Gold and Armored Rolls Royce for $8 million?
A gold Rolls Royce rolls shows unsustainable luxury of wealthy Gulf clients.
Transportation
Morocco Airport Counts Solar Power Carbon Savings
Marrakesh also known as the “Ochre City” is my favorite place in Morocco. Visiting there last summer, I got to see how the futuristic transport hub is creating solar power in action. Supplied by the Finnish company Naps Oy, who I met in Finland in 2010, I like the way the solar elements integrate with […]
Aircraft Emissions: Um, Stewardess, Got An Aspirin?
Aircraft behemoth Boeing estimates at least 90,000 commercial planes fly daily: a massive fuel burn that translates into elephantine emissions of toxic air. There is opportunity for change in the Middle East. If you are not already afraid of the giant plume of methane gas now emitting greenhouses gases into the atmosphere, there’s another worry: […]
Spine Bike Built to Break When Stolen
Ronen Spector has designed a bike lock so integral to the bike’s actual structure that ruining the lock would ruin the bike. With so many cool bicycle designs out there though, you may still want to sport a rocking bike without worrying about theft. Ronen Spector, a recent industrial design graduate from Shenkar in Israel, […]
A $7000 Electric Car Coming to the Middle East?
It won’t take you long distances, but it will take you around town; and at a reasonable speed too. Electric cars of various shapes and sizes are appearing a lot on the news these days. Despite performing less unfavorably in international vehicle crash tests, two of the big issues that may be preventing more people […]
Alon Tal Paints a Picture of Israel’s Environment Wrongs and Rights (INTERVIEW)
Joshua interviews Israel’s most influential and accomplished environmentalist, Dr. Alon Tal. Where is Israel at in terms of environmental protection? Get the scoop here. Israel has introduced several environmental protections in the last few years, but many problems remain. Although massive social protests swept Israel over the summer, environmental issues were not at the fore. […]
Volt Battery Catches Fire in Crash Test But Beats the Renault Fluence EV
Claimed to be one of the world’s safest cars, the Fluence EV scored lower than Chevy’s Volt in Euro NCAP crash tests. Not great publicity for electric cars. With Chevrolet Volt hybrid cars now on the road for nearly a year since their debut at the end of 2010, and further to our comparison of […]
Dubai Does Big Bus Tours
A Dubai Big Bus passing ultra luxurious Atlantis on the Palm hotel. Green is where the money is. The futuristic city of Dubai is often hailed as the showcase of the Arabian Gulf. Dubai has many attractions including the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building and so big that it needs a huge waste disposal […]
Coin-Covered Car in Dubai “Recycles” Nearly $6,000
This flashy car gives a whole new meaning to recycling! Image via Virendra Saklani/Gulf News Reflecting the Emirati obsession with flashy cars, a Pakistani man has painstakingly coated a Chevrolet Camaro with thousands of “recycled” coins worth nearly $6,000. A longtime resident of the United Arab Emirates, Tarek Javaid has put 3,000 hours into the project since October last […]
Critical Mass of Cyclists to Test Jerusalem’s Bike Paths
During this month’s ‘Critical Mass’ in Jerusalem, cyclists will check out the city’s new bike paths. Maybe it’s because Israel is becoming a nation of pedalers, or because biking is a hot form of eco-tourism, but for whatever reason a group of Jerusalem cyclists has been getting together for a monthly Critical Mass. (And no, […]
Twirling for Tripoli’s Car Free Day
Spinning for a car-free day in Tripoli, Lebanon. Though not clear of cars, the streets were considerably less congested and polluted. Like in many Middle Eastern cities, walking the streets of Tripoli in Northern Lebanon is an assault on the lungs. Battered, old taxis dart and crawl along the cramped roads, oozing billows of pungent […]
We Almost Lost Our Green Grand Mufti?
Trying to “talk to God” a passenger tried to open plane’s emergency door mid-flight. The Grand Mufti of Egypt is considered “very green” according to our analyst Moshe Terdiman. But a mishap aboard a flight to Cairo last week could have cost him his life. Our friend Jon Jenson at the Global Post picked up […]
American Fined 80 Bucks For Sleeping on Dubai Train
At least there is public transport in Dubai. Don’t get too comfy though. You’ll get fined for falling asleep. We’ve all heard stories of a friend of a friend who was in some remote country: the friend did something perfectly normal in his home country, like walk on the grass, only to be fined by […]
Is Bicycle Sharing Coming to Beirut?
Could a bike sharing system work in Beirut? Bicycle sharing has become all the rage in certain cities in the past few years, ever since the Parisians got the trend going with the Vélib’ shared bike rental system approximately three years ago. In the Middle East, Nicosia implemented a bike sharing system a few weeks […]
Tuataras Not Hybrids Rule the Road at Dubai Car Show
An SSC Tuatara at 444km/hour or a Nissan Leaf? As Europe, North America and even Israel rolls out modest EVs and hybrid cars, they are a no-go for the luxury brand shoppers in the Gulf region. “Hybrid cars still can’t cut it in United Arab Emirates,” is the sub-heading sum-up of an article in this […]