Ben-Gurion researchers claim that Israel’s urge to shop will eventually force Shabbat laws to change. This is a typical side street in the Yaffa flea market, Israel. From left to right, notice a charming second-hand shop that sells amusing things like the full-sized statue of a Roman gladiator. Blond tourists with cameras hanging from their […]
Nothing like fresh, green produce for natural vitamins and minerals Thanks to Green Prophet contributors who give us recipes on local vegetables like peppers, as well as flavor enhancers like garlic (locally grown and not imported from China of course), readers of our website have benefited from advice on how to boost one’s immune system, as well […]
Framing climate-influenced migration as a threat is dangerous and counterproductive is author Gregory White Around the time of the Copenhagen Summit in 2009, there was a sense that climate change was finally transitioning from something which only concerned hippy do-gooders to an issue that affected the entire international community. Everywhere you looked people were talking […]
“I am the Lorax and I speak for the trees.” What would nature’s ambassador tell us? Children’s author Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) used this question as inspiration for his classic ecological fable, The Lorax. His simple message is that when limited resources (such as truffula trees) are consumed without care, entire ecosystems (singing […]
Patriarch Bartholomew I, of the Istanbul-based Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate, stands outside the rundown former orphanage. Atop the highest hill on Büyükada (“Big Island” in Turkish), the largest of the picturesque “Princes Islands” in the Marmara Sea off the coast of Istanbul, stands a sprawling, abandoned structure rumored to be the largest wooden building in […]
Climate change is here and it looks like there is no way back. Scientists and policymakers are increasing concerned about extreme weather and climate events. These include extended waves of abnormally hot or cold weather, unseasonal temperatures, changes in precipitation and wind patterns, along with more dramatic occurrences like unprecedented blizzards, cyclones sudden downpours, sudden […]
The most advanced country in the world for “legalizing it” for medical reasons, the main reason Israelis can smoke pot to feel better is this man Rafael Mechoulam. While Americans petition state senators to legalize medical marijuana, and the Dutch simply go to an Amsterdam café to self-medicate, thousands of Israelis are enrolled in a […]
A bit ridiculous? Change your font size by one point and save trees…? It’s called the Minus One Project, and it is a very neat example of a practical project with one very specific objective: it encourage offices, schools, homes and everyone else to lower their font by one size before printing. Maybe not the perfect idea […]
A Lebanese man takes on a bucking bull at Lebanon’s very own dude ranch… do you think he made 8 seconds? If you’ve always dreamed about cowboys and Indians, stop. They fought and killed each other and it was grisly. But the southwestern ranch lifestyle is entirely less violent and now it’s possible to taste […]
The One Time Use Store is great; but what happens to all the throwaway dishes after Passover? The Jewish festival of Passover or Pesach is one in which most people in Israel and Jewish people around the world spend much time in preparation, especially house cleaning and disposing of unwanted items, and over eating highly caloric […]
International Space Station view of Dubai Light Pollution on February 22, 2012. Can we change the world by switching off for an hour? People from all over the world are encouraged to turn off their lights for Earth Hour, which takes place on Saturday March, 31 2012 at 8:30 pm local time (check the Earth […]
Sorry folks, but nothing on this earth is sustainable, even words. Brian argues the dire need for new words to replace ‘sustainable’ in our eco-English vocabulary. Peak oil came and went in 2008. Everyone knows this– with the possible exception of some US presidential candidates and one wildcat oil prospector in Cairo, Illinois. Most Green […]
Plastic is pervasive and so are the carcinogenic chemicals that leach from them. The rapid growth and urbanization of the United Arab Emirates is associated with increased uses of plastic in every aspect of modern life. In 2008, the World Health Organization voiced concerns that rapid urbanization may be negatively impacting people’s lives. Rapid growth […]
Zahed Sultan is an internationally-celebrated musician from Kuwait who also happens to promote sustainability! Zahed Sultan is one of the most visible musicians in the Arab world. Not only does he enjoy a massive following on regional social networks, but he is also internationally recognized. One of his tracks was included in the Hotel Costes […]
SlutWalk started in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in April 2011 in response to the slur of a Toronto Police officer who suggested that women could remain safe by avoiding dressing like ‘sluts.’ Since then, the movement has spread across the globe as a worldwide protest against aggression and rape. Activists are reframing the dialogue, calling on […]
Dr. Mohamed Kassas was a leading pioneer of Egypt’s environmental movement and a beloved mentor. Dr. Mohamed Kassas was active until the end, says Mindy Baha El Din, Manager of Nature Conservation Egypt. Just yesterday Christians packed the St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo to bid farewell to their patriarch Pope Shenouda III, and today environmentalists throughout the […]
Miriam found much good will but only dawning eco-awareness in Israel’s religious leadership. “I came today, not to say anything new – but to learn.” So the Greek Orthodox Archbishop, Dr. Elias Chacour, began the Interfaith Climate and Energy Conference that took place yesterday, March 19, in Jerusalem. The conference was organized by the Interfaith […]
A story about a Morocco sex shop turns out to be a hoax, but is the idea of expanding sexual freedom finding fertile ground in the region? Sex is natural. We wouldn’t be here were it not for the ability to procreate, and for most people in the world, physical intimacy and pleasure are desired […]
No better place to do a reality check on our environmental vision than Cairo’s Manshiet Nasr neighborhood. Its local inhabitants, the Zabaleen (Arabic for garbage pickers and recyclers) started closing our material cycles thirty years ago, something we even now barely find necessary. They know that what is without value for most, isn’t useless per sé. […]
Goldfish have made up a small part of the Iranian New Year festivities for thousands of years, but some activists want this practice to end. A longstanding Zoroastrian tradition, the Iranian New Year known as Nowruz is a time for spring cleaning, visiting friends, banishing the old, and preparing for the new. Beginning at the […]
Among other eco-conscious Church leaders, the Archbishop of York has gone vegan and fair-trade for the duration of Lent. Lent, the pre-Easter season of reflection and self-examination, began this year on February 22nd and finishes on Saturday, April 3rd. Believing Christians set aside time for prayer and religious acts. One Lenten tradition is strengthening self-discipline […]
Want to support a cable company that cares about the planet? True, a lot of environmentalists promote reading over television. A nice intimate dinner and good chats with friends over a night at the movies. And of course we know it’s the better way to let our kids play outside before we let them switch […]
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued a special alert on the food security situation in Syria this past week, voicing serious concern over the state of food security, especially for vulnerable groups, because of continued civil unrest since March 2011. According to the Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics, inflation increased between June […]
Swifts return to nest at Judaism most sacred site When the swifts came back to Jerusalem’s Western Wall last week there was rejoicing as bird watchers and the religious welcomed them home to Judaism’s most sacred site. The common swift, which spends is entire life flying or sitting its nest, returns from wintering in South […]
Ahead of Rio +20 join the interfaith climate and energy conference in Jerusalem next week. Can mobilizing the world’s faithful save the planet where activists without faith have failed? Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders will be speaking out on climate change next week, while conveying their shared visions on renewable energy at the Interfaith Climate […]