Once again, in the UAE Gulf state of Abu Dhabi, the Zayed Future Energy Prize contest is open for entries on new and innovative projects in various forms of alternative energy. Inaugerated in January 2008 during the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, the contest, under the sponsorship of the Abu Dhabi government as […]
This article is not first one on Green Prophet dealing with water and other beverages sold in polyethylene and polystyrene bottles; and it probably won’t be the last either. But the increasing environmental damage, as well as health hazards being caused by this method on containerizing beverages, especially H2O, is something that should be dealt […]
Afghan farmers get “burned out” as government there tows to US pressure. But for poppy farmers, it’s poppies or starvation. Wheat crops, or biofuel crops cannot compare in value. Molar (not his real name) is an Afghan farmer living in the central Hazzrajat Province of Afghanistan. His 60 hectare farm along the Helmand River has […]
(ZenithSolar’s Jetson-style sunshine-collecting DPV – concentrating photovoltaic – dishes in the Negev Desert) As the old saying goes: necessity is the mother of invention. And nothing appears to be truer than in the field of alternative forms of energy, especially solar energy. An Israeli company, Zenith Solar, has announced the invention of a new type of […]
(Aboriginal men in Australia mark manhood by going on a long distance trek. Israelis too, are on a “walkabout,” but for love and the environment.) Although a lot of people are getting into the act for environmental awareness in Israel. An organization that calls itself Walk About Love has decided to go about this in […]
Millions of Muslims go on the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina every year. A new high speed train planned by Saudi Arabia is bound to make the journey smoother, cooler, and much more environmentally-friendly. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has long been thought of as a country where white gowned sheikhs drive luxury […]
(Israel raises non-Kosher pigs? Yup. And it has a pretty healthy wild population of wild boars, as well). They are calling to cull all the “swine” in Egypt, as an apparent “pandemic” of swine flu appears to be on the verge of being something out of a nightmarish version of a Stephen King novel. Following […]
Tonight begins Israel’s Independence Day, and a lot of recent articles on Green Prophet have been about the regional water crisis, and what must be done to alleviate it. Both agronomists and hydrologists in our region have tried to find ways to deal with the increasing lack of water resources, including recycling of sewage and […]
(Melting like crazy: compare image of arctic ice cap from 1979 to that from 2003. Something seem off to you?) Last year he was in Israel encouraging Israel cleantech companies that they could be part of the solution. But according to latest research and images of glaciers receding, Al Gore’s call to arms in the […]
Following the latest incident in which a Tel Aviv University student, Idan Shadmi, was seriously when falling into a Dead Sea sinkhole, a Tel Aviv University physics professor, claims to have created a seismic warning system that will be able to give an indication when one of these holes, mostly located on the western shore, […]
(Aerial view of the Burj Hotel in Dubai, UAE) Following the news of Etihad, a United Arab Emirates airline that is reducing its carbon footprint, a number of companies based in the UAE are following suit and are making green efforts thanks to help from firms like the Dubai-based EcoVentures. EcoVentures is a company – […]
(View of parking lot below Azrielli Center in Tel Aviv) They giveth and then taketh away: The recently Annual Report issued by the Bank of Israel, has devoted an entire chapter to the excessive use of leased company vehicles by employees, which are clogging up the country’s motorways and contributing greatly to the amounts of […]
What’s a 37 year old single mom, who lives in a three room mobile home in Israel’s Galilee doing to support herself? Why she’s selling portable solar energy units to farmers, that’s what! Shiri Broida, originally from Kibbutz Ein Harod Ihud, isn’t the normal example of an Israeli woman in her mid 30’s. Her lifestyle […]
Etihad Airways from the United Arab Emirates has signed an agreement with Masdar (the same group developing the world’s first carbon neutral city), to reduce the carbon footprint of the airline. The company follows in the footsteps (or wings?) of two other Middle East airline projects we know about — one in Israel to green […]
Writing the Green Prophet story on ecomigration got me thinking about a cheesy made for TV movie The Fire Next Time made 15 years ago. (Plus Earth Day is coming up next week, giving us extra reasons to think about our blue planet.) The movie gives a chilling preview of what the world might be […]
You may not believe it, but the green stuff many people have growing as a decorative plant in their garden may become one of main fibers for manufacturing clothing, linens, curtains, and other fabrics that are presently being made from cotton (a very wasteful pant), and various synthetic fibers. Presently a number of fashion designers […]
Why would a prominent Israeli-born professor at Indiana University decide to change his research emphasis from economics and political science to climate change and ecomigration? And to move from Israel to the United States? Ecomigration is not an entirely crazy idea, and some western people have already started planning and moving to the most suitable […]
For those of us who live in the Middle East, those hot dry heat waves known as khamsini (in Arabic) or sharav (the Hebrew term) appear to be becoming more frequent, as well as more intense. They also seem to be occurring during times of the year when they ordinarily are not supposed to – […]
Countries in the Middle East should take notice that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is making great efforts to improve Jordan’s environment as well as that in the region. One of the foremost environmental societies in the Kingdom is the Jordan Environmental Society, which was established in 1988, during the reign of King Ab dullah’s […]
If those of us living in Israel think we have a problem with pollution and beach closures in the Mediterranean Sea, we should take a look on what’s happening north in Lebanon. A recent article in Beirut’s English language newspaper, the Lebanese Star, noted that pollution caused by both the public and private sectors is […]
Eco-Jews are busy now celebrating Passover, while Christians in the Holy Land and the world over ready themselves for Easter. Iranians, we learn had their own celebrations this time of the year, coinciding with the vernal equinox on March 21. Iran’s political makeup and leadership may not be making many friends these days, but one […]
Little publicity appears to have been made in Israel regarding a proposed joint project between Jordan and Syria to construct a dam across the Yarmouk River. The dam, known as the Wihdeh Dam, will be built on that part of the Yarmouk that is shared by the two countries before it reaches an area now […]
Have those people in the Gulf Emirate state of Qatar gone mad? Or have they simply gotten a case of heat stroke while smoking their nargilas in Qatar’s normally 50+ Celsius heat? Well, it appears that neither is the case as plans are being made to develop a giant refrigerated ski slope on the sand […]
(Countries along the Mediterranean Sea basin) Water policy people will like to know about this initiative: Most countries in what is known as the Mediterranean Sea basin have agreed to form a combined group to deal with issues dealing with water reserves for the region. Based on the Mediterranean Water Charter, adopted in Rome in […]
Iraqi boys walk along the Euphrates River New water cooperation could be a new beginning for tensions between Turkey and Iraq: Turkey has promised to give neighboring Iraq and Syria a larger share of water from both Tigress and Euphrates rivers; it was announced by Turkish President Abdullah Gul. Gul, on a state visit to […]