-day trip into Earth’s orbit.
Researchers found the space travellers experienced some of the same physiological changes during their roughly three-day trip into Earth’s orbit as astronauts on much longer missions.
“Civilian participants have different educational backgrounds and medical conditions compared to astronauts with career-long exposure to spaceflight. Understanding their physiological and psychological responses to spaceflight and their ability to conduct research is of utmost importance as we continue to send more private astronauts into space,” explained Dr Emmanuel Urquieta, chief medical officer at the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH), in a statement.
The results are published in a new Nature paper explaining how even short spaceflights might affect human biology. Just a few days in orbit can cause immune-cell disruption, dehydration and cloudy thinking — but most of these conditions revert to normal soon after travellers return to Earth, according to the largest catalogue of data detailing the impacts of space travel on the human body.
Every crewmember experienced lengthening of their telomeres during the flight. These are the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes, and they get shorter during our lives as our bodies’ cells undergo ccycles of replication. Eventually, the telomeres become so short that they lose their power to protect.
Scientists have been experimenting with ways of boosting longevity by slowing telomere shortening.
All Inspiration4 crew showed evidence of telomere lengthening during their brief sojourn into space so it can be said that they got genetically “younger” during the mission. “It’s really a remarkable finding in a number of ways and helps us solidify our findings,” commented Susan Bailey, a professor at Colorado State University, in a press briefing.
“This is the beginning of precision medicine for spaceflight,” says geneticist Christopher Mason, who is a co-author on some of the papers.
The reports aim to chart how spaceflight affects space tourists, who have a wider variety of health histories and issues than selected and highly trained astronauts.
Neste's SAF biofuel tested in Boeing Emirates flight in 2023
Neste’s SAF biofuel tested in Boeing Emirates flight in 2023
Emirates, the official national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has begun using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as part of its fuel agreement with Neste, Singapore on flights departing from Singapore Changi Airport, marking its first investment in SAF investments Asia. Approximately 807,000 gallons of blended SAF have been integrated into the fuelling system of Changi airport over the course of the last few weeks.
Neste is a Finnish company but its Singapore refinery, with 300 employees, started its SAF operations in 2010 producing exclusively renewable products.
“Emirates’ investment into Neste-produced SAF in Singapore marks a first step forward in our SAF adoption in Asia, a region that is primed to become a leading supplier of SAF, which continues to be in short supply,” said Adel Al Redha, Deputy President and Chief Operations Officer, from Emirates.
Emirates is tracking the delivery of SAF into the fuelling systems, accounting for and assigning its environmental benefits through widely used and accepted industry methodologies. Earlier this year, the airline closely collaborated with Neste for the supply of 2.6 million litres of neat SAF in the fuelling systems of Amsterdam Schiphol airport.
The SAF being provided by Neste is produced from sustainably sourced and 100% renewable waste as well as residue raw materials, including used cooking oil and animal fat waste. SAF used as part of this agreement can be safely used in existing Emirates aircraft and airport fuelling infrastructure, and in neat form reduces lifecycle carbon emissions (CO2) by up to 80% compared to using conventional jet fuel.
Emirates currently operates flights from Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Paris, Lyon and Oslo with SAF. The airline also integrated SAF into the fuelling systems at its Dubai hub late last year.
In 2023, Emirates was also the first airline in the world to operate two landmark demonstration flights from Dubai on the Boeing 777 and A380 with 100% SAF in one engine in partnership with Neste and other committed partners, supporting future certification where 100% drop in SAF is approved for commercial airline operations.
Currently, SAF is approved for use in all aircraft, but only in blends of up to 50% with conventional jet fuel.
Uniform in color, and like a small rubber tire: these are fake.
Black olive producers have been duping us all this time. The black isn’t a fermented olive, and it’s actually a green olive in food coloring. The left are fake olives. The ones on the right are the real deal. Mushy, greyish, with
Olives –– the symbol of the Mediterranean and of good heart health and peace. The Old Testament speaks of olives are as loved as honey, figs, grapes, and pomegranates. As cherished as they are, black olives may be keeping a not-so-healthy secret. Olives naturally turn from green to black when they ripen, but they usually don’t ripen uniformly. To even out the color and look of black olives, and to make them cure quicker, Californians invented a way to dye them so that they will look and taste great.
What we are saying is that most black olives that you buy are actually green olives dressed up in black! It’s like the take of pink pistachios.
Uniform in color, and like a small rubber tire: these are fake olives and they are as dead as pickles cured in vinegar.
So when you buy ripened black olives in a can, the olives are usually neither actually black or ripe. Many olives in a can are picked when they are green and are cured using an iron salt and brine and lye solution to cause the olives to darken and preserve quickly. Additives may include lye, acetic acid, chloride salts, iron salts (such as ferrous gluconate also known as ferrum sulfate) and compressed air bubbled through the olive curing vats help develop the black color.
Naturally darkened olives. They aren’t uniformly dark.
Some health effects of eating ferrous gluconate, which is generally regarded as safe, or GRAS for human consumption: This chemical study found that there are people who may have allergies to ferrous gluconate, represented by the food labeling E number E579 in Europe: “Although ferrous gluconate is widely applied in food processing and is generally regarded as safe, it should be used according to the prescribed level. Excessive application can lead to iron overload.”
This site is a food additives watchdog that points out some potential side effects of ferrous gluconate, used as a common iron supplement pill. Possible Side Effects of Ferrous Gluconate E579 can be gastrointestinal discomfort, anorexia, diarrhea, nausea, heartburn, vomiting, constipation, fecal impaction, darkening of stools, gastrointestinal necrosis, and hematemesis. Allergic reactions and cardiovascular effects such as circulatory collapse.
Green olives colored black. Read the label. Naturally fermented olives should in
Natural shops offer what they call black olives that are not “dead” or treated with pasteurization, lye and other chemicals.
Are these real black olives or fake?
They argue the case against additives in olives are to make them look better: “Olives don’t need to be this way. The difference between raw and pasteurised; between brine or salt or water and the chemical lye is little known, but significant on all levels. And that difference can be vast.
“Olives are a huge global market and something that we are likely to consume with little thought on a regular basis. Increasingly, even modern processing methods such as lye are being outpaced by techniques such as ultrasound, taking a natural process even further away from its roots,” they add.
Wait, is there a problem with green olives too?
Lye is a powerful corrosive substance which may be still present when you or your family eat the olives. It is used in commercial olive processing in both green and black olives to speed up the process, but like vinegar to make pickles, this method of using lye takes out all the good stuff that fermented fruits and vegetables can give you. Traces may be left on the olives.
Self sufficient culture explains why he won’t use lye. “I use lacto fermentation to cure my olives because I want good bacteria to survive the curing process and be present in my olives for the heath qualities it brings particularly for “gut” health.” We have piles of stories on health fermentation. Start with Jeff’s article on Sandor Katz.
While we have made and cured ripened black olives in the past (here is a recipe for making olives at home, which include blackened olives), we are now going to think twice about buying any black olive in brine if it means eating additives that may be harmful to my health or my kids. We are also going to look for naturally fermented green olives, because we didn’t realize that green olives in the can are industrialized.
How you can avoid lye and ferrous gluconate in your olives?
Make your own olives means you need to live close to a Mediterranean market or olive groves in California. We have done the process which involves washing the olives every day for a month and then letting them sit for a month more. My son did it for a school project without the washing part. They added salt and lemon and after a few weeks they were picked perfectly. If you live in a Med area country, there ma be olive trees that you can forage from in towns and cities. Ask around.
Buy your olives at a natural food stores with labels and vendors you trust.
Go visit natural, slow food farms as part of your summer holidays in Europe and eat your heart out.
Make your own tasty marinade, no matter what olives you have at home.
Make your own tasty marinade, no matter what olives you have at home.
The price of your grocery bill does not need to suffer over the cost of olives. You can buy simple fermented olives from California or if you live in the Mediterranean from France, Italy or Greece, and upgrade the olives with a marinade you make it home. Marinating olives is not the same as fermenting olives, a process which takes months and which turns a very bitter olive into a delightful side dish eaten with a glass of wine, cheese or any Mediterranean salad. Olives come in hundreds of varieties. Here are 17 of the best olives you can try with your new marinade. Scroll down for the recipe.
Upgrade store bought olives with this olive marinade
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword Easy, olives
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Equipment
large bowl
glass jar with lid to store the olives in the fridge
Ingredients
2cupsoliveseither one variety or an assortment of different colors and sizes
1/2cupolive oilextra virgin
1peellemontry to use organic lemon as most sold contain pesticides on the peel. You can also add wedges, to taste.
2clovesgarlicthinly sliced
1 leafbay Take a large bay leaf, broken up, or 2 small whole bay leaves
1/2teaspoondried thyme, rosemary, oregano, or za'atarCrushed
1coriander seeds
2red wine vinegar
1/2teaspoonchili pepper flakes(optional) or to taste
Instructions
If using black olives, rinse them separately to prevent discoloring the rest of the olives.
Drain all olives; place them in a large bowl.
Smash the coriander seeds in a mortar once or twice. Don't pulverize them. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, wrap the seeds in a kitchen towel and bang them with the bottom of an empty bottle or jar a few times.
Toast the coriander seeds in a dry pan for 2 minutes, or until the fragrance rises. Remove from the heat.
Combine the oil, coriander seeds and the rest of the seasonings, except for the vinegar, in the pan. Heat this seasoned oil over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.
Pour the marinade over the olives. Drizzle the vinegar in. Mix gently.
Cover the olives and allow them to marinate at least a couple of hours at room temperature, turning them over twice. But they'll taste better after a week in the refrigerator, and will keep for up to a month there, the flavors improving as they mature. Take the olives out of the fridge an hour before serving, to let the solidified olive oil thaw.
Stedsans is an off-the-grid forest resort in Southern Sweden (2 hours from Gothenburg/Malmö and less than 3 hours from Copenhagen) with a regenerative farm, a restaurant that goes deep into the flavors of seasonal ingredients, 16 simple wooden cabins, campsite, and a floating sauna on the lake.
The vision was started by a Swedish chef who moved her passion to the forest where people could book a cabin and a lovely communal meal created by findings from the forest and hyper local suppliers nearby. But every vision and creation, when done well, has a lifespan.
They are selling: “After 8 years in the forest it is time for us to hand over our beautiful project to someone else. Our decision to let go of this very special place has not been easy. We have poured our hearts into creating a little slice of paradise on Earth, and we hope and expect to find new owners who will take well care of it and all of the potential it offers.”
Stedsans is now a popular restaurant and forest resort with it’s own permaculture farm, but it may very well become something else, they suggest. “Maybe a retreat center, a conference space for a forward-thinking business – or a private home, maybe even a little village, with amazing development potential. Whatever dream you carry in your heart, we will be happy to show you around and give our feed-back to ensure we find a really good match for this place and business.”
In a new survey by the French energy company Veolia, they found that 86% of Saudi residents in 2024 believe that climate change is real, compared to 59% in 2022, indicating a growing acknowledgment of climate change within the population.
These findings are part of the second edition of the Barometer of Ecological Transformation, a biennial survey conducted by Veolia in partnership with Elabe to understand the world’s views on existing solutions for addressing the triple challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The results of the global study can be found here (links to PDF).
Other Saudi Arabia data highlights on environmental issues:
52% of Saudi residents feel exposed and vulnerable to pollution-related illnesses
43% of Saudi residents feel exposed and vulnerable to migration due to pollution and climate factors
86% of Saudi residents in 2024 believe that climate change is real, compared to 59% in 2022
58% of Saudi residents think that the future is still in our hands, and we can still limit climate disruption and pollution
A majority of Saudi residents would consume food (68%) and water (58%) grown from recycled water
The positive increases in belief and awareness regarding climate change and ecological transformation in Saudi Arabia between 2022 and 2024 reflect the efforts in the Kingdom as well as the region to prioritize sustainability and an emissions-free future – underscored by two COPs being held in the region, the UAE’s Year of Sustainability Initiative, and the Saudi Green Initiative. This year Saudi Arabia hosted the UN World Environment Day.
According to the latest edition of the survey, the perception of climate disruption risk being serious and immediate increased from 56% in 2022 to 67% in 2024, showing a heightened awareness of the urgency of addressing climate issues.
In an encouraging sign of progress, 78% of respondents in Saudi Arabia believe that there is sufficient discussion about implementing solutions to mitigate pollution and climate disruption. Acceptance rates for green solutions have greatly improved, with recycling initiatives and water treatment receiving moderate support while significant acceptance is evident in adopting measures like consuming food (68%) and water (58%) grown from recycled water.
This exclusive study aligns well with Veolia’s 2024-2027 strategic plan GreenUp, which aims to stimulate innovation and growth to depollute, decarbonize, and regenerate our resources. The drivers behind the GreenUp strategy will uniquely position Veolia to meet the challenges raised in the recent survey.
Globally, more than 66% of the world is gripped by ecological fears, with respondents feeling vulnerable to risks linked to climate change and pollution. The findings highlight widespread recognition of climate change (89%) and a prioritization of health over cost in decisions regarding water, waste, and energy (97%), with two-thirds foreseeing greater costs from inaction and expressing openness to health-centric solutions despite potential cost increases.
The survey was conducted in 26 countries across 5 continents, involving over 29,500 people. Collectively, these countries represent nearly 60% of the world’s population, 67% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and 77% of global GDP.
Veolia is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services
The installation of a new floating solar power project in Elazığ, worth $2.2 million USD and with a capacity of 1 MW, has been completed by the State-owned General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSI), marking the initiation of its test production phase. This project, with a total cost of EUR 2.2 million, is anticipated to produce approximately 1.8 GWh annually.
With dam reservoirs covering about 4000 square miles in Turkey, the country envisions significant potential for floating solar power plants. Such plants could generate 79.5 billion kilowatt-hours annually, meeting a substantial portion of the nation’s energy demand while conserving water resources. Turkey is currently building one of the world’s biggest dams, the Ilisu dam and water experts believe it will impact the drought in Iraq. (For the last 15 years Iraq has been asking Turkey and Syria to help release water from their dam projects.)
The project director, Yumaklı, highlighted that the floating solar power plant is complemented by a 2 MW unit situated on land. Comprising 5,028 panels spread across 1.5 hectares, this land-based unit is expected to generate an additional 4.2 GWh per year.
Yumaklı underscored the financial strain caused by pumping systems, especially in cases where irrigated areas are situated at a higher altitude than the reservoir. To mitigate such expenses and adapt to the effects of climate change, Yumaklı emphasized Turkey’s shift towards closed irrigation systems utilizing gravity wherever feasible.
The potential of floating solar power extends beyond electricity generation, with significant implications for water conservation. Yumaklı mentioned ongoing scientific monitoring of water quality and aquatic life in the Keban area, where the project has been implemented.
Turkey has some great new projects happening in solar energy. But the fact that it is also actively building nuclear energy plants is not great news for environmentalists. Germany shut down its last operating nuclear reactor last year as Turkey fired up its first.
Keeping your home cool during the hot and humid summer months is costly and damaging to the climate because of all the extra energy usage. But with a few strategic hacks to using your current window-based air conditioner, portable air conditioning unit or central air condition system, you can make your air conditioner work more efficiently. And that means more coolness for you and no more choosing your friends based on who has an air conditioner at home. It also means buying less carbon credits if you are doing carbon accounting for your home.
Here are some expert tips to enhance your AC’s performance and ensure a comfortably cool home, office or hang out space. These are from Green Prophet’s experiences we’ve taken from living in New York, Canada, Europe (there is practical no air-con there) and the Middle East and will ensure your air quality stays high too.
Deep clean vents every few years
Dust and grime can accumulate in your central system AC vents and mini-split units over time, slowing airflow and reducing efficiency. Performing a deep clean of your air vents every three to five years is crucial. This maintenance ensures that the maximum amount of cold air is released into your living spaces.
This routine boosts your AC’s performance but also extends its lifespan by preventing it from overworking to push air through clogged ducts. Here is a guide on how to deep clean your air ducts. You can do it at home without paying for an an expensive AC repairman.
If you live in Arizona, or a dusty, desert location with hot temps throughout the year consider a deep clean more regularly.
Replace air filters
In addition to deep cleaning vents periodically, replacing air filters on a regular basis is important for efficient operation. Air filters trap dust, pollen, and other airborne particles, preventing them from entering your air conditioning system. Open them up and if there is a lot of humidity in your region they may also be food of black mould. This mold will fly all over your home, clogging filters and your lungs.
The clogging also makes the unit work harder, giving less output. Ask how to change the air filters when you buy or acquire the unit. Read this guide on how to replace filters.
Spend-thrift people know that a high energy air con unit can heat a whole floor of a home if ceiling fans or floor fans are turned on. Fans take much less energy and they push the cool air through your home. This cools the room faster and makes it feel cooler by evaporating humidity from your skin. You can use less air and more fan, finding the happy balance at night, saving you money on your power bill.
Invest in window shades
Keeping sunlight out of your home can significantly reduce indoor temperatures. High-quality window shades or blinds can block the sun’s rays, preventing your rooms from heating up during the day. This means that your air conditioner won’t have to work as hard to cool your home.
By minimizing the amount of heat that enters your home, you can create a more comfortable environment and reduce the load on your AC unit. This not only enhances efficiency but also prolongs the life of your air conditioning system.
Keep the doors and windows closed
It might seem intuitive but part of what makes the summer feel hot is the humidity. Air conditioners typically remove the humidity from the air, cooling it in the process. Make sure you teach your kids and family members the importance of keeping windows in the entire house shut when the air conditioner is running or else you are basically pouring electricity down the drain.
Close vents and doors of rooms not in use
If you have a central AC unit, you can but small covers to put on the vents so the cooling stays out of rooms you aren’t using. If there is no-one in the guest bedroom or office, keep the door closed and let the cool air circulate where needed.
Flying First Class on Emirates? Ask for a mocktail- it's better for your heart.
Flying First Class on Emirates? Ask for a mocktail- it’s better for your heart.
Sometimes about the only place you feel like drinking is when you are stuck for 12 hours on a long-haul flight. But researchers from Germany suggest that all people, young and old, should avoid alcohol on flights. They say that combined with cabin pressure, the alcohol puts too much pressure on your heart.
After a series of lab experiments the German scientists discovered that when people fall asleep after consuming alcohol at low air pressures, your blood oxygen can drop to worrisome levels. Heart rate levels can increase without warning in both young and old people, they write in the journal Thorax.
Co-author Dr. Eva-Maria Elmenhorst, deputy of the department of sleep and human factors research at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine at the German Aerospace Center in Cologne, Germany says that passengers should think twice about drinking alcohol in flight.
Even without the burden of alcohol, dry cabin air causes dehydration and being immobile can trigger trigger blood clots in the legs.
The German said they expected that alcohol consumption at low air pressures in-flight would have an effect on people, but they “we were surprised to see that the effect was so strong,” Elmenhorst said, suggesting to flyers: “Please don’t drink alcohol while being on an airplane. The decreased oxygen saturation together with the increase in heart rate could exacerbate pre-existing medical conditions.
“The oxygen saturation dropped to quite low levels during sleep,” she said. “This is why I would recommend to avoid drinking alcohol even when someone is healthy.”
The study looked at 48 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 40 who were randomly assigned to one of two groups: Half went to sleep in a sleep lab that had air pressure at sea level. The other half would sleep in an altitude chamber that mimicked the air pressure found on planes traveling at a cruising altitude.
Twelve people in each group slept for four hours after having consumed two cans of beer or two glasses of wine. The other group slept without. Then the procedure was reversed.
Those who drank before falling asleep in the altitude chamber had their blood oxygen saturation drop to 85% on average, while their heart rates rose to compensate to an average of nearly 88 beats per minute.
Emerge, a joint venture between the UAE’s Masdar and France’s EDF Group, has announced the successful energization of two high-profile solar photovoltaic projects on Yas Island at Yas Marina Circuit and Yas Bay Waterfront, Abu Dhabi’s vibrant day-to-night dining, entertainment and leisure destination.
The 1 megawatt peak (MWp) solar car park at Ethara’s Yas Marina Circuit, home to the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, will generate approximately 30 percent of Yas Marina Circuit’s total annual energy demand, equivalent to powering nearly 200 Abu Dhabi households and offsetting 900 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.
Yas Island, an artificial island on the coast of the UAE includes Ferrari World, home to the world’s fastest roller coaster, Formula Rossa, which offers an adrenaline-pumping experience for thrill-seekers, Yas Waterworld, an expansive water park with over 40 rides, slides, and attractions inspired by the UAE’s pearl diving heritage.
Yas Island provides pristine beaches like Yas Beach, perfect for sunbathing and water sports. Additionally, the island is home to Yas Mall, Abu Dhabi’s largest shopping center.
Yas Island also boasts luxurious accommodations, including hotels such as the W Abu Dhabi.
Under its agreement with the venue’s operator, Ethara, Emerge has installed more than 1,800 solar modules across the car park of the track of the Marina Circuit, which holds a capacity of 60,000 spectators, delivering a comprehensive turnkey solution for the project, including finance, design, procurement, construction, operations, and maintenance for 25 years.
The 520kWp Yas Bay Waterfront development for Miral involved the installation of over 900 solar modules, equivalent to powering around 100 Abu Dhabi households and offsetting 425 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. The solution included finance, design, procurement and construction and Emerge will operate and maintain the solar modules.
Jonathan Brown, Chief Portfolio Officer at Miral, said: “This project is a testament of our commitment in further positioning Yas Island as a top global destination for entertainment and leisure, while consistently priorisiting sustainable practices.”
Hesham Al Jneibi, Yas Marina Circuit and Etihad Park General Manager, said: “We are keen to play our part in supporting the wide-scale sustainability efforts of the UAE, and we are focused on setting the new standard for responsible event and venue management through collaboration in the region.”
Michel Abi Saab
Michel Abi Saab, General Manager, Emerge, said: “The energization of these two solar projects on Yas Island shows the commitment by Miral and Ethara to sustainability and to minimizing their environmental footprint. These projects will deliver high-quality and reliable clean energy to Abu Dhabi’s race circuit and to one of its premier entertainment destinations, which attracts millions of visitors from home and abroad. The successful implementation of our projects demonstrates the compelling case for installing renewable energy projects at entertainment sites in the UAE.”
Yas Bay Waterfront is the third collaboration between Miral, the leading creator of immersive destinations and experiences in Abu Dhabi, and Emerge. In March 2023, Miral inaugurated Abu Dhabi’s largest solar rooftop project at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, with an impressive 7-megawatt peak (MWp) capacity.
The project incorporates approximately 16,000 solar modules across the theme park’s roof area of 36,000 square meters and produces nearly 40 percent of its annual energy demand.
Emerge has also deployed on-site solar energy systems at the SeaWorld Abu Dhabi theme park, which has a capacity of 8.4 megawatts (MWp) and is scheduled to be commissioned during the second quarter of 2024.
Emerge, a joint venture between Masdar and EDF Group, was formed in 2021 to develop distributed solar, energy storage and hybrid solutions for commercial and industrial. As an energy services company, Emerge offers clients full turnkey solutions through solar power agreements and energy performance contracting at no upfront cost to the client.
BMW Saudi Arabia pride month: did you run out of ink?
BMW Saudi Arabia pride month: did you run out of ink?
Social media influencers are asking why BMW in Saudi Arabia, and international brands in general are not changing their famous logos to the colors of the LGBT movement, a rainbow flag to celebrate Pride Month? BMW has changed its international logo to reflect Pride, but the Saudi Arabian version remains unchanged.
It is common for international brands to celebrate and reflect certain holidays and celebrations throughout the year. Local branding is usually left to local marketing companies who handle the brand and its expression in respectiev countries. Should Saudi Arabia go rainbow?
Cisco, BMW, Lenovo and Bethesda don’t celebrate Pride in the Middle East
According to Islamic Shariah law homosexuality is punishable by death. Men in Iran are sentenced to death if they are found engaging in love partnerships or sexual acts with other men. A Palestinian man was beheaded for being gay while seeking asylum in Canada. Canadians encourage people to explore their sexuality choices starting in grade school so it a safe place to live if you seek sexual freedom.
Being gay is not allowed in most Islamic countries. Be careful in countries like Iran, the UAE or Saudi Arabia if you engage in sexual freedom. You can be arrested or worse.
Vivobarefoot partners with Balena to print compostable footwear
Vivobarefoot partners with Balena to 3D-print compostable and biodegradable barefoot-style footwear
Vivobarefoot is a wildly popular shoe brand founded by Galahad and Asher Clark of the Clark shoes empire. The shoes are outrageously expensive ––about twice the price of leading fashion sports brands such as Nike, yet loyal customers come back time and time again to buy shoes that give the most true-to-barefoot experience in a shoe.
Vivo is now collaborating with an Israeli-Italian company Balena which is making a method and material so that shoes at the end of their lives will compost. It should be said that even the plastic parts of Vivo’s shows start to disintegrate anyway after a year.
Balena, eco and biodegradable sandal slide, plastic, eco plastic, biocir, cycles of decomposition
What are barefoot shoes?
They have wide area for your toes to open out. The soles have zero padding, and just a thin layer of rubber between your foot and the world. No support. Because “you are the technology” as the slogan goes. Our feet, essentially, are built to support our backs and bodies. Modern shoes, Vivobarefoot claims, can actually damage your feet and body by changing your gate, and by putting pressure on areas of your body when running like your knees.
At the 1960 Rome Olympics Ethiopian runner Abebe purchased new running shoes, but they did not fit well and gave him blisters. He decided to run barefoot instead. And won.
My son has been wearing Vivo shoes for 7 years and so have I. The rubber on the soles of the shoes wear out before the rest of the shoe. So if rubber and plastics aren’t going to last a lifetime, we can say it’s time to usher in the idea of footwear that can melt back to the earth.
Vivobarefoot says they have been prototyping 3D-printed footwear since 2019. Brand co-founder Asher Clark previously called the development of a 3D-printed shoe “an obsession”. The process involves 3D-printing the harder parts of the shoe such as the sole, then 3D-knitting the upper part. By 3-D printing, essentially shoes can be customized to a customer’s foot in the color choice they want.
Vivobarefoot and Balena 3D print a shoe to mimic the shoes of primal man
By making shoes to measure, less material is wasted and product longevity is likely enhanced due to the shoes fitting the wearer perfectly. This translates to reduction in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions across the product value chain, according to companies that assess product life cycle.
Balena slide, biodegradable and compostable
Through its new partnership with Balena, Vivobarefoot is aiming to create 3D-printed shoes made with material that is both compostable and recyclable. Balena will apply its ‘BioCir flex’ material to the partnership. This material includes at least 50% bio-based content.
VivoBarefoot’s Clark said: “The world doesn’t need new shoes. We need a new system and new materials.”
David Roubach, Balena shoes
Banela’s founder David Roubach said that there “is a need to advocate for a clearer circular economy model with a fundamental change in the materials we use” to reduce waste in this sector.
Billions of pairs of shoes are made globally each year. And most of these get thrown out as a by-product of fast fashion. That’s why there are so many flipflops in the Syechelles. If you have a business idea to work with a biodegradable material for rubber ducks and flipflops on a cruise line, you have a new impact company.
The new Al Mizan offers Quranic context to ecological concerns and questions
Similar to Pope Francis encyclical Laudato Si’ published in 2015, Al-Mizan is an Islamic-inspired global call to head the cries of the people and the earth seeking to inspire billions of people from all religions in all parts of the world to tend to our one planet, our home.
The Muslim-based Covenant ushers in a movement for comprehensive action and concerted efforts to achieve, collectively, sustainable lifestyles. Some of the topics inside include the prohibition of killing birds for sport, protecting nature and plants, and the discussion on genetic engineering, if it’s satanic or sent from God? In this case, only questions are asked?
We quote from the guide: “Genetic engineering brings with it a host of ethical and practical problems. Is genetic manipulation to be prohibited absolutely as the satanic “changing of God’s creation,” which may lead to environmental catastrophe? Or does it offer legitimate means to cure genetic illnesses and to stave off starvation by enhancing the drought resistance and disease resistance of our crops?
“We might bear in mind that justifications are offered for most evils on the basis of the benefits they bring, whereas if, like intoxicants and gambling, the harm in them is greater than the good, the sharī‘ah requires their prohibition. If, on the other hand, genetic engineering is permissible within limits, how are these limits to be defined?”
“Al-Mizan,” or “balance” in English, gives a Muslim perspective on how faith can inform and inspire action in the face of current global ecological challenges. It calls on Muslims and the broader global community to unite to restore ecological balance and preserve the Earth for future generations.
“The word ‘Al-Mizan,’ the title of our treatise, means equilibrium and reciprocity. The Quran describes all beings as balanced and integrated in interconnected and interdependent equilibrium,” said Othman Llewellyn, one of its lead authors. According to the scholar, God had unfolded all things in a balance with one another, and all things need, support and benefit the other.
“Nothing is created wantonly or in vain. All are created in truth and for right, and each has rights on us: that we care for it,” said Llewellyn, a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s World Commission on Protected Areas and World Commission on Environmental Law.
Christian leaders said the document struck a balance between the Islamic worldview and the Christian perspective, particularly that of the Catholic Church.
“In many ways, ‘Al-Mizan’ is the Islamic equivalent to Laudato Si’, the encyclical of Pope Francis, and more recently, the ‘Laudate Deum,’ a follow-up document,” said Catholic Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, the apostolic nuncio in Kenya and South Sudan: “‘Al-Mizan,’ although building entirely on its own profound Islamic tradition, resonates in many ways the teachings of ‘Laudato Si’.’
“In fact, I would like to invite all of you to read them in tandem, as they raise together a harmonious song of praise, who is the creator of the universe,” said van Megen.
Rabbis in Israel have come up with a Jewish version of this theology and have called it the Eco Bible.
Al Mizan can inspire religious and secular people alike
Who is part of the covenant? The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Üsküdar University, The Qur’anic Botanic Garden, The College of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, and UNEP Faith for Earth.
Al-Mizan draws from the Holy Quran, practices of Prophet Mohammad, and the teachings of Islam urging humanity to value and protect nature.
In October 2019, at the 8th Islamic Conference of Environment Ministers (ICEM) held in Rabat, Ministers approved a strategy of “enhancing the role of cultural and religious factors in protecting the environment and achieving sustainable development in the Islamic World”, building upon the foundations laid since the first ICEM held in Jeddah in 2002.
Following this, there was a sense that a global platform linking environmental issues to Islamic teachings and incubating Islamic perspectives on nature was missing, yet urgently needed.
This would serve to demonstrate how Islam can be a driving force towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, leveraging cultural practices and traditional knowledge in driving behavioral changes required alongside science and policy.
Download the Islamic Covenant for the earth
To this end, the Covenant drew a team of renowned Islamic-environmental scholars and leading institutions comprising of diverse religious and geographic backgrounds to mobilize the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims towards a stronger environmental ethic and routine. You don’t need to be a Muslim to be inspired by the philosophy.
The space race is on: China has succeeded in landing a non-manned spacecraft to the far side of the moon, China’s space agency announced. The Communist nation aims to collect more minerals from the moon. There is a global debate on who should own minerals in space, and if we should take them. Another debate is on space junk and the over-lighting of the skies by space satellites like Bluewalker and Starlink.
While Elon Musk and the UAE have a mission to get to Mars, the immediate rush is to get to the moon to mine for minerals, and to begin the building of international moon bases for astronaut missions and missions to Mars.
The landing elevates China’s space power status in a global rush to the moon, where countries, including the United States, are hoping to exploit lunar minerals to sustain long-term astronaut missions and moon bases.
A Chinese spacecraft has successfully landed on the moon’s far side to collect rock samples, further intensifying the ongoing space race to the lunar surface with the United States and partner nations.
China’s Chang’e-6 entered the lunar orbit and landed on June 1, according to the European Space Agency (ESA), which contributed a Swedish-developed payload to the mission.
The mission is the sixth in China’s Chang’e moon exploration program. It is named after a Chinese moon goddess. The far side of the moon is permanently hidden from Earth’s view and olds significant scientific mysteries.
The lander is expected to drill and collect moon surface materials of up to 4.4 pounds which will be loaded into an ascent vehicle before launching back into lunar orbit for an expected rendezvous and docking with the orbiter.
Morocco and Austria also want to go to Mars!
Scientific and International Collaboration Onboard
While all eyes are on Communist China for its support of Iran and Russia, the Chinese have still managed to cooperate with several international scientific missions which included their instruments.
The Negative Ions at the Lunar Surface (NILS) payload, developed by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, and the Detection of Outgassing RadoN (DORN) instrument from France will collect data during the lander’s operational period on the surface. An Italian passive laser retro-reflector and a small rover are aboard the lander. (Remember when the Italians reflected sun onto this town which was always in a shadow?)
Chang’e-6 also carried a small satellite called Icube-Q which was developed by Pakistani and Chinese universities.
China aims to put a person on the moon before 2030, which would make it the second nation after the United States. NASA plans to send people to the moon by 2026.
Would you live on Mars or the moon?
The big goal is an International Lunar Research Station planned for the 2030s which expects collaboration from many countries and organizations.
A 2020 Chinese moon mission brought back minerals to China. The Chinese discovery of a phosphate mineral in columnar crystal has the nation clamoring for more of the Moon. They have discovered a new phosphate mineral now named Changesite-(Y).
Several countries and organizations have signed up for this ambitious project, signaling China’s growing influence and commitment to leading the next era of space exploration.
The world’s first trillionaire will mine the skies
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson once told the World Government Summit in Dubai that the first trillionaires are likely to be those who mine asteroids for minerals and water to further the exploration of the universe. Planetary Resources and Deep Space Resources are working out which asteroids offer the greatest potential for profits.
Nation states are also involved in the space-mining race, with countries such as Luxembourg, Japan and the United Arab Emirates leading the pack.
We must ask ourselves as in the case of deep sea mining now started by Norway: Who owns resources in space? Will space mining be a free-for-all, operating on a first-come, first-served basis? And who – if anyone – has the oversight to ensure the resources are used responsibly and for humanity’s benefit?
French-Swiss artist Saype realized a giant landart painting on March 11th, 2023 at the Ibri solar farm, Ibri 2 IPP Project, in Oman. With an overall area of 11'250 square meters, this artwork was created using biodegradable pigments made out of charcoal & chalk. This work questions us about our relationship to energy, and the new solutions to get out of fossil fuels.
French-Swiss artist Saype realized a giant landart painting on March 11th, 2023 at the Ibri solar farm, Ibri 2 IPP Project, in Oman.
Oman is increasingly becoming a key player in the global push towards renewable energy, leveraging its vast desert landscapes to harness solar power. Look to the Ibri Solar Project, a 500 MW capacity plant that underscores the nation’s commitment to diversifying its energy sources and reducing its carbon footprint and diversifying away from oil.
Highlighting this beautiful scene is the French-Swiss artist Saype who laid out a mural of hope in the sands of the Wahiba Desert. With an overall area of 11,250 square meters, this artwork was created using biodegradable pigments made out of charcoal and chalk. This work questions us about our relationship to energy, and the new solutions to get out of fossil fuels.
The Ibri Solar Project, located in Al Dhahirah Governorate, is a cornerstone of Oman’s renewable energy strategy. Operational since early 2021, it represents a significant leap in the nation’s quest to derive 30% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
The plant, covering an area of 1,300 hectares, features over 1.4 million solar panels and is expected to produce approximately 1,500 GWh of clean electricity annually. This is sufficient to power around 50,000 homes and reduce CO2 emissions by about 340,000 tons per year, equivalent to taking nearly 70,000 cars off the road
The project is a collaboration between the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) and a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s fossil fuel company ACWA Power, which includes Gulf Investment Corporation and Alternative Energy Projects Company. ACWA Power is the lead investor in the project with a 50 percent stake, GIC has a 40 percent stake and AEPC controls the remaining 10 percent.
Saype’s mural spanned over 5,000 square meters of the desert, depicting a pair of hands holding a seedling. This artwork, part of his worldwide “Beyond Walls” project, aims to connect communities across borders through a shared commitment to environmental stewardship and social unity. Let’s hope the same can happen between Gaza and Israel.
Zyed Sustainability Prize, $3 million USD prize for impact ideas that change the world.
Zayed Sustainability Prize, $3 million USD prize for impact ideas that change the world.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The Zayed Sustainability Prize is a prestigious international award that recognizes and rewards impactful, innovative, and inspirational sustainability solutions across the globe. Established in 2008 and named in honor of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the United Arab Emirates, the prize aims to continue his legacy of environmental stewardship and sustainable development. The prize is awarded annually in five categories: Health, Food, Energy, Water, and Global High Schools, each designed to address critical challenges facing the world today.
The Health category honors solutions that improve physical, mental, and social well-being, with a focus on projects that can be scaled to benefit large populations. The Food category targets innovations that enhance food security, sustainable agriculture, and nutrition. The Energy category recognizes initiatives that increase access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy. The Water category focuses on projects that offer sustainable water management solutions. Finally, the Global High Schools category encourages and empowers young people to develop sustainable projects within their schools and communities.
Winners of the Zayed Sustainability Prize receive not only financial support but also global recognition, which helps them to scale their projects and maximize their impact. The prize fund totals $3 million, distributed across the categories, with each winner receiving up to $600,000. This financial boost, combined with the prestige of the award, has enabled past laureates to expand their initiatives, foster new partnerships, and influence policy. Through these efforts, the Zayed Sustainability Prize continues to drive significant advancements in sustainability, directly contributing to the global effort to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
THRIVE Global Impact Challenge
The THRIVE Global Impact Challenge is an annual competition aimed at fostering innovative solutions in the agri-food sector to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Organized by SVG Ventures THRIVE, a leading agrifood investment and innovation platform, the challenge seeks to identify and accelerate the development of breakthrough technologies that can significantly enhance the sustainability and resilience of the global food system.
Open to startups from around the world, the THRIVE Global Impact Challenge invites participants to present their cutting-edge technologies and business models in areas such as food security, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience. The competition focuses on five key areas: Sustainable Food Production, Food Quality & Safety, Food Waste Reduction, Smart Agriculture, and Supply Chain Management. Startups are assessed on their potential to drive positive social, economic, and environmental impacts.
Winners of the challenge receive a suite of benefits designed to propel their startups to the next level. These include access to THRIVE’s extensive network of mentors, investors, and industry partners, as well as participation in the THRIVE Accelerator program. This program offers tailored support, including business coaching, strategic guidance, and opportunities for pilot projects and collaborations with leading corporations in the agrifood sector. Additionally, winners receive significant visibility and recognition through THRIVE’s media channels and events.
The THRIVE Global Impact Challenge not only provides a platform for groundbreaking innovations but also fosters a collaborative ecosystem where entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders can work together to solve critical issues in the food system. By supporting innovative startups, the challenge aims to drive transformative changes that contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future for agriculture and food production worldwide.
She Loves Tech 2024 Global Competition
She Loves Tech is the world’s largest startup competition focused on women and technology. Founded in 2015, this global platform aims to bridge the gender gap in technology and entrepreneurship by providing female-led and female-impact tech startups with opportunities for investment, mentorship, and global visibility. The She Loves Tech Global Competition is the centerpiece of this initiative, showcasing innovative tech solutions that have the potential to create a positive impact on women and society.
The competition is open to early-stage startups that have a viable product or service and demonstrate significant potential for growth. It specifically targets startups that either have at least one female founder or a product designed to address a problem faced by women. The competition spans multiple rounds, starting with regional rounds held in various countries around the world, culminating in a global final where the top startups compete for the grand prize.
Participants in the She Loves Tech competition benefit from a comprehensive support system. They receive mentorship from leading experts in technology and business, access to She Loves Tech’s extensive network of investors and industry partners, and exposure to media and public relations opportunities. Winners receive cash prizes, investment opportunities, and spots in accelerator programs designed to fast-track their growth and development.
She Loves Tech goes beyond the competition by fostering a global community of female entrepreneurs and innovators. Through its various programs and initiatives, it provides continuous support and resources to help women-led startups thrive. The competition has grown exponentially since its inception, now operating in over 40 countries and partnering with major corporations and investors to drive its mission. By highlighting and supporting female tech entrepreneurs, She Loves Tech aims to create a more inclusive and diverse tech ecosystem, ultimately driving economic growth and innovation.
Global Innovation Fund (GIF)
The Global Innovation Fund (GIF) is an international, nonprofit investment fund that supports the development, rigorous testing, and scaling of innovations aimed at improving the lives of people living on less than $5 a day. Launched in 2014, GIF operates with a mission to accelerate evidence-based solutions that address global development challenges, with a focus on innovations that have the potential to transform the lives of the world’s poorest people.
GIF offers a unique approach to funding by providing flexible financial support through grants, loans, and equity investments. This allows GIF to back a wide range of innovations at different stages of development, from early-stage ideas to proven interventions ready for scaling. The fund prioritizes innovations that are cost-effective, scalable, and have a strong potential for measurable social impact. GIF’s portfolio spans various sectors, including education, health, agriculture, water and sanitation, and energy.
Applicants to the Global Innovation Fund undergo a rigorous selection process where their innovations are evaluated based on their potential impact, evidence of effectiveness, and scalability. Successful applicants receive not only financial support but also technical assistance, monitoring, and evaluation support to ensure their solutions are effectively implemented and scaled. GIF’s funding is designed to be catalytic, providing the necessary resources to bridge the gap between proven solutions and widespread adoption.
The impact of GIF’s investments is significant, as the fund leverages a venture capital-style approach to drive social impact. By focusing on high-impact innovations, GIF aims to achieve sustainable improvements in the quality of life for the world’s poorest populations. The fund’s emphasis on evidence and results ensures that its investments lead to tangible benefits and contribute to the broader goals of poverty reduction and sustainable development. Through its innovative funding model, GIF plays a crucial role in fostering breakthroughs that have the potential to create lasting change on a global scale.
Zeroe, a UAE-based comprehensive carbon management company, will sponsor an artificial coral reef through Project Reefframe project, a pioneering initiative aimed at restoring and preserving coral ecosystems in the UAE. This sponsorship underscores Zeroe’s commitment to environmental sustainability and its recognition of the critical role oceans play in mitigating climate change.
A Reeframe project, Freestyle Divers
As the United Nations highlights in Sustainable Development Goal 14, oceans are essential for life on Earth. They produce 50% of the oxygen we breathe, absorb 25% of carbon dioxide emissions, and capture 90% of excess heat generated by these emissions. This makes them a vital buffer against the impacts of climate change.
However, oceans face unchartered threats from pollution, plastic waste, and rising temperatures. Coral reefs are experiencing alarming rates of degradation, impacting biodiversity and coastal communities. The United Arab Emirates is building artificial islands and industry that need to consider the future of its oceans.
Reeframe in action. Photo by Freestyle Divers
Project Reeframe, led by Freestyle Divers, is a collaborative effort to rescue and restore coral reefs in the UAE. By creating artificial reefs and transplanting rescued coral fragments, the project aims to create thriving marine ecosystems that can withstand the challenges of climate change.
Darryl Owen, Owner and CEO of Freestyle Divers and Project Reeframe said, “This sponsorship will enable us to expand our efforts in rescuing and restoring coral reefs, ensuring their survival for future generations. Together, we can create a more sustainable future for our oceans and the communities that depend on them.”
Zeroe’s sponsorship of an artificial reef through Project Reeframe demonstrates the company’s dedication to environmental conservation. This initiative aligns with Zeroe’s broader sustainability goals and its belief in the power of technology, collaboration, and innovative thinking to drive positive change.
“Climate change is a complex problem that requires a systemic solution made up of many smaller efforts at all levels, simultaneously. We are proud to contribute to a project that is making a real difference in preserving these invaluable ecosystems,” said Lauren Haworth, Head of Marketing & Partnerships at Zeroe said.
Photo by Freestyle Divers
Zeroe is a carbon management platform based in the UAE, which gives companies a way to measure, manage, and reduce their carbon footprint. By leveraging advanced artificial intelligence and adhering to the GHG Protocol, Zeroe simplifies carbon accounting, ensuring compliance and facilitating sustainable business practices.
Project Reeframe is a pioneering coral reef restoration project based in the UAE, run by Freestyle Divers. By creating artificial reefs and transplanting rescued coral fragments, Project Reeframe aims to restore damaged reefs, promote biodiversity, and enhance the resilience of marine ecosystems.
IBM’s Watson learns Arabic and integrates it into AI
A generative AI program is being developed through a collaboration between Saudi Arabia and IBM, focusing on multiple Arabic dialects. The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) has announced that their Arabic large language model ALLaM, will be integrated into IBM’s AI and data platform, Watsonx.
Watsonx is widely used by companies for creating editorial content, developing chatbots, and writing programming code. This includes applications like scripting for video games and customer service chatbots.
Watson research has been pioneered in IBM Israel. Researchers David Carmel and Dafna Sheinwald from IBM Israel played a key role in building Watson, the supercomputer that played Jeopardy in 2011 – and won. Watson won USD 77,147, which was donated to various charities, besting Ken Jennings’s USD 24,000 and Brad Rutter’s USD 21,600.
This research will be applied to better understand Arabic language models. ALLaM stands out for its ability to retrieve and generate information in both audio and text formats across various Arabic dialects, a challenge that has long puzzled developers.
This collaboration is expected to drive further technological advancements, according to Esam Alwagait, director of SDAIA.
The development of ALLaM could lead to a surge in Arabic GPT text generators, similar to Google’s Gemini, X’s Grok, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Trained on hundreds of millions of articles in both Arabic and English, ALLaM aims to overcome the traditional challenges of working with Arabic dialects.
Maersk, a Danish shipping company uses green methanol in its fleet of ships
Maersk, a Danish shipping company uses green methanol in its fleet of ships
AD Ports Group, the operator of industrial cities and free zones in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates is spearheading a consortium to develop a green methanol plant in Egypt.
Green methanol, made from biomass such as plant waste, is a synthetic fuel produced renewably and without polluting emissions (in theory), and can be produced from green hydrogen. This chemical compound can be used as a low-carbon liquid fuel and is a promising alternative to fossil fuels in areas where decarbonisation is a major challenge.
Green, Blue and Grey Methanol – what’s the difference in fuel types?
Green methanol (or bio-methanol) may be produced via biological pathways (anaerobic digestion), thermo-chemical pathways (gasification) or electrofuel pathways (power to gas). Blue methanol is made using blue hydrogen in combination with carbon capture technology. Grey methanol is produced using natural gas.
The new Egyptian facility will aim to supply low-carbon fuel for maritime transport, presenting an opportunity to establish clean alternative energy storage solutions globally.The addition of a facility in this area will provide fueling solutions for those mainliners who have ordered green methanol-powered vessels.
One challenge with Egypt and the Suez Canal, currently, is keeping terrorists such as the Yemenite Houthis terror group from sabotaging its shipping line from the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. Working with the moderate UAE will help broker peace in the region. The UAE even has a Green Sheikh who was a regular contributor to Green Prophet over the years.
Green Sheikh, by Green Prophet’s Tafline Laylin
According to Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports they anticipate more than 100 methanol-fuelled ships will be in service in the next 2 years by 2026, representing around a million tonnes of additional methanol demand.
According to Drewry and Clarksons, a maritime research group, the methanol-fuelled vessel fleet will grow from 2 per cent to 14 per cent of the global fleet based on orders already placed.
“This initiative not only aligns with the UAE’s decarbonisation goals but also accelerates the energy transition in shipping, positioning us at the forefront of the green hydrogen revolution and enabling us to contribute to global environmental stewardship and economic diversification,” said Ammar Mubarak Al Shaiba, CEO – Maritime & Shipping Cluster, AD Ports Group.
Developing carbon-friendly projects in other nations can earn countries carbon credits through UN mechanisms.
The group has signed a preliminary agreement with Egyptian container shipping line Transmar and Orascom Construction for the project, which will include storage and export facilities for the synthetic fuel.
Bloomberg’s numbers for green ethanol ships on order
Green methanol, a low-carbon synthetic fuel, can be produced from biomass or through carbon capture and green hydrogen. It offers a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, especially in sectors like chemicals and plastics where decarbonization is challenging.
This fuel is also more cost-effective to store and transport, utilizing existing infrastructure for regular fossil fuels.
Maersk and Hapag Lloyd are already integrating such green methanol ships into their fleets. Evergreen, Cosco, CMA CGM and HMM have ships on order, according to Bloomberg.
Yemen Honey from the Sidr tree, magical honey from paradise according to the Quran
Imagine this: bees, our tiny, tireless pollinators, dancing from flower to flower, collecting nectar like nature’s little alchemists. Raw honey is the magical result of their hard work – unfiltered, unprocessed, and unpasteurized. It’s the purest form of honey you can find, brimming with all the natural goodness that the bees and blooms have to offer.
Nature’s Multivitamin
Forget those synthetic multivitamins in your medicine cabinet. Raw honey is a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals. Packed with antioxidants, enzymes, and phytonutrients, it’s like a sweet gift from the heavens. Vitamin C? Check. Calcium? Check. Iron, magnesium, and potassium? Check, check, and check! It’s like Mother Nature decided to give us a health boost wrapped in sweetness.
Got the sniffles? Feeling under the weather? Raw honey is your sticky, sweet solution. Its antimicrobial properties are the stuff of legends. It can help soothe a sore throat, combat pesky coughs, and even fend off those nasty bacteria. Next time you’re feeling blah, skip the over-the-counter meds and go straight for the honey jar. Your immune system will thank you.
Your gut – that complex, enigmatic universe within – needs a guardian, and raw honey is up for the task. It’s a natural prebiotic, meaning it helps nurture the good bacteria in your gut. Happy gut, happy life, right? So, swirl some raw honey into your yogurt, drizzle it over your granola, or just sneak a spoonful straight from the jar.
Need a pick-me-up without the crash? Raw honey is your natural energy booster. Those natural sugars provide an instant, sustained energy hit without the dreaded sugar crash. Whether you’re scaling a mountain, hitting the gym, or just trying to survive a Monday, a spoonful of raw honey is like a jolt of pure, unadulterated vitality.
Sweet Skin Savior
Here’s a little beauty secret from the bee kingdom: raw honey is a skincare superstar. Its antibacterial properties make it a champion for acne-prone skin, while its natural humectants keep your skin hydrated and glowing. Dab it on as a spot treatment, mix it into your DIY face masks, or just spread it on and let the magic happen. Cleopatra would be proud.
And let’s not forget the planet. Supporting raw honey means supporting sustainable beekeeping practices. Bees are crucial pollinators, essential for our food supply and biodiversity. By choosing raw honey, you’re helping to protect these tiny warriors and the environment. Sweet, sustainable synergy – it’s a win-win!
Honeycomb is a treasure trove of nutrients. Unlike processed honey, honeycomb retains all the raw goodness, including vitamins B and C, antioxidants, and vital enzymes. The beeswax in the honeycomb is rich in long-chain fatty acids and alcohols, which can lower cholesterol levels and boost liver health. It’s like getting the full package deal: the honey and the honeycomb, a dynamic duo of nutrition.
Natural Allergy Relief
Suffering from seasonal allergies? Honeycomb might just be your new best friend. Chewing on honeycomb can help desensitize your body to local pollen. This natural process, akin to a sweet vaccination, gradually builds your immunity against those pesky allergens. It’s a delicious way to find relief and enjoy the changing seasons without the sniffles.
Digestive Dynamo
Move over, fiber supplements! Honeycomb, with its natural beeswax, is a fantastic aid for digestion. It acts as a mild laxative, promoting regular bowel movements and maintaining a healthy gut. The enzymes present in the honey help break down complex sugars and starches, making digestion smoother and more efficient. Your digestive system will thank you for this sweet intervention.
Oral Health Hero
Here’s a sticky secret: chewing honeycomb is great for your teeth. The beeswax acts like a natural chewing gum, stimulating saliva production and helping to clean teeth. Saliva is your mouth’s first line of defense against bacteria and tooth decay. Plus, the antimicrobial properties of honey keep your mouth fresh and free from harmful bacteria. It’s a sweet way to maintain your oral hygiene.
Sustainable Sweetness
By enjoying honeycomb, you’re also supporting sustainable beekeeping. Responsible beekeepers harvest honeycomb in a way that ensures the health and survival of the bee colonies. This means you can indulge in this natural delight knowing you’re contributing to the well-being of our planet’s crucial pollinators.
Culinary Creativity
Let’s not forget the culinary magic of honeycomb. Its unique texture and flavor make it a star ingredient in gourmet dishes. Spread it on warm toast, crumble it over cheese, or let it melt into your tea. The possibilities are endless, and every bite is an explosion of natural sweetness and texture.
In essence, honeycomb is more than just a sweet treat; it’s a healthful, versatile, and sustainable delight. So, next time you see that golden hexagonal treasure, don’t just admire it – eat it! Your body, your taste buds, and the bees will thank you.
The Verdict
So there you have it, folks. Raw honey and honeycomb isn’t just a sweet treat; it’s a versatile, powerful, and sustainable superfood. From boosting your immune system to pampering your skin and supporting our precious pollinators, raw honey is a golden gift from nature that deserves a spot in your pantry and your heart.
Grab a jar, savor its sweet symphony, and let raw honey work its magic. Your body, your taste buds, and the planet will thank you.
CABI, an international research group that identifies and solves problems for invasive pests in agriculture and forestry, has published a ‘Guide to the naturalized, invasive and potentially invasive plants of Socotra, Yemen,’ a place designated in 2008 a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site rich in flora and fauna not found anywhere else in the world.
The guide, written by Dr Arne Witt, CABI’s Invasives Coordinator, South, and co-authored by Ahmed Said Suleiman Abdullah, provides detailed descriptions of 50 invasive alien plant species, including more than 200 colour images, with information on their impacts and management.
The dragon blood tree, the socotra of Yemen
This includes the species the authors consider to be the biggest threat to biodiversity – mesquite (prosopis juliflora)and erect prickly pear (Opuntia stricta)– as well as the most widespread and abundant species on Socotra, the medicinal herb billy goat weed (Ageratum conyzoides) and Mexican poppy (Argemone mexicana).
‘Galapagos of the Indian Ocean’
The Socotra Archipelago, in the Northwest Indian Ocean is often referred to as the ‘Galapagos of the Indian Ocean.’ Of the ca. 850 plant taxa known from the archipelago, 37% are endemic, while 90% of its reptile species and 95% of its land snail species do not occur anywhere else on earth.
However, much of this unique diversity is threatened by Invasive Alien Species (IAS). To help raise awareness and build the capacity of people and organizations to manage IAS, CABI developed this field guide after working with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (Jordan).
The guide was funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) whose remit includes providing grants and finance for projects related to, amongst others, biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, sustainable forest management and food security.
Threatened by a host of factors
Dr Witt said, “The Socotra Archipelago is ranked among the richest island systems in the world in terms of biodiversity with a rich and distinct flora and fauna. Indeed, Socotra is among the top ten continental islands in the world in respect of botanical diversity alone.
“However, this extraordinary biodiversity is threatened by a host of factors including immigration, uncontrolled infrastructure development, poor governance at local and national level, over-use of the limited available natural resources (both marine and terrestrial) leading to increased land degradation, and plant and animal invasions.”
The authors say that several exotic species have been introduced to the Socotra Archipelago, either intentionally or accidentally, and are now widely established. Their impacts on Socotra are largely unknown but can be inferred from studies undertaken elsewhere. For instance, the black rat and brown rat are widely established and are known to have had dramatic impacts on island fauna and flora – having driven native species to extinction elsewhere.
Dr Witt and Ahmed Said Suleiman Abdullah added that there have been ongoing efforts to eradicate mesquite and erect prickly pear and the populations are low, but the seed bank, especially of mesquite, is a constant threat.
Another species, wild tobacco (Nicotiana glauca), has been eradicated, at least for now, the authors say. Other species, such as wild tamarind (Lysiloma latisiliquum) and Jerusalem thorn, are locally abundant. Then there are a few other species which they believe could become invasive in the future. In the guide, they include various species such as bush morning glory (Ipomoea carnea) and several Datura species.
Improving the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people
Co-author, Ahmed Said Suleiman Abdullah, said, “By managing invasive alien plants more effectively we will not only be contributing to biodiversity conservation, but also to improving the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people who depend directly on natural resources for their survival.”
The Guide, the authors say, will also contribute to Yemen meeting its obligations to various international agreements and treaties, such as the Convention on Biological Control (CBD). By managing IAS more effectively Yemen will also be facilitated in meeting many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Taofeg Abdulwahd Al-Sharjabi, Minister of Water and Environment, Yemen, said, “There is no doubt in my mind that this field guide will contribute significantly to our understanding and management of invasive alien plants in the Socotra Archipelago, and even more widely in the region. I thank all of the contributors and donors that made this possible.”
Saudi Arabia is no friend to the Houthi terror group that has been firing on Saudi Arabia over the past years. But the wealthy oil nation neighbor does want to see prosperity for the Yemeni people. Saudi Arabia has launched a project that will secure water using renewable energy so 1.7 million people in Yemen can access clean drinking water.
Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, has been facing a severe water crisis, with water being drawn from its aquifer three times faster than it is replenished. The city is predicted to run completely out of water by around 2030, making it the first national capital in the world to do so.
The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen has more than 229 active projects in 8 sectors, including education, health, water, transportation and agriculture.
The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) and the Selah Foundation for Development will work in the coastal areas and and valley of Hadhramaut, Yemen.
The project to enhance water security in Hadhramaut governorate aims to increase water resources through solar energy in nine districts on the coast and valley of Hadhramaut.
Adopting clean energy will reduce dependence on fuel in operating wells and reduce production costs. The project will also work to build the capabilities of workers in fields in terms of the use and operation of solar energy systems.
A solar tree at Masdar City is better replaced by a real tree.
A solar tree at Masdar City
It caused a sensation more than 10 years ago in Israel. An Israeli solar power integration company called Sologic envisions a different kind of tree for societies, the eTree. This concept “tree” solar energy sculpture they developed for social good is a hybrid station for the wayward urban traveller.
Sologic solar tree invented in Israel 10 years ago
Now Masdar City, an Abu Dhabi, UAE-based sustainability and innovation hub dedicated to making all cities a solution to climate change, has revealed a new installation called Solar Tree as its latest eco-friendly addition to its Eco Plaza.
Solar Tree was designed as an art piece to spark public engagement around sustainability practices. It is also an example of multi-purpose urban development. It mimics a natural tree, with its slender, asymmetric columns and 16 gently curved solar panels, providing a shaded seating area while also producing clean and renewable energy.
Featuring 16 bi-facial solar panels that capture sunlight from both sides, Solar Tree has a capacity of 50 kwh and feeds energy directly into the Abu Dhabi power grid. It stands at 5.5 meters tall and 10 meters wide.
The placement of Solar Tree was informed by a 2023 heat study of Masdar City. In collaboration with a start-up called FortyGuard, Masdar City collected six million data points using sensors and drones over a period of nine months.
These data points provided a thermal map of Masdar City and Eco-Plaza that identified zones of high heat that needed to be addressed. Other recent measures to address hot zones in Eco Plaza include new trees, shrubs, and turf, removal of dark paving, and water features.
When one thinks of the UAE or Dubai, we imagine gold plated Mercedes, gold bar vending machines and cheetahs in Porsches and on leashes. Yes, there is the over-the-top towering skyscrapers (where the poop is trucked out), opulent malls, and indoor skiing that make climate change activist cringe. Don’t be distracted by the nonsense: from rugged mountains to tranquil oases, the UAE is home to a diverse array of ecosystems that showcase the country’s rich biodiversity and offer a sanctuary for both wildlife and weary urbanites seeking solace in nature.
Here are five nature sites that stand out in the UAE:
Rising majestically on the outskirts of Al Ain, Jebel Hafeet stands as the UAE’s second tallest mountain, offering breathtaking vistas and a welcome respite from the desert heat. The winding road to its summit, flanked by rocky cliffs and arid landscapes, is a favorite among thrill-seeking cyclists and motorists alike. At the top, visitors are rewarded with panoramic views of the surrounding desert plains and the distant skyline of Al Ain city. Jebel Hafeet is also home to a wealth of biodiversity, with rare plant species and elusive wildlife thriving in its rugged terrain.
2. Hatta Pools:
Hatta Pools, UAE
Located in the Hajar Mountains near the border with Oman, the Hatta Pools are a series of natural rock pools fed by freshwater springs. Surrounded by craggy cliffs and verdant date palm plantations, these crystal-clear pools offer a refreshing escape from the desert heat. Visitors can swim, picnic, or simply soak in the serenity of this tranquil oasis. For the more adventurous, hiking trails meander through the surrounding mountains, offering glimpses of local wildlife and stunning vistas of the rugged landscape.
3. Sir Bani Yas Island:
Sir Bani Yas Island
A true gem of conservation in the Persian Gulf, Sir Bani Yas Island is a testament to the UAE’s commitment to preserving its natural heritage. Originally established as a private reserve by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the island is now home to a thriving population of indigenous wildlife, including Arabian oryx, gazelles, and ostriches. Visitors can go on guided wildlife safaris, kayak through mangrove forests, or simply unwind on pristine beaches. With luxurious eco-resorts offering unparalleled comfort amidst the wilderness, Sir Bani Yas Island is the perfect blend of luxury and adventure.
4. Al Wathba Wetland Reserve:
Al Wathba Wetland Reserve
In the vast desert plains east of Abu Dhabi, the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve is an oasis of biodiversity teeming with birdlife and aquatic species. Spanning over 5 square kilometers, the reserve comprises a network of lagoons, salt flats, and mudflats that provide vital habitat for migratory birds such as flamingos, herons, and terns. Visitors can explore the reserve on guided walking tours or birdwatching expeditions, immersing themselves in the sights and sounds of this vibrant wetland ecosystem.
5. Jebel Jais: Towering over the rugged landscape of Ras Al Khaimah, Jebel Jais is the highest mountain in the UAE, offering adrenaline-pumping adventures and awe-inspiring scenery. The recently opened Jebel Jais Flight – the world’s longest zipline – allows thrill-seekers to soar above the rocky ravines and terracotta cliffs at speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour. For those who prefer to keep their feet on solid ground, hiking trails traverse the mountain’s slopes, offering panoramic views of the surrounding valleys and distant coastline. As the sun sets behind the jagged peaks, Jebel Jais casts a spell of magic and wonder, inviting visitors to witness the beauty of the UAE’s natural wonders.
While the UAE may be renowned for its modern metropolises and extravagant luxury, its natural beauty is equally deserving of admiration and exploration. From the rugged mountains of Jebel Hafeet to the tranquil oases of Hatta, the UAE’s nature sites offer a glimpse into the country’s rich biodiversity and cultural heritage. If you only have a short stopover and want to catch a bit of nature, jump out and visit the nearby to the Abu Dhabi airport Falcon Hospital.
The wind farm is located 900 kilometers north of Riyadh in the Al Jouf region of north-western Saudi Arabia. The project is 51 per cent owned by EDF Renewables and 49 per cent by Masdar.
In recent years, the Middle East has emerged as a significant player in renewable energy, embracing the potential of wind power to diversify its energy mix and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Despite being synonymous with oil-rich landscapes, countries across the region are investing heavily in wind energy infrastructure, establishing some of the largest wind farms in the world. Here are the most notable wind projects in the Middle East.
Dumat Al Jandal Wind Farm, Saudi Arabia
The wind farm is located 900 kilometers north of Riyadh in the Al Jouf region of north-western Saudi Arabia. The project is 51 per cent owned by EDF Renewables and 49 per cent by Masdar.
Standing majestically in the northern deserts of Saudi Arabia, the Dumat Al Jandal Wind Farm is a true marvel of engineering. Boasting a capacity of 400 megawatts (MW), it is the largest wind farm in the Middle East. With 99 towering turbines supplied by GE Renewable Energy, this project is set to power around 70,000 homes and significantly reduce carbon emissions in the kingdom. The $500M USD project was commissioned by Saudi Aramco and delivered by the UAE’s Masdar and EDF from France.
Al Rajef Wind Farm, Jordan
Al Rajef Wind Farm
The Al Rajef Wind Farm is a testament to Jordan’s commitment to renewable energy. With a capacity of 117 MW, it comprises 34 turbines supplied by Vestas. Since its inauguration in 2019, it has been a vital contributor to Jordan’s efforts to diversify its energy mix and enhance energy security.
Al Marmoom Wind Farm, United Arab Emirates
Dubai, known for its skyscrapers and luxurious lifestyle, is also leading the charge towards sustainability with the Al Marmoom Wind Farm. This project, located in the expansive Al Marmoom desert, boasts a capacity of 100 MW. With 30 turbines supplied by Siemens Gamesa, it is a cornerstone of Dubai’s vision to become a global hub for clean energy.
Ma’an Wind Farm, Jordan
Ma’an Wind Farm
The Ma’an Wind Farm, situated in the Ma’an Governorate of southern Jordan, is another shining example of the region’s renewable energy ambitions. Operational since 2018, it has a capacity of 86 MW, comprising 27 turbines supplied by Vestas. This project underscores Jordan’s commitment to sustainable development and economic growth.
Gilboa Wind Farm, Israel
Gilboa Wind Farm
Israel, known for its innovation and technological prowess, is harnessing the power of the wind with the Gilboa Wind Farm. Located on the picturesque slopes of Mount Gilboa, this project is a beacon of Israel’s renewable energy aspirations. With a capacity of 169 MW, it is one of the largest wind farms in the country, contributing significantly to Israel’s clean energy goals and reducing its carbon footprint.
Tafila Wind Farm, Jordan:
Tafila wind farm
Located in the Tafilah Governorate of Jordan, the Tafila wind farm has been operational since 2015. With a capacity of 117 MW, it consists of 38 turbines supplied by Vestas. The Tafila Wind Farm plays a crucial role in Jordan’s efforts to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and meet its growing energy demands sustainably.
Alta’ir Wind Farm, Saudi Arabia:
Alta’ir Wind Farm, Saudi Arabia
Situated in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, the Alta’ir Wind Farm is one of the kingdom’s pioneering renewable energy projects. With a capacity of 50 MW, it comprises 16 turbines supplied by Vestas. Operational since 2020, the Alta’ir Wind Farm contributes to Saudi Arabia’s ambitious goals for renewable energy deployment and economic diversification.
Jbel Sendouq Wind Farm, Morocco:
The new Khalladi wind farm, which came into service in 2018, is located in Jbel Sendouq, 20 miles from the city of Tangier. With a capacity of 120 MW, it can supply energy to 400,000 people in Morocco.
While not geographically part of the Middle East, Morocco’s Jbel Sendouq Wind Farm (the Khalladi wind farm) is worth mentioning for its impact on renewable energy in North Africa. Situated near Tangier, this wind farm has a capacity of 115 MW, making it one of the largest in the region. Operational since 2020, it contributes significantly to Morocco’s renewable energy targets and efforts to mitigate climate change.
The wind farm was developed by ACWA Power in collaboration with ARIF investment fund, is the first private renewable energy project in the country. It has been developed under a renewable energy law that allows private producers to sell electricity directly to clients connected to the high voltage and medium voltage grid, mainly industrial companies.
Oman is planning the Harweel Wind Farm is a 199.4MW onshore wind power project. It is planned in Dhofar, Oman. According to GlobalData, who tracks and profiles over 170,000 power plants worldwide, the project is currently at the partially active stage.
Kuwait has 5 wind turbines installed: The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) has developed the innovative Shagaya Renewable Energy Project, which constitutes the first phase (Phase I) of an ambitious Master Plan to generate approximately 3.2GW at the Shagaya Renewable Energy Park.
Iran announced in 2023 that it will build wind farms of 3000MW. New sanctions for its support on terror will likely stall these ambitions. The Iranian regime is currently supporting terror groups such as the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas. New sanctions against them will stall growth in all sectors of its economy including renewables.
Despite being a global supplier of wind turbines, Vestas, the world’s number one wind turbine maker, said it swung to a 75-million-euro ($80-million) loss in the first quarter of this and warned “geopolitical volatility” would continue to cause uncertainty. Revenue fell 5.2 percent to 2.68 billion euros in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period a year earlier. Its net loss followed a net profit of 16 million euros in the first quarter of 2023.
Who are the leading wind turbine manufacturers?
Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, Goldwind, Nordex and Enercon.
The wind farm is located 900 kilometers north of Riyadh in the Al Jouf region of north-western Saudi Arabia. The project is 51 per cent owned by EDF Renewables and 49 per cent by Masdar.
The wind farm is located 900 kilometers north of Riyadh in the Al Jouf region of north-western Saudi Arabia. The project is 51 per cent owned by EDF Renewables and 49 per cent by Masdar.
The Dumat Al-Jandal wind farm with a capacity of 400MW, stands as a pioneering endeavor in Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy landscape in an ancient land. It’s Saudi Arabia’s first wind farm. At 400MW, it is the largest wind farm in the Middle East, displacing almost one million tonnes of CO2 annually.
Developed by a consortium led by EDF Renewables (51%) and Masdar (49%), with the client being Saudi Aramco this project not only marks the kingdom’s inaugural utility-scale wind power initiative but also ranks among the largest wind farms in the Middle East.
EDF Renewables (formerly EDF Renouvelables) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the French utility EDF Group, specializing in renewable energy production.
With an estimated investment totaling $500 million USD, construction started in August 2019 following the consortium’s attainment of financial closure in June 2019. The installation of the first turbines began in August 2020.
In August 2021, the initial phase of the wind farm successfully connected to the grid, marking the commencement of power generation, with full-scale commercial operations that started in 2022.
While the project’s primary aim is to harness wind energy for sustainable electricity generation, comprehensive environmental assessments have been integral to its development. Prior to construction, thorough evaluations were conducted to assess potential impacts on archaeology, avian and terrestrial fauna, and flora in the region.
These assessments aimed to mitigate any adverse effects and ensure the preservation of cultural heritage and biodiversity.
Dumat al Jandal archeology site
Three of the target species recorded within the development site are listed as ‘Endangered’ by the IUCN (2017); Egyptian vulture (six individuals), saker falcon (one individual) and steppe eagle (75 individuals, including constant effort survey records). Refined collision risk modelling predicted 0.77 collisions per year for steppe eagle, which is equivalent to a collision every 1.3 years. For Egyptian vulture and saker 0.10 and 0.01 collisions per year were predicted. No reports of danger to wildlife have been made since the wind farm started operating.
Situated in the Al Jouf region of north-western Saudi Arabia, approximately 900km north of Riyadh, the wind farm’s location atop a plateau offers optimal wind resources for efficient energy production. However, this region is also home to a diverse range of wildlife and ecosystems, necessitating careful consideration of environmental factors throughout the project’s lifecycle.
Key findings from environmental assessments highlighted the presence of archaeological sites of historical significance, as well as habitats supporting various species of birds, plants, and animals. To safeguard these assets, measures such as site delineation, monitoring, and mitigation strategies were implemented during construction and operational phases.
The wind farm’s core components include 99 units of Vestas’ V150-4.2MW wind turbines, each positioned to minimize disturbance to local ecosystems. Additionally, transmission infrastructure, including a 380kV overhead power line and associated equipment, was strategically designed to minimize environmental impact while ensuring efficient power transmission.
As the Dumat Al-Jandal wind farm emerges as a testament to sustainable development, it underscores the importance of integrating environmental considerations into renewable energy projects. By prioritizing environmental stewardship alongside energy production, this pioneering initiative sets a precedent for responsible development in the renewable energy sector.
Moderate Middle East energy countries understand the importance of green energy policies as fossil fuels will no longer be relevant in a climate-sensitive world. The United Arab Emirates renewable energy company Masdar and Bapco Energies from Bahrain will co-develop up to 2GW of wind projects in the Kingdom of Bahrain, both parties announced this week.
This is Masdar’s first energy foray in Bahrain, and it’s with the nation’s energy leader Bapco Energies. The agreement will focus on exploring the joint development of near-shore and offshore wind projects and will support the Kingdom of Bahrain’s National Energy Strategy target to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2030.
“As a global clean energy pioneer, Masdar will utilize its well-established expertise and track record in delivering wind energy projects globally, both onshore and offshore. It is a privilege to be supporting the Kingdom of Bahrain to achieve its net zero ambitions and power a more sustainable future,” says Masdar Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi.
“Today marks a significant milestone in Bapco Energies’ pathway towards sustainable energy development. Our partnership with Masdar demonstrates our commitment towards diversifying the Kingdom of Bahrain’s energy mix to include cleaner energy sources, underscoring our role as leaders in renewable energy development. This strategic collaboration signifies a bold step towards realizing the ambitions outlined in Bahrain’s National Energy Strategy, propelling us closer to our net-zero goals. Together, we will pave the way for a more sustainable and resilient future for generations to come,” says Bapco Energies Group Chief Executive Officer Mark Thomas.
Masdar has developed a number of landmark wind projects across the world, including the 400MW Dumat Al Jandal wind farm, the largest in the Middle East and the first in Saudi Arabia, the 630MW London Array offshore wind project in the United Kingdom which powers half a million British homes and the 103.5MW UAE Wind Program, which utilizes innovative technology to capture low wind speeds at utility scale.
Masdar is aiming for a renewable energy portfolio capacity of 100GW by 2030, as well as supporting the target set out in The UAE Consensus to triple global renewables capacity by the end of this decade, and aims to be a leading producer of green hydrogen by the same year.
Neste's SAF biofuel tested in Boeing Emirates flight in 2023
Neste’s SAF biofuel tested in Boeing Emirates flight in 2023
Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are alternative fuels derived from renewable sources that aim to reduce the carbon footprint of aviation. These fuels are produced from feedstocks like used cooking oil, algae, municipal waste, agricultural residues, and even carbon dioxide captured from industrial processes.
Unlike conventional jet fuels derived from crude oil, SAF can significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions because they either emit less carbon dioxide during combustion or are carbon-neutral.
“When Germany’s economic performance is anemic at best, denting its competitiveness with more taxes on aviation is policy madness. The government should be prioritizing measures to improve Germany’s competitive position and encouraging trade and travel. Instead, they have gone for a short-term cash-grab which can only damage the economy’s long-term growth,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the trade association for the world’s airlines, representing some 320 airlines or 83% of total air traffic. The trade group supports many areas of aviation activity and helps formulate industry policy on critical aviation issues.
The IATA says Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) could contribute around 65% of the reduction in emissions needed by aviation to reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. The largest acceleration is expected in the 2030s as policy support becomes global, SAF becomes competitive with fossil kerosene, and credible offsets become scarcer.
But “government policy has an instrumental role to play in the deployment of SAF. IATA encourages policies which are harmonized across countries and industries, while being technology and feedstock agnostic. Incentives should be used to accelerate SAF deployment,” says a statement from the IATA.
Several companies are actively involved in the research, development, and production of sustainable aviation fuels. Some prominent examples include:
Neste: A Finnish company known for its renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel production. Neste is one of the largest producers of SAF globally and has partnerships with various airlines and airports.
Gevo is a NASDAQ-traded US-based company that focuses on developing bio-based alternatives to petroleum-based products. They are actively working on producing SAF from renewable feedstocks such as corn, wood waste, and other sustainable sources.
Velocys is a British company specializing in sustainable aviation fuels and renewable diesel. They use gasification and Fischer-Tropsch technology to convert waste biomass into fuels suitable for aviation.
World Energy: This company, formerly known as AltAir Fuels, is based in the United States and produces renewable diesel and SAF from various feedstocks, including waste fats, oils, and greases.
Shell:While primarily known as an oil and gas company, Shell has been investing in renewable energy and alternative fuels, including sustainable aviation fuels. They are involved in various projects and partnerships aimed at developing SAF technologies.
SkyNRG: A Dutch company dedicated to developing and supplying sustainable aviation fuels. They collaborate with airlines, airports, and other stakeholders to promote the adoption of SAF in the aviation industry.
The NASDAQ-traded XCF. XCF Global aims to be a leading producer of SAFs with an initial annual production capacity of 38 million gallons following the acquisition of New Rise Renewables, which owns a flagship plant and adjacent site in Reno, Nevada.XCF will be the only pure-play public SAF producer in the US market, with competition mainly coming from legacy crude oil providers.
There is no regular power in Lebanon. People have turned to solar power.
Inflation often sounds like a bad thing, making young people worried that the future looks bleak as travel, food and restaurants become more expensive. But inflation can help individuals make more eco-friendly choices in various ways:
Solar Panels: Rising energy costs due to inflation can motivate people to invest in solar panels for their homes. With inflation driving up electricity bills, harnessing solar energy becomes a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative. Plus, it reduces reliance on fossil fuels, cutting down carbon emissions.
There is no regular power in Lebanon. People have turned to solar power.
Cooking at Home: As dining out becomes more expensive due to inflation, people may opt to cook at home more often. This not only saves money but also reduces the carbon footprint associated with the production and transportation of restaurant meals. By using locally sourced ingredients, individuals further contribute to sustainability by supporting local farmers and reducing emissions from food transportation.
Growing a Garden: Inflation-driven price hikes on fresh produce can inspire individuals to grow their own fruits and vegetables. Cultivating a garden at home not only provides access to organic, locally sourced produce but also reduces the need for grocery store trips, cutting down on transportation emissions. Additionally, composting kitchen scraps can further minimize waste and contribute to soil health.
Tel Chubez, a garden share in south Tel Aviv. Residents create coupons for contributing to the garden is areas such as composting and can redeem them for fresh food.
Tiny Homes: Escalating housing costs due to inflation can prompt people to consider downsizing to tiny homes or opting for more sustainable housing alternatives. Tiny homes require fewer resources to build and maintain, leading to reduced energy consumption and lower carbon emissions. Moreover, their smaller footprint encourages minimalist living and less material consumption.
A tiny home in nature
Spending Less: Inflation often leads to tighter budgets, prompting individuals to adopt more frugal lifestyles. This can translate into conscious consumption habits, such as buying fewer disposable products and investing in higher-quality, longer-lasting items. By reducing overall consumption, people lessen their environmental impact by generating less waste and consuming fewer resources.
Buy things that last. Reupholster furniture.
Inflation can indirectly promote eco-friendly behavior by encouraging individuals to seek alternative, sustainable solutions to mitigate rising costs. From harnessing renewable energy to embracing self-sufficiency through gardening and minimalism, economic pressures can spur environmentally conscious choices that benefit both individuals and the planet.
Tomatoes growing at RedSea farms, Saudi Arabia. The country is investing in low-energy crop production.
The term “climateflation” means the intertwined challenges of climate change and inflation. This phenomenon poses significant threats to economies worldwide, and the countries of the Middle East are no exception. From resource depletion to extreme weather events, the region faces unique risks exacerbated by the dual forces of climate change and inflation. In this article, we look at the impact of climateflation on Middle Eastern nations, highlighting key risks and proposing potential solutions.
Saudi Arabia: Oil Dependency Under Threat
Tomatoes growing at RedSea farms, Saudi Arabia. The country is investing in low-energy crop production.
Biggest Risks and Problems: Saudi Arabia, heavily reliant on oil revenues, faces the dual challenge of declining oil prices due to shifts towards renewable energy and the inflationary pressures driving up costs domestically. The country’s economy is vulnerable to the volatility of global oil markets and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and dust storms.
Possible Solutions: Diversification of the economy away from oil, investment in renewable energy sources like solar power, and implementing sustainable water management strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change. It is trying through its investment in alternative areas of energy (hydrogen – see ACWA) and tourism (Neom) to bring Saudi into the 21st century.
United Arab Emirates: Vulnerability of Coastal Infrastructure
The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world and cost $130 billion to make but it is not connected to Dubai’s sewage system and so every day a platoon of trucks queue up to remove its poo
Biggest Risks and Problems: As a nation with a significant portion of its population and infrastructure located along the coast, the UAE is particularly susceptible to rising sea levels and extreme weather events. Inflationary pressures further strain the government’s ability to invest in climate adaptation measures and infrastructure resilience.
Water availability, urban heat island effect, and energy use are major concerns shared by desert cities around the world.
Biggest Risks and Problems: Qatar’s arid climate and limited freshwater resources make it highly vulnerable to water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change. Inflation compounds the challenges faced by the agricultural sector, which relies heavily on imported food due to limited domestic production capacity.
Possible Solutions: Implementation of water conservation measures, investment in desalination technology, and promotion of drought-resistant crops to enhance food security. See Doha’s agriculture convention.
Kuwait: Energy Intensive Economy at Risk
A cars diving in a main street in Kuwait city as a sandstorm hits Kuwait.
Biggest Risks and Problems: Kuwait’s energy-intensive industries, including oil refining and petrochemicals, contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation. Inflationary pressures drive up production costs, posing challenges to the country’s economic competitiveness in the global market.
Possible Solutions: Transitioning towards renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency in industrial processes, and diversifying the economy to reduce dependence on oil revenues.
Iran: Environmental Degradation and Socioeconomic Impacts
Biggest Risks and Problems: Iran faces a multitude of environmental challenges, including air and water pollution, deforestation, and soil degradation. Climate change exacerbates these issues, leading to adverse effects on public health and exacerbating social inequalities. Inflation further strains government resources, hindering efforts to address environmental degradation. Women’s rights and an Islamic regime makes it impossible for environmental voices to speak. Those that try are killed or put in jail.
Possible Solutions: Strengthening environmental regulations and enforcement, investing in clean energy technologies, and promoting sustainable agriculture practices to mitigate the impacts of climate change and inflation. Strenthening women’s rights and freedom of expression.
Climateflation presents a complex and multifaceted challenge for Middle Eastern economies, requiring concerted efforts from governments, businesses, and civil society to address effectively. By prioritizing sustainable development, investing in climate adaptation measures, and diversifying their economies, countries in the region can navigate the dual threats of climate change and inflation while ensuring long-term prosperity and resilience.
Turkey, the only country in the world that is partly in Europe and mostly in Asia is suffering from drastic inflation. Reuters reports that Turkey’s inflation rose this year to almost 70%, with strong increases in the prices of hotels, education and restaurants.
According to the Turkish Statistical Institute month-on-month, consumer price inflation was 3.18% in April compared with 3.16% in March.
As we see in Lebanon with inflation spiraling out of control, people return to the basics. Solar energy installations are now becoming essential for surviving rolling blackouts and people skip the restaurants and make healthier food at home. The ongoing war between the Ukraine and Russia is one of the reasons that the global economy is out of whack. Even in stable countries like Canada, young people say they are no longer able to afford the cost of rent. Buying a house is out of the question.
What news organizations fail to talk about is climateflation, the significant rise in prices triggered by the impact of climate change, as extreme weather events. The most classic and typical example is the increase in food prices, where we see prices go up due to fewer goods being produced as a result of a reduction in agricultural activity and damage to crop yields.
Positive Money, an EU NGO explains that central banks must acknowledge the existence of fossilflation and climateflation, and adapt their policymaking accordingly.
Turkey is no stranger to climateflation: Droughts and heatwaves are the main hazards due to the climate of Turkey getting hotter. The temperature has risen by more than 1.5 °C (2.7 °F), and there is more extreme weather. Lake Marmara has completely dried out; a lawsuit ongoing in 2024 alleges that there is not enough rainfall for upstream irrigation dams. Meanwhile Turkey is dead set on the idea that nuclear energy is clean energy.
Lake Wenchi is a paradise on earth. But a new eco resort could ruin it all.
Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia has a lot to see and do in terms of local culture, markets, and nightlife – if you can handle urban pollution from cars and trucks. We arrived Friday morning, and by afternoon, I was choking on the smoke from cars and trucks without catalytic converters.
The capital city of Africa hosts the Mercato, the largest open-air market in Africa, and it will make your head spin. Thousands of people and cars, carrying mattresses, carpets, clothes, hats, electronics, water bottles for recycling, dresses, and food, weave in and out in every direction, risking their lives between the cars. We took an hour or two to visit a fraction of it by car, jumping out if we wanted to buy something along the way. While I hadn’t read much about the security situation in Ethiopia, my senses said it was better to stay in the car with the kids.
Lake Wenchii rowboat
If you find yourself in Addis Ababa for a few days, first of all, find a guide and driver (you can message me, and I will connect you to mine); it’s recommended to go out of the city on day trips. There are a number of volcanic lakes to explore, and on two day trips we visited, there were no other foreign tourists on the lakes we explored. Our guide spoke English and was able to determine what roads were safe. He negotiated things we wanted to buy in the local currency and overall made our stay more than pleasant. Amanuel felt like family.
We chose Wenchi Lake, a nature reserve that includes a volcanic lake, Lake Wenchi, about 3,450 meters (11,320 ft) above sea level. We drove about 4 hours to get there. Could this be the actual spot that is known as the cradle of humanity? It looked like heaven.
The inactive volcano lake has islands and an ancient church from the 14th century, a popular tourist destination. We arrived during a downpour and were reluctant to get out, but the clouds cleared over. It was a bit of heaven, its scale enough to hold in your mind.
The hours we drove to get there passed through endless villages and dusty savannah, but Wenchi was its own heaven, home to about 90,000 people, all Christian. A local warden took us to an office, and we registered for the park.
Eco resort, Lake Wenchi, built by Ethiopian Airlines
Noticeable from a lookout point overseeing the lake was a new so-called eco-resort, not yet operating, but built by Ethiopian Airlines. With so little developed for local people in Ethiopia, we wonder how the opening of this resort will affect local dynamics and its fragile ecosystem.
Warqee (also known as ensete) is by far the most important staple crop in the area, and our guide pointed out the “banana” like trees, of which they eat the seed, he explains.
We drove down to the almost-open eco-resort being worked on by dozens of people, and where we were supposed to meet our horses to take us to the lake, but only one was available. We returned to the car for a new meeting point close to the lake.
I was reluctant to take the horses as the newly paved road and the horses’ hooves would mean it would be dangerous for the horse and its rider. The kids jumped on, and then my “guide”, a five-year-old kid, suggested I jump on his horse, and he gently escorted me and my horse down the lake.
Lake Wenchi island
Some locals were swimming in the lake, and luckily for us, we weren’t tempted. Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is a disease caused by parasitic worms and is common in Ethiopia. But I’d only read about that later when we returned home.
But we weren’t thinking about these things as we were rowed to the quiet island where we met a monk who has been there for 14 years, guarding the church and a small temple that is supposed to symbolize Bethlehem.
The boat we took was paddled to the island by 4 local men from the village of Wenchi.
Our guide Amanuel told us of the first Ethiopian horror movie he saw as a young man featuring the white building on the island. I wanted to go over and peek in.
Wenchi in this 2006 Amharic horror film:
He told us about the priests who planted trees on the island hundreds of years ago and how locals come for school trips and festivals and enjoy the island. I collected some large seeds from a type of eucalyptus tree I haven’t seen before.
We walked quietly around the island, feeling the nature of the place. Our boatmen then took us around the island, and we returned to a mud house serving as a cafe and community center. A party had started with young people listening to music, drinking beer, the Muslim friends sipping on Fanta. Two-thirds of Ethiopia is Christian, the other third Muslim.
While we noticed no tensions between the two groups during our time there, if you read the news, flare-ups are not uncommon. Our guide checked the news regularly to make sure our roads were safe.
Wenchi is a great idea for a family day trip in Ethiopia. The locals all smiled at us as we drove and walked around, although there was some fighting over who was going to take us back up the mountain on the horses.
There is no consensus on who gets to work with locals when they arrive, and the local young men seem troubled that others got work and they didn’t.
Ethiopia Airline eco resort for Lake Wenchi. Not yet open.
I expressed to our guide that once the resort is open, the fighting over tourism might become worse. He said that he spoke with them about creating a system for each guide and that the elders already decided against motorized boats on the lake. We spoke about plastics, noise, and what happens when too many people are on the lake. What’s great about this “heaven” is that there aren’t many people.
The monk who has lived on Lake Wenchii Island for 14 years. He protects the church. Rings the bell.
Going to visit Ethiopia for a few days was humbling and exciting. We’d arrived from Japan, one of the richest countries on earth, to Ethiopia –– one of the poorest. When it comes to happiness, I can’t say for sure, but the Ethiopians smiled a lot more,
Ethiopia, the only African country to have escaped European colonialism, has retained much of its authentic, ancient cultural identity and is considered by many to be the cradle of humanity: Lucy was one of the first hominin fossils found in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is also considered one of the earliest sites of the emergence of anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens.
Traditional Wenchii boat. No longer used.
If we acknowledge this, the world should do a better job of supporting Ethiopia in developing itself in industry, agriculture and tourism. China is an obvious partner in Ethiopia for its own reasons. We’d like to see more involvement from democratic nations helping the good people of Ethiopia, a landlocked country, develop its future.
Consider the intricate interdependence between Egypt and Ethiopia, where Egypt’s economic stability hinges significantly on developments in Ethiopia. Ethiopia serves as the primary source of water and sediment for the Nile, contributing 90% of the water flow and 96% of transported sediment, notably through the Blue Nile and other tributaries like the Tekezé and Atbarah. Ethiopia’s ambitious plan to intermittently dam the Nile for power generation purposes adds a layer of complexity to the situation.
Monks and priests buried on the island
The longstanding dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile has spanned twelve years, creating a volatile situation. Any decision by Ethiopia to disrupt the Nile’s flow to Egypt could quickly escalate tensions. Positioned just 19 miles (30 km) from Sudan’s border, GERD stands as Africa’s most extensive hydroelectric dam endeavor, stretching over a mile in length and reaching a height of 145 meters.
Creation of the GERD dam
Ethiopia’s motivation behind GERD lies in its aspiration to provide electricity to the 60% of its population currently devoid of access. The project aims to potentially double Ethiopia’s electricity production, offering a reliable power supply to businesses and fostering developmental growth. Yet, the project’s implications extend far beyond Ethiopia’s borders, impacting neighboring countries like Egypt and Sudan and sparking concerns about water security and regional stability.
Tel Chubez, a garden share in south Tel Aviv. Residents create coupons for contributing to the garden is areas such as composting and can redeem them for fresh food.
Tel Chubez, a garden share in south Tel Aviv. Residents create coupons for contributing to the garden is areas such as composting and can redeem them for fresh food.
Tel Aviv–Jaffa is constantly growing with massive construction and infrastructure projects. Preserving urban nature and connecting residents to it, maintaining and increasing the quality of life in this intense urban growth are significant challenges. The south Tel Aviv Shapira neighbourhood is located has been identified as a vulnerable neighbourhood in the climate change era dealing with more extreme heat waves and potential floods.
Meet Tel Chubez, an urban agricultural farm located in the Shapira operating on principles of a circular economy. This vacant city land was transformed three years ago into a farm, providing residents with a green, productive space within the city, increasing wellness and access to fresh and healthy food while strengthening community resilience and increasing biodiversity.
The initiative was led by activists who engaged the municipality and local businesses. The vision to connect people to the land, the environment and each other exceeded expectations. Residents and businesses separate their organic waste and deliver it to community composting sites. In exchange, they receive ‘Lira Shapira,’ a local currency accepted at neighbourhood businesses, community centres, individual freelance, and more.
The residents can buy fresh vegetables growing at Tel Chubez with Lira Shapira. The compost returns to the farm to enrich the soil and plants. The farm, occupying four dunams, is being maintained by city employees, Lira Shapira NGO and volunteers. The cultivation method incorporates principles from permaculture and Biodynamics without any pesticides, focusing on growing local species following the seasons and a variety of over 60 fruit trees and local wildflowers that create an ecological system and habitat for birds and insects.
The farm includes workshop plots where courses and training sessions are held to transfer the practices to participants’ yards to improve biodiversity and attract butterflies and honeybees.
Tel Chubez became a green anchor for residents, plants and animals within a relatively short time. A model for collaboration internally in the municipality and externally with non-profits and businesses working together to build a new nature-based platform where environmental, social, economic and health positively impact.
The Green Paths to Future initiative in Dubai spans about 10 miles and stands as a groundbreaking eco-project to redefine Dubai’s urban landscape, spearheading a transformational change in sustainability, liveability and climate resilience.
Dubai’s Green Paths to Future initiative was conceived to address the pressing challenges of rapid urbanisation causing desertification, urban heat islands and high energy consumption. Desertification leads to arable land loss and biodiversity decline. Urban heat islands worsen scorching temperatures, impacting health and increasing cooling energy use. Some sources say that over the next century cities such as Dubai may become unlivable as they will be too hot to sustain human life.
Industrial areas add air pollution, heat emissions, greenhouse gases and water stress. They disrupt habitats, worsen air quality and strain resources. For Expo 2020, Dubai planted over twenty thousand trees, covering 2.3 million m2, mitigating desertification, enhancing air quality and reducing soil erosion. Addressing industrial impact was crucial for a sustainable Expo and a better Dubai.
We’d like to see more trees planted. Although the Dutch company Airshades is a low-energy idea to provide shade for residents in Dubai, natural cover by trees will be better for beauty, climate change, and overall health.
Trees provide roots systems to absorb water that can dampen the effects of unprecedented, torrential rainfalls that put parts of the United Arab Emirates underwater last week, bringing Dubai to a standstill.
Airshades at Masdar City outside of Dubai
Green paths and tree planting mean sustainable, accessible green pathways that offer residents and visitors an enhanced quality of life while combating the urban heat island effect, boosting air quality, and fostering a more vibrant urban environment.
The initiative’s design draws from innovative strategies. It incorporates sustainable landscaping with drought-resistant plant species, integrates modular elements for adaptability, and employs intelligent irrigation systems for efficient water usage. The project is a balance of large infrastructure insertion in a city fabric blended with the landscape to balance and enhance a sustainable design approach.
The results of the Green Paths to Future initiative are both measurable and remarkable. Over 20,000 trees were planted, and more than four million seedlings are strategically placed around roadsides leading to the Expo 2020 venue, effectively creating a new green urban landscape. Beyond its aesthetic impact, the initiative has tangibly improved air quality and introduced sustainable urban mobility solutions.
With Expo 2020 Dubai being a catalyst, the initiative has addressed immediate challenges and created a legacy that contributes to Dubai’s long-term goals. The collaborative effort between governmental bodies, private sector stakeholders and the community showcases Dubai’s commitment to holistic sustainability. The initiative’s success has attracted global events like the UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP28), highlighting its impact on the City’s international standing.
Moreover, our landscape projects have a profound impact across social, economic and environmental domains, backed by air quality tests for quantifiable data. Socially, green enhancements improve air quality, enhancing public health and fostering community interaction, enriching the quality of life for all.
Economically, these projects raise property values, attracting tourism and commerce, bolstering local businesses, and reducing healthcare costs through improved air quality, leading to sustained economic growth. Environmentally, our initiatives combat air pollution, sequester carbon and mitigate urban heat islands, aligning with climate goals and enhancing biodiversity.
These projects align with Dubai’s 2040 Urban Master Plan, UAE’s UN Sustainable Development Goals, and national sustainability agendas, positioning Dubai as a pioneering green city.
According to a new Science paper, things are going to get progressively worse for China.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are sinking, with one-quarter of China’s coastal land expected to slip below sea level in coming decades.
The land subsidence could affect hundreds of millions of people.
Researchers say a range of natural and human factors are to blame, including the depth of a city’s bedrock, groundwater depletion, the weight of buildings, the use of transport systems and underground mining.
When combined with rising sea-levels owing to climate change, the potential impact is “terrifying”, says geophysicist Wei Meng. The report was published in Science.
One in ten residents of China’s coastal cities could be living below sea level within a century, as a result of land subsidence and climate change, according to a paper published in Science today.
With China as the “factory” of the world, and unrestrained use of resources such as land, rivers, water, people, can we expect anything else?
Some 16% of the mapped area of China’s major cities is sinking “rapidly” — faster than 10 millimetres every year. An even greater area, roughly 45%, is sinking at a “moderate” rate, the paper says, meaning a downward trajectory of greater than 3 mm annually. Affected cities include the capital Beijing, as well as regional capitals, including Fuzhou, Hefei and Xi’an.
The situation could see one-quarter of China’s coastal lands slip below sea level within a few decades, posing “serious threats” to the hundreds of millions of people who live on the coast, the paper notes.
How many leading environmentalists like Canada’s David Suzuki have stopped flying to reduce their personal greenhouse gas emissions? He could just donate offsets and plant some trees. But aware consumers know that carbon offsets for flying a private jet or globe-trotting is controversial. The best way to travel sustainably is by reducing one’s carbon footprint from the source, which is why SAFs –– or sustainable aviation fuels made from biofuels –– have been so appealing in energy markets.
US-based XCF Global Capital, is poised to make significant strides in bolstering America’s SAFs industry with its latest move towards a going public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
Global Aviation Biofuel SAF Industry Research Report in 2024 estimates the market to reach $51.23 billion USD by 2028.
“At XCF, we see tremendous growth potential from SAF and renewables. We are very bullish on the sector,” said Mihir Dange, CEO of XCF Global. “We live in an exciting time with so many compelling green energy platforms racing to reduce the globe’s carbon footprint.”
XFC Global Capital
“We are in the very beginning stages of SAF in the United States and XCF is committed to being a leader in this space. Our goal is to change the world for the better while delivering world class returns. We welcome strategic relationships and discussions with all the carriers in this industry and look forward to further defining this landscape.”
Consider that US airlines such as Delta plan on replacing 10% of its jet fuel with SAFs by 2030, while United plans to purchase 10 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel over the next two years. European energy companies and Middle East oil and gas companies are already in the market: Emirates Airline and Neste, a Finnish oil refining company, are supplying over 3 million gallons of blended Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel this year through to 2025 as part of a pilot.
XCF Global aims to be a leading producer of SAFs with an initial annual production capacity of 38 million gallons following the acquisition of New Rise Renewables, which owns a flagship plant and adjacent site in Reno, Nevada.
XCF will be the only pure-play public SAF producer in the US market, with competition mainly coming from legacy crude oil providers.
What exactly is SAF?
Neste’s SAF biofuel tested in Boeing Emirates flight in 2023
Sustainable aviation fuel is synthetic kerosene derived from non-food feedstocks such as waste oils and fats, green and municipal waste and non-food crops. SAF is able to recycle CO2 absorbed by biomass during its lifetime rather than injecting new carbon into the system, reducing emissions by up to 80%. It easily integrates with existing aviation infrastructure.
The market and appetite for SAFs is growing in the US: In September 2021, the US Government launched the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge, a partnership between the U.S. Departments of Energy, Transportation, Agriculture, and others to achieve full decarbonization in aviation by 2050. The aim is to scale up the production of SAF to 35 billion gallons per year by 2050, with an interim goal of at least three billion gallons per year by 2030.
While it sounds like a dream of Daryl Hannah driving her El Camino by recycled chip truck oil back in 2003, the idea of biofuels from plants or biowaste isn’t far-fetched at all: Studies by McKinsey and The Vacationer note that 40% of consumers are willing to pay 2% more for carbon-neutral tickets, amounting to an average of $20 per $1,000 round-trip. About 80% of consumers say sustainable travel is important to them.
With an estimated billion passengers expected to travel by 2050, the demand for SAFs will be extraordinary and XCF seeks to address the aviation industry’s burgeoning demand with an initial production capacity of 38 million gallons in 2024 and anticipates expanding to over 150 million gallons per year within the next 5 years – positioning the company to be a leading producer of SAF in North America.
XCF Global is based in New York and owns multiple facilities in North America. The company expects to rapidly scale by acquiring more strategically located, smaller-footprint sites and quickly converting them into SAF production facilities.
XCF recently acquired two strategic locations in Wilson, North Carolina and Ft. Myers, Florida. As blended fuel, XCF could produce over 200 million gallons of jet ready SAF from each of these four sites, or altogether nearly one billion gallons of blended SAF per year.
XCF recently announced a definitive business combination agreement to merge with Focus Impact BH3 Acquisition Co. (Nasdaq: BHAC), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, which is expected to result in a newly formed holding company of XCF becoming publicly-listed. Read more about the opportunity here.
Chocolate these days is taking an other-worldly position on the grocery store shelves (and online) and there are many reasons why we revere the fermented fruit of the cacao tree. Plenty of small-batch companies now offer low-sugar, high percentage organic cacao in their chocolate. Some gives us a break mid-day and some like a sage or a mystic offer us gentle passage to knowing our higher selves. That’s what I have derived from attending a cacao ceremony.
Like a chip off the old chocolate block, the Dr. Bronner’s brand we know and adore for its biodegradable castile soap, is now in the chocolate business. And like other brands we love –– such as Nature’s Path –– is making a commitment to regenerative farming. In bar form –– regeneratively farmed chocolate.
When Dr. Bronner’s headquarters asked us to review their chocolate, we called on the biggest chocolate expert we know –– Raven Littleone for the expert testing. She guards a monastery of sacred water in a forest in Nipissing, Ontario. Some say hers is among the most sacred and ancient water in the world. Kings and queens and me and everything in between have made the pilgrimage to her place. The people who appreciate this fact and who also make fine chocolate today are Raven’s friends and neighbors, popping in with bags of ChocoSol (Toronto) and Sacred Heart Chocolate (David Wolfe, USA).
A courier walked down to her off-grid cabin, powered only by the sun with a box of ALL-One Bronner’s chocolates. Here is Raven’s rave review:
Raven Littleone (center), Gnomeland, Ontario with Gabriel and Auzzie
“Like anything magic, Dr Bronner’s MAGIC All-One Chocolate bar begs to be experienced with that thrill, that excitement, of what dares such name! Reading Dr Bronner’s labels on any of his products, both inside and out, may require a capacity to decipher ancient texts… if one can wait that long just to take a bite.
“The scent that wafted out as I ripped it open was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t know salt had a scent. The balance between salt, coconut sugar, and bourbon vanilla bean with a buttery taste felt just right; without the cacao overpowering the mouth. The taste kept on going even though I sipped kombucha in between.
“The magic may be in the satisfaction one gets after two or three pieces of Dr Bronner’s organic cacao… a multi-sensory feel good, healthy food for the brain.”
Dr. Bronner’s Magic All-One Chocolate pairs world-class Swiss chocolatiers with fairly-treated cocoa farmers practicing regenerative organic agriculture to create a delicious dark chocolate. They sell a 6-pack in the flavors: Salted Whole Almonds, Salted Almond Butter, Crunchy Hazelnut Butter, Roasted Whole Hazelnuts, Salted Dark Chocolate, Smooth Coconut Praline — and vegan, almond milk versions too as Creamy Mocha Latte, Golden Milk Chai & Crunchy Hazelnut Butter.
We know the Dr. Bronner’s brand from the 90s when a friend had a bottle of castile soap in his shower. Mesmerized by the text, I’d go on to learn that the founder of the company –– Emanuel Bronner –– was a Holocaust survivor, who needed to spread the idea of unity and peace and that all religions should unite as one. Yeah, the text was unorthodox, but deeply refreshing compared to the sanitized industrial products I’d known like Irish Spring, or the Dove soap that my parents kept in their shower.
Peter Steele, Raven Littleone
When I met Raven’s late husband Peter Steele –– the one who started speaking up for raw water in Canada, I knew I was meeting a Bronner-like entity whose wisdom and sparks of IN-sanity do heal the planet. Can a sip of spring water from Peter and Raven’s forest heal the world? I believe it can and that’s why so many are drawn to that place. Can a bite of Dr. Bronner’s ALL-ONE chocolate ignite the powers of the world to unite as one? Stranger things have happened. Let’s try!
As Bronner once said: “You are the captain of thy ship! The master of thy soul!
18 resolutions from Dr. Bronner’s original soap label – 18 means “life” in gematria
Dr. Bronner holding a bottle of castile soap
Under one Eternal Father, I must teach friend & Enemy the full truth Moral ABC to unite all mankind free in One-God-Faith.
To get it all done: A Beast can only listen to its friend! A Human Being must teach-love his Enemy or that being is not yet human!
A shark can only love its friend. Lacking frontal lobes, it must avoid-fear-smear-hate-slander-dominate-dictate-distort-destroy anything it does not know, understand or disagrees with. That’s a shark. But a Human Being possessing the Kingdom of God’s Law, the Essene Moral ABC of the FREE within his frontal lobes, works hard to teach friend & enemy the Moral ABC, otherwise that being is not yet human.
A Human Being is a constructive working scientist who knows, loves, follows, teaches Full Truth, God’s Law, to all of God’s Children, friend & Enemy, otherwise that being is not yet Human! Exceptions? None!
The moment any being follows, tolerates or teaches earthen half-gods or half-truisms, that moment he becomes a godless, intolerant Beast, potentially 10 times more dangerous & destructive than any ordinary Shark-Snake-Rat or Panther!
If we really want Brotherhood-Progress-Peace, not war, we must not only listen to the neighbor whom we choose, but also to the one God sends! Otherwise we’re still Beasts, not yet Human! Exceptions eternally? Absolutely None! Jesus’ Manual of Discipline, out of the mouth of subway-builder Nikita Khrushchev, April ’56, London, England
“WE MUST TEACH LOVE OUR ENEMY OR PERISH! BEASTS TEACH ONLY THEIR FRIENDS!” But after 2,000 years it never got done! The godless beasts still disapproved! Result? These tremendous 13 words never got printed! Because the brilliant 48-year-young Rabbi Joshua Loth Liebman’s book Peace of Mind was distorted after he dropped dead! Diagnosis? “Sudden heart attack!” Exactly as suffered by Rabbi Jesus, Spinoza, Thomas Paine, Samuel Friedman, Steiner-Prag and Rabbi Leo Baeck: 6 & 66 million “sudden heart attacks,” murders caused by us godless intolerant Beasts.
Always we’re our Brother’s Teacher of hardworking full truth uniting One-God-State or we decay being his Keeper by unworkable half-true intolerant hate!
He who risks his life teaching friend & Enemy the Moral ABC uniting all mankind free wins Eternal Life! He who does less than that perishes by half-truth strife.
I am the Son of God and so are you! I am the manifestation of God’s Eternal Law & so are you! I have learned great wonders: you shall learn greater wonders! I have done good work! You shall do better work! I have not come to change God’s Law, but we each came to find-follow-fulfill, print-protect-practice-preach-teach & enjoy it! Therefore, build you 1st the Kingdom of God’s Eternal Law within you, that is, memorize the Essene Moral ABC of the Free, All-One-Faith-in-One-God-State! To never yield to half-true hate! And everything you need shall be added unto you! Search & you shall find! Knock & it shall be opened! Sow & you shall reap! Work hard & you shall create! Speak up – don’t be afraid! Ask & you shall receive! But remember, only those enjoy Eternal Life in our all-embracing Father’s Kingdom that had the courage to teach friend & Enemy the Moral ABC to unite all free! Eternally One, All-One! Exceptions? None! These are the great Peace-winning teachings of the Manual of Discipline by the carpenter, the great Rabbi Jesus! Thanks to Mohammed’s Arab 1948-found Essene Scrolls, thank only God for that! But now came unto Jesus, the Disciple; his own Sisters & Brothers to say, “It is insane what does he say! Let’s put him away!” And answered he to survive free:
“Who are my Sisters & my Brothers? Only those that seek with me to teach full truth, the Moral ABC uniting all mankind free in One-God-State! Free of half-true hate! Those are my Sisters & Brothers! Others I know not!” But now his Disciples asked, “Then why, why are we God-loving Children of the great African shepherd Israel persecuted more than any other people! Why? Why? Why?” And answered he:
“God bless the persecuted! They alone are His chosen people! For those apes that did not suffer from persecution remained apes! Only those that worked hard to overcome untold centuries of Barbaric ice-aged persecution, reluctantly became Human Beings! Much, much too reluctantly! Exceptions? Absolutely None!”
To stay free: Only that full truth we have the courage to teach & give & give, can we enjoy to keep, evolve & live & live! Whatever we try to give at our death bed or take along, it absolute certain soon is gone! Exceptions eternally? None!
Let him who is without fault throw the first stone, for only God is always perfect! Judge no man unless you have walked in his shoes! So when your fellow man you measure, take him at his best! With that lever lift him higher, overlook the rest! But remember, unless a man knows the Moral ABC of the Free, none can help him to survive brave-free!
Let him who does not want to work with his hands, not eat with his hands either!
Put Father’s discipline, put God’s Law back at the head of your family, or you have no family-nation-team! Remember, every organization is the shadow of one constructive man or there is no organization, no construction, no man!
Self-disciplined timing is the skeleton of your intellect, the key to freedom, the basis of happiness, the foundation of Brotherhood! Without it, the most brilliant head remains useless-ineffective-small!
From every power enchains, each man can only free himself as self-control he gains! Therefore, he who conquers himself, conquers more than he who conquers the largest city!
THE MORAL ABC, INTRODUCED BY KIPLING’S “IF” & SOAPMAKER BRONNER
If you can keep your head, when all about you are losing theirs & blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, or being hated, don’t give way to hating! And yet don’t look too good nor talk too wise: If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters just the same; If you can bear to hear the full truth that you have spoken, twisted by crooks to make a trap for fools; Or watch the things you have given your life to, broken, and yet stoop to build them up again with worn-out tools; If you can make one heap of all your winnings, and risk it at one turn of pitch or toss; And lose and start again at your beginnings and never breathe a word about your loss! If you can force your heart, your nerve, our sinew, to serve you long after they are gone, and so hold on although there is nothing left within you, except that voice which says to them: “Hold on! Hold on! “ If you can talk to crowds & keep your virtue; or walk with Kings—nor lose that common touch; If neither loving friend nor enemy can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much! Then, if you can work hard to teach each unforgiving minute the Moral ABC that unites all mankind free, come hell, hate, ban, you’ll enjoy God’s Spaceship Earth & do great work within it! And which is more you’l help unite the human race in Astronomy’s great All-One-God-Faith! For we’re All-One of None! Sure, they say: “East is East & West is West & never the twain shall meet!” But there is neither East nor West, nor border, breed nor birth once the Moral ABC unites all mankind free on God’s Spaceship Earth! Then, and only then, no matter how rough the trip, how charged with punishment the scroll, you are the captain of thy ship! The master of thy soul!
For who else but God gave man this sensors passion, love that can spark mere dust to life?! Beauty, in our Eternal father’s fashion, ecstasy—far above earthly greediness & strife! Poetry, uniting All-One, All-Brave, All-Life!
Who else but God can make love last, one trillion years of sweet eternities?! For when conquered after years of hardworking absolute cleanliness, toil, sweat, blood, love can strike like greased lightning sent by God to spark mere dust to intense blazing fire and create new love, faith-hope-guts-strength as only God inspires, create the unity of the human race in Astronomy’s Eternally Tremendous, All-One-God-Faith, as all mankind desires! Bronner’s Lavender Soap quart poem teaches ‘How to love’ uniting all-one above! Above! Who else but God!
I’m wild about asparagus. But I never expected to find wild asparagus growing close to – and even in – urban areas near home. But it does, and I’ve found it growing freely in parks and hillsides in the cooler hilly areas of Israel. Some have reported foraging wild asparagus even around Tel Aviv.
The late Leda Meredith, foraging expert and author, showed me a tall, thorny bush growing in a Jerusalem park, and casually identified it as asparagus. I was surprised, almost unbelieving, until Leda showed me to look at the base of the plant, where the young, edible shoots had popped up.
The spears are almost unnoticeable, unless you’ve got your eye peeled for them. Then pick them; don’t wait. Once mature, they become too tough to eat. Given time to flower, they develop prickles that deceive you into thinking that nothing edible can be growing there.
The trick is to look for them in season, which is in winter and early spring, and as Leda showed me, to search among the roots of the plant.
It’s almost past the time when you can forage young asparagus in the Levant; April is the last month you’ll find it, before full summer arrives. You’ll have best luck searching in woodlands, because the asparagus plant likes to root itself under shady trees.
Asparagus is a seasonal treat. We have some good asparagus recipes for you to enjoy. And you can enjoy asparagus every day without concern. The season is short, and the vegetable is so rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory, and anti-viral properties that you can consider it a nutritional supplement. Unless you just want to enjoy its delicious flavor while the season lasts.
I love asparagus simply steamed, with a little butter drizzled over. A vegan alternative is olive oil and lemon juice dressing. But here are asparagus recipes you might enjoy cooking:
Iranian authorities’ decades-long systematic repression of Baha’is amounts to the crime against humanity of persecution, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The Bahai people are among the most peaceful in the world. Its founder, an Iranian, combined all the world religions into a new practice united Judaism, Islam, Christianity and more into one faith. The world center is in Israel. The Baháʼí World Centre is the name given to the spiritual and administrative centre of the Baháʼí Faith in the city of Acre, Israel.
Human Rights Watch found that Baha’is face a spectrum of abuses. Government agencies arrest and imprison Baha’is arbitrarily, confiscate their property, restrict their education and employment opportunities, and even deny them dignified burial. We met a Bahai in Toronto last summer working as an Uber driver, who confirmed these allegations. Bahai’s in Egypt also face prosecution.
“Iranian authorities deprive Baha’is of their fundamental rights in every aspect of their lives, not due to their actions, but simply for belonging to a faith group,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “It is critically important to increase international pressure on Iran to end this crime against humanity.”
Bahai temple in Chile
The report, released from Beirut, draws on extensive documentation by Human Rights Watch and Iranian human rights groups regarding violations against Baha’is in Iran. Researchers reviewed government policies, court documents, and communications with Baha’is. Information was accessed through the Archive of the Persecution of Baha’is in Iran and documents from the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Human Rights Watch also conducted interviews with 14 Baha’is remotely in Persian, both within Iran and abroad place between May 2022 and March 2023.
Baha’is are the largest unrecognized religious minority in Iran. They have been the target of harsh, state-backed repression since their religion was established in the 19th century. After the 1979 revolution, Iranian authorities executed or forcibly disappeared hundreds of Baha’is, including their community leaders. Thousands more have lost their jobs and pensions or were forced to leave their homes or country.
Since 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has codified its repression of Baha’is into law and official government policy, vigorously enforced by security forces and judicial authorities. Judicial authorities interpret vague national security laws to label Baha’is an outlawed religious minority, branding them as a threat to national security. Human Rights Watch says it believes that this sustained systematic repression deliberately deprives Baha’is of their basic rights, constituting the crime against humanity of persecution.
Baha’is spoke to Human Rights Watch described their persecution as a series of violations that begin with their first encounters with the Iranian state and affect every aspect of their lives, including education, employment, and marriage.
“[When I left Iran to continue my education], I did not intend to emigrate,” said Negar Sabet, 38-year-old daughter of Mahvash Sabet Shahriari, a prominent member of the Baha’i community currently imprisoned in Iran. She said:
“But my experience at the university outside of the country was very different, as if for the first time a burden was lifted off my shoulders and the boot on my neck had disappeared … There [abroad] I experienced a strange freedom, and for the first time I was equal with other people, and no one was pulling themselves away from me.”
The world’s renewable electricity capacity hit a record 473 GW in 2023, according to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). And, no Turkey, nuclear energy is not renewable energy.
In their latest report China’s share in green power additions was a whopping 62.9%. The organization is based in the United Arab Emirates.
Photovoltaics nominally took over from hydropower as the biggest renewables segment.
Global solar power capacity surged 32.4% to 1.42 TW and had a 73% share in annual additions.
Total wind power surpassed 1 TW last year.
The organization warned that many countries are cut off from the benefits of the energy transition. The Renewable Capacity Statistics 2024 report shows that 2023 set a new record in renewables deployment in the power sector by reaching a total capacity of 3.87 TW globally.
Renewables accounted for 86% of all capacity additions.
However, growth is unevenly distributed across the world and the goal to triple renewable power by 2030 is still out of reach.
The 13.9% renewables expansion rate (473 GW) is led by China. The country accounted for 62.9% of the entire increase, with its 298 GW. Its own expansion amounted to 25.7%, to 1.45 TW.
For comparison, global growth was 10% in 2022.
“Policy interventions and a global course correction are urgently needed to effectively overcome structural barriers and create local value in emerging market and developing economies, many of which are still left behind in this progress. The patterns of concentration in both geography and technology threaten to intensify the decarbonisation divide and pose a significant risk to achieving the tripling target,” said Director-General of IRENA Francesco La Camera.
The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is a large nuclear power plant in Turkey under construction located in Akkuyu, Büyükeceli, Mersin Province. It is expected to generate around 10% of the country's electricity when completed.
The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is a large nuclear power plant in Turkey under construction located in Akkuyu, Büyükeceli, Mersin Province. It is expected to generate around 10% of the country’s electricity when completed.
At a recent forum in Sochi, Russia, Turkey’s Energy and Natural resources minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced that nuclear energy would play a “critical role” in Turkey’s journey towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2053. Like Greta Thunberg, Turkey and Russia consider nuclear energy renewable energy.
“We aim to reach a total of 12 reactors and a nuclear power of 15,000 megawatts, with probably four reactors in three different locations in Turkey,” he said.
Bayraktar said the country’s aim was to install two additional nuclear plants alongside the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, currently under construction in the Mersin province. Environmentalists in Turkey have been against the plant, built in collaboration with Russia, from the outset.
The Turkish Government view nuclear energy as renewable energy. Nuclear is not a renewable energy source, but it is an alternative to fossil fuels because it does not emit greenhouse gases. Environmental groups usually consider nuclear as a non-renewable energy source.
The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is a large nuclear power plant in Turkey under construction located in Akkuyu, Büyükeceli, Mersin Province. It is expected to generate around 10% of the country’s electricity when completed.
“We have a great potential for renewables and energy efficiency, but we absolutely need to add nuclear energy into our energy mix,” Bayraktar said.
Some thought leaders at the Dayan Center believe that while Turkey has agreed as part of NATO to be a non-nuclear state, the use of nuclear as domestic energy will give Turkey an easy in for developing nuclear weapons. Erdogen said in 2019 said, “Some countries have missiles with nuclear warheads, not one or two. But I can’t have missiles with nuclear heads. I cannot accept this.”
Is nuclear energy renewable energy?
Nuclear energy is often misconstrued as renewable due to its low greenhouse gas emissions and continuous power generation. However, it is not classified as renewable for several reasons. Firstly, nuclear power relies on the extraction of uranium, a finite resource that must be mined, processed, and refined. Although uranium reserves are substantial, they are not limitless, and extraction entails environmental impacts such as habitat destruction and water pollution.
Nuclear energy produces hazardous radioactive waste that remains harmful for thousands of years, requiring careful disposal and management. Unlike renewable sources like solar and wind, which generate power through natural processes that are indefinitely available, nuclear reactors rely on controlled nuclear fission, a process that consumes uranium fuel and generates waste.
The construction and decommissioning of nuclear power plants involve significant energy inputs and environmental costs, making them less sustainable than truly renewable alternatives. While nuclear energy provides low-carbon electricity, its reliance on finite resources and generation of long-lived radioactive waste preclude it from being classified as a renewable energy source. Thus, while nuclear energy may contribute to reducing carbon emissions in the short term, it is not a sustainable solution for meeting long-term energy needs.
Has Turkey misread the room by calling nuclear energy renewable energy? The proposed expansion aims to reach 7.2 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity by 2035 and up to 20GW by 2050.
Bayraktar has described plans for incorporating small modular reactors, which could potentially contribute some 5GW over the next few decades.
The minister also expressed the necessity of developing a balanced energy mix, combining renewable sources with stable base load power, particularly citing the intermittent nature of solar and wind energy.
A solar energy plant in Turkey
Turkey’s sunny climate offers a high solar energy potential, specifically in the South Eastern Anatolia and Mediterranean regions. Solar power is a growing part of renewable energy in the country, with 12 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels generating 6% of the country’s electricity.
Wind power generates about 10% of Turkey’s electricity, mainly in the west in the Aegean and Marmara regions, and is gradually becoming a larger share of renewable energy in the country. As of 2024, Turkey has 12 gigawatts (GW) of wind turbines.
Being on the side of the planet doesn’t pay in Turkey. You can go to jail for speaking up against pollution or high cancer rates in children. Turkey’s leader supports Hamas and terror groups publicly. Are these the kind of society you want using nuclear power?
Just a reminder to Turkey:
Chernobyl Disaster (1986): The Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion in Ukraine remains one of the worst nuclear accidents in history. A combination of design flaws and operator errors led to a catastrophic explosion in reactor 4, releasing a massive amount of radioactive materials into the atmosphere. The disaster resulted in immediate deaths, widespread radiation exposure, and long-term health effects for thousands of people. The affected area remains largely uninhabitable to this day.
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster (2011): Following a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced multiple reactor meltdowns, hydrogen explosions, and the release of radioactive materials. The disaster led to widespread evacuations, contamination of soil and water, and long-term health concerns for residents and workers. It reignited global debates on nuclear safety and prompted a reassessment of nuclear power policies worldwide.
Three Mile Island Accident (1979): The partial meltdown of a reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, USA, marked a significant nuclear accident in history. Equipment malfunctions and human errors led to a loss of coolant and partial core meltdown in reactor 2. While the incident resulted in limited off-site radiation releases and no immediate fatalities, it caused public panic, raised safety concerns, and led to stricter regulations for nuclear power plants in the United States.
Want to reach out to the Turkish energy ministry. Contact them here.
In a long-term study, unprecedented in its kind and scope, researchers from Tel Aviv University examined the association between a greener environment, which is most likely saturated with vegetation, and the mortality rate of coronary heart patients after undergoing bypass surgery – which is considered a traumatic event from both the physical and mental aspects.
The study, which was carried out on thousands of patients who live all over the State of Israel and followed them over a period of more than 10 years, found that the survival rate of bypass surgery heart patients who live in greener areas is significantly greater than those whose living environment is devoid of greenery. Israel’s unique healthcare system collects digital health data on its entire population which can be licensed, anonymously, for use in medical studies after the fact. That’s how Israel has so much data on medical cannabis patients over time. In the US much of this data is only hand-written and never digitalized.
The study was conducted by PhD student Maya Sadeh under the guidance of Prof. Rachel Dankner. The research was carried out with the support of the Environment and Health Fund and the Israel Science Foundation, and was published in the prestigious journal Epidemiology.
Prof. Dankner: “The current study was based on a database we built at the Gertner Institute about 20 years ago for another study: 3,128 heart patients who underwent bypass surgery in seven medical centers in Israel, from Haifa to Beer Sheva, between the years 2004-2007. Using data from the Ministry of the Interior Affairs we found that 1,442 (46%) of them died of various causes by the year 2021.
“In this study, we wanted to examine to what extent (if at all) the life expectancy of heart patients after surgery is associated with the amount of green vegetation in their residential area.”
For the purpose of the study, the researchers cross-referenced the patients’ residential address data with data from NASA’s Landsat satellites, which photograph the Earth and are able to locate the color green with a very high resolution and within a range of up to 30×30 meters from the residential address – which allows identification of vegetation even within urban areas.
NASA image of Israel and Lebanon’s green spaces from spaceLandsat image of Israel’s Galilee region
The researchers worked to accurately account for the amount of greenery in a radius of up to 300m around the address of each of the patients, and placed this figure against the dates of death or survival of the patients, over 14 years from the date of surgery.
They performed a detailed statistical analysis of the data, including adjustments for a variety of variables, such as: age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, urgency of the hospitalization (elective, semi-elective, or emergency surgery), living in the periphery/center, air pollution, and living distance from the Mediterranean Sea.
About 90% of the research participants lived in urban areas, 80% in the coastal plain from the center to Haifa, 15% in the Jerusalem area, and 5% in the southern Beer Sheva area.
Maya Sadeh: “We divided the residential addresses of the patients into three groups, according to the amount of vegetation in their surroundings, and found a clear significant association between a green environment and the survival of the patients – that is, how many years they continued to live after the operation.
The results revealed that during the mean time of 12 years following the operation, the risk of mortality for those who lived in a very green environment was lower on average by 7% compared to those who live in a non-green environment. We also found that the beneficial relationship is more pronounced among women, who made up 23% of the cohort, and were older at the time of the surgery (69.5 years old on average) compared to men (63.8 years ).”
The researchers conclude: “In this study, we examined the survival of coronary heart patients after undergoing bypass surgery, and found that living in a greener environment is associated with better chances of survival. We hypothesize that there are a variety of reasons for this: in a green environment, people breathe cleaner air and engage in more physical activity, the atmosphere may be calmer, and the quality of life is better overall.
“It is possible that the research findings are particularly relevant to the current period in Israel: implying that exposure to a green environment may be a beneficial factor in recovering from trauma.”
Air powered shades from the sun. A new pilot project from a Dutch startup that aims to create shade that mimics the movement of leaves, begging the question – why not invest in planting trees?
The world’s best sun shades are trees in the city. Have you ever sat under the shade of a tree and then the heat trapping shade of a plastic awning? But if you are in the heat of Abu Dhabi the next best thing is artificial sun shades drawn back when the sun sets.
Using the natural expansion of air when it heats is a Dutch invention is getting tried out in a Persian Gulf Emirates state.
In the arena of sustainable innovation, Airshade Technologies, a Dutch startup, has unveiled its latest creation – The Airshade. Inspired by the graceful movement of tree leaves, this pioneering prototype has undergone extensive testing at the Masdar City solar power plant over the past eight months. It is located near Abu Dhabi.
Pilot of the first air powered shading system
“The ‘Airshade’ system started with a simple conversation at the World Future Energy Summit. That conversation developed into an idea for collaboration, and then that idea turned into a prototype that we tested in Masdar City,” said Chris Wan, Associate Director of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility at Masdar City.
“We are currently researching potential applications for a shading system that is the first of its kind that does not require the use of electricity, a motor or connecting cables. Our collaboration with dozens of startups to find innovative solutions to climate change is common in Masdar City, as small companies can do big things.”
Harnessing the subtle fluctuations in air temperature, the Airshade’s design elegantly opens and closes, mirroring the organic sway of branches to provide shade in the desert sun. Notably, this innovation operates without the need for sensors, motors, or electricity, relying solely on the forces of nature.
Masdar City, trying hard to create technology sustainable urban development, serves as an ideal testing ground for such forward-thinking solutions. Chris Wan, Associate Director of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility at Masdar City, reflects on the collaborative journey that led to the Airshade’s development, tracing it back to a simple conversation at the World Future Energy Summit.
Masdar invests in technology but the zero-energy city in its namesake was a flop.
With promising results and recognition, the Airshade aims to expand its potential applications, potentially transforming into a large-scale architectural feature offering dynamic shading in community spaces and enhancing energy efficiency in building facades.The passive energy system needs no electricity. We can imagine the technology would work great in greenhouses.
Let's say you have created a new film about plastics and water - how do you get more followers on social media?
The film Gifts of the Nile takes us to Qursaya Island in Cairo, Egypt along the Nile River. This film takes us on a journey alongside River Hero Alban De Ménonville and his team at VeryNile as they work to remove plastics from the Nile River, while also educating the community and raising awareness around the importance of conservation in our waterways.
After noticing that the communities’ traditional ways of fishing were becoming more challenging due to the amount of plastic that entered the river, VeryNile quickly took action launching the “Reviving Cairo Fishermen” project. This project utilizes local fishermen and women and their knowledge of the river to assist in cleaning out any plastic, and in turn, pays them an above-average wage for putting in the work. This allows the river to be cleaned on a grassroots level by those who grew up on the riverbank and provides additional sources of income for the local community.
The film also follows artisan worker Loza Mahmoud and her fisherman husband, Hamed Aly Hamed, as they show their day-to-day lifestyle raising three children on Qursaya Island and depending on the Nile River to make a living for their family. As Hamed heads out to the fishery each morning with his young son, they focus on net fishing before switching their focus to plastic removal along the river.
After realizing that the fish tend to come and go, but the plastic is always there, Hamed makes it a priority to pull bags of plastic out of the river and bring them to a sorting facility. These sorting facilities are employed by locals from the VeryNile organization and are able to compact, package and store the plastic until its ready to be upcycled.
We are then introduced to Salma Ellakany, a VeryNile educator, who focuses on teaching the next generation the importance of conservation. Raising awareness amongst the youth in the area will give these declining ecosystems a chance as the next generation learns to use their passion to help their local community.
To come full circle, these bags of plastic that are stored after being removed from the river are then broken down and processed into colorful textiles, purses, hats and other home goods, allowing locals to sell these products as artists and creators. This has brought community locals together, working in unison with one topic of focus – sustainability.
“We have 40 full-time people (artisans, plastic operators) and we are working with around 100 fishermen; so that’s a total of 140 local families benefiting directly from this project,“ said Alban De Ménonville. “We translate a problem into opportunities that positively affect our communities and the health of the Nile River.”
A new study has used artificial intelligence (AI) technology to prove for the first time that ship noise affects dolphins.
Maritime traffic has a very strong impact on the environment and public health in general and on the marine environment in particular, and is a factor that motivates the migration of species from one marine environment to another. Until now, it was not known whether dolphins were affected by ship noise; the evidence in this regard was mainly anecdotal and visual. The main difficulty is to systematically determine the behavior of dolphins encountering ship noise.
“Although it seems obvious, until now there was no empirical evidence that dolphins are affected by ship noise. Using AI, we were able to show that dolphins communicate in a unique way when ship noise is nearby. The influence of ship noise on communication between dolphins can cause them to move away from noise sources, which in some cases are their feeding grounds,” explains Prof. Roee Diamant and Dr. Aviad Scheinin, two of the authors of the study.
Researchers have confirmed how people and dolphins benefit from a centuries-old practice of fishing together in southern Brazil.
The current study, supported by the Data Science center at the University of Haifa, was conducted in collaboration between the Underwater Acoustic and Navigation Laboratory (ANL), headed by Prof. Diamant, and the Marine Apex predator laboratory, headed by Dr. Scheinin. The researchers combined acoustic studies of dolphin whistles (the form of communication used by the mammals) with AI software that searched for patterns in the cries.
As mentioned earlier, one of the main problems with studies of this type is observing the dolphins’ behavior, firstly when there is no ship noise and secondly when there is. This is the only way to determine whether the same dolphin behaves differently in each case.
For this purpose, the researchers chose a location close to the dolphin reef in Eilat, where Common bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) dolphins are regularly found. Recording devices placed at a depth of 50 meters continuously recorded the sounds of nearby dolphins and shipping noise.
From all the recorded sounds, the researchers filtered out 12,000 dolphin whistles and were able to assign them to the dolphins that were at that location. The algorithm developed by the researchers identified around 60,000 dolphin whistles when a ship was nearby, and the same number of whistles where identified when no ships were present.
According to Prof. Diamant, not visual inspection of the signals nor direct feature extraction were able to distinguish between the two groups of whistles – with and without presence of a ship. Instead, this was analyzed by a deep learning algorithm.
Woman marries dolphin in Eilat
This algorithm was trained over 20% of the whistle database and tested on the remaining whistles. The result was a 90% success rate in classifying between the two sets. In other words, the AI was able to recognize a certain pattern in the whistles of the dolphins exposed to shipping noise, well above the chance level. The researchers concluded from this result that a clear impact on the dolphins occurs when vessels were around.
“The problem with deep learning is that it’s a kind of a ‘black box’ and it’s hard to associate the classification result to a physical meaning within the signal. We still don’t know what unique pattern the AI system has recognized, but we know that it is related to the type of communication they make, and previous studies have already shown that changes in vocal behavior can be the result of stress and distress. In other words, dolphins communicate in a different way and change their vocal behavior when they encounter ship noise. In our upcoming studies, we will try to understand the nature of the effects,” the researchers conclude.
The research was conducted at the Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa was published in the Nature Group journal Scientific Reports
Surgeons in Boston, Massachusetts, perform the first transplant of a pig kidney into a living person.Credit: Massachusetts General Hospital
A pig kidney is unpacked for transplant into 62-year-old Richard Slayman of Massachusetts. Credit: Massachusetts General Hospital
A 62-year-old man with end-stage renal failure has become the first living person to receive a pig kidney transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, USA. The world has made advances in transplants since we reported a human uterus transplant in 2011.
The kidney was taken from a miniature pig carrying a record 69 genomic edits, which were aimed at preventing rejection of the donated organ and reducing the risk that a virus lurking in the organ could infect the recipient.
So far, the patient is recovering well and the pig kidney is producing urine and showing other signs of a working organ. This early success has raised researchers’ hopes for larger clinical trials involving pig organs. It follows from news last week that surgeons say they have transplanted a genetically modified pig liver into a person for the first time.
Transplanting pig organs into humans, a process known as xenotransplantation, presents challenges stemming from both biological and ethical considerations.
Biologically, the differences between pig and human physiology pose significant obstacles to successful organ transplantation. While pigs can be genetically engineered to reduce the risk of organ rejection, there are still fundamental disparities in immune compatibility and physiological function between the two species. For instance, the human immune system might recognize pig cells as foreign and mount a vigorous immune response, leading to organ rejection.
Surgeons in Boston, Massachusetts, perform the first transplant of a pig kidney into a living person.Credit: Massachusetts General Hospital
Pig organs may carry the risk of transmitting infectious diseases to humans, such as porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs), which are integrated into the pig genome. Despite efforts to mitigate this risk through genetic modification and stringent screening processes, concerns persist about the potential for cross-species transmission of pathogens.
Pigs are used in heart valve replacement in humans. The valve from the pig is completely cleaned from biological factors that would cause an immune response, but complex organs can’t be dealt with in this way.
From an ethical perspective, the prospect of using pig organs raises complex moral questions, particularly for religious communities such as Muslims and Jews. Both religions have dietary laws that prohibit the consumption of pork, and while the transplantation of pig organs may not necessarily violate these laws directly, it raises concerns about the sanctity of human life and the permissible limits of medical intervention.
According to Judaism it is allowed and you are even allowed to eat pork in medicine if it will save your life.
In Islam, Imam Ibn Uthaymeen permitted it when he was asked about putting an artery from a pig into a person’s heart, and he replied by saying, “There is nothing wrong with it, and one should look at what is most suitable for his heart because this is not food, and this is out of necessity.”
Our source says, “It is clear here that it is permissible to benefit unless one finds benefit in a pure thing. If the benefit is found in a pure thing, it is forbidden to benefit from what is impure.
Some vegans may view xenotransplantation as an exploitation of animals.
Looking ahead, the horizon of xenotransplantation remains both promising and uncertain. Advances in genetic engineering and immunosuppressive therapies offer hope for overcoming biological barriers to pig-to-human organ transplantation.
A child in Yemen by Carl Waldmeier, licensed by CC.
A child in Yemen by Carl Waldmeier, licensed by CC.
The Yemeni Houthis are a problem as they blow up ships passing through the Red Sea toward the manmade Suez Canal. The Houthis astarving out their own people. They use water as a weapon in their war against the west. In a recent UN report by UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), they estimate that all of Yemen’s freshwater resources will be depleted by 2030.
It said that most conflicts revolve over water in Yemen, which remains the poorest in the world in terms of water resources. In a report entitled “To leverage Water for Peace,” FAO said Yemen urgently needs to fully understand the water governance systems, how resources are extracted, used, shared and replenished.
“Our experience in Yemen has shown glaring gaps between policy and the ultimate use of the precious commodity. Another gap is limited funding to replicate best water management practices which have been piloted and proven effective,” the report said.
Also, Yemen is the poorest country in the world in terms of water resources.
The annual per capita share of water is a lowly 83 cubic meters compared to the absolute threshold of 500 cubic meters.
According to FAO, the agricultural sector accounts for about 90% of water use, most of it going to qat growing. It added that groundwater is being depleted at twice the rate it is being replenished and that groundwater resources are being used randomly.
“At the current extraction rate, by 2030, the water basins will be depleted,” the report warned, “This will be catastrophic for a country where 70% of the rural community practice agriculture.”
Yemen women
Also, the agri-food systems transformation agenda will be lost with the depletion of water resources in Yemen, it noted.
Climate change and rapid population growth have also put additional pressure on Yemen’s limited water resources.
FAO said about 14.5 million people in Yemen are without access to safe drinking water and reliable sanitation facilities. “Women bear the brunt of this water situation which not only affect their crop and livestock production but entails more labor and time is used to travel to collect, store, and distribute water,” the report explained.
Houthi terror rockets affecting dire humanitarian situation in Yemen – the UN warns
The escalation of the Houthis Red Sea attacks where they sink ships with fertilizer, is poised to accelerate the increase in shipping costs, delay the delivery of essential food or lead to a complete suspension of trade routes and closure of Yemeni ports, a new report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) finds. Yemeni people who struggle to afford essential food items will be at a dire risk for starvation.
According to the Potential Impacts of Red Sea Crisis Escalation on Food Insecurity in Yemen report, the food security situation in Yemen is already fragile and further shocks emanating from the Houthi attacks will cause additional harm to an already dire situation that can be described as one of the worst humanitarian emergencies in the world.
Almost 5 million people or 45 percent of the population analyzed in the Government of Yemen’s controlled areas is estimated to be in Crisis or worse.
Yemen relies heavily on imports for the food requirements of its population, with around 90 percent of its needs in staple cereals imported. According to the FAO report, if the current escalation is sustained for the next three months, imports will most likely slow down, affecting food availability and prices in the domestic markets.
While commenting on the key findings of the report, the FAO Representative in Yemen, Hussein Gadain, urged the international community to address the possible deterioration of the already severe humanitarian crisis in Yemen. He emphasized that the Red Sea conflict has erupted at a time when focus on Yemen is receding as humanitarian actors shift their attention and resources to other global hotspots, including Ukraine, Gaza and the Sudan.
“We cannot afford to wait until the humanitarian emergency worsens even further. This is the time to coordinate efforts and de-escalate the Red Sea crisis,” Gadain said. “We should facilitate an uninterrupted flow of commercial and essential humanitarian food supplies. This crisis, if not attended to, threatens to reverse the gains we have made in restoring livelihoods of Yemenis since the start of the conflict eight years ago.”
The report warned that a further escalation of the crisis will also disrupt livelihoods and certain value chains. Fishermen, for example, may abandon their activities due to increased insecurity at sea and at landing sites, which would not only impact their income opportunities and livelihoods but also affect the availability of fish – an important source of protein – in the market.
Additionally, increased military activities in the Red Sea may lead to the destruction of critical infrastructure, including ports and storage facilities, further hampering efficient distribution and storage of food in the country and aggravating food insecurity.
Yemenis are often overrun by locusts which attack their food supply.
In the latest release from the FAO where Yemenis are facing starvation from lack of impacts, they do not mention the Houthis by name, but rather mention a “Red Sea” crisis ongoing which also makes no mention of terror operatives hurting their own people. Sounds like Greenpeace’s inability to condemn the Houthis. On one hand Greenpeace and the UN supports terror, but they can’t say so publicly. The plus side to all the Houthi attacks: the world now knows that Yemen exists. That it’s one of the world’s driest countries and that it’s been facing acute starvation for decades. In 2022 there was the locust crisis.
Filling jerrycans from the water tank built by YECRP in Quhal, Iyal Surayh district, Amran. | Photo Credit: UNDP Yemen/2021
On her way to collect water. Photo Credit: UNDP Yemen/2021
In Yemen there are “girls who don’t have an education because they must spend their entire day walking hours to carry back water that is far too heavy for their bodies.”
In a bid to control and subvert the nonviolent people in Yemen, Houthi rebels use water as a weapon, says a new report. Women and younger women are especially put in harm’s way.
According to New Security Beat the Houthis are blocking and restricting water to the Yemeni population.
“Water has absolutely had an impact on women in a much more acute way in Yemen,” says report co-author, Niku Jafarnia. “It’s an area where the gender discrepancy is obvious, particularly among younger girls.
“One large impact is that girls have had to drop out of school to go and get water. We published a short piece in November on a lack of water and electricity in Aden, where there’s evidence that girls have dropped out of school. Aden is the most well off and stable part of the country, yet you still see girls who don’t have an education because they must spend their entire day walking hours to carry back water that is far too heavy for their bodies.
Filling jerrycans from the water tank built by YECRP in Quhal, Iyal Surayh district, Amran. | Photo Credit: UNDP Yemen/2021
“It’s a treacherous journey. Just by virtue of walking long distances in rural areas, there’s a higher likelihood that you might run into a landmine. There’s also obviously potential for encountering sexual and gender-based violence. Activists have told us that this wasn’t as large of an issue in the past, but has become more widespread recently.
“Globally, women are usually in charge of the household, and are the caretakers, and so they will be the last ones to drink and eat when there’s a shortage of something. So I would imagine across the board, it’s hard to track these sorts of impacts. But it’s going to have an impact on women’s health as well, based on the fact that they’ll probably be the last ones to take water for themselves.”
Yemen has been water-starved for decades and was the first to have the world’s only waterless capital. If we want to help the starving, oppressed Yemeni people, the world needs to help stop the Houthis. They are global terrorists, the same as ISIS, Boko Haram, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al Qaeda.
Eyes open and toes out of water: how a giant water bug reached the island of Cyprus
The island of Cyprus, although considered a hotspot for biodiversity in the Mediterranean (and occupied by Turkey on its northern border), is more famous for its beautiful sunny coasts than for its insect fauna. Some visitors of its highly populated beaches, with their observations and curiosity, have provided important information for a species never recorded before on the island: a the giant water bug, also known as a toe biter.
Scientists Michael Hadjiconstantis from the Association for the Protection of Natural Heritage and Biodiversity of Cyprus, Iakovos Tziortzis from the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment of Cyprus, and Kadir Boğaç Kunt from the Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute collected information and specimens from an increasing number of records of the giant water bug on the east coastline of the island in late spring and summer of 2020 and 2021.
The species, known for inhabiting ponds and slowly moving freshwaters, had never been recorded on the island before, although established populations are known in adjacent Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Turkey, and Israel.
Also referred to as Electric light bug, this giant water bug is described as a vicious hunter, praying on invertebrates, fish, turtles, and even birds.
What is even scarier, as the largest European true bug and the largest European water insect and measuring up to 12 cm, it has a reputation of inflicting very painful bites when handled carelessly.
Its appearance, mainly on the eastern coastal front of the island, was initially recorded by swimmers, who were surprised by the fearsome looks and size of the bug. They either directly contacted the experts or published photos and videos online, mainly on Facebook groups related to biodiversity.
The authors collected some of the specimens for further study.
They also proceeded with an extensive online search on relevant online observation platforms (i.e. iNaturalist) in order to track any other reports of the species on the island.
In addition, they sampled nearby wetlands, but did not spot the bug.
More about giant water bugs
One of the most intriguing features of giant water bugs is their predatory prowess. Despite their name, they are not true bugs but rather aquatic insects known for their voracious appetite. Armed with piercing mouthparts, they ambush and capture a variety of prey, including small fish, amphibians, and even other insects.
Moreover, giant water bugs play a crucial role in freshwater ecosystems as top predators, helping to regulate populations of smaller organisms and maintain ecological balance. Their presence serves as an indicator of environmental health, making them important subjects of study for scientists and conservationists alike.
In addition to their ecological significance, giant water bugs captivate with their unique reproductive behavior. Females deposit eggs on the backs of males, who then carry them until they hatch—a remarkable example of paternal care in the animal kingdom.
Slow Train, in the style of the Orient Express to be built in Egypt
Slow Train, in the style of the Orient Express to be built in Egypt
Luxurious Slow Travel: A Sustainable Journey through Egypt’s Ancient Splendor
Travelers usually take a slow boat down the Nile but soon a new luxury slow mode of travel will be available for seeing Egypt’s ancient sites and wonders:
In a world where speed often reigns supreme, there’s a growing appreciation for the unhurried elegance of slow everything. Slow food, slow parenting like Waldorf education which is in demand for elite and down to earth environmentalists, and there is also slow travel.
Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities, the Ministry of Transportation, and ‘Arsenale’, the renowned luxury hospitality group, heralds the arrival of a new era in opulent exploration: the Land of the Pharaohs luxury train experience.
Scheduled to debut in 2026 the journey will invite travelers to embark on an odyssey from Cairo to Upper Egypt, tracing a path through the storied landscapes of Luxor, Aswan, and Abu Simbel. Each stop along the way is carefully curated to offer an immersive encounter with Egypt’s timeless wonders.
As the world eagerly anticipates the unveiling of the Land of the Pharaohs, one cannot help but marvel at the vision behind this project. At its core lies a commitment to sustainable luxury—a concept that melds indulgence with responsibility, promising a harmonious coexistence with the environment and local communities.
The Land of the Pharaohs luxury train epitomizes this ethos. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, its forty lavishly appointed cabins offer a sanctuary of refinement and comfort, where guests can unwind amidst opulent surroundings. As the train meanders alongside the majestic Nile, travelers are encouraged to embrace the art of leisure, savoring moments of tranquility as they gaze upon the ever-changing vistas outside their windows.
As peace efforts are bolstered between the allies of Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Saudi Arabia we are hoping that this luxury train will be able to start in Cairo and end in Saudi Arabia.
What truly sets this venture apart is its profound reverence for the ancient wonders that dot Egypt’s landscape. With each stop, travelers are granted the opportunity to explore iconic landmarks such as the majestic temples of Luxor, the serene waters of Lake Nasser, and the awe-inspiring temples of Abu Simbel.
In embracing sustainable slow travel, the Land of the Pharaohs luxury train embodies a holistic approach to tourism—one that seeks to minimize its ecological footprint while maximizing its positive impact on local communities.
The seventh edition of the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) has been officially announced, scheduled to take place from October 24th to November 1st. The festival disclosed the dates for the upcoming edition in a statement, reaffirming their dedication to bolstering the Arab film industry. The previous edition of GFF was held from December 14th to December 21st.
The El Gouna Film Festival (GFF), founded in 2017, in Egypt serves not only as a platform for cinematic celebration but also as a catalyst for addressing pressing global issues, particularly those concerning sustainability and the environment. Amidst its vibrant tapestry of films, the festival emphasizes the power of art to foster awareness and dialogue about ecological challenges while promoting cultural exchange and understanding.
This year is a good time to support the film festival with a visit because the Hamas attack on Israel has desatbilized the region and tourism has tanked in Egypt.
Within the realm of Arab cinema, there has been a notable emergence of films that delve into themes of ecology, the planet, and renewable energy, shedding light on the intricate relationship between humans and the natural world. These cinematic works not only entertain but also provoke thought and inspire action towards a more sustainable future.
Consider Arab films like Theeb, a Jordanian drama set against the backdrop of the Arabian Desert during World War I, offers a compelling exploration of humanity’s impact on fragile ecosystems. As the character embarks on a perilous journey through the unforgiving landscape, the film confronts themes of survival, exploitation, and the consequences of environmental degradation. By immersing viewers in the harsh beauty of the desert, Theeb prompts reflection on the need for responsible stewardship of natural habitats and resources.
Sand Storm, an acclaimed drama from Israel’s Negev Desert, delves into the complexities of gender dynamics and environmental conservation within Bedouin society. Through its intimate portrayal of a mother-daughter relationship and the tensions that arise when tradition clashes with modernity, the film offers insights into the socio-cultural forces shaping attitudes towards the environment. Sand Storm underscores the importance of fostering inclusive dialogues and empowering marginalized communities to participate in efforts towards sustainable development.
There is Raha Shirazi’s film Acqua, almost guaranteed to make you never take water for granted again. In it, a woman walks through snow in search of water with a jar on her back. Everywhere there is water, but after reaching a specific destination, she experiences some kind of trauma that especially resonates with us given the region’s tremendous water scarcity.
Beyond the realm of narrative cinema, Arab filmmakers have also embraced the documentary format to explore environmental issues in depth. For instance, Rafea: Solar Mama follows the journey of a Bedouin woman from Jordan as she trains to become a solar engineer, challenging gender norms and advocating for renewable energy solutions in her community. Through her inspiring story, the documentary showcases the transformative potential of renewable technologies in empowering marginalized populations and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Solar Mama
The El Gouna Film Festival serves as a platform for amplifying voices that champion environmental stewardship and sustainable development in the Arab world and beyond. By showcasing films that tackle ecological issues with nuance and empathy, the festival harnesses the power of art to inspire collective action and promote a deeper understanding of our interconnectedness with the planet.
While the festival isn’t selling itself as an eco film festival, artists can certainly exert their influence by submitting films of this nature. The festival does offer a $10,000 prize for films in the “green star” category. More on that here.
“A lot of people think the use of lithium-ion batteries is a good thing right now, but it is important to explore the effects that may be coming down the road.”
From cell phones to watches to electric cars, lithium-ion rechargeable batteries power a plethora of devices. The increased use of this technology means more lithium could find its way into the environment as consumers discard electronic products. Now, researchers describe how lithium can accumulate in a common Southern crustacean: the crawfish. As the season for catching and eating mudbugs comes into full swing, the researchers’ findings highlight the potential implications for public health and the environment.
The researchers will present their results today at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society.
“As aquatic organisms, crawfish can take up large amounts of lithium dissolved in water. Because other creatures — including people — eat crawfish, looking at them allows us to see how lithium moves through the food chain, and potentially into us,” says Joseph Kazery, a professor of biology.
Joseph Kazery,
Two undergraduate students in Kazery’s lab at Mississippi College, Andrew Doubert and Javian Ervin, are presenting results of their experiments on uptake of ionic lithium by different crawfish organs, as well as the impact of seasonal temperatures. “If crawfish are raised near a landfill or a polluted site, runoff could expose them to lithium, with effects we don’t yet fully understand,” Ervin says. “I myself eat crawfish, so this issue is important to me.”
Lithium contamination is not new. Even before lithium-ion batteries became widespread, lithium was, and still is, used as a medication to treat mood disorders. It enters the water supply in those applications because typical wastewater treatment does not remove drug contaminants. At high levels, lithium can have toxic effects on human health, including potentially damaging heart muscle cells, as well as causing confusion and speech impairment. In other animals, it can cause kidney damage and hypothyroidism. Studies have also shown that when lithium accumulates in plants, it can inhibit their growth, Kazery says.
Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends discarding lithium-ion batteries at dedicated collection points, Kazery says they often end up in landfills. Soaring demand along with lax disposal practices suggests lithium is on the verge of becoming a significant environmental contaminant, he says.
As fully aquatic organisms that spend their lives within a relatively small area, crawfish (Procambarus clarkii) reflect local lithium contamination and could serve as powerful bioindicators of its presence in an environment. The lithium they contain could be passed through the food chain to predators, including humans, either directly or indirectly through crawfish-eating fish that people consume.
For its experiments, the team purchased crawfish bred for research. Knowing that the liver collects toxins from the human body for subsequent removal, Doubert wondered whether lithium would accumulate in the crawfish version of this organ: the hepatopancreas. To find out, he added ionic lithium to food for five crawfish, while giving another five lithium-free food. He then examined the amount of lithium present in four of their organs after one week. He found, on average, the most lithium in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, followed by the gills, the hepatopancreas and, finally, the abdominal muscle in the tail.
The researchers think the GI tract likely contained the highest level because the lithium-spiked food remains there during digestion. Meanwhile, the gills and the hepatopancreas both pick it up while removing it from the body. People predominantly eat the tail, which appears to take up lithium, but not as readily as the other body parts studied.
Doubert also found that 27.5% of the lithium he fed them had passed from the animals’ GI tracts into other tissues. Animals further up the food chain can accumulate higher levels of toxic substances if they eat contaminated prey, so lithium will likely become more concentrated in the predators of crawfish. The researchers expect the high rate of absorption Doubert saw to exacerbate this accumulation in both humans and the other animals that eat crawfish.
Water temperature that crawfish inhabit varies significantly throughout the year. Those shifts affect the animals’ metabolism, even causing them to become inactive during winter. Knowing this, Ervin decided to look at the effects of temperature on lithium uptake. He placed crawfish in tanks kept at temperatures as low as 50 degrees Fahrenheit and as high as 90 degrees Fahrenheit and added a consistent concentration of ionic lithium to the water. After five days, he found that lithium uptake by the abdominal muscle and a part of the crawfish that Doubert did not study — the animals’ exoskeleton — increased in the warmest tank. These results suggest that the animals may contain the most lithium during the warm months, according to Ervin.
The crawfishes’ weight also decreased in warmer water. At this point, it’s not clear how or whether the crawfishes’ weight loss was connected to the lithium they accumulated, Ervin says, noting that the team plans to follow up on these results.
“A lot of people think the use of lithium-ion batteries is a good thing right now, but it is important to explore the effects that may be coming down the road,” Doubert says.
In Beirut, solar panels and water tanks tell a story of decline
In Beirut, solar panels and water tanks tell a story of decline
In the midst of upheaval and uncertainty, explosions and the Hezbollah, there emerges a narrative of resilience and innovation, captured through the lens of Dia Mrad, a photographer from Lebanon.
Returning to the vibrant streets of Beirut in 2019, Mrad found himself amidst a backdrop of societal discontent and economic strife, where the echoes of the 17 October Revolution reverberated through the city’s alleys.
The October 17 Revolution, also known as the Lebanese Revolution, started on October 17, 2019, as a response to decades of systemic corruption, sectarian politics, and economic mismanagement in Lebanon. Sparked by proposed taxes on services such as WhatsApp calls, the uprising swiftly evolved into a nationwide movement demanding fundamental change.
There is no regular power in Lebanon. People have turned to solar power.
Protesters from diverse backgrounds flooded the streets of Beirut and other cities, united in their call for the downfall of the ruling elite and the establishment of a new political order based on transparency, accountability, and social justice.
Armed with an architectural background and a passion for visual storytelling, Mrad’s photographic journey took on a new dimension telling stories from the streets as he witnessed Lebanon’s economic crisis. His ongoing project, “Utilities,” serves as a testament to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of a people facing adversity head-on.
Mrad’s lens becomes a window into a world where necessity breeds innovation. Against the backdrop of crumbling infrastructure and dilapidated streets, he captures moments of quiet resilience and defiant creativity. From impromptu solar panels adorning rooftops to communal water collection systems fashioned from repurposed materials, each frame tells a story of adaptation and survival.
For Mrad, photography transcends mere documentation; it becomes a form of activism, a means of amplifying the voices of those often overlooked in times of crisis. Through his keen eye and unwavering determination, he offers a glimpse into a world where style meets substance, where resilience becomes the ultimate statement.
In every image, Mrad invites us to witness the beauty of resilience, to embrace the transformative power of innovation amidst chaos. As we navigate the turbulent waters of uncertainty, let us draw inspiration from the indomitable spirit captured within each frame, for in the face of adversity, true style knows no bounds.
On April 8, 2024, 40 million people across the United States, Canada, and Mexico will have the opportunity to experience a true celestial spectacle, a rare total solar eclipse as the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, blocking daylight for several minutes.
Viewing an eclipse can be an awe-inspiring event but proper precautions, including wearing specialized eye protection, should be taken to safeguard sight from harmful solar energy, according to the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS).
“The excitement of viewing a natural phenomenon like a total solar eclipse is understandable, but taking steps to view the eclipse safely is crucial to protect healthy vision,” said retina specialist Geoffrey G. Emerson, MD, PhD, FASRS, a member of the ASRS Board of Directors. “Sadly, people across the globe have experienced temporary and even permanent vision loss from improperly viewing a solar eclipse, but this damage from solar retinopathy is preventable with proper precautions.”
The eclipse will be partially visible throughout the 48 contiguous US States, while the path of totality, where a full view of the moon covering the sun is possible, covers a 115-mile-wide strip extending diagonally 8,000 miles across Mexico, Canada, and the United States.
Viewing an eclipse without proper eye protection can damage the retina, the delicate, light-sensing tissue that is responsible for sight. Solar retinopathy occurs when the retina is burned and its light-sensing photoreceptors are destroyed. Depending on the extent of the injury, people can suffer residual blurring and/or distortion, temporary or even permanent vision loss.
Solar retinopathy occurs more commonly around the time of a solar eclipse but can occur at any time due to incidents such as having a laser presentation pointer shined in the eye or from sun gazing due to psychiatric conditions or purposeful self-harm.
For direct viewing of the sun during a partial eclipse, special filters are required. The easiest and least expensive option is to buy commercially available eclipse glasses manufactured specifically for solar observation.
NASA recommends the use of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 12312-2 certified eclipse glasses or pinhole projection for viewing the eclipse. Inspect eclipse glasses before use and discard them if you notice they are torn, scratched, or otherwise damaged.
It is not safe to view an eclipse with other types of filters, such as:
Camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics
Sunglasses or smoked glass
Color or black-and-white film and photo negatives such as X-ray film
Polarizing filters or neutral-density films
Should you experience vision changes during or following the viewing of an eclipse, seek immediate consultation with an eye physician, such as an ophthalmologist or retina specialist.
Cannabis and diabetes - be aware of the cardiovascular risks.
More and more states in the US are legalizing recreational cannabis, leading to concerns that teen use will increase. Tobacco consumption among high school students, including vaping and e-cigarettes, is a concerning 12.6%. Researchers at UC Davis were interested in learning how the combined use of these two products — cannabis and tobacco — might impact high school students in California.
In a new study published in The Journal of Pediatrics, they found high school students who use both tobacco and cannabis products miss more school and have lower grades compared to students who don’t use either product or who use the products individually (tobacco or cannabis) but don’t combine them.
“Substance use is a main predictor of educational outcomes, including absenteeism,” said Melanie Dove, an assistant adjunct professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and first author of the paper. “These results highlight the need for comprehensive efforts to prevent and reduce substance use from both cannabis and tobacco products among youth.”
The researchers analyzed data from the 2021-22 California Healthy Kids Survey. The anonymous, confidential survey administered by the California Department of Education asks questions about wellness, resiliency, school climate and safety. The study reviewed responses from 287,653 high school students in ninth and 11th grade.
The researchers found that among high school students in California:
Students who used both tobacco and cannabis reported the highest percentage of absenteeism. On average, they missed three days of school in the past month — almost one and a half more days of absenteeism than teens who didn’t use both products. Students who co-used tobacco and cannabis were also more likely to have lower grades than students who did not use either product.
The US Surgeon General released a report describing the health risks of e-cigarettes on youth and young adults. It explains how habits formed in youth, when the brain is still developing and learning, can result in teens getting addicted more easily.
“We know that using tobacco and cannabis puts young people at risk for longer-term addiction, behavioral issues and respiratory health problems,” said Elisa Tong, a co-author of the study. Tong is a physician at UC Davis Health and director of the Tobacco Cessation Policy Research Center. “For young people who are not current users but are exposed to use by others, the aerosol from these products is not harmless, and contains potentially harmful chemicals, heavy metals and fine particulates,” Tong said.
Schools and parents can help prevent tobacco use
The researchers noted some limitations of their study. The survey is not representative of all high school students in California. Students who were absent on the day of the survey were not included. Another limitation is that the data is based on students’ self-reported responses; even though the survey was anonymous, students may feel uncomfortable sharing their actual substance use or absence patterns and may have underreported them.
Another consideration is that the percentage of California high school students who report using any tobacco product is 6.6%, according to the 2022 California Youth Tobacco Survey. This percentage is well below the national average (12.6%) and may reflect California’s rigorous anti-smoking campaigns and the adoption of non-smoking public spaces dating back to the mid-1990s.
“While certain school factors — like peer pressure — can contribute to teen tobacco and cannabis use, schools also play a critical role in prevention, especially in partnership with families,” said Kevin Gee, a professor at the UC Davis School of Education and senior author of the paper. “One important tool available to California’s schools is the Tobacco Use Prevention Education program that, when strategically invested in intervention and cessation activities, has shown promise in reducing tobacco use among teens.”
Stuttering is common: about 1 in 100 people have a stutter worldwide. Traditional speech therapies can see relapses, but a new program using a drama and theatre technique called improv can create better long-lasting results for stutterers, researchers find. And while stutterers can live normal lives, any interventions to decrease the stutter makes it easier to work and build relationships with people.
Mock ‘Ninja knife throwing’, ‘Gibberish’, or the fast and furious ‘Zap’ – they’re all favorite theatre games designed to break ice and boost confidence. But add speech therapy to theatre sports and you get a brand-new experience that’s hoping to deliver positive changes for people with a stutter. In a new University of South Australia study, researchers are trialling group improvisation (‘improv’) to help improve communicative confidence and reduce anxiety among teens and adults who stutter.
Improv is a form of theatre sport, where performers spontaneously create scenes, characters, and dialogue without a script or predetermined plot. Partnering with Swift Speech, Stuttering & Voice, the 9-week group improv program Unscripted Confidence, is designed to help participants positively engage in a range of activities and social situations to help build their confidence and communication abilities in a risk-free supportive environment.
UniSA Bachelor of Speech Pathology research honors student Damien Aston says the study will take a holistic approach to therapy, ensuring people feel comfortable, safe and supported.
“In Australia, one in 100 people have a stutter; and while it’s a relatively common speech difference, it can significantly affect a person’s confidence, social connections and anxiety levels,” Aston says.
“Improv provides an opportunity for a person with a stutter to have fun speaking with others, to learn to focus on the communicative aspects of speaking – such as eye contact and body language – rather than how they are speaking, and helps them learn to be ok with failure.
“While it may seem counterintuitive for someone with a stutter to participate in ‘on the spot’ games, spontaneous performances can be a powerful tool for building confidence and overcoming anxiety and stuttering.
“The sessions encourage people to engage and connect with others in a supportive, non-judgemental space where they learn to look beyond words – making sense doesn’t matter, it’s the risk that’s valuable and the fact that people are communicating and having fun at the same time.”
People who identify as lesbian, gay and bisexual – particularly women – respond more positively to tobacco marketing, are more inclined to smoke cigarettes daily and may have a more difficult time quitting, according to two studies by a Rutgers Health researcher. Smoking is far more popular in the Middle East where about 8% of women smoke, and an estimated 40% of men do. Smoking a shisha pipe is a common past-time.
The studies, published in the Annals of LGBTQ Public and Population Health and Preventive Medicine Reports, investigated how some among the LGBTQ population respond to tobacco marketing, how they use tobacco and their history of quitting using two large national datasets in the US.
Ollie Ganz, a faculty member at the Rutgers Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies and an assistant professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health who is lead author of the studies, discussed the significance of the findings to future policy.
Smoking hookha pipe
Why is specifically studying how sexual minority populations receive tobacco marketing important?
From previous studies, we know that sexual minority individuals are more likely to use tobacco products than heterosexual individuals. This may be because tobacco companies have targeted this population with advertising and promotions, but the impact of this has not been studied extensively. The main thing we wanted to understand in this study is, given that sexual minority individuals are exposed to more tobacco advertising than heterosexual individuals, are there also differences in terms of how receptive they are to the ads, such as having a positive response to the ads.
Ollie Ganz
What did your study find regarding tobacco marketing among sexual minority individuals?
What was unique about our study is that we were able to look at subsets of the LGB population – gay men, bisexual men, lesbian/gay women and bisexual women – rather than looking at them as one group. By looking at these subgroups we discovered that lesbian/gay and bisexual women were more likely to be receptive to marketing for tobacco products overall, and that bisexual women – but not lesbian/gay women – were more likely to be receptive to marketing for cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, compared with heterosexual women.
Among men, we discovered that gay men, but not bisexual men, were more likely to be receptive to cigar advertising compared with heterosexual men. We also found that gay and bisexual men were more likely to be receptive to e-cigarette advertising compared with heterosexual men.
In the Preventive Medicine Reports study, you also looked at subsets of the LGB population, but focused on cigarette use behaviors. What were your findings?
We discovered that sexual minority women – particularly bisexual women – are smoking at higher rates and are having a harder time quitting compared with heterosexual women. We also found that the differences in prevalence of cigarette smoking between lesbian/gay and bisexual women and heterosexual women was much greater than between the prevalence between sexual minority men and heterosexual men.
These findings show that we need more support to specifically help sexual minority women quit smoking –particularly bisexual women. This population presents unique challenges, such as greater mental health problems, and there is a need for more resources and tailored interventions to support them in quitting smoking.
How can these findings inform future policy?
In order for tobacco control policies and regulations and public education campaigns to be effective, they need to be able to identify the populations that are at greatest risk for tobacco use. They also need a body of evidence that identifies the factors that are driving elevated use among those populations so effective messages and policies can be developed that directly address those factors.
Organization of Relais & Châteaux gives the Drisco hotel and its restaurant entry into the luxury group’s offerings. The hotel was built by Christians from America in the 1800s.
In 1866 a group of 157 men, women and children of the Christian Lovers of Zion left Maine and traveled to Israel. Their mission was to develop the Land of Israel and prepare Israel for the establishment of a Jewish nation in the Promised Land. Christian Zionism is an ideology that, in a Christian context, espouses the return of the Jewish people to the Holy Land.
Today one of their landmark sites in Jaffa is home to a luxury hotel, the Drisco.
Drisco hotel built by Christian Zionists in the 1800s
The Drisco is situated in the American Colony in Tel Aviv-Jaffa and includes 42 rooms and suites decorated to reflect the magnificent history of the hotel, first opened in 1866. In the hotel there are original murals from the year 1925, a bar, a rooftop facing the beaches of Tel Aviv, a gym, rooms for indulging spa treatments, a nurtured garden etc.
The global organization Relais & Châteaux chose the Drisco to be part of its collection of unique hotels, and 340 Michelin star restaurants around the world.
Drisco hotel in Tel Aviv, join the Organization of Relais & Châteaux
Relais & Châteaux was founded in 1954, and since its foundation the organization promotes a large number of luxury hospitality properties and culinary traditions, enhancing their prosperity, and acts for the preservation of local heritage and surroundings of each property.
Each year, more than 500 requests to join Relais & Châteaux are submitted, less than 2% of them actually get to join the prestigious organization.
The Drisco includes an elite restaurant the George & John restaurant, led by Chef Tomer Tal, which was graded among the 50 best restaurants in the Middle East, according to “50 BEST” (2022 to 2024).
Voices of Yemen, Yemen Jews from Israel sing a song for the Houthis.
Voices of Yemen, Yemen Jews from Israel sing a song for the Houthis.
The Voices of Yemen, a group of Yemenite Jews who sing Jewish liturgical songs from Yemen, are tired of the Houthis attacking ships in the Red Sea. On Tuesday this week, a Houthi missile, in solidarity with the Hamas, hit Israel’s southernmost town, Eilat.
Last week the Yemeni Jews were challenged to write a song for the Houthis before a recent performance at the East West House in Jaffa. And on short notice, they delivered. Watch the video below.
The Houthis are known for their vile antisemitism and wrote a song for Israelis and Jews in 2022. You can see the video here: “We will let them taste our might and the heat of the piercing swords, and tomorrow we will see Jerusalem cleansed of the filth of the Jews.”
The lyrics in the Jewish Yemenite song repeat:
Houthis in Yemen I feel sorrow and mercy for you
We want your songs
Not your rockets
Voices of Yemen was created in 2021 by Ravid Kahalani of Yemen Blues.
Born in Israel to a Yemenite family, Ravid was steeped in the rich tapestry of his ancestry from an early age. Yet, it was the music of his roots that truly captivated him. With each note sung by his grandmother, he felt the essence of Yemen coursing through his veins, a connection to a land he had never seen.
As he grew, Ravid’s passion for music flourished. He immersed himself in the diverse sounds of the world, from the soulful rhythms of Africa to the haunting melodies of the Middle East. His voice became a vessel for storytelling, a conduit for the experiences of his people.
It was this unwavering commitment that led Ravid to form the groundbreaking band, “Yemen Blues.” With its eclectic fusion of genres, the group quickly garnered international acclaim, captivating audiences from Tel Aviv to Tokyo. Through their music, they celebrated the beauty of diversity, inviting listeners to embrace cultures beyond their own.
Yet, for Ravid, the true measure of success lay not in fame or fortune, but in the connections forged through his art. Whether performing on stage or teaching workshops in underserved communities, he sought to inspire others to find their voice and embrace their heritage with pride.
Today, as the echoes of Ravid’s songs continue to resonate around the world, his legacy endures as a testament to the power of music to bridge divides and foster understanding.
Ravid Kahalani
Can a wish for music bring a more peaceful future?
Construction is ongoing at New Alamein for three universities, fifteen skyscrapers and high rise towers, and 10,000 hotel rooms. Work has begun on Phase II of the New Alamein megaproject, which includes ten additional coastal towers.
Construction is ongoing at New Alamein for three universities, fifteen skyscrapers and high rise towers, and 10,000 hotel rooms. Work has begun on Phase II of the New Alamein megaproject, which includes ten additional coastal towers.
Everyone loves a Mediterranean city like Cannes, Athens, Venice, Malta and Tel Aviv. But the Arab world comes up short when it comes to pleasing western tourists. While the UAE is trying and Saudi Arabia trying even harder, Egypt thinks it can do better. The country, roiling from loss in tourism from the Hamas-Israel War hopes to make a comeback.
The country which relies on tourism for its GDP is building a new $183 billion seaside mega city, called New Alamein, in Egypt. They hope it will be become the crown jewel of the Mediterranean, luring tourists away from traditional European holiday destinations such as France, Greece, Italy and Spain. Consider nomad travel insurance when booking a holiday. SafetyWing Nomad Insurance is a great option.
Nestled along the north coast and the Mediterranean Sea, the New Alamein City of Egypt will vie for tourist numbers in the Mediterranean. It will have white sandy beaches, the Mediterranean climate and presents a vision of modernity – offering a salad of cultural richness and luxury.
Al Alamein New City located in a site named after a battle that took place during the Second World War (WWII 1942).The Egyptian Government selected thew site, with government material touting it to be “a sustainable city”. In fact, the site is rich with its natural, and historical resources; however, achieving sustainable development in Egypt implies overcoming multiple challenges. The most pressing challenges are institutional, financial, and managerial.
Last week I hiked around the Migdal Tzedek National Park, located near Rosh HaAyin in Central Israel. It’s prime time for flowering plants in the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East. Soon enough, summer weather will set in and dry up the landscape. I wrote about foraging wild edibles like wild beet greens at this time of year too.
Dozen of edible and medicinal herbs grow alongside the trail, but the one that especially caught my eye was the beautiful pink and blue prickly alkanet (Anchusa strigosa). If you look closely, you’ll see that the leaves are shaped like the tongue of a cow. Its Hebrew name is lashon ha par, meaning “ox tongue.”
Prickly alkanet has many sub-species, all of which flower in different colors. That can make it hard to identify when you’re wondering if that white flower is the right one, or the blue, or the vari-colored one. One characteristic you can’t miss is the prickles that cover the stems and leaves of the plant.
The leaves and young shoots of prickly alkanet are said to be edible, with reports from the early 20th-century scholar Gustaf Dalman of local Arabs boiling, chopping, and sautéeing them. I’m not aware if eating prickly alknet is still common practice. Many traditional foods cooked from wild herbs have fallen out of use, although you might like this recipe for chickpea and wild beet greens soup.
I do know that who does love a good alkanet nosh are bees and other pollinators. I’d cultivate alkanet in my garden for that reason alone. It’s great to support pollinators in this bee-endangered world. Honey from rich prickly alkanet nectar was once a cottage industry in this region.
Folk medicine says that an ointment made of chopped prickly alkanet leaves and olive oil heals burns and chapped skin. The herb has anti-inflammatory properties that line up perfectly with those claims. It’s also said that the crushed fresh leaves will heal wounds, by which I assume that it applies to irritations like nettle stings and mosquito bites.
Some go further and say that some skin diseases may be cured by applications of alkanet ointment; but as we know that skin disease is the manifestation of deeper illness, I’d say that the herb relieves discomfort rather than cures disease.
Strong tea of prickly alkanet has been used to expel worms. Maimonides, the Jewish physician and scholar of the twelfth century, wrote of it as a useful drug, after its leaves are dried, powdered, and infused in hot water.
Today, the plant is still used in ointment form to treat cuts and bruises. Tea made from the leaves and flowers is used to treat coughs and excessive phlegm. A homeopathic remedy is made from it to treat stomach and duodenal ulcers.
Artisans who prefer to use all-natural colors know that alkanet root tea makes a reddish color for dying yarn. Soapmakers also infuse the powdered root into their oil to obtain red or blue color. It may be used to color food red, which was popular in the kitchens of the medieval wealthy. Since we don’t know what a safe dose is, I’d use caution with alkanet if I wanted to dye my food red. Or paprika, or tomato paste.
Myself, I’d bring prickly alkanet into my garden for its beauty alone. This the variety I found on my hike.
A species of amphibian is the first observed to nourish its young with a milk-like product, which it squirts from the cloaca, a combined rear opening for its reproductive and digestive systems.
Siphonops annulatus is a blind, worm-like caecilian that lives underground. Lactation is considered a key characteristic of mammals, but a handful of other animals — including some birds, fish, insects and even spiders — produce nutrient-rich liquid for their offspring.
The finding that S. annulatus is “both a skin feeder and now a milk producer is pretty amazing”, says Marvalee Wake, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Berkeley. It is probably just one of the caecilians’ many biological quirks. “Most species have not been studied at this level of detail,” says Wake. “So, who knows what else they’re doing.”
Middle East mall in the UAE is the most visited site in the world in 2023.
In a sad state of affairs for humanity, a mall in Dubai has become the most visited place in the world, in 2023. Dubai Mall said it achieved a record-breaking 105 million visitors in 2023, a 19% increase from the previous year, making it the most visited place globally. The Eiffel Tower saw 6.3 million people in the same time frame, the Giza pyramid, 14 million, and a Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, called Hajj, attracted 13.5 pilgrims in 2023.
New figures released by the Dubai Mall on Tuesday also showed a staggering 20 million people visited the mall in the first two months of this year alone, with 2024 set to be another record year. Events like the Dubai Shopping Festival and digital engagement have been key to its success.
“These numbers reflect Dubai Mall’s impressive status and mirrors the forward-thinking leadership and strong economy of Dubai. Our mall embodies the city’s vibrant spirit and dedication to excellence, turning the leadership’s vision into a reality. Being an integral part of Dubai’s economic fabric, we play a crucial role in the city’s success and innovation,” said Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar.
Dubai Mall entrance at twilight
There is no clearer symbol of Dubai’s excess than the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa, which stands in close proximity to the mall. Nor is there a more appropriate example of the Emirate’s shabby urban planning. It has approximately 160 floors and no.on-site.human.waste.system! Instead of flowing through a network of carefully-laid piping to a municipal waste treatment center, every day some poor unfortunate soul has to truck approximately 8 tonnes of human waste from this skyscraper and sit in line for up to 24 hours to have it dumped.
How does a Dubai Mall compare to other world sites of interest?
The Vatican
The Vatican City in Rome is the smallest country in the world, and its own city-state ruled by the Pope. According to statistics sent out by the Vatican it receives over 5 million visitors a year.
The Eiffel Tower
In 2023, the year in which France celebrated the 100th anniversary of Gustave Eiffel’s passing, the Eiffel Tower welcomed 6.3 million visitors. Both national and international tourists seem to be fond of the monument and, with the Olympics coming to Paris in 2024, a promising new touristic year has started for the Eiffel Tower.
Pyramids of Giza
Over 14 million people visited the Pyramids of Giza last year making it one of the most popular tourist sites in the world. Additionally, Giza is known for it’s punishing desert heat.
The Old City of Jerusalem
Estimates suggest about 3 to 4 million people visited Israel last year, and most of those visitors saw Jerusalem, and the Western Wall, and the Dome of the Rock in the Old City.
Mecca
There are 2 billion Muslims in the world, and Saudi Arabia has reported that over 13.5 million Muslims undertook the Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca in 2023, marking a record-breaking year for Islam’s holiest city and representing a 58% increase in international pilgrims compared to 2022.
In a country that honors the private vehicle and its wealth from oil and gas, in a twist of opposite expectations Qatar says it plans on making all public transportation electric by 2030. Qatar’s Ministry of Transport (MoT) has boasted a significant milestone: 70% of public buses are now electric, with an ambitious goal of a fully electric fleet by 2030. Qatar also wants 35% of all cars to be electric cars in this same time frame.
According to Arabian Gulf Business Insight, electric vehicle sales could make up 20 percent of the total auto market in Qatar by 2032, experts forecast, as the Gulf state launches its first EV brand.
Doha and the rest of Qatar are dominated by cars. Get a job offer in Qatar (if you aren’t from Pakistan, India or Sudan in construction) and you will get a car, and a house as a part of the deal. Everybody drives in Qatar where the private vehicle reigns, and while public transport technically “exists” in the form of buses and a brand new Doha Metro system, taxis are still the easiest way of getting around if you have cash. Much of the time it is too hot outside to walk far.
So still in a dream stage his eco-friendly shift promises a significant impact: cleaner air, reduced energy consumption, and a smaller carbon footprint.
The environmental benefits are substantial but only when the electric power itself is derived from clean and renewable energy sources.
Whether you’re taking a bus in Doha or the tram in Lusail, the public transport network in Qatar means there are plenty of options for your daily commute to work.
Electric buses produce zero tailpipe emissions, drastically reducing air pollution in urban centers heavily reliant on public transport.
Additionally, the switch from fossil fuels to electricity translates to lower energy consumption and a reduced national carbon footprint, aligning with Qatar’s commitment to combating climate change. MoT’s Director of Land Transport Licensing, Hamad Ali Al Marri, emphasized these benefits during a recent ceremony.
He pointed to the creation of an integrated infrastructure – likely a network of strategically placed charging stations – to support the electric bus operation.
This electrification initiative coincides with the launch of “Environmental Sustainability in Qatar: Achievements and Challenges.”
Qatar-based Ecotranzit showcased the first prototypes of its Vim-branded electric vehicle in 2023. They are manufactured under its exclusive intellectual property rights deal with partners including China-based Beijing Automotive Works. The company plans to design and build its own electric cars in the future and has started to invest in assembly plants and preliminary production lines, according to Qatar News Agency.
The Qatari Gulf state ranks behind the UAE and Saudi Arabia in electric vehicle production, where multi-billion dollar investments have been made to set up factories and attract big-name players such as Lucid.
The €40 million project by Israel-based Tikun Olam, located near Corinth, will be built on a land parcel of six hectares. The facility includes 21,000 square meters of state-of-the-art hybrid greenhouses, a vertically integrated production plant and a fully equipped R&D department.
The €40 million project by Israel-based Tikun Olam, located near Corinth, will be built on a land parcel of six hectares. The facility includes 21,000 square meters of state-of-the-art hybrid greenhouses, a vertically integrated production plant and a fully equipped R&D department.
In patient Greek style, with seven years of delays, Greece has finally legalized medical grade cannabis. Zorba would be proud. Patients will get licenses in situations where medical cannabis has proven to be effective in areas such as relief from chemotherapy, therapy against HIV or hepatitis C, chronic pain, MS and in palliative care to help with appetite.
The Greek market is expected to be about $330 million USD, and will be a good place for new grow ops to start operations. The first medical grade cannabis plant opened in January at Examilia, in Corinth under an investment from Tikun Europe, a subsidiary of Tikun Olam from Israel.
“A new era is beginning for our country with the operation of our Tikun Europe facility, paving the way for Greece to become one of the main players in the field of production and export of medical cannabis products,” said Greek Development and Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis who said Greek patients will benefit from these products, despite cannabis “having a difficult history due to its nature as a narcotic.”
The Greek facility aims to be an export hub to all of Europe, reviving Greek’s agriculture industry. But also the Pharma business.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing is one of Greece’s main industrial sectors, comprising dozens of local and foreign companies and accounting for roughly 10% of employment. The country exports around €3 billion worth of medicines a year to some 140 countries, making it Greece’s second-largest export sector. Much of the global supply of antibiotics, and medicines for treating cholesterol and diabetes, are produced in Greece.
Several international drug companies – like Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim – have invested heavily in their Greek production facilities with an eye to exporting more. Overall, approximately €1.2 billion is now being invested in a dozen new production units and 18 new research centers that are expected to further boost production and exports.
The development of a plant focusing on medical cannabis represents a major investment in what is expected to be a growing market worldwide. Two other such production facilities, by investors from Europe and North America, are also planned at different locations in Greece.
Greece had already inaugurated its first ever production facility for medical cannabis − the largest such facility in Europe − and the latest in a string investments that are boosting the country’s position as a leading exporter of pharmaceutical products to the world.
The specialist doctors able to prescribe cannabis in Greece include medical cannabis include anaesthetists, neurologists, and pathologists specializing in cancer, infections, and rheumatism.
Treatments for medical cannabis will not yet fall under state insurance, so high costs of $90.03 for 5-grams (0.17 ounces) might just lead people to obtain it through illegal channels. Lavipharm and Pharmaserve-Lilly will be dispensing the cannabis.
Anna Paga, a 60-year-old mother of three with psoriatic arthritis told the Athens Macedonian News Agency: “What can I say about this day? A very big thank you, relief, vindication, freedom to live. I was among the first to get the prescription via the electronic prescription system and I didn’t expect it, I couldn’t believe it. I burst into tears … an end to the risks and fear.”
Greek patient advocacy group Mamaka says it will still fight for the right for people to cultivate at home for personal use.
Israeli American physician Alan Shackelford was the first to treat children, using CBD. He helped legalize cannabis as medicine in Colorado where he practices.
Are you interested in sustainable investment and generational wealth? Green Prophet is working with 36North, an investment advisory in Canada on how to teach you how to build generational wealth. Email 36north@greenprophet.com for an introduction.
Island nations are at risk for climate change. A new solar plant will enable Barbuda to reduce annual diesel fuel consumption by 406,000 litres and cut carbon dioxide emissions by over 1 million kg.
The United Arab Emirates UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund (UAE-CREF) announced that the hurricane-resistant power project developed by Masdar for Antigua and Barbuda to withstand even the fiercest winds, is now operational.
In the wake of Hurricane Irma, which destroyed 95 percent of Barbuda on 6th September, 2017, and forced all 1,800 residents to be evacuated to Antigua, the climate-resistant plant is designed to survive 265 km-per-hour winds and provide a safe, reliable, and sustainable supply of electrical power for the island.
Some of Green Prophet’s family members were airlifted out of Dominica after a hurricane destroyed the island.
The hybrid solar, batteries, and back-up diesel project is already helping to support the twin-island nation’s objective of meeting 86 percent of its electricity sources from renewable energy by 2030. The Green Barbuda project was formally inaugurated at an event on the island of Barbuda by Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Hazza Ahmed Al Kaabi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba, and Ambassador Brian Challenger from Ministry of Energy of Antigua and Barbuda, accompanied by a delegation from local and state entities.
Masdar developed and implemented the Green Barbuda project as part of its work under UAE-CREF, the largest renewable energy investment of its type in the region.
Masdar’s model eco city just outside Abu Dhabi
Fully financed by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the US$50 million UAE-CREF was launched at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2017 as a partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), ADFD and Masdar. New Zealand, Antigua and Barbuda and the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) also provided funding for the project.
Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director-General of ADFD, said, “It is a landmark achievement for the UAE-CREF to have driven an energy transformation in Antigua and Barbuda at such a scale. The project took into consideration the country’s high dependence on fossil fuel imports for energy needs despite having the potential to exploit its solar, wind and geothermal power. This initiative highlights the extraordinary capability of clean energy to drive socioeconomic development. This is why ADFD is multiplying its effort to accelerate the energy transition in the developing world, as the UAE leads the way to a low-carbon and zero-emission future.”
Renewable energy plays a key role in enhancing energy security within emerging markets, especially in small island countries that are vulnerable to the consequences of climate change.
The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, said, “The Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda are extremely appreciative of the assistance from the UAE in our efforts to achieve sustainable development. In that regard, the Green Barbuda electricity project has been a truly transformative one for Barbuda. It harnesses our indigenous renewable energy resources and has provided for the transfer of cutting-edge technologies as well as capacity building at the local level to manage the project.
The project supports Antigua and Barbuda’s efforts to reduce its dependence on costly and volatile imported petroleum fuels and to develop our own renewable energy resources. At the same time, it also enables us in both adapting to and mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the UAE and other partners in expanding this project as a showcase of sustainable energy in the Caribbean.”
The project combines a hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, featuring 720 kilowatts-peak (kWp) of solar PV panels, connected to an 863 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery, and capable of fully meeting the island’s current daytime energy demand. The plant will enable Barbuda to reduce annual diesel fuel consumption by 406,000 litres and cut carbon dioxide emissions by over 1 million kg.
The UAE-CREF initiative intends to deploy renewable energy projects in 16 Caribbean countries in three cycles to reduce energy costs, increase energy access, and enhance climate resilience.
Projects have already been successfully launched in the Bahamas, Barbados, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
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Nazish Qureshi, the founder of Muslim Climate Watch says that the Muslim-fasting month of Ramadan offers “a wonderful pathway towards rejection of a culture of consumption and wastefulness, factors that have contributed to Earth’s pollution and accelerated global warming.
“Abstaining from food and choices that impede our self-actualization enables us to transcend the vices of greed and envy, which thrive in the realm of overindulgence and consumerism,” she says.
Green Muslims create a calendar for Ramadan
She founded Muslim Climate Watch to empower Muslims with the education and resources to lead the climate justice movement as khalifa on Earth. “We advocate for climate action rooted in Islamic principles and inspired by the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
“Through research-based education and advocacy, we amplify the voices of marginalized Muslims disproportionately affected by climate change.
As we enter this holy time for Muslims, Qureshi shares a resource developed together with Green Muslims, Green Ramadan, and Interfaith Power & Light –– a Ramadan Creation Care calendar, to print and post in your masjid or at home.
Pre-diabetics know that diet can help mitigate disease progression. An apple with nuts is one way to start.
CBD injections to help epilepsy, pain relief.
Cannabis has been found anecdotally to treat epilepsy. The mode of action is inhibiting neurotransmitters in the brain. But turning parts of a plant into an actual pharmaceutical can take years, even decades to figure out dosing, efficacy and to check safety protocols. An Israeli-Canadian company Innocan, traded on the Canadian stock exchange (CSE: INNO) (FSE: IP4) (OTCQB: INNPF) is trying to tackle pain relief and epilepsy by injected a CBD formulation along with a lipid so it can linger longer in the body.
In a new study in animals they say their CBD-based injection that can last several weeks in the blood, passing through to the brain where it can offer relief potentially for weeks.
The proof-of-concept study found that CBD could be found in the brains of both mice and rabbits weeks after a formulation of CBD and liposomes was subcutaneously injected to them. These results show a strong correlation between the prolonged blood exposure of CBD and its brain distribution. Their delivery technology called LPT keeps the CBD in the bloodstream enabling CBD to pass the blood brain barrier (BBB) and deliver long brain exposure over time.
“The company is encouraged by these study results,” said Eyal Kalo, Innocan’s R&D Director. Sufficient exposure of CBD in the brain is the hallmark of CBD therapy associated with various neurological conditions, he says.
CBD or cannabidiol has demonstrated positive effects in association with various neurological disorders. Besides its well-established anti-epileptic activity, CBD can also protect brains pathology via the activation of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant mechanisms.
For example, CBD was demonstrated to efficiently protect brain cells from Alzheimer-induced degeneration, reducing the onset of the diseases. In addition, CBD can protect from damage that occurs following an ischemic brain stroke leading to better tissue regeneration and patient recuperation. CBD was shown to have strong beneficial effects in other neurological conditions such as autism or schizophrenia emphasizing its high contribution in improving behavioral impairment usually associated with such pathologies.
The fact that LPT-CBD successively delivers CBD to the brain in a long-lasting manner opens a big venue for the treatment of various neurological disorders.
According to physicians Green Prophet has interviewed, they suggest a small amount of THC administered to each therapy in order for the CBD to have a maximum effect. THC is the pyscho-active compound in cannabis and its use is still illegal in some US states. Medical marijuana and recreational cannabis is legal in Canada making it easier for approvals for Health Canada to oversee studies and regulations.
CBD is typically take in drops infused in oil but once the compound hits the stomach it is quickly digested by gut enzymes, leaving less of the treatment to enter the blood system. Delivering the drug this way makes it harder to dose patients and a drug would need to be taken several times a day for efficacy. Innocan, in theory, offer a drug delivery mechanism for all types of CBD therapies tackling a wide range of needs.
A volunteer with the Committee Against Bird Slaughter frees a bird snared in a mist net in Sardinia. Suspended between two poles, the nets are made of thread so fine that birds in flight don’t see them.
Finch trapping was banned in Malta in 2018, but conservation groups say it hasn’t stopped.
A new report coming out of Cyprus alleges that more than 400,000 songbirds were trapped illegally in the autumn of 2023, poached for an illegal dish. And animal rights activists there say the practice is on the rise.
“Illegal bird trapping has become a demand-driven wildlife crime, with the trading of trapped birds in lawbreaking restaurants being the key economic driver for organised trappers, who, as is generally acknowledged, make thousands of euros of illegal profit every year,” says BirdLife Cyprus.
Songbirds are trapped in nets and then cooked into what is known as ambelopoulia, a controversial dish of grilled, fried, pickled or boiled songbirds. It is a traditional dish enjoyed by native Cypriots and you can find it in some restaurants.
BirdLife Cyprus, who conducted the study found that “illegal bird trapping with mist nets showed an apparent increase during autumn 2023, based on the survey data. Despite this increase, the enforcement efforts of both the SBA police and the Game and Fauna Service are fully acknowledged.
“Autumn 2023 was a good case study of what would happen if resources are removed/ or diverted too soon. Pressure and sufficient enforcement resources committed to tackling bird trapping need to be maintained for many years, to ensure that trapping levels remain low. Any relaxation could undo the positive progress recorded over the last few seasons,” they recommend.
Mark Thomas, the head of the bird group RSPB investigations, said organised trappers are continuing to make huge profits for little risk. “We cannot allow the progress we have made to be undone and the shocking levels of songbird killings to return to the abhorrent levels we once saw,” he said.
The death death toll estimates do not take into consideration any illegal bird trapping taking place into the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus.
Trapping songbirds is currently illegal in Cyprus as it involves trapping wild birds such as blackcaps and European robins. As spring begins in the Middle East and Africa, and migratory birds head to Europe be cautious to not support this illegal dish. While some countries ban the consumption of wildlife to protect it, there is often a problem enforcing the law – as is the case with shark fin soup.
A songbird poacher net in Cyprus
You can also find songbirds for sale in restaurants in Italy and Malta, and according to BirdLife Italy it is estimated that more than 5 million birds are hunted illegally in Italy every year. Some are killed for use in traditional dishes and others, particularly songbirds, are kept alive to be smuggled into Malta.
In northern Italy, “polenta uccelli” is a traditional autumn dish. The birds are grilled on a spit and served with a portion of polenta, as well as a local sausage.
In France a songbird Ortolan Bunting is eaten and is called the sin plate. To hide their shame, people eat it with their heads covered in napkins to hide their sin from God. It is banned in France, but the practice continues.
The french eating songbirds, ortolon. Source: unknownAccording to a Reddit submission: Roast Ortolan, an adorable bird the size of a man’s thumb and weighs less than an ounce. It is meant to be eaten feet first with the beak and head being last so you can enjoy the subtle flavours of the brain when the little skull breaks between your teeth. It’s a French delicacy.
What’s a person to do? Keep an eye our for bird poaching nets when on hikes in Cyprus, Turkey-occupied Cyprus, Italy, and Malta. If you find the nets or this illegal dish for sale in a restaurant, contact BirdLife Cyprus or BirdLife International. The group also offers ideas for you to do your part, like how to protect songbird nests. last thing: never order a wild bird for dinner.
In my foraging walks during late winter and spring, I’m always glad to find Navelwort (Umbelicus rupestris). It’s a fleshy, light-green plant often rooted in damp old walls and piles of rocks. Navelwort, also known as pennywort, is becoming rare.
I collect a few of the juicy leaves for use in my moisturizing formula, where they’ll add soothing, anti-inflammatory properties. Is navelwort edible? Yes, and if by chance I come across a place where navelwort grows abundantly, I’ll bring a few more leaves home to eat raw in salad – to be honest, more because I enjoy the experience than because of their flavor, which is mild and neutral.
For the hungry forager, we have a post about a tastier, more easily found wild edible: beet greens.
The seventeenth-century herbalist Nicholas Culpepper knew and appreciated navelwort, saying this of it:
“The juice or the distilled water being drank, is very effectual for all inflammations and unnatural heats, to cool a fainting hot stomach, a hot liver, or the bowels: the herb, juice, or distilled water thereof, outwardly applied, heals pimples, St. Anthony’s fire, and other outward heats.
“The said juice or water helps to heal sore kidneys, torn or fretted by the stone, or exulcerated within; it also provokes urine, is available for the dropsy, and helps to break the stone. Being used as a bath, or made into an ointment, it cools the painful piles or hæmorrhoidal veins. It is no less effectual to give ease to the pains of the gout, the sciatica, and helps the kernels or knots in the neck or throat, called the king’s evil: healing kibes (ulcerated chilblains) and chilblains if they be bathed with the juice, or anointed with ointment made thereof, and some of the skin of the leaf upon them: it is also used in green wounds to stay the blood, and to heal them quickly.”
According to the Plants For A Future Plant Database (PFAF), navelwort can be found in leaf all year, in flower from June to August. The seeds ripen from July to September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is self-fertile. The flowers turn red if the plant grows in a sunny spot.
Keep in mind that PFAF’s articles concern plants growing in the UK and Europe, not often mentioning growing conditions in the Levant. In Israel, where I live, navelwort has dried up and disappeared by July.
If you’re intrigued enough to try cultivating Navelwort, it’s (again, via the PFAF database) suitable for light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
I myself don’t think of cultivating navelwort; it’s too dry and hot where I live. But when I lived in the cool north of the country, where there are still many uncultivated green spots and ancient, fallen-down stone houses, I’d love to find the round leaves, that look like a collection of belly-buttons, poking up from some old wall. Those ancient Romans had a knack for naming things: umbilicus meaning navel, and rupestris, of the wall.
Or you can imagine that a long-ago someone poked a finger into the leaves to leave a dimple in the middle.
I cherish navelwort not only for the uses I put it to, but because of its growing rarity. The places that favor its growth are fast disappearing under urban construction.
It recalls a much earlier time, when a kindlier climate allowed these innocent herbs to thrive undisturbed, and humans in their foraging took only what they needed and left the rest alone.
“If you remove all the scum suckers in the great fish tank of Earth, you’re going to get a dirty tank eventually”
Known as the rainforests of the sea, coral reefs create habitats for 25% of all marine organisms, despite only covering less than 1% of the ocean’s area. Coral patches the width and height of basketball arenas used to be common throughout the world’s oceans. But due to numerous human-generated stresses and coral disease, which is known to be associated with ocean sediments, most of the world’s coral is gone.
“It’s like if all the pine trees in Georgia disappeared over a period of 30 to 40 years,” said Mark Hay, Regents’ Chair and the Harry and Anna Teasley Chair in Environmental Biology in the School of Biological Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “Just imagine how that affects biodiversity and ecosystems of the ocean.”
In first-of-its-kind research, Hay, along with research scientist Cody Clements, discovered a crucial missing element that plays a profound role in keeping coral healthy — an animal of overlooked importance known as a sea cucumber.
Their study, undertaken in remote tropical islands in the Pacific, investigated the role that sea cucumbers play in coral health. The small, unassuming, sediment-eating organisms function like autonomous vacuum cleaners of the ocean floor.
But, because they have been overharvested for decades for food and cannot reproduce effectively when in low densities, they are now rare and slow to recover following harvests. They have been gone so long that it wasn’t known exactly how important they are — until now.
“We knew that removing big predators has cascading effects that commonly change how ecosystems are organized and how they function,” said Hay. “What we didn’t know is what would happen following removal of detritivores — or as we like to call them, the janitors of the system.”
The team’s research was published in the journal Nature Communications.
A Missing Component
The idea began when Hay saw an etching of a 19th-century sailing ship in a Fiji museum. The caption explained that the ship was leaving Fiji carrying many tons of dried sea cucumbers. Hay realized that the creatures he would rarely see while diving and working around reefs had likely once covered the bottom of shallow tropical oceans.
Sea cucumbers are invertebrate sea animals that come in all different sizes, colors, and shapes. They lie on and burrow under the sand all day, sucking, digesting, and excreting sediment, consuming bacteria and other organics. Hay and Clements were curious about the role sea cucumbers played when they were abundant. But it wasn’t until Clements was doing unrelated field work in Mo’orea, a tropical island in French Polynesia, that an opportunity presented itself.
Clements, who has worked in coral restoration for years, has planted upwards of 10,000 corals in his career. He was planting corals in the sand just off the island shore, in an area where many sea cucumbers were present. He decided to clear out the sea cucumbers from the area because there were so many.
He noticed that the corals started to die, which seemed unusual.
“I’ve planted a lot of corals in my day, and my corals generally don’t die,” Clements said. “So I thought there must be something to this.”
Hay and Clements set up patches to monitor coral health with and without the presence of sea cucumbers. They marked the patches via GPS and went to check them daily.
For the patches without sea cucumbers, they often observed a white band developing at the base of the corals, which would work its way up and eventually kill the entire colony. It was a hallmark of sediment-associated coral diseases seen around the world.
“If you remove all the scum suckers in the great fish tank of Earth, you’re going to get a dirty tank eventually,” Clements said. “People have paid lip service to the idea that sea cucumbers could be important for a long time, but we didn’t know the scale of their importance until now.
“Basically, we’ve been polluting our environs at the same time that we’ve removed all the janitors,” Hay said.
Hay and Clements hope their findings will encourage communities to limit harvesting and begin to repopulate sea cucumber species.
Migrants are moving around Africa because of drought
Migrants are moving around Africa because of drought
In a study recently published in the journal Ecology, University of California, Irvine scientists uncover the intricate dance between drought, wildfires and invasive species in Southern California’s coastal sage scrub ecosystems. The research, led by Sarah Kimball, director of the Center for Environmental Biology at UCI, sheds light on the critical interplay of these factors and its profound implications for ecosystem health.
The research, conducted at the Loma Ridge Global Change Experiment, showcases how prolonged drought acts as a catalyst, influencing not only the severity of wildfires but also paving the way for invasive species to take center stage. By simulating drought conditions, the study clarifies connections between climate change, wildfire dynamics, and shifts in plant communities.
Reduced fire severity associated with drought creates an environment conducive to invasive species. Non-native grasses, in particular, thrive in these conditions, potentially leading to a transformation of the landscape and abundance and diversity of native species.
The findings carry significant implications for managing these vulnerable ecosystems. The study advocates for strategies that carefully consider the frequency of wildfires and the control of invasive species post-fire. Controlled burns, commonly used in other ecosystems, are not recommended for coastal sage scrub systems, as they can inadvertently promote invasive species.
“This study is unique in that replicate experimental plots were subjected to several years of different precipitation regimes prior to the wildfire, allowing an opportunity to test how a range of pre-fire weather conditions influenced fire severity and resulting plant community composition,” says Kimball: “We found feedbacks between invasive species and low-severity wildfire, indicating that control burns should not be conducted in this system.”
Beyond academic circles, the research holds significance for the public. As wildfires increasingly impact communities, comprehending the factors influencing their severity becomes paramount. The study prompts a reevaluation of traditional wildfire management approaches, highlighting the urgent need to address climate change for the preservation of natural ecosystems.
The 3.2 million panel solar farm, Kalyon Karapınar Solar Power Plant, in Turkey will give power to more than 2 million people.
The Ottomans controlled the Levant’s Lebanon, Israel and Syria from the 1500s until the end of World War I in 1918. The Ottoman Empire, from Turkey, was known for its notable architecture of domes and design. These are buildings that last until today. Good architecture is sustainable because people like to protect beautiful buildings. This is what we are seeing in a rare instance where design meets an industrial solar power plant in Turkey. The 3.2 million panel solar farm, Kalyon Karapınar Solar Power Plant, is one of the largest in the region.
Istanbul-based studio Bilgin Architects have designed the the solar farm’s offices and hub called the Central Control Building and have covered it in shimmering steel panels. It is the nerve center for one of the region’s largest solar farms.
We love that Turkey is using local architects –– important so that vision matches culture and sensibilities. This is not the case in Saudi Arabia, which hires starchitects from the west to build Neom.
The Central Control Building is more than just a utilitarian structure; it is a study in contrasts. The shimmering steel panels are in stark juxtaposition to the arid landscape that surrounds it. The metallic skin, composed of 7,200 stainless steel panels, is not merely a design choice but a strategic decision to integrate the building with its environment.
A facade of shimmering steel panels envelops this control centre that Istanbul studio Bilgin Architects has created in the plains of Karapinar, Turkey. Named Central Control Building, it is designed by Bilgin Architects to act as a centralised location from which to monitor and control the expansive field of 3.2 million solar panels.
Caner Bilgin, the studio’s founding partner, explains that the high reflectance levels of the facade allow the building to blend seamlessly into the horizon, creating a visual continuity that is both striking and harmonious. The building became operational in 2023.
But the facade is more than just a static element; it is a dynamic interplay of light and shadow, transparency and opacity. Perforations in the steel panels create varying levels of transparency, resulting in an ever-changing pattern that interacts with the shifting light and weather conditions.
From the inside, the facade acts as a semi-transparent screen, veiling the outside landscape during the day and revealing the internal spaces at night. This interplay of light not only enhances the building’s aesthetic appeal but also serves practical purposes, optimizing airflow and minimizing heat absorption.
The design of the Central Control Building is not confined to its exterior; it extends inward to create a space that is both functional and inviting. Offices and meeting spaces for engineering and management teams are housed within its walls, while public areas serve as venues for educational events and exhibitions, inviting visitors to engage with solar technology firsthand.
It’s a place people will want to work, show their friends and family and where visitors and prospective investors can feel the power and performance of solar energy.
At the heart of the steel-mirrored building lies a central courtyard, and a green roof planted with local species that thrive in the harsh desert climate. This oasis not only provides a refuge from the sun but also contributes to the building’s energy efficiency, acting as a natural cooling system that reduces the need for artificial ventilation.
In contrast to the sprawling field of solar panels that stretches to the horizon, the courtyard and interiors of the Central Control Building offer a sense of human scale and connection to nature. Visitors can find solace in the shade of a tree.
Solar energy business
“Türkiye will no longer be a country in need of energy resources but will rather be a country capable of energy export,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in inauguration ceremony in 2023. Developed by Kalyon Energy, the solar plant in the central province of Konya boasts an installed capacity of 1,350 megawatts (MW). It promises to help Turkey curb its vast energy imports.
More than 3.2 million solar panels at the facility are to generate 3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to provide power to 2 million people and prevent the consumption of fossil fuel resources equivalent to $450 million USD.
The $1 billion plant has already started producing electricity, and will prevent 1.5 million tons of carbon emissions annually and increase the share of solar energy in Turkey’s total energy production by 20%.
Kalyon Holding, in August last year, agreed to sell a 50% stake in Kalyon Energy to the Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Co (IHC) for about $490 million. The transaction included the solar power project in Karapınar, in addition to another one in the Gaziantep region and a wind power project in Ankara.
Turkey’s current renewable capacity accounts for over half of its total installed power capacity at 104,488mw. Hydropower capacity stands at around 31,600mw, followed by wind at 11,490mw. Solar power generation reached 9,820mw.
Scientists reveal secrets to Earth’s magnificent desert star dunes, found in Asia, African –– and on Mars
Star dunes, or pyramid dunes, have fascinated historians and captured the imaginations of indigenous people seeking wisdom and meaning. They can be found in Asia, Africa and on Mars and they move around from time to time, rising up to about 1000 feet at their peak. Scientists believe they understand the mechanics of star dunes, by observing a star dune in eastern Morocco called Lala Lallia, meaning ‘highest sacred point’ in local Berber tongue.
Berbers in Morocco
The researchers used radar to look inside the dune applying luminescence dating to determine how long Lala Lallia has taken to form, a method that looks at the amount of energy trapped inside the grains of sand. The answer: it started growing about 13,000 years ago, shifted directions and 900 years ago started accumulating roughly 6,400 metric tons of sand annually as wind relentlessly blows sand through the desert.
Only about 10% of the world’s sand dunes are star dunes. Driving on sand dunes is a past-time in the Sahara and the Middle East. But Green Prophet’s writer Ajmal bashes dune bashing saying it destroys nature. Trekking by camel or on foot is better, and if you are flexible, watch what you can do on sand dunes below.
“I first encountered star dunes in Namibia 20 years ago, and was instantly amazed at the size of them. I have a vivid memory of the long climb to the top, struggling up very loose sand in the heat of the day,” said geographer Geoff Duller of Aberystwyth University in Wales, co-author of the study published in the journal Scientific Reports.
“I find desert dunes very beautiful,” Duller added. “The sight of the sinuous curves, and the way that the light and shadow changes with the sun mean that they always look different, whether that is in the cool of the morning, the midday sun or near sunset. The different colours of sand in different deserts are also very striking, with yellow, white, red and even black dunes in different parts of the world.”
Rub’ al Khali, Empty Quarter, Saudi Arabia (Wikipedia)
Earth’s largest star dunes can be found in the the Badain Jaran desert in western China. There are also sand seas in Algeria such as the Grand Erg Oriental and Grand Erg Occidental, and Rub’ al Khali in Saudi Arabia.
The US Navy confirms that the British-owned bulk carrier M/V Rubymar has sunk. It was struck by a Houthi missile two weeks ago and the published this picture below is showing the vessel sunk on a sandbank in the Red Sea. It went down with 21,000 metric tons of fertilizer.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed late Saturday that the vessel “sank in the Red Sea after being struck” by an anti-ship ballistic missile last month.
“The approximately 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer that the vessel was carrying presents an environmental risk in the Red Sea,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “As the ship sinks it also presents a subsurface impact risk to other ships transiting the busy shipping lanes of the waterway,” it added.
The Yemen-based terror group, known as the Houthis, were holding an oil tank, the FSO Safer, hostage until this past summer when international organizations finally negotiated a rescue deal.
Greenpeace Middle East North Africa (MENA) which works independently from Greenpeace, or Greenpeace International have not condemned the Houthis and their persistent attacks against cargo ships and oil tankers in the Red Sea since the October 7, terror attack by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Green Prophet reached out to Greenpeace MENA in late December, and several times thereafter, and there has been no response to the attacks on naval traffic heading to the Suez Canal. A statement came out only after the ship had sunk. Greenpeace MENA released a statement yesterday they were “concerned”.
Lebanon-based Julien Jreissati, Programme Director at Greenpeace MENA said: “This disruption could have far-reaching consequences, affecting various species that depend on these ecosystems and, in turn, potentially impacting the very livelihoods of coastal communities. Immediate access to the shipwreck site is imperative for an expert response team to assess the situation and swiftly devise and implement an emergency plan.”
The coral reefs in the Red Sea are the most northerly reef on the planet. Thousands of divers go to Sinai, Egypt every year on dive trips to sites like Abu Galum and the Blue Hole, near Dahab. Saudi Arabia is building its future tourism industry on Red Sea coastal resorts and towns like The Line. The Houthis have been firing at Saudi Arabia indiscriminately for the last several years while a majority of ordinary Yemenites starve.
Trankila Beach in Sinai is surrounded by coral reefs that aren’t doing well.
Post-revolution sites like Dahab have since recovered since the 2011 uprisings in Cairo. The ongoing Hamas-Israel war presents an uncertain future for future Red Sea tourism, certainly at beach camps in Sinai which have little security and where terror operatives can find refuge.
“Yemen will continue to sink more British ships, and any repercussions or other damages will be added to Britain’s bill,” Hussein al-Ezzi, a head terror operative said said in a post on X. “It is a rogue state that attacks Yemen and partners with America in sponsoring ongoing crimes against civilians in Gaza.”
Toray Industries from Japan announces it will supply the membranes for a new reverse osmosis desalination plant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This will be the Kingdom’s first seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant using clean energy under a public-private-partnership (PPP) structure.
The Yanbu 4 desalination plant is located 100 miles of Saudi’s Madinah province, near the town of Ar Rayyis. With the production capacity of 450,000 cubic meters per day of potable water once it is completed, the plant will supply drinking water to the Makkah and Madinah regions respectively. This is where millions of Muslims go on a Hajj pilgrimage. Good green news in advance of Ramadan which starts next week.
United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi shared this picture of Mecca during the annual Hajj pilgrimage on June 26, 2023. (UAE Space Agency)
Toray will supply the RO elements and provide technical services and will help alleviate water shortages not only in Makkah and Madinah regions but in the Middle East and North Africa.
Over the years, Toray has expanded RO membrane sales, production, and technical support to help resolve global water issues. Applications extend from desalination and waste water reclamation to industrial usage. The aggregate water production capacity of Toray RO membranes is 120,000,000 cubic meters per day. That is enough to serve the water needs of 840 million people.
Providing access to clean water is pivotal to the Toray Group Sustainability Vision, representing a roadmap to the World as Envisioned by Toray Group in 2050, and embodies Toray Vision 2030, through which the Group pursues sound, sustainable growth.
Toray will continue to provide RO membranes and other advanced membrane technologies and strengthen technical services to cater to local demand. It will thereby help resolve water issues in the Middle East and other regions in which industrial and population expansions will likely boost water demand.
In my small yard, in central Israel, I count at least seven edible wild species: mustard; nettles; chickweed; sow thistle; goosefoot; mallows, and wild beets. These, and other wild edibles, are native to the Mediterranean. We’ve written about nettles and mallows, and about growing chickweed at home. Today I’m focusing on wild beet greens.
Right now, late winter in the Levant, is prime time to forage beet leaves. I’ll keep harvesting them until mid- or late March. In North America and Europe, wild beets (and many other wild edibles) become available months later, in springtime through summer.
I love popping out of the house in the morning, still in pajamas, making my way to the tangled plot where the wild beets raise their leaves. Quickly, I cut enough young greens to fill a quiche, enhance a soup, or make a simple stir-fry. I leave the root alone as hardly being worthwhile harvesting: it’s a spindly white thing, best left in the soil to push up a a new cluster again next year.
If I get worried that I’m over-harvesting my yard, all I have to do is take a walk around my neighborhood, and I’ll find plenty of wild beets. The soil here is heavy, a mix of clay and sand, which beets love. I find them in abandoned lots and on the side of roads, some already quite mature.
These wild beets are the foremothers of Swiss Chard, known here as Mangold. They grow from a single point in the ground, and their leaves vary in size, the young ones being smaller and lower down on the stalk. They’re triangular to oval, with scalloped edges, very glossy and dark green, with deep, lighter-colored veins running through them. As the plant matures, the stalks take on the familiar red color.
And no, beet greens aren’t related to spinach, nor do they taste like spinach. Their taste is similar to Swiss chard, naturally. Still, you can swap beet greens for spinach in any recipe: soup, quiche, omelets and fritattas – you name it.
Nutrition? Beet greens have plenty of vitamins K, C, and A. Minerals in them worth mentioning are magnesium, some iron, and calcium. Lots of fresh green fiber, too.
I’m already thinking of summer, when the landscape here will be sere and brown, and the late-winter greens will have died away. To preserve some for the summer, I cut more greens than I need, rinse them in cool water and examine them for any little freeloaders like snails, which also love the warm, damp conditions of the Mediterranean late winter.
Then I chop the greens, sauté them with onions and garlic in olive oil, and freeze them. Now they’re ready to use in just about any dish. Alternatively, I set the leaves out in a dry, shady place and let them dry thoroughly. I crumble the dried leaves into soups and stews.
There’s only one safety warning with wild beet greens themselves: the large, mature leaves are are best avoided by people with kidney stone issues, as they have a relatively high oxalic acid content. The small, younger leaves growing farther down the stalks are fine. I eat the young leaves as often as I like, with no harm done.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that at first glance, some very toxic wild plants resemble wild beets. For example, lords and ladies, known here as loof. I’ve read reports of people gathering wild mandrake leaves too, mistaking them for wild beets. Look for dark-green, very glossy leaves. Other plants are not so glossy.
Always make 100% sure that you’ve identified your foraged greens correctly.
Moroccan chickpea soup. Hearty and comforting.
I love the Moroccan-based chickpea and spinach soup, in which I swap wild beet greens for the spinach. Find the recipe here.
This soup originated in Morocco, where home cooks usually use spinach. But I’ve adapted it to include the abundant wild beet greens that grow in my yard. It’s rich, satisfying, and vegan. Part of it’s charm is that the greens are added last to each bowl. This keeps the greens’ flavor fresh.
Water availability, urban heat island effect, and energy use are major concerns shared by desert cities around the world.
Water availability, urban heat island effect, and energy use are major concerns shared by desert cities around the world. Taking place on 5th and 6th March 2024 at Expo 2023 Doha Qatar, the AIPH Green City Conference will showcase urban greening strategies that cities in arid zones can adopt to create liveable environments.
The Conference is organised by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) with the support of Host Expo 2023 Doha Qatar and Headline Sponsor Biblo. Prominent speakers from around the world will present on the Conference theme of ‘city greening solutions for arid environments’.
In the opening session, AIPH is pleased to welcome Prof David Simon, Professor of Development Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London. Prof Simon’s research focuses on cities, climate change and sustainability, and the relationships between development theory, policy and practice. His recent book ‘Sustainable Human Settlements within the Global Urban Agenda’ explores the dynamics of the UN’s SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities – and how it is understood in different regional and national contexts. This opening presentation will showcase Prof Simon’s work with Earthna on arid cities.
Museum of Islamic Art, Doha Qatar
The second speaker in the opening session is Kishor Rajhansa, Chief Operating Officer of the Global Carbon Council (GCC). Based in Qatar, Mr Rajhansa is a climate change, energy, and sustainability leader with 28 years of experience. He is responsible for operating GCC, a carbon-offsetting programme that assists organisations in reducing their carbon footprint. This is achieved by developing stringent but simplified standards and establishing transparent certification processes.
Jordan’s dry climate design
During the second session, the Conference will focus on local and regional initiatives that combat challenges that arise in desert cities. Founder and Chair of the Society of Sustainability & Green Materials (SSGM), Dr Ali Al Jassim will present the non-profit’s work to raise awareness and improve knowledge sharing in sustainability, green materials, and circular economy in the UAE. The Society’s work involves supporting the development of policies and regulations that advance these goals.
The Fog Collection Project successfully collected 350,000 gallons of water from fog during the Khareef. In Doha
Joining Dr Al Jassim in this session is Jala Makhzoumi, Vice President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) and Acting President of IFLA Middle East. In her presentation, Ms Makhzoumi will motivate the focus of greening to go beyond the physical space to embrace intangible processes and consider perceptual and emotional perspectives of urban nature. Through this, an enduring stewardship of natural resources in cities and globally can be achieved. Dr Saeed Alhassan Alkhazraji continues the theme of caring for natural resources to describe innovative research for solving water issues using nature. Technologies developed at Manhat produce water by mimicking the natural water cycle.
Doha Tower
The issues faced by arid cities are not unique. In the afternoon session of the Conference, speakers from other regions will present the living green solutions being employed to combat shared issues. Speakers will showcase the initiatives being employed to mitigate urban heat in Asia, re-naturing cities through nature-based solutions, and how AI can offer easy access to nature data.
Conference speakers include:
Prof. David Simon, Professor of Development Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, and author of ‘Sustainable Human Settlements within the Global Urban Agenda’
Kishor Rajhansa, Chief Operating Officer, Global Carbon Council
Dr Ali Al Jassim, Chair of the Society of Sustainability & Green Materials (SSGM)
Jala Makhzoumi, Vice President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) and Acting President of IFLA Middle East
Huda Shaka, Director of Urban Strategy and Planning, Gehl
Dr Saeed Alhassan Alkhazraji, Founder, Manhat
Dr Mario V Balzan, Senior Lecturer at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), and Managing Director at Ecostack Innovations
Diane Lee, Media Relations Manager – Asia Region, AIPH
Thomas Gooch – Founder/CEO of Office of Planetary Observations (OPO)
On the second day of the Conference, on 6th March 2024, delegates will visit key green city sites in the Doha municipality. For more information about the speakers and the program, and to book your place at this inspiring meeting, visit the AIPH Website.
Does ESG have a place in war? Russian and Ukrainian armies report weapons failing because rats are eating eco-cables
Not so long after Hamas attacked Israel and the Israel-Gaza war begun, newspapers in England were discussing the environmental footprint of war, begging the question – should war also consider the ecological consequences of harm to the planet done while fighting? Agent orange, nuclear bombs at Hiroshima. The world has learned that even in war there are limits. But should we be okaying weapons made with eco-materials that are sub-par with real plastics?
The argument from green organizations should be consistent but it seems absurd that when the Houthis are sinking ships carrying oil, Greenpeace does nothing to condemn them. It is also absurd now that armies of Russia and the Ukraine are battling a third front on the war against each other: rodents are coming out in full force, causing weaponry to fail. The cause?
New ESG regulations called for corn starch-based insulation cables in the weapons – cables that the mice like to eat. Remember Israel’s car eating camels and the Susita?
“European countries have supplied weapon systems The dilemma of ensuring electrical insulation durability is a problem for modern weapons. The issue affects countries where ESG (Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance) guidelines are making their way into the arms industry”
Reports of European weaponry systems failing in Ukraine due to ESG policies entering Western weapons industries.
Cable insulation is increasingly made out of corn fiber instead of synthetic materials.
Members of communities have reportedly been denied access to clean and safe water for decades: “Even as DuPont and Chemours had information about the toxic impacts of PFAS on human health and drinking water, the companies continued to produce and discharge PFAS,” experts from the UN said in a press statement: “DuPont and Chemours have produced, marketed and profited from PFAS for decades, contributing to a global toxic contamination problem.”
What are Forever Chemicals and where do they come from?
Personal care products like shampoo or dental floss and cosmetics like nail polish and eye makeup as well as some plastics, grease-resistant paper, fast food containers, stain-resistant coatings on carpets, upholstery and other fabrics, all contain PFAS. PFAS are a class of toxic chemicals also known as forever chemicals because they are highly persistent, meaning that they do not easily degrade in nature and can cause harm for decades, even centuries.
The UN experts expressed alarm at the exports of PFAS-hazardous waste from The Netherlands to the United States, in a breach of international law.
“DuPont and Chemours appear to have impermissibly captured the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and delayed its efforts to properly regulate PFAS chemicals,” the UN added, accusing the US of human rights abuses.
“Health and environmental regulators in the United States have fallen short in their duty to protect against business-related human rights abuses, including providing the public, particularly affected communities in North Carolina, with the type and amount of information necessary to prevent harm and seek reparation. Where legal action has been taken against the two companies, enforcement and remediation measures have been inadequate,” the UN experts said.
Shortcomings by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, and the courts undermine community’s right to information and their right to an effective remedy. The experts raised these concerns with the US Government which is yet to reply.
The UN experts sent letters to DuPont and Chemours. In their replies, DuPont and Chemoursexplained how they have changed their corporate structures and operations. In this regard, the experts expressed their apprehension at how this corporate restructuring has posed further obstacles to achieving accountability and effective remedies. Corporate restructuring should not lead to impunity for human rights abuses, the experts said.
The UN experts also expressed grave concern at reports that Chemours had applied to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality for an air permit to expand its PFAS production.
American environmental lawyer Marcos A. Orellana, Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights; Canadian “warrior lawyer” David R. Boyd, Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment; Spanish lawyer Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation; Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Nigerian lawyer Damilola Olawuyi (Chairperson), Robert McCorquodale (Vice-Chairperson), Elżbieta Karska, Fernanda Hopenhaym, and Pichamon Yeophantong, Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises.
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.
The flowers and leaves here in Khirbet Urva connect us with our ancestors who lived on this hilltop here millennia ago. Notice the rows of stones, the remainders of Urva’s walls. Under that unnatural-looking mound in the center left lies an ancient house or something.
Israel Is Both Sick and Healthy – In the midst of a tragic war, this winter’s rains are remarkably balanced.
These are strange times in Israel. Israel the People are perhaps in more trouble than anytime since the Holocaust. Our nation is in pain, alone and afraid. Yet Israel the Land is healthier than ever, because this year’s winter rains are falling hard and steady, balanced and healthy.
Healthy Israel
Throughout the Torah, the Land of Israel’s state of health is expressed by the winter rain cycle. When they come on time, nurturing the year’s new life, Israel is healthy and thriving, and supports its children with bountiful harvests. When they don’t arrive, or if they come at the wrong time, Israel falls ill, and its children, in turn, suffer from drought.
Here is the Torah’s first blessing for those who follow its ways faithfully:
I’ll give the rains in their time, and the land will give its harvest, and the trees of the orchard will give their fruits (Leviticus 26:3)
To which the Ramban (Nachmanides) commented: “He began with the rains, because when they come on time, as is proper, the air will be pure and good, and the springs and rivers good. This will bring health to physical bodies, and all the fruits will be plentiful and blessed by them [the rains].”
Then people won’t get sick, and they and their animals won’t miscarry or be barren. Their days will be full, because when bodies are large and healthy, they survive their whole lifespan. This is the greatest of blessings.
Israel the Land is healthy from balanced rain, because health means balance. A healthy Israel, in turn, supports healthy and balanced lives for Israel the Nation. Therefore, Jews gather during the fall festival of Sukkos for a special rain-prayer, and gather again in the spring festival of Pesach to pray for dew instead of rain.
Healthy rain, like we’re experiencing this year, is spread out evenly along the winter months. Every week or two, there’s a few days of rain, then a break to allow Natural Israel to absorb the blessing and grow its plants. The ground isn’t parched nor a muddy morass.
When we’re out on foraging walks these days, Israel shouts its vibrant health from the countless leaves, flowers, and shrubs in every corner of the countryside. New, fresh life greets us at every turn.
Khirbet Urva
Last week, we were foraging on Khirbet Urva, a lovely hilltop village near Bet Shemesh that dates back at least to the Second Temple Period. Khirbet Urva isn’t particularly well known; I doubt it receives more than a few dozen visitors a year. When every second hill in the area sports millennia-old settlements, only a select few get famous, often simply because they are the most accessible by car.
In places like Khirbet Urva, the verdant foliage between the rows of ancient stones bonds together the places and people of the past, present, and future. Foraging here makes Israel come alive; our heritage isn’t just half-buried buildings and walls, because local wild plants silently bear witness to the march of time. We roam around eating the plants whose ancestors were eaten by our ancestors right here.
One of my favorite annual plants, milk thistle, guzzles huge quantities of water in its upward rush. The milk thistle now is in the “celery stage,” where we forage the juicy stalks.
Take a look at one of Khirbet Urva’s scores of milk thistle patches:
Both Sick and Healthy
I don’t know how to resolve God’s conflicting signals to Israel: terrible war but thriving healthy rain.
But I don’t really think it’s a problem, because both are true. Inside the midst of tragedy, God is sending us a message of comfort and hope with the pitter-patter of raindrops on our windows.
For that we can be grateful.
Rain-life Today
Maybe you’re wondering why you should care about Israel’s rainfall in the 21th century when most of the country’s water comes from desalination?
In my new book, Land of Health: Israel’s War for Wellness, I explain how rain is the model of livelihood that descends as a gift from heaven, as opposed to river-based life which we wrest away from nature. Land of Health is available now on Amazon, in bookstores in Israel, and directly from me in Bet Shemesh, Israel.
Upcoming Foraging Walk in RBS
Would you like to join me on a foraging walk in Natural Israel?
Hawthorne berries in IsraelBible
Contact me today to book your private walk. I’m also guiding a discounted open walk in Ramat Bet Shemesh on Election Day (Tuesday, February 27). The walk will have two parts: an easy walk in the local Yarmut Park, followed by an easy hike on a nearby hill that sports a Second Temple Period clay lamp factory and town.
Shmuel Chaim Naiman is a health teacher and foraging guide in Ramat Bet Shemesh. He writes about healthy Jewish living and Israel’s natural world, teaches the nightly Healthy Jew class at Yeshivas Lev Hatorah, guides popular foraging walks, and offers personalized health coaching. He recently published a book, Land of Health: Israel’s War for Wellness, which is available on Amazon and in bookstores (in Israel). Learn more at healthyjew.org, and contact him at scnaiman@healthyjew.org.
After finishing reading your newspaper, have you ever wondered what to do with it? This is given that you are reading a print edition: Well, a Japanese publisher of The Mainichi Shimbusha newspaper has introduced a novel initiative called the ‘green’ newspaper, offering a unique solution: you can plant the newspaper once you’re done with it. It has seeds embedded in the paper.
Why was this concept developed? As a means of tidying up urban areas while also contributing to environmental efforts, the Green Newspaper by the Japanese Daily was conceived. it’s a way to also teach people about climate change and sustainability issues.
If you’re inspired by the innovative spirit behind Japan’s plantable newspaper, you might also explore how language and sustainability connect in your own career. For those fluent in Japanese, there are growing opportunities to find remote Japanese language jobs on Jooble. Whether you’re passionate about translation, teaching, or support roles, these positions allow you to leverage language skills while contributing to diverse fields.
First introduced on ‘Greenery Day’ on May 4th, 2016 in Japan this special edition was dedicated solely to environmental news and printed on 100% biodegradable paper with plant-based inks. Each page contained embedded seeds that, when planted, would sprout into flowers attracting butterflies and other pollinators.
Some copies even had seeds for growing herbs! Instructions were included for tearing used newspapers into smaller pieces and planting them in soil. With print advertising’s branding being 185% stronger than digital according to Newswoks’ report on Print vs Digital Advertising (2020), incorporating plantable pages adds an extra allure to the printed word.
Who came up with this idea? The concept originated from Dentsu Inc, one of Japan’s largest advertising agencies, collaborating with The Mainichi, publisher of The Japanese Daily.
Has it been effective? The Green Newspaper is not the first environmental initiative undertaken by The Japanese Daily. They’ve earned a reputation through previous campaigns, such as water donation drives for populations facing drought and unsafe drinking water.
Their eco-friendly newspaper has seen significant success, with a daily circulation exceeding four million copies nationwide and revenues surpassing eighty million yen, equivalent to over £500,000.
The initiative has involved schools, educating children and raising awareness about current environmental issues, thereby instilling the importance of recycling in the next generation.
The Japanese Daily isn’t alone in embracing sustainable planting initiatives. With Europe boasting a recycling rate of 74%, innovative recycling methods are gaining popularity. Plantable greeting cards are increasingly common in stationary shops and supermarkets. Businesses are also adopting eco-friendly promotional materials like seed sticks and plantable papers for business cards, leaflets, and flyers. Plus, you can make them at home. Or make seed bombs which also fun.
How is seed paper made?
Seed paper isn’t a novel concept but rather a slow-growing trend. It’s a simple mixture of recycled paper, water, and small flower or herb seeds. You can even make it at home. Here are the steps:
Tear up your old paper of choice and put it in a blender.
Fill blender with warm water.
Blend until there are no visible paper chunks.
Stir in the seeds. Choose tiny seeds like parsley, lettuce, or za’atar – or flowers.
Strain the mixture to remove excess water. Very important.
Spread the pulp thinly to dry.
Once dry, use it for various purposes like cards or tags, knowing that wherever it ends up, it will eventually bloom into flowers.
So, next time you’re done with a newspaper or come across one during your travels, consider recycling it into something new. And for special occasions, opt for plantable cards, knowing you’re contributing to the planet’s well-being, one page at a time. Oh and kids love making paper. It’s the number one activity we have done with kids over the years. Consider turning your paper into greeting cards, birthday cards or Ramadan cards.
The third edition of World Conference on Climate Change & Sustainability will provide an opportunity to focus attention on the opportunities, challenges and solutions towards net zero worldwide. It will follow up on the first and second edition, held in 2022 and 2023 in Frankfurt and Rome respectively. Climate Week 2024 aims to accelerate collaboration and integrate climate action into global pandemic recovery. Building forward opens an opportunity to address social inequalities and invest in sustainability development that is good for humanity and nature.
The 3rd World Conference on Climate Change & Sustainability, scheduled to take place from October 21-23, 2024, in Barcelona, Spain.
The theme for our upcoming conference is “Tech and Tomorrow: Charting Progress in Climate Change & Sustainability.”
Joining this year’s Climate Week 2024 Barcelona event you’ll learn how people are affected by climate change – from Midwest farmers to coastal residents and urban dwellers. Everyone is a climate stakeholder. You’ll also learn about the people who are finding solutions to climate change, and you’ll get ideas of how to take action to help address climate change.
Measuring climate change and assessing environmental, economic and social impacts
Exploring mechanisms for effective environmental planning and sustainable resource management
Advancing strategies and techniques for climate change mitigation and adaptation
Enhancing the involvement and integration of different stakeholders across international, national, state, city, and community levels for environmental sustainability
Reporting pilot cases and exemplars that can help address climate change issues.
Outlining public and private sector investment goals to combat the climate crisis around the world.
This Climate Week would illustrate that more countries, businesses, and citizens are stepping up to meet the challenges of the climate emergency.
The core objective of Climate Week 2024 is to provide a vibrant platform for discussions on climate and sustainability societies. The aim is to foster an environment that sparks innovative ideas and lays out clear pathways for their practical implementation. As one of the leading european conference in this field, attendees can expect to delve into the most recent developments and issues related to climate change. This three-day scientific gathering will feature keynote sessions covering a wide spectrum, including the effects of climate change, climate policies (such as clean energy policies), air quality measures, subsidy reform, smart agriculture, sustainable food systems, educational and civil society involvement, nature-based solutions, and more.
Climate Week 2024 has been designed to bring together a diverse range of exploration and case studies from around the world, offers contemporaneous sessions and numerous networking opportunities. Attendees will engage with leading experts from organizations, agencies, business leaders, scientists, global and regional companies, investors, academia, entrepreneurs, and more. The focus is on collaborative efforts to deliberate and mitigate the climate crisis through sustainable business solutions, disruptive technology, and advanced knowledge.
Importance of Topic
A solar PV plant in California
These changes in climate have far-reaching consequences, affecting not only our health but also the ecosystems we rely on. Human-induced climate change is already affecting various weather and extremes climate globally. There are many evidences of climate change like heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts, and tropical cyclones, with a growing acknowledgment of their connection to human activities. Projections indicate that climate change will exacerbate the frequency, intensity, and impacts of certain extreme weather events. Taking action to limit global warming to 1.5°C, as opposed to 2°C, could potentially spare around 420 million people from frequent exposure to extreme heatwaves.
The primary focus of Climate Week 2024 is to engage the scientific community toward the next frontier of research—exploring the intricate relationship between earth and climate change. This global conference provides a platform to learn about the latest developments and challenges in areas related to climate change & sustainability. Conference sessions will cover the health co-benefits associated with a broad spectrum of climate policies, spanning clean energy, air quality measures, subsidy reform, smart agriculture, sustainable food systems, educational and civil society involvement, nature-based solutions, and more, during the three-day experts gathering.
The Organising Committee and Scientific Steering Committee of this event extend an invitation to all those actively engaged in addressing climate change and sustainability development. They encourage participants to embrace and build upon the research and climate science presented, integrating perspectives from their respective constituencies. The goal is to make the findings from this conference to the unique contexts of different locations.
The conference seeks participation from decision-makers, regulators, experts, scholars, public figures, and stakeholders across Member States, international organizations, industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations involved in nuclear energy, climate change, environment, economic, and social development portfolios. The event anticipates the engagement of invited speakers, who will deliver valuable presentations and/or participate in panel discussions, enriching the collective discourse on climate action.
Take a moment to behold a marvel destined to vanish from sight—an ephemeral masterpiece unveiled amidst the boundless expanse of the Saudi desert, nestled within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hegra in AlUla. A pair of hands that fade back into the sand. This is the ultimate in sustainable art.
New York artist, David Popa: ephemeral earth frescoes created with earth pigments, charcoal and water.
Dubbed “Hands from Sands” by David Popa, the sculpture was commissioned for the I Care campaign. This initiative, orchestrated by the Royal Commission of AlUla, serves as a clarion call to safeguarding Saudi Arabia’s cultural legacy.
Crafted from sustainable materials “Hands from Sands” epitomizes preservation, echoing the campaign’s overarching mission to nurture and conserve the country’s historical tapestry. It’s a mixed message, since Saudi Arabia is also building the 15-minute-city, The Line and other extravagant cities and holiday destinations.
More about the site: Once a bustling node along ancient trade routes, Hegra now stands as an open-air museum, boasting over a hundred meticulously preserved tombs and rock carvings.
In the canvas of Hegra, “Hands from Sands” spans over a hundred meters. For Popa, the process transcends mere creation; it is a communion with nature, a dance with the elements. Employing only natural materials, delicately mixed with source water, the artist imbues his creation with the spiritual.
Fertility may be enhanced by more sun exposure, finds new study
Fertility may be enhanced by more sun exposure, finds new study
Women who are late to find a partner or who put a focus on a career, usually have a harder time getting pregnant in their 30s and certainly in their 40s as they become less fertile. But a new study suggests the sun might give your egg follicles a boost.
A research team looked at seasonal fluctuations in AMH (anti-Müllerian hormone) levels. Their pioneering study revealed that during the summer, women of late reproductive age — between the ages of 30 and 40 — experience increased secretion of the hormone from their ovaries. This phenomenon is suggested to be attributed to heightened exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
“The ovaries secrete the anti-Müllerian hormone, and its level in the bloodstream is linked to ovarian function,” explains Dr. Ruth Percik from the Institute of Endocrinology at Sheba Medical Center. The results of the study were published in the journal Steroids. It may be used to help improve IFV success rates.
She adds: “While the hormone level is specific to an individual woman at a given point in time and does not provide a definitive assessment of the status of her fertility, evaluating its value, trend, and comparison to the age group is the best indicator of fertility that we have. For this reason, every woman who wants to get pregnant, or is trying to, is sent for an AMH test. In Israel, all of these tests are directed to the central laboratory in Sheba. Our research group investigated the seasonal variability of the AMH tests in order to gauge how the ovaries respond to UV radiation.”
The researchers compared the AMH results of 2,235 Israeli women to the recorded levels of UV radiation. For younger women, aged 20-29, no statistical relationship was found between UV exposure and AMH level. On the other hand, among older fertile women, aged 30 to 40, a statistically significant seasonal pattern emerged: These women, whose egg reserves are in decline, responded positively to sun exposure.
Dr. Carmit Levy, Tel Aviv University
The groundbreaking research was led by Prof. Carmit Levy of the Department of Human Genetics and Biochemistry, in a team effort of Ph.D. student Roma Parikh and Prof. Yftach Gepner of the School of Public Health, all from the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University.
“This is a preliminary, pioneering human epidemiological study,” says Prof. Levy, “and we need to be cautious about inferring a causal relationship between fertility in women and exposure to UV radiation.
“Our research suggests that the female reproductive system is indeed more fertile in the summer, but we still have no information on the mechanism or actual success rates.”
Particularly interesting is the absence of this effect among younger women in their 20s. According to Dr. Percik, this may be attributed to the ample egg reserve found in young women. “Based on my interpretation of the findings, women at the onset of their reproductive age are less in need of signals from the sun, which affect hormonal pathways that have not yet been sufficiently studied.
This effect was most pronounced among women aged 35 and older. One caveat: Exposure to the sun’s UV radiation should always be done in moderation, and further research is required in order to determine whether such exposure actually helps fertility, and how much exposure is needed. And just to be safe, you can make your own organic sunblock using this recipe.
Artificial reefs help preserve coral reefs by shifting divers away from the natural ones, according to new long-term study in the Red Sea
If you were lucky to dive into the Red Sea 25 years ago the undersea life was much different to today where Red Sea coral reefs have turned brown, and corals are dead and dying. Busy shipping lanes in the Red Sea, pollution, sunscreen, extra lights and global warming are leading to the decline of Red Sea coral.
When Green Prophet visited Egypt’s national park, Ras Abu Galum in Sinai, this past fall, beginner snorkelers from Egypt and around the world crowded through a small entry point and at every point of the couple of hours that we were there, snorkelers were standing on the reef.
Coral Reef seed bank proposed for Australia
This, researchers hope, can stop – if they make more artificial reefs for snorkelers and divers to play on –– allowing the natural reefs to recover. Divers are essentially tourists who truly love coral reefs and invest a lot of time and effort to watch them. But divers also cause damage to corals, often unintentionally, through disturbing and re-suspending sand, touching them, hitting them with their equipment, and scaring fish away.
Artificial reefs have been proposed as a means of diverting diving pressure from the natural reef to alternative sites, thus preserving both dive tourism and the coral reef.
Red Sea diver Faris is a professional snorkeler and diver at Abu Galum. He tells Green Prophet that he tries to educate the locals in Egypt about standing on the reef but it doesn’t help.
The problem was noticed years ago in Eilat, Israel on the Red Sea and, as a result, in cooperation with the Nature and Parks Authority, Prof. Nadav Shashar of Ben-Gurion University’s Marine Biology and Biotechnology Program and the OBS company, an artificial reef was established there on the border of the nature reserve enclosing the natural coral reefs.
The artificial reef was established in 2006 and, in 2007, corals, which were grown in a special coral nursery, were planted on it. Since then, it has attracted many species of reef fish and other invertebrates that are difficult to find on the natural reef.
Artificial coral reef in Eilat
The new long-term study, just published in Oceans, tracked the movement of dives before and after the placement of the reef. Before its installation, the introductory diving instructors had to lead their trainees into the reserve to enjoy the dive. However, afterwards, it became a magnet for divers, especially guided dives, and introductory dives. Since introductory dives to the natural coral reefs in the reserve have almost completely stopped.
See how the artificial reef serves as a detour site to the natural reef.
What’s more, the reef remains as attractive as ever 15 years after its installation, thus deciding the question of whether an artificial site would be attractive even after it was no longer a novelty.
Do you buy bottled water? Your plastic consumption is worse than you can imagine.
A new microscopic technique zeroes in on the poorly explored world of nanoplastics, which can pass into blood, cells, and your brain
We buy bottled water, mineral or cleaned, in order to optimize our health. Yet people don’t think about the plastics in the bottle or for how many days they sit under the hot sun before you buy the bottles. Turns out a new study at Columbia University is shedding light on just how much microplastics are coming with your serving of water. A new study suggests that bottled water can contain up to an astonishing 240,000 nanoplastic particles per liter.
These minuscule particles are small enough to potentially enter our bloodstream and organs, posing unknown risks to our health and the implications of consuming these tiny particles are yet to be fully understood. The particles are so small that they can pass the blood brain barrier.
Thanks to our addiction to plastic, microplastics are showing up basically everywhere on Earth, from polar ice to soil, drinking water and food. Formed when plastics break down into progressively smaller bits, these particles are being consumed by humans and other creatures, with unknown potential health and ecosystem effects. One focus of research: bottled water, which has been shown to contain tens of thousands of identifiable fragments in each container.
Now, using newly refined technology, researchers have entered a whole new plastic world: the poorly known realm of nanoplastics, which are the spawn of microplastics that have broken down even further. For the first time, they counted and identified these minute particles in bottled water. They found that on average, a liter contained some 240,000 detectable plastic fragments—10 to 100 times greater than previous estimates, which were based mainly on larger sizes.
The study by researchers at Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, and Columbia Mailman School of Public Health was just published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers say that nanoplastics are so tiny that, unlike microplastics, they can pass through the intestines and lungs directly into the bloodstream and travel from there to organs including the heart and brain. They can invade individual cells, and cross through the placenta to the bodies of unborn babies. Medical scientists are racing to study the possible effects on a wide variety of biological systems.
“Previously this was just a dark area, uncharted. Toxicity studies were just guessing what’s in there,” said study coauthor Beizhan Yan, an environmental chemist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “This opens a window where we can look into a world that was not exposed to us before.”
What are nanoplastics?
The gold dust bought at Walmart may make your graduation photo pretty. But one blow and it’s forever cycling as microplastics that will get into our lungs.
Microplastics are defined as fragments ranging from 5 millimeters (less than a quarter inch) down to 1 micrometer, which is 1 millionth of a meter, or 1/25,000th of an inch. (A human hair is about 70 micrometers across.) Nanoplastics, which are particles below 1 micrometer, are measured in billionths of a meter.
Plastics in bottled water became a public issue largely after a 2018 study detected an average of 325 particles per liter; later studies multiplied that number many times over. Scientists suspected there were even more than they had counted, but good estimates stopped at sizes below 1 micrometer—the boundary of the nano world.
“People developed methods to see nano particles, but they didn’t know what they were looking at,” said the new study’s lead author, Naixin Qian, a Columbia graduate student in chemistry. She noted that previous studies could provide bulk estimates of nano mass, but for the most part could not count individual particles, nor identify which were plastics or something else.
The new study uses a technique called stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, which was co-invented by study coauthor Wei Min, a Columbia biophysicist. This involves probing samples with two simultaneous lasers that are tuned to make specific molecules resonate. Targeting seven common plastics, the researchers created a data-driven algorithm to interpret the results. “It is one thing to detect, but another to know what you are detecting,” said Min.
The researchers tested three popular brands of bottled water sold in the United States (they declined to name which ones), analyzing plastic particles down to just 100 nanometers in size. They spotted 110,000 to 370,000 particles in each liter, 90% of which were nanoplastics; the rest were microplastics. They also determined which of the seven specific plastics they were, and charted their shapes—qualities that could be valuable in biomedical research.
One common one was polyethylene terephthalate or PET. This was not surprising, since that is what many water bottles are made of. (It is also used for bottled sodas, sports drinks and condiments such as ketchup and mayonnaise.) It probably gets into the water as bits slough off when the bottle is squeezed or gets exposed to heat. One recent study suggests that many particles enter the water when you repeatedly open or close the cap, and tiny bits abrade.
However, PET was outnumbered by polyamide, a type of nylon. Ironically, said Beizhan Yan, that probably comes from plastic filters used to supposedly purify the water before it is bottled. Other common plastics the researchers found: polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and polymethyl methacrylate, all used in various industrial processes.
A somewhat disturbing thought: the seven plastic types the researchers searched for accounted for only about 10% of all the nanoparticles they found in samples; they have no idea what the rest are. If they are all nanoplastics, that means they could number in the tens of millions per liter. But they could be almost anything, “indicating the complicated particle composition inside the seemingly simple water sample,” the authors write. “The common existence of natural organic matter certainly requires prudent distinguishment.”
The researchers are already reaching beyond bottled water. “There is a huge world of nanoplastics to be studied,” said Min. He noted that by mass, nanoplastics comprise far less than microplastics, but “it’s not size that matters. It’s the numbers, because the smaller things are, the more easily they can get inside us.”
Among other things, the team plans to look at tap water, which also has been shown to contain microplastics, though far less than bottled water The researchers are now studying microplastics and nanoplastics generated when people do laundry, which end up in wastewater—so far, by a count of millions per 10-pound load, coming off synthetic materials that comprise many items of clothing.
Turkey says it will be Net Zero by 2053 and has declared a significant advancement in its renewable energy sector, allocating 7,500 megawatts (MW) of renewable capacity for industrial use this year. Net Zero by 2053 seems arbitrary and a long way off but consider Canada has declared it will be Net Zero by 2050.
Turkey is emphasising the role of renewables in reducing foreign oil and gas dependence and lowering the current account deficit, said Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar. He stated that $5 billion USD in investments would be made for renewables starting immediately.
With an addition of over 2,800 MW in renewable energy capacity installations last year, Turkey increased the share of renewables in electricity production to 42% of its total energy needs. Bayraktar highlighted the national target of 5,000 MW of annual renewable energy additions, aligning with Turkey’s strategy to address the current account deficit and tackle climate change.
As the carbon border adjustment looms in 2026, he urged manufacturers to cut carbon emissions, underscoring the crucial role of renewable energy in this effort.
Solar power is a growing part of renewable energy Turley, with 10 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels generating 5% of the country’s electricity. Solar thermal is also important. These are the solar panels that heat water on home roofs. Although similarly sunny as Spain, Turkey has installed far less solar power than Spain.
Winter time is tea time. What’s more comforting than sipping a mug of hot tea when it’s freezing outside? There’s a wide range of herbal teas to enjoy, but let’s go past the usual mint and chamomile (delicious though they are) to something a little unconventional: hibiscus flower tea. I saw a reference to hibiscus tea and sherbet in this post about meeting Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, and found the recipes.
Most hibiscus flowers are edible, but not all. If you live where the variety known as Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) grows, pick it freely, and make tea from the fresh or dried flowers. Give other hibiscus varieties a pass, unless you have an authoritative source affirming that they’re safe to consume. In any case, you’ll probably want to pick up the dried flowers at a health food store. They last 6 months if stored in an airtight container, away from light.
Roselle makes a beautiful, deep red tea, and its flavor is sweet and sour, like cranberries.
Health benefits of hibiscus?
Hibiscus contains melatonin, which helps you get a night’s sleep. Have a small snack with a cup of hibiscus tea before bed time, and you’ll sleep better for it.
The flowers are loaded with vitamin C, perfect for a hot winter drink.
Hibiscus is known to bring blood pressure down, which brings a caveat: if you’re already taking meds to reduce blood pressure, avoid this flowery tea.
The tea is somewhat diuretic, helping to flush toxins and bugs out when you’re sick.
Another caveat: hibiscus flowers have phytoestrogens that may cause early labor for pregnant women. Drinking a lot of hibiscus tea (more than 1 cup daily) may also affect the performance of birth control pills.
Making hibiscus tea is like using any other herbal: steep 1 teaspoon dried flowers in 1 cup of boiling water for 5 minutes, then strain into a mug and drink. Add lemon or lime juice if desired, and sweeten with honey.
Now how about a delicious hibiscus sorbet? Don’t save this light, floral sorbet for the summer. Serve it after any rich meal for a refreshing dessert. And it’s vegan.
In a small pot over medium heat, whisk 3½ cups (800 grams) cold water, the sugar, and the hibiscus flowers. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and stir in the ginger. Cover the pot and refrigerate until completely cooled, about 1 hour.
STEP 2
When you are ready to churn the sorbet, set a fine mesh strainer over the bowl of an ice cream maker. Strain the hibiscus mixture, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible, then discard the solids. Churn the mixture according to the manufacturer’s directions until the sorbet is thick and frozen, with the consistency of soft serve, about 30 minutes. Transfer to an airtight metal or plastic container and freeze until set, at least 3–4 hours.
STEP 3
To serve, dip an ice cream scoop or spoon in hot water, or temper the sorbet in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before scooping. Serve immediately.
Notes
Red hibiscus sorbet from Sudan tea or karkade
You can punch up this sherbet with 2 tablespoons of tequila, rum, or gin, if you want. Add after Step 1.
Saudi Arabia unveils high-end rail travel: Saudi Arabia Railways has collaborated with Italy's Arsenale Group to launch a luxurious "Dream of the Desert" train, marking the kingdom's foray into the luxury train market. Starting operations in late 2025, this train will offer scenic journeys across Saudi Arabia's deserts from Riyadh to Qurayyat, featuring 40 custom luxury cabins and embracing the growing trend of sustainable, slow travel.
Starting operations in 2025, this train will offer scenic journeys across Saudi Arabia’s deserts from Riyadh to Qurayyat in 40 custom luxury cabins, embracing the growing trend of sustainable, slow travel.
In the realm of travel, speed often reigns supreme. From bullet trains hurtling across continents to supersonic flights whisking passengers across oceans, the modern traveler is accustomed to reaching their destination swiftly and efficiently. Trains are the most common way of getting around countries in Europe and between cities in India, but it isn’t so for more places in the world.
But as luxury standards change to sustainable and slow a new train is emerging from the sands of Saudi Arabia – a country renowned for its opulence and penchant for the extravagant – where plans are underway for a leisurely journey aboard the “Dream of the Desert,” the kingdom’s first luxury slow train experience.
Scheduled to start at the end of 2025, the Dream of the Desert is crafted in Italy by the prestigious hospitality company Arsenale Group, and commissioned by Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR), this 40 cabin train promises to traverse the kingdom’s awe-inspiring desert interior at a leisurely pace, offering passengers an unparalleled blend of comfort, luxury, and cultural immersion.
Start in Saudi Arabia, head to Jordan and then step over the Allenby Bridge and the Jordan River to the Holy Land, Israel.
Spanning 800 miles of existing railway lines, the Dream of the Desert will embark on a journey from the capital city of Riyadh to Al Qurayyat in the northern province of Al Jawf, with stops along the way. The meticulously planned route, spanning one to two days, will encompass cultural gems such as Al Qassim, Hail, and Al Jouf, culminating near the border with Jordan, close to the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Nature Reserve.
Interestingly, the inception of the Dream of the Desert comes at a time when the global travel landscape is undergoing a paradigm shift. As the world emerges from the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, travelers are increasingly seeking meaningful and immersive experiences that are authentic.
One of 40 cabins, interior of Dream of the Desert
Luxury train cruising, with its emphasis on unhurried exploration and indulgent hospitality, is poised to emerge as a prominent trend in post-pandemic travel, offering discerning travelers an opportunity to savor the journey as much as the destination.
With aspirations to attract 150 million visitors by the end of the decade, the kingdom has embarked on a flurry of initiatives aimed at showcasing its diverse landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and boundless hospitality.
Step aboard the Orient Express, and you’re instantly transported to a bygone era of glamour and intrigue. This legendary train has been synonymous with luxury travel since its inaugural journey from Paris to Istanbul in 1883. With its plush carriages, sumptuous interiors, and attentive service, the Orient Express epitomizes the golden age of rail travel.
Today, the Orient Express continues to captivate travelers with its meticulously curated itineraries through Europe’s most enchanting destinations. From the romance of Venice to the grandeur of Budapest, passengers can immerse themselves in the rich history and culture of the continent while indulging in gourmet cuisine and fine wines.
2. The Marrakesh Express:
Venture into the heart of Morocco aboard the Marrakesh Express, a train journey that embodies the vibrant spirit of North Africa. Departing from the bustling city of Marrakesh, this iconic train winds its way through the scenic landscapes of the Atlas Mountains, offering breathtaking views of rugged terrain and traditional Berber villages.
As the train meanders towards its destination, passengers are treated to a sensory feast of sights, sounds, and flavors. From the bustling souks of Marrakesh to the serene beauty of the Moroccan countryside, each moment aboard the Marrakesh Express is an exploration of the country’s rich cultural heritage and natural beauty.
3. The Trans-Siberian Railway:
Spanning over 9,000 kilometers across Russia, the Trans-Siberian Railway is the ultimate rail adventure, offering a journey through the vast expanse of Siberia and beyond. From the bustling streets of Moscow to the remote wilderness of Siberia, this epic train journey traverses diverse landscapes, including dense forests, sweeping plains, and majestic mountains.
Passengers aboard the Trans-Siberian Railway can immerse themselves in the rich history and culture of Russia while enjoying the comfort and luxury of the train’s cabins. Whether savoring traditional Russian cuisine in the dining car or gazing at the endless horizon from the comfort of their compartment, travelers are bound to be enchanted by the beauty and grandeur of this iconic railway.
4. The Blue Train (South Africa):
In South Africa, the Blue Train is synonymous with elegance, luxury, and unparalleled hospitality. Journeying between Pretoria and Cape Town, this iconic train offers a glamorous way to explore the stunning landscapes and vibrant culture of the country.
With its opulent furnishings, gourmet cuisine, and attentive service, the Blue Train promises an unforgettable experience from start to finish. Whether sipping champagne in the lounge car or marveling at the rugged beauty of the South African countryside, passengers aboard the Blue Train are treated to a journey of a lifetime.
5. The Glacier Express (Switzerland):
For travelers seeking a scenic escape, the Glacier Express offers a breathtaking journey through the Swiss Alps. Connecting Zermatt with St. Moritz, this iconic train winds its way through snow-capped peaks, lush valleys, and picturesque villages, offering panoramic views of Switzerland’s most stunning landscapes.
As the train makes its leisurely journey through the heart of the Alps, passengers can relax in the comfort of their seats and soak in the beauty of their surroundings. From the iconic Matterhorn to the majestic Rhine Gorge, every moment aboard the Glacier Express is a celebration of Switzerland’s natural beauty and alpine charm.
6. The Royal Scotsman (Scotland):
Step aboard the Royal Scotsman, and you’re transported to a world of luxury and refinement amidst the breathtaking landscapes of Scotland. This boutique train offers an intimate and exclusive way to explore the country’s rich cultural heritage, from historic castles to whisky distilleries and scenic landmarks.
With its elegant furnishings, gourmet dining, and personalized service, the Royal Scotsman promises an unforgettable journey through the heart of Scotland. Whether enjoying a traditional Scottish ceilidh or savoring a dram of single malt whisky, passengers aboard the Royal Scotsman are treated to a truly immersive experience that captures the essence of Scotland’s charm and hospitality.
Nestled in the heart of the Nalut District in northwestern Libya lies Ghadames, a captivating oasis Berber town that whispers tales of resilience and ingenuity through its labyrinthine streets and mud-brick buildings. Steeped in history and surrounded by the vastness of the Sahara Desert, Ghadames stands as a living testament to the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature, showcasing the enduring beauty of sustainable architecture and vernacular building concepts.
Ghadamès is one of the oldest and most celebrated Saharan cities, also called the ‘Pearl of the Desert’, (Jawhart Al-Sahra) in Arabic. It has played a key role in the cultural and economic life of the region as an important and peaceful hub for caravan trade as part of the trans-Saharan network.
Ghadames, also known as Ghadamis, has long been celebrated for its unique architectural heritage, characterized by its distinctive mud-brick structures, narrow alleyways, and intricately designed courtyards. The town’s layout, with its interconnected buildings and covered passageways, serves as a natural defense against the scorching desert sun and sandstorms, while also fostering a sense of community and solidarity among its inhabitants.
A Lesson in Sustainable Architecture
Ghadamès is one of the oldest and most celebrated Saharan cities, called the ‘Pearl of the Desert’, (Jawhart Al-Sahra) by Arab sources. It has played a key role in the cultural and economic life of the region as an important and peaceful hub for caravan trade as part of the trans-Saharan network.
At the heart of Ghadames’ architectural marvel lies the ingenious use of locally sourced materials, primarily mud, which offers natural insulation against extreme temperatures. The mud-brick construction, known as “tutufa,” not only regulates indoor temperatures but also provides a sustainable solution to the challenges posed by the desert environment.
By harnessing the thermal mass properties of mud, the buildings in Ghadames remain cool during the blistering heat of the day and retain warmth during chilly desert nights, without relying on modern heating or cooling systems.
The traditional architectural design of Ghadames prioritizes passive cooling techniques, such as narrow streets and shaded alleys, which promote natural ventilation and airflow. Courtyards, adorned with lush vegetation and cascading fountains, serve as tranquil retreats, offering respite from the relentless desert heat while promoting biodiversity within the urban landscape.
UNESCO says it is one of the oldest pre-Saharan cities and an outstanding example of a traditional settlement. Its domestic architecture is characterized by a vertical division of functions: the ground floor used to store supplies; then another floor for the family, overhanging covered alleys that create what is almost an underground network of passageways; and, at the top, open-air terraces reserved for the women.
In an era marked by rapid urbanization and the proliferation of modern construction techniques, the preservation of ancient building techniques found at Ghadames assumes paramount importance, despite lack of funds or conflicts in the Middle East. The town stands as a living testament to the sustainable practices of generations past, offering invaluable lessons in resourcefulness, adaptability, and environmental stewardship.
Passive air conditioning in Ghadames
Natural ventilation, design and methods “traditional house” Daylight Boubekri, (2008) defined the daylight or sunlight as a vital component to life that plays fundamental, biological and psychological functions to humans and other creations on earth. Daylight is also known as natural light which is the amount of solar radiation stemmed from either the sun “direct sunlight” or the sky “diffused light”.
The mud-brick construction techniques employed in Ghadames offer valuable insights into the potential of vernacular building concepts to address contemporary challenges, including climate change and resource scarcity. By harnessing locally available materials and traditional building methods, communities can reduce their carbon footprint, minimize construction costs, and create structures that seamlessly integrate with the surrounding ecosystem.
Vernacular building techniques in North Africa
Vernacular building techniques in North Africa reflect centuries of adaptation to the region’s climate, culture, and available resources. Here are ten leading vernacular building techniques commonly found in North Africa:
Adobe Construction: Utilizing sun-dried mud bricks, adobe construction is prevalent across North Africa. Adobe bricks, made from a mixture of clay, sand, water, and sometimes straw, are stacked and dried in the sun to form walls. This method provides excellent thermal insulation and is particularly suited to hot and arid climates.
Rammed Earth: Rammed earth construction involves compressing moistened earth into solid walls. This technique is durable, environmentally friendly, and offers good thermal mass, making it suitable for regions with varying climates, including North Africa.
Cob Building: Cob construction involves mixing clay-rich soil with straw or other fibrous materials to create a thick, malleable mixture. Builders then hand-sculpt this mixture into walls, which are left to dry naturally. Cob buildings are known for their durability and thermal properties.
Pise Construction: Pise de terre, or pisé, is a technique similar to rammed earth construction but involves forming walls by layering moistened earth within temporary wooden frames. Once compacted, the walls are left to dry, creating sturdy and well-insulated structures.
Stone Masonry: Stone masonry is a traditional building technique widely used across North Africa, particularly in regions with abundant natural stone resources. Builders use locally sourced stone, carefully fitting and stacking them to create solid walls and structures.
Thatched Roofing: Thatched roofs, typically made from dried palm leaves or grasses, are a common feature of vernacular architecture in North Africa. Thatching provides natural insulation and ventilation while offering protection from the sun and rain.
Vaulted and Domed Architecture: North African architecture often incorporates vaulted and domed structures, utilizing techniques such as brick or stone masonry to create intricate arches, domes, and vaults. These architectural features not only enhance aesthetic appeal but also provide structural stability and climate control.
Courtyard Design: Many traditional North African buildings feature central courtyards, surrounded by rooms or living spaces. This design maximizes natural light and ventilation while providing privacy and protection from the elements.
Mud Plastering: Mud plastering involves coating walls with a mixture of mud, clay, and straw to provide additional insulation, weatherproofing, and aesthetic finish. This technique is commonly used to enhance the durability and appearance of adobe or rammed earth structures.
Windcatchers: In some North African regions, windcatchers, also known as Malqaf or Barjeel, are incorporated into buildings to capture and direct airflow for natural ventilation and cooling. These architectural elements harness prevailing winds to improve indoor comfort, particularly during hot summer months.
Amanita or fly agaric is a psychotropic mushroom found widely in Canada
Amanita or fly agaric is a psychotropic mushroom found widely in Canada
Nearly 4 out of 5 Canadians believe that the use of psilocybin, the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms, is an acceptable medical approach to treat existential distress in patients suffering from a serious and incurable disease. This is the main conclusion of an online survey of 2,800 people conducted by a research team led by Michel Dorval, professor at Université Laval’s Faculty of Pharmacy and researcher at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research Center.
The results have just been published in the journal Palliative Medicine.
The main objective of the survey was to measure the degree of social acceptability of this intervention when delivered by healthcare professionals. “Studies have already shown that psilocybin, combined with psychotherapy, produces rapid, robust and lasting anxiolytic and antidepressant effects in patients suffering from advanced cancer, reminds Professor Dorval. This substance can bring about a profound awareness that leads the patient to view existence from a different perspective. Treatment with psilocybin, combined with psychotherapy, can produce relief for up to six months.”
Hunt for mushrooms with an expert. Only eat if you can ID them in a book and if your mushroom expert is certain they are safe.
When our dad was dying of cancer in a Toronto hospital 5 years ago we couldn’t even mention palliative care with cannabis without getting an eyeroll from the hospital staff.
Canadian law allows cannabis but currently prohibits the production, sale or possession of psilocybin. Psychotropic mushrooms are easy to find in northern Canadian forests. We have collected many for friends over the years and my children know how to identify them and point them out.
Since January 2022, however, a special access program has made it possible to obtain an exemption from Health Canada for medical or scientific reasons. A doctor can apply on behalf of a patient if psychotherapy, antidepressants or anxiolytics have failed, or if the patient’s condition requires urgent intervention.
a basket of mushrooms collected in Ontario, Canada
Researchers surveyed 1,000 residents of Québec and 1,800 residents of Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia to find out their opinion on the potential easing of rules surrounding the medical use of psilocybin. Analysis of their answers shows that 79% of respondents consider psilocybin-assisted therapy a reasonable medical choice to treat existential distress in patients at the end of life.
“Our results seem to indicate that the social acceptability of this intervention is high in the Canadian population,” comments Professor Dorval. If we consider only Québec respondents, the acceptability rate is similar to the national average.”
Support for psilocybin is higher among respondents who have already been exposed to palliative care. “Having been close to loved ones at the end of life, or having witnessed their distress, could explain this openness to new approaches designed to help people at this stage of their life,” suggests Dorval.
Support is also higher among respondents who have already used psilocybin. “There are still many prejudices against psychedelic substances, says the researcher. Familiarity with these substances probably helps to better understand their true effects as well as their therapeutic potential.”
Euthanasia is also legal in Canada so take this news with a dose of magic mushrooms.
Knowing the trajectories of death can better plan end of life care
Knowing the trajectories of death can better plan end of life care
A Rutgers Health analysis of millions of Medicare records in the United States has laid the groundwork for improving end-of-life care by demonstrating that nearly all older Americans follow one of nine trajectories in their last three years of life. Will you die at home, land up in a nursing home or spend your last few years on a beach in Thailand?
“Identifying which paths people actually take is a necessary precursor to identifying which factors send different people down different paths and designing interventions that send more people down whatever path is right for them,” said Olga Jarrín, the Hunterdon Professor of Nursing Research at Rutgers and corresponding author of the study published in BMC Geriatrics.
The team pulled the final three years of clinical records from a randomly selected 10 percent of all 2 million Medicare beneficiaries who died in 2018. Analysis of how much personal care each patient received and where they received care revealed three major care clusters – home, skilled home care and institutional care. Each cluster contains three distinct trajectories.
Roughly 59 percent of patients fell into the “home” cluster, meaning they spent most of their last three years at home while friends and family helped them with any tasks they couldn’t do for themselves. Such patients typically received little professional care, either in their own homes or in nursing homes, until the last year of life.
Another 27 percent of patients fell into the “skilled home care” cluster, meaning nurses and other skilled professionals helped friends and family care for them inside their own homes for most of their final three years.
The final 14 percent of patients fell in the “institutional care” cluster and spent most of their final three years either in hospitals or (more commonly) nursing homes, receiving nearly all necessary care from paid professionals.
The researchers used a group-based trajectory modeling approach, evaluating associations between care trajectories and both sociodemographic and health-related metrics. Patients in both the skilled home care and institutional care clusters were more likely than patients in the home cluster to be female, Black, enrolled in Medicaid or suffering from dementia. Extensive use of skilled home care was more prevalent in Southern states, while extensive use of institutional care was more common in Midwestern states.
The study is the first of several the researchers plan to base on their analysis of the Medicare data. Now that they have identified the trajectories that people actually follow in their last years of life, they will look for the key factors that direct people down each path and interventions that will help more people stick to the path they prefer.
For most but not all people, that means one of the paths in the home cluster.
“Most people want to stay at home with minimal professional help,” said Jarrín, who also is the director of the Community Health and Aging Outcomes Laboratory within Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research. “However, the goal for a significant minority of people is to avoid being a burden to family and friends, and such people tend to want professional care.”
Jarrín added: “Our goal isn’t forcing people toward any particular type of care. It’s helping them to plan for and get the care that’s right for them.”
Alcoholism is not the biggest problem in the Middle East, where the majority of the culture there (Islam) prohibits consuming alcohol. Likely this prohibition came about from the dangers of drinking too much. If you are already out of control, consider drinking less or quitting - for your health
Research in the last few years suggests no amount of alcohol may be good for us, but a new study has found that alcohol does play a role in removing contaminants like arsenic out of our body. Can a shot of vodka be your next detox treatment?
A study published in Eco-Environment & Health has revealed some fascinating insights into the interaction between alcohol consumption and arsenic accumulation in the body. Led by Dr. Hongbo Li, the research team set out to explore how alcohol influences the absorption and distribution of arsenic in bodily tissues.
Arsenic can be found naturally in certain foods and can also contaminate food through environmental factors such as soil, water, and air pollution. Some foods that may contain arsenic include:
Rice: Arsenic can accumulate in rice more than in other grains due to its cultivation in flooded fields where arsenic in the soil is more readily taken up by the plant.
Seafood: Some seafood, particularly certain types of fish like tuna, cod, and shellfish, can contain arsenic, primarily in the form of organic arsenic compounds.
Drinking water: Arsenic contamination in groundwater, particularly in areas with natural deposits of arsenic or industrial pollution, can lead to arsenic entering drinking water supplies.
Fruits and vegetables: Arsenic can be present in small amounts in fruits and vegetables, although levels are typically lower compared to rice. Leafy greens, apples, and root vegetables like carrots may contain trace amounts.
Poultry and meat: Arsenic-based compounds have been historically used in poultry and livestock farming to promote growth and prevent disease. While this practice has been restricted in many countries, trace amounts of arsenic may still be found in poultry and meat products.
Giving mice shots of Chinese spirits to change gut microbiotics
Mice models suggests alcohol may be used for detoxing arsenic
Surprisingly, the researchers found that although alcohol increased arsenic absorption in the gut, it actually decreased its accumulation in vital organs. This unexpected outcome was attributed to alcohol’s impact on intestinal barriers and changes in gut microbiota, which facilitated arsenic’s entry into the bloodstream.
Additionally, alcohol consumption was found to enhance kidney filtration and reduce antidiuretic hormone levels, leading to increased arsenic excretion through urine.
Dr. Hongbo Li, the corresponding author of the study, emphasized the importance of understanding the complex relationship between alcohol and arsenic bioavailability. He highlighted the need to grasp how these substances interact within the body to better predict and mitigate associated health risks.
In summary, while alcohol intake may boost arsenic absorption, it also accelerates its elimination from the body, potentially reducing its harmful effects. This finding holds significant implications, particularly for populations exposed to both arsenic and alcohol, providing valuable insights into managing associated health risks.
TIPA and Wyld are teaming up to package legal edibles in home-compostable laminate and take steps to keep hard-to-recyclable, single-use flexible plastics out of the environment.
TIPA and Wyld are teaming up to package legal edibles in home-compostable laminate and take steps to keep hard-to-recyclable, single-use flexible plastics out of the environment.
Israel’s Tipa, a sustainable plastics company that creates plastics from plants, has started working with Wyld, a cannabis edibles company based in the US. Wyld is adopting TIPA’s 608 home-compostable laminate for its edibles packaging, as well as pouches and outer parcels. The laminate was recently brought to North America for local production and is set to package Wyld’s products across the US and Canada this year.
Tipa’s plastic is TÜV OK Home Compost certified which means it can be placed in home composters at end-of-life to break down into nutrient-rich soil and leave no waste behind. The laminate produced by TIpa is also said to run on most conventional plastic packaging machinery.
Edibles are cannabis products for recreation and medicine that come in all shapes and sizes, usually as gummies or candies, and can be infused with medical grade marijuana supplements such as THC and also CBD which gives pain-relief and perhaps a sense of calm, without the high. Budder, Lumi, and Kiva are other brands operating in this space.
Wyld, based in the Pacific Northwest was founded in 2016 and is now a leading edible brand in the US, and is now found in Canada too where cannabis is legal recreationally. Wyld’s Good Tide line, an innovative line of tropical-flavored hash rosin gummies was introduced in 2022.
What sets one edibles company apart from the next in a very competitive industry where Google does not allow the companies to promote products with THC in them online, is to set oneself apart in branding and marketing. Smart move Wyld.
“This marks a significant milestone in both companies’ commitment to environmental responsibility and underscores our dedication to meeting the evolving demands of sustainability-conscious consumers,” says Rodrigo Castaneda, TIPA’s VP and GM North America. “This collaboration is poised to make a positive impact not only on the edibles industry but also on the larger movement to move away from traditional single-use flexible plastics for the benefit of our planet.”
Wyld decided to do better with its packaging solution: We know that most of all the plastics produced in the United States are never recycled and those that are contribute to a serious amount of pollution and toxins to the environment and the people working in these facilities. Plastics remain as forever chemicals and then become part of our drinking water as PFAS. The only solution to plastics seems to be ones that are biodegradable in the real sense of the world. Not just break up into little bits of plastic when they go to a composter.
I was one of the first people to write about Tipa when they just started (we later covered them here) as an idea and how they have grown.
The edibles market in the United States
The new adult-use markets have put the legal edibles industry on track to more than quadruple by 2032 at an estimated $37.1billion value. As the market booms, so does demand for sophisticated sustainable packaging that meets both rigorous safety and compliance standards as well as high brand standards. Demand for alternative packaging is largely driven by consumers and businesses seeking to reduce reliance on single-use flexible plastics in the face America’s more than 40 million tons of plastic waste a year, with less than 5% of which is recycled.
Wyld’s journey, marked by a relentless commitment to sustainability, is a narrative of constant evolution and dedication. “Having been part of an industry known for its excessive single-use packaging that cannot be easily recycled, we searched for compostable materials that met our brand standards and provided product stability. That’s when we found TIPA”, says Kale Gray, Sr. Brand Manager at Wyld.
“By partnering with TIPA, Wyld has redefined packaging norms in the cannabis sector”, says Gray. “Our move to compostable packaging, as a Climate Neutral Certified brand, highlights our eco-friendly practices like using renewable energy and implementing waste diversion in our facilities.”
“The response to the new compostable packaging from customers and retail partners has been overwhelmingly positive, embracing Wyld’s transition to sustainable packaging”, adds Gray. “By using compostable packaging for our products, we have set a new industry standard.“
Wyld’s story with TIPA’s compostable packaging is more than a business move; it’s a statement of purpose, they say.
The next evolution in this deal, we think, is creating edible packaging from edibles. They probably heard that joke before.
In other news Brandmydispo has implemented smart packaging features into its own very expensive white label cannabis packaging, including QR codes, real-time freshness indicators, and state-of-the-art near-field communication (NFC) technology. A good solution if you can buy in bulk.
Red Sea helps farmers prosper near dead or dying aquifers
RedSea LLC, a company founded in the heat of Saudi Arabia has cracked the code for sustainably growing plants in high heat conditions. They offer the answer to increasing cultivation on dead and dying aquifers.
Growing food in greenhouses in a European winter makes sense. The Dutch invented the idea in the 1800s when botanist Charles Lucien Bonaparte wanted to grow medicinal plants in Leiden. These greenhouses retain heat in the enclosures, allowing cultivation even during the cold Northern European winter months.
Hydroponics –– or growing trees and plants in a water medium with nutrients –– is having a moment now but it started with a California botanist in the 1800s and was perfected in the 90s by cannabis growers in Canada. Hydroponics tech is now used for growing salads in food deserts everywhere. Hydro-grown has its challenges, and high costs, however.
Drip irrigation, designed to precisely control the delivery of scarce water and costly fertilizer directly to plant roots is credited to the Polish-Israeli agronomist Simcha Blass. This solution allowed cultivation in arid climates where the growing season was limited. More recently, American-Israeli Daniel Hillel received the World Food Prize for devising drip irrigation systems in the developing world and this technology, delivered by companies like Netafim and Rivulis, is now a multi-billion dollar global business.
Redsea grafts more desirable plants onto graft-stock which is saline resistant
Climate change and increasing world temperatures now presents additional challenges for agriculture –– especially where climates are becoming more hostile, and water less available. A growing world population, and concerns over food security in the hottest countries in the world has shifted the focus of innovators to ask the question of how to sustainably feed this growing population, and how to overcome the challenges of cultivating in increasingly arid climates.
RedSea LLC, a company founded in the heat of Saudi Arabia, has cracked the code for sustainably growing plants in high heat conditions and they offer the answer to increasing cultivation on dead and dying aquifers.
The founders include an Australian plant biologist Prof. Mark Tester, known as the Indiana Jones of the plant world, Prof. Derya Baran, a leading materials scientist and Dr. Ryan Lefers, an expert on water systems and water preservation in agriculture. The trio have built a platform of technologies that adapts the best of the innovative pioneers before them in materials, AI, hydroponics, smart farms, and drip irrigation and have applied know-how in materials, water and plant genetics to sustainably grow crops in hot and dry climates.
Founders Mark Tester, Ryan Lefers (right)Derya Baran, a RedSea founder
This starts with the water, as access to fresh water is an increasing challenge with agriculture currently using up to 70% of available fresh water to grow crops. The challenge was how to grow plants in increasingly arid conditions on dead or dying aquifers. Tester went to the Galapagos on a mission to figure it out and came home inspired by the tomato plants that he found there growing on rocks right next to the sea.
Darwin Lake in the Galapagos is twice as salty as the sea. Plants that grow there must be salt tolerant.
He tells Green Prophet that he questioned whether these tomato plants could handle the salt, and if so, could they be modified to be grown commercially while reducing the draw of fresh water resources? Brackish water is saltier than water that comes from the tap and plants don’t like it. It is the water found in estuaries where rivers meet the sea. It is also the water found in aquifers near the sea or in deserts –– or in areas where climate change, and overpopulation has depleted aquifers.
Mark Tester, Indiana Jones of the Plants on the Galapagos
In all parts of our drought-facing world, and especially in the dry Middle East and regions of California and Texas, brackish water in damaged and dead aquifers is common. Tester has made it his life mission, and with his co-founders established a successful company now scaling into new markets, to grow food on dead and dying aquifers.
“It really depends on the crop, but when our technologies are combined this means you can build greenhouses near dead or dying aquifers. In reality there are a lot of factors in play, but this is the idea,” says Tester, pointing to a suite of agri-climate technologies RedSea has built: “The fundamental idea to address is to reduce the use of freshwater for producing fresh food and if we can do that by using more saltwater, then that is definitely a useful contribution.”
Tester was educated in the UK at Cambridge. He is a research professor at KAUST, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia.
But Tester’s background is in plant biology, not just tech, furthering the understanding of salt tolerance in plants for desert agriculture. He has developed methods for developing new types of seeds that are used as a hearty rootstock which can handle brackish water. Other plants, which are not as tough, but which are tasty can be then grafted onto these rootstocks.
“I am a plant guy and in this company I am delivering the fruits of my lifetime’s research which is fundamental science: how plants move solutes in and out of the plants, and applying it to salinity tolerance. With my co-founders Ryan Lefers and Derya Baran a suite of products was developed and commercialised that can leverage this research,” he tells Green Prophet.
Grafting is used with many varieties of plants, such as apples, cherries, roses, watermelons, nut trees, and tomato plants. Developing new types of rootstocks that can handle brackish water and other challenges such as heat and drought is the aim –– and “then we graft the edible bits on top,” says Tester.
In some cases, RedSea can graft across species, but only closely related ones: “We can graft a tomato onto a wild tomato, an eggplant onto a wild eggplant, and sometimes even a tomato onto a wild eggplant, but we can’t graft an orange onto an apple, for example. They have to be fairly closely related.”
The work of grafting also allows the farmer to extend the growing period of the plant, says Tester: “We can help tomatoes be economically productive for longer, such as from 10 months to 11 months in a greenhouse.”
The RedSea technology works on a soil-based substrate, hydroponics or on open fields in soil: “We are developing rootstocks for all of these conditions,” says Tester.
“In tomatoes, for instance, we are working with brackish water, which is more dilute than seawater but more salty that you and I can drink, is the reality is that in many places around around the world a lot of our food is grown using groundwater and every major aquifer is being depleted. As it gets depleted, it gets salty.
“We have few aquifers straight outside our university that have been abandoned because of that – now we can access water that’s currently not being used.”
Turning greenhouses inside out
Apart from the unique rootstocks that RedSea is providing, the company has a number of technologies now being sold in export markets. While greenhouses typically need to be heated in Holland or Canada, in the Middle East, the reverse is true. It gets too hot. So RedSea has also helped solve that problem.
They have developed a range of heat blocking greenhouse covers. These are based on additives that can be incorporated into any polymer based cover that blocks damaging heat from penetrating into the greenhouses –– a product called iyris SecondSky which incorporates a nanoparticle technology invented by Baran. “Derya developed a nanoparticle that when dispersed in plastics absorbs near infrared radiation – which in layman’s terms translates to heat. This absorption of the heat load that would otherwise be damaging to plant health delivers a huge reduction of the resources that are needed in such structures to control the climate and manage plant health in the greenhouse,” says Tester.
RedSea facilities in Saudi Arabia at KAUST
The technology can be easily Integrated into standard plastic greenhouse covers, be that polycarbonate, polyethylene or net, resulting in a product that is a one for one replacement of standard greenhouse covers – just better – because the heat blocking is already integrated into the plastic during the manufacturing process. This means that there is very little compromising impact on the PAR (photosynthetic active radiation) transmission through the cover compared to alternative heat blocking methods.
Alternative heat blocking solutions include additional reflective films, chalking or internal shade screens, which are, in the case of films, expensive, an operational nuisance and potentially degrading to the plastic. In the case of chalking and compromise the PAR transmission within the greenhouse. Results achieved with the use of SecondSky have been impressive, Tester reports.
Ryan Lefers, the CEO of RedSea explained more about the potential of how disruptive this integrated heat blocking can be within high heat regions: “Greenhouse technology has become highly developed in Northern European countries such as the Netherlands, offering a solution to keep heat in winter so that crops could be grown out of season, but here in the Middle East and over vast areas of the planet we need to keep the heat out in summer, so our thinking was to take the original greenhouse and turn it inside out,” he tells Green Prophet.
“Water scarcity is another major challenge, so finding ways to operate farms with a lower environmental impact, while empowering farmers to continue to farm without an expectation that they make fundamental changes in the way that they farm was a key driver for us.”
The saltwater greenhouse dream
In facilities where SecondSky is installed, farmers can save up to 30% on water and fertilizer use when compared to hydroponic systems and up to 90% compared to soil based cultivation. Many farms also use a reverse pressure pad and fan cooling system in the region to assist in coping with the extreme temperatures. Farmers can save up to an additional 32% in energy costs once a SecondSky cover is installed.
RedSea has developed an add-on to their technology suite that enables farmers to use brackish water in these cooling systems further reducing the environmental impact of farming in hot climates.
Kairos saltwater greenhouse cooling tech made by RedSea
RedSea was founded in 2018, and to date has raised a total of about $36.5 million USD. Saudi Arabia’s oil company Aramco through their investment fund Wa’ed is among the investors. A new Series A funding round will close shortly, adding investors and additional funds for the company’s planned expansion.
Rapid growth of sales and revenues is the company’s focus at the moment, with expansions into other countries. RedSea technology is being sold through manufacturers and distributors, but also directly to farms. There are installations in 16 countries to date and this number is growing.
But Tester, a plant guy at heart with a passion for the environment, has his eye on the bigger prize: “We wanted to have a company that is profitable and truly sustainable and highly impactful –– where we are across the world developing and selling technologies to reduce the environmental footprint of our food productions in both developed and developing countries.
“And that’s where we came from –– Ryan and me. We started with this idea of increasing sustainability in agriculture in developing countries –– that’s in the DNA of the company.”
Responding to the pressing need to decarbonize aviation, a team of SAF and climate experts, are creating a faster path to reach net-zero goals through Future Energy Global, led by former GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) Head of Portfolio Strategy Natasha Mann. She has launched a financial ecosystem to accelerate the production and uptake of SAF.
Natasha Mann, co-founder of SAF Future Energy Global group
“The future is now,” said Mann. “Given the size, scope and urgency of the need to scale SAF, collaboration is crucial. Future Energy Global’s pre-purchasing ecosystem brings investors, suppliers and buyers together, unlocking the capital to make that a reality.”
To reach net zero, SAF production needs to scale one thousandfold from 500 million liters to 500 billion liters between now and 2050, she says. Future Energy Global, based in Ireland aims to accelerate the more than trillion dollars of infrastructure investment needed to enact it.
Joining Mann is Isabel Galiana, a climate change economist and entrepreneur who led and founded NeuroFlex, a now global medical device company. Galiana has consulted for various governments, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, the United Nations and the Copenhagen Consensus as well as published numerous papers on the challenges of accelerating low-carbon technological change.
Isabel Galiana a co-founder of SAF Future Energy Global group
An advisory team composed of recognized SAF, aviation, investment, and sustainability experts, includes:
Thorsten Lange, former EVP of Neste’s renewable aviation business
Dr. Liam Cheung, Founder and Director of VC Investments for Tactico
Magni Arge, former CEO of Atlantic Airways and Co-Founder of Ocean Rainforest, a leading seaweed company backed by the WWF
Patrick Edmond, Managing Director of Altair Advisory and Advisory Board member of Green Mobility Magazine
What is SAF made from?
Neste’s Singapore SAF plant home to world’s largest production facility for jet fuel made from waste materials
SAF can be produced from non-petroleum-based renewable feedstocks including, but not limited to, the food and yard waste portion of municipal solid waste, woody biomass, fats/greases/oils, and other feedstocks. Neste’s SAF is produced from 100% renewable waste and residue raw materials, such as used cooking oil and animal fat waste. The Finns eat reindeer so consider that reindeer far may be powering the next SAF flight. A good story for the kids.
Help kids, tweens and teens reach for simpler snack choices. Today's non-sugar sweeteners may not be good for their bodies.
Help kids, tweens and teens reach for simpler snack choices. Today’s non-sugar sweeteners may not be good for their bodies.
Diet sodas and other snack foods can contain artificial sweeteners linked to health issues, believe researchers who have written about the ongoing concerns and health impacts of non-sugar sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose and stevia. Food companies like Cargill sell stevia as a safe and natural alternative to sugar but no one knows the health effects on children and this worries nutritionists in the US.
These sweeteners are increasingly found in a variety of foods and beverages, including those aimed at children, the researchers report.
Allison Slvetsky
“Given the continued uncertainty about their role in the diet and accumulating evidence suggesting the potential for unfavorable health effects, a cautious approach to non-sugar sweeteners is warranted–especially when it comes to children,” said lead author of the viewpoint, Allison Sylvetsky, an associate professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
Sylvetsky and her team propose that the US Food and Drug Administration restrict use of non-sugar sweeteners in food and beverage products marketed to children until there is more definitive evidence of benefit or harm.
A viewpoint published in JAMA Pediatrics by three experts on the topic emphasizes that research on the health effects of non-sugar sweeteners in children is urgently needed.
Studies in adults demonstrate links between consumption of non-sugar sweeteners and type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. However, few researchers have examined health impacts of non-sugar sweeteners when used by children.
At the same time, more and more foods and beverages with non-sugar sweeteners are consumed by children.
Parents often do not realize that products contain non-sugar sweeteners, Sylvetsky says. Parents may choose foods and beverages with non-sugar sweeteners thinking they are healthier, she adds.
Instead of choosing such products, Sylvetsky suggests parents focus on the healthfulness of the overall diet and choose fresh fruit and veggies, whole grains and limit provision of foods and beverages high in added sugars. Instead of buying fruit drinks sweetened with non-sugar sweeteners, stick to water or other unsweetened alternatives, she says.
Other options for parents: buy real food, cook at home and help children enjoy healthy snack habits from food that arrives in nature’s packaging.
Neste's SAF biofuel tested in Boeing Emirates flight in 2023
Neste’s SAF biofuel tested in Boeing Emirates flight in 2023
Emirates airline and Neste, a Finnish oil refining and marketing company, have expanded their partnership by strengthening their collaboration for the supply of over 3 million gallons of blended Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel in 2024 and 2025.
The sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which will be blended with conventional jet fuel, will be supplied over the course of 2024 and 2025 for Emirates’ flights departing from Amsterdam Schiphol and Singapore Changi airports.
Neste Oyj is an oil refining and marketing company located in Espoo, Finland. The company produces, refines and markets bioful oil products, and provides engineering services and operations in 14 countries. Neste shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.
Biggest sale of biofuels to the Middle East to date
Emirates’ expanded partnership with Neste represents the largest volume of SAF to be uplifted of any airline based in the Middle East and Africa to date. The blended SAF will comprise over 1 million gallons of neat SAF. This represents a blended ratio of over 30% neat SAF combined with conventional Jet A-1 fuel.
By the end of 2023, the airline used SAF for the first time from its Dubai hub. SAF reduces carbon emissions of air travel by up to 80% over the fuel’s life cycle when compared to using conventional jet fuel.
“It’s also one of the many initiatives we are focused on to reduce our carbon emissions, which includes operating fuel-efficient aircraft, stepping up our fleet renewal from 2024, in addition to driving operational fuel efficiency,” said Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline. “Our ongoing partnership with Neste also demonstrates our active engagement and support of the rapidly developing SAF industry, and we hope that the robust demand coming from Emirates and other airlines encourages the scaling up of SAF and other emerging clean propulsion technologies.”
Alexander Kueper, Vice President EMEA from the Renewable Aviation business unit at Neste said: “Sustainable aviation fuel is a readily available solution for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from air travel. We are proud to expand our existing cooperation with Emirates into 2024 as we are ramping up our global SAF production and continue to support their commitment to reduce emissions by supplying our Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel.”
Earlier in 2023, Emirates, in partnership with Neste and other industry stakeholders, successfully completed the first 100% SAF-powered demonstration flight in the region, utilising a Boeing 777-300ER operating on 100% SAF in one engine.
The airline has made significant strides along with its industry partners around the technical analysis and certification requirements that support standardization and future approval of 100% SAF flying.
Neste refinery in Finland switching to SAF
Last month, Neste employees went on strike for labor reforms. In Decemeber, 2023, Neste partnered with Coleman Oil Company in the US to enable cities and businesses to have easier access to Neste MY Renewable Diesel in the state of Washington in the US. Neste has also completed the strategic study and begins a gradual transformation of its crude oil refinery in Porvoo into a renewable and circular solutions refining hub.
“The COP28 declaration is a strong signal to all of us, and we want to be in the forefront of accelerating the green transition with our renewable and circular solutions,” says Matti Lehmus, the President and CEO of Neste. “The long term transformation of the Porvoo refinery is a key element in our renewables growth strategy, completing Neste’s journey to a 100% renewable and circular solutions provider when finalized.”
New Jersey blew up its last coal-fired plant this month. We welcome the transformation to renewable energy and hope progress is made faster, with people working in these industries earning a fair wage.
Leaving child-rearing until mid-way through a woman’s career might be the best decision or the worst as more and ore women turn to IVF and freezing eggs for future implantation. But what if we could just extend the reproductive life of women from 45 up until 60 or longer? A new study from the University of Utah predicts some hope.
At birth, ovaries in girls can contain about a million tiny structures called primordial follicles, each of which contains an egg cell. As girls grow and experience adulthood, most of these follicles will die while only one follicle will survive each month to ovulate a mature egg. When the loss of primordial follicles is nearly complete, and only hundreds remain, women experience menopause, a time when menstrual cycles have ceased for 12 months.
New research based on a mathematical model developed by a University of Utah mathematician, suggests that it is possible to delay the onset of menopause, perhaps indefinitely, by implanting a woman’s own previously harvested ovarian tissue back into her body. This technique has been successfully used to restore fertility in cancer patients, according to Sean Lawley, associate professor of mathematics and co-author of a study published Friday in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, or AJOG.
This interdisciplinary work is a collaboration between Lawley, Joshua Johnson, an ovarian biologist at the University of Colorado School of Medicine; Jay Emerson, professor of statistics and data science at Yale University; and Kutluk Oktay, a prominent physician, professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences and ovarian biologist at Yale School of Medicine.
In the late 1990s, Oktay developed ways to harvest ovarian tissue from young cancer patients, freeze it (“cryopreserve” it), and then transplant it after she has undergone cancer treatments that would have left her menopausal and infertile. This the technique is referred to as “ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation.”
The technique has enabled hundreds of cancer survivors to conceive and have children. It is substantially different from the common procedure of freezing eggs, which is effective in helping older women conceive through in vitro fertilization, but has no impact on menopause.
“A lot of the interest behind delaying menopause is fertility, but a lot of it also comes from the idea that functioning ovaries are better for a woman’s health,” Lawley said. “Menopause is associated with many health issues relating to cardiovascular disease, bone density, obesity, etc. Keeping ovaries functioning longer might delay or even prevent these health issues from starting.
“Math is being used to address the question of how long you can delay menopause and how that depends on different factors. We have developed a model of how ovaries age. The data comes from a number of places, chiefly from primordial follicle counts inside ovaries.”
Oktay, the world’s leading expert in fertility preservation, wondered if the ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation procedure could be applied to healthy women to forestall menopause and its negative effects.
“In the past few years, we’ve been developing mathematical models of how the ovaries age and what triggers menopause,” Lawley said. “It was extremely exciting when he [Oktay] contacted our group to see if our model could be used to help explore whether this procedure could be used to delay menopause.”
It turned out Lawley’s model helped a lot. The new AJOG study concluded that the procedures Oktay pioneered for cancer patients would be likely to delay menopause in healthy women under certain conditions.
How long can your fertility be delayed? Take the test
“We were faced with a number of important questions. The first is, will it work? Will it delay menopause and by how much?” Lawley said. “Next, how do you optimize the procedure? Are there age ranges that tissue should be removed? How does the number of follicles in a woman’s ovarian tissue influence how long the tissue will function?”
The team developed ways to address these questions using mathematical modeling during the AJOG study. This included the development of an online calculator that indicates how many years a woman’s menopause would be delayed by the procedure according to modifications to four key data points: the woman’s age at time the tissue is preserved; the fraction of ovarian cortex tissue that is removed and preserved; the percentage of primordial follicles that survive; and the number of replacement procedures later in life.
uData in the paper and use of the online calculator show that all else being equal, the younger the woman is when the tissue is preserved, the longer her menopause would be delayed, from a median 19.4 years for a 21-year-old woman to 3.4 years for a 40-year-old. That’s assuming a single replacement where 25% of the cortex is removed and 80% of the follicles survive.
“If ovarian tissue can be frozen under the age 30 years, in theory, menopause can even be eliminated in some cases,” the study said. “However, the feasibility and safety of delaying menopause beyond age 60 need to be clinically evaluated.”
German drinking water is full of forever chemicals
German drinking water is full of forever chemicals
If Germany has a problem with polluted water and PFAS levels, what could that mean for the rest of the world?
In a landmark study Eco-Environment & Health, researchers screened German drinking water for 26 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
The latest study involved collecting 89 drinking water samples from various locations in Germany, analyzing them for 26 different PFAS using high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The findings revealed that while the 20 recently regulated PFAS were below the detection limit, the sum concentrations varied widely, with some samples exceeding the threshold for certain PFAS.
Comprising more than 4,700 chemicals, perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of widely used, man-made chemicals that accumulate over time in humans and in the environment. They are known as ‘forever chemicals’ as they are extremely persistent in our environment and bodies.
This effort, notably supported by residents, marks a significant step in understanding PFAS presence in drinking water.This research is pivotal in informing future regulatory decisions and public health guidelines, the researchers note. It highlights the need for ongoing surveillance and stricter controls on PFAS in drinking water.
Dr. Aki Sebastian Ruhl from Berlin emphasizes the importance of this study in providing a comprehensive view of PFAS distribution in drinking water across Germany, a crucial aspect in evaluating environmental and health risks.
The collaborative effort in this study has provided valuable insights into PFAS levels in German drinking water, laying the groundwork for future environmental and public health initiatives, and underscores the necessity for further research to understand the long-term implications of PFAS in drinking water and to develop more efficient removal methods.
Next question for readers and entrepreneurs? The most common in-home water filters that remove PFAS are activated carbon and reverse osmosis. Dual stage filters (activated carbon + reverse osmosis) are also an option.
What filters can remove PFAS from drinking water? Does a Brita do?
Snoring and mouth-breathing may be a sign your ADHD kids is actually just sleep deprived. ADHD medication may be doing harm
Parents turn to physicians to get an ADHD diagnosis to explain troubles at school or play with friends. And more and more adults are coughing up $600 in Canada to get an adult ADHD diagnosis online through clinics like Frida. But before you dispense the Brillia or get a prescription for Ritalin or Concerta for your kid’s ADHD, there may be other causes in play, finds a new study that points to sleep:
“There is a high probability that many children who receive medication for ADHD actually suffer from breathing disorders during their sleep. Due to the incorrect diagnosis, the real problem is left untreated, and the unnecessary treatment may even worsen the situation,” say researchers from Tel Aviv University.
The study’s findings showed that children who suffer from breathing disorders during sleep received ADHD medication at a rate 7 times higher than children who don’t suffer from sleep-disordered breathing.
Dr. Shani Kaminsky-Kurtz, Dr. Sigalit Blumer, Prof. Ilana Eli, Dr. Alona Emodi-Perlman, and Dr. Yarden Shreiber-Fridman, all from the Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine at Tel Aviv University carried out the research.
“People with ADHD may experience sleep issues, such as insomnia or circadian rhythm disorders,” say specialists on the Frida website: “These issues may cause delayed sleep patterns, poor sleep quality, and difficulty waking up in the morning.”
Or the reverse may be true, at least in children: sleep issues may be causing what looks like ADHD. A recent unrelated study on sleep also found how lack of sleep can be linked to suicide in teens. Dr. Blumer explains: “For the most part, sleep breathing disorders in children usually manifest as snoring (according to various studies, between 8% to 27% of children snore in their sleep) and/or partial or as complete interruptions of breathing (between 2% to 3% of children suffer from an extreme state of obstructive respiratory arrest during sleep).
These disorders disrupt the oxygen saturation levels in the blood during sleep, which is especially important in children, because most of the growth and development processes take place during sleep. The lack of oxygen in the blood can harm the growth and development of the brain and cause cognitive and behavioral disorders while awake – such as learning difficulties, hyperactivity, fatigue and lack of concentration. These symptoms are similar to the characteristics of ADHD or ADD, which often leads to a misdiagnosis and treatment with drugs such as Ritalin, which is ineffective and causes side effects.”
Dr. Shani Kurtz-Kaminsky: “Despite the great significance of sleep-disordered breathing, there is still a considerable under-diagnosis of the phenomenon among children, in the world in general and in Israel in particular. The most reliable way of diagnosis is by monitoring them in a sleep lab, but this is an expensive procedure with limited availability, and is also unsuited for children.
For this reason, a reliable and more accessible diagnostic tool was developed in the US, which has been proven to be simple and effective: the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ). The questionnaire, which is addressed to the child’s parents, includes 22 yes/no questions and refers to three main categories: snoring and breathing problems during sleep, alertness levels during the day, and behavior during the day. Answering ‘yes’ to 8 or more questions requires further investigation.
The study was conducted among 227 children aged 4-12 who were treated at the children’s clinic of the TAU School of Dentistry in the years 2020-2022. The children underwent a comprehensive clinical examination of the oral cavity, and their parents were asked to fill out a PSQ questionnaire, alongside a questionnaire surveying the child’s general health. A statistical analysis of the findings of the tests and questionnaires revealed an unequivocal picture: children who suffer from sleep-disordered breathing were taking ADHD medication at a rate 7 times higher than children without sleep-disordered breathing.
In addition, the findings indicated clear correlations between the disorder and the symptoms of discontinuous sleep (6 times higher than their counterparts), mouth breathing (5 times higher), and snoring (3 times higher). Dr. Emodi and Prof. Eli warn that “Our findings raise a red flag: there is a high probability that many of the children who suffer from sleep breathing disorders are receiving medication for ADHD due to a misdiagnosis.
And so, not only is the real problem being left untreated, but the unnecessary treatment may even make the situation worse. Following the study, we compiled a list of 4 characteristics related to sleep-disordered breathing, which can be identified with the help of a few simple questions presented to parents: taking medications for ADHD, discontinuous sleep, snoring, and mouth-breathing.
We wish to shine a spotlight on the phenomenon and its dire consequences, and recommend that medical professionals who treat children – dentists, family doctors, pediatricians and others – ask a simple series of questions for each patient. A positive finding should raise a red flag, and requires further inquiries.”
So, I’ve been on this green mobility kick for years as you probably all know by now, helping friends and parents finding ways to ease their city commutes – be it for shopping or shuttling the little ones to school. An electric bike, or e-bike, has become a must for any city parent, and it’s even more convenient and eco-friendly when opting for a previously used e-bike from a cool French company called Upway.
What stands out, on top of what you love as adults, is the options for parents with kids under 9: their selection of electric cargo bikes. Swap out the SUV for an electric cargo bike this year – one that lets you charge and pedal when you want to. It’s fun for the kids, cost-effective for your gas bill, and is a simple way to transport both groceries and the family to their destinations. Upway, with its focus on used electric bikes and a bike they call the Cargo One, is a good stop.
Used electric bikes from Upway are real game-changers for parents. Cargo bikes, originally invented by the Dutch and particularly effective in flat cities like Amsterdam, have been a feature over the years. However, when it’s hot, rainy, and you’re tired, a little electric assistance can make a big difference, especially when it comes with visors and protection for the little ones.
A refurbished, used electric bike isn’t just about convenience; it’s about reusing and doing good for the planet. Now, when your kids ask, you can tell them that choosing a used electric bike means you’re contributing to a sustainable lifestyle.
Cargo Bikes: Ideal for Parents and the Planet
The dream front range cargo bike can fit infants up to young kids, pets and groceries.
So, what exactly is a cargo bike? It’s a bike designed to carry a substantial load, either in the front or back. Upway’s solution places the children in the front – a safer spot for you to keep an eye on them. It’s a joy for children to ride around with friends, and smaller ones can even take a nap on longer rides, a luxury not possible on regular bike seats.
Cargo bikes are emerging as a sustainable solution to urban transportation challenges, offering environmental, economic, and social benefits. Equipped with sturdy cargo compartments, these bicycles are transforming the way goods are moved in busy city streets.
From an environmental perspective, cargo bikes are a breath of fresh air, operating on human power and, in the case of e-bikes, electric assistance. This significantly reduces carbon emissions and air pollution compared to traditional delivery vans or trucks running on fossil fuels.
The compact nature of cargo bikes addresses urban congestion issues, navigating narrow streets and bypassing traffic for reduced congestion and smoother traffic flow. Moreover, when your kids are at school, a cargo bike can serve your delivery business effectively, offering a cost-effective alternative to hiring vans, along with insurance costs.
Beyond the economic advantages, cargo bikes foster a sense of community and make cities more liveable. The only downside? Be ready for people to keep asking you where you got it.
Cargo Bike Safety Tips for Driving With Kids:
Helmet First: Ensure your child wears a properly fitting helmet at all times when riding in a cargo bike.
Secure Seating: Use a well-designed and appropriately sized child seat or harness system to secure your child comfortably within the cargo area.
Balance the Load: Distribute weight evenly within the cargo space to maintain the bike’s stability and prevent tipping. Heavier items should be placed at the bike’s center of gravity.
Visibility Matters: Attach reflective materials or lights to the cargo bike to enhance visibility, especially during low-light conditions.
Teach Hand Signals: Educate your child on basic hand signals for turning and stopping. This helps create awareness for those around the cargo bike.
Practice Loading and Unloading: Practice getting on and off the cargo bike with your child in a controlled environment. Familiarity reduces the risk of accidents during stops.
Mind Your Speed: Maintain a moderate and controlled speed, especially when turning or navigating uneven terrain. Sudden movements can affect the stability of the cargo bike. The safest place for you and your family is on bike lanes, not on the street.
Regular Maintenance: Ensure the cargo bike is in good condition. Regularly check brakes, tires, and other components to guarantee a safe and smooth ride for your child.
Ormat Technologies, a family energy business from Israel, has big plans for geothermal and recovered energy generation and the energy storage market
BHI, a full-service commercial bank, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Reno, Nevada-based Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA) to provide a new $75 million term loan for the company.
When I interviewed Ormat’s then CEO Yehudit ‘Dita’ Bronicki (in 2007), she told me that she started the company with her husband Lucien: “We started working in clean technology a long time ago – in 1965 well before anyone had ever heard of this market. We were never hippies, though. We were always square people with a clear vision that we wanted to do something in which Israel could excel.”
Today Ormat has realized its vision. It is one of the most important alternative and renewable energy companies in the world, especially in the areas of geothermal energy and energy recovery.
Fast forward: With over five decades of experience, and started in Israel, Ormat Technologies is a leading geothermal company and the only vertically integrated company engaged in geothermal and recovered energy generation (“REG”), with plans to accelerate long-term growth in the energy storage market and to establish a leading position in the US energy storage market.
Ormat has engineered, manufactured and constructed power plants, which it currently owns or has installed for utilities and developers worldwide, totaling approximately 3,200 MW of gross capacity. Ormat’s current total generating portfolio is 1,385 MW with a 1,215 MW geothermal and solar generation portfolio and a 170 MW energy storage portfolio.
Ormat will use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Italian power and gas giant, Enel Group for $271 million. BHI will also continue its long-standing relationship with Ormat, serving as a depository bank while maintaining an active dialogue with the entire global management team as the company continues to pursue its strategic portfolio expansion and assess ways that their equipment can further optimize facility operations.
“Ormat’s highly experienced management team has positioned the company with a strong balance sheet and capital structure along with a geographically diverse plant portfolio, supported by long-term Power Purchase Agreements, which provide highly visible, secure cash flows,” said Uri Shusterman, First Vice President & Head of International C&I at BHI.
“We anticipate that this strategic foresight, coupled with favorable regulatory and policy tailwinds, will help further propel the company as it continues to pursue expansion plans and strategies to utilize their equipment to enhance the efficiencies and output of their growing portfolio of power plant assets.”
ESG environment social governance investment business concept. Women use a computer to analyze ESG, surrounded by ESG icons .close to the computer screen in business investment strategy concept.
ESG environment social governance software.
IBM (NYSE:IBM) has a new way to help companies accelerate the capture, calculation and analysis of Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through an AI tool it developed called Envizi. The new text classification capabilities in this software is designed to help enable a leap forward in efficiency and accuracy by helping organizations automatically ingest, organize and manage the spend data required for emissions calculations and external disclosures.
Taking stock of greenhouse gases is a liability and a headache but when you do it right you can also get good green press and earn a Butterfly Mark (Positive Luxury) or B Corp status. Companies like Estee Lauder have taken it very seriously, aiming to not buy carbon credits but stop them at the source by using upgrades like solar energy.
Findings released in the the IBM 2023 Sustainable Business Snapshot revealed that there’s a perception gap among corporate sustainability professionals, including sustainability and IT decision-makers. Some 93% of respondents think their company is somewhat or very mature in using data to track sustainability progress. But only 45% say they are ready to report on Scope 3 emissions. The sample included 250 participants from 13 markets, including US, UK, UAE, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, and Spain.
Applying AI to green the gaps
IBM’s new AI and emissions reporting tool called called Envizi has been helping organizations to collect, calculate, analyze and report on GHG emissions for over a decade. The product isn’t a new startup promising the moon: it offers coverage for all 15 Scope 3 categories, using a calculation engine to apply GHG Protocol calculation methods that are underpinned by a robust data management system, says material provided by IMB.
IBM sustainability GHG dashboard
It includes automated data capture, supplier survey data capture, Scope 3 emissions factor libraries, reporting framework templates, a dedicated Scope 3 analytics dashboard, audit tools and functionality to support supplier benchmarking analysis.
A spend-based emissions factor library that is harmonized across over 180 countries, creating uniformity in Scope 3 calculations for purchased good and services. These datasets are designed to help organizations to produce their emissions calculations quickly, accurately and efficiently.
“Growing regulatory requirements and external interests are driving organizations to disclose GHG emissions, including those from Scope 3,” said Christina Shim, VP and and Global Head, Product Management and Strategy, IBM Sustainability Software. “As requirements increase and as organizations prioritize enhancing operational insights, so does the need for robust, auditable data management, calculation, and reporting processes. IBM Envizi is now integrated with the new capabilities to help organizations seamlessly garner insights from spend data to facilitate Scope 3 emissions calculations for ESG reporting.”
For example, a manufacturer may buy computer and electronic components from various suppliers. In one entry, these components may be recorded as ‘chips,’ and in another, they may be called ‘hard drives.’ Ultimately, they all need to be in the category of ‘computer and electronic components’ so the correct emissions factor can be applied.
This application of text classification can help to automatically categorize potentially thousands of lines of spend data so teams can focus on higher value work.
Green Prophet is covering new ground in sustainability by featuring companies using AI in sustainable development. Have an MBA, software, company idea to share? AI@greenprophet.com
Yemen Honey from the Sidr tree, magical honey from paradise according to the Quran
Socotra Island and dragon trees that bleed
Yemen is all over the news the last couple of months as the Houthi terrorists play a role in Israel’s war against Hamas. As a sustainable news reporter, I’ve been interested in Yemen because as much of the Middle East progresses, Yemen with its internal conflicts remains one of the world’s driest and hungriest cultures.
What I have learned over the years is that Yemen has a treasure trove of food traditions, natural building traditions and unspoiled nature and natural medicines for the world to explore.
Here’s an overview of what I have learned and what could be sustainable development target goals for any leader or group that wants to put the Houthis out of power. These are soft approaches that could help the local people earn income from cottage industry products, tourism and passing on sustainable building methods.
Yemen Honey from the Sidr tree, magical honey from paradise according to the Quran
Yemen has a special island called Socotra, home to a unique tree that bleeds when cut. The dragon blood tree is medicine. It was an impossible mission to get to Socotra Island in the good days. These days, forget about it. Conflict does have a way of protecting nature from over-tourism.
Zhug makes every dish betterMake two-fingered Yemeni pita. Via Karin Kloosterman
Make your own fresh, whole wheat pita the Yemini way – with two fingers, one hand, and instructions from a Yemenite grand-daughter who taught us this step by step method. Learn the way!
When a Jewish Orthodox grandmother from Israel pulls a Vice move to find ghat in Israel––> This is what she learned. More than 10 years ago, drinking the Yemenite habit was for hipsters in Tel Aviv. It’s still one of the countries where addictive ghat is not exactly banned.
Yemenite woman on Socotra Island
Yemen has a promising oil and natural gas industry for exports but Houthis who hold oil tankers hostage and possibly sabotage pipelines make it difficult for Yemen to be taken seriously. Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world and UNICEF says people are at risk for starvation. Climate change is making it one of the driest.
Yemen Honey from the Sidr tree, magical honey from paradise according to the Quran
In the enchanting tapestry of nature, the Sidr tree (Ziziphus spina-christi), known by various names such as Lote tree, Christ’s Thorn, the Jujube, or Nabkh tree, and it is a tree weaves a story that transcends religious boundaries. Beyond its status in Islam and Christianity, the Sidr tree plays a unique role in Jewish traditions, the beginning of monotheism and which Christianity and Islam is based.
According to the Jewish Library two species of jujube grow wild in Israel: the wild jujube (Zizyphus spina-Christi) and the lotus jujube (Zizyphus lotus). The first is a tall tropical tree with dense, prickly branches (from which, according to Christian tradition, Jesus’ crown of thorns was made, hence its scientific name), growing in the hot regions of Israel.
The second is a prickly desert bush, bearing small floury fruit; it grows wild in North Africa where the people make bread from it. These are “the lotus eaters” mentioned by Herodotus (Historiae, 4:177).
Also growing in Israel is the cultivated jujube (Zizyphus vulgaris) which produces a large fruit with an excellent flavor. This is the sheizaf of rabbinic literature which is commonly grafted on to the wild jujube, called rimin, the two species being counted as diverse kinds (kilayim) according to halakhah (Kil. 1:4). The fruits of the wild jujube are tasty but were not highly thought of (cf.Dem. 1.1).
Natural medicine from the jujube or Sidr tree
This tree, widespread in the wadis of the Arabah and the Jordan Valley, is identified with the ze’elim (lotus trees, AV “shady trees”) ofJob 40:21–22 under which the behemoth lies near the banks of the Jordan. Near Ein Hazevah in the Arabah grows a huge wild jujube which is counted among the oldest trees in Israel.
The Wondrous Sidr Honey and its Healing Powers
At the heart of the Sidr tree’s significance lies the mystical Sidr honey, cherished for its unique properties across cultures. The Sidr tree, resilient and deep-rooted, grows in coastal, desert, and semi-desert areas, spanning regions from India and Pakistan to Ethiopia, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, and the southern Arabian Peninsula. Yemen’s sidr honey makers are very well known.
Yemen beekeepers keep ancient tradition alive. Now they get support from the UN/credit FAO
From the leaves of the jujube (sidr) to its fruits, roots, and bark, the sidr tree is a treasure trove of medicinal wonders:
The leaves, rich in calcium, iron, and magnesium, hold therapeutic prowess, serving as components in natural wound disinfectants and herbal shampoos.
The fruits, with protein-rich seeds, offer high nutritional value, boosting energy and fortifying the immune system. Even the ashes of the Sidr tree find purpose in treating snakebites, showcasing its versatile role in traditional medicine. Here are some folk medicines from Bedouin in Israel.
Sidr is Allah’s tree and it could stop climate change
A testament to resilience, the Sidr tree has weathered ancient floods and stands tall alongside the Tamarisk and the Mustard Tree. Belonging to the Ziziphus family of plants, it reaches an average height of 7-8 meters, with soft, gray-yellowish branches, yellow flowers, and round fruits turning reddish when ripe.
In Islam, the Sidr tree is mentioned four times in the Quran, signifying both earthly and heavenly connections. The Sidr tree is considered sacred because it is mentioned in the Quran as being one of the plants in Paradise.
The sidr tree is also believed to be a great candidate for slowing climate change. The plant has a rare ability to thrive in harsh desert communities. It can do well in intense sunlight and without much water in the Middle East.
Midjourney, glaze recipe for potters and ceramic artists on Mars
Midjourney, glaze recipe for potters and ceramic artists on Mars. How about mixing up some Martian Mirth Magma?
Ever since I had a startup in machine learning and AI (an agtech robot) I’ve been challenged by how we can use new tools to sift through data and help us create new products and developments without the painstaking process of reaching out to individuals. While I love and cherish my one-on-time with people I love, and nothing beats the creative process with someone smarter than you, sometimes we want to let our imagination soar. I held an event in Tel Aviv about 6 years ago Mars Farm (and this event on future farming where I was invited) which made us think of solutions for growing food with existing Martian minerals and nutrients. The EU-funded event asked how we could create closed loop systems for farms aboard a spaceship and when we land on Mars. How would our farms look, our diet? Would there be medical cannabis?
You could ask that about any part of life, and I love to spend potting in my backyard studio. So my mind wanders: What would my pottery studio look on Mars? Surely everything would be red? Would the material move differently? Would working on the wheel be easier or harder? What about ceramic casting?
We’d probably have to make as much as we can on Mars since raw materials are heavy and wouldn’t be easily transported. Martian soil is expected to be high in iron and given what we know and maybe with a dash of what we don’t, artificial intelligence created a glaze recipe for Mars potters.
Anyone willing to try it out, and throw in a dash of what you can find local to you as the Martian Regolith (Simulated)?
Creating a glaze recipe for ceramics that can work with the minerals found on Mars involves some speculation since the exact composition of Martian minerals is not fully known. However, we can make an educated guess based on the information available about Martian soil and rocks.
Ingredients for Martian Mirth Magma glaze
Red Iron Oxide: Mars is famously known for its reddish appearance, which is due to the presence of iron oxide (rust). Incorporating red iron oxide into your glaze can help mimic the Martian color.
Silica: Silica is a common component in glazes and can be found on Mars. It helps with the melting process and contributes to the overall texture of the glaze.
Aluminum Oxide: This compound can add stability to the glaze and affect its color. It is also likely to be present in Martian soil.
Magnesium Oxide: Magnesium is known to be present on Mars, and including magnesium oxide in your glaze can provide interesting effects.
Calcium Oxide: Calcium is another element found in Martian soil, and adding calcium oxide can enhance the stability and durability of the glaze.
Martian Regolith (Simulated): If available, you may consider using a simulated Martian regolith, which is a mixture of various minerals found on Mars. This can provide a more authentic touch to your glaze.
Boron (optional): Depending on the specific mineral composition you’re aiming for, you might consider adding boron to adjust the glaze’s melting point and improve its durability.
Basic Glaze Recipe – Martian Mirth Magma:
30% Red Iron Oxide
30% Silica
15% Aluminum Oxide
10% Magnesium Oxide
10% Calcium Oxide
5% Martian Regolith (simulated)
Instructions:
Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly in a well-ventilated area to avoid inhaling fine particles.
Gradually add the dry mix to water until it is absorbed and the add water until the right density is achieved. Feedback on that?
Stir and strain glaze.
Apply the glaze to your ceramics using your preferred method (dipping, brushing, spraying).
Fire the ceramics in a kiln according to standard ceramic firing procedures. Experiment with different firing temperatures to achieve the desired results. This is currently unknown how we will do this on Mars.
Keep in mind that this is a speculative recipe, and the actual mineral composition on Mars may vary. It’s also essential to conduct tests on a small scale before applying the glaze to a larger project. Have you tried out the recipe? Are you will to provide feedback? If yes, let us know mars@greenprophet.com
Midjourney generated ceramic cups made rom Martian materials.Midjourney generated ceramic cup sketches made rom Martian materials.Midjourney
Possible names for this glaze? ChatGTP came up with a few:
Martian Mirth Magma
Red Planet Razzle-Dazzle
Alien Tease Glaze
Cosmic Chuckle Coating
Extraterrestrial Euphoria EnameLol
Red Dust Delight
Mars Mockery Mix
Laughing Lava Glint
Interplanetary Jest Glaze
Quirk of the Cosmos Coating
Sketches of pottery studios on Mars
Pottery, ceramic art studio on Mars, created by artificial intelligence.
Cradle to CradleWilliam McDonough, 2002 An industry-defying perspective on sustainable manufacturing, urging a shift from the traditional “cradle to grave” approach, making it essential for those in manufacturing to rethink their ecological impact.
Doughnut EconomicsKate Raworth, 2017 Offering a radical economic paradigm, this book challenges conventional views on development, making it crucial for economists and policymakers seeking sustainable solutions for global challenges.
Drawdown2017 Focused on solutions, Drawdown provides a comprehensive guide to reversing global warming, a must-read for environmentalists and policymakers striving for effective climate change mitigation.
Green GiantsFreya Williams By exploring successful sustainable business models, Green Giants provides insights for business leaders, showcasing the profitability and impact of integrating sustainability into corporate strategies.
Green SwansJohn Elkington, 2020 As a guide to the future of regenerative capitalism, Green Swans is indispensable for business leaders navigating the challenges of sustainability, offering insights from the acclaimed “Godfather of Sustainability.”
Grow the PieAlex Edmans, 2020 Demonstrating the profitability of socially responsible businesses, Grow the Pie is a valuable resource for corporate leaders looking to integrate purpose into their practices for long-term success.
How to Avoid a Climate DisasterBill Gates, 2021 Bill Gates provides an engineer’s perspective on climate change, making this book essential for those in the technology and engineering fields seeking innovative solutions to address the climate crisis.
Material ValueJulia L. F. Goldstein, 2019 Material Value serves as an indispensable reference for those in manufacturing, offering practical insights into sustainable and less wasteful production methods.
Our Next EvolutionLaura Calandrella, 2020 For leadership professionals, Our Next Evolution delves into the challenges of implementing lasting change within organizations, offering unique perspectives from both a leadership strategist and conservation biologist.
ScaleGeoffrey West, 2017 Exploring universal laws of growth, Scale is a thought-provoking read for sustainability professionals, connecting the principles of biology to the challenges faced by companies and cities.
Small is BeautifulE. F. Schumacher, 1973 Small Is Beautiful challenges conventional economic thinking, making it relevant for economists and policymakers advocating for sustainable alternatives and reduced consumption.
Sustainability: A HistoryJeremy L. Caradonna, 2014 From the 1600s to the present day, Sustainability: A History provides valuable context for professionals across disciplines, helping them understand the historical roots of the contemporary sustainability movement.
The Ecology of CommercePaul Hawken, 1993 A visionary declaration of sustainability, The Ecology of Commerce appeals to business leaders and environmentalists alike, envisioning a restorative economy that balances ecological and commercial needs.
The Evolution of a Corporate IdealistChristine Bader, 2015 The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist offers insights into corporate responsibility, making it essential for CSR professionals and those pushing for sustainable practices within large corporations.
The Future We ChooseChristina Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, 2020 Leaders in climate negotiations and policy should read The Future We Choose, providing two scenarios for our planet’s future and proposing actionable steps to address the climate crisis.
The GridGretchen Bakke, 2016 An enlightening exploration of America’s power grid, The Grid is crucial for sustainability professionals in the energy sector, offering insights into its development, flaws, and challenges.
The Sixth ExtinctionElizabeth Kolbert, 2014 Focused on man-made extinction threats, The Sixth Extinction is vital for those in environmental science, conservation, and policymaking, providing a sobering analysis of climate change impacts.
The Uninhabitable EarthDavid Wallace-Wells, 2019 A sobering look at the consequences of global warming, The Uninhabitable Earth is a rallying call for climate action, urging individuals and policymakers to address the urgent challenges posed by climate change.
The UpcycleWilliam McDonough, Michael Braungart, 2013 A sequel to Cradle to Cradle, The Upcycle envisions an ecologically improved future, making it a must-read for those involved in sustainable design and environmental innovation.
There is No Planet BMike Berners-Lee, 2019 Providing a comprehensive guide to climate action, There is No Planet B is indispensable for individuals and policymakers seeking practical solutions to address the urgent challenges of global warming.
UnstoppableBill Nye Written by the renowned Science Guy, Unstoppable harnesses science for climate change solutions, making it an inspiring read for science enthusiasts, educators, and anyone passionate about changing the world.
Wisdom for a Livable PlanetVarious Contributors Wisdom for a Livable Planet presents environmental issues through the perspectives of visionaries, offering inspiration for individuals from all walks of life to join the fight for a sustainable planet.
Braiding SweetgrassRobin Wall Kimmerer, 2013 Drawing on indigenous wisdom, Braiding Sweetgrass is a must-read for environmentalists, scientists, and policymakers seeking holistic perspectives on sustainability and the interconnectedness of nature and culture.
101 Ways to Go Zero WasteKathryn Kellogg, 2018 A practical guide to reducing waste, 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste is essential for individuals looking to adopt sustainable practices, making it an accessible resource for those seeking a low-impact lifestyle.
The Conscious ClosetElizabeth L. Cline, 2019 The Conscious Closet is a revolutionary guide for fashion enthusiasts, offering insights into sustainable and ethical clothing choices, making it a must-read for those seeking a more conscious approach to fashion.
The Waste-Free WorldRon Gonen, 2021 The Waste-Free World is an essential read for individuals and policymakers, providing insights into the circular economy and how it can contribute to less wasteful production and consumption.
WildingIsabella Tree, 2018 Wilding explores the return of nature to agriculture, making it essential for farmers, conservationists, and policymakers interested in regenerative farming practices and the coexistence of agriculture and nature.
The Story of StuffAnnie Leonard, 2010 A critical exploration of our obsession with consumerism, The Story of Stuff is essential for individuals seeking a deeper understanding of the environmental and social impact of our consumption habits.
Give a Sh*tAshlee Piper, 2018 Give a Sh*t is a call to action for individuals to live a better, more environmentally conscious life, making it a motivational read for anyone seeking practical advice on sustainable living.
Third Culture Kids of the WorldPriyanka Surio, 2020 Third Culture Kids of the World provides valuable insights for educators, parents, and individuals navigating the challenges of a multicultural world, offering perspectives on identity and belonging.
Farming While BlackLeah Penniman, 2018 Farming While Black is a practical guide for farmers and activists, offering insights into liberation on the land and sustainable farming practices, making it essential for those passionate about agricultural justice.
Net PositivePaul Polman, 2021 Net Positive is a transformative read for business leaders, advocating for companies to give more than they take, making it essential for those interested in aligning business success with positive social and environmental impact.
A Life on Our PlanetDavid Attenborough, 2020 David Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet is a must-read for nature enthusiasts and policymakers alike, providing a compelling narrative on the urgent need for environmental conservation and sustainable practices.
Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing To Save CivilizationLester R. Brown, 2009 Plan B 4.0 is an essential read for policymakers and environmentalists, providing a mobilization plan to address global challenges and save civilization from environmental degradation.
#futuregen: Lessons from a Small CountryJane Davidson, 2020 #futuregen is crucial for policymakers and educators, offering lessons from a small country on sustainable development and the intergenerational responsibility of shaping a positive future.
Climate JusticeMary Robinson, 2018 Climate Justice is a must-read for advocates and policymakers, providing insights into the fight for a sustainable future, human rights, and resilience in the face of climate challenges.
Limits to GrowthDonella Meadows, 1972 A foundational work in environmental science, Limits to Growth is essential for policymakers and scientists, offering insights into the challenges and conditions that shape sustainable development.
Sustainability for the Rest of UsJohn Pabon, 2020 Sustainability for the Rest of Us provides a practical and accessible approach to saving the planet, making it an ideal read for individuals interested in sustainable living without overwhelming jargon.
Zero Waste HomeBea Johnson, 2013 Bea Johnson’s Zero Waste Home is a guide for individuals aspiring to reduce their environmental footprint, making it a valuable resource for those interested in adopting a zero-waste lifestyle.
Natural CapitalismAmory Lovins, 1999 Natural Capitalism is a seminal work for business leaders and policymakers, advocating for an economic model that values natural resources and sustainability, providing a blueprint for a regenerative economy.
FashionopolisDana Thomas, 2019 Fashionopolis is essential for those in the fashion industry, shedding light on the environmental impact of fast fashion and offering a vision for a more sustainable future in the world of clothing.
The Story of MoreHope Jahren, 2020 Scientist Hope Jahren’s open letter on climate change is a powerful read for the general public, offering both scientific insights and personal reflections on the path to climate change and its consequences.
The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery, 2005 Exploring the impact of human activity on the climate, The Weather Makers is a compelling read for those interested in understanding the science and consequences of climate change.
Alaska by James Michener, 1988
A sweeping historical novel, Alaska by James Michener provides an epic exploration of the history and culture of Alaska, offering insights into the complex relationship between humans and the environment in this vast and rugged landscapes.
The End of Nature by Bill McKibben, 1989
Published in 1989, The End of Nature is one of the first books to popularize the concept of global warming. McKibben warns of the dire consequences of unrestricted burning of fossil fuels, leading to an irreversible warming of the planet. The book played a crucial role in forming the environmental organization 350.org and galvanizing a global movement to fight climate change. (Kelly Mason, TheTutor)
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold, 1949
Published in 1949, A Sand County Almanac is a classic of environmental literature. It consists of essays about Leopold’s experiences in the Wisconsin countryside and his observations of the beauty and fragility of nature. Credited with introducing the concept of a “land ethic,” it advocates treating the environment with the same respect and care as a human being. The book is often credited with shaping the modern environmental movement.
Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard, 2005
Yvon Chouinard’s Let My People Go Surfing is a business memoir and manifesto for responsible capitalism. It outlines Chouinard’s journey in building the outdoor clothing company Patagonia and advocates for sustainable and environmentally conscious business practices. (This book and the next 15 or so were suggested by Verineia Codrean, Startup Norway)
How to Spend a Trillion Dollars
An exploration of the potential impact of large-scale financial investments, How to Spend a Trillion Dollars prompts readers to consider the ethical and sustainable deployment of significant financial resources.
Growth for Good by Alessio Terzi, 2021
Alessio Terzi’s Growth for Good explores the intersection of economic growth and societal well-being, offering insights into how businesses can contribute positively to both financial prosperity and the common good.
Nature’s Fortune by Mark Tercek, 2013
Mark Tercek’s Nature’s Fortune delves into the economic value of nature and argues for the inclusion of nature conservation in business and economic decision-making.
BONUS BOOKS
Speed & Scale by John Doerr, 2022
This book discusses the urgency and magnitude required to address global challenges, emphasizing the need for rapid and widespread solutions.
All In: The Future of Business Leadership
An exploration of the evolving role of business leaders in creating a positive impact, All In: The Future of Business Leadership provides insights into the changing landscape of corporate leadership.
Chief Sustainability Officers at Work by Chrissa Pagitsas, 2019
Chrissa Pagitsas’ Chief Sustainability Officers at Work provides a behind-the-scenes look at the role of Chief Sustainability Officers, offering practical insights and perspectives on driving sustainability within organizations.
Saving Us by Katharine Hayhoe, 2022
Saving Us by Katharine Hayhoe explores the intersection of climate science, faith, and humanity, offering a hopeful perspective on addressing the challenges of climate change.
Bewilderment by Richard Powers, 2021
Richard Powers’ Bewilderment is a novel that weaves together environmental themes and explores the complex relationship between humans and the natural world.
How Bad Are Bananas? by Mike Berners-Lee, 2010
How Bad Are Bananas? by Mike Berners-Lee is a guide that quantifies the carbon footprint of various activities, products, and choices, offering practical insights for reducing individual environmental impact.
Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System by Donella Meadows, 1999
Donella Meadows’ Leverage Points provides a systems thinking perspective, identifying strategic points for intervention to create positive change in complex systems.
Prosperity Without Growth by Tim Jackson, 2009
Tim Jackson’s Prosperity Without Growth challenges the conventional notion of continuous economic growth and explores alternative models for achieving prosperity within ecological limits.
Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas, 2018
Anand Giridharadas’ Winners Take All critiques the role of philanthropy and elite initiatives in addressing social issues, questioning the effectiveness of top-down approaches to societal challenges.
Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist by Paul Kingsnorth, 2017
Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist by Paul Kingsnorth is a reflective exploration of environmental activism and personal convictions, offering insights into the complexities of advocating for sustainability.
The Ministry for the Future
The Ministry for the Future is a speculative fiction novel by Kim Stanley Robinson that explores the potential future scenarios and challenges of climate change mitigation.
Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus, 1997
Muhammad Yunus’ Banker to the Poor narrates the story of Yunus’ journey in founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering microfinance, emphasizing financial inclusion and poverty alleviation.
What Works by Iris Bohnet, 2016
Iris Bohnet’s What Works delves into behavioral design and interventions aimed at addressing gender inequality, providing evidence-based strategies for promoting diversity and inclusion.
Hot, Flat & Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman
Hot, Flat & Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman explores the interconnections between climate change, globalization, and the need for sustainable solutions in a world facing environmental challenges.
Flourishing: A Frank Conversation about Sustainability
Flourishing: A Frank Conversation about Sustainability offers a candid exploration of sustainability, discussing challenges and opportunities for creating a flourishing and regenerative future.
Sustainability by Design by John Ehrenfeld, 2008
John Ehrenfeld’s Sustainability by Design explores the concept of sustainability from a design perspective, offering insights into integrating sustainable practices into the core of product and system design.
The Overstory by Richard Powers, 2018
The Overstory by Richard Powers is a novel that weaves together the stories of individuals connected by their deep relationships with trees, exploring themes of environmentalism, activism, and the interconnectedness.
The Eco Bible by Yonatan Neril, Leo Dee, 2020 Eco Bible is your guide to creating a more sustainable life in pursuit of recreating paradise here on earth.
We have been roaming the Earth since long before you arrived, but maybe you haven’t noticed. We are referred to as the heroes of deserts and highlands for we can survive the toughest of climates. We create some of the world’s healthiest milks and the most comfy wools. We are camels and camelids.
In celebration of the International Year of Camelids 2024, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is collaborating with partners to highlight the important role camelids play in community livelihoods and in building resilience to climate change – particularly in mountains and arid and semi-arid lands. They are at risk of death when they eat plastics in Dubai. So be mindful of your environment.
Camels and camelids live in over 90 countries and are crucial to the livelihoods of millions. They are a part of people’s cultures, livelihoods and identities and are working animals, supporting Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Our products contribute to nutrition, food security and economic growth all over the world.
There are several different types of us and more than you can count.
The Bactrian camel
I am a Bactrian camel, and I have two humps on my back.I am the largest living camelid, able to adapt to both climates of the desert and semi-desert regions. Much like the dromedary camels, I can travel for long periods of time without food or water by using the fat stored in my humps and turning it into energy.
Do not confuse us with wild camels, however. They are a separate species only found in the remote desert areas between China and Mongolia. Like all other camelids, I am a sturdy and resilient creature, constantly serving people in times of need.
Even in extreme climatic conditions, I continue to provide nutritious food and fibre. Like dromedaries, I am called a “ship of the desert” thanks to my ability to survive in challenging circumstances, which is why both we and dromedaries are crucial to nomadic and dryland communities.
The dromedary camel
I am the one humped camel, and you can distinguish me by my long-curved neck and narrow chest. I have difficulty travelling through mountainous regions, which is why I am referred to as a camel of the plains. I exist in Africa and Asia. You might find e chasing a taxi near the Dead Sea in Jordan or in a Bedouin camp in Israel.
I travel vast distances like the Bactrian camels, surviving long periods without water. This may be why I make the ideal companion through the vastness of deserts.
The llama
A tall, horse-shaped animal with a short tail is what I am. My ears are rather long and slightly curved inward like bananas.
There are four million of us today with half of us residing in Bolivia. Yarn made from our fibres is light but will keep you exceptionally warm.
Like our other camelid friends, I appeared in South America about 45 million years ago, and I am an integral part of the identity of many cultures and societies.
The alpaca
An alpaca is what they call me, and you can spot me for I have a long neck and legs and no top front teeth. Like other South American camelids, I have soft and padded feet, so I don’t damage the grasses that feed me.
I am a social creature and love to be around other alpacas and other animals. I communicate with my body language so you can read my mood by just watching my movements and behaviour.
Spanning back to pre-Hispanic times, we alpacas and our llama brethren, were the main working animals. We also provided fibre and meat to the communities.
We alpacas and llamas are the only South American camelids to have been domesticated.
The guanaco
I am one of the largest terrestrial wild mammals in South America. You can identify me by my slender body and large pointed ears. Unlike my llama relatives, my coat colour varies very little, from only a light to a dark shade of brown, with some white underneath.
We are speedy creatures, able to run from our predators. Did you know we can run about 35 miles an hour? That’s almost as fast as a tiger! Like my other camelid counterparts, I am important to local communities for my fibre.
The vicuña
I am a vicuña, the national animal of Peru. I have woolly brown coat on my back, while my chest hair is white. Many say that I provide some of the finest fibre in the world.
I can live in cold temperatures regardless of my thin wool because my body traps the sun’s heat during the daytime keeping me warm throughout the night.
We vicuñas, like the other South American camelids – llamas, alpacas and guanacos- are also called New World camelids, and we are considered unique indigenous mammals from the continent. We are a spiritual and cultural part of Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ identities in the Andean highlands, much like how the Bactrian and dromedary camels are culturally and socially significant in the arid and semi-arid lands of Africa and Asia.
Communities around the world depend on camelid products and services for their livelihoods. This is why recognition and support for camelids is crucial for community livelihoods and the environment, fostering sustainable jobs and equality. Let the heroes of deserts and highlands help transform communities and cultures everywhere.
Leonardo DiCaprio invests in Israel's meatless meat company, Aleph Farms
Leonardo DiCaprio will be happy. He invested in Israel’s meatless meat company, Aleph Farms.
In a world first, Israel advances alternative proteins –– beef without using animals was approved for sale in Israel
Cultured meat, cellular agriculture, lab meat –– there is a way to create real meat without an animal, using a cellular growing system. The result is a protein that looks like steak, tastes like steak, in fact is steak, but without the use of an animal to grow this muscle tissue. In an historic world first, the Israeli Government has decided to allow the sale of cultured meat. There are dozens of companies in Israel working on cultured or lab-grown animal products such as milk, fish, eel, beef and pork. The news is a step in making lab meet a thing of now and not just the future.
Regulatory permits were issued this year for the production of milk without using cows, and – today – meat without using animals.
“This is a global breakthrough in the field of alternative protein and important news for food security, environmental protection and concern for animals,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who formed a team to advance the field of alternative proteins based on the understanding that it would lead to innovative economic strengthening of the State of Israel, provide food security and food safety, and promote animal welfare.
The team, led by the PMO Director General, included the Health Ministry, the Innovation Authority, the Science Ministry, the Economy Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry.
Prime Minister Netanyahu tastes some Aleph lab steak
For many years the benefits of lab-grown meat were told to include less greenhouse gas emissions. A recent study at UC Davis suggests we are still far away from realizing that goal. However, given the other benefits of reducing animal suffering and working towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and keeping rainforests in the Amazon intact, we are in favor of lab meat.
The ultimate is vegetarianism, or eating meat rarely or just eating meat from regenerative farming systems. Until we get there – let cultured meat thrive.
The top cultivated meat companies from Israel
Believer Meats
Believer Meats formerly known as Future Meat Technologies, is a cultivated meat company excited to scale to feed the world. Driven by a mission to ensure that all future generations can enjoy real and delicious meat, Believer’s technology and process will make meat accessible and affordable to all. Believer Meats culture meat from chicken cells and is working on cultured lamb kebabs and beef burgers. Based in Israel, its main office is located in Jerusalem, while its primary production facility is operating in Rehovot.
Aleph Farms invested in by people like Leonardo DiCaprio, grows cultivated beef steaks, from non-genetically engineered cells, that are not immortalized, isolated from a living cow, without slaughtering the animal and with a significantly reduced impact to the environment.
Didier Toubia, Aleph Farms
The company was co-founded in 2017 by Didier Toubia, The Kitchen Hub of the Strauss Group, and Professor Shulamit Levenberg from the Biomedical Engineering Faculty at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The company’s vision is to provide unconditional nutrition for anyone, anytime, anywhere.
SuperMeat
SuperMeat also from Israel is developing cultivated chicken meat, grown directly from cells, in a sustainable and animal-friendly process.
Israel-based alt-protein company SuperMeat took that idea a step further and opened an entire restaurant dedicated to testing cell-based chicken products.
BioBetter
BioBetter is creating complex proteins for the cultivated meat industry. They apply advances uses in the lab for making vaccines in tabacco plants to procure proteins that can be used for cultivated meat companies. Consider them a raw material supplier to the alt meat industry.
BioBetter new advances for tobacco and meat industry
Steakholder Farms
Steakholder Foods, formerly MeaTech 3D “STKH” (formerly MITC), is developing a slaughter-free solution for producing a variety of beef, and seafood products — both as raw materials and whole cuts — as an alternative to industrialized farming and fishing. The company sells machines for companies and restaurants to print their own meat.
SteakHolder makes ink packs to print eel, fish and steak
The “inks” currently available are for beef, fish and eel. Since eel, a European delicacy, is now an endangered product, it might be time for Steakholder foods to fill that void. Eel fishing is currently not allowed in Europe and it is banned for commercial fisheries for the next 6 months, according to a report sent to us and confirmation from a UN source.
Bio print your own meat, eel and fish with BioPrinter
The history of lab-grown meat
Lab-grown or cultured meat is also known as “lab meat.” This approach was championed by pioneers such as Dr. Mark Post of Maastricht University and Dr. Shoji Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo, and addressed environmental concerns tied to traditional animal farming while meeting the growing demand for cruelty-free alternatives.
The roots of lab-grown meat can be traced back to the early 20th century, with initial research on cultivating animal cells in controlled environments. However, it wasn’t until the 21st century that notable technological advancements, spearheaded by institutions like Maastricht University and the University of Tokyo, propelled cellular agriculture into the spotlight.
Lab-grown meat represents a cruelty-free revolution, providing an ethical alternative to conventional animal farming practices. Dr. Mark Post’s pioneering work in 2013, where he produced the first lab-grown burger, showcased the viability of this innovative approach. By extracting a small sample of animal cells and cultivating them in a controlled environment, scientists can generate biologically identical meat without the ethical drawbacks associated with traditional methods.
Beyond ethical considerations, lab meat also addresses environmental sustainability issues. Traditional livestock farming is resource-intensive, requiring vast amounts of land, water, and feed. In contrast, lab-grown meat significantly reduces the environmental footprint of meat production, aligning with the vision set forth by pioneers in cellular agriculture.
The impact of cellular agriculture extends beyond the food industry, reaching into various sectors such as cosmetics. Cosmetic brands are now integrating lab-grown ingredients into their formulations, responding to consumer demands for cruelty-free products. The strides made in this direction reflect the innovative work carried out by institutions and researchers dedicated to sustainable and ethical practices.
Want to explore innovations in Israel and need help reaching the companies and researchers? Green Prophet’s research team can help: email bizdev@greenprophet.com
Trains are by far the best way to travel through Europe, unless you have a bike and a rent a tent kit packed behind you as you cycle through Holland. Cars aren’t needed for getting to most destinations in Europe where trains can reach the smallest villages and sometimes mountain passes –– on time.
Save A Train, a company developed in Israel and now operated out of Holland is an app that makes it easy to book trains and travel through 33 countries and 33,000 destinations in Europe in a seamless way. It used to be that one train pass might not work in another EU country.
Or students would have to renew student cards once they enter a new rail line. Save A Train, a leader in digital B2B Rail ticketing worldwide and the largest rail distributor, has further expanded its global rail offering by adding Eurail and Interrail Passes to its offerings. With a Eurail or Interrail Pass (for non-European and European citizens respectively), travellers of all ages can use an expansive network of train and ferry connections in Europe on one app “The time is ripe for further expansion of our product offering by adding the Eurail and Interrail Passes to our product platform. Not only has the interest and the demand for affordable and flexible rail travel within Europe grown considerably from our under 16 and over 60 years of age clientele over the past years, with the number of high-speed connections within Europe set to grow substantially in the coming years and rail increasingly becoming the preferred way to travel,” says Udi Sharir, CEO of Save A Train.
“We are very proud to now being able to offer these highly popular and excellent value for money rail passes as all our travelers are looking for the best price and easiest way to book online. We will offer them the quickest, most secure booking experience and guaranteed best price in combination with our highly regarded customer service,” he adds.
“Save A Train provides a perfect combination of tailor-made rail products for European and international travelers. Their extensive global rail booking platform and international rail management experience make them ideal distribution agents for us,” offers a statement by Eurorail.
Founded in 2016 with HQ’s in Israel and The Netherlands, Save A Train is digitising and simplifying train travel for travellers and B2B partners and with its substantial rail booking platform it acts as the backbone/GDS of train ticketing globally.
Exterior of the 400m by 400m by 400m structure to be built in Riyadh by 2030.
Exterior of the 400m by 400m by 400m structure, the Makuub to be built in Riyadh by 2030.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced yet another plan for a massive structure in Saudi Arabia in the Saudi capital Riyadh. The structure called the Mukaab, and which resembles the holy kaaba in Mecca, will be the center of The New Murabba, a neighborhood being built to entice tourists to a new kind of commercial Mecca. And because, as Saudi’s on Reddit are saying, mall culture is one of the only things to do in a hot and dry city.
Big enough to fit 20 Empire State buildings inside, consider the Mukaab a shape-shifting fantasy block where you enter realms of the multiverse, without the goggles.
Cut through of the Mukaab in the heart of New Murabba, Riyadh
This oil-funded plan does include green spaces as the renderings suggest and Saudi Arabia has been undergoing plans to plant 1 million mangrove trees. But instead of a multiverse, why not make your city center one of nature and trees like in Paris or New York City? Trees act as a carbon sink and can lower local temps by 5 to 10 degrees sometimes.
According to press material the Mukaab will serve as the focal point in the city’s new downtown, called the New Murabba and in total the land area will be about a third of the size of Manhattan, at seven square miles. The cube will “have it all” namely tourist attractions and smart hotels with 100,000 residential units and 1.4 million square metres of office space.
Below are some simulated images of how the Mukaab will look to visitors:
Like The Line on the Red Sea, the Mukaab promises that everything you need will be a 15-minute walk and just a 20-minute drive the airport. That part we like. But in experimental cities, even on small scale and in a more open-minded society like around Abu Dhabi, their $22 billion zero-energy city experiment known as Masdar failed.
Maybe the starchitects the Saudis have hired know something I don’t but the only way I can see humanity surviving the next 100 years is by getting out in nature, real nature, not a hologram of nature, and by getting away from building monoliths to smaller family-own farms and land. Support agri-tourism, boutique hotels run by locals. Like the Berber hotel I stayed at in Morocco. Owned by a British fellow, run by locals.
Exterior of The Mukaab
Maybe this is too much for the Saudis who in just a few decades have been so removed from their simpler ways of life thanks to oil wealth.
Can the Saudis help the world make a breakthrough on harnessing energy from nature (free energy for all! Instead we hear of human rights violations at places like Neom on the Red Sea.
Trojena, a new ski resort planned for Saudi Arabia
Meanwhile, the Middle East Monitor has collected some interested quotes from Saudis and what they think of the new Riyadh. Some are against the similarity of the project to the Kaaba in Mecca, and others say that cubes are just common building shapes in Saudi Arabia – so don’t get excited.
As Saudi Arabia is fairly unaccessible to foreign journalists, we won’t know until the Saudi Prince invites us for a visit.
Darwin asked, and science answered. Now we should be praying for rain to keep diversity.
An international research group wanted to answer the centuries long question that Darwin asked: why there are more animal and plant species in the tropics?
In the most comprehensive study to this date on species richness of land vertebrates, the researchers explored patterns in the number of species – all across the world – using comprehensive data for tens of thousands of species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles.
The scientists highlighted again the dominance of tropical regions, close to the equator, as centers of high biodiversity. When investigating the reasons behind these patterns, they found that the combination of climate and topography was key in explaining them.
However, while larger amounts of rainfall contribute to higher richness for amphibians, birds, and mammals, more reptiles are found in warmer regions, regardless of rainfall. Patterns are even more complex as species numbers increase with rainfall almost everywhere in the world – but in cold regions temperature has a more dominant effect.
Prof. Uri Roll, involved in the study says: “We live in an age of the biodiversity crisis! If trends continue as they are, many of the plants and animals that share the Earth with us will not be here by the end of the 21st century due to destruction of their habitats, climate change, and other human effects.
“A better understanding of where biodiversity is found, and why we find it there, is fundamental for our efforts to conserve it. Moreover, works such as this highlight how life on Earth is a truly miraculous phenomenon, and should serve as a call to action to everyone to protect it.”
Shai Meiri
The research was led by PhD student Tal Raz and Prof. Shai Meiri from Tel Aviv University’s School of Zoology at the Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, along with Prof. Uri Roll from the Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The research encompassed 5,983 amphibian, 9,630 avian, 5,004 mammal and 8,939 reptile species and was published in the Journal of Zoology
“Until recently, we didn’t have enough data on where land vertebrates are found and thus on how many species are actually found in different areas of the world. Now, we have detailed data for reptiles, which we made available, along with publicly available data for other land vertebrate groups,” says Raz.
“This allows us to accurately study global patterns and how they relate to the environment. The relationship between temperature, precipitation, and topography in shaping ecosystems is fascinating. In regions where environmental factors are diverse, they tend to have a more pronounced influence on the number of species.
“In Africa, for instance—where temperatures are quite high all over, the varying rainfall plays a crucial role in determining the number of species. In Eurasia, both temperature and rainfall are highly diverse, making them both influential for species richness. But with all that, amphibians never forget their connection to rainfall, and reptiles hold onto their affinity for warmth”, said Tal Raz.
The researchers found that reptiles have a slightly different species-richness pattern that is more influenced by temperature and less by rainfall.
Prof. Shai Meiri from Tel Aviv University explained that “reptiles can do with very little water, because their metabolism is much slower compared to birds and mammals and because, unlike amphibians, they have highly efficient mechanisms to prevent water loss.
“But reptiles are highly sensitive to temperatures and cannot readily function in cold regions. Therefore, we see relatively high numbers of reptiles in deserts worldwide, where mammals, birds and, especially, amphibians, are scarce.” Prof. Meiri added “in recent years we have made tremendous efforts to map the global distributions of about 12,000 species of reptiles (as part of the Global Assessment of Reptile Distributions). Such efforts enable us to ask such broad-scale fundamental questions regarding the ecology and evolution of life on our planet.”
Rainfall and biodiversity map
Which environmental factor explains most of the variation in the number of species?
Here you can see whether rainfall, temperature, or height determines the number of species in different places in the world. The size of the circle depicts the importance of the factor. The two most important factors are presented for each animal group. The dragon represents all land vertebrates together (birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles combined). For example, temperature explains most of the variation in the number of species in North America for all animal groups, while rainfall and range of heights are the most important in South-East Asia.
Biodiversity patterns world
Patterns of the number of species worldwide. Red means many species, yellow means an intermediate number, and blue means few species. The top map (a) represents all land vertebrates together (birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles combined). The bottom maps (c-e) are species-richness patterns of each group individually. For example, for all animal groups there are many species in the Amazon Forest, and few species in the Sahara Desert. You can also see some differences among group like in Australia – where there are many reptile species but few amphibians and mammals.
An extremely rare 2,550 tear old coin discovered in the Judean Hills from a Return to Zion period when 50,000 exiled Jews returned to Israel from Persian empire.
Following a decree by the Persian King Cyrus, conqueror of the Babylonian empire (538 BCE), some 50,000 Jews set out on the first return to the Land of Israel, led by Zerubbabel, a descendant of the House of David. Dating from around this time, 2550 years ago, antiquity researchers have found both a one shekel weight and fragments of a silver coin. It was found in the Judean Hills outside Jerusalem in the course of infrastructure works undertaken by the Netivei Israel National Transport Infrastructure Company. A building from the First Temple Period was also unearthed.
Site of excavation
The rare coin was discovered by Semyon Gendler, the Acting Judean District Archaeologist of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The coin, found intentionally broken, was minted with a square stamp embedded into one face; later, more sophisticated techniques produced coins with protruding rather than sunken stamps.
According to Dr. Robert Kool, Head of the Israel Antiquities Authority Numismatic Department, “The coin is extremely rare, joining only half a dozen coins of its type that have been found in archaeological excavations in the country. The coin was minted in a period when the use of coins had just begun.
Rare shekel Zionist-era weight from 2500 years ago
The rare find contributes information concerning the way trade was carried out, and the process whereby global commerce moved from payment by weighing silver pieces, to the use of coins. The coin belongs to a group of very early coins that were minted outside Israel, in the regions of ancient Greece, Cyprus and Turkey. In the 6th to 5th centuries BCE, such coins began to appear at sites in the Land of Israel.
An additional indication of the gradual process is the fact that, although the silver coin was minted as a coin, it was found intentionally cut into two. This indicates that in the 4th century BCE, it was used as a weighed piece of silver, rather than as a coin, even though coins were current in this period.
According to Michal Mermelstein and Danny Benayoun, Excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The site was situated in the rural area of the Kingdom of Judah, whose capital was in Jerusalem. It was first settled in the First Temple period, in the 7th century BCE (2,700 years ago), during the reigns of the kings of Judah, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon and Josiah, a peak settlement period in the kingdom of Judah.
A characteristic ‘four-room house’ was uncovered from this period, and the sheqel weight, found on the floor of one of the rooms in the house, provides early evidence for trade. The dome-shaped stone weight would have been used for weighing metals, spices, and other expensive commodities.
The sign on the weight was an ancient Egyptian (hieratic) abbreviation for the word sheqel, and the single incised stroke represents one sheqel. The weight weighs 11.07 g. “This was in effect a standard weight in the region of the kingdom of Judah, showing that commodities were carefully weighed in the markets,” say the archaeologists.
Better Juice partners with Ingredion for less sugar in juice
Better Juice partners with Ingredion for less sugar in juice
FoodTech start-up Better Juice from Israel is collaborating with Ingredion (NYSE: INGR), a publicly traded company of specialty ingredients to the food and beverage industry. Better Juice creates a sugar replacement, non GMO, which ca reduce sugars in juice by 80%.
Ingredion Ventures, Ingredion’s venture investment arm, will lead the Series A funding round for Better Juice which will fast-track penetration of its breakthrough sugar reduction solution into the US juice market.
Better Juice’s innovative sugar reduction technology removes simple sugars in juice-based beverages, concentrates and other natural sugar-containing liquids.
The Company developed an enzymatic technology, which converts sugars into non-digestible compounds, such as dietary fibers and non-digestible sugars, while maintaining the natural profile of vitamins, minerals and organic acids in the final product.
“The Better Juice technology adds a completely new dimension to our portfolio of sugar reduction solutions for food and beverage brands on a mission to meet increased consumer demand for less sugar,” says Nate Yates, Sugar Reduction Business Leader at Ingredion. “This technology also provides manufacturers with more options to successfully reduce sugar without compromising on great taste or nutrition.”
Non GMO
The environmentally friendly clean-label conversion process applies proprietary beads composed of non-GMO microorganisms which produce enzymes. These enzymes convert the juice’s composition of fruit sugars including sucrose, glucose, and fructose into better-for-you prebiotic fibers and other non-digestible molecules. This enables sugar reduction by 30 to 80 percent.
“This alliance will accelerate our go-to-market journey,” explains Eran Blachinsky, PhD, co-founder and co-CEO of Better Juice. “Ingredion’s capital support will allow us to extend the technology to other liquids with natural sources of sugar, such as milk, beer, and wine.”
This achievement follows Better Juice’s well-established partnership with GEA Group, one of the largest suppliers of food processing technology.
Better Juice’s solution has successfully advanced to commercial scale in the US. In recent years, it demonstrated its full proof of concept in collaboration with juice manufacturers in the US and Asia. These companies are now poised to progress to the next stage of commercialization.
Better Juice is now fully prepped for market entry, with a capacity to process 250 million liters of sugar reduced juice per year.
Since 2022, the groundbreaking GEA Better Juice Sugar Converter Skid is included in GEA’s test center in Ahaus, Germany.Better Juice collaborates with GEA for manufacturing the bioreactor, and together they install the technology in customers’ facilities.
The Better Juice team
Better Juice, Ltd., was founded in 2018 by a team of biochemists and microbiologists from industry and from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem with the aim of helping beverage manufacturers produce better-for-you, lower-sugar fruit juice.
Their technology has accrued several patents and was initially funded and supported by The Kitchen Hub, Strauss Group’s food-tech incubator, and has raised $8 million in seed-round investments.
Better Juice partners include: The Kitchen Hub, part of Strauss Group, iAngels, Maverick Ventures Israel, NEOME–Women’s Investing Club, Semillero Partners LLC, theFoodTechLab (TFTL) and S. Schestowitz. Most of the investors who participated in the seed round will also join Round A. These include Emil Capital Partners from Connecticut.
Physically, the building acts as a gateway between the university campus and city – its dynamic social spaces and laboratory facilities are designed to attract exceptional scientists, as well as to foster an interest in the centre’s research activities within the wider community.
The building is arranged as two parallel wings around a central courtyard. The upper levels house twenty-eight highly flexible laboratories linked by social hubs, which are conceived to encourage interaction and the exchange of ideas between students and staff. At ground floor, there are teaching facilities, a 200-seat auditorium, a library, café and a gallery for the display of brain art.
Foster + Partners in Israel
Design tip: help make windows wash themselves
Orange trees help passively heat and cool
The courtyard at the heart of the scheme unites these different functions, establishes new circulation routes through the campus and draws the greenery of the surrounding landscape into the building. Planted with citrus trees and with a water feature along its length, the courtyard forms a quiet, reflective space and a cool microclimate, which can be further mediated by a retractable ETFE roof.
The centre’s progressive environmental strategy makes use of passive techniques to naturally reduce energy use. Local materials, such as Jerusalem stone, are utilised where possible, and the building is orientated east-west to reduce solar gain.
The upper three levels are shaded by a perforated aluminium screen, with a pattern derived from the neurological brain structure. Further passive cooling of the building is provided by translucent ETFE canopies to the west and east, which form distinctive markers for the main entrances.
Suicidal thoughts are linked to sleep deprivation: new study
Suicidal thoughts are linked to sleep deprivation: new study. Prevention of suicide might include a better sleep plan
Teens who attempt suicide or even think about it might actually be sleep deprived, finds a new study which found a link between the minutes of sleep at night and suicidal ideation. The study is published in the journal European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
Suicide is the leading cause of death among American youth aged 15 to 24 and finding risk factors to stop suicide is a major issue among parents and health practitioners globally.
The new study comes out of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and has found that sleep deprivation and next-day suicidal ideation in high-risk youth has a link. It is not the first study to look at the risk of lack of sleep and suicide but it is the first to study suicidal teens as young as 12 in an in-patient setting.
The study was led by child psychiatrists Dr. Roy Ratzon and child Dr. Amit Shalev, both affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Green Prophet interviewed Dr. Shalev: “There is a scarcity of research concerning youth and suicide and today we are not good enough in preventing suicide,” he says. “Most research that has come out in this area is about adults. The other aspect that makes our study unique is the population –– we are talking about youth at high risk for suicide, which gives us a very rare or important opportunity to see how they are doing. We can examine our interventions to see if they have an important thing to say about this specific population admitted to inpatient care.
“This is the highest risk group I can think of with certainty. We have those who have attempted suicide multiple times, and we are working with them in a highly guarded and closed ward.
“The bottom line is that sleep is a very important target for monitoring as a proximal risk factor for suicidal youth,” says Shalev. “If I understand that suicidal youth do not sleep well we can help them better.”
The researchers interviewed 29 adolescents, 12 to 18 years old, admitted to the inpatient psychiatric ward after a suicide attempt or after expressing suicidal intent within the previous month. They conducted objective (actigraphy) and subjective sleep pattern assessments over ten consecutive days using a sleep diary.
Daily suicidal ideation was evaluated using a questionnaire and the researchers found a significant positive association was observed between sleep onset and expressing a “death wish” the following day, with each minute of not being able to fall asleep increasing the risk for a death wish the following day by 6%.
A marginally significant negative association was observed between total sleep time and expressing a “death wish” the following day, with each one-hour decrease in objectively measured total sleep time increasing the odds of a death wish by 43%.
“There is so much in psychiatry that is not measurable. Sleep patterns is an important direction for intervention,” says Shalev who is working with the University of Pittsburgh to better examine the efficacy of sleep intervention for youth. Does TSC or the trans diagnostic sleep circadian rhythm help prevent suicide in youth? This is a question he wants to answer.
Shalev’s is part of a bigger study that aims to examine the efficacy of novel interventions developed for BRITE –– an app and program was developed by researchers and faculty in psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW).
Tips for helping teens get better sleep
Some take home ideas to educators and parents? Start the school day later in the day for high-school students. According to the National Educators Association the majority of teenagers do not get the recommended 8 to 10 hours of sleep. Inadequate sleep can lead to countless negative health consequences that impact students’ ability to learn.
Many experts have advocated for later school start times—sometimes up to an hour later, to help students get the sleep they need. In 2022, California became the first state to mandate a later school start time.
Shalev, who counsels patients and parents, says that parents can help teens by emphasising the importance of sleep: “Parents shouldn’t be too strict about it, but they should give good sleep hygiene advice,” he tells Green Prophet.
Other tips? “Use a blue light filter at night on your screens, and tell your teens you prefer them not to sleep with their phone in the room,” he says. “Maintaining a deadline for bedtime along with time limits on smartphone and social media use is a good idea,” Shalev adds.
One should let children who do not sleep well know they can be helped. There are sleep doctors and people who specialise in sleep and can help parents as well.
Teens change their sleep patterns throughout their development with a natural shift in their sleep times. Melatonin is secreted later in the day in teens, so they tend to sleep later at night and longer in the morning. And there is something natural in that, Shalev explains. But the magnitude of the shift is important to monitor and this is where therapists and physicians can help.
In Israel, Shira Barzilay and Michal Zohar are working on an app to prevent suicide risk using big data. Globally, on the next frontier of artificial intelligence, sleep and health Carnegie Melon is applying data to predict suicidal risk with researcher David Brand.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 03: Henry Louis Gates Jr. attends the 16th Annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards Gala at Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles on December 03, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
Saving black churches with a new fund. “The heart of our spiritual world is the Black church”
Martin Luther King would be proud: as the US commemorates the life and impact of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is awarding $4 million in its second round of Preserving Black Churches grants to 31 historic Black churches across the US. With over $95 million in funding, the Action Fund is the largest American resource dedicated to preserving historic African American places. Since launching the Preserving Black Churches in 2022, the Action Fund has provided over $9.8 million in grants to over 80 historic churches. Even though signs of Christianity may be wavering in some communities, the church should stand for community and be a place to gather.
Black churches stand as timeless bastions of faith, resilience, and achievement in communities across America. These sacred spaces have been the birthplace of movements, the planning grounds for change, and a refuge for those seeking solace, says press material from the fund. “We created the Preserving Black Churches program to ensure the historic Black church’s legacy is told and secured.
“That these cultural assets can continue to foster community resilience and drive meaningful change in our society,” said Brent Leggs, Executive Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. Preserving Black Churches is a $20 Million Action Fund program that equips historic Black churches and their congregations with the critical resources and technical preservation expertise to protect the historic assets and legacies they steward.
With this round’s grants ranging from $50,000 to $200,000, the Preserving Black Churches program helps congregations solve urgent and ongoing preservation threats such as deferred maintenance, insufficient funding, demolition, water filtration, and mold contamination.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. attends the 16th Annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards Gala at Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles on December 03, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
“Black churches have been at the forefront of meaningful democratic reform since this nation’s founding. They’re a living testament to the resilience of our ancestors in the face of unimaginably daunting challenges,” said Henry Louis Gates, Jr., historian and advisor to the Action Fund. He is the host of the PBS program Finding Your Roots. “The heart of our spiritual world is the Black church. These places of worship, these sacred cultural centers, must exist for future generations to understand who we were as a people.” Sites selected for this year’s Preserving Black Churches grants include historic sites such as:
Founded by a group of freedmen, St. James is the oldest Black Protestant church in New Orleans. It served as the headquarters for the Louisiana Native Guards, Black Union soldiers during the Civil War, and was a staging site for marches during the Civil Rights movement. Funding will allow the church to make roof repairs that will stop 18 years of water intrusion in the upper sanctuary balcony and restore the church’s historic facade.
Town Clock Church in New Albany, Indiana
Town Clock Church in New Albany. Image by Brent Moore
Built in 1852 as Second Presbyterian Church, the building served as a station on the Underground Railroad. Oral histories claims that the structure’s basement hid fugitives and an adjoining tunnel led from the north side of the building to what was once a hotel across the street. Funding will support endowment growth to ensure that the 2014 restoration and preservation efforts are sustained in the future.
Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta, Georgia
The oldest predominantly African American congregation in the Atlanta metropolitan area, Big Bethel AME Church was founded in 1847 and is the birthplace of Morris Brown College—the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Americans. The Church hosted the first National Convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1920. Funding will support time-critical structural repairs and remedy safety concerns due to severe interior and exterior water damage.
Henderson Chapel AME Zion Church
Henderson Chapel AME Zion Church
The church was constructed in 1890, and its front gable form represents the architectural style of rural churches built between 1870 and 1950. The church served as a center of cultural activity throughout the Jim Crow Era as the site of lectures, community picnics, and other social activities. The building is not currently in use due to structural issues. Funding will support an architectural assessment and comprehensive preservation plan to restore the chapel so that it may serve as a place of worship, community event space, and tourist attraction.
Sehmus Erginoglu poses with photo of trees he helped restore. (All pictures by Murat Bayram/MEE)
A beautiful story to carry one’s legacy and to make Miss Rumphius proud: a man in Turkey has single-handedly restored a forest in his hometown. Sehmus Erginoglu now in his early 70s decided to do something about an area of wasteland in his home city of Mardin in southern Turkey.
According to the Middle East Eye he began by clearing out rubbish from the site about 30 years ago, and then he installed water pipes and eventually started to plant saplings. Today the site is home to a small forest of around 11,000 trees, with thousands more planted in areas nearby.
Sehmus Erginoglu
In a world breeding so much intolerance and hatred for the “other” inside Turkey and the Middle East at large, let’s take Erginoglu’s example and make the world a bit better than the way we found it.
As a teen in French class in Canada we read The Man Who Planted Trees (L’homme qui plantait des arbres). The story of Elzéard Bouffier is an allegorical tale by French author Jean Giono, published in 1953 which tells the story of one shepherd’s long and successful effort to re-forest a desolate valley in the foothills of the Alps, near Provence, throughout the first half of the 20th century.
Erginoglu has taken the cue: “I have built 50 spring water fountains in Mardin. I have only planted 10,000 saplings in Savurkapı, and I keep going further. I come every day to water the saplings,” he told Hurriyet, a Turkish newspaper.
His only request to visitors was not to damage the trees.
Turkey’s Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli has shared showing him as an example in the public eyes. But we do know that forest protectors in Turkey have been murdered. And you can go to jail if you are reporting about toxicity in the soil.
The story of Erginoglu is an inspiration for ecological regeneration brought about by man. And if you are wondering Miss Alice Rumphius is a children’s story about a woman who sought a way to make the world more beautiful and found it in planting lupines.
Pollination is big business in the United States. Pollination from bees, beetles, flies and birds makes sure that olive trees and agriculture crops such as strawberries and almonds will grow. In fact 75% of all pollination comes from bees. But about 40% of managed honey bee colonies in the US were lost between 2021 to 2022, a problem for farms and farmers.
Part of the reason the bees are being lost –– or colonies dying –– I am acutely aware, is because of the conventional farming system that creates monoculture crops and which uses pesticides. However, beekeeping for honey and as a pollinator service is big business in the United States, expected to grow to about $700 million USD by 2027.
A startup from Israel called BeeHero, based now in California with an R&D office in Tel Aviv, is using sensors and data to help conventional beekeepers maintain healthy hives. A sensor in the hive that monitors conditions paired with data inputs from research and a sharing app helps commercial beekeepers keep track of their hives in the field, real time.
In 2022 BeeHero had already raised $42 million USD. This year they are voted one of 100 companies of the year by the CleanTech Group. The Cleantech Group totaled 25,435 nominations from over 65 countries to offers a fair representation of global innovation and private company creation.
Beeher’s latest $42M Series B funding round led by Convent Capital was joined by General Mills, Cibus Capital (formerly ADM Capital), Rabobank, MS&AD, Firstime, J-Ventures, Plug&Play, iAngels, Gaingels, UpWest, and more. By that point they had raised $64M.
BeeHero creates what they call a Healthy Hive Score, a metric for measuring bee health that promotes bee welfare management. Their beehive sensors collectively saved a quarter of a billion bees this past year, according to their data, and beekeepers using BeeHero’s technology have reported 33% fewer colony losses compared to the US national average.
BeeHero screengrab
As the human population continues to rise, growers are faced with the challenge of producing more food with fewer resources. Bee pollination is indispensable to this production of the world’s most valuable and nutritious foods, providing $18 billion annually in value to US agricultural crops alone.
BeeHero currently runs the largest database of bee behavior in existence, according to the company. They have amassed data from hundreds of thousands of monitored colonies, and existing academic research, to give beekeepers a way to assess colony health based on colony growth, brood health, and queen presence, normalized against weather conditions and flight hours.
Beehives in the Banias, Israel. Photo by Karin Kloosterman for Green Prophet
For growers, they can decide where and when to place bees for better pollination rates: “While beekeepers and growers depend upon strong and healthy hives, they have long struggled to accurately see inside their hives to better understand and care for their colonies, leaving both their crop yields and bottom lines at risk,” says Omer Davidi, the CEO of BeeHero. This is especially true in the United States and Canada where a significant number of colonies do not withstand winter. Other stressors include disease and climate change.
We wrote about the problems with almonds and almond milk here. And our demanding almond milk is also part of the problem. California supplies 80% of the world’s almonds. In 2019, that amounted to 2.5 billion pounds of the nuts. And the demand rises, with companies especially eyeing the growing Chinese market. California farmers have ripped out citrus trees and planted almond groves that cover over 1000,000 acres – an area comparable to the size of Delaware.
While Americans eat plenty of almonds – an estimated 900 grams every year – it’s the demand for almond milk that’s driving the industry. At sales of $1.2 billion yearly, hugely topping other non-dairy milks, it’s easy to see why.
The catch is that almond farmers can’t rely on native bees to pollinate their orchards. There aren’t enough of them, and they can’t be counted on to pollinate a predictable number of trees. The farmers contract commercial beekeepers to transport their hives to the orchards while the trees blossom. 1.6 million hives are needed to make USA almond trees produce every spring – over ten times what other crops, like apples, demand.
And this is where BeeHero hopes to fit into the market.
The first application of BeeHero’s Healthy Hive Score was during the 2023 almond pollination season in California. Growers received scores based on analysis of each of the orchards pollinated by hives under BeeHero management. Based on the average outcome of almonds per acre, growers that worked with BeeHero during this season collectively produced about 270 million pounds of almonds all grown under bee-friendly conditions.
Aquellum is a new Araqa area giga project by Neom on the Red Sea
Aquellum is a new Aqaba-area giga project by Neom on the Red Sea
It seems like every week Neom, the Saudi Arabian-run company building The Line, the world’s first 15-minute city, is coming up with a new idea. Last week the fantasy was about Leyja, “sustainable” hotels in the desert. This week the fantasy is about Aquellum, a futuristic community for global nomads that will be completely encased in a mountain, invisible to anyone outside. But accessible from the Aqaba coast on the Red Sea though a “secret” location.
The coastal destination will be a hub for hotels, apartments, retail spaces, leisure and entertainment zones and innovative hubs, all in a vertical format, says Neom.
Some press bites about Aquellum: “A signature space, dubbed The Generator, houses unique research labs for disruptors, innovators, and creative thinkers, offering a platform where the future is reimagined.
“An omnidirectional internal transit system facilitates easy access to upper floors, transporting residents and visitors to their homes and hotels, ascending to rooftop gardens with breathtaking coastal views.”
Fun ideas, but nothing will be developed or populated by foreigners if Saudi Arabia can’t reign in Iran and the troubles with the Yemeni Houthi terrorists. The Houthis have been highjacking ships and firing at Saudi Arabia for years, and most recently taking the opportunity of the Hamas war with Israel to start shooting at Israeli-linked tankers. The Houthis held an oil tanker hostage for years and released it to international bodies just this summer to drain the oil cargo before it leaked into the sea. This was after several years of campaigns to get the Houthis to let the ship go.
Deforestation in the Amazon is causing fewer storms
Deforestation in the Amazon is causing fewer storms
For the first time scientists have determined that due to the ongoing deforestation in the Amazon basin in recent decades, the number of thunderstorms and rain in the region has decreased significantly, and the area over which they occur has shrunk.
This is opposite to what happens in other places, says climate change expert Colin Price: “In most areas of the world, global warming has resulted in an increase in the number of thunderstorms, but in this study we discovered that precisely in those areas where deforestation has increased the number of storms actually decreased, even with rising temperatures,” he says.
These findings are worrying because a decrease in the amount of storms leads to a decrease in the amount of rain, which in turn causes further damage to the forests. This is a dangerous feedback loop, which could severely damage the forests that provide the earth with a significant portion of the oxygen in the atmosphere and absorb a large portion of the carbon dioxide emitted by us into the atmosphere.”
What’s happening here? Price who has studied weather events and climate change for decades, postulates: “The Amazon tropical rainforests are the largest in the world and play a critical role in regulating the earth’s climate. These forests are often called ‘the lungs of the earth’, because through the process of photosynthesis the forests produce a significant portion of the oxygen in the atmosphere and absorb a large amount of its carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas that makes a significant contribution to climate change.”
Cutting down the rainmakers
The rainforests themselves produce their own rain,” says Price. “The trees emit water vapor via evaporation into the air that eventually condenses and forms clouds and rain above the rainforests. The forests influence the local and regional rainfall.”
The researchers point out that these important processes are currently in danger due to the extensive activity of deforestation in the Amazon, from cutting down trees for wood and clearing areas for agriculture, infrastructure development, and mining.
In the 30 years between 1990 and 2020, forests whose total area is larger than the entire continent of Europe were destroyed in the Amazon basin. To sum up: the destruction of rainforests impacts global oxygen levels, while increasing the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and disrupts natural rainfall patterns that may lead to further drought in some areas. In addition, the trees that have been cut down are often burned, releasing additional carbon dioxide into the air and contributing to global warming.
In this study the researchers tracked changes in thunderstorms in the Amazon basin in recent decades using a variety of mapping and tracking technologies.
“We expected to find an increase in the number of storms due to global warming, as has been observed in many regions of the world, but to our surprise we found the opposite trend: a decrease of 8% over 40 years.
“Further analysis revealed that most of the decrease was observed precisely in those areas where the rainforests were replaced by agriculture or other human activity. The decrease can be explained by the fact that the absence of the forests significantly reduced the moisture in the air, which is the source of energy and moisture needed for the formation of thunderstorms.
“The result is fewer thunderstorms, fewer clouds, less rain, and consequently less growth of the forest. This creates a dangerous feedback loop that can cause the forests to dry out and significantly reduce the vital contribution of the ‘Lungs of the Earth’ to oxygen production and carbon dioxide absorption.”
Where is the Amazon Forest and how can you help?
The Amazon is a vast biome that spans eight rapidly developing countries—Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname—and French Guiana, an overseas territory of France.
Take deforestation from your diet
Many of the foods we eat are grown on land cleared for beef and soy and palm oil. Eat less beef, palm and soy and it will help.
Buy Amazon Land for preservation
Find a local group near you pooling funds to buy Amazon forests that can be reserved for preservation.
Find ways to support indigenous people
Decision makers and corporations create the fate for the Amazon. Support local people and help them develop sustainable incomes that don’t require slashing and burning the lungs of the planet.
Sitting in a field in the heart of Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley, Shaodatkhon Oripova’s greenhouse isn’t just the simple structure it used to be. It’s now alive with digital sensors connected to the internet, through which the 62-year-old farmer can control the temperature, humidity, light and soil moisture. Uzbek farmers also work with drip irrigation.
“In the past,” she said, “a lot of my earnings would disappear into paying for utility bills and buying fertilizers,” says the mother of three, whose farm produces herbs, tomatoes, lemons, corn and clover.
Now, Shaodatkhon can better regulate these inputs through the sensors. If anything needs to be adjusted in the greenhouse, her mobile phone buzzes to alert her.
New “smart” farming techniques and technologies, like drip irrigation and pest traps, are helping farmers in Uzbekistan revolutionize their greenhouses, save water and increase their crop yields and incomes.
These sensors were particularly useful over the summer when extreme heat and lack of water impacted production from her greenhouse. While other farmers sustained great losses, she was able to maintain her production at close to last year’s levels.
Shaodatkhon has been used to the hard work and highs and lows of farming. “I was born into a family of farmers, and I have been a farmer my whole life, but it has not been easy,” she said.
It is a different type of farming now. Shaodatkhon describes how every day is a new learning experience with digital technology. She can now free up more time for other things such as marketing her produce, spending time with her family and improving her education and quality of life.
Shaodatkhon is one of the farmers taking part in the Smart Farming for the Future Generations project of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It is closely aligned with the Digital Villages Initiative, which was introduced in the villages of Novkent and Yuksalish in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan in 2023.
The Digital Villages Initiative is a flagship programme of FAO aiming to transform at least 1 000 villages around the world into digital hubs. The initiative seeks to foster rural transformation and empower communities through digitalization and participatory approaches to combat hunger, poverty and inequality. The Digital Village Initiative helps farmers access technology to boost production, access rural services and improve livelihoods.
But it’s not just farmers who are getting involved. FAO is also offering training programmes to local young people. A coding camp helped train youth in replicating smart sensor devices. In the culmination of the training programmes, a Digital Villages Hackathon took place in November 2023 yielding an array of innovative agritech solutions to the challenges faced by rural people in the Fergana Valley.
The continuation of regular collaborative innovation workshops, known as “living labs”, also provides a vital platform for exchange among farmers, experts and innovators. During these sessions, farmers like Shaodatkhon and her family discuss the challenges they face, for example heating the greenhouse against the biting winter cold. Other topics brainstormed with a range of local actors and experts have included water scarcity, a lack of infrastructure and limited access to reliable extension services.
The shisha pipe is also known as a hookah pipe. It's also known as a bong when used for smoking cannabis, for medical reasons of course.
Smoking is still a big deal in the Middle East. Tel Aviv smokes like Paris in the 80s, and the hookah and shisha pipe is going strong in every city where the taste of apple tobacco makes you forget that the smoke is bad for your lungs. Vaping is pretty much everywhere in the world. Parents typically shoo the kids outside or smoke on the balcony but the residue from smoking can also do harm, finds a new study, citing third-hand smoke.
In a new study, published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, researchers tested the surfaces in smoking households where children reside and found troubling results, says Ashley Merianos, a tobacco researcher at the University of Cincinnati who led the study.
Researchers found nicotine on surfaces in all of the children’s homes and detected the presence of a tobacco-specific carcinogen (called NNK) in nearly half of the homes, she says. The study reported that the NNK levels on surfaces and vacuumed dust were similar, which Merianos says indicates that surfaces and dust can be similar reservoirs and sources of thirdhand smoke exposure for children.
Ashley Merianos
“This is critically important and concerning, since NNK is considered the most potent carcinogen for tobacco-induced cancers,” says Merianos, an associate professor in UC’s School of Human Services.
Nicotine affects poorer families
Children living in lower-income households had higher levels of NNK and nicotine found on home surfaces.
Children living in homes that did not ban indoor smoking had higher levels of NNK and nicotine found on surfaces.
Merianos says that NNK and nicotine were still detected in homes with voluntary indoor smoking bans, which highlights the persistence of thirdhand smoke pollutants on surfaces in children’s homes: “This research highlights that home smoking bans do not fully protect children and their families from the dangers of tobacco,” she adds.
The enzyme that makes urine yellow has been finally identified. It has been known for more than 125 years that a compound called urobilin is responsible for urine’s yellow colour. But it was unclear how exactly it is created from the red-orange bilirubin.
“It’s remarkable that an everyday biological phenomenon went unexplained for so long, and our team is excited to be able to explain it,” Brantley Hall, an assistant professor in the University of Maryland’s Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, said in a news statement.
This waste product from degraded red blood cells can lead to jaundice and neurological damage if too much of it builds up in the body.
The enzyme, bilirubin reductase, is made by gut microbes and converts bilirubin into colourless urobilinogen, which breaks down further into yellow urobilin.
“Gut microbes encode the enzyme bilirubin reductase that converts bilirubin into a colorless byproduct called urobilinogen,” Hall, the study’s lead author, said. “Urobilinogen then spontaneously degrades into a molecule called urobilin, which is responsible for the yellow color we are all familiar with.”
The study authors said that before their research, scientists thought there were multiple enzymes involved, rather than a single enzyme.
A steak grown in the lab made by Aleph Farms. It is meat grown in a lab, without animal suffering.
A steak grown in the lab made by Aleph Farms. Is it a pharmaceutical product or a food product?
Lab-grown meat companies such as US–based Mission Barns and Israel-based Aleph Farms (includes Leonardo Dicaprio as investor), are making cultured meat from animal cells. This process is often marketed to be more environmentally friendly than beef because it’s predicted to need less land, water and greenhouse gases than raising cattle.
But in a preprint, not yet peer-reviewed, researchers at the University of California, Davis, have found that lab-grown or “cultivated” meat’s environmental impact is likely to be “orders of magnitude” higher than retail beef based on current and near-term production methods.
Researchers conducted a life-cycle assessment of the energy needed and greenhouse gases emitted in all stages of production and compared that with beef. One of the current challenges with lab-grown meat is the use of highly refined or purified growth media, the ingredients needed to help animal cells multiply. Currently, this method is similar to the biotechnology used to make pharmaceuticals. This sets up a critical question for cultured meat production: Is it a pharmaceutical product or a food product?
“If companies are having to purify growth media to pharmaceutical levels, it uses more resources, which then increases global warming potential,” said lead author and doctoral graduate Derrick Risner, UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology. “If this product continues to be produced using the “pharma” approach, it’s going to be worse for the environment and more expensive than conventional beef production.”
The scientists defined the global warming potential as the carbon dioxide equivalents emitted for each kilogram of meat produced. The study found that the global warming potential of lab-based meat using these purified media is four to 25 times greater than the average for retail beef.
A more climate friendly burger in the future?
Beyond Meat, a flailing meat alternative company that uses pea protein, uses the lab to refine its ingredients for Beyond Burger, but is not considered lab-based meat
One of the goals of the industry is to eventually create lab-grown meat using primarily food-grade ingredients or cultures without the use of expensive and energy-intensive pharmaceutical grade ingredients and processes.
Under that scenario, researchers found cultured meat is much more environmentally competitive, but with a wide range. Cultured meat’s global warming potential could be between 80% lower to 26% above that of conventional beef production, they calculate. While these results are more promising, the leap from “pharma to food” still represents a significant technical challenge for system scale-up.
“Our findings suggest that cultured meat is not inherently better for the environment than conventional beef. It’s not a panacea,” said corresponding author Edward Spang, an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology. “It’s possible we could reduce its environmental impact in the future, but it will require significant technical advancement to simultaneously increase the performance and decrease the cost of the cell culture media.”
Even the most efficient beef production systems reviewed in the study outperform cultured meat across all scenarios (both food and pharma), suggesting that investments to advance more climate-friendly beef production may yield greater reductions in emissions more quickly than investments in cultured meat.
Risner said even if lab-based meat doesn’t result in a more climate-friendly burger, there is still valuable science to be learned from the endeavor.
“It may not lead to environmentally friendly commodity meat, but it could lead to less expensive pharmaceuticals, for example,” said Risner. “My concern would just be scaling this up too quickly and doing something harmful for the environment.”
Garbage collectors in Ankara have turned an abandoned brick factory into a community library full of discarded books.
As a daughter of a garbage collector and reseller, and grand-daughter of a garbage dump manager, I am pretty thrilled to find other garbage collectors appreciate the value in things thrown out. Garbage collectors in Ankara, Turkey, see things the same way and have collected books thrown out in the trash and have created an underground library for all the books. They use the library before and after their shifts.
Initially, the books were only for employees and their families to borrow. But as the collection grew and interest spread throughout the community, the library was eventually opened to the public in 2017. Locals now give books directly to the library.
“We started to discuss the idea of creating a library from these books. And when everyone supported it, this project happened,” said Çankaya Mayor Alper Tasdelen, whose local government oversaw the opening of the library.
Today, the library has over 6,000 books ranging from literature to nonfiction. Garbage collectors in the Turkish capital have opened a public library comprised entirely of books once destined for the landfills.
The library, if you are looking for it, is located in the Çankaya district of Ankara.
A solar PV plant in California. More remote farms are using solar to support agriculture.
A perfect storm of inflation, supply chain disruption, spiralling interest rates and delays in connection to the UK’s national grid means that the swathe of solar farms approved and going through planning permission in the UK are likely to be severely delayed or cancelled undermining any hopes of achieving a government target of a fivefold increase to 70GW by 2035.
A new study by Huw Evans, an Energy Consultant and former Head of Global Economics for BG Group suggests that under the current macro-Economic conditions and impasse at obtaining connection to the National Grid, any chance of these solar farms being viable in the near future is negligible.
The UK government has gambled heavily on promoting solar energy to achieve its stated goal to be carbon neutral by 2035, he says.
In his report, Evans goes on to say that despite greatly increased prices offered by the Government in their Contract for Difference (CfD) allocation round, to encourage Renewable Energy, where prices have been increased by 30% for Solar Energy, solar developers will still struggle to make any return on their investment.
That is before you take into any account delays in connecting to the national grid. “The UK Government has vastly underestimated the increasing costs to develop solar farms, where their assumptions suggest the UK can develop Solar Energy cheaper than anywhere else in the world; based on published data, which is clearly unrealistic!” he says.
The UK not ideal for solar power
Within the report, Evans points to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) data that shows that given the UK’s climate, solar energy is within the worst 5% areas in the world to develop solar electricity, as only 10%-11% of the capacity of Solar Farms will ever be generated annually compared to double that in places such as Spain, Australia and parts of the US.
For Grid connection, as of November 2023, there are 1,300 projects that are awaiting connection to the grid which amounts to 400 Giga Watts (GW) of Grid access requirements. Companies applying for Grid access have been told they have to wait 15 years before any electricity they produce can be sold.
New rules issued by The National Grid to alleviate the backlog of connections which effectively are “get on, get back or get out of the energy queue” are in danger of creating thousands of acres of White Elephants, as grid connections continue to be delayed with diggers tearing up the landscape and then being suspended as projects are put on hold pending a grid connection date.
Evans points out that this as already happened in Torquay Devon where diggers have already cleared the site only to be told that Grid connection will be at least 5 years and there are indications that that could slip into the mid 2030s.
He further notes that Centrica have said that approximately 80% of the 300 substations across England and Wales need upgrading and “supergrid transformers are huge bits of kit that weigh several hundred tonnes, and it takes years to install them.
“We’re talking five to eight years for each one of these.”
For projects to progress they will probably need an allocation of a Contract for Difference (CfD) in the auction rounds, which come with a deadline of when the project needs to come on stream, a date from The National Grid to be connected which may or may not be in line with the deadline set by the CfD and provide the investor and financiers with a viable return on their investment which in the current climate is very doubtful.
Vulture in captivity learns to join the flock with biologist Ron Efrat
We know from watching the movie Fly Away Home with Anna Paquin that Canadian geese bred in captivity identify and imprint on the first mother they see. We also learn that Canadian geese can learn to fly with airplanes, and then evetually rewild. True story. Does the Fly Away Home theory really work for all birds?
Bird biologists from Israel say there are two types of experiences affect the behavioral skills of animals: the animal’s environment during its early development but also its acquired experience. The researchers wanted to understand how migration is impacted when captive birds are released and how fast vultures they studied could acquire experience.
The biologists attached two groups of vultures with trackers –– one group was born in the wild, a second group was born in captivity. Could captive birds catch up with their wild counter-parts? The researchers find out the answer is yes, but it takes time.
The researchers, led by Ron Efrat from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, followed Egyptian vultures during migration, a critical and challenging period for them, and investigated how their flying skills developed by examining their performance using high resolution tracking. Egypt borders Israel in the southern tip.
“We were able to generate data on the vultures’ migration and flying skills. The data made it possible to learn about the value of early experience and acquired experience and their impact on the ability of birds to cope with challenging periods such as migration,” explained Efrat, one of the lead investigators. “It seems that birds, like humans, are also affected by their life experience,” he said.falcon
The flight skills of two groups of birds of the species Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), a long-distance soaring raptor, were assessed using GPS transmitters for autumn migrations of 65 individuals.
The two groups were quite different in terms of their early life experiences: one group was raised in captivity and the other in the wild. The birds in both groups improved their flight and migration performance as they gained experience. However, the improvements observed were most evident for vultures raised in captivity.
During their first migration, the captive-bred birds were less efficient but were able to catch up with the migration performance of those raised in the wild as early as the second migration. Thus, the experience gained helped offset the shortcomings of their early life experience at an early stage.
Just as it is harder for humans to learn a language in old age, the vultures that hatched in captivity and were set free at a later age found it difficult to learn the necessary flying and roaming skills, but eventually caught up with those that learned earlier.
Vultures are being bred in Israel part of a new $7 million USD program to help their population. The plan includes breeding programs, safe nesting zones, feeding stations and the removal of poisoned animal carcasses from their habitats. Bedouin communities in the Negev and Arab farmers in the Wadi Ara area, Galilee have been laying out poison traps to target wolves, jackals and foxes that attack livestock. But the poison bait is inadvertently killing vultures.
The research group in the latest vulture release research includes Prof. Nir Sapir from the University of Haifa, Prof. Thomas Mueller from Frankfurt University, and the Senckenberg Research Center in Germany, and Ohad Hatzofe, Bird Ecologist of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
Their findings were published in the journal Current Biology last month.
How many oz in a bottle of wine? Time to ask how many in a wooden cask or can?
Would you be happy to pour your friends a glass of wine from a wooden cask or sip your favourite rose from an aluminium can? Are there more sustainable wine drinking options for consumers and will they go for them? This is a questions marketing researchers at an Australian business school are asking.
While alcohol is forbidden in Islam, there is a growing wine market in Mediterranean countries, such as Israel, which is emerging as boutique wine tastemaker. Winemakers in Canada have started using plastic corks which you can still find on European-sold wine (cork is being depleted faster than it grows) and people have gotten used to them. But can drinking habits accept a flask made from wood, from pottery or from terapacks?
Conventional glass wine bottles are the wine industry’s largest source of carbon emissions, with the manufacture of a single bottle generating 1.25kg of carbon dioxide. In total, the production and transport of glass wine bottles make up more than two thirds of the wine industry’s total carbon output. Here are 10 ways to lower your personal carbon footprint, in case you are wondering.
Traditional glass bottles have long been the preferred choice of packaging among wine lovers due to the belief that wine looks and tastes better in glass. While glass bottles have been the wine industry’s go-to for centuries, they are not the most carbon-friendly option available. They are however a better alternative to plastic which does not break down and which probably won’t be recycled. In America only 5% of plastics are actually recycled.
Making wine at boutique winery. A sense of purpose. Will custom-made champagne bottles be a thing of the past?
Researcher Jakob Mesidis says previous wine packaging research has largely focused on wine label and closure (cork or screw-top) preferences, but little attention has been paid to the format of the packaging. He says, “We knew that consumers weren’t buying alternatively packaged wine at the same rate they were buying it bottled, so we wanted to know what we should change to motivate them to choose more sustainable options.”
Australia’s main alternative wine packaging formats are the ‘bag-in-box’ (also known as cask wine) and aluminium cans, although new formats, such as flat plastic wine bottles, are gradually entering the market each day. Consumers might also be curious about the effect of plastics and the acidic environment of wine leaving toxins into the final sip.
These alternative formats are up to 51% more carbon efficient than glass, but Mesidis says Australian consumers are resistant when it comes to these more environmentally friendly options. He does not provide data on MENA, European or North American consumers in countries like Canada or France. “There are some underlying prejudices in relation to alternative wine packages as they are seen as the cheaper, low-quality option when compared to glass bottles, which come with a sense of heritage and luxury,” he says.
So, what can the wine industry do to bring consumers on board?
In a survey of 1200 Australians, the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute found that cask wine and flat plastic wine bottles were the most preferred formats after traditional glass bottles. Cans were the least preferred, as they were closely tied to specific occasions, such as drinking outdoors. There was no creative options such as hand-made pottery which could be converted into jars for other purposes, mentioned in the survey.
It will be hard to get the French to stop drinking wine from bottles.
Results found that package format was the biggest influence on people’s choices. Price came second, while the importance of brand and eco-messaging varied depending on the respondent’s age and how many eco-friendly behaviours they claimed to engage in.
Alternative wine formats were also typically bought more by younger people. Consumers were found to be more likely to choose alternative wine packaging when it is priced at a mid-to-low price range and if it comes from a well-known, prestigious brand.
“If a smaller, less-known winery’s mission is to grow its brand as much as possible, relying solely on alternatively packaged wines is not the way to go. Most Australians—for the time being—are still going to reach for a glass bottle when they’re at the shops,” Mesidis says.
“Larger, more prestigious brands are likely to see more success with alternatively packaged wine. Ultimately, this research provides wine marketers with a foundation for their low-carbon wine packaging strategies, rather than blindly navigating this relatively new field.
Maalexi, the UAE-based dynamic risk management platform for SME agri-businesses, announces its completion of a $3 million pre-Series A fund raise. The funding round was led exclusively by Global Ventures – MENA’s leading venture capital firm – which joins existing venture capital investors Rockstart (Amsterdam) and Ankurit Capital (New Delhi).
The proceeds will be deployed by Maalexi for tech development – to enhance its full-stack platform to help SME agri-buyers procure faster, cheaper, and safer from globally placed SME sellers; and to drive customer acquisition – specifically more buyers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and to add sellers from 50+ origin countries.
Tomatoes growing at RedSea farms, Saudi Arabia
Maalexi’s platform helps the millions of small agri-businesses active in the $3 trillion USD global, cross-border food trading market. Despite the market growing at 6% CAGR in the last five years – such businesses often suffer from an inability to manage trade risks, and get access to finance.
Maalexi’s technology has embedded risk management tools such as digital contracts, AI enhanced inspections, and blockchain-authenticated documentation – all on a user-friendly web platform. Maalexi’s solution increases participation and automates trade – leading to higher customer revenues, more bankability, and more sustainable enterprises.
Maalexi founders Rohit Majhi (left) and Azam Pasha
Maalexi has grown significantly in 2023 recording a Cumulative Monthly Growth Rate of 60%, adding hundreds of users, and helping SME buyers procure millions of kilograms of food supplies – across 70 products, from 27 countries.
Maalexi’s management team includes two co-founders with stellar backgrounds in supply chain management, technologies, and finance. Azam Pasha, the CEO, has over two decades as a head and senior advisor on food and agricultural supply-chain management and trade finance, and has worked with world-renowned conglomerates in this space. Rohit Majhi, the CTO, has a background in Management Consulting at Deloitte and led the technology function at US-based supply chain startups during his career.
Queen Soraya Tarzi, Queen of Afghanistan was a voice for feminism
Did you know women in Afghanistan got the right to vote before women in countries like USA, France, Ireland, UK and Sweden? It was one of the first reforms King Amanullah and Queen Soraya put into action, after declaring Afghanistan’s independence in 1919. The young Royal Couple were eager and enthusiastic to build their new nation; a nation where women should be equal to men. With the Queen as Minister of Education; secular schools for girls and boys were built, also a hospital for women in Kabul and a theatre.
King Amanullah of Afghanistan
A women’s magazine and a women’s organization to protect girls/women from abuse and domestic violence were also founded by Queen Soraya, the Muslim world’s first feminist, who also arranged for young Afghan men and women to take higher education abroad.
Queen Soraya of Afghanistan was the first feminist of the Arab world
The King and Queen gave Afghanistan its first Constitution in 1923; where slavery and child marriage were forbidden. Women should have the right to choose their own husband, so forced marriage was outlawed. Polygamy and use of veil and burka head coverings were discouraged. Afghanistan’s promising start lasted only a decade. The liberal reforms were not received kindly by the ultra-conservative Islamists; who orchestrated a widespread rebellion in 1928. In order to spare the country and people from the horrors of a long civil war; the King abdicated and went into exile with his family in 1929. The picture below is one of their beautiful daughters; Princess Adela.
Princess Adela of Afghanistan, the daughter of Queen Soraya and King Amanullah
Who was Queen Soraya?
Queen Soraya Tarzi of Afghanistan was born on November 24, 1899 in Damascus, Ottoman-ruled Syria and she played a significant role as the Queen of Afghanistan from February 28, 1919, to January 14, 1929. She was the daughter of Asma Rasmiya and Mahmud Tarzi, a prominent intellectual and politician advocating for the modernization of Afghanistan. From the Pashtun Barakzai tribe, Queen Soraya received her education from her forward-thinking father, setting the stage for her future as a trailblazer.
The Tarzi family’s return to Afghanistan coincided with the ascension of Amanullah Khan to the throne in 1919. Amanullah Khan’s father, Amir Habibullah Khan, had called upon Afghan exiles to return to their homeland. It was during this time that Queen Soraya met Amanullah Khan and they were married in 1913. This union marked the beginning of a powerful partnership that would shape the destiny of Afghanistan. Queen Soraya, unlike her predecessors, emerged as a true partner to her husband.
As King Amanullah Khan led the nation through a period of transformation, Soraya stood by his side at various events, from national gatherings to hunting parties and cabinet meetings. Notably, she broke new ground as the first Muslim wife to appear publicly with her husband.
Her influence extended beyond Afghanistan, capturing the attention of the entire Muslim world. In 1928, Queen Soraya received an honorary degree from Oxford University, highlighting her global recognition and the respect she garnered in academic circles. Despite her achievements, the rapid modernization efforts spearheaded by the monarchy faced resistance in more traditional provinces.
Fearing rebellion, King Amanullah Khan made the difficult decision to abdicate, leading the royal family into exile in Rome, Italy. Their last daughter alive, Princess India, daughter of King Amanullah Khan and Queen Soraya, died at 94 in 2023 in Rome. If you look around a Rome you may find the grand-children of King Amanullah Khan and Queen Soraya.
Princess India, the youngest daughter of the Afghanistan royal family who died in 2023
Queen Soraya continued her advocacy for women’s rights and education during the exile, remaining a compassionate and dedicated figure. Her efforts, however, were overshadowed by the challenges faced by the modernization initiatives in Afghanistan. The queen passed away at the age of 68 in Rome, leaving behind a legacy of progressive ideals and dedication to her nation.
Today, Queen Soraya Tarzi is remembered as a pioneering queen who played a crucial role in Afghanistan’s journey towards modernization. Her burial in the Bagh-e-Shaheed mausoleum in Jalalabad, alongside King Amanullah Khan, serves as a reminder of their enduring impact on Afghan history.
All land mammals have tear glands in their eyes, but the human tearing experience was until recently considered unique. After all, we are the only animal to shed a tear while watching Beaches. Now a new Weizmann Institute of Science study reveals that human tears have much more in common with those of other animals than previously thought: They contain chemicals that reduce aggression in others, as do the tears of, for example, mice and blind mole rats. The study, published today in PLOS Biology, showed that sniffing women’s tears lowered brain activity related to aggression in men, reducing aggressive behavior.
The study addressed the long-standing mystery of why we cry. Charles Darwin was puzzled by emotional tearing, which appeared to have no useful function – beyond the role that tears play in lubricating the eye – so he concluded that such tearing must have evolved in humans by chance. Since then, however, numerous studies, particularly in rodents, have shown that mammalian tears contain chemicals serving as social signals that can be emitted on demand. One of their most common purposes is to reduce aggression. The tear liquid of female mice, for example, contains chemicals that affect aggression networks in the brain, thereby reducing fighting among male mice. Subordinate males of blind mole rats smear themselves in tears to reduce the dominant male’s aggressive behavior toward them.
Prof. Noam Sobel and Shani Agron
Prof. Noam Sobel, whose lab in Weizmann’s Brain Sciences Department studies olfaction, the sense of smell, has hypothesized that human tears also contain chemicals that serve as social signals. Back in 2011, in research published in Science, his team had shown that sniffing women’s emotional tears reduced testosterone levels in men, resulting in somewhat diminished levels of sexual arousal.
In the new study, researchers led by PhD student Shani Agron from Sobel’s lab wanted to determine whether tears have the same aggression-blocking affect in people as they do in rodents. In a series of experiments, men were exposed to either women’s emotional tears or saline, without knowing what they were sniffing and without being able to distinguish between the two, since both are odorless. Next, they played a two-person game. The game was designed to elicit aggressive behavior in one player toward the other player, who the men were led to believe was cheating. When given the opportunity, the men could get revenge on the other players by causing them to lose money, though they themselves gained nothing.
“We’ve shown that tears activate olfactory receptors and that they alter aggression-related brain circuits, significantly reducing aggressive behavior”
After the men sniffed women’s emotional tears, their revenge-seeking aggressive behavior during the game dropped by about 44 percent – that is, nearly in half.
This seemed equivalent to the effect observed in rodents, but rodents have a structure in their noses called the vomeronasal organ, which picks up the social chemical signals. Humans don’t have this organ, so how do they sense the social chemicals? To find an answer, the researchers applied the tears to 62 human olfactory receptors in a laboratory dish and found that four of these receptors were activated by the tears, even though tears are odorless.
Furthermore, the researchers repeated the experiments while examining the men’s brains in an MRI scanner. Functional imaging showed that two aggression-related brain regions – the prefrontal cortex and the anterior insula – were less active when the men were sniffing the tears. The greater the difference in this brain activity between saline and tears, the less often the player took revenge during the game.
In each experiment, the researchers used nearly 1.5 ml of tears per participant. The entire study required more than 160 ml of emotional tears. They were collected in about 125 donation sessions from 6 female volunteers in their 20s, who were selected for their ability to cry easily.
“We’ve shown that tears activate olfactory receptors and that they alter aggression-related brain circuits, significantly reducing aggressive behavior,” Sobel says. “These findings suggest that tears are a chemical blanket offering protection against aggression – and that this effect is common to rodents and humans, and perhaps to other mammals as well.”
In fact, recent studies have found that dogs also shed emotional tears. However, more research is needed to determine whether these tears contain chemical signals that can be picked up by other dogs or by humans.
As for social interactions among humans, future research will explore whether the new study’s findings apply to women. “When we looked for volunteers who could donate tears, we found mostly women, because for them it’s much more socially acceptable to cry,” Agron says. “We knew that sniffing tears lowers testosterone, and that lowering testosterone has a greater effect on aggression in men than in women, so we began by studying the impact of tears on men because this gave us higher chances of seeing an effect. Now, however, we must extend this research to include women, to obtain a fuller picture of this impact.”
Agron adds that this effect is likely to gain in importance when verbal communication is impossible, for example in interactions with babies: “Infants can’t talk, so for them relying on chemical signals to protect themselves against aggression can be critical.”
The study was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Hiroaki Matsunami of Duke University School of Medicine, whose former postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Claire A. de March, led the research together with Agron. Study participants also included Reut Weissgross, Dr. Eva Mishor, Lior Gorodisky and Dr. Tali Weiss of Weizmann’s Brain Sciences Department, and Dr. Edna Furman-Haran of Weizmann’s Life Sciences Core Facilities Department.
Mária Telkes, a solar energy pioneer. The Hungarian-American biophysicist and inventorMária Telkes pioneered solar energy by inventing a solar oven, a solar desalination kit and, in the late 1940s, she helped design one of the first solar-heated houses.
Mária Telkes, born on December 12, 1900, in Budapest, Hungary, emerged as a solar energy pioneer long before the world would turn to renewable energy. She invented a solar oven, a solar desalination kit and, in the late 1940s, she helped design one of the first solar-heated houses. She is known as the Sun Queen.
Telkes, who came from a Jewish family that converted to Christianity, studied at the University of Budapest and then later in Switzerland at the University of Geneva where she mastered chemistry and physics, and earned a Ph.D. in 1924.
In 1925, while visiting her uncle in Cleveland, USA, she worked along the renowned surgeon George Washington Crile who performed the first successful blood transfusion.
Telkes dedicated the next 12 years of her life to researching the energy changes cells undergo during death or cancer, resulting in the publication of their findings in a collaborative book.
Upon becoming an American in 1937, Telkes joined Westinghouse Electric, where her focus shifted towards solar energy in 1939 upon becoming a member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Solar Energy Conversion project.
As the world grappled with the Second World War, Telkes was enlisted by the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), which worked on the Manhattan Project. Her task was to leverage solar energy to transform salty water into drinkable water, addressing the critical issue of dehydration faced by soldiers at sea.
Maria Telkes solar energy invention so soldiers could drink water at sea
In response, Telkes invented the first solar water distillation device, capable of producing one liter of drinkable water per day using seawater. This innovation quickly became a standard component in every soldier’s pack, earning her a merit from OSRD for her invaluable contribution.
Maria Telkes dscribed the science of solar desalination in this paper from 1953
However, Telkes’ most renowned invention was the creation of the first solar house in 1948, the Dover Sun House, near Boston, designed by Eleanor Raymond and tested by the Némethy family, Telkes’ relatives.
Maria Telkes and the Dover Sun House. The large windows faced the sun and collected heat and stored the energy in salts. Dover Sun House was one of the world’s first solar-heated houses. It was designed by architect Eleanor Raymond and had a heating system developed by physicist Mária Telkes. Client Amelia Peabody made it noteworthy for being “exclusively a feminine project.”
To tackle the challenge of storing solar energy for use on cloudy days, Telkes ingeniously employed a glauber salt solution (natrium sulfuricium) with a low melting point (32 °C) and high enthalpy of fusion, capable of storing solar energy for up to ten days.
Despite initial challenges – the unusually cold winter of 1948 and subsequent leakage in the solution tanks in 1953 – the solar house laid the groundwork for the acceptance of solar energy as a viable heating source.
“It was a proof of premise, a radical idea for her to be thinking that broadly and to think that far ahead and actually create a liveable house as an experiment,” says Andrew Nemethy, who was a boy who lived in the Dover Sun House growing up. “She needed astronauts, and I guess we were the lucky ones,” he said in a PBS documentary.
This marked a significant shift, considering that sustainable development was not yet a recognized term. People began incorporating solar panels into house designs, often complemented by traditional heating systems in areas with insufficient sunny days.
The Dover Sun House was demolished in 2010. A PBS documentary explores the contribution of Telkers and the Dover Sun House that would be heated only by the sun in a New England winter.
Maria Telkes outside the Dover Sun House in the PBS documentary about the Dover Sun House.
Telkes received the Society of Women Engineers Award in 1952, earning the moniker “The Sun Queen” in the United States.
In 1953, when Telkes was at New York University, she received a Ford Foundation grant to develop a solar stove that could be used in developing countries. Like the designs previous, she took a simple approach.
The stove was constructed as an insulated metal box equipped with doors on both ends, topped with glass over the food placement area. Harnessing the sun’s rays, the glass amplified their intensity, aided by four metal plates strategically angled at 60 degrees.
Diagram of Maria Telkes solar cooker
Triangular mirrors positioned between the plates further enhanced the amplification of solar wavelengths. Remarkably, the stove could reach temperatures of 400 degrees, requiring no specialized materials for its construction and boasting an affordable price tag of merely four dollars.
Dr. Maria Telkes, “world’s most famous woman inventor in solar energy,” speaks with Dr. J.E. Hobson (left) and Thomas K. Hitch.
Its user-friendly design (you can download the instructions here) found a welcoming market in midcentury India, precisely the tropical climate its inventor had envisioned. Telkes enthusiastically praised its merits to a reporter during a cooking demonstration, expressing, “Everything seems to taste so much better when it is cooked by the sun.”
In 1977, the American Solar Energy Society honored her with the Charles Greeley Abbot Award. At the age of 90 in 1990, Telkes submitted her last invention, leaving an indelible mark on the field.
Returning to her hometown, Budapest, after 70 years, Telkes passed away on December 2, 1995, at the age of 94. In recognition of her unparalleled contributions, she was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2012, alongside physicist Dénes Gábor.
Mária Telkes’ legacy endures as an inspiration for future innovators and a testament to the transformative power of solar energy in shaping a sustainable future.
Model Sophia Hadjipanteli sports a unibrow year round
Body hair is a big issue especially for those who have it. Some cultures adore body hair on women and men, others deny that women actually grow body hair on their arms, legs, face, and even chest. Muslims have a haram and halal guide to body hair, and Jewish women remove theirs every month before they go to the mikva when relations with their husband can resume.
Women’s chest hair, armpits, legs and bikini areas. Let it grow!
Middle Eastern women can be hairy and those not wanting it use threading and sugar wax or sugaring to remove it. Removing hair, as men who shave daily, know, is a big hassle. Some get it removed permanently but that could be a big mistake as Januhairy and a new body hair trend is coming back stronger than Brooke Shield’s eyebrows in the 80s.
Sophia-Hadjipanteli
What’s a woman to do? Like Movember when men started growing moustaches for a cause, a new movement called Januhairy is encouraging women to stop removing their body hair. Look at Cypriot-American model Sophia Hadjipanteli and her unibrow. And the TikToker Unibrow Girl. Will you join the movement?
If you look to Takijistan a woman’s beauty is measured by the size of eyebrows. Traditional Tajikistan songs including Bukaran songs by Jewish Tajikis extol women and their large eyebrows. Tajikistan women paint their eyebrows a la Frida Kahlo to appear more attractive.
A unibrow is a sign of beauty in Tajikistan and among Bukharan Jewish culture. Image via El-Len
Egyptians are credited with inventing sugaring, believed to predate shaving. It’s similar to waxing, but uses a sugar-syrup paste that gets spread onto skin. When the mixture cools, it’s quickly peeled off, yanking hair out at the roots. You can eat the sweet pre-product if you use our recipe.
But why bother shaving? Women leading the Januhairy movement like Queen Esie believe that body hair can help a woman reclaim her body and redefine what is beautiful.
She offers some tips, “Most women have shaved and removed their body hair all their life that they don’t know what they look like natural, and feel shame when they body hair slowly starts growing back. If you want to stop be afraid or ashamed of your body hair and slowly start embracing it, here are a few tips:
Tip 1: Accept that you’re a hairy woman & that’s ok 💗 Tip 2: Wear clothes that reveal your body hair in the comfort of your home🌷 Tip 3: Compliment your hairy body in the mirror ☀️ Tip 4: Let your body hair grow during the winter
“Once you get use to seeing body hair on your body you will slowly stop feeling shame.”
Queen Esie via Instagram
If you lived past the 90s and notice some women have bald eyebrows, that’s because women over-removed their eyebrows and they never grew back. Some women, already back then and it’s always been more common in Europe, have stopped removing armpit hair, leg hair, nipple hair and all hair down there.
Queen Esie via Instagram
Say no to a Brazil body wax
What is a Brazilian wax? In a Brazilian wax common in the west pubic hair is removed from around the external genitals, between the upper thighs, and around the anus. Some women can choose to remove all hair in the area or leave a small strip of hair in the front.
For the last 15 years or the Brazil body wax has made it common for women to remove their pubic hair as though they are pre-pubescent women. The Januhairy movement is encouraging women to keep all their growth, personal and down their intact and to embrace one’s body as it is: hairy and beautiful. It starts with a few women but if women of the world unite, you can stop shaving forever. The other option: get married and save yourself the hassle.
“Female body hair challenges not only the world’s status quo on a superficial, visual level but also our deeper stigmas and beliefs surrounding female pleasure and sex,” says Caley Draws, who discusses sex and hair.
Forget about buying carbon credits: a medical device company in the US becoming the carbon credits for its own manufacturing facilities, saving money and becoming less risk averse.
Staar Surgical (NASDAQ: SAAA) is a leading manufacturer of implantable lenses used in ophthalmic surgery has decided to power its manufacturing plant with solar energy. It has inaugurated a 1.1MW grid-tied microgrid on its production facility in Lake Forest, California.
Now operational, the system was installed to meet three important goals: reduce energy costs, improve sustainability, and, most importantly of all, safeguard production in the event of grid outages caused by extreme weather events.
The microgrid is powered by a 780kW SolarEdge DC-optimized inverter solar system located on the facility’s roof and two newly-constructed carports. The 1752-module system is expected to cut Staar Surgical’s energy costs by approximately 50%, representing an annual saving of around $325,000.
However, this figure could be a drop in the ocean compared to the savings that could potentially be achieved by preventing spoiled production runs.
Jay Cutting, Snr., President of building and solar contractor, ReVamp Energy, which designed, installed and will maintain the microgrid, explains: “Manufacturing contact lenses is a highly energy-intensive process that requires each lens to be heated in an industrial kiln continuously for several days.
SolarEdge nuder the hood
“Any reduction in power of more than a few seconds has the potential to ruin an entire production run, leading to losses of potentially hundreds or thousands of dollars. The increasing frequency of red flag weather events in California necessitated that Staar Surgical address the mission-critical challenge of identifying a cost-effective and sustainable method to safeguard production.”
Excess solar energy produced during the day will be stored in a 450kW battery to power the site’s 24/7 production lines and provide essential backup in the event of power outages. The battery is expected to provide between eight and 24 hours of back-up power, dependent upon the manufacturing facility’s load requirements. In the rare event that an outage lasts even longer, the system also includes a generator, giving Staar Surgical the ability to maintain production.
To ensure seamless operation, ReVamp Energy designed custom-made switchgear that will automatically switch the site’s energy supply to back-up power in the event of a power outage. For added convenience, the microgrid is manageable via the SolarEdge monitoring platform. This will enable Staar Surgical and ReVamp Energy to track a variety of key parameters such as solar energy production, consumption and battery energy levels in real-time and from a single platform.
Cutting, Snr. comments: “We have worked with Staar Surgical on several solar installations and for each one we have used SolarEdge technology – it is a key component of realising the client’s requirement for high energy production, reliability, and intelligent control.
“This starts with the use of Power Optimizers to pull more power from the solar arrays, and extends through to the generation of highly-granular performance data that will enable us to operate and maintain not just the solar installation, but the entire microgrid, in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.”
Dulse contains calcium and potassium which helps your bones. Dulse lowers your blood pressure, improve your eye sight and improves the health of your thyroid gland as it is a natural detox plant.
In the realm of superfoods, one stands out for detoxifying potential – dulse. Harvested from the cold waters of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, dulse, scientifically known as Palmaria palmata, is a red seaweed gaining popularity for its impressive health benefits. It takes heavy metals from the body and people are snacking on the salty seaweed likes it’s a bag of chips.
Rich in vitamins like C, B-vitamins, and A, dulse plays a crucial role in supporting immune function, energy metabolism, and maintaining healthy skin. Dulse boasts a significant mineral content, including iodine, iron, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, making it a well-rounded addition to a balanced diet.
Dulse is believed to be an important detoxifying agent that can pull heavy metals from the body. Heavy metals, such as mercury, lead, and cadmium, can accumulate in the body over time, posing serious health risks. Dulse contains compounds known as polysaccharides, which have been studied for their chelating properties – the ability to bind to and remove heavy metals from the bloodstream and tissues.
By supporting optimal thyroid function, dulse indirectly contributes to the body’s natural detoxification processes.
Dulse is a rich source of antioxidants.The polyphenols, flavonoids, and carotenoids found in dulse contribute to its potent antioxidant profile.
Dulse promotes heart health through various mechanisms. The fiber content aids in cholesterol regulation by helping to lower levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol. Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels is crucial for cardiovascular well-being, reducing the risk of heart disease.
Dulse in the wild, via Wikipedia
The mineral composition of dulse, particularly potassium, magnesium, and calcium, contributes to electrolyte balance in the body. Electrolytes are essential for proper muscle function, nerve communication, and overall cellular health.
Eating dulse – tastes like bacon
Dulse has a unique, umami-rich flavor that can enhance the taste of various dishes. Vegans use it as a bacon alternative or as a meat substitute when added to curry or rice dishes. It gives off a wonderful flavour to many dishes: you can sprinkle dried dulse flakes onto salads, stir them into soups like you would use miso, or use them as a nutritious seasoning in any food for a savory kick. Our friends in the forest in Canada just munch on it like they are eating a bag of chips. It grows on you.
“Dulse is a superfood, with twice the nutritional value of kale,” Chuck Toombs, a researcher on dulse who sees its potential in the human-food market.
“There hasn’t been a lot of interest in using it in a fresh form. But this stuff is pretty amazing,” said chief researcher Chris Langdon. “When you fry it, which I have done, it tastes like bacon, not seaweed. And it’s a pretty strong bacon flavor.”
Lake Urmia, an inland salt lake in Iran has dried up completely this past summer and Iranians are blaming electric cars for this environmental tragedy: “Flamingos won’t be visiting Iran anymore,” says Iranian activist Siavash Safavi who has been arrested in Iran for holding hands with his girlfriend. He now lives in Canada and can talk freely against the regime without getting arrested: “The mullahs in Iran have dried out Urmia Lake, the biggest salt lake in the world, so that the Chinese can get lithium from the lake bed.
“This regime is not just killing Iranians. It’s killing Iran.”
Some of these minerals may include lithium that will be sold to China for electric vehicle batteries. As there is no free press in Iran, and researchers are in danger if they report the truth, we can’t know for certain.
Why has Lake Urmia dried up?
Experts in Iran, and at NASA, believe that excessive and illegal groundwater extraction and using the water of the once bountiful Zarrineh Rud − which feeds Urmia Lake − for irrigating their apple trees have contributed to the lake shrinking by nearly 95 percent in volume over the past 20 years.
Chris Perry, a water irrigation expert who worked for the World Bank tells Green Prophet: “The lake has dried up because of excessive, uncontrolled access to groundwater.
“The water is used for irrigation, and the transpiration from the crops is lost to the local hydrological system. Converting to drip to “save” water allows a larger area to be irrigated and hence an increase in consumption. The attached report (links to PDF) addresses this issue in many countries including Iran.”
See a time lapse of Lake Urmia disappearing:
Lake Urmia mineral extraction for EVs or just plain old salt? Activists say that Iran is selling lithium to China.
In 2015 Iran started a water transfer to replenish Lake Urmia, and water can be seen returning to the lake in 2020. But by 2023 NASA had captured that Lake Urmia was completely dry.
Lake Urmia over time from 2000 to 2020.
A few years after a fresh influx of water raised its levels, the large lake has nearly gone dry and dried out completely in August 2023.
Lake Urmia was the largest lake in the Middle East and was one of the largest hypersaline lakes.
According to NASA the reasons are several. Consecutive droughts due to climate change, agricultural water use, and dam construction on rivers feeding into the lake have contributed to the decline.
A shrinking Lake Urmia has implications for ecological and human health, says NASA: “The lake, its islands, and surrounding wetlands comprise valuable habitat and are recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Ramsar site, and national park. The area provides breeding grounds for waterbirds such as flamingos, white pelicans, and white-headed ducks, as well as a stopover for migratory species.
“However, with low lake levels, what water remains becomes more saline and taxes the populations of brine shrimp and other food sources for larger animals.”
A shrinking lake also increases the likelihood of dust from the exposed lakebed becoming swept up by winds and degrading air quality. And recentstudies have linked the low water levels in Lake Urmia with respiratory health impacts among the locals.
On September 7, 2023, the OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager-2) on Landsat 9 captured this image (above) of the desiccated lakebed. It stands in contrast to the image from three years earlier, acquired by the OLI on Landsat 8 on September 8, 2020, when water filled most of the basin and salt deposits were only visible around the perimeter of the lake. The replenishment followed a period of above-average precipitation that sent a surge of freshwater into the basin, expanding its watery footprint. Drier conditions have since brought levels back down.
They must be hoping the Houthis of Yemen stop hijacking ships on the Red Sea as Saudi Arabia’s Neom steps up its mission to make Saudi Arabia a world tourism site. The latest from Neom, the company that developed the linear city The Line, is Leyja, being touted as a sustainable tourism destination.
Steeped in history and mythology (will there be jinns?), Leyja is a string of hotels starts from the Gulf of Aqaba coast and its alluring waters in the west, then winds inland to form a magnificent natural valley carved between 400m-high mountains that have been crafted over long centuries by the power of nature and water.
Aligned with NEOM’s strategy to designate the majority of its land across its destinations and cities as a nature reserve, 95% of Leyja will be preserved for nature and will combine innovative, ecological design and construction techniques to ensure the development seamlessly blends into the landscape.
Leyja’s three hotels have been intelligently and sensitively designed by world-leading architects to complement the surrounding nature, operate sustainably, and provide distinct experiences. The three properties will offer 120 elegant boutique rooms and suites, split equally with 40 keys at each.
The first property is tailor-made for active adventure. The deconstructed design ascends the walls of the wadi like a staircase, its structure effortlessly tracing the topography with minimal disturbance of the terrain’s natural lines. Its unique location, folded into the cliff top and valley sides, lends itself to those seeking rock climbing and other high-octane experiences in the surrounding area.
The second property rises from the rock to sit prominently at the heart of the wadi’s largest oasis, functioning as an enchanting gateway to discovery and exploration of the valley that continues beyond. The impressive staircase ascending from the canyon to the entrance of the property is a journey of discovery, offering unrivalled views of the valley in all its beauty.
The third property is an immersive wellness retreat that promotes longevity, with a high-tech, reflective façade mirroring the surrounding beauty and valley walls. This allows the wadi’s natural passage through the property’s center, providing visitors with a unique and interactive experience.
Once developed, Leyja will offer an extensive selection of refined experiences and activities, including fine dining and contemporary restaurants presented by world-renowned chefs. Wellness facilities and rooftop infinity-style pools across the three properties are also key features. Extensive guided wadi walks, and enthralling hiking trails set in the valley’s dramatic mountain landscapes await guests, with mountain biking and climbing on offer for those looking for adventure.
Expanding the edge of what is possible to deliver to the next generation of autonomous vehicles.
Expanding the edge of what is possible to deliver to the next generation of autonomous vehicles.
Dubai-based robotics startup Micropolis develops autonomous vehicles and is now raising $37 million in an IPO. The electric vehicle startup intends to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). In its submission to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Micropolis disclosed plans to offer 8.2 million shares at a price range of $4 to $5 per share, potentially placing the company’s valuation at around $172 million, the company announced.
Established in 2014 and located in Dubai Production City, Micropolis develops of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) utilizing wheeled electric vehicle (EV) platforms. The company is strategically capitalizing on the burgeoning robotics industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council. They have started collaborating with the Dubai police. We are used to seeing unusual cars out of the UAE – from gold Mercedes on the streets being pulled over by police driving Lambos. But who needs to work and drive if it can be all electric and police by itself?
Headquarters in Dubai
The United Arab Emirates is positioning itself as a leader in robotics innovation, particularly in the realm of developing autonomous systems for diverse industries. The police vehicle feels like it’s part of the Neom dystopian universe in Saudi Arabia.
The robots, according to the company possess the capability to function autonomously, finding applications across various sectors such as security, hospitality, real estate, retail, sanitation, and logistics. Notably, the company collaborated with Dubai Police to implement self-driving patrols, enhancing security surveillance operations.
It took 65 engineers 5 years of research to build the vehicle named Autonomous Police Patrol M02, which according to its makers can function with an accuracy rate of 99.9 percent.
Additionally, Micropolis has designed a surveillance robot equipped with a surveillance camera and a drone launcher, catering to the needs of the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Interior.
Would you invite these cars into your neighborhood?
Who was Daniel Hillel and how has he forever changed water’s relationship to food? He was an American who moved to Palestine in the 1940s. He then pioneered desert agriculture in Israel’s Negev Desert.
Daniel Hillel was born the youngest of five children in Los Angeles, California, at the beginning of the Great Depression. His father died in 1931 when Daniel was one year old, and shortly thereafter his mother moved the family to live with her parents in Palestine, a part of which eventually became the State of Israel in 1948.
At the age of nine, Daniel was sent to live in the countryside on a kibbutz. His experience in this dry, agrarian setting inspired his lifelong appreciation of the land and the need to protect its resources, leading him to pursue an academic and professional career in agriculture.
Daniel Hillel
In 1946, the teenaged Hillel returned to the United States to attend high school in Charleston, South Carolina, the former hometown of his maternal grandparents. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy from the University of Georgia in 1950, and a Master of Science degree in earth sciences from Rutgers University in 1951.
Hillel’s first posting upon returning to the nascent state of Israel in 1951 was with the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, where he took part in the first mapping of the country’s soil and irrigation resources.
He soon left the Ministry to join a group of idealistic settlers dedicated to creating a viable agricultural community in the Negev Desert highlands by nurturing the region’s meager but vital resources.
In 1952, he took part in establishing the Negev settlement of Sde Boker. When the country’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, toured the area with his wife a year later, he was so impressed by that venture that he resigned from the government and became a member of Sde Boker.
David Ben Gurion
Ben Gurion and Hillel became close friends as they worked together on the kibbutz. Recognizing the young scientist’s exceptional capabilities, Ben Gurion sent him on goodwill missions to promote sustainable agricultural techniques in developing countries. In 1956, Hillel was sent to Burma on his first assignment to help develop the country’s frontier.
Later, in 1957, he earned a Ph.D. in soil physics and ecology at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, then did post-doctoral work at the University of California in soil physics and hydrology from 1959 to 1961.
He pioneered drip irrigation
Throughout his work, Hillel pioneered a new approach to irrigation that led to a dramatic shift away from the prevailing method used in the first half of the 20th century, which applied water in brief periodic episodes of flooding to saturate the soil, followed by longer, drying out periods. The new, innovative method developed and disseminated by Hillel and others in Israel applied water continuously, in small amounts, directly to the plant roots, with dramatic results in plant production and water conservation.
Hillel is featured in the film Symphony of Soil
Hillel’s development and promotion of better land and water management clearly demonstrated that farmers no longer needed to depend on the soil’s ability to store water, as was the case when using the age-old method of high volume, low frequency irrigation.
Hillel proved that plants grown in continuously moist soil, achieved through micro-irrigation, produce higher yields than plants grown under the old flooding or sprinkler irrigation methods. Using less water in agriculture per unit of land not only conserves a scarce resource in arid and semi-arid regions, but also results in significantly “more crop per drop,” with the successful cultivation of field crops and fruit trees – even in coarse sands and gravel.
An Israeli-American company, Rivulis applies principals developed by Simcha Blass and David Hillel
By integrating complex scientific principles, designing practical applications, and achieving wide outreach to farmers, communities, researchers, and agricultural policymakers in more than 30 countries, Hillel has impacted the lives of millions.
His water management concepts—promoted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization as HELPFUL (High-frequency, Efficient, Low-volume, Partial-area, Farm-unit, Low-cost)—have spread from Israel to Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. HELPFUL irrigation technology is now used to produce high-yielding, nutritious food on more than six million hectares worldwide.
Harvesting rainwater
Hillel also helped devise a range of other adaptable, sustainable water management techniques for arid regions, specifically, harvesting rainwater by inducing and collecting runoff from sloping ground, which could allow farmers to grow crops on previously barren lands.
His innovative approaches to enhancing infiltration and reducing evaporation through soil surface treatments have enhanced agricultural productivity. He has defined ways to control the leaching of solutes, the water-logging of root zones, and the erosion of topsoil by precisely determining the supply of water required with only small increments of percolation and drainage needed to prevent salt accumulation.
Hillel participated in many missions around the world, working for and with international agencies and organizations such as the World Bank, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the U.S. Agency for International Development to promote water-use efficiency in dozens of countries in Africa, Asia, and South America. He also worked with the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington D.C. and the International Development Research Center of Canada.
He held positions as a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Climate Systems Research, part of the Earth Institute of Columbia University, and with NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
Along with his international field and development work, Hillel embarked on a career in academia as a researcher and professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the University of Massachusetts, Columbia University, and other major research centers worldwide.
He wrote or edited more than 20 books on soil and water science; his seminal textbooks have been translated into 12 languages. He has published more than 300 scientific papers, research reports, and practical manuals, and authored books for the general public on the vital role of soil and water in healthy agro-ecosystems.
Daniel Hillel, Out of the Earth
Hillel demonstrated the synergistic linkages across food production, water management, and soil science. His achievements have been and will continue to be essential to extending the Green Revolution and confronting the many global challenges in fighting hunger and poverty into the next century.
For his critical work in developing new micro-irrigation systems and disseminating this revolutionary approach to more than 30 countries, he was awarded The World Food Prize in 2012. Significantly, his nomination included letters of support from individuals from three Arab countries.
Israeli irrigation expert Dr. Daniel Hillel with Palestinian leaders.
At the ceremony at which he received The World Food Prize, the Secretary General of the United Nations, H.E. Ban Ki-moon joined in presenting the sculpture to him, and Princess Haya bint Al Hussein and Sheikh Hamad Bin Ali Bin Jassim Al-Thani of Qatar were also in the audience.
“Water has been a very big topic of concern here in the State Department,” said then Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. “We have tried to focus our government’s attention and the world’s attention on the importance of getting ahead of what will be a devastating water crisis if we are not smarter and more purposeful in addressing the problems now. It’s especially fitting that we honor today someone who has made such contributions because he understood the critical role that water plays in agriculture and the importance of getting every last drop used efficiently.”
Hillel said in a statement on winning the award: “My joy and gratitude at being granted the World Food Prize this year is tempered by the realization that the work this award recognizes is far from complete. The task of improving the sustainable management of the Earth’s finite and vulnerable soil, water, and energy resources for the benefit of humanity while sustaining the natural biotic community and its overall environmental integrity is an ongoing and increasingly urgent challenge for our generation and for future generations.
“Meeting this challenge will require enhanced global cooperation and integrated scientific research. It is a task, indeed a collective responsibility, that we cannot shirk and must indeed broaden and intensify.”
Daniel, sadly, passed away in 2021 and was given a tribute by World Scientific Publishing, where he published a number of books. Using less water in agriculture per unit of land not only conserves a scarce resource in arid and semi-arid regions, but also results in significantly “more crop per drop”.
Hillel was also a dedicated teacher who, through his signature textbooks, literally taught thousands of students the fundamentals (or as he would say, “Da Mental Fun”) of soil and water processes.
Mia Schem Instagram photo. Mia Schem was kidnapped to Gaza on Oct 7 and used her Jewish skills to survive. Cooking was one of those skills.
Mia Schem Instagram photo. Mia Schem was kidnapped to Gaza on Oct 7 and used her Jewish skills to survive. Cooking was one of those skills.
A Jewish woman named Rachel kept a number of Hamas terrorists calm by preparing them cookies on the Oct 7 terror attack on Israeli communities outside the Gaza Strip. Jewish women do have their wiles, most apparent when it comes to cooking. Jewish women from North African countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and Libya are known for the tastiest food. Jewish traditions found in Israeli cooking incorporate flavors from the Diaspora. When Mia Schem (her Instagram is here), the Israeli-French national kidnapped by Hamas terrorists wanted to keep herself alive, she did what she knew best: she cooked Jewish food like her mother taught her and like her life depended on it.
Although she had only one functional arm, she instructed a group of Hamas terrorists what they needed to buy at the market, she said on the half hour video she released in Israel. She was going to cook for them a Libyan dish known as tbeha. Libyan food or Tripoli food, as it’s sometimes known in Israel, is rich with long-simmering sauces that include paprika (hot and sweet), cumin and maybe some baharat. They are North African stews best enjoyed with a chunk of fresh bread or a bowl of fluffy couscous.
Do you want to learn to cook to save your life? Try the life-saving meal, tbeha cooked by Mia Schem. This is a Green Prophet version of the tasty dish that can be cooked with chicken, beef or for protein you can add tofu or chick peas. Feel free to load up on the olive oil. It’s only good for you. Once you have the sauce down pat you can pretty much make plenty of variations adding potato, zucchini, chickpeas, English peas, and haricot vert. My favorite is with green peas and potatoes, plain and simple without the meat. The key is to cook and simmer for a long time, hours if you have the time.
In Jewish households it is customary to have pots of hot food simmering on a blech overnight well into the next day as religious or observant Jews do all their cooking before the Sabbath starts. This way, a real rest for all can be had, with bullies full and satisfied.
Ingredients for tebha:
Tebha can save your life. This Libyan dish was prepared by Mia Schem as a way to keep the Hamas terrorists keeping her in Gaza both calm and happy. Image via The MD Chef
2 pounds chicken, cut into pieces
3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 large onions, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
small can of tomato paste
1 cup chickpeas cooked (canned or frozen is okay)
1/4 cup olive oil or more. You can lighten buy adding any tasteless vegetable oil.
optional variations: 1 pound green peas, green beans, green or brown lentils. Tomato chunks.
Instructions:
Sauté Vegetables:
In a large wide pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.
Add chopped onions and minced garlic, sauté until softened.
Incorporate tomato paste, spices, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
Cook Chicken:
In a separate pot, brown the chicken or beef pieces on all sides with a bit of oil.
Once browned, add meet to sauce
Combine and Simmer:
Mix the ingredients well, ensuring the chicken is coated with the spices.
Pour in enough water to cover the ingredients and bring the mixture to a simmer.
Add potatoes, and also add vegetables such as peas, green beans, lentils.
Let it cook over low heat until the chicken or beef is tender, and the flavors meld. You can make a variation with tofu or any other kind of vegan protein such as adding more chickpeas.
Adjust Seasoning:
Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Add more salt, pepper, or spices to suit your preferences. We sometimes add a teaspoon of vegan soup mix for extra flavor. A dash of white wine or red never hurt anyone.
Serve:
Once the tbeha is cooked and the flavors have melded, it’s ready to be served.
Garnish with fresh coriander or parsley before serving on a fluffy bed of couscous.
Libyan cuisine is a reflection of the country’s rich history from North African, Jewish, Berber and Arab and Ottoman influences along with Italian cultures. In Libya, tbeha is a staple dish enjoyed during family gatherings and celebrations. It showcases the country’s agricultural abundance, with ingredients like chickpeas, lentils, and tomatoes being widely produced.
Couscous, great for saving money on meals or an easy dish that satisfies in the winter
Want to know more about Libya’s sustainability initiatives and the environment there? Dive in here. Looking for more food? Here is an Iftar-inspired vegetarian couscous dish. Couscous common in North Africa is the national dish of Libya.
Plastic Soup draws an atlas of plastics and where they are accumulating around the world.
Plastics are washing up everywhere. A Greek-Israeli architect explores the problem while on daily walks. And offers solutions and people driving innovation.
For the past three months we’ve been living on a Greek island, Aegina island, a marine-dependent community and economy. In my morning walks along the sea front, I meet neighbors, dog owners, couples, and joggers, who enjoy the outdoors in a climate-changed warm winter.
My walk passes by rocky and sandy beaches, and small docks with fishing boats. It also passes by sculptures by renowned artists Yiannis Moralis, and Christos Kapralos, the former residence of author of “Zorba the Greek”, Nikos Kazantzakis, overlooking the Saronic sea.
Elias Messinas collects plastics washed up from the Saronic Sea
I also pass by the Bouzas lighthouse, exquisite chapels like Aghia Filothei and Agioi Apostoloi, studios of artists, like Christos Kapralos and Nikos Nikolaou, and the former residences of archaeologists Gabriel Welter, and Belle Mazur, who studied and published the ancient mosaic of the local synagogue dating from the 4th century CE.
The morning walk is like a history tour. With such a legacy on the island, it is difficult to remain indifferent when encountering a plastic bag or a plastic bottle or a white piece of polystyrene foam stuck between the rocks or lying on the sand on the seashore. Especially near one of these important cultural heritage sites.
Living in a sea-dependent community, one realizes the practical meaning of the Cradle-to Cradle cycles. The technical cycle, such as the manmade environment, where waste must be carefully disposed and reused. The biological cycle, or the natural environment, where organic waste free of chemicals is absorbed back into the natural ecosystems. Biological cycles can also be generated by human activity, like composting household organic waste at home.
In reality, keeping the two cycles apart, seems like a Herculean feat, especially in communities who still struggle with basic household waste management. So, the system has flaws. Leading to waste entering the biological or natural cycle, in particular the marine environment, and in particular, through plastic waste pollution. It may prove to be a ticking bomb, as polluting marine life and habitats in the sea and seashore threatens the human food chain through the consumption of local fish.
This local community of 14,000, growing to 40,000 or more in the summer, is a small percentage of the global more-than 6.4 billion people who live in coastal communities in 192 countries. Collectively, they generate 99.5 million tons of plastic waste discarded within 50 km of the ocean. Although, 8.3 billion tons of plastics were produced in the past sixty years, only 9.5% were recycled. The numbers are certainly a reason to worry. With an estimated 150 million tons of plastic already polluting the world’s oceans, 9.1 million tons are added every year, with an estimated growth of 5% annually. Studies estimate that by 2025 plastics will be equal to one third of fish (by weight), and in 2050, plastic waste will weigh more than fish stock.
Plastics in the sea, decompose and break into tiny fragments, called microplastics, thatthreaten sea life. Plastic waste pollutes the beaches and is often riding the waves. But, can also sink in the seafloor, affecting marine organisms in their reproduction. Plastic waste may cause injuries and death of marine species. Studies show that plastic waste has affected at least 267 species worldwide. Further, the human food chain, and the local economy, are also affected, as coastal tourism is directly dependent on the quality and health of fish, sea and seashore.
As I observe plastic polystyrene pieces and fragments, plastic bottles, bottle cups, straws, lighters, ropes, hangers, wraps, bags, and wrappers, in my morning walks, I often try to imagine ways of dealing with this worrying issue. I would prioritize the reduction of plastic production and consumption. Some countries, like Canada, are already considering such moves, although the COVID pandemic caused a serious regression in phasing out single-use plastics in many countries.
The gold dust bought at Walmart may make your graduation photo pretty. But one blow and it’s forever cycling as microplastics that will get into our lungs.
Another solution would be to substitute plastics with bio-degradable materials. On the island some businesses already use bio-degradable bags. However, most businesses still opt for the cheap plastic choice. Education is key in raising awareness to prevent irresponsible disposal of plastics. Education can also encourage people to substitute single-use plastics and plastic products in their daily routine.
Local and national governments could tax the use of specific plastic products, considering the damage they cause at local marine ecosystems. I often think of the day when consumers’ IDs will be printed on the plastic product, container or wrapper, and consumers would be subject to fines. Finally, the day may come when plastics are banned, or replaced by bio-based alternatives.
These actions would certainly tackle the problem. However, they would take may years to realize and bring results. This is why many organizations choose immediate action.
For example, the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation in collaboration with the Netherlands based design firm The New Raw, have initiated the BlueCycle initiative to collect and reuse plastic waste from shipping and fishing activities. They create raw material to produce high quality 3D printed urban furniture and other design products. [Listen to ECOWEEK Green Talks podcast with architect Panos Sakkas of The New Raw]
PetMat, a Prague based NGO that upcycles plastics
Prague-based NGO PETMAT focuses on the reuse of plastics, in the form of recycled PET in 3D printing of architectural projects, in creating the ‘PET(b)rick’ through recycled plastic blow molding, and through design pieces constructed of empty water bottles. [Listen to ECOWEEK Green Talks podcast with Katerina Novakova of PETMAT]
The New Raw recycled plastics from fishing
The Polish Recycling Band young musicians build and perform in instruments created in collaborative workshops, by using plastic containers that otherwise would be sent to a landfill, or pollute the sea.
At ECOWEEK workshops, we guided young architects and designers to engage in circular practices in design and reuse waste such as plastic bottles, furniture, ceramic pots, wood, and wooden decks and pallets. They used these materials to upgrade the school yard of a public elementary school in Crete, Greece and to construct a wooden outdoor exhibition space in an urban park in Milano, Italy.
ECOWEEK 2016 in Crete, Greece – Plastic bottes and reused materials upgrade a public school yard
There is also much to do on an individual level. For example, at the island, in my morning walks, when I see plastic waste by the sea, I stop and collect it. It has become part of my daily routine, a sort of meditation that does good both ways. It is also a great way to socialize. One morning, for example, I was joined by two young activists from Canada.
Cyrielle Noel and Georgina Faber are both active environmental advocates who engage in marine and coastal planning and design, research and consultation, and community engagement.
Through Eau daCité, their social enterprise, they reconnect cities, citizens, and companies to their original source of urbanization: waterways. Eau daCité promotes waterway literacy, activate sustainable development and connect social ecological transformation.
Inspired by this unexpected visit this Christmas, I invite readers to join me in Greece, or create your own group in your community, to remove plastics from the marine environment. It is truly fulfilling and empowering to know that you can intervene in reducing plastic pollution right now. To clean up natural ecosystems and reduce human exposure to plastic pollution. We can make our world a cleaner and better place.
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Elias Messinas
Elias Messinas a Yale-educated architect, urban planner and author, creator of ECOWEEKand Senior Lecturer at the Design Faculty of HIT, where he teaches sustainable design and coordinates the new SINCERE EU Horizon program, which aims to optimize the carbonfootprint of cultural heritage buildings, through innovative, sustainable, and cost-effectiverestoration materials and practices, energy harvesting, ICT tools and socially innovativeapproaches. www.ecoama.com and www.ecoweek.org
In some areas of Canada people think about the value of stuff in terms of cost of a case of beer. If you have ever visited Finland or know any Finns, they speak about the value of things in terms of saunas. How many saunas would that cost? they might ask in understanding the price of a car.
Saunas, health experts agree, are good for your health. In a study from Finland in 2022, researchers found that saunas combined with exercise is good for heart health.
A barrel sauna with a panoramic window. Saunas may be the new longevity hack.
The study from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, found that a sauna together with exercise is a viable preemptive combination for improving cardiovascular health and lowering the risk of CVD. In short
“The results of this study lend support for the regular use of sauna bathing with regular exercise, and shows promise as a therapeutic adjunct, particularly for those with lower exercise capacities,” says Earric Lee, a Doctoral Researcher in the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the university.
The exercise protocol used for the study adhered to well-established international and national guidelines: 50 minutes of exercise, three times a week. Each session consisted of 20 minutes of resistance exercise, followed by 30 minutes of aerobic exercise.
The participants in the exercise and sauna group went for 15 minutes of a typical Finnish sauna bathing after the exercise session. Maybe a run or a vigorous canoe?
CVD is the major contributor to morbidity and mortality in the world. Annually, it costs the public healthcare system in Finland tremendous amounts of money. “Any approach that has the potential to alleviate the burden, and work alongside other preventative strategies such as exercise is really worth further consideration,” Lee points out.
So saunas are good and this is the one we want: A barrel sauna built in Canada with a large dome window is both energy efficient and pleasing. Barrel saunas are naturally energy efficient saunas because as the cedar heats up it expands in an even way around the sauna.
The circular design causes the warm air to rise continuously and cool air to fall so the air is constantly moving and being reheated, allowing it to maintain internal temperatures more effectively. The round womb-like structure lends a coziness that feels human.
How long can a barrel sauna last?
Manufacturers say that the average lifespan of a barrel sauna can range from 10 to 20 years depending on the climate and how you maintain the sauna. The barrel sauna keeps its shape over time as it expands and contracts with the climate and weather, but it does not have insulation or a protected roof. If it’s for a summer residence cover it with a tarp in the winter to prevent moisture buildup over the winter.
Other tips: vacuum out the sauna regularly to prevent dust, dirt, or tracked-in leaves. If you live in a wet or snowy climate, check the sauna every few months for water seepage. The barrel bands can be tightened after you first assemble your barrel sauna. If the bands are loose, you can add extra staves to seal the exterior tightly.
Migrants are moving around Africa because of drought
Migrants are moving around Africa because of drought
In 80% of African countries people moved toward rivers and into cities during or following drought, increasing the number of people living in flood-risk areas in recent decades, according to a new study. This resettlement pattern will likely intensify in coming decades as climate change is expected to make droughts more frequent and severe. And this is a major concern as more African migrants flee Africa through North Africa to Europe as the climate crisis gets worse.
Climate refugees literally risk their lives as they travail dangerous sea passages hoping for safety and food security in Europe.
“It’s a cycle that exacerbates how many people are negatively impacted by drought, and not only in the ways we might normally expect,” said Serena Ceola, a hydrologist at the University of Bologna in Italy who led the study.
“As regional climates change and both droughts and floods become bigger problems, more people will struggle to find a safe place to settle. People may move from one drought-affected place to another or move somewhere that just poses different climate risks.”
In Somalia, for example more than 3.8 million people have been displaced in part by drought over the last three years. Many of those climate refugees sought shelter near rivers, where farming could resume, but heavy rains and flash floods then displaced more than half a million people.
The study was published in Earth’s Future, which publishes interdisciplinary research on the past, present and future of our planet and its inhabitants. Prior to this study, research on drought-driven migrations in Africa focused on single countries or specific drought events, limiting scientists’ understanding of how drought influences patterns of human settlements at large scales.
The new study is the first to examine changes in human settlement patterns associated with droughts on a continental scale.
“We want the whole society to be aware of just how many people are moving from one climate threat to another,” Ceola said.
Untangling drought and linking it to conflict
Droughts may push people closer to rivers to continue agricultural activities, and others may adapt by moving to cities, which offer diverse economic opportunities when drought limits agriculture. Scientists have hypothesized that drought can be a main driver of human displacement, but many factors — often inextricably linked to drought itself — can contribute to displacement.
Drought can exacerbate conflict, political violence and food and job insecurity, each of which can prompt mass migrations on their own. This happened before the civil war in Syria. People were not able to farm because conditions had changed.
The researchers chose to focus on drought alone due to its potential impact on many different factors. They used two indices, EM-DAT and SPEI-12, which respectively reflect socioeconomic and evapotranspiration impacts of drought, to look for droughts in 50 African countries from 1992 to 2013.
They included in their analyses the years preceding and following the drought to test for strength of the drought signal and lingering effects of drought on human movement.
To determine whether people moved to rivers, the researchers used satellite-based nighttime light detection to check for either changes in existing settlements’ luminosities or the development of new settlements. They used annual, country-based World Bank census data to track populations in urban centers.
To the river or the city?
The study found people moved toward rivers or urban centers in up to 80% of African countries experiencing droughts as indicated by at least one of the two indices used. During drought years identified by at least one of the indices, about half to three-quarters of all studied countries had settlements move closer to rivers, and one-third to half of countries had urban populations grow. The urban-growth signal could have been weaker than river-based migration because people may move to cities for many reasons, Ceola said.
Seventeen countries experienced droughts according to both drought indices during the study period. Up to 65% of those countries saw increased human movement toward rivers during drought years when the pre-drought year was included in the analysis.
Notably, all countries in southern Africa saw drought-related migration toward rivers based on at least one drought index over the study period.
Ceola pointed to Burundi, Guinea Bissau and Namibia as particularly interesting.
The methods have some limitations. Nighttime lights are used as a proxy for human settlements and activities, meaning that the amount of observed light may not reflect the number of people. Smaller concentrations of lights may not show up, and it might leave out the poorest groups that lack enough lights to appear. Limited data for many regions and populations on the continent mean scientists have to get creative with the sources of information available to prepare people and governments for current and future hazards, Ceola said.
“Policy makers need data and detailed information in order to implement strategic planning, support sustainable development and increase the resilience of people living in vulnerable areas. Likewise, people living in those areas need to be aware of the risks and should have the opportunity to freely move to safer locations,” Ceola said.
A company in Cork, Ireland rents out Christmas trees.
Measuring the chemicals emitted by a Christmas tree in the lab
Jingle Bells, what’s that smell? Many families enjoy not only having a live tree inside their homes but also smelling the fresh fragrance it creates at Christmas. That smell comes from chemicals produced by the tree called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). And they may have health effects, perhaps not all positive.
Dustin Poppendieck, an environmental engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) looked into it. He took a common type of Christmas tree — a Douglas fir— and sealed it inside a chamber. He and his team measured the amount and type of VOCs it emitted over 17 days and how they related to indoor air quality.
“Our nose is a good chemical sensor,” says Poppendieck. “We know that these trees are emitting something, and the question then becomes: How big of a source is it?
“We wanted to explore which chemicals are emitted and how much, and to put that into the context of other sources of chemicals in a house.”
The fresh smell that is commonly associated with Christmas trees comes from a group of VOCs called monoterpenes, he says, which are also found in air fresheners, candles and some personal care products. In the outdoors, conifers, the group of plants that includes most Christmas trees, release natural monoterpenes, and they can affect outdoor air quality.
But little is known about how much monoterpene is released when a tree is cut down and placed indoors.
In their experiment, the researchers simulated a home environment. They decorated the tree in a typical holiday lighting setup and shone bright lights on it to mimic the day-night cycle. They turned off the lights every 12 hours and watered the tree every day. They brought in outside air at a rate typical for households, and constantly measured chemicals in the indoor air.
Monoterpenes, they found, were the most abundant VOC emitted from the tree. They peaked during the first day before diminishing significantly by the third day. Their concentration was initially at the same level of a plug-in air freshener or newly constructed house before it quickly dropped by nearly 10 times its original amount, said Poppendieck. The researchers detected 52 distinct types of monoterpenes in their sampling.
Researchers then injected ozone into the chamber to see how it affected indoor air chemistry. They found that ozone reacted with the monoterpenes, forming byproducts such as formaldehyde, another type of VOC, as well as other reactive chemicals.
A case for allergies at Christmas time?
The monoterpene concentration diminished even more with the introduction of ozone, the researchers found, while formaldehyde levels rose, which showed an impact on indoor air chemistry. However, the amount of formaldehyde created was relatively small at around 1 part per billion. Typical US houses have formaldehyde concentrations ranging from 20 to 30 parts per billion. Sources include treated wood, furniture and paint. Other chemicals that may affect the tree, and then you are pesticides. Is the tree from a chemical free, organic farm?
For people who are sensitive to VOCs, Christmas trees could be one possible cause for watery eyes and noses, especially when the cut trees are brought indoors. In that case, Poppendieck suggests, opening a window near the tree will reduce exposure. In addition, newly cut trees can be left outdoors or in a garage for three days before bringing them into the home as the emission strength naturally decays over time.
“But for most people,” Poppendieck said, “this shouldn’t be a major concern. I’m still going to have a Christmas tree in my house.”
Don’t forget to water your Christmas tree every day, he adds. The greatest risk is a dried-out tree, which can become a fire hazard for your home.
The team’s findings have been published in the journal Indoor Environments.
Non-plastic alternatives to cut trees? Trees in a pot
In Cork, Ireland you can rent a Christmas tree. Maybe they will give off less aggressive VOCs because they aren’t in pain and dying?
You can find the services in Paris, Cork, Ireland and in some cities in Germany –– companies renting out Christmas trees in the pot every year. You rent a tree and then return it alive after the holidays. The trees last about 7 years and when they get too big for the home, they are planted in the forest.
Are potted Christmas trees off-gassing less than cut trees?
There are more that planetary reasons to save 30 million Christmas trees every year in America. Trees are a carbon sink and the more we keep them growing, the better it is for greenhouse gas emissions.
We asked Christmas tree researcher Poppendieck if the potted trees might be healthier in terms of volatile compounds and off-gassing. But the verdict is out:
“Since the described tree is still alive,” he tells Green Prophet, “I would expect the long-term emissions to remain constant and higher than the long-term emissions from a tree that has been cut and is dying. However, it would require more testing to determine if this level would be higher, the same or lower than the initial emission we measured for the cut tree.
“A cut tree has a biological response that may or may not increase the emission of the chemicals we measured relative to a live tree.”
Colm Crowley from Christmas Tree says: “It’s a very sustainable way to celebrate Christmas as the Christmas tree gets to live on, and it’s something I’m really passionate about.”
A specimen of the beetle that brings the world a new beer opener
A specimen of the beetle that brings the world a new beer opener
Penises are more prevalent in some lines of work than others. And for researchers who study biodiversity of insects, penises play a significant role in their daily workload – for good reason.
“Genitalia are the organs in insects that evolve to be different in every species. As such, they are often the best way to identify a species. That’s why entomologists like us are always quick to examine insect genitalia when describing a species. The unique shape of each species’ genitals ensures that it can only reproduce with the same species,” says biologist Aslak Kappel Hansen of the Natural History Museum of Denmark, whose work entails describing insect species.
Illustration of a beetle penis that can inspire us to make better bottle openers
By studying beetle specimens that have been hidden in the museum for decades, Aslak and colleagues have discovered six new species of the rove beetle genus Loncovilius. The sexual organ of one of the six beetles immediately drew associations among the researchers.
“This species is characterised, among other things, by the fact that the male’s sexual organ is shaped remarkably like a bottle opener.
“Therefore, we thought it is obvious to dedicate this species to the Carlsberg Foundation, which has generously supported independent research for many years. Their support for various projects, expeditions, or purchase of the scientific instruments at the Natural History Museum of Denmark contributes to the discovery of new species on our planet,” states Aslak Kappel Hansen.
While the researchers have no inkling as to why the penis of this certain beetle evolved as it did, its shape has earned it the name Loncovilius carlsbergi.
This is why entomologists are weirdos. Don’t trust them. They make bottle openers out of penis shaped beetle parts. Their research was funded by Carlesberg.
“It is estimated that as many as 85% of all species on Earth are still not formally named and described. Many species go extinct without ever having been named or recognized by science and as a consequence by humanity as a whole. A taxonomic name is important because nature conservation relies on knowledge about species in particular areas. Without such a description, species are often left out of conservation efforts,” explains Josh Jenkins Shaw.
The researchers hope that the penis of Loncovilius carlsbergi might sparkle a broader interest to insects and make a difference. It doesn’t just look like an opener – it can actually pop open a cold beer now! That’s because the researchers had a model of the beetle’s sexual organ made in stainless steel.
“It’s important that we recognise the vast wealth of yet to be researched species around us before it’s too late. We would like for people around the world to talk about the crisis facing our planet’s species. A move towards serious learning and awareness may be sparkled by a light chat that takes place over a beer,” concludes Aslak Kappel Hansen.
The researchers are now working on putting the bottle-opener into production. Would you buy one?
Have you thought about keeping an octopus as a pet?
Have you thought about keeping an octopus as a pet?
So, you’ve heard about keeping an octopus as a pet, and it sounds super cool, right? Well, let’s dive into it and see if it’s as awesome as it seems.
Octopuses are wicked smart and love checking out their surroundings. People who own them say they can even learn tricks and recognize their owners. It’s like having a brainy underwater friend. But, here’s the catch—it’s more like having a pet for show and less like having a cuddly cat or dog.
Octopuses need a fancy setup to live happily, and that means a big tank and lots of special equipment. The tank alone can cost a fortune up to $1,000 and if you have seen any videos online, you will notice that an octopus is good at escaping. They are also picky eaters and prefer live prey like shrimp, crayfish, and crabs. They can eat frozen food if they have to.
Now, here’s the not-so-great stuff. Octopuses are wild animals, and keeping them in tanks might stress them out. Some experts say they get bored and even hurt themselves. Also, they’re not like your average fish; they aren’t a fish at all. They may not live long in captivity, even with the best care.
Another thing is, they’re escape artists! Octopuses can squeeze through tiny spaces, so you need a secure lid for their tank. And guess what? They’re messy eaters, so keeping their water clean is a bit of a hassle.
What to tell a friend who want an octopus
Some people say it’s not cool to keep octopuses as pets because they’re so smart and keeping them in tanks isn’t great for their happiness. They argue that octopuses are meant to be in the ocean, not our living rooms. Others think it’s possible to take good care of them and enjoy their company. But even the best owners admit that having an octopus is more of a show than a petting zoo experience. It takes time to build a connection, and some octopuses never really get used to being in captivity.
What’s the Alternative?
There are people like Giovanni DiGarimore, who think the best place for octopuses is the ocean. He bought a giant octopus named Fred and set him free in the sea.
Degarimore, who owns a fish market, told a Californian news station that he had a change of heart about selling or consuming octopus after learning about their intelligence and an experience he had playing hide-and-seek with one while scuba diving in Fiji. His dock manager called him about a local fisherman selling an octopus caught in a crab trap.
Degarimore couldn’t bear the thought of it being cut up. So he bought it, named it Fred and kept it in a tank for a few days before releasing it back into the ocean. “It’s just been a culmination of events through the last 10 years. Essentially, we played a game of hide and seek for 15 minutes under the ocean. It was an experience I’ll never forget.
A good teaching moment is the film My Octopus Teacher.
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, in Dubai, is a leading solar energy project with innovative technologies, boasting significant capacity
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, in Dubai, is a leading solar energy project with innovative technologies, boasting significant capacity
In recent years, the Middle East has become a focal point for sustainable energy initiatives, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the forefront of pioneering projects as it divests away from oil and natural gas. Among these initiatives, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park stands as a testament to Dubai’s commitment to clean energy. This massive undertaking aligns with the UAE’s ambitious goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, as outlined in the ongoing Cop28 climate conference in Dubai.
On December 7, 2023, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the rule of Dubai officially inaugurated the world’s largest concentrated solar park. This momentous occasion marked the completion of the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, representing a significant stride towards Dubai’s clean energy aspirations.
With a staggering investment of Dh15.78 billion (USD 4.3 billion), the fourth phase covers an expansive area of 44 square kilometers. Boasting a remarkable capacity of 2.8GW a new addition of 950 MW will provide renewable energy to approximately 320,000 households in the UAE. More impressively, it is expected to contribute to an annual reduction of carbon emissions by an estimated 1.6 million tonnes.
Key Features of the Fourth Phase
The fourth phase of this CSP plant introduces features that underscore Dubai’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of renewable energy technology. Notably, it features the world’s tallest solar tower, standing at over 263 meters, and a record-setting thermal energy storage capacity of 5,907 MWh. This innovative approach reflects the convergence of three hybrid technologies – 600 MW from a parabolic basin complex, 100 MW from the tower, and 250 MW from photovoltaic (PV) solar panels.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid highlighted the significance of the solar park in achieving sustainability goals, emphasizing its role in the global effort to combat climate change. This sentiment resonates with the objectives of the Cop28 climate conference, where nations gather to discuss strategies for mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Strategic Importance and Global Leadership
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is a pivotal element of Dubai’s Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050. These strategic roadmaps aim to achieve 100 percent energy production from clean sources by the middle of the century. Spearheaded by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), the solar park is set to reach a total capacity of 5,000 MW and reduce carbon emissions by 6.5 million tonnes annually upon its completion in 2030.
The fourth phase has already commissioned 717 MW, incorporating over 790,000 PV solar panels and integrating 70,000 mirrors that dynamically track the sun’s movement.
Noor Energy 1, a consortium led by DEWA and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, played a pivotal role in designing, building, and operating the fourth phase. This collaboration further solidifies Dubai’s status at the forefront of the clean energy revolution, showcasing its commitment to sustainable development and global leadership in the renewable energy sector.
The latest phase of construction brought the farm’s total capacity up to 2.8GW, comparable to the capacity of the Golmud Solar Park in China, the largest solar farm by capacity.
The differences between CSP and PV solar
Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Photovoltaic (PV) solar technologies are distinct approaches to collecting solar energy. CSP systems concentrate sunlight using mirrors or lenses to generate heat, which is then used to produce steam and drive turbines for electricity generation. This technology is particularly effective in areas with high direct sunlight, offering the advantage of energy storage capabilities through the use of thermal storage systems.
CSP solar system by Aora. The company founded in 2002, Israel appears to be no longer in business
On the other hand, PV solar systems convert sunlight directly into electricity through the photovoltaic effect, where semiconductor materials in solar cells generate an electric current when exposed to sunlight. PV technology is versatile, scalable, and widely applicable, making it suitable for various installations, from small residential rooftop systems to large-scale solar farms. PV systems do not require water for operation, making them well-suited for arid regions.
PV solar panels
Successful CSP plants around the world
Several large Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) installations around the world showcase the immense potential of this technology in harnessing solar energy for electricity generation.
Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, USA: Located in the Mojave Desert in California, Ivanpah is one of the largest CSP installations globally. With a capacity of 392 megawatts (MW), it utilizes three centralized solar thermal power plants to produce electricity by focusing sunlight on tower-mounted receivers.
Noor Complex, Morocco: The Noor Complex in Ouarzazate is a series of CSP plants, with Noor III being the standout. It has a capacity of 150 MW and employs a solar power tower technology to generate electricity. The entire Noor Complex is expected to have a total capacity of 580 MW.
Solana Generating Station, USA: Situated in Arizona, Solana has a capacity of 280 MW. It utilizes parabolic trough technology with thermal energy storage, allowing it to provide electricity even when the sun is not shining.
Ilanga-1, South Africa: Ilanga-1, located near Upington, has a capacity of 100 MW. It uses parabolic trough technology and contributes to South Africa’s efforts to increase renewable energy capacity.
Shouhang Dunhuang, China: The Shouhang Dunhuang project in Gansu Province, China, is a 100 MW molten salt tower CSP installation. It incorporates advanced energy storage technologies, enhancing its ability to supply electricity consistently.
Israel’s Ashalim Power Station is a notable CSP plant. Combining parabolic troughs and a solar tower, it has a capacity of 300 MW, contributing substantially to Israel’s renewable energy goals.
Softening hard water might be better for your body
Hard water is common in many households and it happens when rainwater percolates through mineral-rich rock formations, particularly those abundant in calcium and magnesium. While these minerals are generally harmless and even beneficial for health, their heightened concentrations can trigger various issues, ranging from limescale accumulation in your appliances to soap not working. Ever see people who bathe in natural springs that are naturally soft water? Their hair shines. Let’s uncover six natural ways to soften hard water at home.
What makes water hard?
Hard water means by elevated mineral content such as limestone, chalk, or gypsum. The primary minerals responsible for water hardness are calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+). In industrial settings, hard water can lead to boiler malfunctions, while in homes, it may manifest as soap scum and clog up laundry and shower valves. Your machines might stop working.
Considering the health implications of consuming hard water, there is a delicate balance between positive and negative effects inside our bodies. On the positive side, hard water can serve as a nutrient source, providing essential minerals like calcium and magnesium that contribute to healthy bones, teeth, and overall bodily functions. Studies suggest there may be potential cardiovascular benefits, indicating that minerals like magnesium in hard water might offer protection against heart disease. Some people might prefer the taste of hard water.
On the flip side, excessive mineral content in hard water can lead to digestive issues, kidney stone formation, and adverse effects on the skin and hair. The mineral deposits left on the skin and hair by hard water can result in dryness and a less-than-smooth texture, particularly problematic for individuals with certain skin conditions.
Benefits of Soft Water
Castille sopa by Dr. Bronner is not very soapy so to get more lather, use soft water
The choice between soft and hard water often hinges on personal preferences and the specific needs of a household. Soft water, achieved by reducing the mineral content, offers several advantages:
Improved Lathering: Soft water allows for more effective lathering, facilitating the use of less soap for various purposes, from washing dishes and clothes to personal hygiene. You get get soapier!
Reduced Scale Buildup: Unlike hard water, soft water doesn’t leave behind mineral deposits such as limescale on fixtures, appliances, and plumbing.
Extended Appliance Lifespan: Soft water contributes to the longevity of appliances like water heaters, dishwashers, and washing machines by reducing scale buildup and maintenance requirements.
Efficient Cleaning: Cleaning chemicals are more effective in soft water as they don’t react with minerals, ensuring a more thorough and efficient cleaning process.
6 Natural Ways to Soften Hard Water
While the installation of a water softener is a direct solution to hard water, you can collect soft water from air conditioners, and there are also natural methods to consider:
Boiling and Cooling: Boiling hard water for a few minutes and letting it cool before use can improve its taste temporarily. Though it doesn’t eliminate minerals entirely, it provides a quick remedy. You will see a buildup on the kettle indicating that the hardness is coming out of your water.
Using Baking Soda: Adding half a cup of baking soda to the washing machine along with regular detergent minimizes the effects of hard water on laundry. It will allow you to use less soap as well. Go for an ecological kind if you can. Ecover or Dr. Bronner is popular at health food stores.
Vinegar Treatment: Adding a cup of vinegar to the washing machine during the rinse cycle softens clothes, and soaking faucets and showerheads in vinegar overnight dissolves mineral deposits. If buildup is happening in your toilet causing a dark stain in the bottom of the bowl, attempt to drain the water from the bowl and add the highest concentration of vinegar you can find. Allow it to dissolve the hardness for an hour or so.
Using Citrus Fruits: Applying lemon juice to faucets and fixtures and rinsing with water helps combat limescale and adds a pleasant scent.
Distillation: Boiling water to create steam, which is then condensed to remove unwanted minerals, offers a methodical approach to softening water. However, it’s energy-intensive. But water distillation is a great water treatment idea if you are using a product like Mayu for remineralizing your water.
Using the rain. For those with regulations permitting, collecting rainwater for household purposes, such as watering plants and outdoor cleaning, offers a sustainable alternative to relying on hard tap water.
Guy Lane, Vita Sapiens founder. Can this new religion save the planet?
Normally, I am upbeat about all this environmental stuff, but today, I feel glum. Maybe I am hung-over from the session of wine and talk with my friend, last night. We were up until all-hours discussing the abruptness of climate change, biosphere collapse, and the near total absence of transition to a sustainable global economy.
Fortunately, I know this glumness will soon pass because I have a powerful antidote to the sadness that comes from being awake to the reality of the Anthropocene.
You see, I am Vitan which means that I follow Vita Sapien Organization (VISO) that advances Vita Worldview, Lifewise Philosophy, and Vita Religion.
Vita is very different from the normal sort of religion we are familiar with as it doesn’t hold a position on the existence of God/s or an eternal soul. Instead, it is a nature-based religion devoted to our Living Planet.
Vita Religion teaches all life on Earth – plus the ocean, atmosphere, and soil – form part of a single living being called Vitae-planeta, of which we humans are part. Some readers will recognize this concept by other names such as Gaia, Mother Nature, Pachamama and so one. It’s the idea that the biosphere is a single living entity
Vita Religion teaches that all the living things on Earth – including we humans – are cells in the body of Vitae-planeta and that she maintains the temperature and chemistry of the ocean and atmosphere to foster an abundance of life on Earth. She has been doing this successfully for billions of years.
Guy Lane, Vita Sapien
When Vitae-planeta is in good health, Planet Earth is an abundant home for humans providing everything that we need to live healthy, happy, and productive lives.
Vita Religion does not regard Vitae-planeta as a God, or a deity. Vitae-planeta is not conscious or self-aware. Vitae-planeta didn’t create the Universe, and Vitae-planeta doesn’t observe you or make judgements about your behavior.
Instead, Vitae-planeta is an emergent property of the natural laws of the Universe playing out through the tapestry of life on Earth. Vitae-planeta is Planet Earth’s version of Pananima, and there are probably trillions of Pananimas throughout the Universe on planets that are in the Habitable Zone of their star where liquid water exists.
Vita Religion details how you can live a meaningful life, a happy, contented life. Which brings me back to my gloomy disposition, today.
Vita Sapien, Guy Lane creates a new religion, a nature-based religion devoted to our Living Planet
As a follower of Vita Religion, I choose not to close my eyes to what we humans are doing to Living Planet, of which I am a part.
Fortunately, Vita’s philosophical foundation offers enlightenment on these matters.
To be enlightened is to understand how things really are, and Vita is a unique religion in that its teachings are grounded in environmental science and framed by ecological spirituality.
Furthermore, unlike most religions that have a fixed texts, Vita Religion’s texts are continually being written in scientific research institutes around the world. In addition, the core texts are planned to drift overtime to keep in synch with the cultural zeitgeist of the time.
This is important as the adherence to science allows Vita Religion to offer an evidence-based pathway for humans and the other species of Earth to co-exist deep into the Long Future.
The concept of the Long Future says that our planet will be habitable for life for several billions of years if it is not destroyed by human agency, first.
If we humans can radically change our ways, it is conceivable that our race could exist for millions more years on this Earth.
However, for this to happen we need to learn how to become wise stewards of the whole Earth system.
Can we do this? I believe we can.
Will we do this? I’m listening to the oil men plotting our future at COP28. It’s not looking good, right now.
If you read the science of climate, Planetary Boundaries, and the Anthropocene, you will understand that we humans have triggered a perfect storm that may yet be fatal. We may have already passed major climactic tipping points that will set our biosphere on the path towards a rerun of the Permian Extinction – the Great Dying – that killed-off more than 80 percent of all living things on Earth, some 253 million years ago.
While this may be the case, it also may not. So, while we are still breathing, we should make haste to implement the antidote for these human-caused woes. The antidote is action, and lots of it.
If enough people believe, know and practice accordingly, we may be able to avert this looming extinction and instead live to enjoy the Verdant Age, the time when humans and the Living Planet thrive in synergy.
It is believed that there are around 53 million people who would adopt Vita Worldview, Lifewise Philosophy, and maybe even Vita Religion once the idea is put before them in a compelling manner. One aspect of this enrolment is fostering rapid, mass-ecophany.
Ecophany is the idea of a spiritual, intellectual, or emotional awaking to the wonder of our Living Planet and the dread of what will befall us if we let her remain in ill health.
Vita Sapien Organisation is developing Ecophany Programs to help millions of people wake and stand up for the Living Planet.
53 million people is a lot of people. That’s 8% of the Western Adults. To put this number into context, Extinction Rebellion literature suggests that no non-violent rebellion has failed with 3.5% of the public were actively involved.
Vita Sapien Organization believes that only a spiritual awakening to nature in tens of millions of people can prevent the heat death of the human race. Vita Worldview, Lifewise Philosophy and Vita Religion can help make this happen.
Given that baboons we associated with the ancient Egyptian gods of Thoth and Babi, you would guess that captive baboons in ancient Egypt lived like a pharaoh or at least a prince.
Yet a new study of baboon remains mummified 2500 to 2800 years ago at a sacred animal necropolis near Luxor, Egypt published in the journal PLOS ONE, suggests otherwise.
Out of 36 baboon skeletons analyzed (including skulls pictured above), researchers found all but four of them showed evidence of metabolic diseases and deformed bones, typical of conditions such as rickets that stem from vitamin D deficiency.
The study suggests that the apes’ captors fed them an unbalanced diet and kept them indoors all the time without sunlight—possibly to prevent them from escaping. This was no isolated incident: Baboon remains mummified elsewhere in Egypt around the same time carry similar bone deformations, the study researchers say.
Animal rights is a relatively new concept. And still hundreds of millions of farms animals are still being kept in tiny cages.
Related: Turks try to revive Thoth – the Syrian bald ibis. According to local legend in the Birecik area of Turkey, the northern bald ibis was one of the first birds that Noah released from the Ark as a symbol of fertility.
Cop28 Jonathan Neril and his friends of faith in the UAE
An interfaith walk from the Faith Pavilion at COP28 in Dubai, UAE
To promote interfaith climate action, faith communities came together to host the first-ever robust Faith Pavilion at a UN climate conference, COP28. The Faith Pavilion featured 65 sessions and 325 speakers, and took place at COP28, the UN climate conference that concluded last week in Dubai, UAE. Among the speakers were Pope Francis (via video), Sadhguru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the Grand Imam of Al Azar El Tayeb (via video), and Chief Rabbi David Rosen.
The first chapter of Genesis records that after creating the world, God saw creation and ‘behold it was very good.’ Out of our love for this wondrous and majestic world that we are blessed to live in can emerge a call to protect it and take responsibility for it. You can read Eco Bible for a new Jewish take on planet and faith. It was co-authored by Rabbis Yonatan Neril and Leo Dee.
Eco Bible
The Faith Pavilion mobilized faith leaders and communities to call for urgent climate action, inspire the world with solutions, and demonstrate the pivotal role of faith communities in tackling the climate crisis in support of people and the planet. During COP28, faith communities issued a Call to Action urging for more ambitious agreements, reflecting the values of justice, interconnectedness and compassion for those most affected.
Situated at the heart of COP28, adjacent to the Global Climate Action Hub, the Faith Pavilion brought together religious and other civil society representatives, Indigenous Peoples, scientists, youth, and political leaders. As a hub for sessions, advocacy and media, the Faith Pavilion furthered the leadership role of religion and spirituality in the climate movement.
The case of Samira Sabzian didn’t end well. The child bride from Iran was married at 15 and then jailed at 19 after murdering her abusive husband. She was in prison for 10 years and was executed yesterday, age 29, in the Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj, said the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group. She was executed by hanging.
“Samira was a victim of years of gender apartheid, child marriage and domestic violence, and today she fell victim to the incompetent and corrupt regime’s killing machine,” IHR director Mahmood-Amiry Moghaddam said.
Samira Sabzian
During her detention Sabzian was denied meeting her children according to Iranian activists, one who shared her jail cell. And this was a source of great suffering to her.
Sabzian was hanged at dawn yesterday based on Iran’s sharia murder laws that come from a principle of ‘qesas’ (retribution in kind).
Human rights groups say the laws don’t take domestic violence into consideration. The victim’s family, however, can choose whether to accept the death penalty or ask for financial compensation. Sabzian’s husband’s parents asked for the death penalty.
According to IHR,18 women have been executed this year including Samira Sabzian. The rights groups says there is a surge in executions in Iran that put 115 people put to death in November alone. Amnesty International said Iran is authoring a “horrific state-sanctioned killing spree”.
Niloufar Mardani, a world leading athlete and veterinarian was threatened by the regime when she competed without a hijab.
Following the 1979 revolution, Islamic sharia law came into effect and the hijab, or full body covering, became a compulsory dress code for women in Iran. Since then, women have been required to wear the hijab, or face harassment and legal consequences from the morality police. Iran is also using face ID technology to catch women “criminals”.
Women who don’t comply might also be “disappeared” and whisked away into vans. This is what has happened in the past to well-known bloggers Green Prophet has interviewed like Hossein Derakhshan and to Faranak Farid who was beaten and tortured for trying to protect a disappearing salt lake, Lake Orumieh.
Bread holds a special place in Middle Eastern culture, serving not only as a staple food but also as a symbol of hospitality, community, and tradition. The diverse and rich history of the Middle East is reflected in its bread-making techniques, which vary across regions. In this guide, we’ll explore the fascinating world of Middle Eastern bread traditions, from the ingredients used to the methods employed in creating these delectable staples.
Varieties of Middle Eastern Bread: Middle Eastern countries boast a wide array of bread varieties, each with its unique flavor, texture, and purpose. Some of the most prominent types include:
Naan: A leavened, oven-baked flatbread common in Iran, Central Asia, and parts of the Middle East.
Lavash: A thin, unleavened flatbread with a soft texture, often used for wrapping or dipping. Lavash is one of the most widespread types of bread in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey.
Markook: Also known as “Arabian Mountain Bread,” this thin, unleavened bread is commonly enjoyed in Levantine countries. Markook shrak is a type of thin bread. The dough is unleavened and usually made with only flour, water, and salt, and after being rested and divided into round portions, flattened and spread across a round cushion until it is thin then flipped onto the saj. It is often folded and put in bags before being sold.
Jump down to the bottom of this article where you will get recipes for breads from Morocco, Yemen, Iraq, The Emirates, Yemen, Israel and Jordan.
Traditional Techniques:
Haguy Ben Yehuda making emmer wheat into sourdough bread
Tandoor Oven: In some regions, bread is baked in a traditional tandoor oven, which imparts a unique smoky flavor and a characteristic texture.
Griddle Baking: Flatbreads like pita and lavash are often cooked on a griddle or saj (convex griddle), allowing for quick and even cooking.
Sourdough Fermentation: Some traditional breads, such as Persian Barbari, use natural sourdough fermentation for leavening, resulting in a tangy flavor.
Ceremonial and Festive Breads:
Oriental bread moulds used for Christenings, Eid or good celebrations. Image via Lebanon Postcard.
Eid Bread: During festive occasions like Eid, special bread varieties are prepared, such as the sweet Iranian Noon-e Sheereen. They resemble the festive bread of the Bukharian Jews.
Wedding Bread: In many Middle Eastern cultures, weddings are celebrated with elaborate bread designs and decorations, symbolizing prosperity and fertility. In Spain there is wedding bread dance where the bread goes on the head.
Culinary Customs:
Bread as a Utensil: In some Middle Eastern countries, bread is used as a utensil for scooping up food, emphasizing communal eating.
This is a couple eating hummus.
Bread and Dips: Various breads are served alongside an assortment of dips, like hummus, baba ganoush, and tahini.
Middle Eastern bread traditions are deeply rooted in history, reflecting the diverse cultures and culinary practices of the region. Whether it’s the comforting aroma of baking bread in a tandoor or the joy of tearing into a freshly baked pita, the bread culture in the Middle East is a testament to the importance of this humble yet essential food item in daily life. As you delve into the world of Middle Eastern bread, you’ll discover not only delicious flavors but also a rich tapestry of traditions that have stood the test of time.
So you are a fan of olives. Or at least olive trees. You’ve been to Italy, France, Lebanon or Greece and you want to remember that Mediterranean feeling? Or you live in the Med region and want some trees for your garden or home. We got a lovely olive tree in a pot once for a birthday gift and after a couple of months, it died. Verdict? Too much love.
As a fan of olive trees, you will be very happy to receive a piece of your favorite olive tree on your birthday. But plants are alive after all, and they will be lost one day. As a gift, you might as well customize the olive tree into Custom Keychains. Such Custom Keychains are not only in the shape of your friend’s favorite olive tree but can also be kept with you forever.
You have planted an olive tree in a pot or container to keep indoors or on your walkway and it’s been a couple of years. How can you take care of your potted tree in the long run? Here is a quick guide.
The A-Z of Potting Olive Trees at Home
A dwarf olive tree. Bring it out in the sun when the weather is pleasant
In the world of gardening, the olive tree stands as an iconic symbol, known not only for its bountiful fruit but also for its silvery-green foliage and associations with peace and longevity. While the prospect of cultivating these magnificent trees may seem daunting, especially if space or climate constraints come into play, the concept of potting olive trees emerges as a versatile solution.
Whether you’re a seasoned gardener expanding your botanical repertoire or a novice eager to embark on a new green adventure, this guide equips you with the knowledge to infuse a touch of the Mediterranean into your living space.
Selecting the Right Olive Tree
Choosing the right olive tree is a crucial first step toward successful cultivation. Not all varieties are equally suited for pot cultivation, and considerations such as climate, pot size, and available sunlight should influence your choice.
Understanding Your Conditions
Before making a selection, assess your growing conditions. Olive trees generally prefer a warm, sunny, and dry Mediterranean climate. If you plan to keep the tree indoors or in a colder region, choose a variety adapted to those conditions.
The Arbequina olive tree, originating from Spain, is recognized as an excellent choice for indoor cultivation and container growth. Its compact size, hardiness, and quick fruiting make it a standout variety. Another suitable option is the Picholine olive tree, known for its compact nature and excellent table olives. For smaller spaces, consider dwarf varieties like the ‘Little Ollie,’ which provides the ornamental appeal of an olive tree without the size or fruit. Don’t be surprised if your indoor tree does not produce fruit. It takes a number of years for an outdoor tree to be robust.
Consider the age of the tree. While mature trees in pots offer instant visual impact, they can be more expensive and challenging to handle. Young trees require more time to reach maturity but are often more affordable and offer the satisfaction of watching them grow.
Essential Requirements for Growing Olive Trees
If you live in a Mediterrean climate you can keep the trees outdoors
Despite their hardiness, olive trees have specific needs that must be met for optimal growth. Understanding these requirements is crucial for successfully growing olive trees in pots.
Selecting an appropriate pot is critical. Ensure the pot is large enough to accommodate the root ball and has adequate drainage holes. A diameter approximately 10 cm larger than the root ball is a good starting point. Olive trees dislike waterlogged roots, so proper drainage is essential.
Olive trees are sun-lovers, needing at least six hours of sunlight daily. Place them in a sunny spot near a south-facing window if grown indoors or in a south-facing garden if outdoors. Adequate sunlight is crucial for their health and productivity.
Olive trees prefer a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Maintain a stable temperature between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit for indoor trees. Olive trees can tolerate some humidity, but in exceptionally dry indoor conditions, consider providing additional moisture with a humidifier.
While olive trees are drought-tolerant, they still require regular watering. Water deeply but infrequently, allowing the top inch of soil to dry out between waterings. Apply a balanced, slow-release fertilizer in spring and mid-summer to support growth and fruit production.
Olive trees thrive in well-draining soil rich in organic matter. Commercial potting mixes with perlite or vermiculite work well, and some gardeners find success with cactus or succulent mixes.
How to Plant an Olive Tree in a Pot
Indoors or out. Olives are timeless in any season
Whether planting for the first time or repotting mature trees, the planting process is a rewarding experience. Follow these steps for successful planting:
Select a pot that is 2-3 inches larger in diameter than the root ball. Ensure it has adequate drainage holes to prevent waterlogging.
Create a well-draining soil mix by combining standard potting soil with a grittier material like cactus soil or perlite.
Start by placing a layer of the soil mix in the pot, providing a base for the olive tree.
Gently tap the sides of the container to loosen the soil, and carefully remove the olive tree from its current pot, taking care not to damage the root ball.
Position the tree in the center of the new pot, ensuring the top of the root ball is level with the rim of the pot or slightly lower.
Fill the pot with the remaining soil mix, firming it gently around the base of the tree.
Water the tree thoroughly, allowing water to drain out of the bottom of the pot to settle the soil around the roots.
Place the pot in a sunny spot and follow olive tree care guidelines, including regular watering, maintaining the appropriate temperature, and providing balanced slow-release fertilizer during the growing season.
Indoor Olive Tree Care
Growing olive trees indoors presents unique challenges, but with the right care, indoor trees can thrive. Focus on light, temperature, watering, fertilizing, pruning, and repotting for successful indoor cultivation.
Ensure your indoor olive tree receives at least six hours of sunlight daily. Place it near a south-facing window or use a grow light to supplement natural light. Maintain a stable temperature between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Olive tree indoors in a big pot
Troubleshooting Guide for Growing Olive Trees in Pots: Do’s and Don’ts
Cultivating olive trees in pots can be a rewarding endeavor, but it comes with its own set of challenges. From watering woes to potential pests, troubleshooting is a crucial aspect of ensuring the health and vitality of your potted olive tree. In this guide, we’ll explore common issues, what to avoid, and essential actions to take when things go awry.
What You Should Never Do:
Overwatering:
Signs: Yellowing leaves, wilting, and a soggy soil surface.
Never Do: Allow the soil to remain constantly wet. Olive trees prefer well-draining soil, and overwatering can lead to root rot.
Do: Check the moisture level before watering. Only water when the top inch of soil is dry. Ensure proper drainage by choosing the right pot and soil mix.
Underwatering:
Signs: Drooping leaves, leaf scorching, and dry, crumbly soil.
Never Do: Neglect regular watering. While olive trees are drought-tolerant, they still need consistent moisture.
Do: Establish a watering schedule, especially during hot and dry periods. Water deeply but infrequently to promote healthy root growth.
Ignoring Drainage Issues:
Signs: Waterlogged soil, foul odors, and wilting despite adequate watering.
Never Do: Use pots without drainage holes or neglect proper potting mix with good drainage.
Do: Ensure your pot has sufficient drainage holes, and consider adding materials like perlite or gravel to improve drainage.
Choosing the Wrong Pot:
Signs: Root circling, stunted growth, and instability.
Never Do: Opt for pots that are too small or lack stability.
Do: Select a pot that is 2-3 inches larger in diameter than the root ball. Choose sturdy pots to prevent toppling.
Neglecting Sunlight:
Signs: Sparse foliage, leggy growth, and overall poor vigor.
Never Do: Place the olive tree in a shaded or poorly lit area.
Do: Ensure your potted olive tree receives at least six hours of sunlight daily. If indoors, position it near a south-facing window or use supplemental lighting.
What You Should Do:
Monitor for Pests:
Signs: Yellowing leaves, distorted growth, or visible pests.
Do: Regularly inspect your olive tree for pests such as scale, aphids, or mealybugs. Treat infestations promptly with insecticidal soap or neem oil.
Addressing Root Issues:
Signs: Circling roots, yellowing leaves, and poor growth.
Do: Repot your olive tree every 2-3 years to prevent root binding. Tease apart circling roots when repotting to encourage outward growth.
Protecting from Extreme Cold:
Signs: Frost damage, wilting, and leaf discoloration.
Do: Insulate the pot with bubble wrap or burlap in colder months. If possible, move potted olive trees indoors during freezing temperatures.
Appropriate Pruning:
Signs: Overgrown branches, uneven canopy, or lack of fruiting.
Do: Prune your olive tree in late winter or early spring. Remove dead or diseased branches and shape the tree for a balanced appearance.
Fertilizing Wisely:
Signs: Yellowing leaves, poor growth, or nutrient deficiency.
Do: Apply a balanced, slow-release fertilizer in spring and mid-summer. Avoid excessive fertilization, as olive trees are not heavy feeders.
Regular Inspection:
Signs: Unhealthy leaves, abnormal growth patterns, or changes in color.
Do: Regularly inspect your potted olive tree for any signs of stress or disease. Prompt identification and action can prevent larger issues.
Winter Care:
Signs: Frost damage, leaf drop, or wilting in cold temperatures.
Do: Provide winter care by insulating the pot, moving indoors if possible, and reducing watering frequency during dormant periods.
Growing olive trees in pots involves a combination of attentive care and timely interventions. By avoiding common pitfalls and addressing issues promptly, you can ensure your potted olive tree thrives, bringing the charm of the Mediterranean to your home or garden.
An Emirati develops a beautiful pavillion from arish
Environmentalists have been stressing the problems of modern construction and architecture for decades. Some of the biggest concerns are the use of concrete –– its impact on sand and carbon emissions, and its poor thermal capabilities. Or the fact that local materials just aren’t used enough. If you look at the rapid expansion of cities like Dubai, the problems are obvious: starchitects brought in from abroad to build a glittering city meant to support “the high life” and create a feeling of abundance among the sand dunes. As though sand dunes and deserts aren’t glorious enough.
What you get in Habitat, updated just last year, is a world of possibilities as we look forward to new sustainable practices that mesh with nature and the humanity in us. You get proven examples of low-cost sustainable architecture for every geographic and climatic region on this planet. You also get modern takes of vernacular values, and applications providing inspiration for architecture firms young and old.
An Emirati develops a beautiful pavillion from arish, date palm this year at Dubai Design Week. Not featured in the book, but a shining example of vernacular in the UAE
Your life as an architect or student can not be complete without owning a copy of this masterpiece of a book.
The problem I see in architecture today is a disconnect between architects, the investors in architecture and the approach to culture and place. Big firms still get the highest bids for so-called sustainable architecture, with firms like Foster + Partners and Zaha Hadid‘s firm winning the bids even when the plans for cities in Saudi Arabia could mean wiping out an island’s ecosystem or making no sense for the climate. There will be ski hills in the hot desert or a linear city that transects a mile of desert on the Red Sea. We learn from the ultra-modern zero-waste Masdar City that no-one wants to live in futuristic ideas alone. We also learn from Hasan Fathy that a local architect’s vision of mud housing may not fit the cultural needs of a people. How can we create a better fit? HABITAT offers some clues.
If you are an architect who wants a crash course on sustainable architecture this book is an antidote to the troubles to today’s senseless planning and construction industry.
HABITAT Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Climate
What I get from the book as I was thumbing through it: people need a human-scale approach to housing: that’s why we seek balconies, terraces and small gardens in the city. We feel better around trees and nature in any instance, and if you have had the chance to sleep in a home made from natural materials, you will agree it impacts your sleep and overall mood.
I’ve stayed in vernacular homes in Normandy, France (built with no nails); in mud and stone palaces in Syria, in caves in Cappadocia, in my own vernacularly built pioneer home in Canada; in Bedouin tents in Israel; I’ve stayed in strawbale homes with Bill and Athena Steen in Arizona, and I’d spent plenty of nights bamboo huts and homes in Thailand.
Laayoune Technology School in Morocco
What links all these remarkable dwellings is the local: homes and shelter built without architects or designers, built with local materials such as stones and wood, wool, mud and bamboo, and in a way anchored with ancient wisdom that kept climate in mind because that’s how people survived.
Every architecture student, practitioner and teacher needs to read Habitat: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing World by Thames & Hudson: It is a breathtaking and astounding encyclopaedia of natural building that can save our planet. Professionally speaking indigenous architecture is also called vernacular architecture. Vernacular is a great way to describe indigenous architecture as it can include materials from the built environment, as we see in images and descriptions of slums in Brazil and Africa.
Slums of Freetown, Sierra Leone
South Africa, Drakensberg, traditional Zulu hut
Habitat, recently updated in May 2023 since its original publication in 2017, and edited by architect Sandra Piesik, shows you the power of a dedicated publishing house in this book. It is a landmark publication signalling to every nation and people in the world to start cataloguing their vernacular before it it is lost. HABITAT can be the basis for a series of vernacular architecture books from every corner of the world.
Habitat contains over 1000 illustration, organised by the five major climate zones, covering polar, temperate, tropical, desert and continental, and more than eighty countries worldwide. The book reveals how people and cultures have adapted to their environment to make the best use of indigenous materials and construction techniques, and stresses the importance of preserving disappearing craftsmanship and local knowledge before it is too late. It is an invaluable resource document for the future generation who will shape our built environment.
Over in the Middle East we know that Hassan Fathy devoted decades of his life to building New Gourna, a model as architecture for the people. His experiment worked as a concept but did not spread as much as he would have wanted. An almost 500 pages of this book, includes the vernacular greats like Fathy, but it also serves to show the reader highly unusual and sometimes temporary structures built by tribes in the jungle, like the stilt houses of the Korowai people in New Guinea.
What gives the book credibility is the approximate 100 authors and researchers, leaders in their fields of sustainable architecture giving an historical, climatic and materials overview to their geographical sections. If you are dealing with climates and materials you can search in the notes and bibliography according to geography, climate regions, learning more than you thought you could know about local architecture around the world.
Cabana, Habitat and Lo-TEK books at home
A series of helpful essays and photos gives us a glance at how we can apply contemporary vernacular in today’s buildings, with a look at Morocco’s Technology School of Guelmim or Sabla’s Palm Leaf Shelter’s in Abu Dhabi. If I have one complaint about Habitat is that the photos are too incredible, the essays too information-filled that it makes reading the book from cover to cover an impossible task. It is the grandmother book to Lo-TEK, a book I own that covers radical indigenism in building, as the author puts it, or rather, radical ways to build using natural building materials and knowledge at hand.
Fenghuang, Xiangxi, China
Productive healthy, happy people need a roof over their heads –– one that offers an honorable, comfortable and secure place to live is something that everyone everywhere needs. If you have traveled to any desert in the Middle East or even Egypt, you will see people living in hobbled-together tin shacks, barely keeping out the freezing wind at night or the debilitating sun by day. Better-loved vernacular practices can show the people how to build better, and maintain the homes with local materials.
Don’t think this is just an idea for developing countries. The tiny home and global nomad movements in America, Europe and Canada are fuelled by economics. People don’t want to spend their lives working for the home they don’t get time to live in. People want to live not to spend their lives working.
An interview with the editor of HABITAT Sandra Piesek
Sandra Piesek
Sandra Piesik is an award-winning architect, author, and scientist specialising in a diverse range of subjects from art and design to the implementation of global sustainable legislation, nature-based solutions, innovation, technology transfer, and contemporary adaptation of traditional knowledge. She is the founder of 3 ideas, an Amsterdam-based consultancy, a member of the New European Bauhaus EU initiative, an advisor to UNFCCC, and a former senior consultant to UNFCCC, UNCCD, and UN-HABITAT Global Solutions Division on territorial integration. She’s also edited a book on Arish – Palm leaf architecture.
Here is our interview with her:
What inspired you to start this massive undertaking of cataloguing the world’s vernacular architecture.
I was invited by Thames & Hudson to edit HABITAT in London in 2012, following our previous book ‘Arish: Palm – Leaf Architecture’, which coincided with the first European Exhibition on Date Palm Leaf Architecture in the United Arab Emirates at The Royal Geographical Society in London in 2012. The genesis of understanding vernacular architecture came from my research in the UAE focused on date palm architecture and conviction that it holds solutions to some of the pressing challenges of our times.
HABITAT seems very neutral. What is your approach with the book?
HABITAT is structured around five climate zones of the planet, based on the Köppen Geiger climate classification. We focused on the geography and ecosystems, and by doing so we provided evidence of an intrinsic relationship and co-dependency of the built environment with individual climate zones, their natural resources, and the built environment. I have to credit 143 contributors from over 50 countries and the Thames & Hudson editorial team.
Despite your neutrality, do you have 3 favorite vernacular architects? Who are they?
Moist clay conical house, Bolovia and above people from the Chipaya salt flats via GSTIC
Vernacular architecture is ‘architecture without architects’ in other words indigenous peoples of the past were all architects creating bio-design masterpieces based on one fundamental skill: their capacity to observe nature. My favorite case studies are from Bolivia, where Chipaya indigenous peoples worked as civil engineers at the regional scale redirecting rivers and intervening in the ecology of the salt flats in Bolivia, vernacular architecture there is a by-product of environmental activities. In China, Kam communities embraced agroforestry, and their spectacular drum towers as well as timber architecture reflect the regional bioeconomy. I must also mention Liwa Oasis in the United Arab Emirates and a date palm leaf architecture by Bedouin tribes of the Rub Al Khali desert, whom I had the privilege to meet in person.
What are the biggest lessons architecture students can take from this book?
The intrinsic relationship and interconnectedness of the built environment with its natural ecosystems and climate zones. Contextualization of architecture and urbanism within bio-economic activities, giving birth to bio-circular economy and bioregional approaches 12,000 years ago. Frugal innovation derived from the observation of nature and shaping an identity of the place through ornamentation and design.
We see catastrophic situations for refugees and migrants around the world. In Gaza, Syria, Afghanistan. What kinds of projects could scale quickly to get decent and local housing for people in a crisis? Do you have any thoughts for architects building shelter?
Abeer Seikaly’s Woven Shelters for refugees in concept only
The fundamental issue here is to bring geography to the discussion on climate change, which has been absent in recent years. Understanding the interconnectedness between climate change, agriculture, provision of jobs, and livelihood strategies would reduce migration and allow for holistic approaches. The demand for emergency accommodation is increasing all over the world. Cities like New York work within the existing urban fabric, historically the Gulf basin cities provided accommodation for the refugees in the peri-urban areas and what is needed are livelihood strategies in addition to housing alone, as well as a socio-economic mix to building shelters.
What would you like to see less of in architecture?
De-globalization and de-westernisation of architecture will lead us to new bio-regional models of urbanism which the planet and its peoples desperately need. Narrow and sectorial approaches to the built environment limit our capacity to address the multidimensional challenges of our time, and I hope that the future will bring broader perspectives. I also think that quantitative approaches to sustainability focusing purely on metrics limit the role of architects’ qualitative and creative approaches and this is what historically we as architects had to offer.
I would like to see more bio-regional initiatives such as the New European Bauhaus embracing sustainability, inclusion, and beauty adopted by various regions across the world within their own ecological, cultural, and social domains. I would like to see more of the plurality of approaches, where once again we will be able to co-create new forms of regional cultures. I hope that in 2024 and the future, we will be able to base all our actions and decisions on the positive impact we are making on nature and each other.
About the publisher of Habitat
Thames & Hudson is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, and popular culture.
Flooring options play a significant role in the environmental impact of our living spaces. As concerns about climate change and resource depletion grow, consumers are increasingly seeking sustainable alternatives. In this article, we will explore three popular sustainable flooring options: bamboo, carpet, linoleum, rubber, cork or new or upcycled wood, and poured concrete, considering their environmental impact, certifications, and pros and cons.
Is Timber Flooring Sustainable?
Wood is a natural and renewable source of flooring, but its sustainability depends on responsible sourcing and harvesting practices. In the past, a significant portion of timber imports involved illegal logging, contributing to deforestation and environmental degradation. However, recent efforts have been made to address these issues.
Buying Recycled Timber
One of the most sustainable options is using recycled (reclaimed or upcycled) timber boards. These have a lower environmental impact than new plantation hardwood timbers, which can take up to a century to grow. Recycled timber also provides an opportunity to use rare hardwoods that are challenging to find in today’s market. Companies specializing in reclaimed floorboards or those selling boards from demolished buildings are good sources.
Certified Sustainable Timber
Another responsible choice is certified sustainable timber. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a globally recognized accreditation program that ensures timber comes from sustainably managed forests. FSC-certified timber, whether from a plantation or a native forest, indicates adherence to sustainable principles. Additionally, the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) certification is recognized by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Scheme (PEFC).
Ecospecifier’s “Green Tag” and Good Environmental Choice
Google search for eco-friendly floors and these are the options. Know any more? Earthen floors…
Ecospecifier’s “Green Tag” is an eco-label for green building materials, rating products based on their total life cycle. Another reliable certification is the Good Environmental Choice label, which indicates a product’s environmental performance from a holistic perspective. These certifications help consumers make informed choices when selecting sustainable flooring options.
Beware of False Claims
While certifications provide a level of assurance, it’s essential to be cautious of false eco-labels or green claims. Some products may have multiple wood layers, with only a fraction certified. Buyers should carefully read certification details and ask for proof from suppliers. Checking lists of certified timber suppliers on the websites of organizations like FSC, AFS, Greenpeace, and Ecospecifier can help ensure credibility.
Which Wooden Timbers Are Sustainable?
Certain types of timber are more sustainable than others. Rubberwood from old rubber trees, FSC-certified or Ecotimber, New Guinea teak, FSC-plantation eucalypt, and bamboo are considered sustainable choices. On the flip side, timbers like Burmese teak, African mahogany, merbau, ramin, and meranti are best avoided due to sustainability concerns.
Bamboo flooring has gained popularity as a sustainable alternative to traditional hardwood. Harvesting fast-growing bamboo is believed to have fewer environmental and greenhouse impacts compared to timber. However, some bamboo flooring is manufactured using glue that may emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Consumers should research and choose bamboo floorboards with low-emission glues to minimize environmental impact.
Environmental Considerations Around Flooring
Embodied Energy
Embodied energy refers to the energy used in producing a material. Choosing flooring with the least materials helps minimize environmental impact. For hard flooring like timber, avoiding additional carpeting is advised, as carpet production involves significant materials and energy.
Regular Floor Cleaning
The energy spent on cleaning floors is a substantial environmental consideration. Carpets, being high-maintenance surfaces, contribute more to environmental impact than hard floors like bamboo, stone, or concrete. Low-maintenance surfaces are preferable for sustainability. Look for eco-friendly cleaning options.
Durability
The durability of a flooring material influences its long-term environmental impact. Hard floors such as timber, stone, concrete, and tiles tend to last longer than carpets. Longer-lasting materials require fewer resources over time, contributing to sustainability.
Floor Finishes
Even eco-friendly flooring can be compromised by high-embodied energy finishes. Choosing natural-oil hard-finish coatings over potentially toxic polyurethane coatings enhances the sustainability of the overall flooring system.
Toxic Emissions
Certain floor coverings emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can pose health risks. Adequate ventilation is essential, but avoiding materials known for high VOC emissions, such as some carpets, contributes to healthier indoor air quality.
Thermal Mass
Flooring materials with high thermal mass, like stone, tile, concrete, rammed earth, and bricks, contribute to energy efficiency. However, covering these materials with carpet or other finishes diminishes their thermal mass benefits. Consideration should be given to balancing insulation and thermal mass benefits.
Using Carpet Sustainably
For those who prefer carpet, sustainable options include buying second-hand carpets, choosing products made from recycled materials, and minimizing waste through systems like carpet tiles. Additionally, natural fiber carpets like coir, sisal, or seagrass from sustainable sources offer eco-friendly alternatives.
Pros and Cons of Different Sustainable Floor Types
Can contain toxic plasticizers and lead-based stabilizers that off gas.
Made from petroleum-based materials.
Not recyclable.
What floor choice is for you?
Sustainable flooring is a critical component of environmentally conscious living. By choosing eco-friendly options, consumers can contribute to a healthier planet. From recycled timber to bamboo and resilient floors, each sustainable flooring type has its advantages and considerations. As global awareness grows, and certifications become more widely recognized, it’s easier for consumers to make informed decisions about sustainable flooring. The global perspective on eco-friendly flooring emphasizes the importance of responsible sourcing, embodied energy, durability, and maintenance considerations.
Iran and the Hezbollah terror group under the leadership of Mohammad Ali Merhi were identified as the entities behind an attempted cyber attack on an Israeli hospital in November. The attack was on the Ziv Medical Center and was orchestrated by Iran and a Hezbollah cyber group meant to disrupt the functioning of the hospital. The attack failed but the cyber criminals did publish patient’s data online, according to a press release sent to Green Prophet.
Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, the IDF, and the Israeli Security Agency, investigated and found the attack was done by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, with the involvement of Hezbollah cyber unit. The attack happened about three weeks ago.
The attack was thwarted before it could successfully disrupt hospital operations and impact medical treatment, but the attackers managed to steal sensitive data stored in the hospital’s systems. In joint efforts with the State Prosecutor’s office to protect patients privacy, channels containing sensitive data were promptly removed, says a report issued bu Israel National Cyber Directorate.
Slaughterhouse pollution is harmful communities in America. Learn from the American experience to improve your laws locally.
Slaughterhouse pollution is harmful communities in America. Learn from the American experience to improve your laws locally.
More than 17,000 animals are killed each minute in slaughterhouses across the United States. Slaughterhouse byproducts such as fat, bone, blood, and feathers often are sent to rendering facilities for conversion into tallow, lard, animal meal, and other products. The runoff from byproducts harms people as it flows into rivers and streams eventually polluting the land and the people drinking from aquifers.
If you look at news around the world, slaughterhouses or abattoirs, are dumping waste with no regard to the environment. See Tunisia, India, England.
Both slaughterhouses and rendering facilities require a near-constant flow of water, and they discharge staggering quantities of dangerous and damaging water pollution into rivers and streams, including millions of pounds of nitrogen and phosphorus, along with bacteria, grease, and other pollutants.
Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (known as the EPA) proposed new water pollution control standards for slaughterhouses and rendering facilities. This is after a victorious lawsuit started by a number of lawsuits from community and conservation organizations. The new rules could help to prevent at least 100 million pounds per year of water pollution by strengthening or imposing standards on a fraction of the country’s approximately 5,000 slaughterhouses and rendering facilities, which together are leading sources of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution.
Polluted water in Iraq
Water pollution from slaughterhouses and rendering facilities threatens human health and the environment. For instance, exposure to nitrogen compounds in drinking water can cause colorectal cancer, thyroid disease, birth defects, and—in infants under six months of age—methemoglobinemia, or “blue baby syndrome,” a potentially fatal condition. In addition, nitrogen and phosphorus pollution feed algal growth, which can render water unsafe for drinking, unfit for recreation, and uninhabitable for aquatic life.
As algae die and decompose, they consume oxygen, giving rise to “dead zones” in iconic waterways such as Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
Alexis Andiman, Earthjustice attorney
“Pollution from slaughterhouses and rendering facilities disproportionately harms under-resourced communities, low-income communities, and communities of color,” said Earthjustice attorney Alexis Andiman.
Pollution from slaughterhouses and rendering facilities exacerbates environmental injustice. Most slaughterhouses and rendering facilities are located within one mile of populations that, on average, the EPA classifies as “low income,” “linguistically isolated,” or at high risk of exposure to toxic substances.
To make matters worse, slaughterhouses and rendering facilities are often located near additional slaughterhouses, rendering facilities, concentrated animal feeding operations, and other sources of pollution, compounding the risks they pose.
The federal Clean Water Act requires the EPA to set water pollution standards for all industries, including slaughterhouses and rendering facilities, and to review those standards each year to determine whether updates are appropriate to keep pace with advances in pollution-control technology.
Despite this clear mandate, the EPA has failed to revise standards for slaughterhouses and rendering facilities for at least 19 years. Some slaughterhouses and rendering facilities are still subject to standards established in the mid-1970s.
And the EPA has never published national standards applicable to the vast majority of slaughterhouses and rendering facilities, which discharge polluted wastewater indirectly through publicly-owned treatment works—also known as POTWs—even though the EPA has acknowledged for decades that, without adequate pretreatment, pollutants in slaughterhouses and rendering facility wastewater pass through many POTWs into our nation’s rivers and streams.
The victory was brought on by Earthjustice and the Environmental Integrity Project on behalf of Cape Fear River Watch, Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help, Waterkeepers Chesapeake, Waterkeeper Alliance, Humane Society of the United States, Food & Water Watch, Environment America, Comite Civico del Valle, Center for Biological Diversity, and Animal Legal Defense Fund.
This coalition initially challenged the Trump Administration’s decision not to update water pollution control standards for slaughterhouses and rendering facilities in 2019. In response to that challenge, the EPA pledged to strengthen its regulations—but it did not commit to a timeline for doing so. The coalition filed a second lawsuit in December 2022 to press the EPA to act promptly, resulting in an agreement that committed the EPA to propose new standards by December 2023 and publish final standards by August 2025.
“Today, the EPA took a major step towards reducing the massive flow of pollution that slaughterhouses dump into America’s rivers,” said John Rumpler, senior clean water director for Environment America. “If the agency follows through with a strong final rule, it will mark significant progress in reducing threats to wildlife and public health – including toxic algae, pathogens and nitrate contamination of drinking water sources.”
John Rumpler, senior clean water director for Environment America
Many publicly owned wastewater treatment plants are not equipped to treat the waste they receive from one or more of the estimated 3,708 indirectly discharging slaughterhouses and rendering plants across the country, likely contributing to 73% of these facilities violating their clean water permit limits for pollutants typically released by those dischargers, said Kelly Hunter Foster, a Waterkeeper Alliance Senior Attorney.
One way to avoid this is for the facility itself to install a MBR or MBBR for slaughterhouse wastewater treatment which are designed to handle high contaminant discharges.
Larissa Liebmann, Animal Legal Defense Fund Senior Staff Attorney
“Lax regulations allow industrial animal agriculture to profit while burdening communities with pollution and causing animals immense suffering,” said Animal Legal Defense Fund Senior Staff Attorney Larissa Liebmann. “With these updated pollution standards, EPA is making slaughterhouses account for some of the costs of their unsustainable business model.”
Building better environmental regulation in your country, province, state or city? Look to the EPA guide for starters.
An Emirati develops a beautiful pavillion from arish
In Egypt, palm trees in furniture and architecture is known as arish and it has a rich history deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of the region. Emirati architect Abdalla Almulla’s (MULA) created the installation Of Palm, a pavilion at Dubai Design Week. Of Palm not only resonates with sustainable and vernacular architecture we celebrate in Sandra Piesek’s book Habitat but it also draws parallels with vernacular furniture in Egypt, Sinai and Saudi Arabia where palm trees have been a traditional resource for crafting functional and aesthetically pleasing pieces.
Abdalla Almulla’s vision transcends the borders of the UAE, finding resonance in the practices of craftsmen in the Middle East who have long recognized the versatility of palm trees.
The intricate weaving of palm fronds into leaf mats, a prominent feature in the pavilion’s ceilings, gives shade, beauty and comfort unlike plastic which breaks down quickly in the hot sun, you can see palm structures stand for decades, with parts replaced as needed.
The bark-clad trunks acting as pillars in the pavilion echo the structural elements found in historic Egyptian furniture, showcasing a harmonious blend of modern design and ancient craft.
Moreover, Almulla’s choice to use palm wood for furniture pieces within the circular pavilion aligns with the region’s age-old tradition of creating durable and elegant pieces from this readily available material. Darker wood panels form stools and display cases, emphasizing the enduring appeal of palm-based creations. Locals in the Middle East know how strong palm wood fibres are. Car accidents with palm trees tend to be more fatal than hitting a regular deciduous tree.
Almulla’s “Of Palm” pavilion in Dubai, pays homage to the shared heritage of palm tree. It serves as a contemporary reminder of the sustainable design principles deeply rooted in the history of furniture-making in the region.
As we celebrate the convergence of sustainable architecture and traditional craftsmanship, the story of palm tree furniture extends beyond the pavilion’s temporary existence. It intertwines with the narratives of local artisans, weaving a tapestry that spans centuries, connecting the past with a future where sustainable practices continue to shape the world of design.
If you love the look and possibilities of palm, Arish is a great book by Sanda Piesik to explore. She is also the editor of Habitat. In Arish she features traditional buildings made from palm which are called arish in some Middle East regions. These structures have provided shelter from the extreme climate of the Arabian peninsula for generations. Just as bamboo is central to many forms of Asian vernacular constructions, so is palm leaf in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and surrounding countries.
Marrying Tradition with Innovation, the Najdi-Inspired Opera House Shapes Diriyah’s Future
In a visionary nod to the past, architecture studio Snøhetta from Oslo, Norway has unveiled its design for the Royal Diriyah Opera House, set to grace the historic town of Diriyah on the outskirts of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Informed by the rich tapestry of traditional Najdi architecture (see the House of Saud), this ambitious project is poised to become a cultural landmark, contributing to the wider redevelopment masterplan of Diriyah. The ancient town, celebrated for its vernacular Najdi architecture characterized by mud-brick structures closely clustered to provide shade, will soon witness the emergence of a state-of-the-art opera house that seamlessly blends heritage with contemporary aspirations.
Scheduled for completion in 2028, the Royal Diriyah Opera House is envisioned as a distinguished venue capable of accommodating 3,500 visitors. The architectural marvel will house a 2,000-seat opera theater, two 450-seat multipurpose theaters, and a 450-seat covered rooftop amphitheater, providing a dynamic stage for the aspirations of future generations of performers.
Snøhetta’s design draws inspiration not only from Najdi architecture but also from the nearby riverbeds of the Wadi Hanifah valley. The result is a cluster of buildings characterized by textured facades constructed from locally sourced materials, including palm, stone, and earth. The deliberate choice of these materials not only pays homage to the traditional elements of the region but also ensures a sustainable and contextually sensitive approach to the architectural narrative.
What is Najdi Architecture?
Najdi architecture is an approach from the central Arabian Gulf region that combines three main factors –– from the people who lived there over the years including Bedouin tribes. Some of the Bedouin tribes migrated to other parts of the region including Jordan, Sinai, and present-day Israel. Najdi is built in harmony with nature and 1) works in hot desert climates; 2) it provides privacy in residential buildings as Muslims guard their privacy (see mashrabiya), and 3) uses locally available materials such as mud brick, stone and wood.
Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, co-founder of Snøhetta, expressed the studio’s vision for the project, stating, “This project aims to connect the area’s rich history with contemporary culture, highlighting the importance and integrity of arts when building future communities.”
The design concept is rooted in the idea of the earth from riverbeds, cracked by the relentless sun, molded by wind and rain, and ultimately assuming new shapes as separate forms. The resulting cluster of buildings appears to rise organically from the ground, featuring open passages that invite exploration and engagement.
Beyond its primary function as an opera house, the Royal Diriyah Opera House is conceived as a multifaceted cultural complex. In addition to the performance theaters, the facility will include a cafe, retail spaces, public gardens, and shaded outdoor areas. This strategic integration of public spaces serves to enrich both cultural and recreational experiences, elevating the intrinsic value of the location.
As part of a broader initiative to revitalize Diriyah, and entice Westerners to Saudi Arabia for investment and tourism, the Royal Diriyah Opera House aligns with the town’s historical roots while charting a course for a vibrant and progressive future. Diriyah, with its distinctive Najdi architecture, has long been a testament to the ingenious use of mud-brick structures that define the character of the town. The redevelopment masterplan acknowledges this heritage, ensuring that the new opera house not only stands as a symbol of cultural advancement but also harmonizes with the surrounding environment.
Snøhetta’s approach to the Royal Diriyah Opera House mirrors its global portfolio of culturally significant projects. From an elliptical planetarium in France to a mass-timber museum extension with an oculus in the United States, the studio has consistently demonstrated a commitment to pushing the boundaries of architectural innovation while respecting the cultural and historical context of each location.
Najdi architecture, prevalent in the central region of Saudi Arabia, is characterized by its distinctive use of materials and design elements that are adapted to the arid climate and the cultural traditions of the area. Here are five notable examples of Najdi architecture in Saudi Arabia, showcasing the enduring beauty and functional brilliance of this regional style.
Examples of Najdi architecture
Diriyah Historic Area:
Visitors to Diriyah Gate can explore its labyrinthine streets, visit museums, dine in traditional restaurants, and witness live performances in the historic At-Turaif district. The revitalization of Diriyah Gate not only preserves the architectural marvels of Najdi heritage but also positions Diriyah as a global cultural destination, inviting people to experience the intersection of the past and the present in the heart of Saudi Arabia.
The very location chosen for the Royal Diriyah Opera House is steeped in Najdi architecture. Diriyah’s historic area is a testament to the traditional Najdi style, featuring mud-brick structures closely clustered together. The use of these materials not only provides insulation against the harsh desert climate but also creates a charming aesthetic with narrow streets and shaded walkways.
Al Masmak Fortress:
Constructed from mud-brick and clay, Al-Masmak is characterized by its thick walls, watchtowers, and traditional Najdi architectural elements. The fortress has been meticulously preserved, offering visitors a journey through time. Inside, the Masmak Museum showcases artifacts and exhibits that narrate the historical events, bringing to life the story of King Abdulaziz’s triumphant capture of Riyadh.
Located in the heart of Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, Al Masmak Fortress stands as a prime example of Najdi military architecture. Constructed in the 19th century, the fortress is made of clay and mud-brick, with thick walls that reflect the defensive needs of the time. The distinctive Najdi style is evident in the fortress’s simplicity, showcasing the practical approach to architecture in the region.
Historical Jeddah:
The unique charm of Historical Jeddah lies in its well-preserved coral houses, reflecting the traditional architecture of the region. The buildings, adorned with vibrant wooden detailing, feature enclosed courtyards and elevated wind towers that capture the essence of Najdi and Hejazi architectural styles. The city’s layout, characterized by narrow streets and hidden squares, invites exploration and reveals the influence of diverse cultures that have shaped Jeddah over the centuries.
While Najdi architecture is most closely associated with the central region, its influence can be seen in other parts of Saudi Arabia as well. In Historical Jeddah, the old city bears witness to the integration of Najdi elements in the design of traditional coral houses. The use of intricate wooden detailing, shaded courtyards, and narrow alleys reflects the adaptability of Najdi architecture to different environments.
Ushaiger Heritage Village:
Walking through Ushaiger, visitors encounter structures with distinctive features such as wind-catching towers designed to mitigate the region’s intense heat. The village’s layout, with its interconnected dwellings and shared walls, exemplifies the practicality and sustainability inherent in traditional Najdi design
Ushaiger, a well-preserved heritage village in the Najd region, is a living testament to the enduring charm of Najdi architecture. The village features mud-brick houses with distinctive geometric patterns, creating a harmonious blend of form and function. The layout of Ushaiger follows the traditional Najdi style, emphasizing communal spaces and interconnected dwellings.
House of Saud:
The House of Saud, made from mud
The House of Saud originated in the 18th century when Muhammad bin Saud, the emir of Diriyah, and the religious scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab formed an alliance. This collaboration, grounded in their shared commitment to Wahhabi Islam, marked the establishment of the first Saudi state.
The Royal Diriyah Opera House emerges as a beacon of cultural expression in an historic area, marrying the traditional nuances of Najdi architecture with the avant-garde vision of Snøhetta. As a testament to the evolving cultural landscape of Saudi Arabia, this architectural gem not only symbolizes a nod to the past but also paves the way for a harmonious coexistence of heritage and modernity in the heart of Diriyah.
Client: Diriyah Company and collaborators include Plan A Consultants, Syn Architects, JLL, Penguin Cube, Tricon, Arup, Saudi Diyar, Buro Happold, Schlaich Bergermann Partner, Theatre Projects, Spec Studio, Evergreen Adcon, Fractal Landscape, Transsolar, Maha Mullah.
Come 2028, the Royal Diriyah Opera House is poised to take center stage, inviting audiences to witness the seamless fusion of tradition and progress against the backdrop of Saudi Arabia’s rich cultural tapestry. Let ‘s home it is built with sustainable materials along with its vision.
A prairie university in Canada will be home to a new international water research hub run by the UN. We’d have assumed Israel with its water success research known the world over (read this article by a World Bank researcher) would be a smarter move but rising antisemitism and regional conflicts gives Israel a zero chance in such a UN-led endeavor.
Instead, the UN has chosen Canada given its neutrality on most issues and its overabundance of water, making it a sound and safe choice for the UN. And it will open up more sustainable developments to a region in Canada dependent on oil sands extraction and fracking for natural gas.
United Nations University, the academic arm of the United Nations, has chosen the University of Calgary as the home of the world’s first UNU hub, said Ed McCauley, president of the University of Calgary.
“It has very special significance for me not only as president of the host university, but as someone whose own academic career has been focused on water research,” said McCauley.
The two groups will together to develop the sustainable, scientific solutions and a skilled workforce needed to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
The hub will have four research clusters led by world-class scholars from across campus, collaborating to bring their expertise to bear on four essential areas of water studies: understanding changes in aquatic ecosystems, infectious diseases in a changing climate, environmental predictions for water sustainability, and resilience in Indigenous communities.
The clusters will build on Calgary’s institutional capacity and infrastructure in these areas, including the cross-institutional UNESCO Chair in Mountain Water Sustainability, One Health at Calgary, Advancing Canadian Water Assets, and the Biogeoscience Institute, says Fred Wrona, a professor in the Faculty of Science.
The research clusters will also create opportunities for new international partnerships and transdisciplinary collaborations to expand the reach of the UN.
Slow Food cows make high fat milk using regenerative agriculture. Such food made by mistakenly labeled as unhealthy.
Slow Food is a food movement in Europe that find the best Slow Cheese in Europe. So many organizations. So many labels. So many movements.
The Slow Food movement which started in Italy says everything that we love about real food that is sustainable. Slow Food brings people, farmers, and systems-thinking in agriculture, along with the joy of farming and the pleasure of community. Slow Food has been featured on Green Prophet over the years. Check out this article on the best cheese in Europe and how they make it.
“This was supposed to be the Food COP, but the conclusions were not good neither for the future of the food systems nor for limiting the effects of climate change,” said Edward Mukiibi, Slow Food president.
Slow Food cheese
“The expectations around potentially positive efforts such as the Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, signed by over 150 States, the Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work on Agriculture and Food Security and the FAO Roadmap were failed by the lack of concrete and binding targets, the influence of major emitters in the agriculture sector and the postponement of the discussions to transform the food systems at the next meetings.”
The main outcome of /, namely the Global Stocktake, was largely void, with just one mention of food systems under the Adaptation section but excluded from the Mitigation section.
At last, after long negotiations, the mention of a transition away from fossil fuels has been included for the first time, but the deal is full of loopholes that will allow countries not to move as fast as needed to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
In addition, despite the different historical responsibility for emissions between developed and developing countries it does not properly differentiate their roles in the transition away from fossil fuels.
“Most disappointingly, as expected, agro-ecology was sidelined and did not emerge in policy discussions as a key element, nor was it mentioned as the solution which will allow us to reverse the course and fight against climate change.”
Translated, this means a further worrying delay in addressing the urgent climate challenges the planet is facing, ignoring crucial climate solutions through a meaningful food systems transformation.
Woody Harrelson stars as narrator in a documentary film about regenerative agriculture
The city of Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean Sea received the advanced grade A- in the ranking of the CDP, the largest international platform for measuring, managing and reporting the environmental data of companies and cities. This is a significant step up compared to the grades the municipality received in previous years, and its position is higher than the global average of all the reported cities.
The CDP is an international non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom, Japan, India, China, Germany, Brazil and the United States that helps companies, cities, states, regions and public authorities disclose their environmental impact.
Tel Aviv has been reporting to the CDP voluntarily for a decade, and after joining C40 in 2018, an international network of cities committed to reducing the effects of the climate crisis and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reporting became mandatory.
Cycling with the jacaranda trees in Tek Aviv by Lidor Goldbary
The report to the CDP includes the presentation of consumption and performance data on carbon emissions, energy consumption and runoff management, along with the presentation of a comprehensive climate plan that includes adaptation to climate change and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions while meeting the municipal goals of this plan.
Tel Aviv is a city that makes a lot of sense in the face of climate change. First of all the moderate weather means less heating in the winter. The environmental footprint of city-goers is low thanks to e-scooters, above ground trains and buses. New projects make Tel Aviv very walkable. Food is hyper local, usually sourced from farms not more than 50 miles away. The Mediterranean Diet! Low key, low cost recreation at night and on the beach make it a great city for locals and travellers. You can live in flip-flops. There are impact investors and super cool startups dealing with climate and the environment.
We interviewed Tel Aviv visitors this summer about climate change. Here is what they say.
Tel Aviv’s mayor Ron Huldai says, “Thinking about sustainability, green energy, runoff management and climate change assessments is part of the DNA of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, and the significant increase in the ranking in the CDP index proves this.
“The city of Tel Aviv-Yafo is one of the leading cities in the world in climate protection policy and we are members of the C40 leadership organization along with a network of leading cities in the world, working together on the issue. These are not words, we are committed to actions. We will continue to promote and implement the urban climate plan, formulate new plans and expand the green areas in the city, to ensure that we, our children and grandchildren can continue to enjoy life in the city and in Israel as a whole.
A day at the beach in Jaffa, by Karin Kloosterman
There is no doubt that the municipal efforts that include climate risk assessment, the implementation of the action plan to prepare for climate change in broad municipal cooperation, together with the channels of action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions place the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo on the international map. Reporting to the CDP plays a significant role in promoting sustainability and corporate responsibility.
Having a great CDP score means taking responsibility on the urban carbon footprint and encourages it to take significant steps to improve performance and reduce emissions, including risk management from climate change. Investors are increasingly considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when making investment decisions in the city. Reporting to the CDP demonstrates the municipality’s commitment to addressing climate-related risks and can improve investor confidence in the assets and companies that operate within it.
Outlining Tel Aviv’s journey
The first step jump in the Tel Aviv- Yafo municipality’s score in the CDP index occurred in 2020 after the publication of the action plan for preparing for climate change. This program is the first program in Israel for preparing for climate change, and was built after mapping the main threats that the city faces in the context of climate. The action plan focuses on two key tasks – cooling the city and water management.
The channels of action include a variety of nature-based solutions such as planting trees as part of an urban goal of 100,000 trees by 2030 (well Tel Aviv also wants to cut down important trees, let’s not forget) and improving natural percolation in the city by adding runoff retention ponds. This year’s report included a reference to all the actions that were taken, and the high score received indicates a good implementation of the plan in the municipality, and meeting the goals while referring to the climate risks.
We would like to add that this is the first year that the municipality has reported on actions included in the mitigation program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The plan will soon be published to the public and includes reference to three main sectors: energy, waste and transportation with measurable targets for reducing emissions. The goals set in the program are ambitious goals that are in line with leading cities in the world and refer to a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and zero emissions by 2050.
The high rating received by the Tel Aviv- Yafo municipality in this year’s index indicates that it places the climate and sustainability field at the top of its priorities. The municipality invests resources in the field of climate and deals with it in a serious and professional manner; Both in terms of analyzing the risks and understanding them, setting ambitious long-term goals and in terms of applicable channels of action in the variety of sectors and arenas of action.
CDP-ICLEI Track is the world’s leading climate reporting platform and progress accountability mechanism for cities. Tracking over 1,100 cities’ climate action in 2021. There are now 119 cities on the ‘A List’, show that action to tackle climate change is becoming mainstream for many of the world’s urban areas, including in the Global South.
When you buy a sweater you are going to want it to last years not just a season. You will want it to be warm and sustainably made, so the obvious answer is a sweater from the Spanish company babaa.
I saw a babaa sweater in green online and I knew I had to have one. It started with the striking emerald colour, but then I heard the babaà story, how they raise their sheep and knit their products, and knew I wanted babaà to be my primary wool sweater for the winter. babaa speaks about the place where we need to go to slow down mass consumerism and lack of connection to ourselves.
Maybe the biggest joy this sweater gives me is knowing that it journeyed through the Spanish countryside and if I look hard enough, I can still find bits of nature where the sheep travelled.
Looking decent is important to me, but I want my clothes to represent my values. It’s hard for me to buy fast chain fashion: it doesn’t feel good, it doesn’t look right, it’s not the right thing to do. Educated readers know that the skills of fine craftspeople in fashion are disappearing in Europe and around the world, now that Zara and H&M can produce clothes and shoes for a throwaway, runaway plastic culture.
How do we slow down and recoup what we are losing? Supporting artisan designers and the farms and the craftspeople who keep them in business, of course.
Of course you can go to a local mall and likely find something decent, but babaà is more than just clothes. It’s connecting us to our past, present and future.
babaà is founded by Marta Bahillo (pictured below), from Madrid. She studied Fashion and Textile Design in Dublin, Ireland and after graduating – with a particular passion for knitwear and natural textiles – Marta moved to Argentina to design womenswear for a major fashion house before returning to Spain and founding babaà in 2012.
marta bahillo
According to Marta, “All the materials we use are 100% natural which means our yarns are not mixed with acrylics or any other synthetic fibres. Better quality material means warmer, longer lasting clothes that even improve with wear.”
A big part of their work in creating great sweaters is sourcing local providers and supporting the local textile industry. Their wool comes from sheep in the north of Spain where it compiled, processed, and dyed by Spanish artisans using traditional methods and tools, like the ones shown below.
According to Malta, “These sheep that you see all over Spain are the ones that provide our beautiful pure Spanish wool. Many of you see bits of nature in your babaà jumpers when you get them. Now you know where it comes from! We are very proud to support this traditional local industry so important for the biodiversity and the environment.”
The sheep are also brought out to pasture through a ritual called trashumancia –– the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures.
The cotton for the cotton sweaters is sourced in Andalucia, in the south of Spain.The wool and cotton is then shipped to a workshop in Barcelona where it is knit. Designs are all oversized to make you feel cozy and to leave space for growing children.
How do you wash a Babaa sweater
The company suggests hand-washing wool pieces in cold water with a gentle, natural soap. Any organic soap that has little to no scent scent. Submerge your sweater in the water, rub any deep stains, and remove quickly. Lay flat to dry.
Babaa sweaters are a bit stiff. Do they get softer?
The wool comes straight from our sheep to you. In some cases it has never been treated or dyed. Because of this, some people may find the wool mildly abrasive at first. However the wool will soften naturally with each wearing as it adapts, softens and conforms to its new owner.
Rashid Al Khalifa moved from Bahrain to the UK in 1972. This is Reality is Timeless, 2023
In the heart of Cairo, where the ancient Pyramids of Giza stand as guardians of time, French-Egyptian curator Nadine Abdel Ghaffar orchestrates a symphony of art and heritage in the third edition of “Forever Is Now.” As the clock strikes noon, the bustling energy in Cairo is a testament to the monumental task ahead.
Abdel Ghaffar, the founder of the Egyptian arts platform Art D’Égypte, is not just organizing an art exhibition but crafting an immersive experience against the awe-inspiring backdrop of the Pyramids. Opening on Oct. 26, this site-specific installation transcended the boundaries of time, seamlessly blending contemporary art with the timeless tapestry of Egypt’s cultural heritage. It was the third edition of the event, but this time clouded with the war between Hamas and Israel to the north. Tourists were afraid to come to Egypt, but the show went on.
“The Pyramids, for me, are a token of hope for humanity,” Abdel Ghaffar shares, her voice echoing through the millennia. “It’s a world wonder that was not lost. It withstood pandemics, wars, different religions, and it’s still there.” Her sentiment resonates with the enduring spirit of the Pyramids, a beacon of resilience that has weathered the storms of history.
In the throes of the COVID pandemic, Abdel Ghaffar found solace in the words of veteran Egyptian archaeologist Dr. Zahi Hawass. “Look at the Pyramids,” he told her, “This will give you hope. It’s still there. So, humanity will not be erased. Don’t worry.” The Pyramids became a symbol of continuity, a source of strength during uncertain times.
Setting up an exhibition near the Pyramids is no small feat. It involves navigating through bureaucratic mazes involving the Secret Services, UNESCO, and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Ten days before the grand opening, a dedicated team of 150 workers, including architects and electricians, toils around the clock. Challenges abound, but the fruition of the exhibition each year is nothing short of a miracle. “On the night of the opening, everyone is blown away,” Abdel Ghaffar exclaims.
In past editions of “Forever Is Now,” visionary artists like JR, El-Seed, and Lorenzo Quinn left their indelible marks with sculptural installations. See some photos below. This year, the exhibition extends beyond the Pyramids, with cultural events in Downtown Cairo organized by Art D’Égypte. In response to recent violence in Gaza, the organization is taking a philanthropic stance by setting up Egyptian Red Crescent donation booths.
Amidst this cultural tapestry, sustainability takes center stage. The immersive experience at the interactive Giza exhibition is curated with environmental consciousness. Each installation, a delicate dance between modernity and history, aims to engage the audience in a dialogue about the interconnectedness of art, heritage, and the local environment.
This year’s “Forever Is Now” places a renewed emphasis on sustainability, weaving eco-friendly practices into the very fabric of the exhibition. From the materials used in installations, sourced responsibly and with minimal environmental impact, to the meticulous planning of waste reduction strategies, every aspect reflects a commitment to environmental stewardship.
In the third edition of the exhibition, the participation of 14 international artists adds a layer of cultural diversity and artistic exchange. Organized by CulturVator – Art D’Egypte, the event not only celebrates contemporary art against the backdrop of ancient wonders but also emphasizes the importance of cultural exchange among artists.
These artworks include a geometric sculpture by artist Dionysios titled “Meditation on Light,” employing artificial intelligence; a hyper-realistic sculpture by artist Carol Feuerman titled “Egyptian Woman in the Form of the Goddess Hathor,” evoking the ancient Egyptian deity of love and fertility; and parts of a maze by artist Rashid Al Khalifa, adorned with patterns inspired by the book “Tower of Babel” by Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher in 1679. The contemporary artworks vary in materials, including “fiberglass, steel, stone, marble,” offering an artful and environmentally friendly experience.
Nadine Abdel Ghaffar emphasized the significance of the exhibition, stating, “The ‘Forever Is Now’ exhibition has achieved outstanding success in attracting attention to contemporary art since its first edition. This year, the exhibition raises questions about the new era of technology and cultural change that the world is going through, by combining cultural heritage with the rich diversity of contemporary art practices.”
She expressed gratitude to contributors, institutions, and official partners, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Tourism, Antiquities, Culture, and the Egyptian National Commission for UNESCO, among others. The support from various entities underscores the collaborative effort to promote Egyptian art and heritage on the global stage.
In the third edition of “Forever Is Now,” 14 local and international artists are participating, each bringing a unique perspective and artistic vision to the exhibition. Belgian Arne Quinze, Brazilian Arthur Lescher, Emirati Azza Al-Qubaisi, American Carol Feuerman, Greeks Dionysios and Costas Varotsos, French duo JR and Stephan Breuer, Egyptian Mohamed Banawy, Argentinean Pilar Zeta, Bahraini Rashid Al Khalifa, Saudi Rashed Al Shashai, Dutch Sabine Marcelis, and Egyptian-British Sam Shendi form a diverse ensemble of creative minds.
These artists express the importance of this global event, hoping that their artistic works receive positive and inspiring responses. The Egyptian artist Mohamed Banawy, for instance, finds it an exciting adventure to showcase his work alongside the great civilization of Egypt in one of the most significant archaeological areas in the world.
His work, titled ‘As Above, As Below,’ draws inspiration from the emerald tablets written by the god Thoth, symbolizing keys that speak to us from the realm of the spirit. Banawy’s installation invites viewers to contemplate the material world as a reflection of another world existing in a different dimension, connecting Lower and Upper Egypt in a symbolic journey.
French artist JR, participating for the first time, presents the project “From the Inside Out,” a platform that empowers communities worldwide to defend their beliefs and incite local global change through public art. This initiative, launched by JR after winning the TED Prize in 2011, encourages cooperation and dialogue between communities worldwide through large-scale black-and-white portraits displayed in public spaces.
Greek artist Dionysios contributes the project “Meditation on Light,” a meditative performance art exhibited at the millennial Giza Plateau. Using AI, Dionysios creates different invocations on the theme of light, reflecting Apollo, the god of light, conversing with Ra’a, the god of the sun. His installation invites viewers to envision the Giza plateau as a space for reflection and meditation on the concept of light, symbolizing a carpet on the ground following the trajectory of the sun from dusk till dawn.
Costas Varotsos, another Greek artist, presents “Horizon,” focusing on the relationship between the Nile River and the Giza Plateau. For Varotsos, the horizon is a prediction of the future, defining the concept in space while determining the position toward life. His project features eight circles representing the world’s revolutions, connecting the celestial dome and the cycle of life expressed through the geometric shape of the circle.
Bahraini artist Rashid Al Khalifa presents “Timeless Reality,” inspired by the greatness of Egypt. Using palm fronds, an ancient craft, Al Khalifa pays tribute to the history of the pyramids, providing a contemporary interpretation of their impact on the region’s development processes. His project, “The Transparent Pyramid,” blurs the lines between traditional and modern, renewing perceptions of art, heritage, science, and sustainable practices.
Dutch artist Sabine Marcelis contributes “Ra,” an installation inspired by the sun and the birthplace of the sundial. Marcelis’s artwork not only represents a sundial but harnesses the power of the sun, transforming it into energy. Her piece reflects deep respect for ancient Egyptian culture and their reverence for the sun god Ra.
Sabine Marcelis, Ra
Stephan Breuer, a French artist, presents “Temple •|•” for the first time in the exact axis of the pyramids. The triangular shape symbolizes the accomplishment of mastering technology in Ancient Egypt, conveying a testimony of human genius. “Temple •|•” represents a new era in human evolution, linked to digital technology and artificial intelligence, celebrating every human that interacts with it. His piece conveys both a strong material and spiritual message, preserving digital memories and offering a new visual expression of the Sublime.
Stephan Breuer, Temple
Egyptian-British artist Sam Shendi introduces “The Phantom Temple,” bridging the past and the future through sculptural works that transcend classifications. Shendi’s sculptures serve as vibrant reflections of the human condition, leaving an imprint on the land and transporting imagination beyond time.
Forever is now Edition III at the pyramids of Giza Art Title : The PhantomTemple by Sam Shendi
Argentinian artist Pilar Zeta presents “Mirror Gate,” a multidimensional portal connecting past and present, blending natural and artificial materials from the post-industrial era. Viewers are invited to reflect on their infinite potential when they see their reflections inside the pyramids, drawing connections to the limitless possibilities found in Egyptian mythology.
Pilar Zeta, Mirror Gate, 2023
The diverse artistic contributions extend from Argentina to the UAE, with Azza Al Qubaisi sharing her work titled “Treasures.” Al Qubaisi captures the secrets, shapes, and patterns of desert landscapes, incorporating cultural memories, stories, and ornaments from the past. Her artwork allows viewers to immerse themselves in an experience walking between the art piece and the sand dunes, symbolizing a journey through personal lives and hidden treasures within.
Azza Al Qubaisi, Treasures, 2023
Belgian artist Arne Quinze’s project, “The Gateway of Light,” offers an alternative perspective on the Pyramids of Giza, exploring the dynamics between the power of nature and its fragility. Quinze emphasizes the ancient and rich Egyptian culture where the sun has always played a crucial role, presenting the sun as the fundamental element for all forms of life within a sculpted circular frame.
Arne Quinze’s project, “The Gateway of Light,”
Arthur Lescher, although unable to attend, expresses his happiness about creating his artwork “The Observatory” to be exhibited on the Giza plateau. His artwork reframes the question of human connection with the universe, using the inner part of the pyramids as a benchmark to reflect the human scale in a new context.
Arthur Lescher, The Observatory
“CulturVator – Art D’Egypte” has been at the forefront of organizing groundbreaking exhibitions that merge the old and the new, changing the world’s perception of contemporary art in Egypt. The annual exhibitions by “Art d’Egypte” aim to promote Egyptian art globally, showcasing contemporary Egyptian art in heritage sites that link Egypt’s rich history with its creative present.
From “Eternal Light” at the Egyptian Museum in 2017 to “Narratives Rescued” at four historical sites on Moez Street in historic Cairo in 2019, these exhibitions have transformed the way contemporary art is perceived in Egypt. The prominent “Eternal Now” exhibitions held on the slopes of the historic Giza Pyramids in their first and second editions further solidify the commitment of “Culturevator – Art d’Egypte” to promoting Egyptian art on the global stage.
In the words of Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, the success of the “Forever Is Now” exhibition lies not only in its ability to attract attention to contemporary art but also in its capacity to pose essential questions about technology, cultural change, and the convergence of heritage with contemporary art practices. As the third edition unfolds against the timeless backdrop of the Pyramids of Giza, it serves as a beacon, illuminating a path towards a sustainable future where creativity and heritage thrive in harmony. The night sky over Giza not only showcases the brilliance of art but also holds the promise of a more sustainable and conscious tomorrow.
Nestled in the arid landscapes of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, the Ad Madam Ghost Village whispers tales of a bygone era, a haunting reminder of the consequences of unsustainable urban development. As visitors explore its crumbling structures, the echoes of the past resonate with a poignant lesson—sustainable planning is not just a choice; it’s a necessity for the survival of our towns and villages. In this quest for sustainability, the visionary ideas of Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy shine as a guiding light, offering a blueprint for a future where planned villages may hold the key to resilient and harmonious communities.
Ad Madam’s Ghostly Chronicle:
No broom would be enough … The sand is eating up Ad Madam
Ad Madam, meaning “the home of the widows” in Arabic, weaves a tale of a once-thriving oasis settlement that succumbed to the ravages of time and unsustainable practices. The village, abandoned in the 20th century, stands as a stark testament to the perils of over-exploitation of natural resources, economic shifts, and inadequate waste management. Its deserted streets and dilapidated structures beckon tourists to reflect on the broader implications of such neglect, prompting the crucial question—how can we ensure our towns and villages stand resilient against the threat of abandonment?
Sustainable Lessons from the Past:
Nature takes over at Ad Madam
As we delve into the haunting beauty of Ad Madam, its ruins become a classroom where the curriculum is written in the remnants of a once-vibrant community. The village’s demise wasn’t just an isolated incident but a symptom of a global issue: unsustainable urbanization. Over-exploitation of resources, lack of environmental foresight, and economic instability are the ghosts that haunted Ad Madam, and they continue to haunt many communities today. The lesson is clear—sustainable development is not an ideal; it’s an imperative. It’s a great place to visit like the haunted Ottoman buildings in Lebanon, and the Disney village of palaces in Turkey.
The Visionary Legacy of Hassan Fathy:
Enter Hassan Fathy, an architect ahead of his time. In the mid-20th century, Fathy envisioned a radical departure from conventional urban planning, advocating for the creation of planned villages that harmonize with nature and culture. His ideas stand in stark contrast to the sprawling urban jungles that dominate our landscapes. Fathy’s model emphasizes compact, self-sufficient communities that integrate traditional building methods, locally-sourced materials, and sustainable technologies.
Fathy’s vision extends beyond bricks and mortar. It envisions a shift in mindset—a departure from the shortsightedness that led to the abandonment of places like Ad Madam. By decentralizing urban hubs and empowering communities, Fathy’s model seeks to create environments that are not only environmentally conscious but culturally rich and economically viable.
The Future in Planned Villages:
Fathy’s vision gains new relevance as we grapple with the challenges of the modern world. The haunting beauty of Ad Madam serves as a cautionary tale, urging us to reconsider our approach to urbanization. Planned villages, as envisioned by Fathy, may hold the key to a future where towns are not just structures but living, breathing organisms that adapt and thrive in harmony with their surroundings.
These villages, with their emphasis on sustainability and community engagement, offer a promising alternative to the sprawling, impersonal cities that often lead to the abandonment of smaller communities. By adopting Fathy’s principles, we can create environments that are not only environmentally sustainable but also socially and economically resilient.
Ad Madam, in its ghostly stillness, calls for responsible tourism that goes beyond mere observation. Tourists are not just visitors; they are custodians of the lessons embedded in the village’s ruins. Responsible tourism in Ad Madam involves engaging with local communities, understanding their challenges, and contributing to initiatives that promote sustainability.
Sharjah’s efforts to balance tourism with conservation in Ad Madam set a precedent for responsible development that respects the delicate balance between preservation and exploration.
In the dance between the ghosts of Ad Madam and the visionary legacy of Hassan Fathy, we find a roadmap for sustainable urban development. Ad Madam teaches us the consequences of neglect, urging us to rethink our approach to town planning. Hassan Fathy’s vision offers a hopeful alternative—a future where planned villages, rooted in sustainability and community, stand resilient against the ghosts of abandonment. As we navigate the challenges of the 21st century, Ad Madam and Fathy’s legacy beckon us to build not just structures but living, breathing communities that endure the test of time. It’s a call to embrace the past, shape the future, and ensure that the ghosts that haunt our towns are echoes, not warnings.
Above images except Hassan Fathy village via Bayt.com
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Can 1/5 of a country be up for sale?
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Can 1/5 of a country, the size of the UK, be up for sale?
In what the company says is a “landmark development for climate action and community empowerment”, Blue Carbon, a carbon credit company in Dubai, has made a deal with the Zimbabwe to buy about 20% of its land for a carbon offset project. The amount of land in the Zimbabwe deal equals the size of the UK.
The $1.5 Billion USD deal will develop carbon projects and sustainable initiatives in agriculture, forestry, and more on 7.5 million hectares, say partners in a public release statement hoping to get a lot of attention for the UAE as it hosts this year’s COP28, a UN event for climate change. The Zimbabwe-Blue Carbon deal falls under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. Blue Carbon and the Government of Zimbabwe say that they will advance environmental conservation, the well-being of local communities, and the stimulation of economic growth in the African country.
Environmentalists no longer believe that carbon credits can spare the economy and the schemes simply give oil and gas polluters an easy pass, using cash, to get out of taking responsibility for polluting emissions. However, the UN says carbon credits and how they can be used will be ratified at COP28.
The UAE is hosting the UN climate change COP28 this year so they are looking to show meaningful projects to tout. Blue Carbon is one of them.
According to NBC News, the existing $414 billion voluntary carbon market has been plagued by accusations of fraud against businesses that claim to prevent deforestation and sell carbon credits by saving trees. And many carbon offsetting companies selling carbon credits overstate or completely miscalculate the amount of carbon offset, said Jonathan Crook, an expert at Carbon Market Watch, a nonprofit group that monitors carbon markets.
Other climate groups that are skeptical of the carbon market as a climate solution say that those attending COP28 should focus not on carbon credits but on cutting out fossil fuels. This is what students at American universities, like Colorado University have been doing, along with climate-progressive companies like Estee Lauder. The UN, with its many biases, may not be an honest broker in handling the climate crisis. In areas where western countries won’t go because of emissions ramifications, countries like the UAE are jumping in.
Controversial choice for COP28
SultanAl Jaber is the Emirati minister and businessman who will preside over the UN-backed COP28 climate talks in Dubai starting on November 30. His appointment as COP28’s leader has been met with fierce criticism from western countries – activists and media. While he serves as the UAE’s climate envoy and head of its renewables company, he also runs the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Over100 members of the US Congress and the European Parliament in called for him to be replaced as COP28 president-designate.
The COP28 climate event will run Nov 30 to Dec 12. And the UAE has no track record that it can manage its own country sustainably, let alone that in a vulnerable African country. Zimbabwe is experiencing a breakdown in living standards, life expectancy while political oppression has increased. The Council on Foreign Relations writes that the country’s current leader, now making deals with the UAE was elected non-democratically: “Voter suppression and intimidation directed by the government marred Zimbabwe’s elections, which reaffirmed incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa’s power and will likely prolong the country’s dysfunction and severe economic woes.”
The US has denied any debt relief to Zimbabwe until it holds a fair election. The State Department in the US says the win for Emmerson Mnangagwa was marred by suppression and intimidation.
Migrant workers form 88 percent of the UAE population and often come from climate-vulnerable countries. UAE-based workers are exposed to escalating climate risks, especially extreme heat, which is linked to chronic health harms and even death.
Widespread labor abuses like exorbitant recruitment fees and wage theft limit workers’ ability to send financial support back home, including during climate-linked extreme weather events.
These abuses in the UAE, which is hosting the upcoming COP28 climate conference, contribute to climate injustice in multiple ways.
Beyond the immediate goal of carbon emissions reduction, the UAE carbon projects aims to have a grassroots impact. If this were Switzerland, I might believe the intent but the UAE has yet to prove it can be environmental stewards.
According to Blue Carbon, they will be doing what we would expect from the Africa country to do for its own people: and build Community Welfare Programs, where the capital received from carbon credits will be used, among other things, to finance various social projects tailored to uplift the living standards of the communities residing in the project areas.
Blue Carbon buys Zimbabwe for carbon credit scheme
This pioneering partnership aligns with the goals of the Paris Agreement and underscores the dedication of both Blue Carbon and the Government of Zimbabwe towards driving transformative change for a greener, sustainable, and more equitable future, says parties in the press release.
The signing ceremony occurred in Zimbabwe with the presence of Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndhlovu, Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry and Josiane Sadaka, CEO of Blue Carbon.
“We believe that effective climate action should go hand in hand with community empowerment,” said Ndhlovu. “Through this collaboration with the Government of Zimbabwe, we are confident that our carbon projects will not only make a positive impact on the environment, but also lead to meaningful improvements in the lives of the people who need it the most.”
Blue Carbon is a Dubai based company under the patronage of the Member of Dubai Ruling Family Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, which was formed to create environmental assets, nature-based solutions and register carbon projects under eligible methodologies.
CNN says that Blue Carbon is a “new outfit, not even a year old, but its chief was no fledgling entrepreneur: he was an Emirati royal whose family had ruled Dubai for 190 years, flush with oil money.”
According to CNN the deal with a floundering Zimbabwe is a smokescreen so the UAE can keep pumping fossil fuels: “The flurry of forest conservation deals with Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Liberia and Tanzania were announced in the months ahead of the annual United Nations’ COP28 climate summit, being hosted this year in December by the United Arab Emirates.”
“These conservation deals are the latest attempt by the petrostate to use green initiatives as a smokescreen for its plans to continue pumping fossil fuels.
“At the same time, the UAE has said it plans to extract its very last barrel of oil 50 years from now, when its reserves are projected to dry up — decades beyond when scientists say society needs to be done with fossil fuel.”
Our writer Bushra Azhar in Saudi Arabia wrote in 2012 about the troubling case of Coldplay and carbon offset controversy in the Middle East: “The main reason I think an offset model cannot work for Saudi Arabia is because it does not address the real issue of carbon emissions in the first place.
“Consumers and companies in Saudi Arabia need to discover their environmental stance before they rethink it. In a country where the utilities are dirt cheap and the fuel costs less than a can of soda, the real problem is to wake people from their stupor. To make them realize that the resources are not unlimited and that the time is running out.”
Tomatoes growing at RedSea farms, Saudi Arabia. The country is investing in low-energy crop production.
Tomatoes growing at RedSea farms, Saudi Arabia
RedSea, a climate controlled hydroponics greenhouse business that started in Saudi Arabia, has announced that its business is expanding. They have hired Bruno De Oliveira as VP East Africa and Egypt to help grow the business. He’s worked in Kenya, Egypt, Portugal, and the UAE.
RedSea uses science to design sustainable agriculture technologies for very hot climates. Hydroponics is a form of greenhouse agriculture that uses water and a nutrient medium to grow vegetables such as leafy greens in a controlled way. Israeli and Dutch companies tend to lead the space. See Infarm in Germany founded by an Israeli team. There is plenty of space and capital globally for new systems to be developed.
RedSea has proven it can do low-water needs agriculture in its 6-hectare facility near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at its research and development facility in KAUST, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
RedSea has seen an infusion of capital – almost $20MM USD this year at least. They are striving for hot climate markets where hydroponics technologies may have the greatest impact in saving water and energy as well as improving profitability for growers. It’s harder to prove the concept in cold climates with less sun as heating greenhouses requires a significant amount of resources. Hydroponics may be ideal for growing food in deserts. Saltwater and solar greenhouses have been a dream for Middle East and African nations. RedSa is working on perfecting the concept that has been in development for decades.
In recent months, RedSea worked with iyris SecondSky roofs have been installed on 30HA of a major government owned site in Egypt and an MOA has been signed with Magrabi Agriculture to supply genetically-favorable seeds and root stocks to the Egyptian market.
De Oliveira, the new hire, will be cased in Cairo. He has worked more than 30 years in commercial farming and business development.
Ryan Lefers, CEO of RedSea, said: “Our rapid growth in Egypt warrants positioning a key member of the RedSea team to focus exclusively on the East Africa and Egypt region. The ability to leverage such an experienced executive as Bruno, with a large professional network across that region, close to the market, will accelerate the growth of RedSea in territories that have suffered badly from an increasingly hot climate, and where our hot climate AgriClimate technology systems will bring higher profitability to farmers in a truly sustainable way.”
RedSea was founded in 2018 by Mark Tester and Ryan Lefers. It uses salt water and solar energy to grow local produce more sustainably to reduce carbon emission and food and water scarcity. First funding was led by a group of Saudi and UAE investors including the Aramco entrepreneurship arm Wa’ed (Aramco is the oil company owned by the Saudi family), the non-profit foundation Future Investment Initiative Institute, KAUST and Global Ventures, a UAE venture capital group. The funding is one of the first agritech investments for many of the participants.
Aramco, the Saudi oil giant, last year posted a net profit higher than the profits of Apple, Exxon, and Microsoft combined.
RedSea founders Mark Tester and Ryan Lefers
De Oliveira, says “I am excited to be able to give greater focus to a region in which I have been working for man years. In a way, it’s a coming back home for me. I know from years of hands-on experience of farming in this region the challenges that the growers face day to day. I joined RedSea because I recognized the unique competitive advantage of the technologies we bring to growers operating in this region. The potential and market opportunity to work with them to mitigate the impact of climate change is huge and I look forward to this new challenge.”
RedSea has developed and commercialized pioneering sustainable agriculture climate technologies for hot climates. Under the brands iyris, Kairos, and Volcano Plant Genetics.
Egyptian cotton farmer. Photo Credit: Magued Makram/UNIDO Egypt. Location: Kafr ElSheikh, Egypt 2019Some environmental advocates believe offering better conditions for small-hold farmers in Egypt that focus on regenerative farming and healing the soil, may give our planet a better chance for survival than energy-intensive greenhouses. Woody Harrelson thinks so too. An article in The Ecologist explains why hydroponics, divorced from the soil with unnatural mineral and oil industry nutrient inputs could never be organic:
“Given its apparent eco-credentials, there have been strong calls for hydroponics to be accepted under organic standards. But the Soil Association thinks this would take organic in the wrong direction, and is calling for the international organic movement to prohibit hydroponics in organic agriculture.
The world hit over a degree warming this past November
The world hit over a 2 degree warming this past November, twice
Earth briefly hit the 2 degree warming limit not once, but twice in November. Two degrees since pre-industrial times is the feared warming milestone that would cause ‘cascading effects’ of climate change over time. Increased flooding in Pakistan, forest fires in Canada. What’s it going to take for the world to wake up? This past Friday the globe hit 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) above the preindustrial levels of temperature for the first time in recorded history, said Samantha Burgess, the deputy director of Copernicus Climate Change Service. The next day, it broke the threshold again.
Provisional ERA5 global temperature for 17th November from was 1.17°C above 1991 to 2020 – the warmest on record, she said. “Our best estimate is that this was the first day when global temperature was more than 2°C above 1850-1900 (or pre-industrial) levels, at 2.06°C.”
She updates: “2.07°C above preindustrial and provisional data for 18th Nov at 2.06°C above preindustrial. Now two Nov 2023 days where global temperature exceeded 2°C in ERA5.”
That’s the exact temperature level the world has wanted to avoid, experts say: “A 2-degree rise in global temperatures is considered a critical threshold above which dangerous and cascading effects of human-generated climate change will occur,” according to NASA.
Indeed, one or even two days above 2 degrees of warming “does not mean that the Paris Agreement has been breached,” Burgess said in an interview with CNN, “but highlights how we are approaching those internationally agreed limits. We can expect to see increasing frequency of 1.5-degree and 2-degree days over the coming months and years.”
Kos Island, Greece. A sustainable synagogue remodel
Sanctity in circularity? How Jewish history and sustainable practices meet in Greece today. Kos Island, Greece. The Kahal Shalom synagogue gets a sustainable remodel by Israeli-Greek architect Elias Messinas.
The word Ecology combines two Greek words: oikos (οίκος, meaning ‘house’ or ‘dwelling place’) and logos (λόγος, meaning ‘the study of’). It describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. To achieve this, we need to keep materials in cycles of reuse, and reduce the need for new extractions and the production of waste.
Architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart in their revolutionary book ‘Cradle-to-Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things’ (2002) present how to adopt a circular economy model through design and science. Their work and examples of circular practices in architecture and industry, are presented in the 2002 documentary film ‘The Next Industrial Revolution’ by directors Shelley Morhaim and Christopher Bedford.
The construction sector plays an important role in the economy. In Europe, it generates almost 10 % of GDP and provides 20 million jobs. It also requires vast amounts of resources, producing greenhouse gas emissions in material extraction, manufacturing, transportation and construction. It is estimated at 5-12% of total national greenhouse gas emissions. Here I write about the problem with deep sea mining for concrete.
In terms of waste, construction and demolition waste amount to about 35% of total waste generation, and about 50% of all extracted materials. In Europe, construction and demolition waste recycling is about 50%, although some EU countries recycle up to 90%. Circular economy in the EU is a growing sector with around 4 million jobs.
The EU – and the rest of the world – aiming towards 50% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in order to reach the Paris commitment of keeping a global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.
The construction sector requires bold moves by architects and designers to comply with this global goal. Not only towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions of producing new materials, but reducing waste production and illegal disposal of construction waste in nature, as well.
Circular practices – reuse of materials, reuse of construction waste, building materials disassembly, materials passport, urban mining for materials and others – are the way to go (see Rotterdam). Design for product and materials reuse and upcycling. To reach these ambitious goals one needs to start small and grow. Like the interior restoration project for the synagogue Kahal Shalom, on the island of Kos in the Aegean sea, in Greece. A small project aligning with a global ambition.
Inspired by leading architects on circular practices in Europe, such as Superuse studio and Rau Architects, this project explores the common ground between historic research, restoration and sanctity.
Applying Jewish laws in upcycling
According to Halakhah (Laws guiding Jewish life), based on the sanctity hierarchy of the Temple of Jerusalem, sanctity of a synagogue and its liturgical objects, requires upcycling. For example, a simple closet can be turned into an Aron Hakodesh, but not the opposite. Also, a simple desk can be turned into a Bimah. In a magical way, the reuse of these objects, based on a circular economy principle, raises their sanctity. These objects become at the same time more holy and the project more ecological. In other words, sanctity meet ecology on the Greek island of Kos.
The island of Kos is located in the Dodecanese complex in the eastern Aegean, near the coast of Turkey, near the island of Rhodes. It is known as the island of Hippocrates, the ‘father’ of medicine, who was born in Kos in 460 BCE. The island was under Italian rule from 1912 until 1943 and under German occupation between 1943 and 1945. In 1948, Kos and the Dodecanese, were incorporated to the Greek State.
The Nazis almost wiped out the Jewish population of Kos, which were about 150 people at the time. The synagogue was abandoned for a long period of time until 1984, when the municipality decided to buy it and use it as a cultural center. As the number of Israeli tourists increased, the municipality decided to turn the building into a synagogue again and restore it. The only problem was that there were no original documents on what the original house of worship looked like. Image by Elias Messinas.
In early 2022, with the increase of Israeli tourism on the island, the Municipality of Kos saw the need for a functioning synagogue to serve the growing demand for services and ceremonies. Until then, the alternative would be the nearby synagogue Kahal Shalom in Rhodes.
The synagogue Kahal Shalom in Kos, was designed in 1935 by Italian architects Armando Bernabiti and Rodolfo Petracco, and constructed by the Italian firm “De Martis-Sardelli”, in the Italian Colonial style. Kahal Shalom synagogue was erected after the previous synagogue of 1747 was destroyed in the earthquake of April 1933, which destroyed most of the island.
The Nazis made the Jews abandon their holy site
The synagogue functioned until the Nazis arrested, deported and annihilated the Jewish community in July 1944. After Liberation the synagogue was abandoned. In 1984 it was endangered with demolition. The Municipality, took a bold step and purchased the synagogue to preserve it as a cultural and exhibition hall. In 2022, in collaboration with the Central Board of Jewish Communities, a decision was made to restore the interior of the synagogue to serve, in a mixed-use, as a synagogue and a cultural center. Thus, serving tourists during the tourist and holiday season, and the local community during the rest of the year.
I am an architect and expert in the architecture, history, and restoration of Greek synagogues who undertook the restoration design and have been researching and documenting Greek synagogues for over 30 years. Since 2016, with my team of local expert architects, we have successfully restored the Monastirioton central synagogue and Yad LeZikaron synagogue in Thessaloniki (with KARD Architects D. Raidis and A. Kouloukouris), the Yavanim synagogue in Trikala (with Petros Koufopoulos), and are advancing the construction of a protective roof over the mosaic of an ancient Romaniote synagogue on the island of Aegina, dating from the 4th century CE (with engineer Argyris Chatzidis).
I also consult the Ministry of Culture in Greece, towards the enrichment of the official Archaeological Registry with more than 300 new entries of Jewish monuments and sites throughout Greece.
The restoration of the synagogue was based on research on Italian synagogues – including the Patras synagogue (1917) furnishings on display at the Jewish Museum of Greece in Athens, and the synagogue Conegliano Veneto (1701) at the Museum of Italian Jewish Art in Jerusalem. The synagogue design was also based on circular practices, primarily, through the reuse of existing furniture as a way to raise their sanctity, and reduce waste in the process. In addition, the project was both more economical and faster to implement.
Views of wooden desk and BIMAH: Evangelia Tsiaousi
The design process in a nut shell: once the commission proceeded, the initial attempt of the architect was to order furniture from one of the synagogue furniture suppliers in Israel. As the furniture was produced in Ukraine, the Russian invasion made delivery schedules unpredictable. Further, the total cost was beyond the set budget. The architect then tried to find existing historic furniture to reuse from demolished synagogues in Greece, Turkey, Italy and the US. Once this option was exhausted unsuccessfully, the architect suggested using existing furniture: an office closet for the Aron Hakodesh and an old wooden office desk for the Bimah.
The furniture, originally in use and in storage at the offices of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, was recruited for the task. For the remodeling of existing furniture, the architect also consulted with the Chief Rabbi of Thessaloniki Aaron Israel, who confirmed the remodeling as Halahically acceptable as long as the sanctity of the furniture was upward: from regular furniture to synagogue sacred furniture, and not the opposite.
Based on detailed remodeling drawings, the carpenter Manos-Tsiaousi Co. based in Serres – NE of Thessaloniki, was chosen for the implementation. A local contractor undertook some light work to enhance the interior restoration. The work was completed in less than four months, and nearly half the cost of ordering new furniture. The synagogue was ready on time for the summer tourist season for the island, and was officially re-dedicated in July 2023.
Today, this small synagogue of 124 sq. m. sanctifies the circular practice of reusing existing furniture in the most profound way. It applies the principles of sustainability in a religious building, such as a synagogue, and as a result not only sanctifies the space and furnishings, but it also protects ecology and aligns human activity to the limitations of the planet, as well.
The synagogue Kahal Shalom is open for visits and services. NGO ‘Ippokratis’, whose offices are located in the former rabbi residence adjacent to the synagogue, can be contacted regarding upkeep and visit to the synagogue. The Greek book “Kahal Shalom: The synagogue of Kos” by Messinas was published on the occasion of the completion of the project, to fully present the history of the synagogue and the process of restoration. An English translation of the book is in preparation.
Elias Messinas is a Yale-educated architect, urban planner and author, creator of ECOWEEK and Senior Lecturer at the Design Faculty of HIT, where he teaches sustainable design and coordinates the new SINCERE EU Horizon program, which aims to provide the tools for optimizing the carbon footprint and energy performance of cultural heritage buildings, by utilizing innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective restoration materials and practices, energy harvesting technologies, ICT tools and socially innovative approaches. . www.ecoama.com and www.ecoweek.org
Saudi Aramco discovered natural gas in the Eastern Province
Saudi Aramco discovered natural gas in the Eastern Province
Oil rich Saudi Arabia has announced discovering the lesser evil of fossil fuels, two natural gas fields in what they call the Empty Quarter, by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s gas and oil business, the wealthiest company in the world owned by the Saudi royal family. Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, announced the discovery yesterday.
The Al-Hiran natural gas field was discovered after natural gas flowed at a rate of 30 million standard cubic feet per day (mscf/d) from the Hanifa reservoir in the Al-Hiran-1 well, along with 1,600 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate. Natural gas also flowed at a rate of 3.1 million mscf/d from the Arab-C reservoir in the same field.
Meanwhile, natural gas flowed from the Al Mahakek-2 well at 0.85 mscf/d, resulting in the discovery of the Al Mahakek natural gas field in the Empty Quarter.
Natural gas was also discovered in five reservoirs in previously discovered fields, including the Al-Jalah reservoir in a field in the Empty Quarter, where natural gas flowed at 46 mscf/d, and an additional natural gas reservoir in the Shadoon field west of Markaz Haradh. Another exploration was made in the Unayzah-A reservoir as natural gas flowed at a rate of 15.5 mscf/d, accompanied by about 460 bpd of condensate.
In the Eastern Province, natural gas was discovered in the Unayzah B/C reservoir in the Mazalej field southwest of Dhahran, where gas flowed at 14 mscf/d, with about 4,150 bpd of condensate. Al-Sara reservoir also saw a natural gas discovery in Al-Wudhaihi field and Al-Qusaiba reservoir in Awtad field southwest of Al Hofuf, where natural gas flowed from Al-Sara reservoir at a rate of 11.7 mscf/d and from the Al-Qusaiba reservoir at a rate of 5.1 mscf/d, accompanied by about 57 bpd of condensate.
Three fish from this Tripole market stall were analyzed to determine the ammonium content inside them. The results revealed a very high concentration of ammonium.
Three fish from this Tripoli market stall were analyzed to determine the ammonium content inside them. The results revealed a very high concentration of ammonium.
While Lebanon is going through an historic financial crisis, fishermen are trying to survive by fishing with dynamite. A special Green Prophet report on a social and environmental disaster:
Sitting in the courtyard of his home in a port district of Tripoli, Sayed*, a fisherman in his sixties, enjoys a coffee prepared by his wife. The crutches that have helped him since a violent car accident are lying on the ground. In his damaged mouth, where only two teeth remain, is a cigarette, which he soon lights. With it, he demonstrates the effect of fire on ammonium nitrate. From a black bag, he extracts a handful of green powder which he placed on a plate. His family witnesses the sinister scene.
“This is what I make my dynamite with,” he says with a serious face. The old man pours the nitrate into a piece of plastic which he rolls up mechanically. His wife brings him some thread to tighten it. All he needs now is the detonator to finish the homemade preparation. Sayed is a former dynamite fisherman, an illegal practice. Even if he has not forgotten anything about its manufacturing, he claims he has withdrawn from the market.
In the early hours of the morning at the port of Al-Mina, the fish markets fill up with buyers and sellers. No one knows which fish have been caught in the legal or illegal way.
Sayed is a former dynamite fisherman. In this small plastic bag, he has kept some ammonium nitrate powder, the key ingredient in the fabrication of his homemade explosive.
Land of the cedar but also of the sea, Lebanon hosts 44 ports and a mostly artisanal fishing industry. Dynamite fishing has evolved throughout the tumults of history. During the civil war (1974 to 1990), sticks of dynamite were common currency. Today, it’s in Palestinian camps, such as in Nhar-al-Bared, 12 miles north of Tripoli, that you can find ready-to-use sticks. Other fishermen, like Sayed, prefer to make their own.
Also the recipes differ, they all use ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer sold in any agricultural store and the cause of the explosion at the port of Beirut in August 2020. “Homemade” dynamite also requires a detonator, banned from public sale but easily available on the black market. For the rest, everyone has their own tips. Some add sugar, others charcoal. With the crises of recent years, the techniques have been further refined.
Ammonium nitrate powder is used by dynamite fishermen on the Lebanese coast, and a spark is enough to set it on fire.
Artificial reefs made from car wrecks are created to make nurseries for fish. Others, for saving fuel, swim to sea pushing a floating tire loaded with dynamite and bombard the fishes. A 50 kg bag exploding at a depth of 60 meters has a radius of 50 meters and can harvest up to four tonnes of fish. After the explosion, the fishermen just need to wait until the dead fishes go back up to the surface.
“Fish are killed by the shock wave which causes hemorrhagic lesions of the gills,” analyzes Rami Khodr, technical director at the RBML Food Labs laboratory in Beirut. Particularly effective, dynamite fishing is well established in the poor regions of North Lebanon.
Surviving poverty
A multitude of fishing boats go out to sea in the waters near Tripoli, but it’s very difficult to get close to the illegal fishing boats, which flee as soon as they are approached by an unknown vessel.
Sitting under a sheet metal shelter with fishing companions, Amir*, 34, is waiting. Due to unstable weather, he was unable to go out to sea. The man lives in Aabdeh, in the Akkar region. The Syrian border is only 10 miles away. The surroundings are poor and abandoned, the smell of fish and diesel escapes from this small fishing port. “The fish are getting smaller and smaller and there are fewer and fewer of them, he says sadly. We sometimes have to go further to find it, but it costs a lot of diesel.”
So, for him, it is not surprising that some are turning to illegal fishing.
A two-hour drive north of Beirut, Tripoli is no longer the flourishing Phoenician city of the old days. The town was already poor before the economic crisis, but since 2019, Tripolitans have joined Syrian and Palestinian refugees in poverty. As day breaks over this desperate city, the port is bustling with activity. The fishing boats have returned from their night of hunting. On the market stalls, dozens of marine species lie in trays of ice. It’s hard to guess which ones were captured with the explosives. “Dynamite? None of that here!”, claims one of the sellers, clearly shocked by the question.
Lebanon’s shipwreck
An abandoned boat in the port of Aabdeh, in northern Lebanon, one of the poorest regions in the country.
If the pandemic followed by the explosion at the port of Beirut had already weakened the country, the economic crisis that occurred in 2019 and is still ongoing has destroyed much of the hope of the Lebanese population. The country is experiencing inflation which accelerated at the start of the year to reach 270% year-on-year in April, 2023. This crisis has plunged more than 80% of the Lebanese population into precarious living conditions, with half of them living in extreme poverty. To try to get by, people work night and day.
Thus, fishermen no longer belong only to the sea. They are also taxi drivers, café owners, bus drivers. Many had to sell their boats. “It is sad because fishing is a family tradition, a heritage,” adds Amir. Bassem is another fisherman from the port of Aabdeh. Sitting on a plastic chair in the hot sun, he relates his father’s accident in which he lost seven fingers while handling dynamite: “He was at sea. It was raining and windy. He lit a cigarette and the dynamite exploded. Since then he stopped using it.”
According to the Safadi Foundation, a structure that develops sustainable projects in Lebanon, 5% of fishermen use dynamite fishing. “In Tripoli, this technique was in decline for several years before increasing again in 2019, points out Samer Fatfat, consultant at the Safadi foundation. On the beaches of Akkar, it has remained constant.”
A failing state
The Safadi Foundation in Tripoli, a structure that develops sustainable projects in Lebanon. They study blast fishing, fish bombing, dynamite fishing or grenade fishing, a destructive fishing practice using explosives to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection.
On 25 miles of coastline between Tripoli and Syria, the army was quickly overwhelmed. In Tripoli’s Al Mina port alone, more than 1,800 fishermen are registered. These wooden motorboats, less than seven meters long, enter and leave the port by means of a simple visual check by the army from the dyke. While the authorities clearly lack resources, not even having enough fuel to arrest illegal fishermen, they may also be in cahoots with the outlaws. In the port of Al Mina, illegal fishermen are known to everyone but the omerta, a southern Italian code of silence, hangs over anyone who dares to denounce them.
As for the president of the fishing union, crisscrossing the Corniche and the fish souks aboard his gleaming black Mercedes, he brushes the question aside: “It’s not our mission to arrest the fishermen and if they are arrested it is only for a few days in prison.”
Corruption, however, is costly to illegal fishermen. According to one of them, 40% of the revenue is intended for corruption and 60% is shared between him and his crew. However, a law governing the rules of fishing in Lebanon exists since 1929. Dynamite is strictly forbidden. But like a country that does not have a president since a year, the state is falling apart and the laws are not applied.
Some fishermen even bomb the Palm Islands Nature Reserve, in front of Tripoli, where all human activity is theoretically prohibited. Explosions not only damage the seabed but also contribute to the reduction of fish stocks without distinction between small and large fish. A toxicological analysis carried out by the RBML Food Labs laboratory, which tested three samples of fish from a market in Tripoli, demonstrated a significant quantity of ammonium inside the fish. But due to the massive use of this fertilizer in agriculture, it is difficult to know whether this pollution comes from dynamites or land runoff.
Every day, hundreds of bombs are dropped in Lebanese waters by fishermen, descendants of Phoenicians, renowned for their navigation skills. In these ravaged lands, the sea is a constant witness to tragedies. Each time a conflict has caused the closure of maritime space, fishermen have found a sea rich in fish. But the natural cycle is constantly overtaken by the death spiral. The president of the Al Mina union even dares a comparison: “It’s like Israel and Palestine, the sea is the enemy against whom the fishermen throw bombs to survive.”
Berrechid aquifer Morocco, FAO. To improve water governance, Sweden, the FAO and the Moroccan government install water meters to stop water theft by Moroccan farmers.
Over the past two decades, the plain has seen a disorderly intensification of irrigation. Between 2007 and 2017, carrot production, for instance, increased by about 500 percent. Despite the immediate economic gains, this process has been one of the causes of the over-exploitation of the Berrechid aquifer, whose more than 95 percent of pumped water goes to agriculture. The UN and partnering bodies determined in a recent study that by stopping illegal irrigation from farmers, they can slow the destruction of a life-giving aquifer. The answer: water meters.
Today, the Berrechid aquifer is one of the most depleted in Morocco. More water has been taken from the aquifer than its natural capacity to recharge. The reserve has recorded an annual deficit of 32 million cubic metres (the equivalent of 12 800 Olympic-size swimming pools) due to overuse and increasingly erratic rainfall patterns. The aquifer also suffers from increasing levels of pollution from agricultural activities. Drip irrigation, a modern method of farming developed by Israel, has increased in Morocco, making farming less of a back breaking job.
Drip irrigation, a marvel of agricultural technology, has its roots in the arid landscapes of Israel and the ancient ingenuity of desert farming. Simcha Blass, an Israeli engineer, drew inspiration from the ancient qanat system, a remarkable underground aqueduct system used by ancient civilizations, and introduced the concept of drip irrigation in the 1960s, with the pioneering support of companies like Netafim.
Rural communities and farmers in Berrechid rely on this essential aquifer to live and to grow the crops on which their household incomes and food security rely.
Though the country had established legal and institutional systems to regulate groundwater use, for several years, most wells in the area were neither declared nor monitored. Water charges were unpaid and illegal drilling accelerated the aquifer’s depletion.
“Life becomes more difficult with water shortages,” says Said Fikri, a farmer in Berrechid. “We need sustainable agriculture that does not deplete water, so our children can continue our work.”
Mounting pressure
The case in Berrechid sheds light on some of the major concerns about water management in Morocco at large. The country faces “structural water stress” due to population growth combined with climate change and growing urban and industrial demand for water.
Like in Morocco, water is incredibly precious in all of the Near East and North Africa. Freshwater availability in the region is around one-tenth of the global average, having decreased by 78 percent between 1962 and 2018, compared with a global reduction of 59 percent over the same period.
While a few decades ago, wells would pump water from 50 metres beneath the surface, now it is nearly three times deeper, compounding the difficulties in accessing water resources.
A watershed deal in a watershed plain
In 2011, the Hydraulic Basin Agency of Bouregreg and Chaouia (ABH-BC) – a governmental division overseeing the use of water in the Bouregreg and Chaouia areas, which includes the Berrechid aquifer – began negotiating a water governance arrangement to stem the groundwater deficit in Berrechid and ensure the sustainable management of these resources.
In November 2021, this process, facilitated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), resulted in the signing of two contracts between ABH-BC and two associations of water users, as a first step towards a broader contract that will go beyond agriculture and engage all concerned actors in the Berrechid watershed.
The contracts grant authorization and regulate the annual use of groundwater per hectare. Farmers are required to install water metres, pay fees and communicate the volumes consumed on a quarterly basis.
Funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, FAO’s Water efficiency, productivity and sustainability in the NENA regions project supported the Moroccan government by providing scientific evidence on water availability and productivity and facilitating dialogue. FAO helped bring the different parties together to sensitize them about the gravity of the aquifer depletion, stress the importance of having a long-term agreement and facilitate their engagement.
The success of the agreement between the government and two private associations, represents a milestone for Morocco and the region at large.
“The governance process that took place over the past decade was a remarkable example of participatory process that culminated in a responsible way of looking at the aquifer, one that is conscious of future generations and reflects how different public and private actors can collaborate when they have the right motivation and conditions for it,” highlights Abdelhak Laiti, Assistant FAO Representative in Morocco.
Common ground
Throughout the years, the decreasing availability of the resource and increasing tensions and competition over groundwater have gradually given way to a spirit of cooperation between farmers and State regulators. The collection and dissemination of data on groundwater overexploitation has demonstrated that there is no time for disagreement.
This process also helped build understanding and trust between the government and the farmers. While previously farmers resisted signing an aquifer contract, today they are the ones who champion it.
To complement the governance process, FAO ran farmer field schools to support farmers in undertaking more sustainable management of natural resources.
“The project provided us with valuable information on irrigation issues and agricultural practices, allowing us to reduce quantities of water used, and therefore reduce production costs and improve our income,” says the owner of a carrot field in Jakma commune, Berrechid.
“Thanks to this, we have saved 50 percent of water compared to gravity irrigation,” exclaims Said.
Strengthening sustainable and inclusive water governance is a living process. Continued dialogue and transparency, as well as investment in accurate data, will be key to preventing any future conflicts that could arise due to lack of information or inequalities in access to water resources.
Bashar Assad and Asma Assad in China last month via SCMP
Asma Al-Assad, the Syrian president’s wife, is accused of playing a major role in the crimes of her husband and his regime during Syria’s 12-year war; she’s played no small role in the country’s $57B Captagon drug trade. Image via AFP
Asma al-Assad, the wife of Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad grew up in London attending a private school. She went to Queen’s College and studied with people like Ringo Starr’s daughter. Asma was described by a source we spoke with as pretty normal. So how does a girl from London with a career in investment banking at JP Morgan go to running a drug ring?
After years of the world forgetting how Asma and her husband Bashar killed 230,000 Syrians, and refugee’ed almost 7 million people, the two are are back in the game, making media appearances and attending conferences in China and the UAE.
Back in 2011, Asma was dressed to kill in a Vogue article debacle entitled “A Rose in the Desert” which served as a litmus test for cynicism when considered against the backdrop of mass-murder, torture and imprisonment of tens of thousands of Syrians that had occurred since the story was first published.
Some 6.7 million Syrian refugees have since moved to Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan and probably will never go back. Canada accepted 40,000 of them. While Vogue took down the article after the Arab Spring riots took over, we found a copy of it. Vogue article – get the PDF
The Vogue article that disappeared online
In March, 2011, the 3,200-word story on Asma al-Assad praised the “wildly democratic” family-centric couple who vacation in Europe, nurture Christianity, (ignore their country’s “missing” Jews) and leave their security guards at home when cruising around Damascus with Brad and Angelina. The article’s author Joan Buck declared that “Syria is known as the safest country in the Middle East” and described the couple’s aim was to give Syria a “brand essence.”
With catastrophic mistiming, the story was published online right before Syria’s Arab Spring erupted. It was later revealed to be the result of a coordinated public relations effort managed by Brown Lloyd James, the same firm that handled media spin for Libya’s Qaddafi regime.
Asma said in the Vogue article about her business acumen:
“What I’ve been able to take away from banking was the transferable skills—the analytical thinking, understanding the business side of running a company—to run an NGO or to try and oversee a project.”
She runs her office like a business, chairs meeting after meeting, starts work many days at six, never breaks for lunch, and runs home to her children at four.
She also made a recent appearance in China. This FT article exposes Syria’s $57B Captagon drug ring, naming Asma as playing a major role in its operation. A USA Today article suggests Captagon was found on Hamas-linked Palestinian terrorists that attacked Israel on October 7. Palestinian-Hamas terrorists crossed over and raped women, killed babies in front of their children, and blew up families hiding in their bomb shelters. Were they high on Captagon while doing it?
Captagon is called many names, writes USA Today: The jihadi drug, Captain Courage, the Poor Man’s Cocaine. But were Hamas terrorists high on the synthetic stimulant Captagon when they attacked Israel on Oct. 7, brutally killing more than 1,200 people and kidnapping at least 240 more? The Israeli government won’t say but they did find bags of pills on the bodies of terrorists.
Washington’s regional allies, particularly Jordan, have lobbied Washington to take a more active role in stopping the drug’s proliferation. The 2022 defence spending bill included the Captagon Act, requiring the US government to devise a strategy to disrupt and dismantle Syria’s narcotics networks.
“Syria has become a global leader in the production of highly addictive Captagon, much of which is trafficked through Lebanon,” said Andrea Gacki, the senior Treasury official handling sanctions.
“With our allies, we will hold accountable those who support Bashar al-Assad’s regime with illicit drug revenue and other financial means that enable the regime’s continued repression of the Syrian people,” she added.
Prof. Eyal Zisser of Tel Aviv University, who specializes in the contemporary history of Syria and Lebanon says that after the economy of the Syrian regime collapsed, the entire country became a Captagon production laboratory. He told Globes: “The product is transported by drones and UAVs across borders. Saudi Arabia is flooded with it, Jordan is flooded with it.”
Asma’s presence underscored something little understood outside Syria: how a woman initially sidelined as an obstinate young newly-wed with lofty western ideals has since risen to become one of the most powerful people in the country, at the apex of the country’s ruthless ruling family.
In public, she styles herself as the Mother of the Nation, radiating maternal care as she tends to Syria’s military families, cancer-stricken children and survivors of the February 6 earthquake. She sports delicate ribbons in her hair, her petite frame draped in dresses sewn by the widows of men martyred in her husband’s war.
But privately, Asma has manoeuvred herself into a position of remarkable power, according to interviews with 18 people familiar with the regime’s operations, including heads of business, aid workers and former government officials. She now controls some of the key levers in Syria’s battered economy, both as policymaker and profiteer, helping consolidate the family’s grip over a country in bloodied ruin.
Experts say the couple is using new illicit revenue streams for the regime to help keep it afloat: weapons, oil smuggling, alcohol (which is prohibited by Islam) and sales of the illegal amphetamine Captagon.
When I visited Syria in 1999 the people were living very poorly, kids were playing in piles of rubble and locals were plundering archeological sites. I felt that I had entered a time machine going back to the 50s. Most people got around by mini-bus and I felt safe not because there was no crime but because Basher’s father’s face was plastered everywhere. The people were living in fear of Basher’s father and in fear of each other. If you did not express your featly to the regime you could disappear. The regime hated Jews so much that even saying the word Israel was punishable. Locals said to never say the word Israel. This made me want to visit Israel even more.
Israel: codeword Disneyland
The hotels did keep guidebooks on Israel, however, covered over with the code name Disneyland. Most tourists in Syria then were headed for Jordan, Israel, then Sinai. I met a number of loving, decent Syrians when I was there. They all were afraid to mention Bashar’s father name. They were prisoners to the regime and begged that I would send them art books or any notes from the outside world as no-one in Syria was allowed to use the internet then.
We had spies following us around when we were there. We did feel very safe in Syria and slept overnight by ourselves in a Crusader Castle. We were the only guests.
People in Syria are less afraid today and social media has opened up space for critique: According to the Middle East Institute, there is a notable trend that has emerged among Alawites in Syria’s regime-held areas, including those from powerful families. They are no longer allowing themselves to be silenced.
“Writers, journalists, and rank-and-file Alawites have taken to social media platforms to express their deep frustration with the regime’s economic policies and the centralized nature of the dictatorship under President Bashar al-Assad, as well as his wife Asma al-Assad’s outsized influence and corruption linked to her secretive “economic council.””
Some activists in Syria claim the Assads have gone so far as to start forest fires.
BBC offers a must-see investigative piece on Captagon in Syria and Lebanon. Warning: the video is age-restricted.
“Living conditions are hard and the people are manipulated,” says the Jordan army who attempts to hunt down infiltrators to their border carrying Captagon. He told BBC reporters that al-Assad’s regime uses children to smuggle drugs across the border.
“In April we reported the death of a child from the Ramthan tribe. Instead of carrying his school bag he was carrying a backpack of drugs. He met his death on the Syrian-Jordanian border.”
A BBC screenshot on Captagon
The average salary for a Syrian is $15 US a month. If they smuggle Captagon they can earn $15,000 – enough for a house and to get married.
In Jordan in 2022, a border officer was killed by drug traffickers from Syria and King Abdullah of Jordan said that border police could shoot and kill anyone that attempts to cross the border. Days later 27 Syrians were shot and killed.
Syrians interviewed said that most smuggling is done by civilians living in regime-controlled areas in Syria and they have connections to the regime. The regime also enlists women and children. The drugs are then exported to Gulf States, Turkey, Europe and Africa.
Hezbollah controls the Bekaa valley: BBC
The BBC documentary also links Captagon production and smuggling to the Hezbollah. They report that the Lebanese government has lost control of the Bekaa Valley where the production and smuggling of Captagon takes place. This is the area firing rockets into Israel currently.
Captagon: Inside Syria’s drug trafficking empire
Update May, 2024 – Asma al-Assad’s cancer diagnosis:
The traditional olive harvest in southern Lebanon is a crucial economic activity to a battered economy (Lebanon can barely keep the lights on), and it faces severe disruption now because of the Islamic jihad group, the Hezbollah. The Israeli army is firing back in response to the Hezbollah rocket attacks meant as a provocation, and olive farmer Adel Khoury from Rachaya al Foukhar, in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley is afraid for his life, he tells The Media Line.
He is afraid that Israeli surveillance might consider their harvesting activities as part of the Hezbollah terror group, and kill him in the crossfire.
Olive harvesting
Christians from Lebanon who became refugees in Israel told me that Christians in Lebanon are not able to speak out against the Hezbollah. Sharbel Salameh was from the south Lebanese village of Klayaa, and joined about 2,500 Lebanese Christian refugees who fled to Israel while trying to fight against the Hezbollah. The story is here. I also covered this story for the Catholic News Service.
Rachaya Al Foukhar is a Lebanese village in the district of Hasbaya in the Nabatiye Governorate in southern Lebanon. It is located on the western slopes of Mount Hermon.
Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim political party and militant group based in Lebanon, where its extensive security apparatus, political organization, and social services network fostered its reputation as “a state within a state.” Founded in the chaos of the fifteen-year Lebanese Civil War, the Iran-backed group is driven by its opposition to Israel and its resistance to Western influence in the Middle East. Western means Europe and America.
Lebanese Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan reported that around 12,000 hectares of olive orchards have been affected by the Hezbollah-Israel strikes. Riad Harb, head of the olive oil producers syndicate in southern Lebanon, said that about 60% of farmers have been unable to harvest their crops, urging for a truce under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon’s supervision to allow for safe harvesting before winter.
Spanning over 1,000 sq.ft., The North Star has been 3D printed by NYXO Visionary Design
The North Star has been 3D printed by NYXO
In5, part of TECOM Group, presents the region’s largest 3D printed exhibition stand, The North Star at Dubai Design Week, which opened doors at Dubai Design District on Nov. 7 and which closed on Nov 12.
Nyxo’s 3D printed pavilion
NYXO designed and built The North Star from recycled polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) to showcase how recycling can be incorporated into real-world architecture.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, stands in front of the the first world functional 3D printed offices during the official opening in Dubai May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah
Spanning over 1,000 square feet The North Star represents pressing environmental challenges say its designers. An infinite loop generating four spaces and organising surfaces make up the pavilion, with the surfaces joining and folding together to create pockets that are continuously connected to signify in5’s legacy as start-up incubator.
The Tecom portfolio consists of 10 business districts catering to six vital knowledge-based economic sectors, including design, education, manufacturing, media, science, and technology. It provides a varied and tailor-made leasing portfolio – which includes offices, co-working spaces, warehouses, and land – to over 10,800 customers and more than 105,000 professionals.
Italian Designers Mirko and Michele Daneluzzo are also the founders of NYXO Visionary Design ( @nyxo_studio ), an architecture and product design studio based in Dubai. Via Nyxo Instagram.
The design house Nyxo has some other enchanting products, like Desert, a table 3D-printed to resemble the Emirati desert: “Desert is a table whose design is inspired by the fossil dunes of the Emirati desert. Printed with Foaming PLA, a lightweight, low-density material Desert is a sculptural coffee table whose organic curves are inspired by nature, in particular by the spontaneous fossil formations. Just as the layering of the sand over time created the fossils, so the layering of the 3d printing creates this table.”
Desert, a 3D printed table reminiscent of fossils in the Emirati desert
“The material has a porosity that graciously simulates the roughness of desert sand,” say the Italian designers at Nyxo, based in Dubai.
We also love Thigmo, a 3D designed porcelain cup set, “characterized by a relief surface that is inspired by the generative processes that we find in nature.”
Thigmo, 3D printed ceramic cup mold
Thigmo, 3D printed ceramic cup form
“The intricate veining surface is the result of a digital simulation of the behavior of growth of mycelium, the interweaving of filaments which constitutes the vegetative apparatus of fungi. The survey has a unique appearance and offers a tactile experience very stimulating, as well as allowing you to manipulate the cup in serenity even in the presence of a good hot coffee.”
A pasture system in Andorra, hay milk in Austria, areas growing chestnuts, white ginger and waxberries in China, flood-spreading gardens and a walnut cultivating region in Iran and an all-female fishery in the Republic of Korea –– these are all among the latest agricultural systems to be recognized by a UN group aiming to preserve and encourage traditional farming and fishing systems around the world. It’s like UNESCO but for food. The designation may help protect and fund such traditional cultures, but the UN groups have very little control in protecting systems, ecosystems and culture around the world.
We understood this when UNESCO heritage sites like Jonah’s tomb (from Jonah and the Whale in the Bible) were blown up in 2104 by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Terrorists went from town to town wiping out Jewish, Christian and other non-Sunni Muslim religious and cultural sites in 2014 and 2015, videotaping their exploits the way in a similar fashion to the Palestinians who joined the Hamas raid on October 7, did to Israelis and foreigners in kibbutzes and at the Supernova dance party. These people will never return and the heritage sites lost forever in the name of extremism.
But the UN says that by recognizing and supporting agricultural systems, this know-how can be passed down from generation to generation, alleviating poverty and giving people a better chance of avoiding a life in violence. The Slow Food movement is doing something in Europe. Read about the Slow Cheese Winners of the World.
Like UNESCO heritage sites, the UN is recognizing sites of agricultural significance. They are called Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) – and are part of a new database created by the UN to recognize and support culturally-rich agricultural practices around the world.
The systems, formally designated during a meeting of the GIAHS Scientific Advisory Group taking place in Rome from November 7 to 10 included the first ones to be approved from Andorra and Austria. Meanwhile, additional sites in China, Iran and the Republic of Korea highlight the key role played by Asia’s traditional agricultural practices in food security and combating climate change and biodiversity loss.
Under the flagship programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the selection criteria stipulate that sites must be of global importance, have value as a public good, supporting food and livelihood security, agro-biodiversity, sustainable knowledge systems and practices, social values and culture as well as outstanding landscapes.
“Now over 20 years strong, GIAHS has proven to be a great model for showcasing longstanding practices to render agrifood systems more resilient to climate change,” said Maria Helena Semedo from the FAO.
With the newest addition to the global agricultural heritage systems list, FAO’s worldwide agricultural heritage network now consists of 86 systems in 26 countries around the globe.
The subalpine and supraforestal pastures of Andorra reflect the longstanding agropastoral system developed in this tiny landlocked country which lies almost 2,000 metres above sea level on average in the Pyrenees mountains. The local population has combined spontaneous pastures and cultivated feeding. This supports the production of livestock, bovines, ovines, horses, on free-range and extensive grazing, which can be traded for other goods and food with the neighbouring regions.
It is based on common lands and shared pastures, with the animals’ owners paying a shepherd or taking turns to protect herds from predators, freeing the rest of the farmers for other tasks.
The production of hay milk, from cattle fed on fresh grass and hay rather than fermented fodder, is as old as the keeping of dairy animals in Europe. Using hay as a nutrient-rich winter feed helps get ruminants through the vegetation-less cold season, thus ensuring the livelihood of farming families.
Hay milk used to make up most of Austria’s milk production but now it accounts for only 15 percent. Austria’s 6,500 hay milk farmers and 60 major processors have come together in the ARGE Heumilch Österreich community. It aims to preserve hay farming and communicate the benefits of this sustainable method so that a fair milk producer price can be obtained in the marketplace.
Chestnut, White Ginger and Waxberry heartlands in China
Kuancheng Traditional Chestnut Eco-Planting System in Hebei Province, China
The Kuancheng Traditional Chestnut Eco-Planting System in northern China’s Hebei Province is located in one of the first and most important areas in China to cultivate chestnuts, dating back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 CE). A traditional cultivation system with chestnuts as the core together with other crops, medicinal materials, and poultry industries was gradually established.
It forms an important part of the global chestnut variety resource bank and it is rich in cultural content, respecting nature and based on a form of social organisation that promotes agricultural production.
The Tongling White Ginger Plantation System forms an important part of Southern China’s ginger planting area. There are 17 varieties of ginger in the Tongling White Ginger Plantation System, and white ginger is the main variety. Semi-late rice is the main crop for rice cultivation in Tongling, with fewer early-season and late rice varieties. There are 31 main varieties of rice.
Tongling has developed key techniques for ginger plantation including ginger pavilions for seed-preserving and germination-accelerating. There are many processing recipes dating back over nearly 1,000 years such as Salt-pickled Ginger, Sauced Ginger, Sweet-and-Sour Ginger, and Sugared Ginger.
The Xianju Ancient Chinese Waxberry Composite System in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province is in an area where the cultivation of these fruit trees dates back more than 1,600 years, with many villagers tending them in combination with tea, chickens and bees. There are 100,000 farmers in the GIAHS site, of whom 26,000 are engaged in waxberry cultivation, composite planting and breeding, and other related industries.
The site has accumulated a large number of ancient waxberry genetic resources with diverse types and rich varieties. In May 2015, China’s first county-level biodiversity conservation action plan was released by the local government of Xianju County.
Flood-spreading gardens and walnut cultivation in Iran
Gardens of Qazvin Bāghestān. The traditional Gardens of Qazvin, called locally “Bāghestān-e Sonnatī” or simply “Bāghestān” are a flood-spreading system that dates back to thousands of years ago, when the city of Qazvin developed. Copyright: Mehdi Motamed
The traditional Gardens of Qazvin, northwest of Iran’s capital Tehran, are a flood-spreading system that dates back thousands of years. Situated in the foothills of the Alborz ranges, the creation of the gardens surrounding the city has protected its inhabitants from floods adapting to and taking advantage of the watershed to produce nuts and local delicacies.
By capturing, redirecting and sharing floodwaters, local communities have been able to cultivate and grow fruits all around Qazvin. Today, the system provides food and employment opportunities for people but also cools the temperature of the city and serves to replenish groundwater tables.
Traditional Walnut Agricultural System in Tuyserkan, Hamedan Province, Islamic Republic of Iran
The Traditional Walnut Agricultural System in Tuyserkan, Iran is known not just for its walnut orchards but also for its delicacies as well as its landscapes and historical monuments. Based on family-farming, the cultivation of walnuts supports the livelihoods of a major part of the households in the area.
This cultivation is mainly developed in valleys and is irrigated using water canals designed at different levels and fed mainly by rivers and springs as well as Qanats. Among the local practices is irrigating walnut trees in the cold and frost season, which farmers believe helps to eliminate pests and diseases.
Unique all-female se women fisheries in the Republic of Korea
All female fisheries Korea
The Jeju haenyeo fishing practice is a traditional subsistence fishing system predominantly carried out by women. The Haenyeo” (“sea women” in Korean) dive underwater without the aid of breathing apparatus and collect seafood such as disk abalone, horned turban, and sea mustard. They have long been engaged in a half-farming and half-fishery lifestyle.
This system is believed to be the sole fishery globally that is managed solely by women. Its primary purpose is to serve as a source of household sustenance rather than engaging in commercial fishing.The diving skills and traditional wisdom of Jeju haenyeo represent a living social system that has been listed as an intangible world heritage by UNESCO.
The Grazie Miles was sunk - attacked by some angry orcas
The Grazie Mama was sunk off the coast of Morocco – attacked by some angry orcas
They say that loose lips sink ships, and for the fourth time in two years, it’s not just lips but orca whales sinking ships. A pod of orcas attacked a sailing boat off the coast of Morocco on Oct. 31 and didn’t stop for 45 minutes until the boat sunk. Luckily the crew sent out a mayday and everyone on board was rescued in time. We wrote about avenging orcas just this past May and see the orcas have struck again.
It wasn’t a Halloween prank, says the company that runs cruises on Grazie Mamma — a sailing yacht owned by Polish cruise company Morskie Mile. Marine zoologists believe that a specific orca was attacked by a fishing boat some years ago. She carries her trauma and has taught other orcas how to help get revenge.
The company announced, “Yesterday in the Strait of Gibraltar early afternoon our yacht was attacked by a herd of orcas. They hit the steering fin for 45 minutes, causing major damage and leakage. Despite attempts to bring the yacht to the port by the captain, crew and rescuers, port tugs and the Moroccan Navy, the unit sunk near the entrance to the port of Tanger Med. The crew is safe, unharmed and safe in Spain.
It’s been reported that orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar have been harassing boats for over three years. Most of them don’t sink.
The orcas (Orcinus orca), also known as killer whales, hit the Polish yacht’s rudder causing major damage, allowing water to enter the hull.
Attacks have been reported as early as 2020, and all come from the Strait of Gibraltar — a narrow strait between Spain and Morocco that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.
The attack highlights the intelligence of killer whales.
Orca whales are attacking and sinking ships in the Strait of Gibraltar
Since 2020, this orca pod has been regularly harassing boats believed to be started by White Gladis, a female orca who may have been traumatized by a past boat collision. The whales are becoming better at sinking ships, sinking three boats since 2022. In June a rudder was ripped off a yacht in 15 minutes. We reported earlier how the whales appear to be teaching each other how to maximise damage.
“Lifeline” to be hung in every office and school in America; funds raised to rebuild a kibbutz community that terror ripped apart
It was 6:25 in the morning Oct. 7, and Gal-Lee Maroodi’s husband Omer put his ear to the window as dozens of rockets fired from Gaza hit his agricultural village, 3 miles from the Gaza Strip: “We were used to hiding in the safe rooms to protect us from rockets,” says Maroodi, 25, from Kibbutz Reim. “But this time it sounded different because there were rockets raining down on us non-stop. I told him it’s not safe by the window, but coming from a special guerilla unit in the IDF, he told me something doesn’t sound right. He heard AK-47s, machine guns that Israel would never use. He told me to take the baby and run.
Houses destroyed at Kibbutz Reim
“We dodged rockets and sped off down the road, warning others from the community that we are being attacked by terrorists. If we had been two minutes later on the road, we would have been shot,” says Maroodi, whose kibbutz is a community of 400 people that farm and run a factory for laser cut machine parts. Five people from the kibbutz were murdered; there are 6 hostages now in Gaza. She is the spokesperson for Lifeline –– an art print and historical project to document the painful communication between the kibbutz members on Oct. 7. They hope to raise money through sales of the prints to rebuild the kibbutz.
Lifeline terror text
They are coming closer. They are in my backyard. Urgent, urgent to Dvir’s house. Daria and Levi are alone. Dvir was murdered. Urgent. Please! Friends, lock the house and stay inside. Urgent, urgent. Please. The children are alone. Please.
These words are a sample from several hours of Whatsapp messages during the morning of the Hamas attack. They are inscribed on a high-quality art print, written in cursive Hebrew by kibbutz member Adi Drimer. She created the unique pattern, a mandala, as a form of therapy after the terror attack and now Kibbutz Reim members are hoping this historical print will be hung in every office, school and community center in the United States and Canada.
Mandala means ‘circle’ in Sanskrit. They are used as a spiritual guidance tool, in meditation or for creating a sacred space. For Kibbutz Reim and Jews everywhere, this mandala will be a symbol of not standing for terror, and as historical evidence that Oct. 7 will never be forgotten. All proceeds raised will go to rebuilding the kibbutz.
Art that is also an historical document
Lifeline, Kibbutz Reim
The name is Lifeline because the WhatsApp group chat was the actual lifeline for kibbutz members each in their own homes. Through the app, they managed to save two kids whose father and partner were murdered right in front of them. It helps the members tell their story: how they warned each other about invaders, about the heroic acts of men who ran through hellfire to rescue children who couldn’t close the door of the bomb shelter –– because their dad’s dead girlfriend’s arm was in the way.
While memories of the horror are still fresh, kibbutz members know they will need to rebuild their homes, and businesses, and Lifeline proceeds will help them do that: to repair factories, rebuild homes and educational centers. Every dollar raised will go towards rebuilding the community ripped apart by fire, grenades, looting and machine gun fire.
Gal-Lee Maroodi, spokesperson for Lifeline
“It’s a strange situation now because we are terrified about going back to the kibbutz, but we also miss it terribly because it’s our home,” says Maroodi whose home was used as a command center by Hamas. When her husband went back he found blood on the floor, pictures broken. “They went through everything. We heard them through our baby monitor.”
We won’t forget. We won’t let them win.
“It is such a beautiful area and we can’t let them win. If we don’t go back and rebuild the kibbutz, then they’ve won. So we need to rebuild even if it’s painful,” says Maroodi. “ She considers herself lucky as she wasn’t burned out of her safe room or murdered in front of her child:
“We could hear them tormenting people in their homes. Smacking their safe rooms and laughing. Burning their houses waiting for them to come out. One family stayed in the bomb shelter. They said, ‘We’d rather burn to death than, God knows what they will do to us, if we come out’.”
Lifeline is not an easy object to hold but it is essential:“We must never forget,” says Maroodi. “People risked their lives helping each other here. That’s the beauty of the kibbutz. We are really family. Everyone feels the pain of the other. As a Jew, or even non-Jew standing by our side, Lifeline is art that every single one of us should have; it looks like a fingerprint and it’s to make sure we will never forget Oct. 7,” she concludes.
Pakistan razing the mud home of Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban, 2023 screenshot of video below
Pakistan razing the mud home of Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban, 2023 screenshot of video below Radiofree Europe
Millions of Afghans had fled to Pakistan over the years as refugees – some from since the Taliban takeover in 2021, many from decades before. They have built homes and lives in Pakistan, some homes built from mud with their own hands, and believed they would be welcomed to stay, live and continue working in the Muslim-majority country of Pakistan. This past October, according to the BBC, Afghan refugees have have been told it’s time to return to Afghanistan.
Afghan refugee. Many were born in Pakistan but now they are being sent back to the Taliban. VOA
Pakistan is sending them back to the Taliban terror group, of which they are terrified, and is bulldozing mud homes that Afghan refugees have built over the years.
“I am very sad about leaving my house. I can’t express in words the pain I felt leaving it. Our house was made of mud, and we built it ourselves. I planted many trees there. My neighbours and friends were in tears [when I left] – It’s the cruel government that is making us leave,” says Abdullah, who has a family of 20 people all born in Pakistan, while speaking to the BBC.
Pakistan is conducting a nationwide return of Afghans and others who they say are in the country illegally. A decree was issued at the beginning of October this year that some 1.7 million Afghans must return to Afghanistan. Pakistan has seen an increase of terror attacks, of which they are linking to Afghans. But they are collectively punishing all Afghans for any Taliban involvement.
The United Nations and its aid agencies in Afghanistan posted a message on Tuesday that they urgently need funds to provide “post-arrival” assistance to hundreds of Afghan families returning from neighboring Pakistan daily to avoid arrest and deportation.
“More than 60% of arrivals are children,” a UN coordination agency said in a statement. “Their condition is desperate, with many having traveled for days, unclear of where to return to and stranded at the border.”
The Pakistani government, in early October, ordered the deportation of all foreigners without legal documents, including 1.7 million Afghans, warning those who remained in the country beyond November 1 would be arrested and expelled to their countries of origin.
Traditional mud house, Badakhshan, Afghanistan, April 16, 2021
The UN refugee agency UNHCR, migration agency IOM, together with children’s agency UNICEF, said they are “deeply concerned for the safety and well-being of children and families affected…and alarmed at the potential consequences of this plan’s implementation.”
Almost 30 million people require humanitarian assistance and 3.3 million are internally displaced inside Afghanistan amidst overlapping crises. According to the UN, since September 15, an estimated 160,000 Afghans have left Pakistan, with 86 percent of families reported fear of arrest as the most common reason for leaving.
According to the AP those that leave Pakistan come with nothing because all their property was seized at the border crossing from Pakistan. There is no food, housing, toilets on their return.
Arshad Malik, country director for Save the Children, said those returning are coming back without education documents, making it difficult for them to continue their learning, as well as lacking the local Afghan languages of Dari and Pashto because they studied Urdu and English in Pakistan.
He warned that child labor in Afghanistan as well as their involvement in smuggling are likely to increase due to poverty as most returning families were among the poorest migrants in Pakistan.
A girl in Kabul, Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, 2021
“Smuggling at Torkham by children was one of the concerns from the past, so the involvement of children in smuggling and illegal goods’ transfer will increase,” Malik said.
According to the UN, Afghans make up one of the largest refugee populations worldwide. There are 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees in the world, of whom 2.2 million are registered in Iran and Pakistan. Some are in the United States, and some are in Europe. According to Canada’s CBC news Canada has welcomed 30,000 Afghan refugees recently.
Another 3.5 million people are internally displaced, having fled their homes searching for refuge within the country. In light of the rapidly deteriorating security situation since the Taliban took over in 2021, the number of people fleeing will likely continue to rise. Meanwhile, the Taliban is visiting Iran looking to cooperate.
The Taliban returned to power in 2021 after capturing Kabul and overthrowing the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, ending the 2001–2021 war. In September 2021 the Taliban re-established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Taliban government remains internationally unrecognized.
The sea in Sicily. What's underwater is not being protected.
As officials from Mediterranean countries gather this week for the the UN’s General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) annual session in Croatia. The FAO-based group are working with NGOs urging the adoption of measures that would allow the GFCM to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and cases of non-compliance within its region – a call backed by a legal analysis published this week that shows that GFCM has the competency to impose such measures.
The Mediterranean is being overfished and damaging, illegal trawlers are killing undersea ecosystems. But with the UN’s poor track record in fighting and naming larger issues such as terrorism, it is likely that a UN group will have full faith buy-in for people fighting for fish.
The proposed system under discussion this week – which already exists in other regional fisheries management organisations – would allow the UN-run GFCM group to take action against countries that consistently disregard fishing regulations.
Several organisations of the Med Sea Alliance argue that creating a compliance mechanism is crucial for the Mediterranean’s biodiversity, fish stock recovery, and the communities that rely on marine resources.
“At the moment, the GFCM cannot act when countries systematically fail to follow its requirements on, for example, fleet control or properly reporting on their fishing activities, but with such a system in place, the GFCM could apply measures such as suspending fishing authorisations or requiring increased controls,” said Helena Álvarez, Senior Marine Scientist at Oceana in Europe. “This is a prerequisite for ensuring the survival of the Mediterranean’s unique biodiversity, to support the recovery of fish stocks and the communities that rely on marine resources”.
“The Mediterranean Sea, rich in biodiversity and vital to the livelihoods of countless fishermen, faces persistent challenges”, said Nils Courcy, Senior Jurist, Marine & Mediterranean, at ClientEarth. “Fishing rules and regulations are established through consensus, but implementation and enforcement often fall short. A compliance mechanism can help enforce regulations that prevent destructive fishing practices, such as bottom trawling, which can harm or destroy vital habitats, such as seagrass (Posidonia oceanica). This gap in enforcement endangers shared natural resources and the very existence of the fishermen who depend on them.”
A legal analysis by Professor Tullio Scovazzi – retired former professor of international law at the Universities of Parma, Genoa, Milan and Milan-Bicocca, Italy – and Professor Simone Vezzani, – professor of international and European law at the University of Perugia, Italy – confirms that the GFCM has the competency to impose corrective measures in cases of non-compliance.
The analysis was commissioned by the Med Sea Alliance, a coalition of non-governmental organisations working to improve the health and productivity of the Mediterranean Sea, in response to questions raised during the GFCM Compliance Committee meeting in May 2023 about the compatibility of such a system with international law. The legal analysis concludes that the current lack of a compliance mechanism is not a legal, but rather a political question.
“As this legal analysis shows, the only thing holding back GFCM from effectively dealing with states who don’t follow the rules is a matter of political will,” said Jesús Urios Culiañez, Environmental Justice Foundation’s lead campaigner for the Mediterranean. “This week, GFCM Members have an opportunity to make the meaningful change we need. By establishing a strong enforcement system for the conservation and management of the Mediterranean, they can protect marine ecosystems and support the livelihoods of those who rely on them. They must not let this opportunity slip away.”
In a Call to Action published during the GFCM High-level conference on MedFish4Ever initiatives, several member organisations of the Med Sea Alliance urged GFCM members to create a compliance mechanism, expand vessel tracking and that other tracking measures (AIS) and ensure that that trawl bans in the Mediterranean Sea are fully enforced and complied with to support the recovery of fish stocks and the protection of sensitive habitats.
In this image from surveillance video aired by Iranian state television, women pull 16-year-old Armita Geravand from a train car on the Tehran Metro in Tehran, Iran, October 1, 2023. (Iranian state television)
In this image from surveillance video aired by Iranian state television, women pull 16-year-old Armita Geravand from a train car on the Tehran Metro in Tehran, Iran, October 1, 2023. (Iranian state television)
The despotic enforcers of Iran’s “hijab law” have claimed another victim in the name of religion. In a mysterious incident reported a few weeks ago in international press, a young woman Armita Geravand, just 16 was injured going into the Tehran Metro in Iran. She was in a coma for a few weeks and has since died. Her death takes place a year after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini which unleashed a flurry of protests in Iran: Mahsa was taken into custody, sustained injuries in some sort of mysterious way, and then died in the hands of the police not long after. Same story.
A teenage Iranian girl who fell into a coma after she was allegedly assaulted by the country’s morality police for not wearing a headscarf has died, according to Iranian state media.
Women who defy Iran’s mandatory headscarf-wearing, or hijab, law is a clear sign that they are unhappy with the Iranian regime. Iran is a theocracy that disappears environmental activists, whistleblowers, journalists (one we interviewed was later disappeared) and people who practice homosexuality. You will even go to jail if you dance in an Instagram or TikTok video in Iran. Or if you try to save lakes, like the protestors working to save Lake Urmia from dying up.
Iran drafted a Hijab and Chastity Bill—which is a draft law consisting of 70 articles—all which would increase punishments for those seen wearing a “western” dress code, and which challenges the ethics put in place by the Islamic Republic. Increased fines and jail time, and AI cameras to catch the violators is part of the Morality Police code of tools.
Armita Geravand
What happened to Geravand when she entered the train on October 1 remains a big question. A friend told a local TV station that she hit her head on the platform, but soundless footage offers no clues and it is likely that those who truly know are afraid of being silenced with a gun –– the same “silencing” that will happen to you in Gaza if you do not comply with the Hamas code, which is rule of the jungle.
TIME offers a great background on the law and how it can be enforced in Iran.
According to the Norway-based human rights group Hengaw which interviewed her two friends, Geravand was assaulted by the morality police for not wearing a head covering. She fell and hit her head and was admitted into the hospital with “severe brain injuries”. The Iranian regime have denied any physical confrontation took place. They said she fainted from low blood pressure, a similar stance taken after Mahsa Amini was murdered for the same offence.
Iran has a reputation for evaporating people, or for whisking them away and brainwashing them until they lose a part of themselves like the Godfather of blogging Hossein Derakhshan we interviewed in the past –– or Soheil Arabi who was sentenced to death for his Facebook posts.
What the footage did catch is Geravand’s limp body being carried away. Now she is dead for wanting her her free hair to blow in the wind.
This video shows why #ArmitaGaravand, Iranian schoolgirl got beaten by hijab police & killed.
Cameras are everywhere to identify & arrest unveiled women. But see how bravely she was walking unveiled to show her resistance to forced hijab.
She’s a hero.
Iranian journalist activist Masih Alinejad writes on X: “This regime excels at suppressing and killing women, all while negotiating and forging ties with Western politicians. How many more innocent girls need to perish before Western countries realize that this regime is irredeemable?
“This is the very regime that not only oppresses its citizens but also instigates unrest in Ukraine, Israel, Iraq, and Syria. After decades of atrocities by this totalitarian Islamic regime, the world must finally take a stand and hold them accountable.”
The Treetoscope sensor collects information about water and soil nutrients to turn on irrigation systems at the right time
The Treetoscope sensor collects information about water and soil nutrients to turn on irrigation systems at the right time
Plant stressor sensor Treetoscope has raised $7M USD in a seed fundraising round. The IoT device gives farmers information when using drip irrigation, helping them automate precise water and fertilizer use when the plants are hungry and thirsty. The tech can automate drip irrigation by applying AI and sensors to understand plant water needs real time. Investment will be applied towards expanding company sales and R&D.
Treetoscope’s technology gives insight and automation to the amount of water and fertilizer to give to plants and trees, reducing wasted water and efficiently managing plant nutrient levels. Environmentalists tend to support organic agriculture with a push to regenerative farming practices where no pesticides or soil-enhancing fertilizers are used at all. But that’s in a more perfect world.
Israel, where Treetoscope was born, is the home to the inventor of modern-day drip irrigation Simcha Blass. Drip irrigation applies long plastic pipes incised with tiny holes throughout a farm. There are variations on the way it is applied, but this is the most common method. The pressure in the pipes administers water only at the root or base area of the plant to avoid unnecessary evaporation and loss of water. In general this technology is very primitive, much like plumbing is today, with the majority of applications using timers to turn the water on only at night when the plants can best absorb it.
In the last 15 years or so dozens if not hundreds of companies from Israel have emerged looking to take on parts of the equation to make every drop of water, fertilizer and pesticide count. Fertigation is the term often used in the industry.
The Treetoscope app
With areas like the Dead Sea shrinking because of fertlizer harvesting, and countries like China looking for intensive agricultural solutions to feed a growing in affluence population, solutions like Treetoscope will be more and more in demand.
Some solutions like the wildly successful CropX operate in the same space as Treetoscope and my company Flux was operating in the cannabis and hydroponics space in this niche (see Future Crop $30M investment), quite likely too early for only a infant market for hydroponics 10 years ago. Back then investors told me hydroponics sensors and AI was a “nice” to have solution but more like a vitamin than a bandaid, as goes their analogy.
The investment in Treetoscope fortifies the more sober area of conventional farming and it was led by Champel Capital venture capital fund, a leading European-Israeli fund focusing on impact technology investments. Other strategic investors include Leon Recanati’s GlenRock fund, SeedIL, YYM-Ventures, and previous fundraising investors, as per their press announcement.
This builds on $3M USD already raised which includes grants from the Israel Innovation Authority from the Offices of the Chief Scientist and BIRD, a joint Israel-US government fund which funds medicine and hightech ventures between Israel and the United States.
Treetoscope is currently operating in in North America and Europe via collaborations with such leading enterprises as The Toro Company, Netafim, and Hektas, with 20 employees in total. Treetoscope’s manpower includes 20 employees in Israel and internationally.
Treetoscope dashboard
“Humanity is currently facing one of its greatest challenges – a lack of freshwater resources,” says Dotan Eshet, CEO of Treetoscope. “Today, 70% of the world’s freshwater consumption is used by the agricultural sector, with this consumption expected to increase by approximately 60% by 2025.”
Through the technology Treetoscope has developed, according to them farmers can save approximately 30% in irrigation expenses, increase the yield, as well as the weighted profit of the farmers in Europe and the US, by ~$32 billion per year.
“Treetoscope has developed a unique solution to one of the most painful problems in the worldwide food chain, where fresh water is becoming a rare, expensive commodity,” says Amir Weitman, managing partner at Champel Capital. “We are proud to help the company make solutions available to farmers to save significant amounts of water and create a genuine impact in the world.”
About Champel Capital
Champel Capital is a venture capital fund that invests in Israeli startups in the realms of foodtech, agritech, medtech, industry 4.0, fintech and traffic. To date, the fund has made 21 investments, yielding 4 exits and 1 unicorn – Lemonade. Champel Capital is headed by partners Amir Weitman and Arié Benguigui, who have been investing in the Israeli venture capital scene since 2017. The advisory committee is Eyal Waldman, Omer Moav, Raoul Bino, Eyal Orion and Hillel Fuld.
Think about the business opportunities for engineers who can build retrofit solutions
Think about the business opportunities for engineers who can build retrofit solutions. Time for impact investors to start creating incentives for new technologies.
Upgrading, or retrofitting, the world’s iron and steel processing plants early could reduce carbon emissions by up to 70 gigatonnes by 2050, roughly equivalent to two years’ worth of net global carbon emissions, according to a new study led by UCL researchers.
Published in the journal Nature, the researchers found that by upgrading the world’s iron and steel production facilities, carbon emissions can be reduced by 58.7 gigatonnes between 2020 and 2050, roughly equivalent to two years’ worth of net global carbon emissions. In addition, they found that by bumping forward emissions reduction retrofits five years ahead of when they would be typically scheduled, it would reduce emissions by 69.6 gigatonnes over that time frame. Iron and steel production contributes about 7% to total global carbon emissions.
To develop this schedule, the team created a comprehensive database of 19,678 individual processing units located in 4,883 individual iron and steel plants around the world, inventoried by their technical characteristics, including their locations, processing technologies, operating details, status and age.
Iron and steel production is a carbon emissions heavy process. The researchers found that as of 2019, the last year that data is available, 74.5% of the world’s steel was produced in coal powered plants that release considerable carbon emissions. Technologies exist to reduce these admissions, but upgrades are expensive and time consuming and so are usually only undertaken at the end of a processing unit’s operational lifetime.
Refining is also hard on the equipment, and the individual processing units within each plant need to be retrofitted periodically to prolong their operational lifetimes. Overall, 43.2% of global iron and steel plants have been retrofitted with new technologies or have otherwise enhanced their processes to extend their operating lifetime. The frequency of their retrofits depends on the technique they employ and how old they are, but typically they occur after 15 to 27 years of use.
The researchers found that if all currently operating processing units were upgraded to incorporate low-emissions technology at their predicted time of their refit, total emissions from the iron and steel sector could be reduced by 58.7 gigatonnes between 2020 and 2050, but if all the refits and upgrades were bumped forward and completed five years early, the total carbon savings would be 16% greater at 69.6 gigatonnes.
But the team also emphasises that mitigation efforts will have to take place at the individual facility level, and that the decarbonisation of the entire iron and steel industry depends on the efforts undertaken by every single plant. Because of the complexity and variety of methods involved in steel production around the world, there’s no one-size-fits-all decarbonisation technology or solution for the entire sector, and each processing unit should be upgraded individually according to its technical specification.
Dabo Guan
Senior author Professor Dabo Guan from the UCL Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction said: “Our results lend vivid background to the possibility of achieving net-zero carbon emissions in iron and steel production in the future. By retrofitting existing plants with low-carbon technologies, and improving scrap collecting and recycling, the iron and steel sector can dramatically reduce its carbon emissions. This study sheds light on the specific emissions reductions that are possible within the iron and steel industry.”
About 63% of the world’s steel production is from some type of blast oxygen furnace, while most of the remaining capacity is produced by electric arc furnaces. Upgrading the global inventory of blast oxygen furnaces will yield the greatest net carbon savings, about 74% of the total projected carbon savings. Upgrades to electric arc furnaces would account for the second highest net carbon savings, at about 16% of the projected whole, though this may be limited by the total amount of stock scrap available worldwide as the technique is dependent on recycling existing metals.
The researchers hope that this data can be used to identify improved ways to update ageing steel plants with emission reduction technologies in order to reach net-zero carbon emissions more quickly. Compiling this publicly available global database of iron and steel plants and tracking all their ages and technologies has significantly improved the detail of data around the carbon emission of global iron and steel production.
The researchers emphasise that because of the wide range of production methods and plant designs, the particulars of individual upgrades and mitigation effort of each processing unit will have to be done on an individual basis. Their research will help policymakers create a roadmap of when and how to upgrade iron and steel plants to meet emissions reduction targets.
The top five carbon emitting iron and steel plants contribute 7% of the total CO2 emissions from the global iron and steel industry but only make up 0.1% of the total 4,883 plants.
They are:
Anshan Iron & Steel (China)
Posco – Pohang Iron & Steel (South Korea)
Shanghai Baosteel (China)
Jiangsu Shagang (China)
Maanshan Iron & Steel Group (China).
The researchers say that retrofitting these plants to lower their carbon emissions would demonstrate the feasibility for other, similar plants. The research was led by UCL and conducted in collaboration with Tsinghua University, Peking University and King’s College London.
One of the most common uses of beach or sea sand in general, is in construction. Sand is one of the ingredients in the production of concrete and other building materials. Concrete is made up of a mixture of water, cement, and aggregate, which is composed of crushed rock, gravel and sand. Sea sand is also used as a raw material in the glass, silicon and ceramic industries and for land restoration.
The construction industry consumes about 4 billion tons of cement every year and 40 billion tons of sand for construction. The total use of sand worldwide is estimated at 50 billion tons annually. The dredging industry for sand is active in South China Sea, the North Sea and the East Coast of the United States, according to the University of Geneva, with China, the Netherlands, the United States and Belgium being the most active countries in this field. Interestingly enough, although deserts have plenty of sand, the desert sand is unsuitable for construction. Its rounded faces and high dust content, give concrete of very low quality, that does not comply with the industry standards.
Regulating sand mining from the seas
Illegal sand mining activities linked to Spain are devastating Moroccan beaches. Image via the ISS
Sand is one of the world’s most consumed natural resource on the planet, after water. But, despite the damage it causes, it is still unregulated. According to the UN the practice is unsustainable and could irreparably affect marine life. Pascal Penducci, director of UNEP’s Global Resources Database, described the marine sand dredging as a “giant vacuum cleaner”, draining the seabed by removing all the micro-organisms that support sea life.
Consider, what the ISS reports: “state developments in Morocco require an estimated 30 million tons of sand every year. Coastal sand along the western seaboard and Mediterranean is increasingly extracted, legally and illegally, by both registered companies and traffickers. The result is a series of lunar-like landscapes along Morocco’s coastline, which damages fragile ecosystems and increases the vulnerability of infrastructure to storms and rising sea levels.”
The ECOWEEK week of lectures, films and design workshops address design and construction practices and promote sustainable design and circular practices primarily among graduate and undergraduate students of architecture and design in 17 countries.
In 2018, ECOWEEK hosted the Today Tomorrow project of EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) in Tel Aviv. Within this collaboration the film “Sand Wars” was screened. Released in 2013 it is directed by Denis Delestrac.
The film “Sand Wars” tracks the contractors, smugglers and property developers hoarding sand from legal or illegal mining on sea shores and sea bed dredging. It presents the unsuccessful efforts by Municipalities, draining municipal budgets, to replenish seashores with sand. Only to be washed away, due to the voids created by deep sea mining. The film also presents the struggle of local communities to protect their sea shore residences from coastal erosion and damage and the loss of coastal shorelines, caused by sand extraction from the sea and shores.
If electric cars are a luxury – as compared to other modes of sustainable transportation, such as, public buses, light rail, bicycles and walking – mining sand for concrete is essential for construction. Especially, when trying to cope with destruction caused by earthquakes or floods. Building in concrete seems like an inevitable choice for relative resilience. However, the increasing use of concrete, and sand mining, makes cities more vulnerable and destroys ecosystems that support life. Read about this Israeli desert sand dunes being cleared for concrete.
Like in every story, there may be a happy end in this story too: recycled glass. Recycled glass is obtained from recycling old and waste glass. Glass can be recycled endlessly without affecting quality and purity, through crashing, melting and blending with other materials. Unlike desert sand, recycling glass is an acceptable replacement to sea sand for construction.
How much of this dome house in Santorini is built from sand?
The recycled glass market is estimated at $1.1B USD. It is low carbon, requires lower energy consumption, lower melting temperature, and less wear and tear on the manufacturing furnace. In terms of volume it is estimated at about 40,000 tons annually.
From grassroots initiatives like the recycling program “Glass Half Full” in Louisiana, to major industries, recycled glass is widely used in the food and beverages, automotive, healthcare, aerospace and defense industries. It is also used in construction. To provide more recycled glass for construction, an increase in the practice of glass recycling, is needed. More government and municipal initiatives and regulations in waste management are needed, raising public awareness and encouraging more initiatives in that direction by local industries.
Many cities today are engaged in urban renewal. This involves extensive demolition of existing buildings. Yet, with a disappointingly low rate of recycling and reclaiming of old materials, such as glass. Regulating demolition – and increasing refurbishment and retrofit, would considerably reduce construction waste, and wisely utilize the embodied carbon from producing these products in the first place. Less demolition would also reduce the need for new construction and use of concrete and sand.
There is no doubt that the debate is relevant and urgent today. Not only, among architects and designers. But, among municipalities as well. With recycling rates ranging from 10 to 90%, there is a long way to go to reach 50% reduction in carbon by 2030 and zero carbon by 2050. And to reduce waste, particularly construction waste, estimated at one third of total waste.
A Superuse Studio project reusing waste wood in new creative uses
Architectural practices, such as the Dutch Superuse Studio and architect Thomas Rau, are leading the way on circular design in small and large scale projects, materials passports for buildings and reuse of waste, from wood to wind turbines at the end of their lifetime (20 years).
A Super Reuse studio circular economy project using CNC waste as building façade
It is time for other architects and designers to take the lead too. To seriously reconsider the impact of design and construction on the planet. To consider only specifying construction methods that are local, low-carbon, low-impact and circular. Even start putting a cap on construction, densifying and utilizing existing buildings and reducing the floor area of modern apartments, as alternative construction methods and materials are becoming limited and the need to reduce the carbon footprint of construction is becoming imperative.
Thomas Rau: Triodos Bank Headquarters | Photography: Bert Rietberg
The debate on the impact of the construction industry is complex yet essential. It certainly must engage professionals more than just designing planters on the balconies or the roofs, or specifying recycled wood for façade facing. These are nice gestures, but view them more like a “greenwash”. And compare them to the unregulated and unprecedented destruction of life and ecosystems taking place with every single new concrete formwork.
Elias Messinas
Elias Messinas is a Yale-educated architect and urban planner, creator of ECOWEEK and Senior Lecturer at HIT. He completed this year the interior restoration of an historic synagogue in Greece, based on circular practices. Although small in scale, it reduced waste, new raw materials and the budget by nearly 50%.
Shanklish is generally eaten with finely-chopped tomato, onion, and olive oil in a dish called Shʿifurah; and often accompanied by araq. It is a common meze dish. Shanklish is also mashed up with eggs or in a pita with cucumbers, mint, and olive oil for breakfast. Image via Wikipedia.
We’ve started making our own simple cheeses at home. Ones that use natural fermentation to take shape and flavor. An easy way to start is by making labane, a sour and tangy cheese perfected by the Bedouins, from a yoghurt base. But even if you don’t have yoghurt or access to kefir or a kefir starter, you can make labane and then shanklish cheese, a Levant favorite with the help of a little lemon. Fermentation and cheese is a world of its own. And you can do it in your fridge over the course of a month.
Labane is delicious for breakfast, served with warm pita and olive oil
How to make shanklish
Shanklish, also known as chancliche, shinklish, shankleesh, sorke, or sürke, is a type of cow or sheep milk cheese found in Levantine cuisine. Shanklish is a Lebanese cheese made by curdling yogurt, straining it, and fermenting it. But if you have access to labane, you can start at that point too.
Take a ball of labane the size of a ping pong and roll it into zaatar. Put it in the fridge uncovered for a month, turning occasionally and voila you have a beautiful slow cheese from the Levant area of the Middle East. It can be grated over meals for an extra zing. Some variations inlcude rolling it in hot chilli peppers or anise seed.
Lebanon, a great setting for a picnic and eating shanklish.
While the Levant is known for simple, raw cheeses that don’t take long to ferment, we need to look to Europe for inspiration on how to make and eat the best cheeses in the world. The Slow Food organization has its annual awards, and like good olive oil and wine, cheese has its world of winners.
This year marks the 14th edition of Cheese, the largest international event dedicated to raw milk, natural cheeses and artisanal dairy products organized by the Slow Food movement and Città di Bra. The event brings together herders, cheesemakers and enthusiasts, united under the claim The Taste of the Meadows, emphasizing how raw milk from pasture-raised animals is crucial to sustainable food systems.
The Slow Cheese Awards pay tribute to the herders and artisan cheesemakers who work with respect for naturalness, tradition and animal welfare. These are small-scale producers who, despite all the hard work, risks and isolation involved, continue to resist. The winners were selected on the basis of their commitment not only to making natural raw-milk cheeses, but especially to fair and animal-friendly farming.
The winners of this year’s Slow Cheese Awards are:
David Nedelkovski, Kozi Mleko Planina, North Macedonia
David Nedelkovski from Kozi Mleko Planina, via IG
David is just over 30, but already ten years ago left Skopje and moved to the small village of Rastak, at the foot of the Karadak mountains, where he created the Kozi Mleko Planina farm together with his family. Here David raises alpine and domestic Balkan goats, calling himself a “Cossack,” or “free man”.
David produces several types of fresh or aged cheese, all hard or semi-hard. Together with his neighbors, they started some important projects to restore biodiversity and the mountains they live in. When they decided to move to the mountains, the project was to produce milk and cheese and go back to town, but the life in nature captured their hearts: “I go more and more infrequently to Skopje, I love living here surrounded by family and my animals,” Nedelkovski says. Looking at the future he would like to raise awareness on the importance of raw milk products and animal welfare, or on the relationship between farmers and veterinarians.
But his main priority is that his“goats are happy”.
Tetyana Stramnova from the Amalthea Goat Farm, Ukraine
Tetyana Stramnova started as interior designer in Donetsk and opened her first farm when she got her first child, starting to raise quails. When Russians arrived in the region, she and her family had to leave, finally arriving in Muzikyvka, in the Kherson region. There, they tried to restore the poultry farming but the business failed. “Actually my children chose Muzikyvka as our place to be as they felt it was home at first sight,” she says.
In the end, Tatiana decided to do something new: she raised goats, learned how to make cheese, created the Amalthea Goat farm, on the name of her first goat, and started conducting excursions for children with disabilities, such as autism, at the same time working to protect the local Ukrainian short-eared goats breed.
On the eve of the full-scale invasion, the village council allocated her a plot of land for the construction of a cheese factory. The woman would have to find money for premises and equipment. Instead, all these months she tried to protect from the Russians what she managed to create. And after the de-occupation of Muzikyvka, everything starts again almost anew: “My main motivation is children. I have to leave something for them, that’s why I started again and again. We want to get it all back on track. We have to move on with our life”.
Teaching food technology, Giampaolo born in Switzerland and now in Italy, makes his skills available to young people and advances a precise idea of cheese. According to him, cheese made with raw milk without the addition of selected ferments is the most respectful and authentic form of cheesemaking: the only one capable of restoring the aromas and specificities of each milk, each barn, each pasture.
And he doesn’t just explain it in the classroom, but makes daily efforts to demonstrate in the field that it is possible to produce natural cheese, doing cheesemaking trials together with producers, helping interested cheesemakers to switch from purchased ferments to grafted milk, even inventing a small home fermenter to facilitate their work. In his life, he has put his experience and expertise at the service of the cause of natural cheese: made from raw milk and without the addition of selected ferments, working alongside small-scale producers, in Italy and around the world, training generations of cheesemakers through teaching.
Marco Villa, Italy
A veterinarian, he has been able to create a supportive community of breeders, motivated young people and given an opportunity for redemption to a difficult Ligurian mountain area at risk of depopulation as young people move to the cities.
Marco Villa with his rare breed of cows. Via Liguria Foods.
Thanks to his passion and great ability to share, he has helped save and protect the Cabannina breed of cows, an ancient breed, seemingly unsuitable for modern animal husbandry because it is less productive than commercial breeds. But the Cabannina is actually a key element in guaranteeing new opportunities for the highlands and a hope for those who want to breed with respect and in harmony with nature.
At the base of Toubkal in the Atlas Mountains. We visited this kasbah a decade ago.
At the base of Toubkal in the Atlas Mountains. We visited this kasbah a decade ago. And it has taken some damage from the earthquake but all residents and guests were safe.
The earthquake that hit Morocco on 8 September in the Atlas Mountains was one of the most devastating that Morocco has seen decades: the quake killed more than 2,800 people and injured thousands more.
At 6.8 in magnitude, the earthquake was not huge, the disaster was exasperated by lack of preparedness, says disaster researcher Ilan Kelman: “Earthquakes don’t kill people, collapsing infrastructure does,” he says in a recent article.
Buildings in Morocco are often designed to control for extremes of temperature, which are an ever-present risk, whereas earthquake resilience has taken a back seat, he explains. This is the same problem that plagued Turkey and its devastating earthquake recently.
One sustainable building method which has stood the test of time, and withstood earthquakes is the use of self-healing plaster used by the Romans in the Levant region and beyond. Straw bale building, one story high is supposed to be remarkably resilient against earthquakes, as are triangular shaped buildings. Perhaps these methods aren’t viable in mountain regions or cities.
We are looking for sustainable design engineers to help us write a guide for countries looking to earthquake proof with sustainable concepts in mind. Send your ideas to earthquakeproof@greenprophet.com
Environmental artist Craid Colorusso creates environmental art using sound. Image via Kevin Belli
Environmental artist Craig Colorusso creates environmental art using sound. Image via Kevin Belli
There is a beautiful stretch of forest in Bentonville, Arkansas called, “Coler Mountain Bike Preserve.” It is an amazing chunk of land with several mountain bike trails throughout and one main drag. There’s even delicious coffee at a place called Airship in the middle. There are two bridges bookending the main drag a little over a mile apart from each other, I had the pleasure of composing sound for them.
Covered Bridge ONE and El Segundo are two separate, yet connected, sound pieces that play for several hours a day. Covered Bridge ONE is a multi-channel piece for electric guitar that has been bowed, scraped, rubbed and plucked. El Segundo Is a multi channel piece for Clarinet and Bass Clarinet. Each played by a solar powered sound system that begins shortly after sunrise and ends shortly after sunset. Both are based on the chord C# Suspended 2nd.
The idea was to make something that would welcome people as the entered the park. A burst of sonic gratitude, and also for those returning a welcome home. I wanted to make something that engulfed the participant but also allowed the ambient sounds of the environment to also be heard in the mix, bugs, wind, water, leaves, cycle sounds etc.
The world is already a beautiful place I’m just trying to enhance little parts of it here and there.
Our lives have become so cluttered with luxury and convenience it is quite refreshing to get outside and just breathe and listen. The older I get the more intrigued by the natural world I become. Weather is a never ending series of systems colliding with each other. And it’s beautiful.
Through this process with my work I feel more in common with a farmer than an architect. I have an ongoing relationship with the weather and natural world unlike anything I’ve experienced before.
In 2009 I went to the desert with David Sanche-Burr and Richard Vosseller to make art using sustainable energy outside. We went to the Goldwell Open Air Museum in Rhyolite, NV and created Off The Grid. My piece “Sun Boxes,’ Changed everything for me. It’s a solar powered sound installation, comprised of 20 speakers all making a Bb Chord.
I have come to sound art and installation work from the world of punk rock. Although I loved being on stage, the barrier between the audience and the performer felt confining. I wanted to make something that didn’t have that barrier. I wanted to make something that people could feel like they were apart of. Once I made my way outside I saw no reason to go back inside. I wanted to make work that improvises with mother nature.
Covered Bridge ONE and El Segundo are presented as music but I think it’s something else. Recently a friend of mine sent me a video of a beautiful crane in the water under Covered Bridge ONE. It was just being a bird elegantly drinking from the water while my friend was on her walk. The video was cool: I could hear the sounds of the Bridge in the background. My friend said, “Even birds like your work. Congratulations.”
It really struck me because I felt like, once again, it’s presented as a composition, but these pieces give you just a moment of pause to realize that you are part of some thing way bigger than you. Isn’t that what we’re all after? So the medium is not sound but sound is used as a vehicle to offer the participant a moment of stillness. To be outside and reminded that I am merely one tiny part in the world feels so empowering.
I had a similar experience myself while testing the sound system for El Segundo. I sat in the grass and listened to the audio as leaves fell from trees taking their last graceful moments before they go back to the earth. It was beautiful and an honor to be witness to this process.
Craig Colorusso has been exploring the intersection of sound, light, and space through sculpture since 2000. His installations consist of wood, metal, fabric, and electronics.
Saudi Arabian mangrove forests can help mitigate climate change
Saudi Arabian mangrove forests can help mitigate climate change
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has chosen Saudi Arabia to host World Environment Day 2024 which will center on the theme of “land restoration.” Saudi Arabia has an incredible vision for mangrove reforestation and it is starting to open up archeology from the past to foreigners and international research institutions, but as it looks to tourism from the West Saudi Arabia is very misguided about new community building seen with Neom projects which are completely out of line with sustainable development goals. It’s like they took some great sales teams from Europe on the most “eco” ideas they could find on paper and multiplied everything by a trillion.
But putting Saudi Arabia in the center of the discussion, if only for an event like World Environment Day, will open the nation to criticism and balance from environmentalists around the world. It may be Saudi territory, but nature and the world should belong to every human/
According to UNEP, the event will “accelerate action on the restoration of landscapes and ecosystems.”
World Environment Day, established by UNEP in 1972 is celebrated annually on June 5, and encourages awareness and action for the protection of the environment. It is supported by many non-governmental organizations, businesses, government entities, and represents the primary United Nations outreach day supporting the environment. It is also called Eco Day, Environment Day, WED (world environment day).
Over the past five decades, the Day has grown to be one of the largest global platforms for environmental outreach. Tens of millions of people participate online and through in-person activities, events and actions around the world. 2024 will mark the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. The sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will be held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, from 2 to 13 December 2024.
Illustrated image of The Line, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia. It cuts off the flow of nature completely.
According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, up to 40 per cent of the planet’s land is degraded, directly affecting half of the world’s population and threatening roughly half of global GDP, $44 trillionUSD. The number and duration of droughts has increased by 29 per cent since 2000 – without urgent action, droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population by 2050.
A floating city, the largest in the world is planned for the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia
If I look at the track record of Saudi Arabia with its production and manipulation of cost of fossil fuels by Saudi Aramco and its apparent lack of awareness for sustainable development at all of Neom‘s projects like The Line and a desert ski-hill for a planet on fire, it would make more sense to choose a country like Israel to show the world how to combat desertification: not by buying the latest in desalination technologies, but by inventing and implementing new technologies.
Israel also has an efficient mode of watering crops, using drip irrigation, a process the country invented decades ago. These facts matched with advances in agriculture and reforestation would make Israel an obvious choice. But the world is still kowtowing to the highest bidder. So big oil money wins the game, again.
Jerusalem celebrates Gag Eden, a play on words for Gan Eden or the Hebrew word for paradise. It is a 3-day green roofs festival in the heart of the city
This is not a festival about rooftops. It is a festival about the possibility of reinventing the city itself. Gad Eden is about adding the ground space that is in such shortage, and to dream up a reality of abundance for all of us. This year, we are celebrating the new rooftops that joined the city center on top of the art schools, and the brave decision of the Jerusalem Municipality, which together with us implemented the program for tapping into the potential of urban rooftops.
Video of Gag Eden, 2021:
Thanks to this initiative, in the upcoming years, one million meters of rooftop wilderness will be transformed into valuable green havens.
Muslim women in East Jerusalem learn the art of beekeeping (via Haaretz)
And above all, Gag Eden is celebrating the fact that we are no longer alone, lone madmen on the roof – but a part of a growing and optimistic movement of people from all sectors, religions, sexes, and genders that come together to create the spaces we are missing, the realms of healing that the city and we need.
Join us for three days in which we will make and get to know the city we deserve.
Israel has an uneven contribution to the cultivated meat market. This means growing real meat with live cells, but circumventing animal suffering. It’s meat in a lab, if you will. Impossible Burgers is “meat” made from pea protein that just tastes like a whole lot of coconut oil. Cultivated meat is the real thing but made in a lab. No animals need to be slaughtered for lab meat. In Israel think Aleph Farms, Steakholder Foods,Super Meat, Believer Meats, and now BioBetter.
BioBetter just sent Green Prophet an announcement that it has opened its food-grade pilot facility to grow raw materials for the expanding cultivated meat market. The company has pioneered a unique protein manufacturing platform using tobacco plants as self-sustained, animal-free bioreactors.
They tell Green Prophet: “BioBetter is going to market raw materials, the growth factors, ingredients that are needed in the cultivated meat production process. We are not making bioreactors. Also, we are not making actual meat, we produce growth factors in tobacco plants that function like bioreactors for the cultivated meat industry.”
Currently cultivated meat production processes are relatively expensive, making it a challenge to scale up and reach price parity with animal-based counterparts: “Cultivated meat is still very expensive in comparison to conventional meat and the key is to reduce the growth medium costs to a minimum,” explains Amit Yaari, the CEO of BioBetter.
Companies like Israel’s Aleph Farms have introduced small steaks but the cost is hundreds to thousands of dollars to produce meat in a lab. BioBetter could help Aleph Farms make steaks faster and at less cost.
BioBetter makes raw materials for the cultivated meat market“Our target is to reduce the production cost of growth factors, including insulin, a key part of the growth
medium, to $1 per gram which is a 100-fold less than the going rate today,” notes Yaari.
BioBetter has achieved five impressive milestones in just the past year:
1. Production scale-up/building pilot plan
2. Commercial scale cultivation of insulin- and FGF-expressing tobacco plants
3. Reaching GF expression levels that enable a significant reduction of production costs
4. Significant regulatory progresses and advances with the Israel Ministry of Health
5. Collaboration with leading cultivated meat companies
BioBetter’s technology is a new purpose for the traditionally shunned tobacco plants, transforming them
into bioreactors for the production of growth factors for meat. Tobacco plants are typically used to make vaccines.
Growth factors for cell growth play a key role in the proliferation and differentiation of cultured meat cells, allowing for the formation of authentic and well-structured muscle tissue. Designed for both environmental safety and efficiency, these bioreactors will be grown in a large- scale, net house cultivation system. The plants are carefully engineered to prevent the escape of any transgenic material.
They are induced to express growth factors only when chemically triggered, and the company exclusively uses non-food, non-feed tobacco plants to eliminate any risk of inadvertent consumption or cross-contamination of food crops.
Sustainability at the core?
Tobacco plants produce growth hormones for molecular farms or cultivated meat
While the science talk may inspire the common sense sustainability folk to just return to actual farming or hunting, “Our commitment to sustainability shines through in every facet of our operations,” says Yaari. “We plan to use recycled and low-quality water for irrigation, minimize nitrogen fertilizer use, and reduce emissions and environmental impact.
The newly established pilot plant has the capacity to process 100kg of tobacco plant-derived GFs
daily. Constructed in adherence to the highest quality standards, the facility meets all regulatory
requirements for production of food-grade growth factors, including FGF2 and insulin. It currently is
progressing through essential stages of securing approval from the Ministry of Health for food
manufacturing licensing. The company is committed to scalability, adhering to ISO2200 and HACCP
standards.
Meat proteins are grown with the help of tobacco plants
BioBetter also made breakthroughs in the cultivation of bovine insulin-expressing plants. Several
thousand square meters of FGF2-expressing tobacco plants are already thriving in northern Israel.
It’s the first time growth factor sources have been successfully planted in large net-houses, in four
locations, and with a fruitful harvest obtained in its first season.
Plans are underway to cultivate more FGF2 and insulin-expressing plants, with commercial roll-out projected for 2024.
The 250 million USD global cultivated meat sector is poised for substantial growth, yet its realization hinges upon a significant supply of growth factors. The most significant challenge of the cultivated meat industry is to produce and scale up at the right cost,” notes Aviv Oren, Director of Business Engagement and Innovation, the Good Food
Institute, Israel. “BioBetter’s technology, which is based on molecular farming of food-grade growth
factors in the required quantities and costs for industrial production, is a pivotal addition that has
the potential to accelerate this industry.”
In 2022, BioBetter secured 10 million USD in an A-round investment led by Jerusalem Venture
Partners (JVP). The company also is an active member of the Israeli Cultivated Meat Consortium,
which unites academic institutions, large companies, and start-ups to collaboratively advance the
field of cultivated meat.
Blue crabs have invaded Tunisia and have become a viable product for fishers in this North African region. Can Italy love the blue crab too?
Blue crabs have invaded Tunisia and have become a viable product for fishers in this North African region. Can Italy love their new blue crabs too?
The invasive blue crabs that made their way to Tunisia from the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal were not welcome at first but since have turned into a new export. Another species of blue crab that originated in America is causing its share of problems for fisherman right now in Italy.
The Callinectes Sapidus, the blue crab, the Atlantic blue crab, or the Maryland blue crab is threatening Italy’s clam-farming and fishing industries. The Italian government has allocated about $3 million USD to fund the capture of as many blue crabs as possible.
At the same time, the blue crab is the fifth most popular crab in the world market. It is especially sought out in the Asian, United States and Australian markets where it is featured on the menus of many restaurants.
According to Nature, the blue crab in Italy was first observed in the Mediterranean Sea in 1949, where it was probably transported in the ballast waters of transoceanic ships.
“The colonisation took some time, it is a slow process,” says Gianluca Sarà, marine ecologist at the University of Palermo. Before invading the Po River Delta, Atlantic blue crabs have been spotted in other locations in Italy. Established populations were first detected in 2014 in the lagoon of Lesina and Varano, in Apulia.
Climate change is suspected to be one of the reasons the blue crab was able to slide into Italy from the Adriatic Sea. Researchers are now looking on how their colonisation will impact other aquatic sea life and shores.
Blue crab catch in Tunisia
Invasive species like the Portunus segnis from the Indian Ocean or Callinectes Sapidus, the Atlantic blue crab, lived in ecosystems that that developed over thousands, maybe millions of years. The Suez Canal changed this separation between seas fast and is the reason why the Mediterranean is over-run with jellyfish every summer, making it impossible to swim in places like Israel and Lebanon for fear of getting stung during the hottest times of the year.
Two blue crabs invade. Let’s get those crabs straight
Portunus segnis, is the scientific name for the African blue swimming crab. It is a crustacean, and a swimming crab belonging to the family Portunidae. It is native to the western Indian Ocean, but invaded the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal in Egypt. In 2015 it invaded the Gulf of Gabes, in southern Tunisia. Now the country has dozens of crab-processing plants. “At first fishers wanted this species to disappear, but now they are asking the authorities for regulations to protect it,” says one fisherman.
Another invasive blue crab, the one invading Italy currently is Callinectes sapidus, the Atlantic blue crab, or regionally known in the US as the Maryland blue crab. It is a species of crab native to the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and it is now introduced internationally. It is also known as the Chesapeake blue crab.
Global shipping industry to blame for invaders
According to The Revelator, “global shipping is moving invasive species around the world.”
They report that “in July 2021 federal agents in New Orleans abruptly ordered the 600-foot cargo ship Pan Jasmine to leave US waters. The ship, which had sailed from India, was preparing to offload goods when inspectors noticed fresh sawdust on the cargo deck and discovered non-native beetles and ants boring into wooden packaging materials. The unwelcome insects included an Asian longhorn beetle, a species that was introduced into New York 25 years ago, where it has killed thousands of trees and cost $500 million in control efforts.
“The crew of beetles aboard the Pan Jasmine is not an isolated incident. That same month bee experts north of Seattle were scouring forest edges for Asian giant hornet nests. These new arrivals, famously known as “murder hornets,” first turned up in the Pacific Northwest in 2019, also likely via cargo ship. The two-inch hornets threaten crops, bee farms and wild plants by preying on native bees. Officials discovered and destroyed three nests.
“And this past autumn Pennsylvania officials urged residents to be on the lookout for spotted lanternflies, handsome, broad-winged natives of Asia discovered in 2014 and now present in at least nine eastern states. Believed to have arrived with a shipment of stone from China, the lanternfly voraciously consumes plants and foliage, threatening everything from oak trees to vineyards.”
Can world governments agree on necessary preventative measures?
Redress winner Nils Hauser worked with Timberland to upcycle waste into iconic fashion pieces. All in the name of a circular economy and beating fast fashion.
Leading fashion brands know that the good old days of fast fashion are changing. They can no longer produce low cost gear without considering a good wage, ecologically sourced raw materials, eco shipping and handling and a vision for the products end of life. Companies like Shein may still have a lead in the market but consumers, even young ones, are catching on that upcycled or recycled clothes are where at its at.
Heralding this mission and driving big brands forward is Redress, a Hong Kong-headquartered environmental NGO accelerating the change to a circular fashion industry. They work with big brands and young designers to envision and change the fashion industry in every part of its cycle from cradle to cradle. Their focus is on Asia where most fast fashion is produced by people in deplorable conditions.
They recently announced the winners of the Redress Design Award 2023.
Nils Hauser from German upcycles materials from Timberland to make new fashion
Winning first prize Nils Hauser from Germany got a chance to work on a sustainable design collaboration out of VF Corporation’s Tokyo Design Collective with the Timberland design team for the brand’s Spring 2025 apparel collection.
Hauser out-designed eight other emerging designers from Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, and the USA, following a nine-month educational competition that attracted applications from 46 countries and regions.
“Collaborating with a world-leading brand like Timberland and bringing my sustainable fashion ideas into the mainstream and large-scale fashion market whilst working with Timberland’s expert team is a designer’s dream,” said Hauser. “Designers have solutions, and we know that by working together we can make change,” he said.
Change is much needed. Fashion, we know, is one of the world’s most polluting industries. Approximately 100 billion apparel items are sold per year, representing a 50% increase since 2006, with the majority of clothing being landfilled or burned within one year of production. Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned.
A Nils Hauser moodboard that inspired his creations for Redress and Timberland
Meanwhile, 80 percent of a product’s environmental impact is determined at the design stage.
“Design decisions made at the drawing board can change the world,” said Redress Founder, Christina Dean. “Fashion needs to reinvent itself to become more circular. Floods and fires are continuing. Our Redress Design Award Finalists are fashion’s fire-fighters. Making sustainability and circularity an industry norm feels like a far-off dream, but it’s worth fighting for if we want to reduce fashion’s negative environmental impacts.”
The finalists designed waste out of fashion with the circular design techniques of zero-waste, upcycling, and reconstruction. They explored textile waste streams for their design materials, from manufacturing waste and consumer castoffs to the more imaginative reuse of turbans, tents, and bedsheets.
Their bold designs and sourcing methods represent creative and innovative solutions to increase current circularity achievements, which presently see less than one percent of clothing being recycled back into clothing.
“Our collaboration with Redress gives us the unique opportunity to directly connect with emerging fashion designers who have a passion for sustainability, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to usher in a new era of sustainability in fashion,” said Jeannie Renne-Malone, VP of Global Sustainability at VF Corporation. “VF remains committed to fostering a lower carbon future through implementing sustainable design principles, such as circular design, that minimise the industry’s environmental impact.”
Hauser now takes the previous winners’ baton from Redress Design Award 2022 winner, Federico Badini Confalonieri from Italy, 2021 winner Jessica Chang from Taiwan, and 2020 menswear winner Lê Ngọc Hà Thu from Vietnam, who each contributed towards sustainable capsules in collaboration with Timberland.
The 2023 Redress winner and ones to watch:
First Prize winner: Nils Hauser, Germany
Runner-Up Prize winner: Ruwanthi Gajadeera, Sri Lanka
Hong Kong Best Prize winner: Mandy Fong, Hong Kong
People’s Choice winner: Pavneet Kaur, India
The 2023 Redress prize?
The Redress Design Award first prize winner will join VF’s Timberland team to collaborate on a design project. They will also have the opportunity to work closely with the VF Corporation Sustainability & Responsibility team to ensure that materials and design strategies maximise sustainability, and will gain exciting insights from across the supply chain from sourcing to product development, while deepening their skills and understanding around sustainable production and marketing.
The first prize winner will also receive…
$6,400 USD to propel their sustainable fashion career
A high-performance lockstitch machine and an overlock sewing machine from JUKI
One year individual access to all areas of Bloomsbury Fashion Central, including the Fairchild Books Library and the Fashion Photography Archive
Want to fast-track your career at a sustainable fashion business school or qualify for a future Redress internship? Try the Redress online course.
When Muslim pilgrims talked to sorcerers on their way to Mecca: Muslims used stones for warding off the evil eye. A pile of unusual magical objects was uncovered in Israel and believed to be used by sorcerers helping pilgrims on their way to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
You know about the Evil Eye and hamsa, hamsa, hamsa for keeping it away? It’s an old practice in the Middle East. Finding some sources to superstitions are the strange magical tools found along pilgrim routes and described by Israeli researchers in the Journal of Material Cultures in the Muslim World. The researchers found stones and sculptures, some broken, and guess these objects were used in magical rituals carried out in order to ward off the evil eye, to heal diseases and more.
According to the researchers, “This discovery reveals that people in the Early Ottoman Period—just as today—consulted popular sorcerers, alongside the formal belief in the official religion.”
Archeology site where camp with magical objects was found
Itamar Taxel of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Uzi Avner of the Dead Sea-Arava Science Center, and Nitzan Amitai-Preiss of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem were involved in the study that looked at the objects found in the Eilat region in the 1990s.
The group of objects is associated with rituals or ceremonies and comprises predominantly dozens of fragments of clay globular rattles, mostly similar to table tennis balls, containing small stones, that sound when the rattle was shaken. There were 2 miniature votive incense altars found, a small figurine of a naked woman or a goddess with raised hands, a characteristic feature of deities or priests; a few other figurines, and crystal pebbles.
The examination of the clay used for the ceramic objects has shown that they came from Egypt.
This is the first time that such a large assemblage of ritual objects of this kind has been found, and it is even more unique at a temporary site and not a permanent settlement.
A magical sculpture endowed with properties then broken?
The magical objects were found next to the Pilgrimage Road (Darb al-Hajj, in Arabic) that led from Cairo, crossed the Sinai Peninsula, and continued in the region of Eilat to the town of Aqaba, and then crossed the Arabian Peninsula on the way to Hajj in Mecca and Medina. This route was in use from the first centuries after the rise of Islam, from the 7th century to the 19th century.
“The spot of these artifacts next to the camping site, and the comparison of the artifacts to those known in the Muslim world, as well as the fact that these artifacts were found together as a group, lead to the understanding that they were used in magical rituals,” the researchers announce, adding:
“The artifacts were found broken, and they may even have been purposely broken in the ceremonies. It seems that these rituals were carried out at the site by one or several people who specialized in popular magical ceremonies. From the literary sources, we know that there was a demand for magical rituals among people from different strands of society. Such rituals were carried out daily alongside the formal religious rituals—including in the Muslim world—and it is probable that the pilgrims making their way to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina were no exception,” they add.
The Darb el-Haj road will be part of tourism and educational activities in Israel showing how cultures past lived their lives in the Holy Land.
Israel, arguably the food-tech capital of the world, has come up with a new invention to supplement the alternative protein market: making a protein from black-eyed peas, also known as cowpea. The company says that the peas are gene-edited to make them easier for harvesting, but that the process does not fall into a GMO category. The company Better Pulse joins a long line of alternative meat and alternative plant-based solutions to feed a growing planet. We featured a recent round up of the top cultivated meat products from Israel (see Aleph Farms, Believer Meats) but what makes Better Pulse different is that it contains no meat protein at all but offers a reliable alternative for plant-based milk and yoghurts or any manufactured plant based protein product.
If you have ever read any modern criticism of agriculture (Michael Pollan, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Yuval Noa Harari), you will know that most of our food is derived from monocrops. While there may be hundreds of different grain types or bananas, we typically eat the same ones over and over again. It gets worse when you look at our staple crops where more than 51% of our caloric intake is sourced from just four staple crops—rice, soy, wheat, and corn.
These crops are threatened by global warming. We need to diversify what we eat and how we eat it. Arguably the best solution is for us all to return to the land and start regenerative farming and foraging, but likely only a handful in every community will do that. For alternatives, Better Pluse hopes to offer another protein-rich solution for food resiliency and food security.
Black-eyed peas plant are among the oldest cultivated crops which is also very tolerant to extremes in heat: “The looming effects of climate change on the resiliency of the protein supply chain, particularly soybeans, underscore the urgency of adopting Black-eyed peas as a solution,” says founder and CEO Alon Karpol, “Better Pulse’s enhanced Black-eyed peas genetics will fortify global food security, drastically reduce Black-eyed peas cultivation costs, and its protein will provide a sensory experience akin to various dairy products.
Unlike its soybean or green and pea counterparts, Better Seeds’ Black-eyed pea protein is distinguished by its white color and subtle aftertaste profile – characteristics that are essential for food ingredients.
Fresh black-eyed peas cultivated by Better Pulse.
The company has concluded a Proof-of-Concept phase where it achieved the production of over 70% protein, and integrated it into diverse food products. The company has special access to black-eyed peas genetics that are ready for mechanized harvesting, enabling cost cost-effective, and profitable cultivation beyond Africa, the primary region where black-eyed peas are grown today.
The initial financial backing for Better Pulse was provided by BetterSeeds, a portfolio company of Israel’s Smart-Agro Fund.
The alternative protein in food is worth an estimated $6.7 billion USD with an CAGR of 6.7%.
A reticulated giraffe was born without spots at Brights Zoo in northeastern Tennessee at the end of July. The zoo is asking the public to cast their vote on what to name her.
A reticulated giraffe was born without spots at Brights Zoo in northeastern Tennessee at the end of July. The zoo is asking the public to cast their vote on what to name her.
A baby giraffe was born without spots last month. The birth took place at Brights Zoo in Tennessee. She is the only known solid-colored giraffe in in the world. And unlike her mother with regular markings, this unmarked giraffe is an anomaly. She is about 6 feet tall and is expected to grow to a height of about 15 feet. In other rare occasions sometimes the baby giraffes are born with brown spots. But a reticulated giraffe, one with no spots, is one-of-a-kind known to nature.
Zookeepers at the zoo say as far as giraffe experts say she is the only one in the world. There was one report in the 1970s in Japan of a giraffe born without spots.
A rare giraffe born without markings is now called Kipekee
The zoo reports that she had no problem integrating into the herd: “She was immediately accepted by the entire giraffe tower. They treat her as they see her no different than any other giraffe born here at the zoo.”
Obviously the zoo and its visitors are excited. The public was called on to vote on a possible name via the zoo Facebook page. The options and their meanings in Swahili were:
1. Kipekee – Unique
2. Firyali – Unusual or Extraordinary
3. Shakiri – She is most beautiful
4. Jamella – One of great beauty
And after Labour day in the US, the decision was made: she will be called Kipekee.
Want to help giraffes survive? Visit Safe Giraffes Now for fundraising campaigns.
An Antarctic research base, polluted. Pollution in Antarctic marine environments (clockwise from top right): Rubbish on the seafloor adjacent to Casey Station, resulting from historical waste disposal practices (photo Chris Patterson); an abandoned waste disposal site, close to the shoreline near the former Wilkes station, which is a source of contaminants into the local marine environment (photo Ian Snape); wastewater disposal into the sea is common practice at most Antarctic stations and is a source of pollution (photo J. Stark). Stark et al. & Australian Antarctic Division, CC-BY 4.0
If there is anywhere on earth we can consider pristine and pure, it must be remote locations like the Antarctic region. But it actually has a dirty secret, according to a new report issued this past summer in the PLOS One journal. Parts of the sea floor near Australia’s Casey research station may be as polluted as busy in-use harbors today, like Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, according to researchers.
The contamination is likely to be widespread across Antarctica’s older research stations as well, announces Jonathan Stark, a marine ecologist at the Australian Antarctic Division in Hobart who was a co-author of the latest paper. “These contaminants accumulate over long time frames and don’t just go away,” he told Nature.
The The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launches an ozonesonde balloon.
In the new report Stark and his colleagues documented high concentrations of hydrocarbons — those are compounds found in fossil fuels — and they also reported heavy metals, such as lead, copper and zinc. Many of the samples they took were also full of polychlorinated biphenyls, which are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds that were common before being banned in 2001.
As part of the study, the researchers compared their samples with data from the World Harbour Project — which is an international collaboration to track pollution and the health of large urban waterways –– and to their shock they found that lead, copper and zinc were similar to those in Sydney Harbour and Rio de Janeiro over the last 20 years.
The old Casey rubbish tip. All rubbish tips on Australian stations were closed in 1985. Photo: Gavin Johnstone
The human ‘footprint’ and spatial extent of human activities and associated impacts in Antarctica, continues to grow as national Antarctic programs establish, expand, modernise and rebuild stations. There are currently 112 scientific research stations or national facilities established in Antarctica, including both year-round and summer only operations.
Many research stations have been operational for a long period of time, with 44 of them established prior to 1980; while a further 35 established between 1980 and 2000.
Prior to the 1980’s little attention was given to the environmental impacts of station activities, the scientists document in their report: waste and rubbish were disposed of by dumping into landfill sites, onto sea ice, or into the ocean. From the 1980’s onwards environmental management practices improved greatly, largely due to the introduction and ratification of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (known as the Madrid Protocol).
For example, solid waste is now mostly exported from the continent. Historical practices have however, resulted in a legacy of environmental contamination. As most stations are located in coastal areas, this can lead to contamination of local marine environments, with sources including sewage and wastewater discharges, oil spills, and waste disposal sites.
While pollution of marine environments is likely to occur at all coastal stations to varying degrees, it is not well documented and has only been reported for a few stations in the Antarctic.
The researchers sum up: “Our understanding of the processes that affect contamination of the Antarctic coastal marine environment is relatively limited. For example, it is not known how long existing contamination will persist or if natural processes will attenuate and/or distribute contaminants beyond existing contaminated areas.
“Similarly, our understanding of the impacts of such contamination on marine benthic ecosystems adjacent to stations, and the significance of such impacts in local and regional contexts is limited. To begin to address such issues it is important to ascertain the nature and extent of contamination of marine ecosystems around Antarctic stations.”
Most of the stations are built on ice-free areas where most of the diversity of plant and animal life subside. Only about 1% of the Antarctic is ice-free so pollution these areas can have dire consequences for the nature there.
While each nation is responsible for the operations of their research stations, each country practices its responsibility differently. The researchers propose an action plan which includes at the very soonest upgrading wastewater treatment facilities.
Antarctic delivery service: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The Argentine Antarctic Institute in Buenos Aires are using bacteria to remove hydrocarbons from soil around Argentina’s Carlini Base on King George Island. This is a similar approach to the use of fungus on a pristine island damaged by a US military base.
Does this issue move you? Check here on Wikipedia if your country has an Antarctic research base. If you want to get involved reach out to your federal governments or researchers in the universities working at these bases.
Ormat collects heat energy from the earth's crust transforming it into electricity.
Ormat collects heat energy from the earth’s crust transforming it into electricity. Via Ormat.
Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA), a leading renewable energy company from Israel specializing in geothermal energy, rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange last week to celebrate its 20th year on the exchange.
Ormat’s CEO, Doron Blachar said: “We are honored to celebrate Ormat’s history as a publicly traded company by ringing the NYSE opening bell. As we reflect on 20 years of trading on the NYSE, I am proud of what we have accomplished, and am particularly proud of the Company’s continued growth in developing and providing geothermal, storage and other renewable resources across the globe.
Since Ormat began trading on the NYSE, the geothermal giant grew revenues from $219 million to over $700 million. They have expanded their portfolio from ten electricity generation and recovered energy projects to 42 complexes including 13 energy storage facilities. Some countries they operate in include the US, Kenya, Guatemala, Indonesia, Honduras, and Guadeloupe. They provide clean power to companies like eBay and their servers in Utah.
Their energy generating capacity increased from 343 MW to 1.28 GW across geothermal, energy storage, solar PV and recovered energy, which includes 170MW/298MWh of energy storage capacity.While Ormat has been publicly traded for nearly two decades, its long-term goal is to reach our goal of 1.9 to 2.0 GW portfolio by the end of 2025.
Founded in 1965 as a family business, Ormat has been in the business longer than most of us have been alive. The company owns, operates, designs, manufactures, and sells geothermal power plants primarily based on the Ormat Energy Converter – a power generation unit that converts low-, medium- and high-temperature heat into electricity. The Company has engineered, manufactured, and constructed power plants, which it currently owns or has installed for utilities and developers worldwide, totaling approximately 3,200 MW of gross capacity.
Ormat’s current total generating portfolio is 1,277 MW, comprised of a 1,107 MW geothermal and solar generation portfolio that is spread globally in the U.S., Kenya, Guatemala, Indonesia, Honduras, and Guadeloupe, and a 170 MW energy storage portfolio located in the US.
How does geothermal energy collection work?
Many areas of the world have heat generated from the earth’s core and crust that makes its way to near the surface of earth. In geothermal energy production, a production well is drilled into a known geothermal reservoir and from here water is heated and the steam turns turbines which then drive an electricity generator. Power is then stored or transmitted to power lines.
Aluminum could be a source of perfect fuel. How researchers are perfecting the idea
Aluminum could be a source of perfect fuel. This Canada produces aluminum with one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world.
Summers are growing hotter, storms more violent, wildfires more frequent and ocean levels are rising. It is becoming increasingly obvious that burning fossil fuels containing millions of years worth of trapped carbon is altering our atmosphere and climate. Hydrogen is a promising alternative to fossil fuels. It’s abundant, clean burning and has a high mass energy density. With modification it can be used in heating, vehicle engines or fuel-cells as a replacement for carbon-based fuels such as natural gas (CH4) gasoline (C8H18) or diesel fuel (C12H23).
Hydrogen gas is endless and available and a green energy contributing to a carbon-free future. Storage tanks can be sent like drones.
Hydrogen doesn’t have the long-term environmental flaws of fossil fuels. But it is not yet a simple replacement for hydrocarbons. Extracting green or grey hydrogen takes a considerable amount of energy and geologic hydrogen hasn’t yet been found in commercial quantities.
Hydrogen also has a low volumetric energy density. This means even though one kilogram of hydrogen can provide two to three times the energy of one kilogram of diesel fuel, at standard atmospheric pressure a hydrogen fuel tank requires about 5000 times the volume of a diesel fuel tank in order to provide the same energy and range.
Pressurizing the hydrogen to about 10,000 pounds per square inch improves this so that hydrogen only requires about 7 times the volume of diesel fuel. This pressure is almost twice as high as that which imploded the Titan submersible underwater earlier this year while hunting for the Titantic wreckage.
It takes up to 63 kilowatt-hours to extract one kilogram of aluminium from its bauxite ore. Much of that energy remains trapped in the chemistry of Aluminium in the same way coal and gasoline trap the energy of ancient sunlight. In fact burning aluminium produces almost twice the energy of burning an equivalent mass of coal.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the energy embedded in a single soda can could power a 14 watt light bulb for 60 hours or a television for two hours. By tuning the particle size and chemistry, the energy embedded in this metal can be used to extract hydrogen from water.
Reza Kholghy
Reza Kholghy, PhD, is research chair in Particle Technology and Combustion Engineering at Carlton University in Ottawa Canada. Dr. Kholghy was kind enough to provide Green Prophet with some insight on this promising new technology.
GreenProphet (GP): How do you use aluminium to produce hydrogen?
Dr. Kholghy: Aluminium powder is mixed with water and combusts through a high temperature oxidation process. This way, Aluminium takes the oxygen molecule in water and turns into alumina (aluminium oxide) and releases the hydrogen in water molecules.
GP: What is the efficiency compared to other methods of recycling Aluminium?
A reactor in Carleton’s Energy and Particle Technology Laboratory that informed the construction of Kholghy’s reactor with GH Power.
Dr. Kholghy: This is not a method to recycle aluminium. By combusting it with water, we can get 100% yield, meaning that all of the aluminium will be converted to alumina and for every kg of Aluminium, roughly 1 kg of water is consumed releasing around 111 gr of hydrogen.
GP: What is the volume and mass energy density compared to hydrogen fuel cell technology?
Dr. Kholghy: The reactor is very compact, a 2 MW reactors only need a footprint of around 300 to 400 sq sq ft and cogenerate heat, hydrogen and alumina.
GP: Why weren’t we doing this 100 years ago?
Dr. Kholghy: This reaction has been used in a variety of application including green rocket propellant where Aluminium nanoparticles are used. However, the unique feature of our work is finding a way to burn large Aluminium particles
GP: What is the best scale for an Aluminium hydrogen generator? (car, house, utility…)
Dr. Kholghy: Utility, from 1 MegaWatt and higher.
GP: What would you tell someone who is sceptical?
Canada produces aluminum with one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world.
Dr. Kholghy: This is just a pice of puzzle towards transitioning to zero carbon energy production. This technology offers off grid solutions for cogeneration of heat, hydrogen as well as valuable high purity alumina that is used in batteries.
GP: Are you working with other researchers or corporations?
Dr. Kholghy: We are working with a Company called GH Power to develop this technology.
GP: What is the next step?
Dr. Kholghy: Our industrial partner is working with us to demonstrate the full scale reactor.
GP: How are impurities removed?
Dr. Kholghy: For hydrogen generation, there is no need to remove impurities. We get similar hydrogen yield no matter if recycled Aluminium with low purity or high purity Aluminium is used. The purity of alumina is similar to the purity of the Aluminium fuel used and we have developed a proprietary process to remove impurities from the produced alumina if needed.
Large, flavorful tomatoes ripen in Odina Sattorova’s backyard greenhouse in Uzbekistan’s Ferghana Valley. Their perfect shape, rich colour and smooth texture – undeniable indicators of quality – are the result of many days of intensive work in the greenhouse. Odina, who has worked in greenhouses taking care of seedlings and helping harvest grapes since she was young, was used to this kind of hard work. Her family relied on agriculture to earn their living.
But this now 43-year-old woman farmer has learned that there are new “smart” farming techniques that reduce labour and markedly increase productivity and profitability. The facts speak for themselves. Today, Odina grows about 400 kilograms of tomatoes per week during the harvest season, whereas before, she hardly produced even 120 kilograms. Along with the quantity, the quality of the product has also improved. The fruits are consistently smooth, large and more flavorful than the previous ones.
Odina learned to utilize these transformative techniques through the project, “Smart Farming for the Future Generation”, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). With financial support from the Republic of Korea, this project was launched in 2021 in Uzbekistan and Viet Nam to introduce new growing methods and tools that decrease water consumption and labour, while increasing yields, crop quality and incomes.
Simple yet innovative farming technologies and techniques save natural resources while increasing incomes
The project introduced simple innovations in water management, pest control and greenhouse improvements, such as the use of a plastic shade net, instead of the traditional clay cover, on top of the greenhouse to keep it from overheating. The new plastic film is not only more durable but it also absorbs ultraviolet radiation and prevents condensation on the inside of the greenhouse.
Of all the tools introduced by the project, Odina considers the drip irrigation system the most useful and effective one. The irrigation system includes a fertilization mechanism, which allows her to provide nutrients to the crops. The system also measures the salinity and acidity of the water and, most importantly, regulates its use, saving this valuable resource.
Water issues have always been crucial for Odina’s district of Uzbekistan. Being very near the border with Kyrgyzstan, this area has been highly dependent on water sources coming from this neighbouring country. Also located at an altitude of 677 metres above sea level, with steep and treeless terrains, digging wells is not a reliable option, as it is often too deep and expensive to do so.
In this setting, farmers used to rely on canals that brought water to the villages from the hills. Farmers would have to wait for her or his turn to use the water to irrigate their land.
Now the water is collected in a special water tank and then used as necessary, with the system irrigating greenhouses automatically. The uniform water supply of the drip irrigation system maintains the required humidity of the soil and the greenhouse as a whole. This is important because when there is too much water, excessive moisture creates a favorable environment for plant diseases.
“It is very convenient, saves me time and effort, and most importantly, saves water,” Odina explains of the drip irrigation system.
“Before, I did not know how important it is to keep a constant record of temperature and humidity inside the greenhouse. I did not know how to prevent the spread of various plant diseases, due to which we used to lose a significant part of the crop. I learned these and other useful things during the FAO trainings,” she says.
With these new skills and practices, Odina has grown her tomato business into a thriving small enterprise and receives two to three times her previous income.
New methods for green growth
Neighbours and guests who visit Odina’s farm immediately notice the improvements to the greenhouse, including the insect-proof mesh that covers all openings, the disinfectant foot mat at the entrance and the sticky traps for pests, all of which contribute to minimizing the use of pesticides.
“It is easier to prevent pests and diseases from entering the greenhouse than to deal with them later,” says Luciano Rovesti, an FAO Expert on Integrated Pest Management. “These are simple but important technological innovations that will greatly aid in reducing the incidence of pests, in the same way that the adoption of drip irrigation reduces the incidence of plant diseases.”
Digitalization is another important aspect of greenhouse management. The project is testing equipping greenhouses with sensors and software for measuring soil moisture, solar radiation, humidity and air temperature. This data is then displayed on the farmers’ mobile devices and allows them to remotely control the microclimate in greenhouses and irrigate in a timely manner.
For Odina’s family, the additional revenue from her flourishing backyard greenhouse is more than welcome. Odina, who has worked at home all her life, now wants to provide her daughters with the opportunities that come with higher education. She is saving the money she earns to pay for her daughters’ university fees. One is studying to be a doctor and the other to be a teacher – while her youngest daughter is preparing to enter university.
Odina’s is one of 40 greenhouses that FAO has modernized in the Andijan, Namangan and Ferghana regions of Uzbekistan. When farming becomes “smart” and incomes become sustainable, confidence in the future increases. This year the project aims to increase the number of optimized greenhouses and extend these sustainable practices even further.
This story was sent to Green Prophet via the FAO. Have good news to share? Send us a line at news@greenprophet.com
Tobacco sales are down in the United States and Canada but cannabis use, following full legalization of marijuana in countries like Canada is on the rise. Hoping to get into the business one of the world’s largest cigarette companies Phillip Morris has taking a sharp turn toward cannabis by buying the Israeli medical cannabis inhaler and dosage device Syqe. The deal is worth $650 million.
It was no surprise that this would happen as the company invested $20 million into the medical device company in 2016. Syqe was built to dose a more accurate amount of medicine than current inhalers and dispensers in the market.
Israel’s National Insurance Institute (NII) partnered with Syqe recently to fully cover medical marijuana treatments with a metered inhaler for victims of terrorism or criminal violence. Studies suggest that medical cannabis can be effective in certain people for treating anxiety and PTSD.
The US Federal Trade Commission’s latest report on cigarette sales and marketing shows that cigarette sales by the largest US cigarette companies fell to 190.2 billion in 2021, the first time cigarette sales have fallen below 200 billion and a drop of 70% from a high of 636.5 billion in 1981. The 6.7% drop from 2020 to 2021 shows that the long decline in cigarettes sales has resumed after a small upward blip in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The huge, continuing drop in cigarette sales reflects the enormous declines in smoking rates among both youth and adults in recent decades. It will pay off in improved health and countless lives saved for generations to come. So what’s a tobacco company to do? Cannabis of course.
According to the deal, Phillip Morris will invest $130 million to finance the process of obtaining the FDA approval for Syqe’s inhaler. The FDA is the American health authority, The Federal Drug Administration, which gives the seal of approval for medical devices and pharmaceuticals in the United States. If the process goes through Phillip Morris will acquire Syqe’s shares for $650 million.
This transaction would be run via Phillip Morris’ subsidiary Vectura, a UK company specializing in inhaler products to deliver medicines. If this deal works, it would be a first for the FDA agreeing to use raw cannabis as medicine.
Raphael Mechoulam, discoverer of THC, CBD in medicinal cannabis
Israel is the world’s first country to investigate the medicinal properties and chemistry of cannabis. Legendary cannabis research Prof. Raphael Mechoulam, while at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, was the first to isolate and name THC and CBD from a sample of hashish. He died this year at 92. I have personally interviewed him over the years.
Israeli-American physician Alan Shackelford, also pioneered cannabis as medicine in the United States. He consulted Mechoulam’s research on epilepsy and cannabis before dosing a child Charlotte Figi with THC and CBD in the US.
Israel has legalised cannabis for medical use but unlike Canada which has fully legalized cannabis for recreation and medicine, Israel has been slow to overcome that stage and has put a brake on what could have given Israel an edge in the market. Pioneering companies like Tikkun Olam (read our interview with them), original growers in Israel, have lost their market value from an overwhelming number of growers in the country. Its assets were up for auction recently and it merged with a Canadian real estate company. It is cheaper to grow cannabis elsewhere where there are fewer regulations and government hurdles.
Four ancient Roman swords, in near perfect condition were unearthed in a cave in the In Gedi Nature Reserve in Israel by the Dead Sea.
Four ancient Roman swords, in near perfect condition were unearthed in a cave in the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve in Israel by the Dead Sea.
It’s as though they were forged by Romans just a few years ago. The blades perfectly preserved by the dry, hot conditions, four 1,900-year-old swords preserved in their wooden and leather scabbards were found in the cache located in the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve in the Dead Sea area of Israel. This is dramatic evidence of a specific moment in history, say the researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Ariel University involved in the study.
An article published today in the book New Studies in the Archaeology of the Judean Desert: Collected Papers, suggests that the weapons were war booty, and were hidden in the cave by the Judean rebels. The book summarizes six years of archaeological surveys and excavations carried out in the Judean Desert caves.
The archeologists examine the find
A sensational find: the excellently preserved Roman swords and a shafted weapon were discovered in a crevice in a cave in the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve. It appears that the weapons were hidden by the Judean rebels, after they were seized from the Roman army as booty. “Finding a single sword is rare—so four? It’s a dream! We rubbed our eyes to believe it,” say the researchers.
One of the rare four swords
The weapons were discovered in a small hidden cave located in an area of isolated and inaccessible cliffs north of ‘En Gedi, in the Judean Desert Nature Reserve, under the jurisdiction of the National Parks Authority. Fifty years ago, a stalactite with a fragmentary ink inscription written in ancient Hebrew script characteristic of the First Temple period, was found.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the general area of the Dead Sea as well.
Recently, Dr. Asaf Gayer of the Department of the Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Ariel University, geologist Boaz Langford of the Institute of Earth Sciences and the Cave Research Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Shai Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority photographer, visited the cave. Their aim was to photograph the Paleo-Hebrew inscription written on the stalactite with multispectral photography that might be able to decipher additional parts of the inscription not visible to the naked eye.
While on the upper level of the cave, Asaf Gayer spotted an extremely well-preserved, Roman pilum— a shafted weapon in a deep narrow crevice. He also found pieces of worked wood in an adjacent niche that turned out to be parts of the swords’ scabbards.
The Judean Desert Cave Survey team, together with Asaf Gayer and Boaz Langford returned to the cave and carried out a meticulous survey of all the crevices in the rock, in the course of which they were astonished to find the four Roman swords in an almost inaccessible crevice on the upper level of the cave.
The swords were exceptionally well preserved, and three were found with the iron blade inside the wooden scabbards. Leather strips and wooden and metal finds belonging to the weapons were also found in the crevice. The swords had well-fashioned handles made of wood or metal.
The length of the blades of three swords was 60–65 cm, their dimensions identifying them as Roman spatha swords, and the fourth one was shorter with c. 45 cm long blade, identified as a ring-pommel sword. The swords were carefully removed from the crevice in the rock and transferred to the Israel Antiquities Authority climate-controlled laboratories for preservation and conservation. The initial examination of the assemblage confirmed that these were standard swords employed by the Roman soldiers stationed in Judea in the Roman period.
Did Jewish rebels hide their booty in the cave?
“The hiding of the swords and the pilum in deep cracks in the isolated cave north of ‘En Gedi, hints that the weapons were taken as booty from Roman soldiers or from the battlefield, and purposely hidden by the Judean rebels for reuse,” says Dr. Eitan Klein, one of the directors of the Judean Desert Survey Project. “Obviously, the rebels did not want to be caught by the Roman authorities carrying these weapons. We are just beginning the research on the cave and the weapon cache discovered in it, aiming to try to find out who owned the swords, and where, when, and by whom they were manufactured. We will try to pinpoint the historical event that led to the caching of these weapons in the cave and determine whether it was at the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132–135 CE.”
Following the discovery of the swords, an archaeological excavation was undertaken in the cave by the Israel Antiquities Authority, directed by Eitan Klein, Oriya Amichay, Hagay Hamer, and Amir Ganor. The cave was excavated in its entirety, and artifacts dating to the Chalcolithic period (c. 6,000 years ago) and the Roman period (c. 2,000 years ago) were uncovered. At the entrance to the cave, a Bar-Kokhba bronze coin from the time of the Revolt was found, possibly pointing to the time when the cave served for concealing the weapons.
Look at the location of the hiding spot!
According to Amir Ganor, Director of the Antiquities Looting Prevention Unit at the Israel Antiquities Authority, and one of the Directors of the Judean Desert Survey Project, “The Judean Desert doesn’t cease to surprise us. After six years of surveys and excavations, in the course of which over 800 caves were systematically recorded over an area of 170 km of cliff-line, we still discover new treasures in the caves. In the course of the project, we unfortunately encountered tens of caves that have been plundered since 1947.
“I shudder to think how much historical knowledge would have been lost had the looters reached the amazing artifacts in this cave before the archaeologists. This time, thanks to the national project initiated by the Israel Antiquities Authority, we managed to get there before the looters, and to save these fascinating finds for the benefit of the public and researchers around the world.”
Dr. Asaf Gayer of the Department of the Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Ariel University, says, “It is an honor and extremely exciting to take part in this discovery. The inscription and the weapons teach us a new chapter in the way in which the Jewish population exploited the Judean Desert caves in different periods. The wealth of finds exposes a new aspect of the ancient settlement in the ‘En Gedi oasis.”
According to Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu, the Minister of Heritage, “We are once again presented with thrilling findings from the Judean Desert that offer a glimpse into the daily lives of our ancestors who resided in this area about 2,000 years ago. The discovery of these swords within a cave, where a Hebrew inscription dating back to the time of the Temple was previously found, serves as further evidence of the enduring tradition of the people of Israel, emphasizing the significance of both the written word and the sword, symbolizing both our spiritual and physical heritage. The Ministry of Heritage, in collaboration with the Israel Antiquities Authority and its dedicated experts, will persist in their efforts to uncover, preserve, and transmit the rich history of the people of Israel within their homeland.”
According to Eli Escusido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “This is a dramatic and exciting discovery, touching on a specific moment in time. Not all are aware that the dry climatic conditions pertaining in the Judean Desert enable the preservation of artifacts that do not survive in other parts of the country. This is a unique time capsule, whereby fragments of scrolls, coins from the Jewish Revolt, leather sandals, and now even swords in their scabbards, sharp as if they had only just been hidden away today. The Judean Desert Survey, carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority in cooperation with the Ministry of Heritage and the Archaeological Office for the Military Administration of Judea and Samaria, are writing new page in history books, and I am proud to present the first volume in the series.”
The preliminary article on the swords is published in the volume ‘New Studies in the Archaeology of the Judean Desert: Collected Papers’, that will be launched this evening in Jerusalem. The authors: Dr. Eitan Klein of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Dr. Asaf Gayer of the Department of the Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Ariel University, Amir Ganor, Hagay Hamer, Oriya Amichay, Shai Halevi, all of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Boaz Langford of the Institute of Earth Sciences in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Dr. Guy D. Stiebel of the Department of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University.
Who asks Lebanon or the Middle East what they think about climate change? Is it possible that these water and energy-strapped regions who have the most to lose from a hot planet might have something critical to say? Those voices were heard at a Climate Justice Camp in August.
Participants from almost 100 countries across the Middle East and North Africa-Europe areas came together at the camp – one of the largest events of its kind to take place in the region – to attend and lead sessions on topics including loss and damage, climate adaptation, and fossil fuel phase-out. Eco Peace, Middle East, fashions large events of this nature every year or so. See our interview with Gidon Bromberg.
During the recent sessions in Beirut, in which Green Prophet was invited but could not attend, sessions, participants and organizations developed partnerships and collaborations to push for change in local and global contexts.
To bring the camp to a close, attendees gathered at sunset around a sculpture of a giant hand, which was collectively constructed using more than 400 pieces of embroidery, banners, symbolic textiles, and fabrics brought from their home countries.
Renowned Lebanese artist and designer Pierre Abboud worked with participants across the week to co-design the sculpture as a symbol of solidarity for climate justice. He said: “This sculpture is a creative act of solidarity crafted by hundreds of young people coming together from around the world. Each piece of material tells a personal story, and woven together they form a hand that symbolizes the unity we feel in this gathering for climate justice, in such a beautiful part of the world – my country, my soul, my Lebanon.”
Kenzie Azmi, a campaigner at Greenpeace Middle East & North Africa said: “Gathering 450 young leaders this week from regions hardest hit by climate change, the Climate Justice Camp in Lebanon stands as a powerful show of solidarity. Together, Global South communities are taking a stand against climate change and demanding justice. We are immensely proud of the outcomes achieved and the unified spirit of the youth.
Does the world listen to what Arab women say? Listen to what was happening in Lebanon this summer.
This unity highlights a stark reality: Middle East and Global South communities face unprecedented challenges across social, health, and economic fronts, often worsened by past injustices. Those hit the hardest often have the least responsibility for the crisis.
The call remains clear: rich historically polluting countries are duty-bound to take the lead in phasing out fossil fuels. They must also bear the financial burden of addressing losses and damages, while also funding a fast and fair global transition to renewable energy that puts the needs of frontline communities first. They should generate the required funds by imposing taxes on their fossil fuel industry, which has been both a primary driver and beneficiary of the climate crisis for decades.
Camp attendee Ayisha Siddiqa from Pakistan, a human rights and land defender and Climate Advisor to the UN Secretary-General said: “Regions in the Middle East, which get the least attention but are arguably some of the most looted and impacted regions on Earth, first paid for fossil fuels with their life and are now paying in drought, flood, and hunger. It does not take a political scientist to understand that environmental disasters of such scale lead to political and social upheaval. The foundations of a market-based economy collapse fast and what we are left with is human suffering. More than ever we need people power, we need to unify across borders and regions, across cultures and languages, to fix what we have broken. That starts with us caring for each other and the planet like it’s the most precious resource to exist.”
Fatima-Zahrae Tarib from Morocco, camp participant, youth climate advocate, and political science major, said: “What we have at the Climate Justice Camp is the power of storytelling. The beauty of this space lies in the fact that it’s dedicated to young people, grassroots movements, Indigenous communities, and those living on the frontlines of the climate crisis to come together from inspiring communities around the world. We have been sharing our stories with one another every day, exchanging experiences and knowledge that can’t be found on the internet or in books. It can only be taught through people’s stories and lived realities – through people’s power.
“This helps us grow the movement. It helps us keep the motivation going to continue campaigning for climate justice. While we may feel disappointment or hopelessness about how the climate crisis is being dealt with; when you create a lasting community in a space like this, that’s how we can work together to get stuff done and keep the momentum going.”
The Climate Justice Camp in Lebanon is the second edition of this global grassroots event, building on the success of the inaugural September 2022 camp in Tunisia. More than 40 local and global organizations worked collaboratively this year to bring together young people from the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, South East Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, between August 28 to September 2.
Want contacts to get involved? Reach out to those below.
Hiam Mardini, Middle East and North Africa regional communications Manager, Greenpeace MENA Whatsapp: +961 71 533 232, hiam.mardini@greenpeace.org
Sophie Schroder, Climate Justice Camp global communications, Greenpeace Aotearoa – Roots Program, Whatsapp: +64 21 086 47450, sophie.schroder@greenpeace.org
Linda Åström, Climate Justice Camp global communications, GSCC, Whatsapp: +46 73-852 4285, linda.astrom@gsccnetwork.org
Bodegas in New York advertise food but they are part of the problem. Fresh, healthy food is hard to come by in cities.
Bodegas in New York advertise food but they are part of the problem. Fresh, healthy food is hard to come by in cities. It’s easier to grab a bar of chocolate and candy than a fresh fruit.
What is a food desert?
A food desert is where there is limited to no access to affordable, fresh, and nutritious food. In these regions, the availability of grocery stores, supermarkets, and other sources of healthy food options is scarce. Instead, residents often rely on convenience stores or fast-food outlets that offer mainly processed and unhealthy food choices.
Characteristics of a food desert include:
Limited Access to healthy food
Low-Income Population
Lack of Fresh Produce
Health Impacts
Food Security Concerns
Socioeconomic Factors
Two in five people cannot afford healthy food. Over 3.1 billion people, 42% of the global population, could not afford a nutritious diet in 2021, nearly half of the world’s population. The cost of a healthy diet has risen by almost 7% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Low-income households are facing a difficult situation because they would need to spend more than twice their current food budget to afford a healthy diet, as reported.
Food insecurity is a growing challenge for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Before the Covid-19 pandemic, UN agencies found that more than 55 million people out of a total population of 456.7 million were experiencing undernourishment. In 2020, MENA accounted for 20% of the world’s acutely food-insecure population, disproportionately high compared to its 6% share of the global population.
The region faces significant structural challenges in feeding its growing population. The first major challenge is climate change, with extreme weather and rising temperatures affecting local agriculture. Half of the MENA population already lives under water stress and with a projected population increase to nearly 700 million by 2050, per capita. Additionally, the region experienced a severe desert locust outbreak in 2020, impacting livelihoods and food security for millions.
The second challenge is the rapid population growth, which is the highest worldwide, coupled with the expansion of urban areas. Agricultural productivity is struggling to keep up with the population increase, except in Egypt, where productivity gains are above the global average.
The third challenge relates to diet and nutrition. The region heavily relies on food imports, mainly wheat and staple grains. MENA imports around half of its food, rising to 90% in Gulf Cooperation Countries. Many people’s caloric intake comes from wheat products subsidized by governments. Additionally, between a quarter and one-third of the adult population in the region is obese.
The current food system needs to nourish people’s health adequately. While it provides calories, it lacks sufficient nutrition. As a result, many individuals face the dual challenges of malnutrition, experiencing both stunting and obesity.
In Yemen, almost half of the children are underweight for their age. In Djibouti, one-third suffer from the same condition, causing long-term effects on their cognitive development and can impact the economic progress of their nations.
How to address food deserts?
Reducing the heavy reliance on food imports to combat fluctuating food prices.
Support local food markets, small businesses and healthy existing traditional food culture
Invest in agricultural practices and technologies that adapt to climate change, such as hydroponics, conservation agriculture, and safe water usage.
Digital technology and innovative financial models can attract private investment in agriculture and hydroponics.
Development interventions that support farmers in adopting more productive and sustainable systems resilient to climate-related risks like droughts and floods.
Improving agricultural job quality and making the agri-food sector more attractive
Implementing initiatives like entrepreneurship training and climate-smart practices
Implementing social protection measures such as safety nets and targeted food aid programs
Improve the efficiency of food imports and storage.
Show the world that grandma’s cooking is smart and healthy
Strange creatures live in the deep seas. Mining will destroy ecosystems.
Strange creatures live in the deep seas. Mining will destroy ecosystems. Sounds like an old Joni Mitchell song: They mined paradise so we could drive electric cars.
After weeks of intense debates at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) meeting in Jamaica this summer, deep seabed mining will not be allowed. The ISA, an international organization responsible for overseeing and regulating mineral resource activities in the seabed and ocean floor, focuses on protecting the marine environment from harmful impacts related to deep-seabed activities.
On July 28, 2023, the ISA announced the reinstatement of a moratorium on deep-sea mining. The proposal to discuss the protection of the marine environment and the future of deep-sea mining, initially blocked, will be on the agenda for the upcoming Assembly in 2024 thanks to champion countries’ efforts.
The ocean is already under significant stress from various factors, and deep-sea mining could exacerbate the situation. A temporary halt, or in the ISA’s terms, moratorium, is considered the best option until there is sufficient scientific evidence to protect the marine environment adequately. A number of companies have started mining for precious metals and minerals and policies need to be developed before the sea floor is ripped apart.
The deep-sea mining industry is being questioned as unnecessary for the green transition, and alternative measures like technology choices, recycling, and circular economy practices are suggested to reduce mineral demand. Transitioning to a circular economy is vital to effectively address biodiversity and climate crises.
A total of 21 countries have joined the call for a ban, precautionary pause, or moratorium on deep seabed mining, with Canada, Brazil, Finland, and Portugal making announcements during the ISA meetings. Additionally, companies representing 32% of the global tuna industry expressed concerns, 37 financial institutions managing over 3.3 trillion euros in assets highlighted the need for understanding potential risks, and the UN Commissioner on Human Rights advised against deep-sea mining.
Throughout the week, China, in favor of deep sea mining, had opposed the motion for discussion but eventually consented to include it in the agenda for 2024.
Supporters of deep-sea mining argue that it is necessary to fulfil the growing demand for metals like cobalt and nickel, which are crucial for producing batteries used in electric cars and the the shift towards green energy from fossil fuels. Companies like Regenx from Canada show that we can do a better job of recycling and re-using what we already have in the system. Another Canadian company, started the whole deep sea mining controversy. The Canadian company The Metals Company partnered with a tiny nation of Naura in Micronesia to trigger a loophole.
Canada is undoubtedly a mining nation and we need to hope that Canada will set the global environmental standard on protecting its Arctic borders and Pacific and Atlantic coasts when it comes to deep sea mining.
According to the Mining Association of Canada, which represents mines and their assets mining industry continues to be a critically important part of Canada’s economy, and contributed $125 billion to the GDP in 2021, 5% of the total. Mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction made up 7.9% of Canada’s $2 trillion gross domestic product.
The debate made clear that governments, financial institutions, scientists, and communities are uniting in opposition to deep seabed mining and are creating progress.
However, the potential danger of unregulated deep-sea mining persists, and the complete extent of its impact, if allowed to proceed, remains uncertain.
In a world increasingly concerned about the health of our planet, it is important to recognize positive environmental news that showcases efforts to protect and restore the Earth.
From conservation breakthroughs to sustainable innovations, here are ten uplifting environmental stories that bring hope for a brighter future!
Reforestation Success in Brazil:
Brazil is the cradle of the world’s biodiversity. We must do all in our power to save it.
In Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, a massive reforestation project has led to the recovery of 500,000 acres of land, equivalent to the size of Singapore. By planting native tree species and employing sustainable agricultural practices, the initiative is reversing deforestation and providing habitat for endangered wildlife.
Solar Power Surpasses Global Milestone:
Solar panels are changing lives in Lebanon. People are going “green” without even realizing it.
In 2023, the world celebrated a remarkable achievement as solar power surpassed 1 terawatt (1 trillion watts) of installed capacity. This milestone represents a significant step towards reducing reliance on fossil fuels and achieving a more sustainable energy future.
Net Zero Laws in Switzerland
The Swiss lead the world on net zero
Swiss citizens have scored a climate victory by voting in favor of a new climate law. The law aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, addressing the alarming glacier melt and paving the way for climate neutrality. This significant step shows how people in Switzerland are taking charge of their future and working towards a better environment for future generations.
Ocean Cleanup Success:
The Ocean Cleanup Project, a nonprofit organization focused on removing plastic debris from the ocean (remember Boyan Slatt), reported a significant reduction in plastic waste. Their innovative system deployed in the Great Pacific. Garbage patch has successfully collected millions of pounds of plastic, contributing to cleaner oceans.
Cities Pledge to Go Carbon Neutral:
Blue City, smart city, Rotterdam
Several major cities worldwide, including Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Helsinki, have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. Through renewable energy adoption, sustainable transportation, and energy-efficient buildings, these cities are leading the way in the fight against climate change.
New Marine Protected Areas:
Protecting the seas protects our economies and health. Red seaweed from Morocco.
In a joint effort, over 50 countries recently established the largest marine protected area in the Atlantic Ocean, covering 4.5 million square kilometers. This conservation initiative aims to safeguard biodiversity, marine habitats, and critical ecosystems.
The Biden Administration Efforts to Safeguard Endangered Species
Female cheetah and her kittens
The Biden Administration is making efforts to safeguard endangered species from the threat of extinction caused by human activities. They have taken important actions to restore endangered species regulations, ensuring the protection of habitats and at-risk wildlife. This move is vital for preserving biodiversity and securing healthy ecosystems for future generations. Although more work remains, it marks a significant achievement for the protection of US ecosystems.
Record Growth in Electric Vehicles:
Electric cars will saving thousands on fuel. This is Rivian.
The electric vehicle (EV) industry experienced a record-breaking year, with global EV sales surpassing 10 million units. This surge signals a shift towards sustainable transportation and decreased carbon emissions from the automotive sector.
Wind and Solar Energy’s Global Power
Wind and solar energy are set to become a significant source of global power, making up 33% of electricity production by 2030, according to a report from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). This development indicates that the energy sector is on track to meet the necessary changes to address global climate objectives. Sultan al-Jaber, president of COP28, the next UN climate summit, previously urged a threefold increase in renewable energy generation by 2030 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve the targets set in the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
Stay positive and hopeful! Together, we can make a real impact in preserving our planet for generations to come. Let’s celebrate these achievements and stay dedicated to sustainable practices, creating a more resilient and balanced world for all.
Red meat is full of collagen but not a great option for vegans
Each time you sit down to eat a meal with meat products, do you ever take a minute to think about what it took to get this food on your plate? Every year, 70 billion land animals are slaughtered for consumption worldwide. While many organizations and law enforcement across the globe work to ensure the slaughter of animals is done without inflicting pain on the animals, it is nearly impossible to ensure that all slaughterhouses are following these rules. In addition, slaughtering animals in general is an inhumane practice and is done for the sole purpose of feeding us. However, the cultivated meat industry and specifically lab meat is taking the world by storm and may be the end of animal slaughter.
What is lab-cultivated meat?
Lab-grown or cultivated meat uses animal cells to grow meat in a lab as an alternative to slaughter. Labs growing cultivated meat take animal cells from a live, healthy animal in a harmless skin sample. This innovative way of producing meat was originally concocted in the early 2000s but was brought to media attention in 2013 when a cultivated meat patty was tried at a conference in London for a lump sum of money. Later Singapore was the first country to begin sales of cultured meat.
Israel is one of the leaders in the cultivated meat industry. In 2020, the company SuperMeat opened a restaurant in Tel Aviv called “The Chicken” which offered a cultivated chicken burger to see if their customers noticed the difference. Other Israeli companies developing cultivated meat are Aleph Farms and Believer Meats.
Environmental impact
A carnivore diet takes a major toll on one’s carbon footprint. In fact, meat makes up 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. Beef is the world’s most detrimental food product in carbon emissions due to methane production which makes up 32% of greenhouse gas emissions.
After the livestock has been slaughtered, there are additional greenhouse gases that go into the atmosphere from the transportation of livestock, processing in factories, and then the packaging of the final product. In total, the entire process, from the initial raising of livestock to the final destination of stocking groceries stores is a constant carbon dump.
Deforestation is also a major problem when it comes to livestock farming. Much of the land livestock is raised on has been deforested for the sole purpose of raising more and more cattle. In addition, the constant grazing of livestock diminishes grassland productivity to the point where grass can no longer grow. Eventually, farmers need to revert to unconventional methods of crop irrigation by using polluting fertilizers so livestock can be raised.
And don’t forget about the extensive water use that goes into farming. It takes 1,799 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. This comes from the keeping of land, cleaning, and drinking requirements of the cattle. Especially in the heat of summer and in bad drought conditions, water use can exceed a considerable amount and massively increase the amount of water needed to grow livestock.
Is lab meat kosher?
There has been much speculation on the increasing popularity of cultivated meat in Israel. Especially for religious Jews and Rabbis who keep kosher, many are questioning the reliability of the industry.
For meat to be kosher, the animal must be in good health, killed a certain way, drained of its blood, and salted. In addition, only certain parts of an animal can be consumed. All these parts of keeping kosher in relation to meat make the discussion of cultivated meat more complicated.
However, back in January of this year, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi David Lau declared that the steak made from Aleph Farms is kosher, marking a monumental decision in the cultivated meat industry. He claimed that because the meat was grown instead of slaughtered, the meat is not actually meat, and can be thought of like a vegetable. Because the meat does not contain milk nor dairy and no blood from an animal, Rabbi David Lau declared it to be parve. Dozens of other rabbis from the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization have also called cultivated meat kosher.
While Rabbi Lau’s ruling is particularly for the meat produced in Aleph Farms, it is still unsure if all cultivated meat can be considered kosher as there needs to be a careful inspection at all cultivated meat companies and they need to be certified to be kosher. In addition, many may argue that it is not kosher as cultivated meat has animal origins as it is derived from animal cells.
Rabbi Genack from the Orthodox Union Kosher Division has questioned the reliability of cultivated meat being kosher as he has said that even microscopic specimens of cells derived from a living animal would not be considered kosher. In order for the meat to be kosher, the cells need to be taken from a kosher slaughtered animal.
Another aspect of the cultivated meat industry is the question of how Orthodox Jews can keep their legitimacy when choosing meals to ensure they don’t sin on Jewish law. Rabbi Yonathan Neril from The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development is an environmental advocate for cultivated meat.
While he believes that in itself lab-grown meat is kosher, it should not be mixed with dairy. According to Neril who tells Green Prophet: “If Jews start eating lab-grown meat with cow’s cheese, then they might come to mistakenly eat cow’s meat with cow’s cheese, which would be a violation of Jewish law.”
Neril insists that Jews mixing cultivated meat with normally derived cheese can fray on the principle of marit ayin, which is when the action of an observant Jew may seem unkosher when in actuality it is.
This term is coined by the judgment of others’ skepticism; the Jew is technically adhering to the law. However, Rabbi Neril added, “If lab-grown meat and lab-grown cheese replace animal meat and animal cheese in mainstream consumption, then it could be that over time, it would no longer be a problem in Jewish law to eat the lab-grown meat and lab-grown cheese together.”
Earth or Tradition?
Unfortunately what this means for the kosher community is one’s own personal opinion. With the current emergencies that face our climate, it is important to consider the environmental benefits of choosing cultivated meat. The environmental advantage of cultivated meat is enormous and can massively decrease global greenhouse gases. In addition, kosher law requires slaughter, which is devastating in itself.
The final decision is still in the hands of Jews, which reflects the ideals of modernity. Is it time we update the traditional laws of Judaism and put what’s facing us in the climate first in line? Are Orthodox Jews willing to sacrifice what’s traditional for the sake of our planet?
Picture this: you just had a long day of work, you finally come home, get ready for bed, and ultimately knock out. But have you ever thought about what the mattress you sleep on every night is made of?
There is always a more sustainable way of living. Almost every aspect of your life can become more sustainable. Today, I will talk about your mattress and the kinds of impacts they have on the environment.
Mattresses are made from a wide range of materials, including organic ones such as cotton and wool, and synthetic fibers such as polyurethane. Polyurethane, a plastic material often used in furniture, bedding, and carpets, is popular for its flexibility and durability. The issue with the development of mattresses in both organic and synthetic materials is due to fossil fuel use. However, the massive size of mattresses and the extensive need for mattresses generates tons of greenhouse gases, polluting our planet and contributing to climate change.
While the production of mattresses is just one thing, the disposal and decomposition of mattresses are even more polluting. Millions of mattresses are disposed of each year, most going to landfills. According to Canadian Mattress Recycling, a mattress can take decades to decompose in a landfill. Even worse, only 19 percent of mattresses are being recycled. Mattresses are not biodegradable. This is why leaving them in landfills is utterly unsustainable because they are massive and sit in the landfill taking up too much space. The best way of ridding of an old mattress is to bring it to a recycling center or have it picked up by one. Most people don’t realize that most mattresses are recyclable. Other options for disposing of your old mattresses can be by warranty-based recycling, donating, or reselling them.
If you are looking to buy an eco mattress, then keep reading. When looking for an eco mattress, your best options are mattresses made from organic, biodegradable materials. These mattresses are typically 100 percent recyclable, so this is your best bet for disposal. Even if the mattress finds its way into a landfill, it is biodegradable and won’t further pollute landfills. One mattress you can buy from is Birch, their eco mattress is made of wool, cotton, and latex, all of which are biodegradable and from natural sources.
Bamboo
Another option for purchasing eco mattresses is mattresses made from bamboo. Gaining popularity, bamboo mattresses are a great option for producing mattresses because they are renewable and come from the bamboo plant, which is fast growing and doesn’t require excess water or irrigation to grow. Mattress production from bamboo also has a much smaller carbon footprint compared to production from other sources, making it more environmentally friendly. In addition, bamboo is a natural growing plant and is biodegradable and compostable so if it ends up in a landfill, it won’t be there for so long. And don’t be hesitant to its name, bamboo mattresses are comfortable and efficient as they are moisture-wicking to keep you cool all night.
Other Factors
There are a lot of companies out there that now sell eco mattresses, so it’s important to look into the company you want to buy from to ensure the materials they use are organic and natural. Also check to make sure the company you are buying from takes extra strides to commit to being an eco-friendly company through their production methods, transportation, and other factors. Look into buying from a high-quality company, so that your mattress lasts you a while to reduce waste. You should also be sure that the mattress is eco-friendly by being non-toxic to yourself and your home.
SolarGik's trackers help maximize the rays of sunshine converted to power
SolarGik’s trackers help maximize the rays of sunshine converted to power
Solar energy is becoming increasingly popular, but there are challenges to overcome. Suitable lands for solar panels are becoming scarce and expensive, and rising interest rates make it harder for solar projects to succeed. Even in desert areas, like what Brightsource confronted in the California desert, all animals and plants need to be protected as well. To address these challenges, developers are exploring non-traditional methods for solar installations.
In traditional solar setups, panels remain stationary in large fields throughout the day. However, solar trackers are special devices that optimize energy production. Trackers, made of metal pipes and tubes, move the panels to face the sun as it moves from morning to evening.
SolarGik stands out in the solar energy industry with its innovative solar trackers. These trackers are more advanced than traditional ones, according to the company, and offer exceptional performance. Their versatility makes them even more remarkable—they can be installed not just on the ground but also on rooftops, parking lots, greenhouses, and even over crops.
The demand for renewable energy is high, but outdated infrastructure, complex regulations, and the difficulty of finding affordable land near existing infrastructure poses obstacles. SolarGik understands the importance of financial viability and optimizes costs for materials, shipping, and onsite work, ensuring a profitable investment.
SolarGik’s primary goal is to make solar energy accessible and affordable for everyone while improving the quality of electricity worldwide. They achieve this by using advanced trackers and technology to maximize the potential of solar energy. Instead of limiting solar panels to flat fields, SolarGik places them in unconventional locations, expanding the reach of solar power and benefiting more people at a reasonable cost. This is their niche.
By continuously tracking the sun’s movement, solar trackers can generate 15 to 30% more energy compared to fixed panels. This increase in energy production has led many solar fields to adopt trackers, capturing more sunlight and producing electricity more efficiently.
SolarGik is a game-changer in the solar energy industry. Unlike other trackers, SolarGik’s solution can be installed on challenging terrains with slopes of up to 30% and irregular land shapes, eliminating the need for costly civil work and long-distance power transfer. The trackers are also incredibly lightweight, thanks to their innovative motion unit. This results in a significant reduction in weight and cost compared to traditional options.
SolarGik’s trackers incorporate advanced software algorithms that enhance their performance. These algorithms enable the trackers to adapt to different angles, ensuring optimal energy production. Each panel’s angle can be adjusted individually, maximizing energy generation.
The trackers utilize satellite sensors and weather forecasting to respond to onsite changes, further optimizing energy output precisely. Their trackers effectively address issues such as shading and cooling, guaranteeing a higher overall energy yield. Additionally, these trackers feature shorter rows, providing flexibility in filling the landscape efficiently, resulting in less steel required and lighter trackers with thinner poles and a smaller, more affordable engine.
The motor used is a six-watt stepper motor, similar to those found in printers. In case of any issues, the motor can easily be replaced by unscrewing six screws. SolarGik’s innovative design ensures simplified maintenance and cost-effective operation.
SolarGik uses a supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA), a computer-based control system to monitor and control industrial processes and infrastructure. Energy, oil and gas, water and wastewater management, transportation, and manufacturing use SCADA systems. The SolarGik system, SOMA, connects and controls all essential components, thus, offering advanced monitoring, data collection, onsite optimization, and automated controls for efficient and profitable solar installations.
How does SolarGik compare to competitors?
Elisheva (de la Fuente) Sultan, the marketing manager at SolarGik, is in charge of branding and digital marketing at SolarGik. She explains this all to Green Prophet: “The cost of SolarGik’s trackers is 20 to 30% less than traditional options,” states Sultan. She continues to say there are no limitations to the types of solar panels that SoalrGik can use.
“On most solar fields, each piece of hardware usually has its own system to optimize that specific piece of hardware. Our SCADA system communicates with every hardware component, bringing all the information together into a centrally optimized decision-making system,” mentions Sultan.
They actively incorporate real-time weather and solar forecasting with grid data and crop data to support real-time decision-making and preempt and not just react to onsite conditions. “We’re incorporating multiple different hardware and software pieces, not just trackers,” says Sultan.
Other companies in this space from Israel include Doral and SolarEdge.
Cecile Bilious leading impact investing at Israel’s largest venture capital fund, Pitango
What is impact investing? Impact investing, which is investment strategies that target companies or industries that produce social or environmental benefits, is essential for several reasons. It addresses social and environmental challenges while performing investments that promote social responsibility. It creates sustainable solutions while paving a word that unlocks innovation and entrepreneurship.
Many studies show that impact investments are also giving better returns after a certain number of years. In short, they are the most resilient investments. ESG concentrates on a company’s environmental impact while yielding high returns. ESG is an acronym you will hear a lot in the impact space and it refers to a set of environmental, social, and governance standards that socially conscious investors use to select investments. The majority of businesses that engage in ESG investing have improved financial results. Financial performance is improved when investment decisions are made using ESG criteria.
Cecile Bilious, head of impact and sustainability at Pitango Venture Capital in Israel, works to integrate ESG and sustainable development goals (SDG) into mainstream venture capital. She is actively working to make impact investing more common and accessible in the VC world. Impact investments create paths towards a healthier planet and align values with investments.
Pitango, established in 1993, is Israel’s largest venture capital fund with over $2.8 billion under management.
Contrary to a popular misconception, many impact investments have demonstrated the potential for competitive financial performance while generating a positive impact. Cecile has been working passionately for the past 20 years to bring her vision of using technology to impact society and the planet positively. She tells Green Prophet: “Every investment we make and have made in the past we saw could make a major contribution to society or the planet,” says Cecile. She looks at her work as a holistic approach. She says her role in her career is to push the market forward to create as many solutions to as many challenges that humanity faces, environmentally or socially.
How has the world of impact investing changed?
“I think if you spoke about impact ten years ago, social or environmental, people would look at you like you’re crazy. Like you’re on the fringe, and nobody knows what you’re talking about,” says Cecile. If a startup had an impact and wanted to get funded by mainstream investors, they most likely would not get supported if they spoke about their implications.
Cecile continued to explain that, to a certain extent, many VCs still need to be on par with the rest of the world regarding understanding the industry impact, but it is getting better each year.
There is little time left to save the environment, and we must work fast. It is so vital that VCs push capital flows into ideas that can make a difference. Israel has shown tremendous potential to impact significantly because of the country’s entrepreneurial drive and funding mechanisms.
Companies have started to know that technology can be a huge driver for change. This realization has led them to consider their role in making a difference.
“When we speak to entrepreneurs, these are intelligent people. Even if they have succeeded in building a gaming company or a cybersecurity company, suddenly you see that more and more second-time entrepreneurs don’t want just to set up another cyber company; they want to do a company that has an impact,” says Cecile. They are moving into healthcare, education, agriculture, and climate-related technology because these align with their values. It’s becoming more common to incorporate weights into the business model and make them an integral part of a company’s identity.
In the past few years, there has been a shift in mindset. Now, when you present your impact-driven strategy in a boardroom seeking funding, everyone wants to invest in you.
The mindset around impact investments has changed from coming off as a liability to presenting itself as an asset. “It’s a good thing now to be able to speak about your impact and verbalize it and even quantify it for the SDGs (sustainable development goals) and just bring that to the table,” says Cecile.
People finally realize that we don’t have much time and need to address the social and environmental challenges facing humanity. They understand that technology can play a significant role in solving these challenges.
“More and more mainstream VCs like us are starting to invest in climate-related or social-related companies,” says Cecile. The world is starting to move in the right direction, which is good news. However, it needs to happen faster, and that’s the downside.
What does Cecile look for when investing?
When investing, Cecile looks for investments that complement and align with each other. She believes in investing in various sectors such as mobility, climate cybersecurity, and healthcare, as each of these areas contributes to addressing the challenges faced by humanity.
“You have to think about your investments as things that match with each other or blend with each other for example investing in mobility and investing in climate cybersecurity, healthcare, all kinds of things each one addresses a little bit of the challenges that we have as humanity and if you look at it as a generalist then it is not about one specific company that is going to change the world.”
She views investments as part of an ecosystem, considering what it takes to create companies that can effectively address these challenges. Cecile emphasizes the importance of providing support, funding, knowledge, and expertise to these companies, as well as facilitating access to markets.
What now?
We’re running out of time, and if we don’t take more action quickly, we won’t have a plan for a better future by 2030. It’s crucial to encourage more investment in ideas that can truly make a difference, and that’s a positive trend. Israel has great potential to be part of this effort because we have the drive, the talent, the entrepreneurs, and the funding mechanisms in place. However, if our government continues on the current path for the past six months, it may create a situation where people are hesitant to invest in Israel.
They might see it as unsafe, lacking transparency, and risky due to uncertainty around intellectual property protection, taxes, and payment regulations.
The world is slowly recovering, but in Israel, the government has caused a lot of problems in the past six months. There is a lack of trust and chaos in the legal system, and the support for the high-tech industry is uncertain. This has resulted in a decline in funding for startups. The number of new startups founded since the beginning of 2023 has been very low, and the amount of capital raised during these six months is unprecedentedly low. If the government continues with its current approach, there is a risk of losing the factors that made Israel a thriving hub for innovation.
Mayu is a home water enhancement system that enriches distilled water
Environmentally friendly water systems for the home are a must! They are extremely important for conservation of natural resources, protection of ecosystems, reduction of carbon footprint, health and safety purposes, and promote sustainable practices. Water systems minimize wastage to ensure responsible use of water in the home. With growing concerns of water scarcity in the Middle East, using water systems that prioritize sustainability are crucial.
Environmentally friendly water systems prioritize the removal of harmful contaminants while minimizing the use of chemicals that can have adverse health effects. By investing in these systems, homeowners can ensure that the water they consume and use for daily activities, such as bathing and cooking, is free from pollutants, toxins, and potentially harmful substances. This promotes better overall health and well-being for both individuals and the environment.
Here are some of the best at home water systems:
Reverse osmosis systems
Reverse osmosis (RO) systems are highly effective in removing contaminants, including bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, and chemicals. These systems use a semipermeable membrane to filter out impurities. RO systems typically consist of pre-filters, a membrane, and post-filters to ensure comprehensive purification. They are considered one of the most reliable and widely used water treatment systems for households.
Whole house filtration systems
Whole house filtration systems offer a comprehensive solution by filtering water at the point of entry into the home. These systems are designed to remove sediment, chlorine, chemicals, and other impurities from all water sources, including faucets, showers, and appliances
Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection systems
UV disinfection systems utilize ultraviolet light to neutralize harmful microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, and parasites in water. These systems are highly effective at destroying various pathogens without using chemicals, making them a safe and environmentally friendly choice. UV systems are often used in conjunction with other filtration methods to provide a multi-barrier approach to water purification.
Water softeners
Hard water which contains high levels of minerals like calcium and magnesium could benefit from a water softener. Water softeners work by removing these minerals through a process called ion exchange, preventing scale buildup on plumbing fixtures, prolonging the lifespan of appliances, and improving soap lathering. Softened water can also have a positive impact on skin and hair, leaving them feeling smoother and less dry.
Carbon filters
Carbon filters are an excellent option for improving the taste and odor of water. These filters use activated carbon to remove chlorine, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other contaminants that can affect the taste and smell of water. Carbon filters are often installed under the sink or attached to the faucet.
In water-scarce countries, it becomes even more crucial to be mindful of our water consumption. The availability and accessibility of clean water are limited, making it imperative for individuals to recognize the importance of conserving this precious resource. By being conscious of our water usage habits, adopting water-saving practices, and investing in efficient water systems, we can play a significant role in preserving water.. Taking proactive steps to minimize wastage and promote responsible water consumption is not only essential for the sustainable development of these regions but also demonstrates our commitment to being responsible global citizens.
My mom is a composting and recycling enthusiast. When my family cleans up from dinner, we properly compost and recycle our food and materials. Every family can make an impact in their way.
Home composting
A composter that is rolled by kids
Composting plays an essential role in our efforts to manage organic waste. Home composting is gaining popularity in countries like Israel, with many households adopting composting practices to reduce organic waste sent to landfills. You can compost through a few methods, such as backyard compost bins or, if you are feeling adventurous, worm composting (vermicomposting); home composting allows individuals to turn their kitchen scraps, yard trimmings, and other organic materials into nutrient-rich compost for their gardens or potted plants.
You can compost food scraps, except for meat and dairy products. You can dispose of it at home. You can get a subsidized home composter from the Municipality to help with composting.
With the subsidized home composter, you can throw your organic food scraps into it and cover them with dry materials like branches, leaves, or grass. The composting process turns the organic waste into high-quality fertilizer for your garden or somebody else’s.
Composting organic waste is a simple and effective way to reduce landfill waste and help the environment. It also eliminates the hassle of dealing with heavy, smelly trash bags. Plus, your plants will benefit from excellent fertilizer.
Recycling
Each local government has its system for collecting and recycling waste. You must visit your Municipality’s website to know the specific color bins provided and the types of waste your area recycles. Refer to the chart below to understand which trash belongs in each color bin.
Figure out locally what material goes into what color bin.
You can recycle various packaging materials like plastic containers for dairy products and salads, bags for dry food and snacks, metal containers, and beverage cartons, except for glass and cardboard.
What happens to each type of material?
Metal is recycled into raw material for the construction industry by companies that you will find locally.
Rigid plastic and plastic bags are converted into rubber sheeting for the construction industry at recycling plants.
Plastic bottles and beverage cartons are sent overseas for recycling. The plastic industry turns Plastic bottles into raw materials.
Important tip:
Remember only to discard empty containers in the recycling bins. Wet waste like food scraps or dirty diapers can harm the recycling process. Some countries like Canada accept diapers as organic waste and they go into the organic waste bin. Make sure to clean your containers thoroughly. And keep them sealed to keep out rodents and raccoons.
The Mediterranean diet is gaining popularity as a healthy and sustainable eating plan. Health professionals recommend it to individuals with chronic conditions like heart disease or high blood pressure to reduce the risks of heart disease, dementia, and depression.
Our food choices have a significant impact on our physical and mental well-being, as well as our daily functioning. Adopting healthy and natural eating practices like the Mediterranean diet benefits both our bodies and the planet.
What is the Mediterranean diet?
A cactus fruit
The Mediterranean diet isn’t a strict diet plan but rather a way of eating based on the dietary traditions of Crete, Greece, and Southern Italy during the mid-20th century. They believed that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains, fish, olive oil, small amounts of dairy, and red wine offered extensive health benefits.
The diet emphasizes healthy fats, with olive oil being a recommended primary fat source. It highlights other foods like avocados, nuts, and oily fish for their beneficial fats, particularly omega-3 fatty acids in walnuts and fish.
The Mediterranean diet suggests consuming fish at least twice a week, while people should consume poultry, eggs, and dairy products in smaller portions daily or weekly. Eating red meat is limited to a few times per month.
Baked fish and avocado on toast is a good way to enjoy the Mediterranean Diet
A typical breakfast on the Mediterranean diet could consist of mashed avocado spread on whole-grain toast, accompanied by fresh fruit and a low-fat Greek yogurt. For lunch or dinner, a recommended meal might include a vegetable and grain dish cooked with olive oil and seasoned with herbs. This could include roasted root vegetables, leafy greens, a side of hummus, and small portions of pasta or whole grain bread. As a source of lean protein, grilled fish is often suggested.
The diet encourages water as the primary beverage, with moderate consumption of wine allowed during meals.
According to a Harvard nutrition study the Mediterranean diet effectively reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases and overall mortality. For instance, a study involving nearly 26,000 women found that those who followed this diet had a 25% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease over 12 years.
Similarly, a meta-analysis of 16 studies with over 22,000 women showed that individuals with the highest adherence to the Mediterranean diet had a 24% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 23% lower risk of premature death than those with insufficient compliance. Sustainability has become a significant focus of the food discussion, particularly concerning climate change and food security. Researchers, farmers, and policymakers are seeking effective ways to feed the growing global population of 9.7 billion by 2050.
In what ways is the diet personally and environmentally sustainable?
The diet conserves water by choosing less water-intensive foods like whole grains compared to beef. Fruits and vegetables are also more water-efficient choices It also conserves land by reducing reliance on agricultural land for animal-based products.
The Mediterranean diet decreases the need for fertilizers by incorporating nitrogen-absorbing legumes like chickpeas. Legumes such as beans, lentils, and peas, decrease fertilizer requirements and enrich the soil when decomposing, benefiting subsequent crops. This sustainable process allows pulses to be grown eco-friendly and reduces the resources needed for other Mediterranean diet staples like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
The Mediterranean diet is personally sustainable because it offers an enjoyable eating experience. It includes delicious foods, promotes physical health, and encourages mindful consumption. While following this eating pattern can lead to weight loss and improved health, it primarily involves adopting a long-term lifestyle change with sustainable benefits!
Online shopping has become increasingly popular, with platforms like Amazon offering convenience and a wide range of products at our fingertips. However, as conscious consumers, it is important to shop mindfully and consider the ethical and sustainable aspects of our purchases.
Why to shop mindfully
The rapid production of clothing in the fast fashion industry requires a substantial amount of raw materials, leading to a considerable accumulation of waste, pollution, and harm to the environment, including air, water, and wildlife habitats.
Research the Seller:
Before making a purchase, take the time to research the seller. Look for information regarding their commitment to ethical and sustainable practices. Check if they have certifications like Fair Trade, Organic, or B Corp, which indicate a commitment to social and environmental responsibility. The Butterfly Mark is a new certification for luxury goods. Or maybe they are running a small business from home making the goods locally.
Consider Product Origins:
When browsing products on Amazon, pay attention to where they are manufactured or sourced from. Search for products that are locally produced or made in countries with strong environmental and labor regulations. Choosing products that minimize long-distance transportation helps reduce carbon emissions and supports local economies.
Read Product Descriptions:
Carefully read product descriptions to gain insights into the materials used, manufacturing processes, and any sustainability claims. Look for keywords like “recycled,” “organic,” “sustainably sourced,” or “eco-friendly.” Also look for ways they back up these claims without greenwashing.
Check for Sustainable Packaging:
Packaging waste is a substantial environmental concern. Look for products that are shipped with minimal packaging or packaging made from recycled materials. Some sellers offer sustainable packaging options, such as biodegradable or compostable packaging. Consider consolidating orders to reduce the number of individual packages and minimize waste.
Evaluate Product Durability and Quality:
Mindful shopping involves considering how long the products will last as well as the quality of products. Choose items that are built to last, reducing the need for replacements. Read customer reviews to understand the durability and reliability of the product. Investing in higher-quality items not only reduces waste but also saves money in the long run.
Support Socially Responsible Brands:
Support brands that prioritize social responsibility and treat their workers fairly. Look for companies that follow ethical labor practices, provide safe working conditions, and pay fair wages. Look out for sellers on Amazon that explicitly mention their commitment to social causes or fair trade practices in their product descriptions.
Utilize Amazon’s Sustainability Features:
Amazon has implemented sustainability initiatives, such as its “Climate Pledge Friendly” program and “Compact by Design” certification. These labels identify products that have lower carbon footprints and are designed to be more efficient in terms of packaging and shipping. Take advantage of these features to find more sustainable options.
Sugaring is an ecological way for shaving your legs
Sugaring is an ecological way for shaving your legs
Save money and make yourself sugar wax at home with only three ingredients. All you need is granulated white sugar, water, and lemon juice. Sugar wax is less painful than traditional hot waxing because it does not remove hair follicles. Sugar wax is an excellent alternative for people with sensitive skin.
My roommates and I decided to try sugar waxing, and to our delight, we successfully pulled it off using ingredients readily available in our apartment. The experience turned out to be enjoyable and surprisingly efficient. In just 30 minutes, we completed the entire process, saving both time and money compared to visiting a salon.
Not only was the home sugar waxing less painful than a salon treatment, but it also left our skin feeling incredibly smooth and with a delightful fragrance. Overall, it was a fantastic and rewarding experience that we would definitely repeat in the future.
Sugar wax originates in the Middle East and is fully biodegradable ! Though the exact origin of sugaring is hard to determine, most historians concur that this ancient hair removal method was already in use during the old civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece around 1900 BCE.
It was known as “sukkar” in the Middle East and “moun” in Persia. Since sugar was limited to the regions near Persia until 1,000 after CE honey served as the primary sugaring agent to create the waxing paste during that era.
Is sugar wax better than regular waxing?
Sugar wax is made of ingredients that break down easily when thrown away. Synthetic waxes are not biodegradable and are more harmful to the environment.
Sugar wax can be made at home and uses inexpensive and common home ingredients instead of visiting a salon or using cosmetic waxing kits found at the store.
Put a medium-sized pot on your stove and add white sugar, lemon juice, and warm water.
Mix frequently and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
Turn the heat down to medium once the mix is boiling and bubbling. If the blend keeps bubbling, turn it down to low heat.
When the mix becomes golden brown, remove the pot from the stove. Continue to mix the golden brown mix until it becomes smooth and has a deep brown color.
The consistency should resemble hot syrup; if it appears thick, like honey, it must be heated for longer.
Pour the mix into a bowl or a jar and let it cool for 30 minutes. Sugar wax should be used at room temperature, unlike traditional hot wax.
Applying your sugar wax
Scoop a small amount of warm wax with your fingers and roll it into a ball.
Put the wax onto a small skin area opposite to hair growth. Spread the wax to create a layer that is about 0.6 cm thick. Work on small sections, limiting their length and width to just a few inches.
Pull!
Swiftly remove the wax in the opposite direction of hair growth, similar to pulling off a bandage. Make it quick to limit the pain. There is an option to apply paper strips on top of the wax to smooth it out and pull it off.
Apply the wax in small sections until finished.
All leftover mix can be refrigerated and used at a later time. Use it within 4 to 5 weeks.
Prepping your skin for sugar wax
Wash your skin with soap and water and use warm water to open your pores and to risk your chance of infection
Exfoliate up to two days before waxing to make the sugar wax stick better
Moisturize the night before, not the day off, because you want to wax with clean skin
Post-wax aftercare
Moisturizer with natural oils, body butter, or serum to keep your skin soft and avoid ingrown hairs
Wait two days to exfoliate again to prevent ingrown hairs and continue to do so every 2-3 days
Do not use products that might irritate your skin
Risks of sugaring
Sugaring when done correctly does not have a lot of risks. People who have sunburns in areas they want to wax or have moles, warts, or varicose veins in places they want to wax should avoid waxing in total. Also people with preexisting skin conditions should speak with a doctor before sugaring.
Any type of waxing presents risk of side effects such as It is also worth noting that any form of waxing can cause side effects such as:
Ingrown hairs: When hair grows back and curls back into the skin, causing raised and itchy spots.
Folliculitis: Inflammation in hair follicles, leading to tender bumps on the skin. It can occur anywhere on the body where hair grows, either on the surface or deep within.
Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation: Darkening of the skin after an injury. Even though sugar waxing is gentler, it can still cause some skin trauma, resulting in inflammation and possible discoloration. People with darker skin tones are more likely to experience this.
Infection: If sugar waxing is done incorrectly or with poor hygiene of the waxing tools and area, it can lead to skin irritation and infection.
As you probably have heard, climate change and global temperatures are on the rise. Our carbon sinks like the forests in Canada are burning and there is no time to put this beside us. The human-induced temperature change from the burning of fossil fuels has been heating the planet at an alarming rate.
The latest report by the IPCC has declared the expected rise in global temperatures will be 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Each decade, temperatures have been increasing by 0.08°C since 1880. These catastrophic measurements are only getting worse and can be reflected in society’s carbon footprint.
Your carbon footprint is measured by the amount of carbon dioxide your everyday life emits into the atmosphere. Actions like eating meat, driving cars, and using a lot of water and electricity increase your carbon footprint. Luckily, there are many ways to reduce our carbon footprint and take hold of climate change.
Today, I will share with you 10 tips that you can do today to reduce your carbon footprint.
Take the bus, walk, bike, skate or scooter
This one is especially easy if you live in a city. In Tel Aviv, using public transportation is also the easiest way to get around. The bus system is extremely convenient and buses leave from so many spots every couple of minutes. There are also many apps that you can download to easily find out where the buses are, how long it will take and it will map out your entire trip. In addition, Middle East cities like Istanbul and Tel Aviv are walkable cities and should be taken advantage of.
Unless it is in the midst of summer, when the weather is nice, walking is a great way of getting around and is a great way to get in some exercise. Another cool feature of Tel Aviv is the scooters that can be found all throughout the city. Tel Aviv is designed for bikes and scooters, with lanes everywhere designated only for users. They are eco-friendly, easy to use, and go fast, so you can always count on one to get you places.
Try going vegan for a day
100% vegan mac and cheese
Have you ever tried to go vegan? Going vegan is pretty easy now a day, and is definitely something everyone should try if they haven’t. Even just for one day, going vegan cannot hurt you. In fact, going vegan is good for you because it promotes a healthier diet full of fruits and vegetables.
According to a study done by the University of Oxford, going vegan can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 73 percent. Even if you are a big meat person, there are tons of alternatives to meat that taste similar to real meat that can be picked up at your local grocery store.
Turn off the lights before heading out
A sustainable light made from buttons
This one is so simple yet so many people forget to do it. Turning off lights, appliances, and AC units before heading out for the day is extremely important when trying to reduce your carbon footprint. In Israel, electricity generation is responsible for 53 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore turning off lights will vastly reduce the need for electricity generation until we can switch to electricity generation primarily from renewable sources. It also reduces your electricity bill, and according to The Department of Energy can reduce your electricity bill by $10 a month.
Use a reusable water bottle, don’t buy a plastic one
This one I am proud to say I greatly take part in. I have probably bought 3 plastic water bottles this entire year. I carry my reusable water with me everywhere I go. I personally use a Hydro Flask, which carries 32 fl oz of water and has a straw and a handle to carry it, but any reusable bottle will do. I also suggest getting one that is insulated so that your water can stay cool in the heat of the summer. Especially living in Israel, it is convenient to carry around a reusable water bottle because it is safe to drink the tap water.
Cooking from home is not only better for the environment, but is also typically better for you. This way you know what you are consuming and don’t risk consuming things that were badly sourced. Pick up some reusable containers or thermos and pack your lunches for the day. This reduces the amount of waste that is generated from eating out and it also saves you money.
This one is one that people often forget about and how much better it is overall. Instead of driving a farther commute to a large supermarket, see if there are local farmers’ markets in your area. Not only do farmers’ markets have higher-quality produce, but they are also fun to check out and are locally sourced. Many stands at farmers’ markets are also small businesses, so it’s always good to support them. F
or clothing shopping, try checking out your local thrift store. Buying online or in large chain stores in shopping malls is fast fashion and is very bad for the environment. Thrift stores often have very unique items and are better for the environment because it is used clothing and typically at a much lower price.
Go through old clothes and donate them
A fun activity you can do today if you have some free time is to go through your closet and pick out things you no longer need. I’m sure there are tons of items in your closet that you no longer wear and have forgotten about. Instead of just throwing them away, find your closest donation site and donate them to people who need it. You can even upcycle your clothes if you’re into fashion and create it into something new. You can also try selling your old clothes online or having garage sales.
Did you know that a dryer can generate 2 to 6 kilowatts of electricity per hour? This is a massive amount of electricity and can be avoided by using a drying rack. It is also better for your clothes as dryers often shrink your clothes and is bad for the fabric.
Take a shorter shower (together?)
Try taking a shorter shower today. The average American uses 17.2 gallons of water in an eight-minute shower. You should look into buying a low-flow showerhead or a filtered showerhead to reduce pollutants to your skin and body.
Also, stop taking baths. Not only is it unsanitary, but it also wastes a massive amount of water. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a full bathtub requires about 70 gallons of water. Save more water by not shaving – try growing a unibrow or your leg hair out for Januhairy.
Take the stairs
Lastly, if you are able, take the stairs. Especially if you live on the second, third, or fourth floor, it is better to take the stairs. The elevators go up and down all day long, constantly wasting tons of electricity. Taking the stairs is quick, good exercise, and safer. Take the stairs because there is always the chance of getting stuck in an elevator.
Did you know that humans produce 2.6 trillion pounds of trash per year? Waste is one of the many significant problems that is damaging our environment. Pollution, whether it’s in the air, water, or soil, each pollution holds an equal and tremendous hazard to people, land, animals, and the entire ecosystem. While air and water pollution are more difficult for an individual to control, the daily garbage waste that an individual creates is easier to control. While recycling, not using plastic, and composting are great ways to help reduce waste, it is not incentivizing enough for all people. Therefore, I will tell you some ways in which you can reduce your waste, but in a fun way.
Repurpose old bottles and cans
How often are you constantly discarding your used toiletry bottles? Make use of your old, shampoo, conditioner, or any bottle and cut the top off and use it for anything. There are so many things that just lay around without a place and this is an easy and effective way to organize your items. You can also paint and decorate the bottles after you cut the top off. Keep your pens, makeup brushes, or cooking utensils in these and you will feel much more organized in an environmentally friendly way.
Candles from old jars
Making candles is super easy and always looks great. All you need is a wick, wax, and some scissors. Take your old jar and stick the wick to the bottle of the jar with a piece of tape.
CreatCreaMelt wax on the stove and then pour it into the jar, making sure to hold up the top of the wick. Fill it to the top keeping some of the wick above and that’s it! You can even add some fragrance and essential oils to the melted wax if you like a scented candle. Another easy one is the orange peel candle.
This one is a great alternative to buying a vase, is good for the environment, and can be created into however you’d like it. Buy a bunch of colorful gems and decorate the outside of the bottle, or paint the bottle with fun designs and artwork. However you like your art to be, do it on a bottle. Then, cut the top of the bottle off, or leave it as is and put some flowers in it. Or how about making a mini vase you can wear with a tiny boutonniere.
CD art
Have a ton of old CDs just lying around? Instead of throwing them out, make some fun art out of them. Just grab a bunch of acrylic markers or paint and get creative!
We heard the news, now here are some facts to bring to the dinner table this weekend.
Mangrove forest in the Amazon
The world is up in arms about the new frontier in mining – deep sea mining for minerals like lithium and gold from virgin seafloors around the world. Prospectors say that the growth of electric cars has left us no choice as the batteries need lithium and other rare metals to function. But mining for oil at sea has been ongoing for decades. Offshore drilling began in America in the 1880s and the damage of oil exploration at sea is only too well known after great oil spills.
Now a Brazilian petrochemical company called Petrobras wants to drill exploratory oil wells in the ocean near the mouth of the Amazon. Scientists worry if the plan gets approved, inevitable oil leaks could damage nearby ecosystems, including a vast reef system and the second-largest mangrove forest in the world. Little is known about the reef, so “a comprehensive evaluation of the risks from oil and gas exploitation is currently impossible”, says marine ecologist Rodrigo de Moura in a new Nature article.
His colleague concurs: “There’s a palpable risk of an oil spill if activities proceed — the fact it is an exploratory well for studying the region’s potential for deep-sea oil doesn’t exempt it from accidents,” says Carlos Rezende, a marine biologist at the State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro in Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil.
In defense, Petrobras said it will not be endangering delicate ecosystems, “there is no record of any nearby conservation units, nor is it located near rivers, lakes, floodplains or reef systems” they wrote, but the scientists familiar with the region know that the Great Amazon Reef System is only about 40 miles away and any oil spill or leakage will easily travel that distance.
Source: Nature
Studies suggest that the reef that the reef somewhere between 9,500 and 56,000 square kilometers across the mouth of the Amazon River. When it was first described by scientists in the 1970s, the researchers then did not observe any impressive range of biodiversity. But recent studies found an ecosystem with corals, sponges and fish.
“It is huge, and it is sensitive,” says Ronaldo Francini-Filho, a marine ecosystems researcher at the University of São Paulo in Brazil. “And we don’t know even 5% of what’s down there.”
Brazil has other megaprojects in the Amazon region that are under debate including the repaving of a highway that would pass through a preserved rainforest, the construction of a major railway for grain transport and the renewal of a giant hydroelectric dam’s license. Countries in South America were easy to exploit in the past but with environmental awakening and the understanding of a country’s need to protect their assets, citizens are expecting more from their leaders who will need to make tough decisions.
Hydrogen might be an endless source of energy in the future but for now your organization has a limit
Hydrogen energy may be the future. Currently it costs more to produce than it’s worth but testing, testing, optimising, testing again. This is how energy becomes cleaner and greener.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University have succeeded in producing “green” hydrogen using green electricity — The hydrogen is produced without air pollution, with a high level of efficiency, utilizing a biocatalyst. Hydrogen is a necessary raw material for both agriculture and industry, but 95% of the hydrogen produced in the world today is “black” or “gray” — produced from coal or natural gas and emitting 9 to 12 tons of carbon dioxide for every ton of hydrogen.
The new method was developed by doctoral student Itzhak Grinberg and Oren Ben-Zvi, under the guidance of Prof. Iftach Yacoby and Prof. Lihi Adler-Abramovich. The promising research results were published in the journal Carbon Energy, focusing on advanced materials and technology for clean energy and CO2 emission reduction.
Contact Remot if you want to invest in this new hydrogen breakthrough and this is the team you’d be investing in
“Hydrogen is very rare in the atmosphere,” explains Itzhak Grinberg, “although it is produced by enzymes in microscopic organisms, which receive the energy for this from photosynthesis processes. In the lab, we “electrify” those enzymes, that is, an electrode provides the energy instead of the sun.
“The result is a particularly efficient process, with no demand for extreme conditions, that can utilize electricity from renewable sources such as solar panels or wind turbine. However, the enzyme ‘runs away’ from the electric charge, so it needs to be held in place through chemical treatment. We found a simple and efficient way to attach the enzyme to the electrode and utilize it.”
The researchers used a hydrogel (a water-based gel) to attach the enzyme to the electrode, and were able to produce green hydrogen using a biocatalyst, and with over 90 percent efficiency; that is, over 90 percent of the electrons introduced into the system were deposited in the hydrogen without any secondary processes.
Prof. Iftach Yacoby explains that, “The material of the gel itself is known, but our innovation is to use it to produce hydrogen. We soaked the electrode in the gel, which contained an enzyme for producing hydrogen, called hydrogenase. The gel holds the enzyme for a long time, even under the electric voltage, and makes it possible to produce hydrogen with great efficiency and at environmental conditions favorable to the enzyme — for example, in salt water, in contrast to electrolysis, which requires distilled water.
Prof. Lihi Adler-Abramovich adds: “Another advantage is that the gel assembles itself — you put the material in water, and it settles into nanometric fibers that form the gel. We demonstrated that these fibers are also able to stick the enzyme to the electrode. We tested the gel with two other enzymes, in addition to the hydrogenase, and proved that it was able to attach different enzymes to the electrode.”
Today, ‘green’ hydrogen is produced primarily through electrolysis, which requires precious and rare metals such as platinum along with water distillation, which makes the green hydrogen up to 15 times more expensive than the polluting ‘grey’ one.
Oren Ben-Zvi adds: “We hope that in the future, it will be possible to employ our method commercially, to lower the costs, and to make the switch towards using green hydrogen in industry, agriculture, and as a clean energy source.”
Have you ever walked into a grocery store and been confused about what was meant by the kosher aisle? What the symbol was on some food packaging that had a U with a circle around it? Today I will share with you what it means to be kosher and how to follow a kosher diet.
Keeping kosher is the practice of adhering to strict guidelines of dietary restrictions done by Jews for thousands of years. Most Jews that keep kosher are orthodox, however, Jews of all spectrums can keep kosher if they would like to. The Torah, which is the Hebrew bible of the five books of Moses, lists what it means to be kosher and how to do it. As Jews say, “to be pure, proper, or suitable for consumption” is a kosher diet. The Jewish word for being kosher is “Kashrut” which means to be fit, proper, and suitable for consumption”.
Kosher laws are the laws given by God to the Jewish people. One of which is that it is forbidden to mix meat products with dairy. For example, cheeseburgers are not kosher. Secondly, as Jews say, An animal is kosher if it has split hooves and chews its cud.
This means cow, lamb, and beef are all kosher. Pig is not kosher, so no bacon under Jewish law. Sea animals are kosher if they have fins and scales. This means flounder, cod, salmon, and whitefish are all kosher. Shrimp, clams, lobster, and crab are not kosher. Birds need to be non-predators, so chicken and turkey are deemed kosher under kosher rules.
When it comes to fruits and vegetables, it is important to thoroughly wash them because insects are not kosher (which also ensures a safe consumption of fruits and vegetables). Otherwise, all fruits and vegetables are kosher. Unless you live in Israel where the laws of shmita are observed.
It is also important that when preparing food all utensils used are not contaminated by non-kosher food items. So if a knife was used to cut a cheeseburger, that knife cannot be used to eat a kosher meal. In addition, kosher food cannot be cooked with non-kosher food. For this reason, there needs to be entirely separate dishes, pans, and utensils for kosher and non-kosher food.
Even when it comes to cleaning, there needs to be separate sponges to ensure there is no mixing. It is best that a kosher kitchen is kept as a kosher kitchen otherwise it is very difficult to ensure there is no mixing between kosher and non-kosher foods. Or, if you have a mixed household, you should have entirely separate cabinets that designate which pots, pans, utensils, etc. are kosher and which ones are non-kosher.
When it comes to packaged food, you need to make sure that the food item is labeled as kosher. There are different symbols that show that the food items have been verified and given a certification that it is safe to consume in a kosher diet. Some of these symbols include the OU (Orthodox Union), the OK (Organized Kashrut Laboratories), and the KSA (Kosher Supervision of America).
The Orthodox Union logo is seen on food packages that are certified kosher
The environmental benefit of keeping kosher
A vegan burger makes it easy for all Jewish people to eat as long as there are no bugs in the meatless burger. Lab meat creates a new question. Is it meat?
Keeping kosher is better for the environment for a few reasons. Kosher laws skew what Jews are allowed to eat, leaving more room for fruits and vegetables. Although Jews can still eat meat (which is not great for the environment), they cannot eat meat and dairy together, so its own or the other. In addition, it eliminates certain products from the diet so it is closer to a vegan diet than a normal diet would be.
For example, kosher Jews cannot eat pork, which helps reduce their carbon footprint. “Your chances of being part of the sustainable movement by eating kosher is very likely,” says the Orthodox Union on keeping kosher. This is because some of the top kosher companies in the world have put sustainability measures at the top of their agenda.
Overall, the kosher diet is very important to Orthodox Jews and needs to be taken very seriously in the preparation of their food. Just like with any other religion, these practices need to be respected and recognized. Jews all over the world practice kosher diets, and it is very common to see kosher labels and certifications on food products and in restaurants.
Veganism is taking the world by storm, with more than 79 million vegans taking over the diet industry. Being vegan is adventurous, fun, and full of amazing health and environmental benefits.
Going vegan is not as hard as people may think, there are plenty of food alternatives that can substitute all the delicious foods that you’d hate to give up. In addition, the environmental benefits of going vegan are astronomical and can vastly reduce one’s carbon footprint. Today I will share with you a recipe that I have been making for years now. It is delicious, incredibly healthy, and definitely worth trying.
Spinach Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie
If you like the banana and peanut butter combo, you are sure to like this smoothie. It is thick, creamy, sweet, and vegan. It is high in protein and healthy fats to keep you satisfied all day. It is full of nutrients to promote good health and a clear mind. This is a must-try for those who are vegan or just want to find a delicious smoothie recipe.
Ingredients:
Spinach
Spinach is one of the healthiest things you can put in your smoothie. The good thing about spinach in smoothies is that it does not taste like anything in smoothies, especially with bananas and peanut butter. There are tons of amazing health benefits in spinach, such as its anti-inflammatory, preventing cancer, reducing blood sugar, helping with weight management and so much more.
Banana
Bananas are my favorite fruit to put in any smoothie because they provide a thick and creamy, sweet flavor and are full of nutrients like potassium. Make sure to use bananas that are ripe in order to get the best results.
Peanut butter
Peanut butter is a must in this recipe. It is high in protein and provides a lot of flavor. Peanut butter is delicious and filling, and full of great health benefits. Just make sure you are using natural peanut butter and that its only ingredient is peanuts. You can also use other nut butters such as almond butter and sunflower seed butter.
Oat milk
Oat milk is vegan, delicious, and works great in any smoothie recipe. You can also use other non-dairy milks like almond milk or soy milk, but I’d stay away from almond milk as it is not the best for the environment. Also, make sure you are using good oat milk as many oat milk companies fill their milk with bad ingredients, so I recommend you can make your own oat milk.
Flaxseed
This ingredient is not as common in smoothies but it’s something I’ve been incorporating for a while now that people do not know how healthy it is. Flaxseed is full of fiber and a great source of omega-3 fatty acids.
Vegan protein powder of your choice
This is your choice in selecting a protein powder. There are so many protein powders on the market, but few that are both vegan and clean. There is also the option of choosing a flavored protein powder, like vanilla or chocolate. I suggest getting one that’s either vanilla or chocolate because it adds more flavor. Just make sure you read the ingredients carefully and know what is inside the protein powder so that it is good for you and vegan.
This recipe is quick and easy to make. One tip that I recommend is to freeze your bananas. This is my best tip for making a thick, creamy smoothie. No matter what fruit you put into your smoothie, you should use it when it’s frozen. This way you don’t have to use ice cubes to make it cold and it won’t water down your smoothie.
For the most part, you don’t need to use exact measurements when making a smoothie. I typically estimate what I think works best, but this is around how much I use in a single serving for this smoothie. There is also no specific order in making this smoothie and all ingredients can be thrown into a blender and you are sure to come out with a delicious smoothie.
Handful of spinach
1 banana
1 cup oat milk
2 tablespoons flaxseed
2 scoops of protein powder
You are also welcome to add/take out any ingredients in the recipe. Other things you can add to your recipe include other fruits like mixed berries. There are tons of other nutrients you can add to your smoothie to make it a superfoods smoothie with tons of vitamins and minerals.
I love using superfoods powder, which is typically vegan but you should always double-check. In addition to flaxseed, you can also try hemp seeds and chia seeds. You can even add different greens to the smoothie like mixed greens, kale, or even avocado.
Smoothies are one of the best foods to incorporate into your diet for how healthy and customizable they are. It is so easy to add healthy and nutritious items to your smoothie in order to ensure you are getting in all your vitamins and minerals. It is easy to go vegan with this smoothie recipe.
As I wrote previously about the vegan festival in Tel Aviv, I will continue writing here on going vegan and why it helps the environment so much. The benefits of going vegan are endless. Did you know that one person going vegan saves 30 animals’ lives a year? Or that going vegan can reduce water waste by 50 percent?
These are only two of the many reasons why going vegan creates such a positive impact. However, going vegan is not as complicated as people think. With veganism being so popular today, so many startups have begun that sell alternatives to your favorite foods. In this article, I will list some of the alternatives to some of your favorite meat and dairy products.
Meat for vegans
Meat alternatives are often made in a lab
One of the hardest aspects of veganism for so many is giving up meat. It becomes challenging to find alternatives to meat, especially for those who are trying to get lots of protein in. However, there are many alternatives to meat and protein that ensure you get the benefits of meat so that you can cut it out.
First off, my favorite: tofu. Tofu is a highly nutritious, soybean-based protein source that can be swapped in as an alternative to chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, etc.
Tofu is especially fun for those who love crafting up recipes as tofu can be crafted into so many delicious things. For example, tofu can be made Asian style with soy sauce or teriyaki sauce. It can also be used in a Thai recipe with curry or in a pad Thai. Israelis also enjoy tofu on top of salads mixed with tahina, hummus, and even za’atar. Check out this recipe on how to make Za’atar-Flavored Tofu. Tofu can be prepared by baking, frying, or stir-frying, and can be put on top of anything.
If you are hesitant about tofu or do not like it. There are alternatives to chicken, beef, and fish that you can buy in the store. There is also vegan schnitzel in store at your local AM PM (which I like to buy) and tastes delicious you would never guess there is no meat in it. As I found at the vegan festival, Creative Pea sells alternatives to these meat products made from pea protein, and are all so delicious. Other companies include Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat but may not contain the best ingredients.
Other excellent sources of protein include black beans, chickpeas, and lentils. Nut butters and seeds are also high in protein and a great source of heart-healthy fat. Beans are high in fiber and can be customized to fit into many meals. Nuts and seeds are also linked to good health and less chance of getting cancer.
Dairy for vegans
Dairy products are a little more tricky when it comes to going vegan. This is because although being vegan is good for the environment, the sourcing of vegan products is not always made sustainably. For example, almond milk is destructive to bee hives and uses a lot of nuts to produce 1 carton of milk. A good alternative that is both vegan and produced sustainably is oat milk.
Still, you need to be careful when purchasing oat milk because the ingredients are not always the best, containing a lot of sugars and additives. If possible, try making your own oat milk with this recipe. You can also purchase vegan cheeses, yogurts, and ice creams. First off, head over to Otello if you want some really good vegan gelato. As I mentioned in my article on the vegan fest, Plenty offers a range of delicious vegan cheeses, yogurts, and cream cheese.
Protein Supplements for vegans
If you are still struggling by the end of this article to find protein alternatives, there are protein powders, bars, drinks, etc. on the market that are vegan. Especially if you have a sweet tooth, this is a good option for you. The best option to get the best health benefits is by making protein smoothies, this way you can get in your veggies. A favorite of mine is one with spinach, banana, peanut butter, and chocolate protein powder. Protein powders make your life so much easier to get in protein because it’s easy to mix into anything. For example, mix protein powder into your pancake mix and you have high-protein, vegan pancakes.
Still looking for vegan options? Check out an article that lists more vegan companies.
We pulled up into a barren plot of land that stretched for miles. I, and the rest of my Onward friends in my Israel internship program were utterly confused. Where were we? I remember thinking. We were quite literally in the middle of nowhere, just miles of open, dry land, the land of Israel.
Once we got off the bus we were brought into a room with tables and a board where we learned what we were here for. Project Wadi Attir, is a sustainable development organization that aims to farm through Bedouin traditions in an eco way. Fostered by The Sustainability Laboratory, the goal of this project and the other projects is to integrate sustainable practices of agriculture.
The property is located in the north Negev desert and it desires to bring back original Bedouin traditions like folk medicine that have been long forgotten from the past. Traditional Bedouin culture were nomad Arabs who farmed the land in a sustainable way. This project brings back this method of farming so that farmland is better preserved and taken care of, and this was very clear as we were taken on our tour of the property.
They showed us around the 100-acre land and showed us some of the goats and sheep. The goats are milked by hand only and we even were able to hold one of the goats. They also served us some labneh, which was goat cheese they made on-site. You can make your own labneh with our recipe here.
Hold a goat
“This whole project is to take all the tradition and knowledge the Bedouins had for thousands of years in the desert and try to use it and bring it back with the most advanced technique and technology,” said Mohammed Alnabari, one of the founders of the project.
This project was also inspired to achieve a holistic approach back to a natural way of healing. Similarly to Tavlinsky and Cafe Levinsky crafting their ingredients on site, the project produces its own herbs, dairy products, and vegetables all made sustainably through an ancient Bedouin method of cultivation, and is supposed to provide a more natural way of living.
It is also hopeful to inspire other farmland to adopt this agricultural style in order to preserve the planet and support the Bedouin community and lifestyle. You can also buy their herbs and medicinal plants in the store they have on site.
Although it may seem like this place is all designed to be ancient and hand produced, there are solar fields on site that they use to generate electricity. In addition, the goat milking facility is one of the most advanced in Israel. Each goat has an ID bracelet, which tells them a lot of information like how much milk it yielded, how much time it milked, how old she is, and information on the milk cycle. “It can milk 48 items, goats or sheep at one time,” said Alnabari on the milking process. There are 100 goats and 100 sheep being milked right now on-site, giving about 3 liters of milk and being used to produce traditional Bedouin cheese.
What was so unique about my experience at Project Wadi Attir was that there were little kids there, learning, playing, and just experiencing the culture. When we arrived, the kids were staring at us like deer in the headlights. A group of modern, flashy young adults from America standing in front of tiny children that knew nothing of our lifestyles. I wasn’t able to speak to any of these children (mostly because they didn’t speak English), but it would be so interesting to know what they are thinking and get the perspective from their side.
The children that were at Project Wadi Attir
This Project not only builds a more sustainable Bedouin farm life, but also reestablishes a Bedouin tribe that brings people together from all over the world. As international relations is a complicated subject that is so heavily discussed in the Middle East, these projects are crucial in creating stronger bonds between people because it allows us to look each other in the eye and see different perspectives.
Seeing how other people live is the first step in forming peaceful relations and also grows our intellect just to see how other people live.
Asbestos is a fiber with a lifelong lifespan and is resistant to fire, heat, corrosion, severe mechanical forces, chemicals, and biological decomposition. It also does not evaporate and is not water-soluble. Industrialists used asbestos for thermal insulation, , and construction for over a century because of these distinctive properties and inexpensive costs.
However, asbestos is a hazardous chemical and a poisonous pollutant once airborne and which causes a rare kind of incurable cancer. Three primary types of cancer are linked to asbestos exposure include mesothelioma, lung cancer and laryngeal cancer. As a result, it was outlawed for use in manufacturing and trade in Israel and other Western nations.
Where is asbestos found?
Building Demolition
Asbestos is found naturally and asbestos production began in the Russian Empire in the 1880s, and the Alpine regions of Northern Italy, although this was soon replaced by the greater production levels from the Canadian mines.
In Israel it is most likely to be found in buildings that are being demolished or renovated and in locations where asbestos debris is not adequately covered or protected from wind erosion. The amount of asbestos present in a residence depends on the condition of the asbestos. Damaged, worn, or crumbling asbestos has a higher chance of releasing fibers into the air.
In cities like Tel Aviv and Jaffa you can find it everywhere covering parking lots for shade or as a low cost thermal insulation on older low-rise buildings. It cracks off as it ages and it’s a health hazard.
Asbestos in the Soil
In the late 20th century, asbestos was widely used in the Western Galilee region of Israel after a cement plant called Eitanit opened in 1952. As a result, the soil became contaminated with a large amount of asbestos. In 2011, the Ministry of Environmental Protection started a project to find and remove the asbestos waste from the affected sites in Western Galilee.
Loose asbestos has been found in various locations in Western Galilee, such as parking lots, roads, and hiking trails.
How would I get exposed to asbestos?
Asbestos exposure primarily occurs through inhaling airborne asbestos fibers released in the air from asbestos products or damaged asbestos cement materials. Certain occupations, such as insulation workers, asbestos removal workers, IDF troops working with brakes, and personnel involved in asbestos product maintenance, are at risk of inhaling higher amounts of asbestos fibers if they work with asbestos without proper protection.
What are the health risks?
Asbestos removal in Turkey
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies all types of asbestos as human carcinogens, meaning they can cause lung cancer and other cancers affecting the lining of the lungs and other internal organs. According to the IARC, these diseases usually emerge several years after exposure and often result in fatality.
Most cases of asbestos-related health issues occur among people who have had jobs in asbestos mines, factories, or construction work involving asbestos cement for many years. However, individuals living near asbestos factories, having asbestos in their homes, or family members of asbestos workers, are also at risk of developing health problems due to exposure to asbestos in their environment.
It is important to note that asbestos-related diseases typically occur twenty or more years after inhaling asbestos fibers. Therefore, exposure to asbestos at an earlier age increases the risk of developing illnesses later in life.
What is the Israeli Government doing about asbestos?
In 2021, The Ministry of Environmental Protection permitted removing asbestos-cement roofs and installing solar panels as replacements. They allocated NIS 11 million from their cleaning budget for this initiative. Moreover, they set aside NIS 1 million ($250,000 USD) specifically for a “home contractor” responsible for safely removing and cleaning asbestos hazards.
The ministry estimates that the nation utilized around 85 million square meters of asbestos cement. Most of this asbestos cement was employed for roofing purposes in private homes, government buildings, businesses, farms, and military bases. The installation of many of these roofs occurred between 1960 and 1980. Gradually, these roofs have deteriorated and broken due to exposure to weather conditions and improper handling. You can find them everywhere in Israeli cities.
Laws established in 1964 aimed to ensure that workers exposed to talc, silicon dioxide, and asbestos dust received regular medical check-ups. The Occupational Hygiene and Health of Public and Workers Exposed to Hazardous Dust Regulations of 1984 specified rules for monitoring dust in workplaces and the environment and listed the compounds that were allowed or prohibited.
In 2011, the Prevention of Asbestos Hazards and Harmful Dust Law was enacted. Like other developed countries, this law prohibits using asbestos in new construction, which helps reduce asbestos exposure in the environment. By 2021, the law requires the gradual elimination of easily crumbled asbestos from commercial and public buildings. The law also mandates the need for permits and licenses for asbestos-related work, as well as proper maintenance of asbestos cement in public structures.
What is the difference between asbestos cement and friable asbestos?
Asbestos cement is a building material that contains a mixture of asbestos fibers (about 10%) and cement in a rigid state. It is used in industrial buildings, public buildings, agricultural buildings, and residential buildings. Asbestos cement sheets are usually flat or wavy panels that are used to cover roofs and walls, water and sewage pipes, gutters, chimneys, roof tiles, planters, and water tanks. It is estimated that Israel has more than 100 million square meters of asbestos cement panels.
Friable asbestos is a substance containing asbestos (more than 1% of the weight of the material) that, when dry, can be crumbled, crushed, or reduced to powder by manual pressure. Friable asbestos was used mainly for thermal and acoustic insulation, in vehicles, in IDF equipment, and in household products such as kerosene stoves, plates for use on stoves in both kitchens and laboratories, and fire-resistant blankets and gloves. Israeli law requires the removal of all friable asbestos from structures in Israel by the year 2021, and imposes strict restrictions on the continued use of any structure still containing friable asbestos, until it is removed.
Learn how to build a terrarium in some quick and easy steps
Welcome to the world of terrariums! You came here because you might have seen the video about the man who built a terrarium 50 years later it was still thriving. These delightful little ecosystems are like magical gardens tucked into a transparent plastic or glass world. Picture yourself as a skilled architect, creating a miniature paradise for your leafy friends. Let’s embark on a journey of imagination and make this terrarium adventure even more fun!
Making a terrarium is a fun and creative way to bring a miniature garden into your home or office. Terrariums are self-contained ecosystems that require minimal maintenance.
Why build a terrarium?
Terrariums are a fantastic addition to your home for many reasons. They can elevate your living space with their natural beauty. The terrarium’s miniature garden can be enjoyed without the mess and hassle of traditional gardening. With their self-contained ecosystem, terrariums require minimal maintenance, making them easy to look after and perfect for those with busy lifestyles.
Creating a terrarium can also be a fun and creative project that allows for personal artistic expression. They provide a way to keep plants alive and thriving throughout the year, even if unsuitable for your native environment. Additionally, tending to a terrarium can be a calming and stress-relieving activity.
Terrariums allow you to grow plants in places with low natural light, such as offices or rooms with limited sunlight, providing a green touch to spaces that are not conventional for traditional gardening. Terrariums are an excellent choice for plant enthusiasts and those seeking to enhance their indoor spaces.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make a terrarium:
Choose a container: Select a clear glass or plastic container with a lid. It could be a fish tank, a glass jar, a vase, or a transparent container. An old Italian wine jar works well.
Gather materials: You’ll need the following materials:
• Gravel or pebbles (for drainage) • Activated charcoal (to filter the water) • Potting soil • Small plants (such as moss, succulents, or ferns) • Decorative elements (such as rocks, pebbles, or figurines) • Spray bottle or watering can (for watering)
Prepare the container:
• Start by adding a layer of gravel or pebbles at the bottom of the container. ◦ This layer will provide drainage for excess water. • On top of the gravel, add a thin layer of activated charcoal. ◦ The charcoal helps filter the water and keeps it fresh. • Add a layer of potting soil or your chosen substrate. ◦ Make sure it’s deep enough for the roots of your plants.
Planting
• Plan your design before placing the plants. • Consider the size and growth habits of each plant. • Create small holes in the soil to accommodate the roots of the plants. • Gently place the plants into the holes and cover their roots with soil. • Press down gently to secure them in place. • Leave enough space between the plants so they have room to grow.
Decorate
• Add decorative elements like rocks, pebbles, or figurines to enhance the visual appeal of your terrarium. • Be creative and create a miniature landscape.
Moisture
• Water the terrarium sparingly using a spray bottle or a watering can. Avoid overwatering, as it can lead to fungal growth or root rot. • Monitor the moisture level by checking the soil. If it’s too dry, mist the terrarium lightly. If it’s too wet, leave the lid open to allow excess moisture to evaporate.
Placement and maintenance:
• Place your terrarium in a location with indirect sunlight. • Avoid direct sunlight, which can create excessive heat and damage the plants. • Monitor the terrarium regularly. • Remove any dead leaves or plants to maintain a healthy environment. • If condensation builds up inside the terrarium, open the lid briefly to allow air circulation.
Remember that each terrarium is unique, and you can experiment with different plants, containers, and decorations to create your own personalized miniature garden.
Enjoy the process, and have fun creating your terrarium!
Skateboarding in Australia where the weather is always great.
Skateboarding to work
Are you ready to redefine your commute? As the world grapples with climate change, it’s high time we rethink how we travel. Sustainable transportation isn’t just a trend—it’s a necessity for the future.
In bustling cities worldwide, cars fill the roads, spewing carbon emissions into our precious air. Meanwhile, a green revolution is quietly gaining momentum. Ever heard of electric skateboards? They’re not just for thrill-seekers anymore.
Let’s venture into the innovative domain of Evolve Skateboards, a forerunner steering us towards a greener, more sustainable tomorrow. Picture this: zipping through city streets, propelled by nothing but smooth, silent electric power. You might discover that this isn’t a distant dream but an attainable reality.
The Need For Sustainable Transportation
You may not realize it, but each choice we make about our daily commute plays a significant role in our planet’s health. Modern transportation modes, while convenient, have come with a heavy price:
Carbon Emissions: Traditional vehicles burn fossil fuels, releasing large quantities of carbon dioxide. This greenhouse gas traps heat, accelerating global warming.
Air Pollution: Vehicle emissions contribute significantly to air pollution, leading to numerous health issues and a decline in overall air quality.
Noise Pollution: The incessant sounds of traffic aren’t just a source of irritation; they’re also a form of pollution that can harm our mental and physical health.
Given these concerns, it’s clear we need more sustainable alternatives. This necessity nudges us to explore electric skateboards and other eco-friendly solutions. Spearheading this shift towards sustainable transportation is a company named Evolve Skateboards.
Evolve Skateboards: The Company And Vision
Born from a love for skateboarding and a commitment to sustainable practices, Evolve Skateboards has turned heads in the world of eco-friendly transportation. Here’s a peek into their journey:
The Dream: The company started with a simple idea: to create a high-performance skateboard that’s not only thrilling to ride but also environmentally friendly.
The Evolution: Over time, Evolve Skateboards has grown from a niche concept to a popular choice for green commuters worldwide, constantly innovating and improving their product designs.
The Mission: With every board they manufacture, the goal remains the same—to create an incredible riding experience that leaves a minimal environmental footprint.
Who says going green has to be dull? Let’s dig deeper into the specifics of how Evolve Skateboards are making this dream a reality.
How Evolve Skateboards Contribute To Sustainable Transportation
Think of a skateboard. Now, supercharge it with electric power, sleek design, and a dash of environmental consciousness. That’s an Evolve Skateboard for you. Let’s see how it reshapes our daily commute:
Energy Efficiency: Unlike cars, electric skateboards use far less energy to transport a person. They’re efficient, requiring minimal electricity to keep you cruising.
Zero Emissions: Evolve Skateboards produce no exhaust fumes, helping to combat air pollution and reducing our carbon footprint.
Less Traffic Congestion: They’re compact, making it possible to navigate the city without contributing to traffic congestion, a growing problem in urban environments.
Use Of Renewable Energy: With an electric skateboard, you can power your rides with renewable energy sources if your electricity comes from wind, solar, or hydro sources.
It’s clear these skateboards offer impressive capabilities, but how does it all work? Let’s peel back the layers.
Understanding The Efficiency Of Evolve Skateboards
Evolve Skateboards are more than just stylish rides; they’re feats of engineering designed for maximum efficiency and minimal environmental impact. Here’s a closer look:
Battery Technology: Evolve uses lithium-ion batteries known for their high energy density, longevity, and efficiency. This allows for longer rides without frequent recharges.
Regenerative Braking: When you brake on an Evolve skateboard, it’s not just slowing you down. The energy from braking is fed back into the battery, reducing waste and maximizing usage.
Performance And Speed: Despite their compact size, Evolve skateboards pack a punch when it comes to performance. They can reach speeds up to 31 mph, depending on the model and wheel size. This makes your commute not just greener but also faster.
Lifecycle: Designed with durability in mind, these skateboards are built to last. This reduces the need for frequent replacements, lowering the overall environmental impact.
Skateboarding commuter
With all this technology under the hood, it’s no wonder that Evolve is making waves in the world of sustainable transport.
The Future Of Green Commute
In a world where every emission counts, the shift to sustainable transportation is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. The rise of electric skateboards, like those from Evolve, offers a glimmer of hope. With each person who trades a gas-guzzling vehicle for a sleek, energy-efficient skateboard, we move one step closer to cleaner air and quieter cities.
The potential impact of a wider adoption of electric skateboards is truly transformative. It’s a vision of a future where our commutes are not just convenient, but also in harmony with the planet. And with companies like Evolve leading the charge, this future seems more attainable than ever.
Conclusion
The green commute isn’t just a trend; it’s a journey towards a sustainable future. It’s a commitment to protect the world we live in, starting with the choices we make each day. Evolve Skateboards are proving that this journey can be not just responsible but also thrilling, revolutionizing our commute one ride at a time.
You can contribute to this change. As you prepare for your next journey, consider the impact of your choices. Could an alternative mode of transportation, like an electric skateboard, fit into your lifestyle? Give it a thought. The journey to a sustainable future starts with the choices we make today.
Amanita or fly agaric is a psychotropic mushroom found widely in Canada
Amanita is a psychotropic mushroom found in Canada.
Australia is set to become the first country in the world to prescribe MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy) and psilocybin (found in “magic mushrooms”) as treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. This innovative approach marks a significant shift in the medical landscape, as Australia recognizes the potential benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy in addressing mental health challenges. Psychedelics, researchers have suggested, can reset the brain when used in the right way.
Like cannabis and people who have turned to self-medicating, with the increasing need for alternative treatments and growing evidence supporting the efficacy of these substances, this decision could potentially pave the way for a revolution in mental health care.
Australia’s commitment to prioritizing unconventional approaches to mental health exemplifies a nation’s capacity to overcome stigmatization of specific treatments and allocate resources to these methods due to their effectiveness.
“It’s not for everybody. We need to work out who these people are that are going to have bad experiences, and not recommend it,” says Susan Rossell, a psychiatrist at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, who is working on Australia’s only active clinical trial testing psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for treatment-resistant depression.
Rossell fears that, administered improperly, the drugs could give people bad trips and leave them with increased psychological issues: “That’s the worst-case scenario,” she says. Her own unpublished research suggests that 10–20% of trial participants have a “really terrible time” with these drugs.
Why is there a stigma around psychedelics?
In the 1960s, psychedelics became associated with the anti-establishment counterculture, and “bad trips.” Psychedelic drugs were included by politicians such as former President Nixon when the War on Drugs was declared. The same administration was against marijuana and outlawed it. Around that time an Israeli researcher Raphael Mechoulam was identifying THC and CBC in cannabis plants and when called upon by the American administration suggested cannabis as harmless.
Like any medicine, psychedelic drugs need to be administered in a controlled medical environment.
In recent years, there has been resurfacing interest in psychedelic science, with growing advocacy for their use in treating mental illness. Supported by evidence-based research, psychedelics have emerged as powerful tools in the realm of psychedelic-assisted therapies and the development of improved mental health treatments.
To destigmatize psychedelics, it is crucial to address the lack of awareness, education, and perception surrounding them. This can be achieved by encouraging individuals to openly share their knowledge, engaging in honest conversations based on scientific facts to foster an environment of reduced fear and increased acceptance.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia’s drug regulator, approved this decision after a thorough three-year process and extensive consultation with experts. Patients will only have access to these drugs under supervised clinical settings and will not be able to obtain them for home use.
Psilocybin is converted to psilocin in the body and acts on serotonin receptors in the brain. A single dose of 25mg has shown significant antidepressant effects for up to three months
Only psychiatrists who have received pre-approval through TGA authorized prescriber scheme will be able to prescribe MDMA and psilocybin for the treatment of PTSD or treatment-resistant depression.
Prescribers must submit a proposed treatment protocol that includes information on dosage and the number of therapy sessions. The TGA expects protocols that are similar to those used in clinical trials conducted both in Australia and internationally. Additionally, the proposed protocol must receive approval from a human research ethics committee.
While Australia’s decision to prescribe MDMA and psilocybin marks a critical milestone, challenges lie ahead. Adequate training and education for healthcare professionals will be essential to ensure safe and effective administration. Additionally, ongoing research and data collection will be crucial in further understanding the long-term benefits and potential risks associated with these treatments. Nonetheless, this pioneering move by Australia opens the door for other countries to explore the potential of psychedelic-assisted therapy, offering renewed hope for individuals battling mental health disorders worldwide.
Australia’s groundbreaking decision to prescribe MDMA and psilocybin for PTSD and depression signifies a revolutionary shift in mental health care. By embracing the potential of psychedelic-assisted therapy, Australia takes a bold step toward providing alternative, potentially life-transforming treatments to individuals in desperate need. As research and public perception continue to evolve, this decision could have far-reaching impacts on the global mental health landscape.
We need to address the growing mental health crisis right away. Stigma and shame around mental illnesses have caused problems in finding effective treatments. The negative beliefs and misinformation about psychedelics have also held back progress. But there is hope. If we start early and educate people, we can reduce stigma and improve access to better treatments.
Earth’s oceans cover over 70 percent of the planet’s surface and hold more than 1.3 billion cubic kilometers of water. Inside these vast waters inhabitants over 236,878 marine species, but likely way more as we have only explored 20 percent of the oceans. Today, we estimate that the ocean is roughly 11,000 meters at its deepest point.
Just like any other ecosystem, it is imperative to protect the numerous species that inhabit the deep sea. Deep sea mining is now threatening these species due to the discovery of rich minerals such as cobalt and lithium that can be found in seabeds.
The International Sea Bed Council has already put in approval of plans for work as early as September. Luckily, the DSCC is working amongst other NGOs to stop companies from committing these devastating ocean effects.
There are three types of mining that are in the plans to take place. Polymetallic nodules from the abyssal plains, cobalt crusts from seamounts, and polymetallic sulphides from hydrothermal vents. These underwater areas are rich in biodiversity and threatened to be destroyed if the mining takes place. Since much of the ocean has not been explored, we don’t know the severity of the mining, and can be more destructive than we expect.
This is why it is so important to get on board with the DSCC, fisheries, and law and policy enforcement to ensure that permits do not go out to allow this mining. According to the DSCC, scientists have warned us that the impacts of deep-sea mining are inevitable and most likely irreversible.
“The last thing we need is deep sea mining digging ourselves into a deeper hole,” saysLouisa Casson at GreenPeace on a conference call Green Prophet joined recently.
The risks that deep sea mining imposes are numerous: The disturbance of natural seabeds and ecosystems creates plumes of sediment that can threaten species’ habitats and threaten extinction. Plumes can also be created through the deposit of wastewater in the mining process that can spread hundreds of square kilometers. It also generates a lot of noise pollution which greatly disturbs species.
According to a study released by Green Peace, the noise pollution that deep sea mining creates can disrupt whales’ ability for frequency navigation, communication between breeding partners, and communication between mothers and calves. And with these frequencies operating 24 hours a day, there is significant detrimental harm to species of whales for the long haul.
“Seabed mining is not a climate solution, it’s a potential climate disaster,” said Bobbi-Jo of The Ocean Foundation on the same call we jumped in on meant to bring journalists up to date with the latest research. With the goal of seabed mining being to provide cobalt and nickel to the EV electric vehicle industry, seabed mining is not going to help these industries much because lithium is most important to this industry for its batteries and is not found in large quantities in the polymetallic nodules of ocean beds. For this reason, seabed mining would be disturbing the sea floor and the marine ecosystems unnecessarily.
Seabed mining can not be marketed as a climate solution because it does not make mining on Earth any less. Although seabed mining may take away from mining on land, it shifts it to mining underwater and further disrupts the earth’s surface, just now underwater.
This makes people think that we are finding solutions to climate issues on land, but they are just moving it underwater where people can not visibly see the damage.
The Canadian company The Metals Company or TMC is a leading proponent of seabed mining. TMC has been called out numerous times because they have put out misleading statements to investors. The company has had two class action cases after failing to disclose information and downplaying reality. They make themselves look like they are doing good work for the metals industry, when in actuality they are heading towards massive blocks from moratorium and difficulties financing their commissions.
Fortunately, countries all over the world are coming together to address and moratorium deep sea mining. “We are seeing a coalition of countries from the Pacific, Latin America, and Europe all making statements,” said Casson from GreenPeace. There is cross-regional support for a moratorium on deep sea mining as statements are being released and a silent majority were against deep sea mining. Governmental and NGO officers showed overwhelming support for the moratorium. Specifically in France and Germany, governments were for deep-sea mining, but as evidence was released that proved the destructive effects of deep-sea mining, these countries turned around and decided there was no future for deep-sea mining.
It is in the hands of activists, NGOs, and others to speak up against deep-sea mining and continue to push for a moratorium on deep-sea mining. As long as we continue to push these scientific facts globally, we can convince nations all over the world to a global moratorium. Deep sea mining is destructive to marine ecosystems and cannot be allowed in any way, shape, or form.
While I was on my 10-day Taglit Birthright Israel trip, I had the opportunity to go to the Dead Sea, and it was one of my favorite places I have ever been to. It was like no other place I’d ever seen. It was so beautiful, it felt like I was in a dream. Floating in the Dead Sea was magical, and the color of the water with the mountains in the background was unreal. This gem of Israel is by far the highlight of any trip to Israel and I hope to return again soon.
The Dead Sea is the lowest point on Earth. It is the saltiest water body on the planet, with a salt concentration of 36 percent, so salty that no life can live in this sea except for some rare form of bacteria. When you go swimming in the sea, you float entirely. It borders Jordan and Israel and is the world’s most unique and extraordinary phenomenon, holding great historical and religious significance.
Unfortunately, the Dead Sea is shrinking, and at an alarming rate. According to EcoPeace, a trilateral water protection org working between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan, the Dead Sea is dropping by more than one meter every year. This catastrophic event is in need of urgent matters as the disappearance of the Dead Sea would cause a multitude of problems. Already of which is the issue of sinkholes, which is caused by the salt deposits that dissolve underground and cause massive craters in the earth’s surface.
There are two significant reasons why the Dead Sea is shrinking, and it’s entirely man-made that has little to do with climate change. Water flows from the north, into the Sea of Galilee, down the Jordan River, and eventually makes its way into the Dead Sea. However, this process is being disrupted.
First off, no freshwater is coming from the Jordan River. This is because tributaries are being blocked and Jordan and Israel are diverting the water between the two of them. Oded Rahav, an expert on the Dead Sea and the founder and CEO of the Dead Sea Guardians organization, said only 8 percent of the water flows down the Jordan River to the Dead Sea. The rest of the water is getting pulled out so it never reaches the Dead Sea. This diversion of water from the Jordan River began in the 1960s when surrounding countries learned they can access freshwater from this flow. However, this process now is entirely unsustainable and urgently needs to be discontinued.
The second reason is due to dead sea factories extracting minerals. Both Israeli and Jordanian mineral factories are contributing to this problem (I wrote about the issue of resource management between countries in my article about why international environmental law is an important career). Companies like the ICL, for example, mine the dead sea for minerals because the Dead Sea is rich in minerals such as potash, bromine, sodium chloride (salt), magnesia, magnesium chloride, and metal magnesium.
Another company, The Dead Sea Works, is vastly contributing to mineral extraction from the Dead Sea, which people like Gidon Bromberg from EcoPeace are working to stop. These detrimental human activities are profitable yet unsustainable. This mineral extraction is largely intensifying the rate of evaporation in the Dead Sea and therefore contributing to its shrinking.
Other contributors to the Dead Sea shrinking include evaporation in the summertime and increased temperatures due to climate change, but as I mentioned before, diversion and mineral extraction are the most significant reasons for the Dead Sea shrinking.
These losses are causing great damage to the landscape around the Dead Sea. “Every three days we are losing one centimeter,” Rahav told Green Prophet. These losses from the Dead Sea are risking the formation of sinkholes. Sinkholes are vast and expansive, roads are falling through, and people’s livelihoods are at risk.
Alison Ron of the Ein Gedi Kibbutz feels saddened as she watches the Dead Sea shrink away each and every day. “The Dead Sea has character” she vocalized. “It’s hard watching something you grew up with sink away”. As sinkholes continue to pop up as the years go on, it is no longer an issue that can be ignored. This is the world’s greatest, most present issue to date that will be the first thing to go. Sinkholes are now forming rapidly. Over the past 40 years, there have been more than 8,000 sinkholes have formed and they are dangerous.
Luckily, there is hope. Organizations such as EcoPeace and The Dead Sea Guardians are rising up to come up with solutions. “So much of the rest of the Middle East is so unstable for various reasons that the water crisis further feeds that instability and could be the spark for a further internal uprising,” say’s Gidon Bromberg of EcoPeace, while he deals with a number of climate crises in Israel and the Middle East.
Some actions that EcoPeace is taking in regards to the Dead Sea is registering the Dead Sea as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This way, the Dead Sea would enlist requirements for sustainable practice and promotes regional cooperation in surrounding countries. Another EcoPeace plan of action is to rehabilitate the water that was lost and divert it back to the Jordan River. EcoPeace also aims to grant a public trust obligation to any company that wants to extract minerals from the Dead Sea. This would regulate mineral extraction in order to best preserve the sea.
Similarly, The Dead Sea Guardians is working to revive the Dead Sea through the Israeli government. The Dead Sea Guardians is trying to get the Israeli government to implement policies that would one, return water back to the Sea of Galilee and the lower Jordan River, and two, provide a framework to mineral extracting companies that would limit their volume of evaporated water that is done in their production methods.
While there are extraordinary companies working long and hard to stabilize the Dead Sea and return it to its original state, it is important that we continue to urge attention to this critical issue. There is no time to wait and this issue will not fix itself. The Dead Sea is remarkable and needs to be preserved for the rest of time.
As many already know, renewable energy is the future of electricity generation. Solar, wind, geothermal, hydrogen, and hydropower are necessary sources of renewable energy our planet needs in order to slow the effects of climate. Obtaining energy via renewables is the best alternative to energy generation because it does not release greenhouse gas emissions.
However, renewable energy does not get stored on its own. For example, when solar panels absorb sunlight and generate electrical charges, the electricity generated does not stay there forever if it does not get used. For this reason, I will share with you a company that has designed a solution to this problem.
Meet H2 Energy Now. Founded by Sonya Davidson in 2011 and based in Beersheba, Israel, H2 Energy Now has developed technology that makes renewable energy more usable by storing it so that none of it goes to waste. Sonya was inspired to start the company by her fascination with water, and she learned from her mother the principles of water and took it into her career.
She knew from her high school science project that energy storage was key to solving future energy problems which we are faced with today. Now, with 15 years in Israel, Sonya’s company is excelling in the renewable energy industry.
H2 Energy Now creates green hydrogen that is efficient and costs less. Much of the energy that is produced from wind and solar energy is not being used, therefore goes to waste. For this reason, H2 Energy Now has generated a prototype that allows them to store the energy in the form of hydrogen.
When energy is needed, the hydrogen is then able to be converted into usable forms of energy. By using electromagnetic waves, the hydrogen energy storage system separates water that is able to generate electricity. The good thing about this is a small amount of water can generate a large amount of hydrogen, and the water can come from both salt and fresh water. This technology is better for their customers because the power is always available for use and it’s grid stable. In addition, it is more cost-effective as it cuts their payback on the investment in half.
Prototype of the technology that converts hydrogen into electricity
Tests have shown that H2 Energy Now is 88% efficient for 60% electrolysis and that the capital expenditures are half of electrolysis. They have reached the proof of principle prototype stage and have patents granted in the US and in Europe. In addition, they have patents in France, Germany, and Great Britain. They were also selected as the winner by Corporate Live Winner in 2023 and by NASA as a top 10 energy company. They are currently working to commercialize their prototype and have completed two six-month high-tech accelerators.
Sonya Davidson, founder and CEO of H2 Energy Now
This company wants to change the world, and they are already on their way to do just that. They are currently fundraising and are self-funded up until now.
“Who is wise? The answer is those willing to learn from everyone,” Sonya quoted from a philosophy of the Jewsh fathers. Sonya said that her and H2 Energy Now are inspired by this quote and this is what they look at in order to learn, educate and move forward in this innovation towards a green sustainable future.
Cockroaches are everywhere, getting in our houses, food, and garbage. Some cultures might eat them but these pesky pests are annoying, large, and gross. No one wants cockroaches roaming their homes. While we all want to get rid of these pests, it is important to do so in a manner that is eco-friendly because pesticides can kill. I will teach you how to get rid of cockroaches in a way that is won’t harm the environment or you.
Pesticides are bad for the environment because the chemicals in them runoff into water bodies and contaminate the water. According Adam Teva Ve Din, Israel still uses glyphosates and more chemicals on its fields than most other Western nation. In Israel, there is widespread use of herbicides in agriculture and urban landscaping. Glyphosate is used widely in Israel to grow wheat, banana, avocado, watermelon, melon, grapes and other agricultural produce. Municipalities often use Roundup (owned by Scotts) and other pesticide products that contain glyphosate to maintain landscaping in parks, gardens, playgrounds and other public open spaces.
Consider that eight of Canada’s ten provinces have instituted restrictions or bans on the use of non-essential pesticides including glyphosate. Roundup has been banned in numerous other countries, states, and cities, due to concerns that exposure to the pesticide may lead to serious health concerns including cancer.
Pesticide contamination on the landscape is detrimental to ecosystems too. Pesticides are also bad for vegetation and soil as they kill plants and insects non-selectively – the good ones and the bad. In addition, pesticides are toxic to humans and can cause unpleasant side effects, such as headaches, nausea, and even cause death in extreme cases. In general, pesticides are so toxic that they quite literally kill everything.
Luckily, there are ways around the toxicity of pesticides so they can be used in an eco-friendly way. One way is by using an all-natural powder called diatomaceous earth (DE) which some people also eat for health reasons. DE is a naturally occurring remnant of fossils and shells found in underground deposits. It can be found in sediments of water bodies such as rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans all over the world. It is used in everyday products such as toothpaste and face washes.
Simply dust this powder over areas that you don’t want cockroaches in and this option works great. It cannot harm you if ingested or inhaled, so it is a great option to use as a pesticide alternative. It also works on a wide range of pests because it absorbs the oils that insects are attracted to. You can usually find it in health stores.
Borax as antidote to cockroaches
The next eco pesticide to get rid of cockroaches is one you can make at home. By mixing borax and sugar, you can have a pest-free house. Borax is also naturally occurring and can be found in household cleaners and laundry detergents. But it is toxic to your body to injest (to your kidneys, and don’t inhale the powder). This method works because pests eat the borax, so you will need to mix it with sugar.
Mix equal parts of borax and sugar and you have an alternate, eco pesticide. Sprinkle this powder over the areas that you want pests to avoid and will kill many insects, including cockroaches. Although this method is environmentally friendly, it is still toxic and needs to be handled carefully. Avoid children being exposed to it, getting it on the skin, or eyes, or inhaling it. Keep it away from food. Under-counter or where the cockroaches hide is a good place to start.
Eco pesticides you can buy
If you are looking for companies where you can buy all-natural, eco-pesticides directly, this is a good one: Wondercide creates a wonderful pest control spray based on peppermint that is safe to use in the household and is made from natural essential oils.
This peppermint spray kills cockroaches and other pests that may make their way into your home. The spray is vegan, cruelty-free, and does not contain any artificial colors, dyes, or fragrances. It is safe for humans and pets, so it’s a great option in the household.
Spray Essential Oils
Research has found that some essential oils—especially rosemary oil—are effective at repelling roaches. Rosemary oil was found to offer a 100% roach mortality rate at the concentration range of 2.5% to 30%. So mix it with warm water, mix vigorously, and spray away at your problem areas. We find lavender oil works well against fleas too.
If you are trying to avoid using any powders or sprays, Pest Reject is another option that is eco-friendly. Pest Reject is a plug-in device that uses an ultrasonic frequency to repel pests such as mouses, spiders, mosquitos and cockroaches.
This device is long-lasting, low consumption, does not produce any radiation, and has no chemical odor. It does not make any noise so everyone in the household can sleep peacefully. The device can cover up to 1200 square feet per unit, so they recommend that you have one device per room.
They can be found online. I highly recommend this device if you struggle with pests of all kinds.
No one should have to worry about cockroaches infesting their homes, so take these sustainable steps to kick them out of your house.
Strange creatures live in the deep seas. Mining will destroy ecosystems.
Global organizations call for more research and policy on deep sea mining
Deep sea mining involves the retrieval of minerals and deposits from the ocean floor found at depths of 200 metres, up to 6,500 metres. From the 10 to 28 of July the world’s governments will convene in Kingston, Jamaica to negotiate rules and regulations that if agreed and adopted, would open up our ocean to the largest mining operation humanity has ever seen. This emerging industry if unregulated properly will destroy pristine ecosystems untouched since the beginning of time.
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), founded in 2004 in response to international concerns over the harmful impacts of deep-sea bottom trawling is calling on countries of the world to draw a line and stop this potentially devastating emerging industry.
Today over 100 non-government organizations, fishers organizations and law and policy institutes worldwide are working together under the DSCC to protect vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems with the goals of reducing the greatest threats to life in the deep sea, and to safeguard the long-term health, integrity and resilience of deep-sea ecosystems.
Working with scientists, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations and governments, we target the United Nations and other bodies to call for action. Members of the DSCC will be present in Kingston throughout the International Seabed Authority’s Council and Assembly meetings, urging governments to support a moratorium on the destructive, emerging industry.
The meetings coincide with the deadline of a 2-year legal loophole triggered by Nauru on behalf of would-be mining company, Nauru Offshore Resources Inc, a subsidiary of Canadian company, The Metals Company.
According to the DSCC, “This loophole stipulates that mining be given the greenlight by July 9, irrespective of whether regulations are in place. Nevertheless, an increasing number of governments are recognising that the only responsible way to prevent irreversible damage to our critical, fragile deep ocean is to support a moratorium.”
The Canadian newspaper The Star has a good back report on how a Canadian company The Metals Company partnered with a tiny nation of Naura in Micronesia to trigger the loophole.
Please register using this Zoom link to join the conversation on July 5 at 14:00 -15:00 BST with the DSCC, Greenpeace, The Ocean Foundation and others for a media briefing ahead of negotiations where panellists will explore the issues surrounding the emerging industry and upcoming negotiations and answer key questions.
Speakers will include:
Sian Owen – Deep Sea Conservation Coalition Director
Louisa Casson – Global Project Leader for Greenpeace’s Stop Deep-Sea Mining campaign
Bobbi-Jo Dobush – Legal Officer at The Ocean Foundation, focusing on deep-sea mining
Greenpeace is calling leaked undercover footage of wastewater pouring into the Pacific ocean during deep sea mining tests “damning”. The undercover footage shown above of the latest deep sea mining tests in the Pacific Ocean shows wastewater being dumped by Canadian miner The Metals Company at the ocean surface, with unknown toxicity and ecological impacts.
What you can do? Send this Zoom call link to journalists heading environmental news locally and nationally. Every nation in the world needs to be onboard knowing how our shared resource and lifeline is at risk. It’s not only the prospect of deep-sea mining that worries scientists today, but existing activities such as offshore oil exploitation and natural gas drilling need to be part of the conversation.
Six Senses Negev Desert, an eco luxury hotel in Israel with very high prices
Are you planning a trip to Israel and don’t know where to stay? I want to share 10 hotels in Israel that are worth looking into. These hotels all practice sustainable management, from locally sourced food, to energy-saving light bulbs, and bans on plastic waste. From luxury hotels to a simpler, rugged desert experience, I have covered them all.
Six Senses Negev Desert, an eco luxury hotel in Israel with very high prices
Six Senses Shaharut is a magnificent place to stay if you are traveling to the Negev Desert. This beautiful property is committed to being a sustainable hotel, and they even list their sustainable measures on their website. The hotel is the first in Israel to be certified to achieve LEED by the US Green Building Council, although some Middle East countries use their own standard rating called Pearl.
The hotel was designed in a way that reduces energy consumption by 25 percent. The lighting systems are made motion censored and are energy-efficient. The food waste is composted and then used on-site in their garden. They also produce and bottle their own water in glass bottles and partner with BevGuard to ensure high-quality drinking water. The oil they use for cooking is recycled into biodiesel and they do not discharge any waste liquids via the use of a palm grove that absorbs all the treated wastewater.
They even have an Energy Lab where they encourage their guests to come and learn about the resort’s sustainability efforts.
The Vera is sustainability in the middle of Tel Aviv
This hotel is located in Tel Aviv just north of the Florentin neighborhood and has much to offer. Designed by Assaf Solomon, an architect, and designer of many hotels in Israel, this hotel is well worth staying in if you want to stay in a prime location in Tel Aviv. Besides having great amenities like a spa, cafe, bar, and fitness center, the hotel has a modern design that incorporates sustainable measures into its operation.
Firstly, they were the first hotel to ban single-use plastics. “The elimination of single-use plastics is an obvious decision and a forward step for the hotel industry,” says Danny Tamari, CEO and founder of The Vera. “We continually strive to build an environmentally-conscious society, and The Vera’s action reflects our vision of what a modern hospitality experience should be.”
In addition, The Vera uses locally sourced products they get from a company called Arugot, which their products are made from seeds in the western Negev. They also use an energy-efficient air-conditioning system and use eco-insulation.
One of my personal favorites which I stayed in myself was Abraham Hostel. Located on Levontin St in a prime location in Tel Aviv, this hostel was much to offer. Environmentally, the hostel takes part in sustainable practices to encourage sustainable travel for its guests.
They encourage recycling by having recycling spaces throughout the hostel. They also use LED lighting and use timers for the shower heaters to conserve energy. In terms of food, they make accommodations for vegans and get their food from local sources. They encourage public transportation with awareness campaigns on buses, bikes, and scooters. The hotel created an entire sustainable guide to travel that they share with their guests and is up on their website.
They also have locations in Jerusalem. Eilat, Nazareth, and Sinai, although the Sinai location is rumored to have shut down over political issues between its local owners there.
This Israeli hotel chain has 18 locations in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Herzilya, Eilat, Caesarea, North, and Haifa. They are highly regarded as being a sustainable and eco-friendly hotel. The hotels earned a 9.1/10 on the ETIC ethical and sustainable score according to the ETIC Hotels.
Most of the properties are made with isolated windows to increase thermal efficiency, which decreases the amount of energy needed for cooling and heating. They are also switching all our their lighting to LED, Neon lamps, or Fluorescent bulbs.
This energy-saving system that Dan Hotels are currently working to incorporate into all their locations works as a two-fold system, it saves energy lost while also being able to share energy generated from the air conditioning to heat the pools and so on.
The Tzlil Hateva Hotel in Hosen is inspired by a wood cabin design that is located alongside the mountains and the valley. This hotel takes big steps to be an eco-friendly hotel. This hotel uses biomass as its renewable energy source, which reduces its emissions of greenhouse gases. It’s not a luxury hotel so don’t expect the look and feel of Tel Aviv or other hotels on this list, but it’s a decent budget option that puts sustainability into its practice.
Some of the other practices the hotel takes part in are getting materials for building from sustainable sources, using LED lighting, sustainable toilets, having low-flow toilets, composting organic waste, diet for vegetarians, and so much more. In addition, the hotel is part of the Travel Sustainable program, which is designed to adhere to the needs of the environment and sustainable development.
For more budget eco travel in Israel, here are some tips to avoid the very high prices of hotels. Israel runs a network of SPNI field schools and basic lodging. Usually set in Israel’s most untouched nature, an SPNI Field School in locations like Ein Gedi are a the nature-lover’s dream destination. SPNI Field Schools provide accommodation, and educational hiking and walking tours. Don’t expect the amenities of an eco hotel, but these sites are adequate for getting out into nature.
This luxurious hotel located on Aholiav Street in Tel Aviv is modern, elegant, and spacious. The hotel is part of the IHG Green Engage system, showing that sustainability is a major player in their operations. This system allows the hotel to measure and manage their impact on the environment by providing all information they need to reduce their energy, waste, and emissions.
Nestled in the sophisticated Diamond District among eclectic architecture and fashion boutiques, the Hotel Indigo Tel Aviv Diamond District hotel is designed to be an Art Deco reinterpretation of the world’s most precious stone.
The hotel was rated 9.3/10 on their ETIC ethical and sustainable score because they completed all requirements to be an IHG hotel. This means they have reduced their energy consumption by 25 percent. They also earned a bioscore sustainability level A. Similar hotels are found in countries around the world and this boutique hotel has a location in Oman and one in Dubai.
Hotel Saul in Tel Aviv is the heart of Tel Aviv and commits to a range of sustainable practices. The Saul is the first hotel in Israel to be a part of the Green Key Program, which sets standards for global sustainability tourism. The Green Key Program, which started in 1994 pushes the hotel and other operations in the tourism industry to pledge to sustainable practices and technology.
The Shaul specifically, has numerous operations that are sustainable. Some of which include the separation of waste and locally sourced products. They also use LED lights and harness a Miso system for lighting which is a power-saving technology. They use an economical water heating system and use Sunergy windows which help to maintain room temperatures by use of natural light.
This lodge is for people who like to be out in nature. In the Ramon Crater, the Desert Shade Eco-Lodge is a hand-built, unique desert experience that is known for the breathtaking views of the night sky. This hotel is eco because it allows its guests to reconnect with nature and get away from the craziness of the world. It supplies many desert activities such as stargazing, Nomad breakfast, fire pits, and bedouin tents, as well as drinking wine from their boutique winery.
There are 7 eco-huts, which were made sustainably with mud bricks and straw. In addition, the lodge only uses composting toilets. If you are looking for an authentic desert experience, this is the place for you.
This hotel in Tel Aviv is in a prime location on Nahalat Binyamin Street. Like many other green hotels, this hotel does not use single-use plastic and gets all of the food locally sourced. In order to promote sustainable travel, the hotel has free bikes available for its guests. The green spaces all use LED bulbs and the rooftop is a hit among guests. The directors of the hotel also own a chain of hotels, including Shalom & Relax, Tal by the Beach, Backstage Hotel, and more. All these hotels use similar sustainable practices to inspire and spread the sustainable tourism industry.
This hotel has numerous sustainable practices with waste, water, energy, and nature. They take numerous initiatives towards sustainable waste management by not using single-use plastic, recycling, and water dispensers to promote reusable water bottle use. They have water-efficient toilets, showers, and the option to opt out of room cleaning so guests can reuse towels.
Food in the hotel is locally sourced and great for vegans. They use LED bulbs, and double-glazed windows, and have green spaces such as gardens and rooftops. They also invest a large portion of revenue in community/sustainable projects.
Israel is the global hotspot for alternative meat technology. The country’s growing population and limited farmable land, and climate change-induced water shortages have motivated Israeli companies to focus on developing cultivated meat as an environmentally-sustainable alternative. Alternative meat can mean a lot of things: it can be meat made in a lab using original meat or animal cells to create chicken or beef or fish; it can also mean creating meat-like proteins from plants or insects. But cultivated meat is meat that is real meat, made in a warehouse from original meat or animal cells, and which removes a lifetime of misery and pain for any animal by taking the animals out of the story.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog have publicly endorsed cultivated meat by investing $18 million USD and allowing Israel to ultimately lead in alternative meat and protein production.. Israeli start-up companies and academic labs dedicated to advancing cultivated meat technology has become a national research and development priority for Israel. And Israeli rabbis have essentially declared cultivated meat to be “non-meat” by agreeing its kosher status to be parve, the same as bread, apples, and vegan foods we eat today. It is classified to them as neither meat nor milk.
In 2021, Israel accounted for nearly a quarter of venture capital dollars invested in cultivated meat start-ups globally. Consider that three of the first eight cultivated meat companies in the world began in Israel, and today all three of them —Aleph Farms, Super Meat and Believer Meats, along with the new Nasdaq-listed Steakholder Foods—are poised for international distribution once the cost of producing these cultivated meats can be at par with traditional meat.
The top cultivated meat companies from Israel
Believer Meats, formerly known as Future Meat Technologies, is a cultivated meat company excited to scale to feed the world. Driven by a mission to ensure that all future generations can enjoy real and delicious meat, Believer’s technology and process will make meat accessible and affordable to all. Believer Meats culture meat from chicken cells and is working on cultured lamb kebabs and beef burgers. Based in Israel, its main office is located in Jerusalem, while its primary production facility is operating in Rehovot.
Aleph Farms invested in by people like Leonardo DiCaprio, grows cultivated beef steaks, from non-genetically engineered cells, that are not immortalized, isolated from a living cow, without slaughtering the animal and with a significantly reduced impact to the environment. The company was co-founded in 2017 by Didier Toubia, The Kitchen Hub of the Strauss Group, and Professor Shulamit Levenberg from the Biomedical Engineering Faculty at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The company’s vision is to provide unconditional nutrition for anyone, anytime, anywhere.
SuperMeat also from Israel is developing cultivated chicken meat, grown directly from cells, in a sustainable and animal-friendly process.
BioBetter is creating complex proteins for the cultivated meat industry. They apply advances uses in the lab for making vaccines in tabacco plants to procure proteins that can be used for cultivated meat companies. Consider them a raw material supplier to the alt meat industry.
Steakholder Foods, formerly MeaTech 3D “STKH” (formerly MITC), is developing a slaughter-free solution for producing a variety of beef, and seafood products — both as raw materials and whole cuts — as an alternative to industrialized farming and fishing.
This past month, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drugs Administration approved the sale of cultivated meat in the US, which is a landmark decision marking it safe for consumption. Until now the only country that allowed sale of cultivated meat to the consumer was Singapore. Two prominent US companies, Upside Foods and Good Meat, successfully introduced their “cultivated chicken” at a cost that competes with regular meat. Not long ago companies such as Aleph introduced steaks but at a cost of thousands of dollars an ounce to produce.
According to the MIT Technology Review, Upside, one of the companies that received approval from the FDA, can churn out 50,000 pounds (22,600 kg) of completed goods annually. It will eventually be able to increase to a maximum annual capacity of roughly 400,000 pounds (180,000 kg).
How is cultivated meat made?
Compared to meat alternatives cultivated meat is made in a lab from real meat. It takes harmless existing cells from an animal and growing them inside what scientists call a cultivator. This cultivator mimics what occurs inside an animal’s reproductive organs to give the cells warmth and the environment necessary to transform it into meat. This includes proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. A cultivator is very similar to growing plants inside a greenhouse. Eventually, the product produced is the same as regularly processed meat at a cellular level. However, it is made in a much more environmentally-friendly way, according to founders of the company.
The emergence of cultivated meat represents a significant milestone in the quest for sustainable food production. With the tagline of “meat without slaughter,” these products offer a humane and environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional animal agriculture. Cultivated meat technology holds tremendous promise for resource conservation.They can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate the strain on land resources.
According to the Good Food Institute, cultivated meat can reduce water usage by up to 78% and land requirements by up to 95% compared to traditional beef farming.
The Israeli population has also shown a growing interest in alternative diets. A survey conducted in 2017 revealed that 5% of Israelis identify as vegan, 8% as vegetarian, and an additional 23% expressed a desire to reduce their meat consumption.
Even the Israeli army has embraced alternative proteins, providing vegan meals and animal product-free gear to recruits. While cultivated meat may not appeal to those who altogether avoid animal products, it is expected to resonate with individuals who are already concerned about the environmental impact, inefficiencies, and ethical concerns associated with conventional animal farming.
Approving lab-grown meat for sale marks a significant step towards a more sustainable future. As more countries and companies embrace alternative proteins, cultivated meat has the potential to revolutionize the food industry and address pressing global challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, and animal welfare concerns.
We learn from models such as Gidon Bromberg – the founder of EcoPeace – how a career in international environmental law can change the world and help young people impact the consequences of climate change. As countries across the globe struggle with climate change Middle East states such as Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan show the world how struggles with climate negotiation cooperation can lead to hope for sustainable peace.
Bromberg and his Jordan and Palestinian partners at EcoPeace have created a project to dismantle areas of complications and form stronger bonds. When there are sensitive subjects in relationships between countries, climate agreements becomes millions of times more complicated and much more challenging to discuss solutions among enemies. For this reason, EcoPeace has created the Green Blue Deal, which may be an answer to climate troubles in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Green Blue Deal
The Middle East is a ticking time bomb. To defuse catastrophic consequences which may be larger than the climate question, the Green Blue Deal has worked up four key areas in order to create climate resilience in the Middle East.
For starters, the Green Blue Deal attempts to improve relations between Jordan, Palestine, and Israel by creating a water and energy exchange system that allows the countries to share water and energy to benefit all of the Middle East. In this deal Israel will build a desalination plant in the region of Emek Hefer and Jordan will be able to purchase the water at reasonable rates.
The business arrangements, to be financed by third parties, will be part of a larger business plan that includes Jordan developing and supplying solar energy which it can then feed back to the Israeli grid. The cost of labor and more open space makes Jordan a more ideal place for solar energy production over Israel.
Part of the deal, EcoPeace will rehabilitate the shared Jordan River and will create education programs that target youth groups for early education on climate resiliency and diplomacy.
Through this deal, EcoPeace charters the way toward a region that is not only creating a greener environment but also building a stronger community. Settling disputes via climate discussion, is a passive method of compliance between nations that were previously in a high-tension state.
By working together “we can build the framework for peace and climate security for all,” hopes EcoPeace directors collectively. This deal sets up the framework for a mutual economic support system for the environment, and promotes solutions between Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
This is not only an Israeli, Palestinian or Jordanian discussion. EcoPeace also calls on leaders from other countries to help support the Middle Eastern deal.
How local conflict impacts us globally
Countries such as Australia, Germany, the United States, and Russia are all being urged to join a ‘coalition of the willing’ to help EcoPeace support the implementation of the Green Deal. In addition, countries in Europe can even benefit from EcoPeace’s plans, as Bromberg explains to Green Prophet from his office in Tel Aviv:
“All public areas were without heating in the winter,” and this was due to being dependent on Russian gas that was inaccessible at the time. However, with renewable energy technologies, countries all over the world can benefit from connections with other countries by getting resources for renewable energy from others.
This is why relationships between nations are so important, not only in the Middle East but everywhere. This plan can lay the foundation for inspiration for countries all over the world to come to a middle ground, settle disputes, and better our environment.
Ada Hanina Cafe, barrista pouring coffee at the free trade, organic coffee shop in the Flea market of Jaffa
Tomer Adam Lenzinger, the mastermind behind Ada Hanina Cafe
In the beautiful streets of Jaffa near the Flea Market, Ada Hanina Cafe is a marvellous cafe must-try, an exquisite and artistic coffee shop offering the highest quality coffee. As a coffee guru who enjoys trying different coffee shops, Ada Hanina Cafe is unlike any other.
Owner Tomer Adam Lenzinger has been running this cafe for four years now and hasn’t disappointed. With his well-crafted blends featuring both dark and light roasts from the best coffee bean destinations in the world, you are guaranteed a fabulous cup of coffee.
What makes Ada Hanina stand out like any other cafe is how Tomer integrated his love of music into the design of the cafe. An element that stands out once you walk into Ada Hanina is the large stereo speaker and sound system. Either Tomer himself will play music or he will bring in others to play.
Tomer told me he plays music as often as he can, and he will play vinyl. For him, it’s all about the experience of a cafe, and for that reason, he designed the shop with two doors, so you can go in and go out. “It’s all about the vibe,” Tomer said, “a cafe is about talking, exchanging, taking a break, falling in love, or writing a book.” Coffee brings people together, he said and that was what was important in the designing and planning of the cafe, blending all these aspects into one.
Sourcing his own beans, applying fair trade
The source of Tomer’s coffee beans comes from far and wide: including Africa, Brazil, Columbia, Guatemala, and more. The farmers they work with are the best, specifically the ones in Africa, the beans are wild and are picked by hand, never purified, and no use of chemicals or salts. You can watch videos of the farmers in action on their Instagram. The whole idea, says Tomer, is having fewer hands between us and the farmer. In addition, whatever is not used in the selection process gets composted.
The farmers in Ethiopia are being taught how to harvest and package more sustainably. It is important to Tomer that the farmers in Ethiopia are receiving at least 70% of the profits. Over in Brazil, the terra farmers in Brazil are the first and best rainforest alliance coffee farm. Overall, Tomer strives to have the best connections between him and his farmers to ensure quality coffee is delivered to his customers.
Sustainable water
Like I previously wrote about in my article on Tel Aviv’s Vegan Fest vegan festival, Ada Hanina cafe also has vegan options. The most common milk option they use is Oatly oat milk, (you can make your own at home) which is used 70% of the time in the cafe.
According to Tomer, almond milk takes away from the flavor of the coffee and just turns the coffee into an almond flavor. He also is not a fan of the popular trend in America of flavor additives, which are sugary and are used to disguise the taste of bad coffee. In addition, Ada Hanina only sells water in boxes to take away from the plastic waste issue.
Streetview of customers at Ada Hanina Cafe
The straws are from the Upper Galilee and are made of real straw. Tomer believes the biggest environmental issue in Israel right now is the issue of plastic, and wishes there were to-go cups for the cafe that were made of sustainable material. He also thinks there should be more green electricity and says we are moving way too slowly in our efforts to make energy all renewable.
Boxed water reading: “Drink water from a paper box and leave fewer footprints”
His favorite thing about his job is having customers come up to him and tell him that this is the best coffee they’ve ever had. He enjoys guiding his customers through the coffee selection process and finding the perfect coffee for them. The inspiration behind the cafe is all about having “a very, very good coffee with very, very good music around,” Tomer said emphasizing the very. He’s met people all around the world at coffee conferences who tried their coffee and asked him why he doesn’t bag it and sell it all over the world.
I had a coffee with oat milk, which Tomer said was made with about 20 hand-picked cherries, each having two seeds inside. I also had one of their best sellers and one of Tomer’s favorites, the Worka Wuri blend from Ethiopia, made wild and in an anaerobic process, meaning it was made fermented without oxygen.
It was delicious and had notes of flowers and fruit. Tomer most importantly wants to share with people the beauty of coffee and have access to taste the high-quality coffee beans that are offered inside his cafe in Jaffa. I highly recommend checking out Ada Hanina and asking Tomer all about his coffee. Check out our Green Guide to Jaffa for more sustainable travel ideas.
Yemen beekeepers keep ancient tradition alive. Now they get support from the UN/credit FA
Yemeni honey has a history going far back into antiquity, tracing its origins to the tenth century BCE and gaining global fame for its quality. So not surprisingly, this golden liquid is found in practically every Yemeni home. It helps to sweeten many social events and is not only prized for its nutritional and social qualities but also regarded by Yemenis as having medicinal value. It is the first thing a woman eats after giving birth, while a patient usually licks honey before visiting a doctor.
But the production of Yemeni honey faces daunting challenges. In addition to the damage done by the country’s long-running conflict, honey producers like Salem Al-Diwali must also grapple with the unpredictable climate. In the dry season, pastures are depleted, and beekeepers must buy the pollen grains that are the main source of nutrients for the bees. When the beekeepers cannot afford to meet the high transport costs for these grains, hives are sometimes abandoned.
Although, at the age of 41, Salem has been keeping bees for more than 15 years in Abadan village in Shabwa Governorate, he has recently changed his approach, after taking part in trainings under the Smallholder Agricultural Production Restoration and Enhancement Project (SAPREP) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Bank. The initiative is part of the World Bank’s broader Global Agriculture and Food Security Program.
The SAPREP has helped beekeepers across Yemen to increase their productivity and nutrition through better beekeeping practices. These included more efficient handling of the bees and techniques for extracting honey.
The initiative also provided participating beekeepers with modern beehives and tools, allowing them to increase the quality and quantity of their production and earn more income to enhance their families’ food security.
Bees make a sweet business
Beekeeping is a traditional form of agriculture. Supporting beekeepers supports our planet
For Salem, making the most of his honey business involves a significant daily commitment. He inspects his hives, observing bee movement and the amount of honey in the hive. Other crucial elements to monitor are the stock of pollen grains and nectar and the condition of the queen bees. By observing their activity, he can decide whether to transfer queens to different hives to increase output.
He must also juggle the responsibilities of being married with seven children and a lifestyle, which like many Yemeni beekeepers uphold, is partly nomadic. He spends a portion of his time trucking his hives around in search of the best bee pastures and avoiding the worst of the country’s harsh climate. Once he has found a suitable spot, he sets up his hives away from fields on which farmers have been using pesticides. But he often enlists the help of villagers to ensure the safety of his bees, turning the cultivation of honey into a “team effort.”
Salem has been able to grow his operation, though he admits it took a great amount of effort. He says he greatly benefited from the FAO training on how to extract raw wax and better monitor the production of pollen and amber.
As one of the beneficiaries of SAPREP, he received eight beehives, a water tank, a sorter to separate honey from wax and sheets of base wax on which bees can start building a honeycomb. This allowed him to upgrade his hives and increase the total number to 30, translating into increased yields of honey and wax.
Even so, Salem believes that despite the position which honey holds in Yemenis’ hearts, the lack of markets for it in the country does not reflect the high quality of the product. In fact, he keeps some of the honey collected at home due to the stagnation of the local market.
Confronting challenges as a beekeeper
Not surprisingly, one overwhelming factor influencing both supply and demand is the conflict, with explosions decimating many of Yemen’s beehives, especially at the beginning of the violence in 2015. Many of the obstacles faced by beekeepers, such as rough roads, are related to the conflict, making the transportation of honey, beehives and pollen a challenge. Then there are the additional challenges of poor rainfall, pests including bee flies, bee-eaters and wasps and the weak state of the Sidr trees, which provide a unique flavour to Yemen’s honey.
Despite these setbacks, the honey value chain plays a key role in food and nutrition security in Yemen and provides income for an estimated 100 000 beekeepers in the country. There is also huge potential for further development. FAO and the World Bank, under the Yemen Food Security Response and Resilience Project, are encouraging farmers to take beekeeping as an alternative income generating activity.
Thanks to such initiatives, smallholder beekeepers like Salem, are increasingly able to confront some of the challenges, continue producing the world-famous Yemeni honey and just perhaps look forward to sweeter times ahead.
Looking forward to sampling vegan food in Tel Aviv at the Vegan Foodfest, June 21 to 22, 2023
This past Thursday, I attended the world’s largest vegan festival, Vegan Fest at the Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv. This festival had over 100,000 attendees and 100 different food stands, guaranteeing everyone something they will enjoy. The festival had vegan sushi, meats, cheeses, desserts and so much more. They even had vegan soaps and clothing made from sustainable sources. My personal favorite, the vegan mac and cheese came in an assortment of colors.
VioLife 100% vegan mac and cheese
Going vegan does not mean one must cut out all the foods they enjoy, it just means cutting out certain sources their food comes from. Today, being vegan has become so normalized that thousands of brands and companies across the globe have revolutionized their food systems to accommodate vegans. In addition, there are over 2,500 vegan startups, dedicated to spreading veganism.
A big reason why one decides to go vegan is because of its enormous environmental impact. The livestock industry has a massive impact on carbon emissions and majorly contributes to global climate change. It has been proven time after time that meat eaters have an exceptionally larger carbon footprint compared to those who do not eat any meat. In addition, according to Zero Smart, going vegan can reduce an individual’s carbon footprint by up to 73%.
In celebration of the Tel Aviv vegan festival that I was lucky enough to be able to attend, I will list some of the brands that showed their products this year at Yarkon Park.
Plenty
Plenty is a 100% plant-based company that sells a variety of dairy substitutes to accommodate the vegan diet. Some of their products include yogurt, ravioli, and different cheeses. The cheeses they sell include mozzarella, feta, and parmesan, all of which come from cashews and almonds.
Plenty vegan cheese, made from almonds
They sell their products in stores around Israel and are all based on natural, raw materials that are highly nutritional. I picked up one of their vegan cream cheeses which has a delectable nutty, yet smooth taste and texture.
Creative Pea
This company Creative Pea is for meat lovers out there that want to try a vegan diet but don’t want to give up the delicious taste of meat. Creative Pea offers high-quality, vegan meat that is both delicious and sustainable. Their products include vegan chicken, beef, and fish. I tried all three of these and they were absolutely delicious.
Their meats are made from pea protein, each serving packs 16 grams of protein, so you don’t miss out on the protein in your diet. Creative Pea is a fabulous option for high-protein, nutritious meat substitutes.
Re Feel
Re Feel is a sustainable and ethical shop that sells products from sustainable materials to promote a vegan lifestyle. Their products include bags, water bottles, and even floss. Similarly to Madeo eco-chic, they re-sell products from other brands, including Black & Blum, Brush with Bamboo, Woodie, and Dental Lace. They sell toothbrushes from Brush with Bamboo, which is what it sounds like, a toothbrush made from bamboo.
The floss from Dental Lace is made from silk and is plastic-free and compostable. This company proves that almost anything can be made vegan and encourages a robust vegan lifestyle.
Green Roll Sushi
Do you like sushi? Do you want to go vegan but love a good sushi roll? Check out Green Roll Sushi, which makes a variety of exciting sushi rolls without the fish. Located right next to Rothschild Street, Green Roll Sushi is a hit and showcased its rolls at the vegan festival.
My personal favorite, the Green Roll Special, is made with sweet potato, cucumber, tofu, and avocado. This roll won’t disappoint, and I like it better than normal sushi. Green Roll also offers buns, sushi sandwiches, and salads, all of which are perfect for the vegan diet.
Green Roll’s “Green Roll Special”
Panda vegan chocolate
Lastly, for people who have a big sweet tooth, don’t worry about giving up chocolate. Panda vegan chocolate was created by two friends who were vegan but loved chocolate too much to settle for a no-chocolate diet. Instead, they invented Panda, a now big company all over Israel based on vegan chocolate. Their products are made from oats and cocoa, which the couple was able to create into 14 different flavors. The dairy-free chocolate is well worth trying, and good for the planet.
Vegan Fest included music shows, speed-dating for vegans and workshops on how to sustain a vegan diet and way of life. More about the Vegan Fest here.
Young people are our future. What are the young, global elite thinking about climate change? Ariel asks her peers
Young people are our future. What are the young, global elite thinking about climate change? Ariel asks her peers
Climate change has emerged as a pressing concern for young adults worldwide. With its far-reaching consequences and potential for irreversible damage, the impact of climate change weighs heavily on the minds of the younger generation.
A study conducted by The Lancet sheds light on the concerns of young adults. The survey, which included 1,000 participants aged 16 to 25 from ten different nations, revealed that 84% of them were moderately concerned about climate change, while 59% expressed high levels of concern.
Climate crisis fuels fears of an incertain future
Maya Cohen, an American University student interning in Tel Aviv says, “My biggest fear is that my kids won’t be able to see the stars.” Maya’s concern reflects the broader anxieties about the future generations’ quality of life in light of the climate crisis.
Maya is in Tel Aviv on a program called Onward Israel. Onward provides University students in America an opportunity to live and work in Israel for the summer. The goal is to propel students personally and professionally, while immersing its participants in modern day Israel while equipping you with valuable experience and knowledge through internship opportunities. In the most previous cohort Onward had 3,200 participants..
The climate crisis impacts daily lives
Cycling paths are now linking all centers of Tel Aviv.
Young people worldwide are experiencing a sense of fear and discontentment with government actions, influencing their daily lives.
Hannah Dworsky, a 20-year-old student also working in Tel Aviv for the summer, shares her concerns about bringing new life into an uncertain world: “I am concerned and scared for my future family and children due to the possible irreversible damage we have done to our environment.” Hannah explained that she does not doubt that the majority of people our age are scared of climate change effectively, just not enough to make a lasting difference.
Ava Selbst, another American abroad in Tel Aviv, fears that once climate change starts impacting necessities such as food, clean water, and essential resources, unthinkable scenarios where humanity begins to fight over natural resources. Ava says, “Once climate change starts impacting necessities such as food, clean water, and essential resources, humanity will possibly start to fight over natural resources.”
Ava foresees a future where access to basic necessities becomes a privilege reserved for the super-wealthy, potentially leading to civil conflicts over scarce resources.
I asked other university students living in Tel Aviv about their climate change fears.
Kaley French says, “My biggest climate-related fear is that the careless actions of human beings will continue to affect the innocent lives of animals.”
Dylan Weiss says, “I am stressed about the things I love and think we take for granted being something that will be taken away.”
Tel Aviv, a thriving hub for environmentally sustainable innovation, provides a positive perspective for concerned young adults like Maya, Ava, and Hannah. Their summer experience in Israel offers them a unique opportunity to witness firsthand the transformative efforts undertaken by individuals and companies dedicated to making a positive impact. The crises feel endless, and it is easy to feel helpless as an individual.
Paige Bohart is working this summer for a makeup company researching sustainable labeling options and the qualifications for these labels. Paige tells Green Prophet: “My biggest fear for climate change is that we will not reduce our plastic consumption fast enough.”
She agrees that individual actions are vital to reducing global levels of plastic waste. Paige continues, “small decisions like choosing products with sustainable packaging makes a difference.”
Her work has shown me her sustainable initiatives can successfully intersect with different work spheres.
Hannah emphasizes the need for collective action, stating, “We all have to do our own part to defeat this battle.”
It is through collective efforts, individual responsibility, and innovative solutions that we can overcome this global challenge.
It’s so easy to just bop down to the corner falafel stand and pick up a pita full of the Middle Easts’ favorite fast food. But get to know – and make, another meal, the kind you have to sit down for.
In this recipe, dark, meaty fava beans set down in a nest of yellow hummus and a beige ring of tehini, topped with a brown hamine (long-cooked) egg. Parsley, to offset the earthy flavors. Lemon juice, to balance the dish with a little acidity, and a generous drizzle of good olive oil. On the side, pickles for piquancy, and a little bowl of hot sauce. Onion, just because. Some preserved lemon quarters. And fresh pitas. Nutritious, cheap, comforting. Satisfying in every sense. It’s ful and hummous: the Middle Eastern workingman’s lunch.
The ingredients are always the same, but each cook makes them a little different and never with frozen or canned chick peas. Some people like dark fava beans, using a traditional pot whose long neck allows slow evaporation of the cooking liquid. Some just boil up the quicker-cooking, lighter, haricot bean. Either way, ful and hummus is easy to make, but requires a number of steps. If you want to do this totally from scratch, you will need to prepare three ingredients the night before: beans soaking in one bowl, chickpeas in another, and a pot of gently-boiled eggs simmering on the stove.
Make your Middle East friends proud with this genuine and tested recipe for hummus with ful
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword hummus, vegan
Prep Time 12 hourshours
Cook Time 3 hourshours
Soaking Time 12 hourshours
Servings 5people
Cost $10
Ingredients
1pounddried fava or haricot beans, soaked overnightorganic everything if possible
2cupsdried chickpeas soaked overnight
1 1/3cuptehini
6eggs
2lemons, juice of 2 halves and one more tbsp
2large onions
olive oil
5clovesgarlic
1bay leaf
water for cooking
Instructions
The Ful.Pick over the beans.Rinse them and put them to soak overnight in plenty of water. Next morning, drain the beans and put them up to cook in fresh water.Add a fat clove of garlic, a bay leaf, and some olive oil to the water. Cook the beans till tender. Favas take 1-3 hours. If you choose white beans, they will cook in far less time – up to an hour.When the beans are soft but not falling apart, crush 2 fresh cloves of garlic into a small bowl. Stir 1 tsp. each of salt and cumin in, and add this seasoned garlic to the bean pot. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice. Stir the beans up. Crush some of them with a potato masher or a fork, so that they’ll absorb the flavors of the seasoning. Let them cook another 5 minutes. Then either turn the flame off, or start serving.
The Hamine or Slow-cooked EggsYou can just boil eggs as usual, or take this opportunity to do it the old-fashioned way. Make several, it’s not worth the trouble for only one or two. Take 6 eggs and the peels from 2 large onions. Put it all in a pot. Cover the eggs and peels in plenty of cold water; bring to a simmer.Drizzle a layer of olive oil over the surface. This prevents the water from evaporating during the long cooking period. Simmer the eggs, covered, over the very lowest flame you can achieve for 6 hours or overnight. They are delicate, creamy eggs, unlike any others.
The HummusPut 2 cups of dried chickpeas in a separate bowl. Cover them with plenty of water and let them soak overnight. As with the beans, drain them, and cook in fresh water till soft. It’s not a sin to open a can of chickpeas either. Although fresh-cooked always taste the best, canned chickpeas still make good hummousDo not add salt to either beans or chickpeas till they are completely cooked and easy to mash.Put the cooked or canned chickpeas in a blender or food processor.
To them, add1 fat clove of garlic3 Tblsp. of tehiniSalt to taste Juice from 1/2 lemon2 Tblsp. olive oil
TehiniPut into a bowl:1 cup raw tehina paste3/4 – 1 cup water, depending on how thick or thin you like it1 fat clove garlic, crushedsalt olive oil juice of 1/2 lemon
Get BlendingBlend all the ingredients, either by hand or in the blender. If you’re not used to the ways of tehini paste, don’t be alarmed that it initially becomes very thick when mixed with water. Keep mixing, it will smooth out amazingly.
To serve:Spoon a generous amount of hummous onto the plate. Take the spoon and spread it into a neat circle, thinner in the middle.Spoon a ring of tehina on the inside of the hummous circle.Put a pile of hot beans in the center of the plate. Top the beans with a little chopped onion, chopped parsley, and a peeled, still-warm hamine egg. Squeeze lemon juice over the whole; drizzle olive oil over it. If you’re fond of hot sauce, drizzle a few drops of it over the dish too.Put some small plates or bowls with pickles, olives, sliced onions, or pickled lemons in them.Now tear a chunk off your pita and use it to scoop up some of everything. Savor every mouthful, it’s the real McCoy.
Benny Briga: the owner and founder of Cafe Levinsky
Benny Briga: the owner and founder of Cafe Levinsky
A must-try location in the Levinsky Market after Tavlinksy in Tel Aviv is Cafe Levinsky. In the heat of an Israeli summer, this is definitely a place you want to stop at. Ever heard of a gazoz? This is the drink to try at Cafe Levinsky. Ask Benny Briga about it, the founder and owner of Cafe Levinsky.
Benny Briga opened Cafe Levinsky because he loved nature. He loved how nature blooms beautiful and delicious fruits which he recalls plucking off of trees as a kid. Benny wanted to spread the pleasure of nature to others, which led him to open Cafe Levinsky.
After finishing in the military and traveling the world, Benny settled down in Tel Aviv. After exploring the hospitality industry and opening his own restaurant, Benny reevaluated his career and wanted to open a place that allowed him to invest in his childhood delights. He opened the tiny shop and bought a tank of CO2 and began storing all sorts of herbs and flowers in the tiny corner shop in Florentin in Tel Aviv. He began storing all it in jars with sugar water and making gazoz.
What is gazoz?
Gazoz is a bubbly seltzer drink made by the fermentation of fruit. (Like beer, Ethiopian honey bee, wine). The gazoz that Benny sells is non-alcoholic, all-natural, and highly nutritious. Similar to soda, gazoz is refreshing and makes the perfect beverage in the heat of the summer.
Gazoz goes way back was originally invented in Tel Aviv in 1909 and has been a popular beverage ever since. Each gazoz that Benny sells includes macerated fruit, syrup, and some type of herb, depending on the gazoz of your choice. For example, the “Green Almond” gazoz is made of arugula flowers, fresh lemon verbena, lavender, and dried licorice root stick. It is fermented with green almonds and syrup, and topped by seltzer and ice.
Benny made me an apple gazoz, which tasted fresh and sweet. Once you finish your gazoz gives free seltzer refills.
The apple gazoz with sustainably made straw and spoon
Sustainable practices
Cafe Levinsky also practices sustainable measures of service. For starters, the straws are all natural because they are made from apples. You can even eat the straws after you finished your gazoz. In addition, the spoons are made free of plastic. Benny also composts at his farm in Jaffa where they grow all of the ingredients used in the cafe.
A sustainable studio
Benny took me into the studio right around the corner from the shop were the fermentation magic goes down. The beautiful studio is filled with jars filled with all kinds of things, from fruits to herbs.
One of the oldest of which is six years old: the “Quince” is from 2017. A quince is a kind of apple that when cooked becomes pink. Benny thinks it is better the longer something is fermented. Some jars are fermented with sugar and water, while others are fermented with salt and vinegar. He also uses anaerobic fermentation and aerobic fermentation.
Each day, he ferments something new for the gazoz, constantly having new and tasty things for his customers. He also has a wide array of alcohols that are available to buy from the bottle from 5% to 7% alcohol.
Inside of Benny’s fermentation studio in the Levinsky Market showing the array of alcohols he fermented
The Quince fermented fruit is the oldest in the studio
Make two flavorful, easy dips at one go, with fresh or canned fava beans and chickpeas. We’re fond of eating beans over here at Green Prophet, and supply you recipes like this little-known lupini bean recipe every so often. These dips are easy appetizers for a party or a meal with guests, or as a snack with pita chips. These are considered salads in the Middle East, but “dip” expresses the soft texture of these dishes better.
Ful Medames Recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups small brown fava beans: either 2 cans, heated with their water, or 2 cups prepared cooked favas – instructions below 2 cups chickpeas, either 2 cans, heated with their water, or 2 cups prepared cooked chickpeas. Reserve 1 cup for making the masabaha recipe below. 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with a little salt 1 medium tomato, chopped fine – reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish 1/2 medium red onion or 1 shallot 2 tablespoons roasted red pepper (grilled or from a jar) or 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh red chili pepper – reserve one tablespoon for garnish 1 handful cilantro or parsley – reserve a few good pinches for garnish Juice of 1/2 lemon About 1/4 cup olive oil
Directions:
Drain and pour the hot ful into a bowl. Strain 1 cup of hot chickpeas with a slotted spoon into the ful bowl but don’t dump the chickpea water; you’ll need it later. Crush the ful and chickpeas together with a potato masher. Add the crushed garlic, chopped tomatoes, onion or shallot, chili or roasted red pepper; mix well. Continue crushing everything together coarsely. Chop the cilantro or parsley finely; add to bowl and mix well. Stir in the lemon juice. Taste for salt and adjust. Pour a generous amount of olive oil around the ful mixture. Garnish with reserved chopped tomato, chili or red pepper, and cilantro.
Make Musabaha
Musabaha is a rough humus made with whole chickpeas instead of blending them. Slather it on bread and garnish it with whatever takes your fancy.
Ingredients :
Remaining cup of hot chickpeas from the ful mesdames recipe above – reserve a handful for garnish 2 tablespoons raw tahini paste 1/4 – 1/2 cup chickpea cooking water 1 clove garlic, crushed with a little salt Juice of 1/2 lemon Sprinkles of cumin and paprika Olive oil 2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro 4 or 5 slices of chili or fresh red bell pepper, cut vertically to make a garnish
Directions:
Pour the hot, whole, remaining chickpeas into a serving bowl In a small separate bowl, mix the tahini with 1/4 cup of the chickpea water. Add water as you go to make a dip that’s loose enough for your liking. Mix thoroughly, until white. Add the crushed garlic clove and lemon juice to the tahini; mix. Spoon the tahini into the chickpeas. Crush together lightly. Taste for salt and adjust. Garnish with reserved whole chickpeas. Pour olive oil around the bowl. Sprinkle cumin and paprika around the bowl. Pile up a little chopped cilantro in the center. Place 4 or 5 slices of chili or fresh raw bell pepper around the bowl.
How to eat these dips with pita or other flatbread: tear a piece of bread off, fold it to make a little cup, and spoon some dip into it. Eat as is, from your hand. Suggested dishes to accompany: hard boiled eggs, baby radishes, all sorts of pickles, cucumber sticks. This makes a light meal. Serve fish, chicken, or kebabs with these salads for a heartier meal.
* To prepare ful and chickpeas from raw: Rinse 1 cup of each. In separate bowls, cover generously with cold water and allow to soak overnight. Rinse each again and cook in separate pans, in plenty of water. It will take 1-1/2 hours to cook them until tender. Do not drain the cooked chickpeas; you will need some of the cooking water for the musabha.
More excellent bean-based recipes from Green Prophet, and some history about well-loved Middle Eastern ful beans. The recipe below includes canned ful, tomatoes, peppers, and cumin.
Unlike many cities in America, street cats are found everywhere in Israel. Every corner you turn you are likely to find a street cat. Some of the strays are in excellent condition, getting well taken care of by the locals or by organizations like Hapishpesh in Jaffa. Others, are not being taken care of as well, and have to work really hard to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, the world is a tough place, and things always happen when these street animals are put in danger. For this reason, I’ve decided to write a guide to help you know what you should do when you see a stray cat or dog in critical condition.
Veterinary Hospital Babikar
Vets taking care of a dog at Veterinary Bakikar
In continuation of my article on Hapishpesh and the AEA Bethlehem Shelter, I’d like to introduce another clinic that helps take care of stray pets in Tel Aviv. Veterinary Babikar, located on 157 Yigal Alon Street, Tel Aviv works long and hard to support the street cats that are brought in. Open 24/7, Veterinary Babikar always has staff on call to ensure the people that their pets have an inlet to receive care. I spoke with Dr. Shuki Karako, a fourth-year veterinary practitioner at Veterinary Bakikar in Tel Aviv.
He grew up in Tel Aviv but spent time studying veterinary medicine in Italy. Dr. Shuki always makes sure that the street cats that are brought into him are being taken care of. The clinic is a chain business, but the location in Tel Aviv is old and historic. Dr. Shuki and the rest of the vets work with clients that bring in stray cats for castration and treatment. Dr. Shuki told me that he is trusted in the area and that people come to him when they find strays that are in need of help.
While people are good about bringing in sick/injured, they commonly don’t stay for them. Dr. Shuki said people just bring them in and leave them, expecting the vet to take care of them. However, he can’t do much for them after and they often just send the stray back to where they were found after receiving treatment. There are some people that will decide to adopt them afterward, but this is a common struggle that the vet clinic has to deal with.
SOS Pets Israel
Stray cats in Jaffa
SOS Pets Israel is a nonprofit organization that also works to help save and take care of stray pets. As part of their code of conduct, they believe that caring for homeless dogs and cats is essential to humanity as pets provide a great deal of nurture to our lives. Therefore SOS Pets strives on giving back to pets by ensuring they are well taken care of and being protected. SOS Pets has three distinct units: a dog unit, a cat unit, and an educational unit.
The dog unit, which is their oldest unit works to improve the lives of stray dogs by providing rehabilitation against euthanization. They take dogs out of kill shelters and work on their own to rehabilitate the dogs into loving homes. The cat unit specializes in providing castration procedures since the population of stray cats in Israel is so large. They also work to provide medical attention to injured and sick street cats in order to better their lives and find them new homes. Lastly, their educational unit prides to raise awareness of animal cruelty. They work alongside the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Environment to teach young children and youth organizations to inspire compassion for animals at a young age. SOS Pets is also looking for donations and volunteers to continue with their good work.
Let the Animals Live
Let the Animals Live is a nonprofit organization that works to provide care and protection to animals in need of rehabilitation. Located in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, the NGO strives to promote animal rights and welfare by expanding and enforcing the Animals Welfare Act.
In addition, the organization is strictly no-kill, therefore they ensure that each and every animal that is brought in will have the best chance of being adopted. They do numerous things for stray animals, including providing training, veterinary attention, sheltering, and transportation for rescues. Professional veterinary practitioners will spay and neuter animals at Let Live. They also have a legal department, the only of its kind in Israel, which handles any kind of protection of the animals’ rights. As a consequence of the Animal Welfare Act, the legal department handles many filed complaints of abuse and harassment that their animals have undergone.
The Municipality of Tel Aviv
The Municipality of Tel Aviv vets will take care of stray dogs and cats, which, according to Dr. Shuki, does a good job and he hears mostly good stories. The Municipality helps stray and domestic animals in Tel Aviv live a better life and away from trouble. They partner with many agencies (including Let the Animals Live and SOS Pets Israel) to ensure that all dogs and cats are kept in good hands.
They help endangered and suffering animals get rescued and put into shelters, act against rabies, and provide access to vaccines for pet owners. They also initiated a project called Adopt an Animal in which they encourage adoptions of sheltered animals via special adoption days for every Friday of each month. You can find out more information on the municipality on their website as well as who to contact. You can read more about adoption days here.
SPCA Israel
SPCA Israel– or the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, based in Jaffa. The Society takes in abandoned animals and tries to find adopting homes for them. Additionally, it provides various services to the community: a veterinary clinic with subsidized prices, a boarding facility for pets, rescue and collection of animals in trouble and a department of education and guidance. This is a great place to find and rehome a pet in need.
A couple of years ago, I remember sitting in the kitchen of my home in New Jersey hearing a news report about the wildfires happening in California. When I first heard about this, I had no idea why these were occurring, but remember watching them with tremendous horror. Seeing these massive wildfires plow through the beautiful forestry that makes up the Sacramento area was unbelievably astonishing to me as I could not believe this was happening in real life.
Due to this news report, I was determined to understand why this was happening, and what I could do to help it. I learned that wildfires are a major outcome of climate change, and from that day forward, I knew that this was what I was interested in studying.
I later went off to study environmental science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I continue to learn about the worsening climate and what causes these changes in our world. However, as I continue to explore the field of environmental studies, I learn what I want to do and what I don’t want to do. I also learned what is most important to me in the work that I do one day, which is to make a difference. I was not interested in sitting in a lab or going out into a field to do manual work.
This is me, Danielle Meyers looking into how law can work to save the environment
I did not enjoy business or accounting or anything mathematical. However, I realized that the most effective way to generate change in the environment is to be at the forefront of the problem. This meant to me being in a position where I can force change to happen, which meant studying environmental law and policy.
My campus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
To learn more about a career in environmental law, I met with Gidon Bromberg, the director/cofounder of EcoPeace: an organization that brings regions together in the Middle East to solve environmental problems.
Gidon got his Master’s Degree in international environmental law at American University in Washington D.C. and has been directing EcoPeace for the last 30 years: “The most important thing that law school taught me was how to think clearly, how to think relevant to the issue, how to assess what is relevant to solving or advancing or dealing with a particular issue and blocking out everything else,” said Gidon on his experience in law school.
When going to school for law, there are so many different styles of law that one can study, like criminal, corporate, business, but when it comes to studying environmental law, you also need a background in environmental science to know why law is necessary to address environmental solutions. Therefore, attending law school and getting a degree in environmental law is so beneficial to one’s career because you learn how to interpret law on the international level in order to find compromises across nations.
Gidon Bromberg from Ecopeace
When it comes to international law, it becomes quite complicated for people like Gidon. A common issue that occurs when trying to form treaties across nations is the issue of free riding, where other countries want a cleaner environment but don’t want to bear the costs. However, in a lot of cases, especially in the Middle East, conflicts between countries cause great tension to arise in its discussion.
Israel is surrounded by countries that do not like them, and when we try to discuss ways we can collaborate to discuss environmental solutions, surrounding countries become hesitant. Since climate change is a worldwide issue that affects every country, one country cannot do all the work. Therefore it is necessary that every country is on board to discuss and come up with solutions.
Like Gidon who works to bring countries together in the discussion of the environment, specifically Jordan and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, international environmental lawyers are so important and continue to be more necessary as our environment continues to worsen. And as so many people in Israel preach on what they’d like to see from their country is peace, the climate crisis may be the unspoken solution.
When nations come together to discuss a problem that affects us all equally, we are forced into a position where we can all come to an agreement. The degradation of our environment is a negative concept, but its discussion makes us all see something on the same level, something that is bringing us down together. Furthermore, we have no other option but to come together and discuss ways in which we can do better, for the planet and for the people who live on it.
A career in international environmental law not only creates a cleaner environment but also creates a better society and a more resilient economy. Gidon, for example, strives to make EcoPeace the example of what we can and should seek for international environmental law-related solutions. That is why the projects headed by EcoPeace have been so admirable because they head a cleaner environment and an opportunity for peace. For example, in Project Prosperity, EcoPeace created relations between Israel and Jordan by finding solutions to water desalination for Jordan. And on the other hand, renewable energy solutions for Israel.
Via renewable energy, the project aims to create a desalination plant in Israel’s Emek Hefer for shipping low-cost water over to a water-parched Jordan. Israel expects to buy lower-cost solar energy from Jordan where the deserts are more vast for collecting solar energy, and the labor to run the solar energy plants is more cost-effective. In the early stages, this project will tighten the bond between these two countries while also bettering our environment, a win-win scenario.
It is now more important than ever to come together and discuss peace agreements, as we cannot continue to let our environment retrogress. We can look up to EcoPeace as an example of this amendatory act and understand its importance. A career in international environmental law is guaranteed to be necessary and can change the world forever.
A Sonovia machine dying fabric in a more sustainable way. Via the use of physics, Sonovia is harnessing the power of ultrasonic cavitation jet-streams to impregnate textiles with color.
Sonovia is taking the textile industry into the future as we speak, developing the newest way of production in fashion. I spoke with Shay Hershcovich, the co-founder of Sonovia: “It takes eleven-thousand liters of water to produce one pair of jeans,” Shay says. Another problem: the enormous amounts of wastewater dumped due to unsustainable textile production has turned the Jian River in China red from dye.
Shay and the rest of his team at Sonovia are working long and hard to revolutionize the textile industry. By breaking away from outdated methods of dyeing and finishing manufacturing practices, Sonovia aims to create a sustainable future for textile production. According to Sonovia, they claim to “leave the most significant mark on the textile industry since its inception and to enable humanity to enjoy the textiles that surround our lives with a clearer conscience.”
The Jian River in China contaminated with red dye via ecohubmap.com
Developed originally at Bar Ilan University outside of Tel Aviv, Sonovia is expanding the new technology of using ultrasound soundwaves to cut down emissions in the textile industry. Via the use of physics, Sonovia is harnessing the power of ultrasonic cavitation jet-streams to impregnate textiles with color. Like “chemistry guns”, they call it, the technology works to generate cavitation bubbles that implode and generate 1,000 meter/sec jet-streams.
The machine is called Sonofix, manufactured and supplied by their partners at Bruckner Trockentechnik GmbH. Sonovia affirms this machinery to have breakthrough durability and performance, non-toxic chemistry, and 100% agnostic to fiber type, as well as being cost competitive.
Leading European textile machinery maker Bruckner partners with Sonovia to cut carbon footprint of clothing production ahead of new European rules. From left, Sonovia CEO Igal Zeitun, Sonovia owner Shuki Herschkovitz, Brückner Textile Technologies owner Axel Pieper. Photo courtesy of Sonovia
In addition, Sonovia has other partners all over the world, including companies all over Asia, and in Germany and Italy. The French Luxury group, Kering, which owns big brands such as Gucci and Saint Laurent even decided to integrate Sonovia’s technology into their production methods for the withseen future.
Sonovia can dye jeans with 90% less wastePictures of Sonovia’s technology
According to a study produced by Made2flow, a company that specializes in testing the environmental impacts the textile industry has, Sonovia’s technology reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 60%, 85% in water use, 99% in polluting wastewater, and 90% in land utilization, compared to the traditional industrial dyeing process of jeans.
Their technology has been tested in labs around the world, including Hohenstein, VisMederi Textyle, Microbe Investigations Switzerland (MIS), and Bureau Veritas.
Sonovia’s products include an innovative and sustainable means of indigo dyeing and odor-controlling technology. The current project D(y)enim, is the indigo dyeing system that uses indigo pigment dispersion to save water and be more eco-friendly.
Unlike the traditional method, D(y)enim only includes 2 dye baths, no redox/oxidation dyeing mechanism, and results in no hydrosulfite waste. There is no need for merceization/scouring prep process before dyeing or need for multiple wash baths after the dyeing baths passage. In their recent study, the production of 1 pair of jeans using their technology saved 9.8% of water, equivalent to 160 days of drinking water per person on average.
In addition, the study concluded that 4% of GHG was saved, equivalent to 12 Km driven by an average private car. And lastly, it saved 1.4% of land use, equivalent to 249 grams of flour produced from equal land use.
Sonovia has created a process for using less dye and water for sustainable fashion. These are jeans dyed with the Sonovia process
As Sonovia continues to expand internationally, its mission is to serve as the face of sustainable textile production is not bleak. The Future of Sonovia looks propitious, especially as the climate crisis continues to demand change in our society. With the immense research proving Sonovia’s technology massively saves enormous amounts of water, CO2, and land-use, as well as being more cost-effective, companies around the world continue to be inspired to adopt Sonovia’s technology. The company has even been listed in the Tel Aviv stock exchange (TASE: SONO).
Ittai Ben Zeev, Joshua Herchcovich, Aaron Garzon, Yaron Yaacobi, Liat Goldhammer, Shay Hershcovich, and Yana Chernyak at TASE’s Listings Unit
To learn more about Sonovia, check out their website.
Environmental activist, green deen, Green Prophet, urban strategist and Islamic author Ibrahim Abdul-Matin passed away in California on June 21, 2023. He was only 46 and leaves behind a wife and children. Abdul-Matin interviewed several times on Green Prophet leaves legacy of deepening democracy and environmental advocacy.
Abdul-Matin wrote the book Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet, worked as a Senior Fellow with Interfaith America and New Yorkers for Clean Power, and with the NYS Advisory Board member of the Trust for Public Land.
He was a proud eco-Muslim and loved sharing his love for the planet. As an intro to his popular book, he writes: “Muslims are compelled by their religion to praise the Creator and to care for their community. But what is not widely known is that there are deep and long-standing connections between Islamic teachings and environmentalism.
“Green Deen draws on research, scripture, and interviews with Muslim Americans to trace Islam’s preoccupation with humankind’s collective role as stewards of the Earth.
“The Earth is a mosque.”
Deen means “path” or “way” in Arabic. And in his exploration Abdul-Matin offers dozens of examples of how Muslims can follow, and already are following, a Green Deen in four areas: waste, watts (energy), water, and food.
At last, people of all beliefs can appreciate the gifts and contributions that Islam and Muslims bring to the environmental movement. Proceeds from the sales of his book will go toward supporting his family.
Why do you believe that Muslims have an important role to play in combating climate change? Because it’s our God given duty. Allah has entrusted human beings with the planet and all that’s in it. Creation is not ours – it’s Allah’s and He has made us responsible, as the best of Creation, to take care of it. Allah has generously given us these things and that we cannot forget to be grateful. We also must serve with justice and not destroy, pillage, or hurt any of the things He has provided.
What one person or group or way of thought has inspired your Green Deen? Definitely my father. He grew up on a farm in southern Virginia and has deep connections to the land. He’s spent the last 15 years in upstate New York and frequently takes trips into the woods, the mountains, to simply exist among Allah’s creations and praise Him. My father prays outside a lot – he says that it’s good to be reminded of what we’re a part of and who to be thankful to.
What do you think is holding back Muslims from doing more for the planet (particularly in the Muslim world)? And what can be done to tackle these constraints? I think it’s the same reason as the old woman in Memphis. Muslims need to feel compelled spiritually to make dramatic changes in their lives. They need to feel like Allah has commanded them to do something – that’s what “Green Deen” is about. I argue that Allah has told us that protecting the planet is a major priority in our practice of Islam.
If you could get Muslims to do one thing for the environment, what would it be? Become advocates for worldwide clean water. Muslims need to pay attention to and get involved in issues that don’t just affect them – but affect everyone. We are stewards of the Earth. Not just stewards of Muslims. Water is every creature’s most basic need for survival. Our Prophet taught us to not waste water while making wudu, even if we live next to a flowing river. Our Holy City of Mecca exists because of the Well of Zamzam.
Jaffa, Tel Aviv’s historic sister city, is famous for its rich biblical tales and unmatched sightseeing. With its unique combination of history and modernity, Jaffa offers countless opportunities for environmentally sustainable and unique day and nighttime activities.
Green Spaces of Jaffa
Fairuz Festival Jaffa at the Pisgah Park. Have you ever seen a view of Tel Aviv quite like this?
Jaffa Port
Make sure to check out Jaffa Port, one of the oldest ports in the world. Jaffa Port is a historical landmark well known for being the biblical location of Jonah and the Whale. In addition to its historical roots, the port serves as an active fishing port, allowing visitors to peek into the daily lives of fishermen. Visitors can rent kayaks for paddling around in and some local boat owners sublet their yachts for a night or a week for those who want to sleep on the water. Jaffa, Tel Aviv’s historic sister city, is famous for its rich biblical tales and unmatched sightseeing. With its unique combination of history and modernity, Jaffa offers countless opportunities for environmentally sustainable and unique day and nighttime activities.
Jaffa Slope Park
Along the seaside is the Jaffa Slope Park. Embrace the awesome scenery and spice up your day by packing a picnic and taking a nature walk to enjoy natural beauty. Slope Park is an excellent escape from the “hustle and bustle” of city life. This park was a construction waste site, later transformed into a park on the insistence and lobbying of environmental activists. If you walk from the port to the Slope Park look into the sea and find Eco Wave’s pilot project collecting energy from the sea.
The Slope Park is a great location for flying a kite. There are no electricity wires and few trees to get stuck on.
It’s a great stretch of park for runners who start in Tel Aviv. Run all the way to the end of the boardwalk around Aliya Beach near the Shimon Peres Center and return back along the sea.
Givat Aliya Beach
Givat Aliya Tel Aviv-Jaffa’s Southernmost beach is the perfect location for beachgoers. Have a picture-perfect day and enjoy the palm trees, limestone, and stunning arches. After soaking up sun rays, Givat Aliya conveniently offers nearby trendy bars and restaurants.
HaPisgah Park
Another beachside park worth exploring is Gan HaPisga. Named after the Hebrew word for the summit, this park has an eye-popping view of the coastline in addition to a well-known amphitheater used for outdoor concerts and summer events.
Local and Sustainable Dining in Jaffa
Shaffa bar and restaurant in Jaffa
Hummus
Jaffa is about the hummus. It’s simple and vegan. Abu Haasan serves what consider the best hummus in Jaffa. They are a family-owned local spot that serves both traditional and spicy hummus, which are excellent vegan and sustainable options. The best idea- try the triple plate and taste all three vegan dishes.
Israelis are pretty picky when it comes to hummus. Some locals suggest these ones might be just as good. Some say better:
Alkalha “is a deluxe experience” says one resident of Jaffa. They are located on Salame. Eliyahu Hummus in the flea market is a nice place to hang out. Asli on the corner of hatkuma and yerushalayim across from the hotel. Dani Ful in the same area of Asli.
Jaffa Coffee Shops
Tomer, the mastermind behind Ada Hanina Cafe. He travels to Ethiopia and meets the farmers who grows his coffee beans.
We have tried them all. The only two coffee shops we can recommend in Jaffa are Ada Hanina Cafe, in the Flea Market area run by Tomer Lenziger, who picks hand-selected beans from countries like Africa where he pays farmers direct and roasts locally, and the other is Cafelix in the Noga area.
Ada Hanina Cafe, barrista pouring coffee at the free trade, organic coffee shop in the Flea market of JaffaCafelix in the Noga neighborhood of Jaffa
Jaffa Fishery
Visiting Jaffa port by 7:00 in the morning is a treat for the early birds as you witness fishermen unloading their fresh daily catches and displaying them along the harbor. Take advantage of this opportunity to purchase high-quality doral, snapper, and seafood directly from the fishermen, all at a more affordable price than restaurants.
Michelangelo
Michelangelo is a hip vegan cafe known for its relaxed and earthy atmosphere. Michelangelo is a hidden gem perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Customers recommend the pastries and Kombucha.
Shaffa Bar
Immerse yourself in 70s vibes and enjoy locally sourced ingredients at Shaffa Bar. Known for its vibrant ambiance, this bar offers a range of cocktails during happy hour with the bonus of eating sustainably. Indulge in great company and feel good about your environmentally positive choices.
Eco-Friendly Transportation
Electric Scooter
If you love an adventure like me, I’d like to introduce you to Tel Aviv-Yafo’s electric scooter takeover. Many scooter-sharing companies operate in the city, allowing people to rent electric scooters for short-distance travel. They produce zero emissions and make a greener and more fun alternative to driving in a car. Watch out for reckless drivers.
Biking
Get active by biking around Jaffa’s bike-friendly city and using the dedicated bike lanes and bike-sharing programs. Renting a bike to explore the city while minimizing your carbon footprint is encouraged. Several bike rental stations throughout Jaffa make it easy for locals and visitors alike to help the environment.
Walking
Jaffa is certainly a walkable and pedestrian-friendly city. Enjoy the city’s charm and discover new places only seen on foot. Walking does not only reduce pollution but also allows a fully immersive experience of the culture and overall vibe of the city.
Public Transportation
The old city is conveniently well-connected to the Tel Aviv metropolitan area through public transportation networks. The choices are abundant between the easily accessible bus system and light rail trains, providing convenient and eco-friendly options for traveling within Jaffa and nearby destinations.
Sustainable Cultural Experiences
The East West House in Jaffa
Flea Market
The Jaffa flea market, known as the Shuk Hapishpeshim, is where creativity thrives. Endless treasures, including antiques, crafts, and locally made products, are yours to find. Supporting local artists and small businesses as well as sustainable entrepreneurship. A few boutique hotels have opened in recent years.
Galleries
You aren’t doing Jaffa’s correctly if you do not explore its renowned art scene and visit its many galleries of local visionaries. Admire or even purchase unique pieces from the local art community. Try Beit Kandinof which is an art gallery and happening space combined with a high-end restaurant.
Live Music
The East West House offers weekly shows featuring local music with ethnic roots from the Arab and Jewish world. There is also a more taverna-style showing of a similar vibe at Shaffa Bar many days of the week.
Artisanal Shops and Workshops
Making work trousers at Havie in Jaffa
And finally, from pottery and ceramics to jewelry-making and textile weaving, Jaffa’s artisans combine their gorgeous work with the city’s rich cultural heritage. Gain insight into their creative processes and learn about the importance of their craft. Make sure to check out hands-on workshops, mainly concentrated in the area called Noga.
There is Beit Hamelacha which offers print-making and textile-dying workshops in Noga.
Ilanit Neutra maker of upcycled tire bags has her studio in Noga.
Enjoy a free co-working space for the 18-25 year-old crowd on 83 Yefet Street. It is supported by the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality.
Founder of the Animal Environment Association (AEA), Diana Babish works overtime to support not just her own life, but also the lives of thousands of animals.
While Diana works overtime at the animal shelter, she is also the manager of the tourist bus station for the municipality in Bethlehem. Before she took on this job, she worked as a bank manager for many years and got her master’s degree in Bethlehem in corporations and development. Still, as Diana works her full-time job, she never gives up on making a large commitment to working in and running the shelter.
Located in the West Bank in Bethlehem, the AEA Bethlehem Shelter strives each and every day to treat, care, and rehome dogs, cats, and even donkeys. However, the AEA struggles to keep up with the continuous transport of animals, as the AEA is a non-profit and does not receive any support from the government. The AEA is the first and only shelter located in the West Bank, so it is especially hard to take care of all of these animals. In addition, the AEA is looking for more recognition, more financial support, and more volunteers.
In the past year, 4,000 dogs were brought into the shelter and over 600 cats. Unfortunately, when the animals are brought in, they are typically in bad shape. Commonly with severe problems that need immediate medical attention. Diana sees animals daily with ticks, skin problems, dehydration, broken limbs, and diseases of all kinds.
“It’s difficult work,” Diana tells Green Prophet: “so many cases that tear you apart: abused animals, maggots eating their flesh, poisoned and shot”. For Diana personally, she took home a dog from the shelter that was shot 8 years ago. Still to this day, Diana periodically needs to buy her dog medicine because its lungs were permanently damaged and therefore cannot stop coughing.
Sometimes, when an animal is struggling to find a home, Diana adopts it as her own. Today, Diana has 7 dogs, two of which recently came from the shelter. “They deserve a better life,” Diana said. “Any number they need I take them.”
Shelters in Israel are over capacity, and the AEA is only 200 meters. So it’s not only a struggle to take care of the sick pets, but to also have room for them. Not having enough room for them also means not having enough resources to take care of them. Even so, the shelter struggles to have the necessary technology to diagnose pets with whatever disease they are struggling with.
Ryder: a dog available for adoption at the AEA Shelter in Bethlehem
The AEA relies on donations in order to keep up with their best work, but even that is not enough. Sometimes the shelter receives sponsors from organizations but is in desperate need of more help. Diana would like to see more funds coming in to help rehome, afford materials, and pay vets. She also wants more support both locally and abroad.
Diana strives to spread her good work beyond the realm of animals. She actively goes to schools and teaches children how to be better for the environment. For example, Diana teaches children to close the tap, not to throw things out the car window, etc. She also gives lectures to adults on how to better treat the environment. She lectures to adults via PowerPoint, teaching preservations measures and disease prevention and treatment.
In order to help preserve of the environment, Diana and her other volunteers created tenets for the animals with recycled tires. They collected tires, wooden pallets, and iron pallets and were able to make a tent so the shelter could home more animals.
I strongly encourage everyone to check out the AEA Shelter in Bethlehem and give recognition to Diana and all her hard work. I also strongly advise people all over the world to adopt their pets from shelters. The AEA Shelter in Bethlehem does abroad adoptions to countries such as the U.S., Canada, and many countries in Europe. To find out more information on animals available for adoption, check out the AEA’s Facebook Page.
Please make a donation to the AEA Shelter in Bethlehem, as every donation makes a difference. Even if its 1 shekel a month, this can add up to help save lives of animals in desperate need of attention. And if you are in the area, I encourage you to check out the shelter. The shelter is in desperate need of more volunteers, resources, food, and love and attention from the public.
Reef Relief produces a sunscreen with an RFP - for reef protection factor
Reef Relief produces a sunscreen with an RFP – for reef protection factor
Jump into a lake or sea covered in Neutrogena or Coppertone sunscreen and you feel a film of sunscreen wash into your eyes. That same sunscreen that’s meant to protect you is very damaging to lakes and ocean life, and especially life that’s sensitive to environmental disturbances. Of course you can make your own sunscreen – here’s our sunscreen DIY recipe here – and while this might be less harmful to your body the elements may still harm sea life. But a company from Israel says that they have created a sunscreen that protects you from the sun and the reefs from harm. It’s called Reef Relief.
The sunscreen was formulated in the Red Sea city of Eilat, home to dying coral reefs. The company announces developing the world’s first sunscreen that is scientifically formulated not only to protect the skin from UV rays but to feed and nourish endangered coral reefs.
Eilat is home to the world’s most northernmost shallow-water reef and locals are passionate about protecting it and other coral reefs.
‘Reef Relief’ sunscreen to help turn the tide on coral bleaching. Courtesy.
Coral is facing serious threats from climate change, pollution, and other human activities, with an estimated 14,000 tons of sunscreen ending up in the world’s oceans every year. As many as 80% of ordinary sunscreens contain chemicals that contribute to coral bleaching and dying reefs.
While some manufacturers have begun to remove harmful chemicals like oxybenzone, Reef Relief goes further than any other sunscreen on the planet to protect coral reefs and help them thrive, the company says.
Marine and skincare specialists have developed a new formulation based on a non-nano, titanium-dioxide-based, mineral sunscreen. The base formula is Ecocert compliant and has undergone extensive aquatic safety testing, to include safety for freshwater fish, saltwater fish and coral larvae. The added reef nourishing formula is a bespoke blend of FDA-compliant trace minerals used by coral farmers to feed and support healthy growth in coral.
Giovanni Giallongo, a marine biologist from Ben Gurion University of the Negev said, “The development of a sunscreen that not only doesn’t harm coral, but has the potential to feed and nourish our reefs, is an important step towards protecting and preserving our oceans.
“Reef Relief could feed into the health of communities underwater and on land.”
Reef Relief sunscreen also presents to the world another first, a brand-new certification – not just against SPF, but also now RPF for Reef Protection Factor.
An increasing number of products claim to be ‘reef-friendly’ or ‘reef-safe’, but there is a lack of regulation in this area which means that consumers are easily being misled. It’s hoped that the new RPF marque will become an industry standard and spread beyond Israel, worldwide, helping consumers make responsible choices.
Giallongo added, “This is a way of identifying sunscreen that truly cares for coral. An RPF marque as an industry standard.”
How can you know if your sunscreen is reef safe?
Unfortunately the term “reef friendly” is not regulated, so you can’t always trust products with this description. It’s important to actually check the active ingredients label on the back of your sunscreen or personal care product to ensure that reef-harming chemicals are not included, says Save the Reef, an NGO set up to educate us about saving coral reefs. The size of minerals used in the sunscreen can also have an impact.
They say, be sure to use micro-sized (or non-nano) mineral sunscreens to avoid nanoparticles, as these smaller particles can be toxic in high concentrations. It’s also advised to stick with lotions and avoid spray or misting sunscreens, especially those that contain titanium dioxide as it can be harmful to your health if inhaled.
It’s always good to use products that cut back on single use plastic packaging, either by using containers that are reusable, have high recycled content or are made out of biodegradable plant-based materials like cardboard.
Make sure your sunscreen does not contain the following harmful substances:
Oxybenzone
Octinoxate
Octocrylene
Homosalate
4-methylbenzylidene camphor
PABA
Parabens
Triclosan
Any nanoparticles or “nano-sized” zinc or titanium (if it doesn’t explicitly say “micro-sized” or “non-nano” and it can rub in, it’s probably nano-sized)
Any form of microplastic, such as “exfoliating beads”
Check out Noisy City to see how cities of the world differ in sound pollution
Holding her ears from the noise in Beirut, Lebanon
Noise is toxic and damaging to your peace of mind. An unsettled mind can lead to immune system malfunctions and chronic problems related to stress. A loud industrial saw is working on construction of the building next door to me in Tel Aviv, as I type. Music blasting in nature sites, bus speakers announcing stops, criminal level shouting and incessant honking and screaming – on the streets, and in classrooms, are the norm in an overly loud Israeli city.
Israel, by law, has natural quiet hours –– between the hours of 2PM and 4PM when European Jews like to nap and it’s called schlafstunde –– Yiddish for afternoon sleep. The law is still intact, but it’s easy to get around it if you own a construction business and need to get the job done.
Chronic, including humming and droning noise by large machinery during waking and sleeping hours is not just annoying, it’s a health threat that goes largely unrecognized. The relentless din of cars, trucks, trains and planes increases the risk of hypertension, stroke and heart attacks according to research studies.
Even people who live in generally quiet areas are affected: those sudden jarring sounds coming from fire crackers are also particularly detrimental. Cities like New York enacted honking bans in some of the more populous areas of Manhattan already in the early 90s and now cities like Paris have installed noise cameras to monitor vehicles’ sound levels. Thanks to the lovely Swiss, they are introducing national quiet hours.
Noise pollution is a global concern
According to the European Environment Agency, more than one in every five EU citizens is exposed to chronic harmful levels of road traffic noise. This percentage is much higher in many urban areas. The number of people ‘highly annoyed’ and ‘highly sleep disturbed’ must be reduced by 5.4 million and 1.5 million, respectively, in order to meet the 2030 zero pollution targets for noise pollution. They say that “based on levels and measures currently in place, the prospect of meeting these targets is low.”
Check out Noisy City to see how cities of the world differ in sound pollution
Try this interactive map of noise pollution from Noisy City to see how your city and region fares. I rolled over Tel Aviv and experienced what more than 75 dB of sound can feel like all day, every day.
Israel fortunately, does care about noise pollution but really doesn’t do much to enforce that the laws or guidelines are met. First step to complaining about noise is finding which ministry will deal with it. The Ministry of Environmental Protection, the weakest ministry in the Israeli Government, oversees noise pollution. But on a local level the police and city authorities may also handle complaints. If it’s construction noise ongoing, a hum of an air conditioner rattling your brain or the sounds of a garbage truck picking up a bin at 4am. All are different units. Consult this complainer’s noise guide if this is what you are looking for.
If you want to change policy and law, contact Adam Teva V’Din, an Israeli organization that creates policies and the foundations for environmental law in Israel.
Palmyra is a habitat destroyed by a US army base. Can fungi restore it? Photo via Nature Conservancy
Palmyra is a habitat destroyed by a US army base. Can fungi restore it? Photo via Nature Conservancy
This lushly photographed island is in an isolated patch of the North Pacific. The atoll of Palmyra is actually home to some of the most pristine coral reefs in the world but the land around it has been ravaged by invasive coconut-palm trees and wrecked by a former US military base.
Now a nature preserve, Palmyra has become a natural laboratory for studying whether networks of fungi below ground can help to revive damaged habitats: “If we can get restoration right on islands, we have this great capacity to have an outsized impact on reversing the world’s biodiversity crisis,” says ecologist Holly Jones.
The project is run by Toby Kiers from Holland and she is also the director of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks.
Toby Kiers investigating soil and the fungi inside it
Researchers believe that mycorrhizal networks of fungi may have evolved a unique ability to cycle nutrients between seabirds, rainforest trees, and coral reefs in the atoll. Led by Kiers, the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) travelled to this remote atoll – a place so untouched that researchers had to freeze their clothes each night to prevent the introduction of non-native species to the protected islands – for a recent research expedition.
In partnership with The Nature Conservancy Climate Adaptation Lab, SPUN is mapping the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi across Palmyra Atoll, 1,000 miles south of Hawai’i. This atoll, the Earth’s most remote, is the site of much lore, including a double murder, sunken treasure, and disappearing aircrafts. It is also home to a million seabirds, untouched coral reefs, and a fish population that is 44% sharks.
“Never could I have imaged sampling fungi while small sharks swam around my feet. As we hiked in the ocean between forested islands, we could hardly hear ourselves talk because the birds were so loud,” says Kiers. “Visiting Palmyra allows you to go back in time when other organisms – not humans – dominated the landscape.”
The scientists sampling Palmyra hope to understand how mycorrhizal fungi facilitate nutrient movement between the sea and the rainforest – and how remote island ecosystems are coping with climate change, invasive species, and rising sea levels.
During the course of a recent expedition, SPUN scientists collected samples from across 27 islands. These have been sent off for DNA sequencing so that the fungal players can be identified.
Strange trees that eat birds
Among the island’s species is the towering Pisonia tree. Pisonia is a native rainforest species that has been reported to digest seabirds that get trapped by the sticky substance secreted by its seeds. Kiers and her team conducted extensive sampling of the symbiotic fungi that colonize Pisonia roots to test how nutrients from birds and their guano (the bird poo) are captured and fed back to the rainforest trees.
Scientists believe that these mycorrhizal fungi create nutrient feedback loops that not only support the island’s rainforests, but also the plankton communities and coral reefs offshore: “On these remote islands – out of reach of human interference – we see an extreme form of interdependence among organisms on land and sea,” says Kiers. Lose any of these organisms – fungi, crab, birds, tree, corals – and we may witness a devastating cascade effect.
Giant crabs at Palmyra
The waters surrounding the atoll host some of the most pristine coral populations in the world. The Palmyra Atoll is also home to the largest crab species in the world. Coconut crabs grow up to a meter wide and are prolific hunters and tree climbers. The science team has hypothesised that these land crabs are helping to distribute the symbiotic fungi to new roots through their digging, re-enforcing the cycling of nutrient among birds, crabs, coral reefs and native rainforest.
Until now, the fungal communities of the atoll had never been studied, and researchers anticipate the discovery of new species able to withstand extreme heat, salinity and low nutrient conditions. Despite being so remote, the islands have been threatened by invasive species. The Nature Conservancy has removed over 1 million non-native coconut palms and eradicated large populations of introduced brown rats. And, as sea levels around the islands rise, erosion is beginning to eat away at Palmyra. So researching here can be a lab for climate change and rolling back human influence, if it is at all possible.
It’s definitely a site worth watching as Middle East capitalists for Neom in Saudi Arabia start building billions of dollars worth of so-called eco-hotels on islands in the Red Sea never inhabited by humans.
Climate change is heating our seas so less oxygen can be absorbed. What does this mean for reef health?
A landmark treaty set by the UN for conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity on high seas
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has welcomed the approval by UN member states of a landmark legally binding agreement, under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in international waters, covering nearly two-thirds of world’s ocean. The world’s oceans are in trouble from over-fishing, pollution, plastic, climate change.
The FAO is set to support its members in implementing the accord, often referred to as the “High Seas Treaty”, on safeguarding Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), which has been under discussion for nearly two decades and was approved at an intergovernmental conference in New York on 19 June after 5 negotiating sessions.
Treaty marks new heights for marine protection
The BBNJ Agreement “is of great importance to our efforts to tackle environmental challenges and promote the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity on the high seas,” said Manuel Barange, director of FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Division.
The agreement “enables us to complete the legal and institutional framework for global ocean governance and as a result manage and conserve our precious marine living resources more effectively,” Barange said.
The FAO has consistently advocated for sustainable and effective fisheries management as the best way to replenish stocks, conserving biodiversity and ensuring people continue to benefit from the ocean’s resources, including the high seas.
In tackling biodiversity challenges, including those in areas beyond national jurisdiction, the Organization argues that lasting progress can only be achieved through sustainable practices that enable humans to restore the health of marine ecosystems as part of effective management solutions.
As the only intergovernmental organization mandated to undertake the collection, compilation, analysis and distribution of global fisheries and aquaculture data, the FAO has played a crucial role in informing the treaty process and will assist in the implementation of this new legally binding instrument.
Groundwork already laid
Working with its partners through the Common Oceans Program, FAO has already laid the groundwork for change in the ocean governance of shared marine waters. Between 2014-2019, the program helped to establish 18 new areas to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems, contributed to the reduction of marine pollution and rebuilt tuna stocks to more sustainable levels. It has also helped to lower the bycatch, or discarding by fishers of such species as dolphins and porpoises in the Indian Ocean and the threat to marine turtles in the Pacific Ocean, as well as to build capacity on the BBNJ process and foster public-private partnerships.
Tonnara di Scopello, Scopello, Sicily, Italy: the Mediterranean Sea looks healthy, but the damage is below the surface.
Tonnara di Scopello, Scopello, Sicily, Italy: the Mediterranean Sea looks healthy, but the damage is below the surface.
The underwater world is in danger, and the culprit is overfishing. It is a problem fueled by multiple factors, each wreaking havoc on our marine ecosystems. First, the appetite for commercial and recreational fishing puts immense pressure on important fish species, disrupting the delicate balance of life beneath the waves. But that’s not all—illegal practices, unreported catches, and forbidden gear silently destroying fish populations.
As if that weren’t enough, destructive fishing techniques like bottom trawling leave a path of destruction, harming their intended targets, unintended creatures, and fragile habitats. To make matters worse, fisheries management is drowning in a sea of challenges, from weak enforcement to limited monitoring, making it nearly impossible to accurately assess fish stocks and implement effective conservation measures. It is a dire situation, threatening the very sustainability of our oceans and the long-term health of marine ecosystems.
The Mediterranean, including Israel, may never fully recover, and the same is true for the rest of the world if we don’t take urgent action to safeguard the surviving fish populations.
Why should I care about over-fishing?
Fish dead in fish nets
Diminishing fish stocks, caused by the reduction in species diversity through over-harvesting, jeopardizes the livelihoods of the 800 million individuals working in the fishing industry. According to fishforward.edu, a staggering 93% of Mediterranean stocks are threatened by over-capturing. This decline in fish populations leads to diminished catches, financial losses, and a devastating impact on coastal communities.
The consequences of over-capturing extend beyond economics. Overfishing harms marine ecosystems’ delicate food webs and ecological relationships. The extinction of a fish species due to overfishing has far-reaching consequences, negatively impacting predators, prey, and their habitats. Disturbingly, Scientists have made a startling discovery: the Red Sea floor is leaking vast amounts of gas, further highlighting the ecological disruptions caused by overfishing. Sharks, vital to the balance of underwater ecosystems, are facing extinction in 20% of the world’s reefs and are dying off in the Mediterranean Sea.
Despite regulations, illegal fishing (IUU) poses one of the most significant challenges in combating over-exploitation. In fact, illegal fishing contributes a substantial percentage to the overall problem. Insufficient surveillance on the water hinders the enforcement of fishing regulations, allowing illegal fishermen to thrive. Their indiscriminate drag nets capture non-target species, further exacerbating the ecological imbalance caused by overfishing.
What are Israeli efforts against over-fishing?
Slow Food chef prepares Slow Fish, caught sustainably with a rod by one fisher
The Israeli government is taking decisive action to protect endangered species during their crucial reproductive periods. They have implemented fishing restrictions and season closures, incorporating measures like minimum size limits and regulating the quantity of fish that can be caught.
But that’s not all. Enter Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) – designated zones that act as safe havens for marine life. These areas restrict or even prohibit fishing activities, allowing fish populations to rebound and marine ecosystems to flourish again. The magic happens when these MPAs revive their protected spaces and help fish numbers grow beyond their boundaries.
To ensure the effectiveness of these conservation efforts, strict monitoring and enforcement are essential. Imagine increased patrols, cutting-edge monitoring systems, and even tougher penalties for those who dare to defy the regulations. It is a united front against overfishing, and these surveillance mechanisms play a crucial role in safeguarding our precious marine resources.
But protecting our oceans is not a solo mission. It requires the active involvement of fishermen, buyers, and the wider public. That’s why public awareness and education are essential to spreading the word about the value of sustainable fishing methods and shedding light on the consequences of overfishing, creating a sense of responsibility in everyone. Together, we can make informed choices and become stewards of our marine ecosystems, ensuring their long-term survival and prosperity.
What can I do to stop over-fishing?
A family hauling in a large fishing net
Educate yourself on fish sustainability policies and support the European Mediterranean nations as efforts are there to ensure that stocks are managed sustainably and work to combat IUU fishing. As an individual, you can still eat sustainably and mindfully on the Mediterranean coast.
Try different fish species – these are 7 safe fish to eat. As consumers, we tend to eat the fish we are used to, and the fishers work to meet the demand for more “common” fish. European Mediterranean fish buyers are being encouraged to help buyers try new and more sustainable local species that are not overfished and are widely available in the consumers’ respective regions. Consider eating farmed fish like tilapia.
Support small-scale fishing businesses and Slow Fish protocols. Collaboration with stakeholders, regulated sales to local restaurants, finding new markets, and establishing distribution agreements ensure a steady seafood supply.
Fishing communities like the one at the Port in Jaffa can also explore opportunities like fishing tourism, wildlife observation, cultural heritage preservation, and sustainable aquaculture. These efforts boost regional economies and emphasize the significance of fish. Making informed choices to support these initiatives is essential.
Through these collective efforts and informed choices, we can strive for a future where our oceans thrive, and the underwater world is preserved for generations.
If there’s one person to thank for the phrase “urban forager,” it’s Leda Meredith. The words encompass her passion for the wild edible plants that grow in natural settings like parks and forests, but also between cracks in the sidewalk, in empty lots, and unrecognized, in your own garden. Leda dedicated years to teaching how to identify and eat these plants, with the goal of helping people to reduce their carbon footprint by consuming locally grown foods.
Leda’s first career was as a brilliant professional dancer, a teacher of dance, and choreographer. She chose ethnobotany, the science of plants’ uses, as her second career, and earned certification in the field from the New York Botanical Garden. She had an honorary doctorate in fine arts for writing from La Universidad Leonardo da Vinci in El Salvador, and was granted Adelphi University’s Teaching Excellence Award.
She led foraging tours and held food preservation workshops all over the world. Owing to her influence, thousands of people now consciously choose to protect the environment by buying and preserving locally sourced foods, or growing them.
Leda Meredith, urban forager pioneer
Then there was Leda’s personal beauty and charm; her engaging enthusiasm for life and life’s good things; her wide-ranging intelligence and curiosity; her courage and sense of adventure.
She identified as a pagan. This is the grace she said over food:
“The energy you give me, I will turn into the actions of an honorable life. You will have no cause to be ashamed of being part of my bones. May your spirit travel in joy.”
Leda fought colonic cancer for a year. She died at home in San Juanillo, Costa Rica, where she and her husband, Richard Orbach, built a house. She is survived by Richard, and her mother, Penelope Colby. And by those many who deeply mourn her loss as a teacher and friend. I am one.
It's rare for a Middle East spice market to be women-owned and run. But this Persian woman defies market logic in Tel Aviv.
It’s rare for a Middle East spice market to be women-owned and run. But this Persian-Israeli woman Iris Tevlinksy defies market logic in Tel Aviv’s famous Levinsky Market.
Located on the corner of Hahalutsim St and Levinsky St in the famous Levinsky Market (close to Cafe Levinsky) is Tavlinsky, a unique market that has organic products that range from soaps and candles to spices and sauces. The array of products caught my eye as I was walking from a nearby coffee shop and had to stop inside to check it out.
When I went inside I met Hila Gadidi, who now owns the shop alongside her mother, Iris Gadidi for the past 10 years. Iris opened the shop because she wanted people to be consuming organic products. Iris was inspired by her mother to open the store. When Iris was a child, her mother gave her a Persian Havang, a type of pot used to grind many things, such as spices. One of which is saffron, Hila said, but you can grind any type of spice with it efficiently.
Hila preaches for her mother, who she claims was an independent woman for opening this shop all by herself. It’s difficult to open a shop here in this market, Hila said, but she is proud of her mother for being able to do so.
Tavlinksy grinds and produces all of its spices on-site, without the use of any preservatives or additives. At Tavlinsky, their mission is to serve the people the best, most organic spices. When you go to any other grocery store and buy spices, you are most likely not getting quality products. “The species you buy in-store are cheap, but they are not real spices,” Hila noted. I left the store with the Tuscany spice for 35 shekels, which I plan to make to make so many recipes with.
A Tuscan spice blend from Tavlinsky
Hila let me smell and even try some of the spices. One spice that I smelled was the “Iranian cumin”, which had a delicious strong smell that can be used to cook many different things. She also let me try the cinnamon, which they grind directly from the stick.
Cumin from Tavlinksy. Cumin is a very common spice in Israel and the Arab world.
“Not a lot of people like cinnamon. This is because the cinnamon is bitter, if it’s bitter, it’s not real cinnamon,” Hila told me. However, when I tried her cinnamon, it was almost spicy, exactly how you would like cinnamon to be. According to Hila, if the cinnamon is bitter, that means it has been mixed with coffee bean shells.
When I asked Hila how her business helps preserve of the planet, she told me “it’s not for the environment, it’s for the people.”
According to Hila, when you take real, natural medicine, and not unnatural, chemical-based medicine, it is so much better for you. The spices in the shop are for healing, “when you are stressed you drink the tea, when you have a headache, you drink the tea”.
Her best seller is the Organic Moringa, which is a superfood like spirulina. According to Hila is one of the healthiest superfoods in the world. Hila’s personal favorite is the Tuscany blend (which I had to buy for myself), which can use to make almost anything. Some of which can be schnitzel, chicken, pasta, salmon, potatoes, cauliflower and so much more.
If you are into rocks, Tavlinksy has a wide assortment to choose from. Each rock that Tavlinsky has available has a description associated with it so her customers can understand the meaning behind each one. For example, the green agate is supposed to help with self-confidence by cleansing the aura. Another example is the strawberry quartz, which stimulates the energy center in the heart and encourages universal love.
Tavlinksy is also all over social media, including Instagram, Facebook, and even Tiktok, which they have gone viral on. They can be found as “Tavlinksy” on TikTok and one of their videos got 273.4K views.
If you find yourself in the Levinksy market, I highly suggest you check out Tavlinksy. Whether you speak with Iris or Hila, you are ensured to get amazing customer service and the best, most organic products around. Especially if you are into cooking, you will find so many interesting spices and products here in the Levinsky Market.
Growing up in America, recycling has always been a well-known concept that everyone knows to do. Whether Americans participate in it or not, it can be found everywhere. Back home, we have two trash cans: garbage and recycling.
At my university, you will always find garbage and recycling. We are given lectures about recycling; the importance, the concept, and where to find them. However, now that I am in Israel (my first time), I rarely see recycling cans. Where are they? Do Israelis recycle?
Trash room in a dining common at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
In America, industries print numbers onto their materials to indicate the kind of plastic it is and this designates whether it can be recycled and in what bins. For example, in my hometown in New Jersey, we have designated days on which we can recycle, where we place them, and what rules to follow.
Each number inside the triangles indicates the type of material the item is made of. For example, number 2 indicates the material is made of high-density polyethylene. This material, which is commonly used in everyday household products is one of the easiest and safest recyclable materials. However, it is important to recognize that just because the object has a numbered indicator, does not mean it is recyclable. A number 7, classified as other, may or may not be recyclable. In the States, it is crucial to read up on your town’s recycling rules and regulations in order to educate yourself on correct trash disposal.
However, is recycling the only answer? According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency in the US), only 32 percent of Americans recycle. But grimmer numbers from Greenpeace suggest that the recycling rates are only about 5%. This shows that when the option is available to Americans to recycle, not all of them do it. In fact, most Americans do not take the time to educate themselves on the proper disposal of recyclable materials and therefore recycle incorrectly.
Recycling incorrectly can lead to even further problems, such as damage to the recycling equipment, and cause major delays and inconveniences in the recycling centers. (Do note however the problems with recycled plastics.)
Recycling labels
The question is how can we gives incentives for people to recycle in the proper way? As an American traveling to Israel who has decent knowledge in the area of recycling, I want to express my concern on the topic. First off, we cannot simply throw recycling cans all over Tel Aviv and expect everyone to cooperate. We need to educate Israelis and show them how to recycle, why it’s important, and then make them feel rewarded for recycling.
In order to educate, we need to put up flyers, posters, and advertisements around Tel Aviv so that the people will see them everywhere to the point where they can reiterate it in their sleep. For example, flyers hung around Tel Aviv can proclaim the importance of recycling. Or, show a sad image of a landfill. Then, provide resources so that the people can properly educate themselves in a manner that is quick and efficient for everyone’s busy lives.
Secondly, there need to be resources on recycling cans that easily show people what can and cannot be recycled. Another way to encourage recycling (an effective way that is widely seen in America) is by shaping the tops of recycling cans to only fit what can be recycled. This limits people from recycling materials that physically cannot be recycled and therefore helps the recycling centers do their job.
Lastly, it is noble to show the people that their actions toward creating a cleaner community pay off. One of the best ways is by creating economic incentives. For example, creating a program where if one recycles a certain amount of garbage, they can be given rebates and compensation. In addition, just expressing to people that their sustainable acts are worthwhile is moral.
Made eco chic shop in Jaffa for sustainable fashion
Recycling does not have to be boring. Similarly to items sold at Madeo eco-chic, a sustainable shop located in Jaffa, we can open more stores that sell items made from recycled material. There are so many ways we can reuse objects and create them into something new and fascinating.
For example, we can use recycled glass to create extraordinary art pieces:
Igreenspot.com made by Reborn Glass, Cape Coral, Florida USA
Overall, recycling not only creates a greener community, but it is also a way to bring us all together to find solutions to our disposal. Recycling does not need to be a tedious subject; we can use the subject of recycling to create new and improved concepts such as creating art and clothing.
Recycling is not a topic to shy away from. It is an innovative, expressive, and fun way to create a greener community.
Since my arrival in Israel, a notable thing I’ve seen everywhere are stray cats. Some of which look healthy and well feed, others not so much. As someone who has grown up with cats and is a big cat person, seeing cats treated poorly makes my heart break. As I explore Tel Aviv, I notice most cats are treaty nicely and look well taken care of. However, on occasion, some cats look like they are hungry, hurt, or sick.
About a week ago, I stumbled across a group of young adults in Jaffa, maybe in their mid-20s having a picnic. There was a friendly cat hanging around them, minding its own business soaking in the sun. The cat then approached one of the guys and rubbed his head against his leg. The man then proceeded to kick the cat and all of his friends laughed as he did this horrid act of cruelty. My friends and I were enraged, to the point where my friends confronted the man and called him out. Unfortunately, none of them cared and continued to act out hastily.
As I was strolling the streets of Jaffa, I stumbled across a pet store with signs covering the door spelling: “Missing cat” and “Wanted”. Another sign (in Hebrew letters) read out: “We lost Poppa”, with a detailed description on the cat that had gone missing. I was pleased to see a pet store so destined to help find lost cats and dogs, that I couldn’t help but find out more information.
WANTED, because they are lost. Lost or stolen pets are a problem on the streets of Jaffa and Tel Aviv.A sign advertising a lost cat in the Flea Market area of Jaffa.
The store, an NGO, is called Hapishpesh, located on Olei Zion Street in Jaffa. I spoke with Mirit Amar, the owner of Hapishpesh (הפשפש), and asked her about how the strays in Tel Aviv are treated.
Miri Amar, Hapishpesh
She told me that most cats are treated with love and kindness, however, there are times when the cats are treated poorly. Mirit told me about a time she witnessed a group of young boys shove a cat into a box and toss it around. With utter disgust, Mirit approached them and offered 200 shekels to take the cat away.
Mirit also told me that the cats are treated differently depending on the area. In Jaffa, there are cat feeders all over the place, and non-profit organizations that make strides to feed and protect the cats. Specifically, Hapishpesh is not only a pet store, but also a non-profit organization that donates its profits to societies that protect the cats of Jaffa.
Mirit also said that a lot of the societies in Jaffa that work to protect the cats buy from her store so she knows most of the organizations that help out.
Hapishpesh, which means The Flea in Hebrew, does everything they can to help protect the cats. The food they donate is without profit, they help to provide cats with shelter in the hot summers and cool winters, and so much more. But Mirit is proud to proclaim that most people of Jaffa are good to the cats and do whatever they can to keep them safe.
I asked Mirit what she would like to see the city of Tel Aviv do in order to help save the cats and she said she’d like to see them take on more of an effort to neuter and spay the cats in order to prevent cats from having too many kittens where they cannot be protected with the best efforts. Overall, Mirit says Tel Aviv is one of the best cities to make the most significant efforts to keep stray cats in the streets healthy, safe, and loved.
I encourage the people of Tel Aviv to buy their pet products from Hapishpesh, as I know the profits go towards good deeds. In addition, I encourage everyone to donate to nonprofit organizations so they can make their best efforts to better our community and society.
There are so many nonprofit organizations that do good acts of kindness in our world. For me, I have been donating to an American organization, RedRover which helps find endangered animals homes. However, there are so many other nonprofit organizations that are looking for donaters, including organizations that donate towards food insecurity, education, and healthcare.
This magnet goes on your fridge so you can order pet food and help save animals’ lives.
Next time you are in the Jaffa area and are in need of some pet supplies, I encourage you to check out Hapishpesh and ask Mirit about what you can do to keep the cats of Tel Aviv loved, safe, and protected.
Want a bird’s-eye view of a seaside national park? In an effort to bring a new dimension to the beauty of Apollonia National Park in Israel on the Mediterranean Sea an amateur drone pilot Jesse Peters sent his aerial quadcopter high above the crashing surf and limestone cliffs – exposing the historical ruins, natural beauty, and eclectic wonders that make up this treasured site, a hobbit home, on the Mediterranean coastline – just an hour away from Tel Aviv.
But new demolition orders, based on safety concerns may mean losing this national treasure and hobbit house forever.
Located only a few miles outside the high-tech city of Herzliya, the hobbit home is part of the Apollonia National Park. This park is considered by some to be one of Israel’s best-kept secrets.
Like other coastal cities along the Mediterranean, the site features stunning sunset views and opportunities for hikes along the cliffs and sandy beaches. What really makes Apollonia stand out, however, is its history – stunning archeological sites feature a 13th-century fortress and the remains of a Roman villa – and hey, don’t forget the cliffside hobbit home of artist Nissim Kahlon.
The interior space of the hobbit home in Israel
Since the 1970s, Kahlon has been creating a maze of tunnels and hobbit-like rooms into the limestone under the ancient site of Apollonia. Those walking along the beach along the national park can witness firsthand his determination to literally carve out his own sprawling hobbit palace along the coast. Here and there you can run into Kahlon roaming the coast collecting seashells.
But Nissim’s dream may be pushed into the sand. His name means “miracles” in Hebrew and he is hoping for one. Nissim created the hobbit home with his own hands with no equal in the world. It is a palace carved out of a mountain, miraculously covered with shells and pottery and other debris that he collected from the sea and the surrounding area and turned into art.
The hobbit home of Israel is set for demolition
The Municipality of Herzliya, which owns the house and the site, appealed to UNESCO to recognize this house as a world heritage site. But Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection issued a demolition order on the place on the grounds that the place is dangerous and could collapse at any moment. A local fundraiser is in place to support strengthening the building and regulating it as a tourist site.
Apollonia is one of nearly 50 national parks found throughout Israel. Everything from unique geology to dense forest trails and hikes through verdant, unending plains await those explorers looking to stir their sense of wonder. Interested in a place to start exploring nature in Israel? Check out our top 10 list of environmental day trips, if you are exploring Israel.
Russula Emetica, a poisonous and pschedelic mushroom
I can’t count how many friends of mine have travelled to the Amazon to use psychedelic drugs. It’s much easier these days to find local shamans offering ayahuasca local to you. And if you are crafty and have access to a forest in Canada for amanitas like I do. Today you can easily forage for your own mushrooms.
But like in the early days of acid when synthetic psychedelics could be too powerful and melt your brain, those self-medicating or going to centers and shamans for help now know that micro-dosing – taking the medicine in tiny amounts – could be beneficial against trauma, depression and PTSD.
Psychedelics appear to work by encouraging the growth of new connections between neurons in the brain. And research, like research into cannabis CBD and THC, is slowly catching up to science.
Researchers don’t fully understand why psychedelics have such powerful therapeutic effects. Now, a study in mice suggests that psychedelics all work in the same way: they reset the brain to a youthful state in which it can easily absorb new information and form crucial connections between neurons.
DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) is a very strong psychedelic found in a number of animals and plants. Psychedelic drugs can affect all the senses, altering a person’s thinking, sense of time and emotions. Psychedelics can cause someone to hallucinate, seeing or hearing things that do not exist or are distorted.
Psychedelics such as MDMA (also known as ecstasy), ketamine and psilocybin — the active ingredient in magic mushrooms — are known for producing mind-altering effects, including hallucinations in some cases. But each compound affects a different biochemical pathway in the brain during the short-term ‘trip’, leaving scientists to wonder why so many of these drugs share the ability to relieve depression, addiction and other difficult-to-treat conditions in the long term.
Gül Dölen, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and her colleagues sought answers by studying how psychedelics affect social behaviour in mice. Mice can learn to associate socializing with positive feelings, but only during an adolescent ‘critical period’, which closes as they become adults.
New research suggests that psychedelics may be able to treat people after a stroke
Researchers gave a range of psychedelics to mice, including ketamine, psilocybin, MDMA, LSD and ibogaine. The drugs seemed to reopen a ‘critical period’ in which mice can learn to associate socializing with positive feelings.
The scientists trained mice to associate one ‘bedroom’ in their mouse enclosure with mousy friends and another room with solitude. They could then examine how psychedelics affected the rodents’ room choices — a proxy for whether the drug affects the critical period.
“It gives hope that [critical periods] are not irreversible and a very careful cellular understanding of psychedelic drugs might hold the key to reopening brain plasticity,” says neurologist Takao Hensch, part of the Nature study.
Some applications in this research may treat people after strokes when there is a critical window for physical rehab after the stroke event.
About anyone looking to self-medicate, find a trusted shaman or micro-dosing center. Never try this without a mentor.
Avigail Bakery, wild wheat bread and sourdough bread baked in Jaffa
Avigail of Avigail Bakery, wild wheat bread and sourdough bread baked in Jaffa
In the the beautiful city of Jaffa resides a fabulous bakery home to a variety of incredible bread. Avigail’s Breads is a sustainable bakery that produces fresh loaves everyday and challah on Fridays. I checked out Avigails Bread and asked Avigail some questions about her business.
Avigail Dahan is an incredible and knowledgeable baker who decided to switch from being in the film and television industry to baking bread. Avigail use to be a very athletic person. She would run and swim until she felt like she didn’t have the energy to sustain her lifestyle: “I had no power,” Avigail claimed, and she knew she wanted to find a way to eat bread that would work for her.
After years of being vegan and not being able to eat bread, Avigail wanted to change her diet so that bread can be incorporated into her diet in a healthy manner. Once she learned over the course of the pandemic the health benefits that bread can provide, Avigail opened Avigail’s Bread in Jaffa and her business has been blooming.
Avigail began her journey at home, using Russian pans to craft a recipe that would work for her. The pans are important to her because it helps keep the process natural and efficient. Her recipes are traditional and stem from a variety of wild wheat.
Her wheat comes from 4 different wheat companies. She picks from the mill the best type of bread, such as white, rye and wheat. The mills she gets her ingredients from are all local from Israel. One of which she gets from a mill in Haifa. Read this story on emmer.
Some bread alternatives that Avigail’s Bread has in store are gluten free, wheat, rye, and others that can be form fitted into ones diet in order to compensate for any dietary restrictions. In addition, Avigail allows her customers to come into the bakery and try different breads she has in stock. With that, she also has an assortment of spreads that customers can put on the bread and try it for themselves to ensure they take home what they like.
Wheat contains 25 kinds of proteins
Another important thing Avigail likes to tell her customers is that wheat (unlike what’s talked about in popular culture) is very nutritious. According to Avigail, white wheat has almost 25 kinds of protein and should be utlized in the everyday diet.
Coming from America, my whole life has been infiltrated with crazy diet culture and obsessions over what you should and shouldn’t eat. Once I arrived in Israel, I started taking notice of how normal it is to eat carbs here. For breakfast, it is normal for Israelis to eat bread with chocolate, which is something that would be almost criminal in American diet culture.
It was so intriguing to see how normal it is to eat bread in Israel and to hear Avigail’s side of the story. Once you know the source of your bread, the ingredients and how to eat it in moderation, bread can be a safe and enjoyable food.
Avigail Bread staff
Now that Avigail can safely eat bread, she enjoys Borodinsky bread, a dark brown sourdough bread made from rye, and Avigail inspires others to introduce bread back into their diet.
Not wasting any part of the loaf
She sells to her customers full loaves and half loaves so that they don’t need to worry about wasting bread they do not finish. She urges her customers not to freeze unused bread and instead to come back whenever and purchase a fresh loaf. One way Avigail guarantees a delicious slice of slightly stale bread is to quickly run it under water, throw it in a hot oven for a minute and you will have a like new slice.
What I was most surprised to learn from Avigail is her way of creating a sustainable system of baking. Avigail uses the leftovers from bread not sold in the store and is able to compress it down. She explained the fisherman’s bread, using the dry and unusable bread, grounds it, shreds, and is able to remake a fresh new loaf. It originated in Normandy, Avigail said. The wheat is fermented, meaning you put it in water and dry it at low temperatures. This creates a nutritious new loaf that is sustainable and still delicious. It can also be grounded into flour and used for other recipes such as schnitzel.
Shelves with fermentation crock pots, jams, sauces and more.
When I asked Avigail what she feels is the biggest environmental issue in Israel, she feels that more important than anything else is being nice to each other, being able to listen to each and come to agreements.
No matter what your dietary restrictions are, Avigail has a bread for you so that you can incorporate the health benefits of 2 slices a day into your diet. Avigail urges for people to come into her bakery and ask her about what bread will work for them based on their own dietary restrictions and allergies. Her ambition is that her customers find the bread that they can enjoy without the unpleasant side effects most bread can cause in their bodies. She joins a group of new Israeli bakers making a living on bread.
The Prince Sultan is being commemorated with prizes for developing better water solutions
The Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) is an international award focusing on water-related scientific innovation and judged by leading scientists from around the world. Bin Abdulaziz was the Saudi defense minister from 1963 to 2011 and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2011. Five prizes are bestowed in his honor every two years. And we like that they are going to water.
Specialized Prizes
Each of the four specialized prizes is worth $133,000 USD. Individual researchers and research teams nominate themselves for these prizes in surface water, ground water, alternative management and alternative water sources.
The Surface Water Prize coves every aspect of the study and development of surface water resources. The Groundwater Prize awards work related to all aspects of the study and development of groundwater resources. The Alternative Water Resources Prize covers desalination, waste water treatment, and other non-traditional sources of water. The Water Management & Protection Prize addresses the use, management, and protection of water resources.
Creativity Prize
Worth $266,000 USD the Creativity Prize is awarded exclusively to research teams for cutting-edge interdisciplinary scientific work that can rightly be considered a breakthrough in any water-related field. The work might be a body of research, an invention, or a new patented technology.
It is by nomination only.
Universities, university departments, research institutes, companies, and agencies can nominate interdisciplinary teams for this Prize.
Youth plaintiffs in the climate change lawsuit Held vs. Montana pose outside the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse on Monday in Helena, Mont. (Photo by Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP)
Sixteen kids in the United States are taking the state of Montana to court for environmental policies that they say promote fossil fuels and are in violation of their right to a ‘clean and healthful environment’.
It’s the first constitutional climate case in the country to make it to trial. And the Greta Thunbergs of the world are multiplying fast.
Expert witnesses connected to the case are likely to battle over the extent that specific climate events — such as extreme heat and wildfires — can be attributed to climate change. The judge in the case will not be able to order Montana to alter its energy or climate policies, but could declare the policies unconstitutional.
According to the New York Times, the origins of the case stretch back nearly a decade when some of these kids in the petition weren’t even born. It all started in 2011 through a nonprofit called Our Children’s Trust which back then petitioned the Montana Supreme Court to rule that the state has a duty to address climate change. The court declined to weigh in, effectively telling the group to start in the lower courts.
So the lawyers at Our Children’s Trust were slowly and steadily building their case and fast forward a dozen years worked with the environmental community to identify potential plaintiffs. They cataloged the ways in which the state was being impacted by climate change. (I mean look to Canada forest fires right if you need any more convincing). And the group documented the state’s extensive support for the fossil fuel industry, which includes permitting, subsidies and favorable regulations.
This is a case to watch and a model to follow if you want to mobilize change in your province, state or country.
The plaintiffs tell the Sierra Club that they reject any suggestion that the case represents a publicity stunt.
“As youth, we are exposed to a lot of knowledge about climate change. We can’t keep passing it on to the next generation when we’re being told about all the impacts that are already happening,” one of the lead plaintiffs said: “In some ways, our generation feels a lot of pressure, kind of a burden, to make something happen because it’s our lives that are at risk.”
The case started proceedings on June 12 in Lewis and Clark County District Court, where both sides will present evidence and testimony for the court to determine its legitimacy.
What does Ireland’s most famous thrice-baptized Jewish fictional hero have to do with beer, contrails and climate change? It’s complicated. James Joyce statue near Dublin GPO on O’Connell Street – by Brian Nitz
A Soft Day in a Moist Country? If there is a climate for writing, Ireland has that climate. “Soft day” (Lá bog in the Irish language) is a greeting and acknowledgment of the damp mist that drifts down from low clouds onto the fields and forests. On soft days this island’s climate avoids extremes. It is the weather of poetry such as Austin Clarke’s “The Lost Heifer”: “…And her voice coming softly over the meadow/ Was the mist becoming rain…”
Irish weather can also be brutal with monstrous waves and a howling wind that can push north Atlantic spray vertically 600 feet straight up the cliffs of Moher (watch me Wim Hoffing in the cold). The screech of Irish storms became the voice of the Banshee, the legendary faeries who would foretell of death or steal a child as in Yeats poem “The Stolen Child.”
Change is the most persistent feature of Irish weather. Stone-splitting sunshine alternates with wind-driven rain almost hourly on some days, leaving the rainbows and mossy-green this emerald isle is known for.
But then Covid-19 and its lockdowns brought an unfortunate irony. Day after day of sunshine and cloudless blue skies came when Irish people were limited to travelling no further than 3 miles from their homes. Dublin airport went from many tourist flights per day to only enough to carry medical supplies and other essentials. The buzz of the motorway and roar of jet aircraft disappeared into a Wadi Rum desert silence. The deep blue sky was unmarred by cloud or contrail.
Weather Before Contrails
Had such perfect weather ever before visited this damp island? I turned to an unlikely source. The author James Joyce wrote the novel Ulysses to commemorate June 16, 1904. This was the day he and his future-wife Nora Barnacle went on their first date. The book tells the fictional adventures of a thrice-baptized Irish-Jew named Leopold Bloom on his journey around Dublin on that single day. Joyce wrote with such detail that he claimed that if the city should ever be destroyed, it could be rebuilt from his book.
And here it is a perfectly sunny day in Dublin Ireland more than 100 years ago: ”Heavenly weather really. If life was always like that. Cricket weather. Sit around under sunshades. Over after over. Out. They can’t play it here. Duck for six wickets… Heatwave. Won’t last. Always passing, the stream of life, which in the stream of life we trace is dearer than them all.”
Later in the Oxen of the Sun episode of Ulysses, Joyce compares the February 1903 storm that uprooted 3,000 elm trees in Dublin’s Phoenix park to the drought that persisted on June 16, 1904: “Dignam laid in clay of an apoplexy and after hard drought, please God, rained, a bargeman coming in by water a fifty mile or thereabout with turf saying the seed won’t sprout, fields athirst, very sadcoloured and stunk mightily, the quags and tofts too.
“Hard to breathe and all the young quicks clean consumed without sprinkle this long while back as no man remembered to be without. The rosy buds all gone brown and spread out blobs and on the hills nought but dry flag and faggots that would catch at first fire. All the world saying, for aught they knew, the big wind of last February a year that did havoc the land so pitifully a small thing beside this barrenness.”
A 1984 Guinness ad played with the words drought and draught and suggested that young people don’t remember droughts. Ireland has had fewer droughts since the mid-1970s. Could it be that transatlantic travel has made Ireland wetter and that droughts were more common in Leopold Bloom’s Dublin, only 6 months after the Wright Brother’s first flight?
Do Contrails Affect the Weather?
The internet is full of wonderfully silly theories about chemtrails that any crop-duster could debunk after flying barely above corn-detasseling altitude. Contrails don’t contain brain-altering drugs or other subversive substances. They are composed of water ice mixed with carbon dioxide(CO2), soot, nitrogen oxides(NOx) and other pollutants. These pollutants and the jet’s pressure wake can produce the conditions for forming contrails which can become cirrus clouds.
According to scientists at Penn State and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the diurnal (night to day) temperature difference over the US increased by 1.1 degrees celsius during the three-day US flight ban after September 11, 2001. This is higher than had been in the previous 30 years. UW-Whitewater’s lead scientist David Travis told CNN, “I think what we’ve shown are that contrails are capable of affecting temperatures… Which direction, in terms of net heating or cooling, is still up in the air.”
Wouldn’t it be convenient if contrail-generated cirrus clouds reflected away exactly the right amount of sunlight to cool the earth and perfectly balance the heat-trapping effect of its CO2?
In 2011 Ulrike Burkhardt and Bernd Kärcher’s published Global radiative forcing from contrail-induced cloudiness in the international society for optics and photonics. They found the net heating effect from contrail-induced cloudiness and other emissions added to and exceeded the heating effect of CO2!
Eunice Newton Foote first discovered that CO2 and water vapor could trap heat in 1856. But unlike relatively inert CO2, the effects of water are difficult to predict. CO2 is transparent to incoming light and relatively opaque to outgoing longwave infrared energy.
The water vapor and ice in contrails blocks both incoming light and outgoing infrared energy but in different amounts depending on time of day, other cloud cover, season, local climate and other factors. The global reduction in air-traffic during Covid-19 provided opportunities to study these factors. Schumann, Pol, Teoh, Koelle et-al published Air traffic and contrail changes during COVID-19 over Europe: A model study in 2021.
Figure 8 from this study shows average optical thickness of contrails March-August 2019 (a) and the difference 2019-2020 (b). In (a) we see heavy contrail thickness over northwestern Europe. This makes sense because more contrails form where there are many flights and where the stratosphere is relatively cool. In (b) we see a drastic reduction in contrail thickness during the pandemic.
Figure 9 shows radiative forcing (RFnet) in watts per square meter from March-August 2019 and again in 2020. Colors from yellow to red mean there is a net heat input to earth and the blue end of the spectrum means there is a net loss of heat to the earth. Note that the areas of northwestern Europe which had high contrail thickness in 2019 also had a higher (redder) radiative forcing heat balance in 2019.
This and related studies are complex but fascinating to read or to pass along friends and family when they say things like, “Well I was cold when I was up to the lake last weekend so that whole climate change thing is B.S.” People devote their careers to studying climate science and the vast majority of these people are warning us to be careful about uncontrolled experiments with our atmosphere.
Bloomsday 2020
Bloomsday happening tomorrow is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce, observed annually in Dublin and elsewhere on 16 June, the day his 1922 novel Ulysses takes place in 1904, the date of his first intimate encounter with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle, and named after its protabloomgonist Leopold Bloom.
In 2020, Covid-19 shortened the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. Venice ended Carnival early, Pope Francis gave a blessing to an empty St Peter’s square. The pandemic impacted the Hajj and religious celebrations throughout the world. Ireland cancelled Saint Patrick’s day parades and most Bloomsday celebrations.
But Bloomsday 2020 had something in common with the day Nora Barnacle and James Joyce met in 1904. Ireland’s drought ended after sunset on June 16, 2020 just as described in Ulysses:
“…But by and by, as said, this evening after sundown, the wind sitting in the west, biggish swollen clouds to be seen as the night increased and the weatherwise poring up at them and some sheet lightnings at first and after, past ten of the clock, one great stroke with a long thunder and in a brace of shakes all scamper pellmell within door for the smoking shower, the men making shelter for their straws with a clout or kerchief, womenfolk skipping off with kirtles catched up soon as the pour came.”
nepm.org “Great Food Comes With Great Waste At UMass”
Young american women with recycling bags. Via UMass Amherst MASSPIRG Chapter Instagram
Growing up in the state of New Jersey and attending university at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, I have picked up quite a bit about sustainable practices. I have been studying environmental science at my university and continue to learn and gather information about sustainability going into my third year at university.
Greetings from New Jersey postcard, vintage
Now that I am in Israel, I’ve noticed quite a difference in sustainability measures than what I am used to back home. I’d like to share some practices that I would like to see Israel adopt as we work together to create a greener community.
Recycling in Israel versus the United States
nepm.org “Great Food Comes With Great Waste At UMass”
As I explore Israel, something I’ve noticed is the lack of recycling bins. In America, recycling is a popular concept that many Americans follow. Especially at my university, we have designated bins that are easily identifiable to students to encourage sustainable disposal. For example, in our dining common, we have an easy system to dispose of waste and materials.
There are three bins: compost, trash, and recycling. In the compost bin (which is marked with what can and cannot be composted), students dispose of mainly food waste and some other materials that can be composted. In the trash, students dispose of plastic bags, paper items, and other materials that are not recyclable. In the recyclable bin, students dispose of clean and empty containers, including cardboard boxes, office paper, plastic bottles, and aluminum cans.
Although this is a short description of the system of disposal at my university, UMass Amherst strives to make substantial efforts to educate, inspire, and create a system that is easy and efficient to its students. Learn more about my university’s efforts toward sustainable disposal here.
nepm.org “Great Food Comes With Great Waste At UMass”
Cleanups at university
Trash clean up
Back at my university, I take a role in a club that makes numerous strives towards creating a greener campus. One of which we do is we conduct campus cleanups. Each week, our team gathers and walks across campus picking up trash. We also pick up recyclable garbage which we place into a separate bag.
These cleanups not only help make our campus a cleaner place but also inspires other students and campuses across the country to take part in cleanups. It also creates a sense of community as it brings us together to engage in an activity that makes us feel like we are creating good in the world. Overall, these activities promote sustainability and promote a close-knit community.
Reusable water bottles are more popular in America
A reusable water bottle being refilled
Although I am aware that reusable water bottles are being used in Israel today, I see Americans making greater use of them than the Israelis. When I asked one of my Israeli friends if she uses reusable water bottles, she told me that they are so expensive and it is easier and more efficient for her to buy a single-use plastic bottle instead. Since it is safe to drink the tap water in Israel, it is crucial that reusable water bottles are integrated more into Israeli society. However, it also needs to be economically available to everyone.
However, when you add up how much money you spend purchasing single-use plastic water bottles, you realize how much money you spend on them each day. Humans need to be drinking at least 6 bottles of water per day, especially in the hot Middle Eastern climate, even more than that. It will save you a significant amount of money to refill your reusable water bottle with the tap than continuously be spending money on plastic bottles.
In addition, most reusable bottles are made with insulating material, meaning your water will stay cold for much longer. For me, I have a hydro flask which keeps my water cold for up to 24 hours. Once I switched to reusable bottles a couple of years ago, I will never go back.
Reusable bags are not embraced by Israelis
Cari Luzzi packs her groceries into a reusable bag at a Stop & Shop in Clifton, NJ via Anne-Marie Caruso/NorthJersey.com
Lastly, something I’ve noticed in my time here in Israel is that shops and markets all give out plastic bags to their customers after each purchase. Every time I buy something, whether I am in the shuk or any shop, I am given a plastic bag for my items and have to tell the cashier I don’t need one. A new law in my home state of New Jersey requires all customers to bring their own bags and stores are not allowed to give out plastic bags to their customers.
Customers are allowed to purchase a reusable bag in the store, but the store itself cannot hand out nor have any single-use plastic bags. Although this law can be annoying for many, it has become a norm in New Jersey and you now always remember to bring in your reusable bags into the store. If Israelis can stop handing out free plastic bags to their customers, this will force everyone to remember their own bags and thus reduce plastic waste in the community.
Drive less in Tel Aviv
Dutch Prime Minister cycling on Rothschild Boulevard, Tel Aviv
Living in Tel Aviv, it is very easy to get places by simply walking. And that’s a good thing. Not only does it help reduce emissions, but it is also great for you! Walking is proven to help reduce stress, provide good exercise and is fun and easy. Even if walking somewhere is too far, you can rent an electric bike or scooter to get places quicker. There are scooter/bikes paths in many areas of Tel Aviv, so biking/scooters is a great alternative to driving and walking.
Bird Scooter for rent along the boardwalk in Tel Aviv. Be mindful that there are deaths and serious accidents from these machines.
Although there are so many ways that a whole community can reduce waste and become more sustainable, it is most important to start somewhere. Even just having this discussion helps bring our community together in figuring out how we can be better for the environment. Looking up to others and seeing what works and what doesn’t helps bring us all up, learn, and continue to bring change across the world.
Made eco chic shop in Jaffa for sustainable fashion
Madeo eco chic shop in Jaffa for sustainable fashion
Madeo eco-chic is a sustainable shop in the Jaffa Flea Market with many different items from recycled and sustainable materials. Some of these include handbags, clothing, jewelry, cards, and much more. When I visited the shop, I spoke with Lotem, who has been helping her mother run the shop for the last 10 years. All of the items that Lotem sells in her family-run store are imported from countries all around the world which she selects based on sustainability. One fascinating item Lotem sells is a belt made from soda can tabs.
A soda can tab belt
Madeo eco-chic helps to encourage and inspire sustainable retail by selling items that make you feel like you are doing good for the environment. Each item in the shop has a tag attached that provides a description of the item, where it came from, and what it is made of. For example, the shop sells jewelry made from grass created by The Leakey Collection.
Tag from the company “The Leakey Collection” that is sold in Madeo eco-chic. This company creates jewerly made from glass that helps its consumers feel like they are doing good in the world. Not only does the company help create a more sustainable planet, but they also help create financial opportuntites to people in need.
Leakey Collection glass braceletsVintage style glasses made from upcycled plastic. Sunglasses sold in Madeo eco-chic with tags that show the glasses were made from recycled plastic.
I also tried on a pair of glasses from the shop and was shocked at how lightweight they were. Not only did they look good as new, but they were also stylish and came from recycled material. These glasses in specific, came from recycled plastic. If there was no way of telling where the material came from, you would never guess it came from recycled plastic. The shop had a wide variety of sunglasses in all colors and variety that anyone is sure to find something they like.
All of these cards are made from recycled paper.
Overall, I would suggest to any person, whether interested in protecting the environment or not to check out Madeo eco-chic. The store offers a wide variety of items of interest to all people for reasonable prices. I left the store with a top for 189 shekels and will definitely be making another trip to the shop.
Upcycled coins from Israel into laser-cut necklaces
My favorite item in the shop were these necklaces made from recycled coins. The paper underneath the jewelry box provides a picture of what the coin Jewish coins throughout history, from the old version to the new version of the coin. The artist who made these necklaces was able to cut through the coin, leaving only the symbol behind and turning it into a beautiful masterpiece. A lot of these necklaces come in gold or silver, so many people can enjoy it.
Hebron just two months before he was due to start a new life in Canada; images of body circulated on Palestinian social media
Ahmad Abu Marhia was beheaded just two months before he was due to start a new life in Canada. His body was dumped outside his parents house in the West Bank.
A gay Palestinian man, Ahmad Abu Marhia, only 25, was found beheaded in the West Bank, Palestinian Authority on October 5. He had been living in Israel on asylum, fearful he would be killed if his Palestinian community found him close to home.
A video of the murder of Abu Marhia was circulating on social media and the motive for the murder is not known. But what is gleaned from the LGBTIQA+ community in Israel is that Abu Marhia had spent two years in Israel waiting on an asylum claim. He had death threats against him and was waiting to get the go-ahead to move to Canada. He was supposed to be moving there next month.
In the Israeli media it is reported that he was kidnapped from Israel to the West Bank where he wasn’t protected. His family, disagreed, said he came to Hebron to work.
Ahmad’s photo in rememberance.
The Associated Press reported his decapitated head and body were left near his family’s home late at night October 5. The video and photos of the incident went viral on social media late October 6: “I was shocked because of the way they killed him, and the way they decided to post and share it online,” says Tomer Aldubi, 29, a gay Israeli Jewish activist and artist who has worked with LGBTQ Palestinians for many years and knew Marakhia who spoke with the Bay Area Reporter in the US.
Homosexuality is rejected by conservative Muslims in Israel, and the Palestinian Authority, but in Israel you can live your life freely and openly if you are gay, especially in Tel Aviv. (Tel Aviv’s LGBTQ community also works to make their annual gay parade more ecological). Abu Marhia was hoping to go to Canada, where the country openly accepts refugees from the Palestinian Authority, Afghanistan and Syria.
Activist Natali Farah told Israel’s Haaretz newspaper that Ahmad Abu Marhia was well known. “Everyone is scared,” she said. Palestinians also expressed revulsion at the beheading. There are about 90 Palestinians who identify as LGBT who currently live as asylum seekers in Israel.
If you are gay and an Arab and seek protection in the Palestinian Authority or Israel contact the Different House.
The organization works in the following fields:
Legal and welfare assistance to the Arab LGBT people
Strengthening the community bond by encouraging volunteering within the Arab LGBT community
Creating social events designated for the Arab LGBT community
Making, translating and publishing info material regarding the Arab LGBT community in Arabic
Creating network of collaborations with relevant organizations in Palestine, Israel and other countries
Both teachers and students are embracing tools that make education more engaging and interactive. QR codes have emerged as a powerful solution, bridging the gap between traditional learning materials and the digital age. These versatile codes provide instant access to a wealth of resources, and with platforms like me-qr, educators can easily create qr code solutions to make learning exciting, dynamic, and seamless.
The Role of QR Codes in Modern Education
QR codes are revolutionizing how students interact with educational materials. A free qr code generator online empowers teachers to deliver information in a way that resonates with tech-savvy learners. By linking QR codes to videos, quizzes, or additional reading materials, teachers can turn static resources into engaging, interactive content.
Students can also take advantage of a qr code generator free online for their projects and presentations. By embedding QR codes in their work, they can link to supporting research, multimedia files, or even their explanatory videos, elevating the quality and interactivity of their assignments. This fosters creativity and encourages students to think beyond the conventional boundaries of classroom learning.
Creative Applications of QR Codes in Education
The possibilities for using QR codes in the classroom are nearly endless. Teachers and students alike can use a qr generator in ways that make learning both fun and functional:
interactive homework – teachers can link assignments to videos or audio explanations, using a qr maker to make complex concepts more understandable;
instant access to study materials – a qr code generator online can provide students with quick access to digital textbooks, additional resources, or practice tests;
collaborative learning – students working on group projects can use a qr code creator to share documents, timelines, and updates in real-time;
gamification – teachers can create scavenger hunts or gamified quizzes using a free qr code generator, encouraging active participation in lessons;
parental engagement – educators can share QR codes with parents to provide updates on their child’s progress or access to class announcements.
Me-qr simplifies these processes by enabling educators to generate qr code free for any purpose. Their platform offers dynamic QR codes, allowing teachers to update the linked content without having to replace the code. This flexibility is invaluable for lesson planning and adapting to changing educational needs.
Why QR Codes Are the Future of Education
QR codes are not just a tool for convenience; they represent a significant shift in how education is delivered. A qrcode generator removes the limitations of physical learning materials, replacing them with digital tools that are accessible anytime, anywhere. This not only saves resources but also ensures that educational content is always current and relevant.
Moreover, using an online qr code generator allows teachers to track student engagement. By analyzing how often QR codes are scanned, educators can gain insights into which materials resonate with students and adjust their teaching strategies accordingly. This data-driven approach enhances the effectiveness of lessons and helps teachers better meet the needs of their learners.
For students, the ability to scan a qr generator online and instantly access study aids, tutorials, or supplementary materials creates a more personalized learning experience. QR codes make it easier to cater to diverse learning styles, providing visual, auditory, and interactive content that supports different preferences and paces.
How Me-qr Supports Education
Me-qr is a valuable resource for educators looking to integrate QR codes into their teaching strategies. With their intuitive platform, teachers can create qr code free for a variety of applications, from sharing lesson plans to linking interactive exercises. The ability to customize QR codes with colors, logos, and designs ensures that the codes are visually appealing and align with the classroom’s branding.
Me-qr’s dynamic QR codes are especially useful for educators. Whether it’s updating content linked to a homework assignment or adding new resources to a previously shared QR code, teachers can make real-time adjustments without reprinting or redesigning the code. This level of adaptability streamlines the teaching process and ensures that students always have access to the most relevant information.
Conclusion
QR codes are revolutionizing education, offering tools that make learning more engaging, interactive, and accessible. With a free qr generator, teachers can transform lessons into dynamic experiences that resonate with today’s students. From interactive homework assignments to gamified classroom activities, QR codes bring an exciting, tech-driven approach to education.
CubeSats have emerged as a university project, and, originally, this tech was used for educational missions – primarily because of its affordability. Today, with the rapid private space sector development, these compact, easily scalable mini-satellites are actively used for a wide range of commercial purposes and are steadily securing their positions in missions from international space agencies.
Thanks to advances in private-made CubeSat components, such as these https://dragonflyaerospace.com/components/, CubeSats are becoming increasingly more advanced and versatile. At the same time, they retain their uniform design, measuring 10x10x10 cm per unit (1U) while increasing scalability. Modern CubeSats can measure up to 27U, but that is still very compact compared to previous-generation space tech!
Below, we will explain the main CubeSat structures and mechanisms that make these satellites work, explaining the importance of CubeSat components in modern satellite missions. But first, we need to understand what today’s space missions are usually about, so let’s start with that.
What are the objectives of the CubeSat mission?
Right now, every launched CubeSat focuses on its own mission, but the range of applications has evolved far beyond education. Currently, the most common CubeSat missions include:
Earth Observation: EO is an extremely vast industry segment – in fact, most spacecraft in our planet’s orbit are EO tech, and many of those satellites are CubeSat. Depending on the components they carry, actual applications may include environment monitoring of pollution levels in waters or air; urban planning; tracking illegal mining, fishing, or poaching activities, etc.
Technology demonstration: most new space tech is tested and demonstrated with CubeSats because, if something goes wrong, the cost of losing a CubeSat is lesser than it could have been with a larger satellite. But that does not mean CubeSat technology is unreliable. In fact, these satellites successfully coped with most demonstration missions – including testing for NASA’s upcoming Mars landing.
Internet of Things: most IoT devices remotely controlled from our smartphones are backed up by CubeSat constellations, so every time you turn up home heating while still at work, you can thank advances in CubeSat components.
Clearly, such a range of applications requires a series of advanced equipment to carry out designated missions. So, let’s take a better look at the CubeSat component’s functions and variations.
What are the main components of a CubeSat?
Even though the actual CubeSat components list may vary slightly depending on mission goals, some components are an absolute must-have for a CubeSat to operate:
Structure is a component that holds all other pieces together; it is normally made of highly durable materials to withstand harsh space environments;
Power component supplies electricity to all other CubeSat components – usually through built-in batteries or by generating power via solar panels;
Communication component is a series of antennae and receivers that transmit data back to Earth and receive new commands from ground stations;
Computer component is exactly what you may think – a powerful processor that oversees all CubeSat operations;
Attitude Determination and Control System, or ADCS component, is a complex mix of sensors that measure CubeSat position in space and make sure it is pointing in the right direction, i.e., to take images of designated areas of interest – on Earth or in deep space.
Payload may be one of the most important CubeSat components because it is the equipment a CubeSat needs to carry out its mission goals. Obviously, that’s where the differences begin because satellites are made for different missions, so the equipment necessary to fulfil them will also be different!
Besides, there have been major advances in CubeSat propulsion systems – normally, this component was reserved for pricier space tech. In a nutshell, propulsion is a series of thrusters and engines allowing satellites to adjust their position in orbit or even move to entirely new orbital destinations when initial mission objectives are complete, and it’s time to move on to a new stage.
Today, many CubeSats can do the same, but those aren’t the only impressive advances in CubeSat components and applications. So, let’s see what space agencies have in mind.
Space agency missions: what is the importance of CubeSat?
Even though most CubeSats, along with their components, are manufactured by private companies, NASA and other space agencies understand the amazing potential of this tech. For example, mini-satellites play a huge part in NASA’s upcoming lunar mission, Artemis. Its first phase, which began in 2022,launched ten CubeSats that provided a wealth of information on our Moon, including its ice layer composition.
ESA also holds CubeSat components and their potential in high regard. Its upcoming Hera mission should study the Didymos asteroid system and check how NASA’s DART mission went – that’s when the US agency crashed its impactor tech into the asteroid to see if we could deflect asteroids from their course to avoid future collisions with our planet. So, heads up for HERA because it finally looks like our space tech is on its way to helping the planet – and advances in CubeSat components will prove useful in this process.
Maybe you were raised on Teletubbies or fell in love with Hobbits? You too can have a curved, green-roof home as a backyard home for AirBNB or for your in-laws. Maybe it will be your first home and you want to make it a tiny home and green. Meet Wonderful Structures, a US company that supplies the framework upon which you can build a hobbit home. A build can be done in as little as 3 days, according to the company formerly known as Magic Homes.
Imagine a 400-square-foot tiny home with a low carbon footprint, nestled in the earth making it energy efficient to boot but with the convenience of a conventional house?
Vanlife made sense 10 years ago when global nomadism first took hold, but with a Starlink and an off grid parcel of land, true off-grid and efficient living is possible with Wonderful Structures.
The company manufactures prefabricated vaulted panels to be covered with soil so you can live in a Tolkienesque building you might be able to build yourself. Check your local building codes of course before you order.
Below are some photos of the construction process.
Can anyone build such a home anywhere? The company says: “Our technology features an innovative construction system designed to meet various standards for earthquake resistance, wind loads, and fire safety, making it eligible for approval worldwide.
“We recommend consulting your local building department to understand the specific requirements in your area. Additionally, standard construction permits will be needed for your project.”
Robert Downey Jr.'s Binishell in Malibu. Courtesy of Nicolo Bini.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Binishell in Malibu. Courtesy of Nicolo Bini.
Binishells are a fast-made construction made by inflating a gigantic neoprene bladder then covering this balloon in a thin coat of reinforced spray-on concrete. The technique developed in the 60s by an Italian architect could be a great solution to urban and rural housing in southern United States and Mediterranean regions.
Concrete isn’t considered an environmental material (see the problem with concrete mining here) but perhaps the technique of creating a sort of paper mache with concrete sprayed on an inflatable surface could have applications in vernacular building thinking and the use of more natural materials.
Binishell clay model
How Binishells are created: architect Nicoló Bini starts with a two-dimensional shape on the ground, then adds wooden a form around an air bladder and reinforced steel rebar, and then places concrete that sets and slowly rises from the ground.
Some installations of this technique can cost only $3500 for a tiny home, posing a solution to a housing crisis.
A Binishell rendering. Courtesy of Nicolo Bini.
The Italian-born, Australia-raised Bini started doing high-end work for Usher and Cara Delevingne but then grabbed onto an idea started by his Italian father which is now seen in seaside celebrity retreat or in disaster-area shelters that he has suggested for Pakistan and Ukraine and to protect Bedouin desert dwellers.
Binishell homes for $3500
His father Dante Bini built some 1,600 Binishells globally making him the most prolific dome builder in the world. It’s a mode of building that sits well with Middle East and western sensibilities.
Among his projects are a cave-like bungalow in Malibu, custom-built for Robert Downey Jr. and his wife.
Binishell Robert Downey Junior home in Malibu
Fit for a Hobbit or the Jetsons or the Flintstones, this home was built with spray-on concrete and with advances in 3D printing we assume these structures could be built more quickly and safely using AI and current modeling software.
Nicolo Bini and his father, Dante Bini, at the Binishell school in Narrabeen, Australia. Courtesy of Nicolo Bini.
If you look to nature it’s not easy finding squares and sharp angles. Nature loves curves and shells for protection and for homes.
Binishells can be quickly erected with locally sourced materials and a minimum of specialized tools. Darin Olien, the wellness guru and producer/co-star (with Zac Efron) of the Netflix series Down to Earth is also planning on purchasing a Binishell home which will go further than the Downey home; it will operate off the grid.
A Binishell rendering for Darin Olien. Courtesy of Nicolo Bini.
Celebrities have the resources and money to try experimental buildings as they often have multiple homes and go for showstoppers for wowing the world. But Binishells, if made with earthen materials could give livable and loveable homes as envisioned by architects like Hassan Fathy.
Given that concrete does not do well in extreme cold climates like Canada where freezing and thawing in rapid succession would crack the concrete, this could be a good alternative in Mediterranean cities. Better yet, build the homes with surfaces so at the end of life the concrete can be thrown into the sea for coral reef restoration.
Want to create a team that considers sustainable issues?
Want to create a team that considers sustainable issues?
Efficient communication is at the heart of any successful sales team, and dialing software plays a pivotal role in making that happen. For businesses looking to optimize their outbound call strategy, power dialer software is an absolute must-have. But what is a power dialer, and how can it transform your business operations?
This guide explores the features, benefits, and top choices for power dialer software to help you make an informed decision.
Key Features of Power Dialer Software
Power dialer software offers faster calls, smarter workflows and better connections. Here are the main features you’ll want to keep an eye out for.
Automated Call Dialing
One of the biggest perks of a power dialer app is automated dialing. Forget manual dialing—it’s slow, prone to errors, and wastes valuable time. In its place, power dialers use various modes tailored to your needs.
Predictive Dialing: This mode calls multiple numbers at once, connecting live calls to available agents. It’s a great fit for high-volume sales teams who need to maximize their time.
Progressive Dialing: Here, the system dials one number at a time, only when an agent is ready. It strikes the perfect balance between efficiency and personal engagement.
Preview Dialing: Ideal for leads that require a more tailored approach, this mode lets agents review lead information before initiating the call.
Call Routing and Distribution
Routing calls to the right person is both convenient and essential for a positive customer experience. Modern power dialers use intelligent routing to ensure each call reaches the best-suited agent based on:
Availability
Expertise or skill set
Call priority
This minimizes wait times and eliminates the frustration of repeatedly being transferred.
Call Analytics and Reporting
A power dialer doesn’t just connect calls; it tracks and measures performance. With detailed analytics, you can see metrics like:
Call duration
Answer rates
Conversion rates
These insights are useful for coaching your team and fine-tuning your outreach strategy.
CRM Integration
One of the most powerful features of a power dialer system is its integration with CRMs. This allows agents to view customer history, add notes, and update statuses—all without switching between platforms. This seamless flow keeps your team on the same page and eliminates the hassle of juggling multiple tools at once.
Real-Time Monitoring and Call Recording
For managers, monitoring live calls is like having a bird’s-eye view of your team’s performance. Features like call whispering (where managers can speak directly to the agent without the lead hearing) and barge-in capabilities make training and quality control a lot simpler. Call recording ensures every interaction can be reviewed for training or compliance purposes.
Lead Management and Prioritization
Not all leads are created equal. With features like lead scoring and segmentation, power dialers help teams focus on high-priority opportunities. You’ll save time by reaching the right people at the right moment.
Benefits of Power Dialer Software
Why should businesses invest in a power dialer app? Here’s what makes it an essential tool for modern teams.
Increased Call Efficiency
Manual dialing can waste precious seconds, adding up to hours of lost productivity. By automating this process, power dialers allow agents to spend more time connecting with leads and less time punching in numbers.
Improved Agent Productivity
By cutting down on tedious admin work, agents get to focus on what they’re really great at—connecting with customers and closing deals. With features like CRM integration and lead prioritization, they’ll always have the right info ready to go when they need it most.
Enhanced Lead Conversion Rates
With more calls made and better-prepared agents, power dialers naturally lead to higher conversion rates. Features like preview dialing and call analytics give teams the insights they need to fine-tune their approach.
Better Customer Experience
Faster connections and smarter routing mean leads get the help they need without any frustration. Personalized interactions, backed by CRM data, make conversations more engaging and relevant, leaving a lasting impression.
Scalability for Growing Teams
As your team expands, your power dialer system should grow with you. Whether you’re a startup bringing on your first agents or an enterprise scaling globally, these tools are built to adapt to your needs.
Best Power Dialer Software Picks
Choosing the right power dialer software depends on your business’s specific needs, whether it’s seamless CRM integration, advanced analytics, or handling high call volumes. Let’s take a closer look at some of the top options, highlighting what makes each one stand out.
CloudCall
CloudCall is a brilliant choice for businesses aiming to simplify their communication workflows. As a cloud-based solution, it ensures flexibility, allowing teams to make and manage calls from anywhere.
Key Features:
CloudCall offers powerful CRM integrations that enable teams to keep track of customer interactions in real-time. Its call analytics tools offer detailed insights into call performance, helping managers identify trends and improve strategies. Compliance tools also ensure that every call meets regulatory standards, providing peace of mind for teams handling sensitive customer information.
Best For:
Small to medium-sized businesses looking for an all-in-one communications platform will find CloudCall incredibly helpful. It’s especially beneficial for businesses that already rely on CRM systems.
Five9
Five9 is a great option for enterprises and high-volume call centers that need a reliable solution to manage their outbound dialing operations.
Key Features:
Five9’s predictive dialing capabilities ensure minimal downtime between calls by dialing numbers in advance and connecting agents only when a live call is detected. It also offers multi-channel support, allowing teams to communicate via voice, email, and chat, all from one platform. With agent performance tracking, managers can monitor metrics like call times and conversions to optimize team performance.
Best For:
Enterprises and large-scale call centers will benefit most from Five9, especially those handling significant outbound call volumes.
Aircall
Aircall is designed with user-friendliness in mind, offering seamless integration with popular CRMs and collaboration tools to keep teams connected.
Key Features:
Aircall simplifies communication with features like call queuing and easy collaboration for multi-user teams. It effortlessly integrates with CRMs such as Salesforce and HubSpot, ensuring that all customer data is synced and accessible during calls. This focus on usability makes it a favorite among businesses that value efficiency and usability.
Best For:
Teams that need a dialer solution capable of working harmoniously with their existing tools. Its intuitive interface and CRM integrations make it particularly useful for sales teams that prioritize collaboration and efficiency.
Mojo Dialer
Mojo Dialer is a specialized solution catering to businesses with extensive lead lists, such as real estate agencies.
Key Features:
This platform is perfect for lead management, providing tools for organizing and prioritizing prospects. Automated follow-ups ensure no opportunity slips through the cracks, while call recording capabilities allow teams to review conversations for training or quality assurance.
Best For:
Real estate agents and businesses that rely on high-volume lead generation will find Mojo Dialer particularly valuable.
PhoneBurner
PhoneBurner is all about efficiency, offering tools that help sales teams make the most of their time and resources.
Key Features:
With predictive dialing and VoIP integration, PhoneBurner eliminates wasted time spent on manual dialing or disconnected calls. The platform also includes real-time reporting, allowing managers to track metrics like call durations, outcomes, and agent performance.
Best For:
Sales teams and marketing professionals focused on lead generation. Its emphasis on speed and analytics ensures that teams can connect with more prospects and refine their approaches for better results.
To sum up, power dialer software is a powerful tool that helps sales teams improve efficiency, increase productivity, and deliver better customer experiences. By automating time-consuming tasks and streamlining workflows, power dialers make it easier for businesses to connect with more leads, close more deals, and grow their operations. With the right power dialer, businesses can optimize their sales processes, enhance team performance, and create a more seamless experience for both agents and customers.
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