Vegan-friendly lip enhancers? CollPlant makes an animal-free collagen, using tobacco plants. Advocates of vegetarianism often point out the detrimental effects of raising livestock on the environment. One frequently cited study is the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) report, Livestock’s Long Shadow, showing that livestock production is responsible for 18 percent of […]
Physicist and guest blogger Susan Goodman puts the Japan nuclear news in proportion to non-scientists. Perhaps in the west we still retain some false sense of culpability for the discovery of nuclear fission. Maybe the very name Fukushima has resonances with that of Hiroshima – invoking memories of horrors that for most of us are […]
Meet Yoav Banin, CEO of Solergy, a solar power company in California and Italy. Reared in California by Israeli parents, and married to an Italian wife, Yoav Banin speaks to his two young sons in Hebrew while raising them in Rome. This 38-year-old trilingual Silicon Valley veteran is co-founder and chief executive officer of Solergy, […]
If the mechanics behind Global Warming has eluded you, or if you’re excited by a few cooking tips or a good old fashioned dystopic novel, then dig in, because we’ve got seven books that will help you start 2011 on a green foot. The holidays are over and winter has finally set in. What better […]
Is Feng Shui kosher? An Israeli world musician Yisrael Borochov discovers some unusual connections between the Chinese practice of Feng Shui and ancient Jewish traditions of how to live in harmony with nature I was skimming through one of the main books dealing with detailing the Jewish mitzvas (commandments), and was really surprised to feel […]
The United Arab Emirates has one of the largest carbon footprints in the world. Not surprising considering the small country has an indoor ski hill in the middle of the desert and a number of other Las Vegas-esque attractions (like the IceLand waterpark), but the government has said enough. A new high-tech plan was announced on […]
There will be no peace without water. Leaders need to address the Middle Eastern water scarcity with the same urgency as oil. People often associate the Middle East with oil. But in the region’s cities, villages and farms, access to a different resource is becoming rather problematic: water. Addressing this issue can not only ensure a […]
Every day, 35 people are killed in the Gulf as a result of poor driving. Mohd Shahnawaz has launched a new campaign to change the attitude behind the Gulf’s reckless drivers. This is the second in a two-part series about the Suraya Foundation. In the first (which you can read here) we described how Mr. […]
Every day 35 people are killed in the Gulf as a result of poor driving. Mohd Shahnawaz has launched a new campaign to change the attitude behind the Gulf’s reckless drivers. Just yesterday we posted a report that Iran has the highest rate of traffic fatalities, though that country competes with Saudi Arabia for the […]
As peace talks resume, can environmental issues create bridges and links between opposing sides? JERUSALEM – Every few years, the idea of establishing one state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea rises and falls like a phoenix; a dream of a state where both Palestinians and Israelis live in peace with no borders, […]
One of the biggest Jewish charities in the UK - UJIA - has adopted a new green policy to reduce its environmental footprint.
Learning a lesson from the BP workers who kept silent about Deepwater Horizon’s inevitable burst, Dead Sea Workers speak out. And one is putting it on film. The BP workers from the Gulf of Mexico kept quiet about the foreboding well disaster for years until the Deepwater Horizon burst and became North America’s largest ecological […]
More news to make Ra, the Egyptian sun god proud: Egypt gets serious about building solar energy plants on top of its 500 MW plant, with bids open for 1,000 MW more. The Egyptian government hopes two new projects will help push forward solar and wind energy in the country. According to the country’s Electricity […]
Lebanon is eager to replant their cedars – a national symbol. But a sustainable, community-wide vision is in need. The Hebrew bible is replete with references to the cedars of Lebanon, and uses them as a metaphor for steadfastness, might and great stature. The cedar trees for the construction of King Solomon’s Palace and the […]
Ambika, a research analyst who specializes on Middle East environment issues including conflict and water, reports on her trip to Sweden, where she finds grassroots solutions like the Peepoo Bag – ones that could impact the developing world. Along the banks of the beautiful Lake Siljan, in the idyllic town of Leksand, Sweden, over 1600 […]
When we think of the environment today, the West looks like the clear leader. But did you know that some of the world’s most important discoveries originated in the Middle East? The Middle East, perhaps because of its challenging environment, has seen the genesis of many environmental discoveries and techniques. Some of these are so […]
An Australian family of five goes on a 5-month worldwide eco-tour. Their adventure begins at Kibbutz Lotan in Israel as GoEco volunteers for 5 weeks. Read about the Wood-Auster family experience, told by dad Arron. My wife Amy and I (Arron) made a decision to pull our family out of the day-to-day suburban world in […]
The massive natural gas find in Israel and political tensions with Turkey, could put Turkey out of the energy story with Israel. It’s a big deal, says Washington based energy analyst Gal Luft. A door has been closed. But amid the roar, the creak of an opening window was faintly audible. This window, a gigantic […]
Poor management and water intensive crops to blame for what could be an irreversible desert in Syria. “If desertification is not controlled, it threatens the land and our heritage,” Abdulla Tahir Bin Yehia, head of FAO in Syria, said. “The situation is terrible in Syria and has been worsened by the past years of low […]
With an abundant Nile flowing through it, people in Cairo wonder about industrial pollution dumping affecting their health, and future. A common question asked by visitors to Cairo is “can I drink the tap water?” Many Cairenes have no problems with drinking the water. The Nile River is Cairo’s main source of water and begins […]
A Green Prophet reader shares her personal story on starting up a green business in the Middle East – Diamond Solar Services. Image via pinksherbert My name is Chava and I’m a green nerd. I love saying that. It sounds kind of corny and probably not the impression you would get if you met me, […]
Put your mouth where your morals are and eat the plants and vegetables you want to conserve. Image via ivanwalsh Since the beginning of the green movement, there has been a rise in the number of organizations and businesses that are doing their part in the promotion of sustainability through conservation. This past Earth Day […]
It can get windy over there in Egypt. Now, Egypt plans on making renewable energy 20% of its national energy goals. The Egyptian government has announced plans to generate 1,000 megawatts of wind power this year. Speaking at the energy forum for the Middle East and North Africa 2010, Egypt’s Electricity Minister Hassan Younis said […]
African nations fight over who lays claim to the Nile. Egypt is fighting back. Image via Michael JG It is water. Water for all. At least this is the argument that upstream countries along the Nile River have been saying for years, but Egypt continues to refuse to renegotiate a colonial-era treaty that would allocate […]
An ode to the earthworm: An earthworm farmer in Israel praises the beauty of the earthworm. Time to grow your own? The earthworm is one of mankind’s best friends. Hard at work 24/7, this lowly creature makes it possible for human and plant life to exist. Without the earthworm over here in the Middle East, […]