Cities

Solar retreat in the Liwa Desert: futuristic functionality or lipstick-on-a-pig?

An unnamed client hired London-based Baharash Architecture to design a luxury home that could fully function off the energy grid. That's a tall order...

Frozen Middle East needs some “global warming”

A winter storm is banging around much of the Middle East.  Precip’s teamed up with gale force winds, causing first-world headaches like clogged transport,...

Dubai urges private firms to join Car-Free Day

Dubai Municipality has invited businesses and individuals to take part in its annual Car-Free Day on February 4 to lower city-wide vehicle emissions while commemorating the United...

Turkey’s Cappadocia reveals “new” 5,000-year-old city

A team of archaeologists discovered an ancient underground city in Cappadocia, Turkey, with tunnels and escape routes spanning over 3.5 miles. Estimated to be...

SolView’s targeting solar energy rooftop potential on a massive scale

Solar energy panels are an important investment for planet earth, but also for residential homeowners that want to cash in on attractive feed-in tariffs....

More than one way to skin a pomegranate

A hidden pleasure in ex-pat life in Amman, Jordan is the relative ease in which I can sidestep a steroidal Christmas (and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa...

Lebanon’s Sidon garbage mountain to become city park

Taking a cue from its neighbor city Tel Aviv Lebanon's regional "landmark", Sidon's notorious garbage mountain, will now become a city park. Sidon's stench...

NASA sees Mideast holiday lights from space

NASA scientists are using the Suomi NPP satellite to photograph the earth at night. They are studying natural phenomenon as well as light pollution....

Un-Islamic critics want to veil “shameless” private parts of buildings in Iran

Islamic versus non-Islamic or simply Western style architecture is an issue in many parts of the Middle East where locals, kingdoms and sheikdoms refuse or...

Egloo heats your room for a dime a day!

An Italian design student dreamed up a gizmo that he claims can heat a room for 10 cents a day. I just paid $700...

Imagine a new kind of sustainable city in the desert?

Luca Curci architects studio presents Desert City, a project proposal for a sustainable way to live in the desert. It surely beats the maze...

Dead Sea relic robbers captured at Cave of the Skulls!

Last weekend, a gang of antiquities thieves were caught in the act of cave-robbing by inspectors of the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery (UPAR)...

Israeli recycling video goes viral on YouTube

A new video highlighting the importance of recycling is going viral on YouTube, garnering nearly 900,000 views in its first week online. The short clip...

Jordan’s Abdali Souk revives in new setting

Second (and third!) - hand marketplaces offer some of the greenest shopping options available - especially in the run-up to frenzied winter holiday consumerism -...

Measuring acid in our oceans using the bodies of small marine animals

The world is warming. Glaciers are melting. Added carbon dioxide gas is causing our seas to become acidic. This in turn melts corals, and...

Hot this week

Japan wants to build a solar panel ring around the moon

Unlike solar power on Earth, which is limited by night cycles, weather, and seasons, the Moon offers something close to uninterrupted exposure to the Sun. By placing solar infrastructure in orbit or along the lunar surface, engineers could generate continuous clean energy at a scale that may exceed global electricity demand,  the Japanese scientists say.

African kids born in these Star Homes are less likely to die

What the Star Home demonstrates is something bigger: that health can be built into infrastructure. Instead of relying only on healthcare systems, communities can reduce disease at the source—through smarter design.

Art from Oman at the Venice Biennale

Oman is returning to the Venice Biennale with Zīnah, an immersive installation by artist and curator Haitham Al Busafi that transforms a traditional form of horse adornment into a large-scale sensory experience.

Korean researchers create battery from greenhouse gases

Professor Ji-Soo Jang, in collaboration with Professor Taekwang Yoon of Ajou University and Professor Hansel Kim of Chungbuk National University, has developed a novel energy device that generates electricity during the process of capturing greenhouse gases.

SunZia comes online and America’s 11B, and largest renewable project begins wind power

The impact is already being felt. California has broken its wind generation record multiple times in recent weeks as SunZia begins feeding electricity into the grid. It’s a glimpse of what a renewable-powered future could look like when large-scale infrastructure finally comes online. Can we start saying goodbye to Saudi Aramco and Arabian Gulf oil? 

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Japan wants to build a solar panel ring around the moon

Unlike solar power on Earth, which is limited by night cycles, weather, and seasons, the Moon offers something close to uninterrupted exposure to the Sun. By placing solar infrastructure in orbit or along the lunar surface, engineers could generate continuous clean energy at a scale that may exceed global electricity demand,  the Japanese scientists say.

African kids born in these Star Homes are less likely to die

What the Star Home demonstrates is something bigger: that health can be built into infrastructure. Instead of relying only on healthcare systems, communities can reduce disease at the source—through smarter design.

Art from Oman at the Venice Biennale

Oman is returning to the Venice Biennale with Zīnah, an immersive installation by artist and curator Haitham Al Busafi that transforms a traditional form of horse adornment into a large-scale sensory experience.

Korean researchers create battery from greenhouse gases

Professor Ji-Soo Jang, in collaboration with Professor Taekwang Yoon of Ajou University and Professor Hansel Kim of Chungbuk National University, has developed a novel energy device that generates electricity during the process of capturing greenhouse gases.

SunZia comes online and America’s 11B, and largest renewable project begins wind power

The impact is already being felt. California has broken its wind generation record multiple times in recent weeks as SunZia begins feeding electricity into the grid. It’s a glimpse of what a renewable-powered future could look like when large-scale infrastructure finally comes online. Can we start saying goodbye to Saudi Aramco and Arabian Gulf oil? 

Married People Have Lower Cancer Risk, But the Reason is Complex

According to the research, cancer risk was 68% higher in never-married men and 85% higher in never-married women.

40 more migratory animals need protecting, warns UN group

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), governments agreed to extend protection to 40 more migratory species, from cheetahs and striped hyenas to snowy owls, giant otters, and great hammerhead sharks. Too many of them are slipping toward extinction .

When peace returns, will we rediscover Saudi Arabia’s mud-brick soul?

When the region settles after the American war with Iran, and it will, American and European travelers will come back. Not just for spectacle or headline projects, but for places that feel real. Places that haven’t been engineered to impress and which get into your soul. We predict that visitors to Saudi Arabia will want to see places like Rijal Alma.When the region settles after the American war with Iran, and it will, American and European travelers will come back. Not just for spectacle or headline projects, but for places that feel real. Places that haven’t been engineered to impress and which get into your soul. We predict that visitors to Saudi Arabia will want to see places like Rijal Alma.
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