This isn’t the forum for politics, but unfortunately so much of what decisions are made in the Middle East (ie funds allocated, prayers made) are determined by the conflict. Above, see a video of the consequences of the Israel-Lebanon war 2.5 years ago.
As an Israeli, I know that untold environmental damage happened south of Lebanon in Israel; thousands of trees burned, landscape devastated. But we know all too well, environmental issues are not confined by borders, and affect all of us on this planet.
Instead of choosing sides, would it be naive to ask people — especially those with limited understanding of what’s happening in the Middle East –– to fight for the environment instead?
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist, innovation strategist, and founder of Green Prophet, one of the Middle East’s pioneering sustainability platforms. She has ranked in the Top 10 of Verizon innovation competitions, participated in NASA-linked challenges, and spoken worldwide on climate, food security, and future resilience. With an IoT technology patent, features in Canada’s National Post, and leadership inside teams building next-generation agricultural and planetary systems — including Mars-farming concepts — Karin operates at the intersection of storytelling, science, and systems change. She doesn’t report on the future – she helps design it. Reach out directly to [email protected]
Perhaps. There are a lot of religious people outside Israel that have the country as one or sole center for their religion. The backside of religious pathos is that it makes it easy to go on feelings rather than use reason – and thus there are many who wants their say on the subject. We have a saying in Sweden “too many chefs spoils the soup”.
I think focusing on the environment would be a great idea – a less heated subject and something we dearly need to work on.