In times of political madness, we have to remind ourselves of the many Israelis who pursue peace and beauty, like Pitsou Kedem. We don’t usually comment on Israeli politics because there is already so much rhetoric floating around the media machine, but Thursday’s attacks and counterattacks in Southern Israel and Gaza really make us wonder […]
Israel’s BrightSource Energy is among the large-scale solar developers happy with the Australian government’s new carbon “tax” that was just carefully shepherded through parliament by Prime Minister Julia Gillard despite the sort of astroturfing hysteria normally perpetrated only in American media.
Jordan is now months away from announcing the company they have selected to construct the country’s first nuclear reactor Despite growing protests against the country’s nuclear plans from residents and environmentalists, the Jordanian government is pressing on with its nuclear programme. According to the local press, the government is expected to announce the name of […]
Water trouble has forced residents at Dubai’s man-made Palm Island to wash in the sea and use toilets at shopping malls The sustainability and usefulness of Dubai’s artificial palm-shaped Island has been widely debated but I think a recent problem at one luxury complex has ironically helped raise awareness of how difficult life can be […]
Jordan’s Star Trek theme park will be a sprawling 74 hectare development, but it does have an eco upside. Since its various eco-parks and green housing projects haven’t done enough to stimulate an appreciation of sustainable development in Jordan’s residents, perhaps the Kingdom’s crazy new Star Trek themed park can fill in the gaps. Once […]
A Tel Aviv University researcher has found that drugs are contaminating the earth in more complex ways than previously thought The dangerous implications of chemicals on our health and the planet entered the public consciousness back in the 1960’s, and was influenced (in part) by campaigners such as Rachel Carson whose groundbreaking book ‘Silent Spring’ […]
All this water from only 8 hours use of 1 hp AC unit! Given the continued shortage of fresh water in many parts of the world, especially in the Middle East, my thoughts again turn towards making use of the run-off water created by air conditioners during the hot, sticky summer months. This idea has […]
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill make their own announcement: they’re designing the Kingdom Tower, but it won’t be a mile high. Every blogger who gives a toot about sustainable building fell over themselves earlier this year to mock Saudi’s mile high tower. We all bought the story without really thinking about what such a tall […]
New Israeli technology purifies waste water in orbit and on Earth. Up till now, waste water from space flights has been dumped into outer space. Sad enough to contemplate Earth’s shrinking water resources (see our post about the Arab world’s water crisis) becoming daily more polluted by industries like the Dead Sea Works. The idea […]
Weather paradox: severe drought in south with flooding elsewhere With 122 degrees in New York City, intense drought and wild fires in several American states, and mass starvation due to abnormal drought in the Horn of Africa. Middle Eastern countries like Yemen are “running dry” , and ones like Egypt are in danger of […]
Despite a potentially thriving renewable sector, Israel’s government selects a relatively modest and unenforced goal The Israeli cabinet has just approved the 10% renewable energy target by 2020 initially proposed by Finance Minister Roni Bar-On three years ago. This is lower than some had expected. In May, Israel’s Director of Industry had touted a higher level: 20% […]
Aid workers are battling to reach certain drought-affected people in the Horn of Africa, where tens of thousands of people have died. Tens of thousands of people, many of them children, have already died in Somalia – the seat of what is being called the Horn of Africa famine. While many news outlets focus on […]
New and renovated buildings in Israel will now have to comply with a newly launched “Israel Standard for Green Building”. During a press conference on this past Tuesday to announce the launch of a new green building standard for new and renovated buildings in Israel, Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan said that “a green building […]
Beit Hakerem, an upscale “green” Jerusalem Neighborhood may not be so green underground due to solvents contamination. Israel’s soil and ground water is constantly being threatened by a number of different kinds of pollution. This pollution is caused by oil and gasoline leakage from gas stations and oil storage depots, and by large garbage landfill […]
Dubai’s Giant Pearl is starting to make its significant presence known. The mammoth Dubai Pearl construction project in Dubai was one of the few to survive the economic crash. Now the fruit of three and a half million man hours of work is beginning to rise above the rest of the city’s large, mostly empty […]