When we think about food waste, we usually picture leftovers forgotten in the fridge or produce that spoiled before we had a chance to use it. But some of the most common kitchen waste is perfectly edible. Radish leaves, beet greens, broccoli stems—and yes, watermelon rinds—often end up in the compost or trash without a second thought.

Summer is watermelon season, and that means plenty of rinds. Before you toss them out, consider giving them a second life. The pale white part between the juicy pink flesh and the tough green skin is surprisingly versatile.

1. Make Watermelon Rind Jam

Peel away the green outer skin and cook the white rind with sugar, lemon juice, and spices until it turns into a sweet preserve. Spread it on toast, swirl it into yogurt, or spoon it over desserts. We have the full recipe of watermelon rind jam here. 

2. Try South African Waatlemoenkonfyt

This traditional South African preserve transforms watermelon rind into tender chunks suspended in a thick, sweet syrup. The name may be a mouthful, but the result is delicious. Serve it alongside cheese or as a sweet treat with tea.

3. Pickle It

Pickled watermelon rind is one of summer’s best-kept secrets. A quick brine of vinegar, sugar, and spices turns the rind into a crunchy, tangy snack. It also makes a great addition to sandwiches, salads, and charcuterie boards. If you want to make a true ferment and get the prebiotic effects from it chop it up into small bits and add enough salt to the brine so it’s salty like the sea. Cover it and let sit like sauerkraut for a week or so and then when done to your taste put in the fridge to slow the ferment. We interviewed pickling king Sandor Katz recently. You can read the interview here.

4. Turn It Into Coleslaw

Grated watermelon rind can stand in for cabbage in a fresh summer slaw. It adds crunch with a hint of sweetness and pairs perfectly with grilled vegetables, burgers, or picnic fare. The best is watermelon that are organic. Farms use pesticides to protect crops from insects, weeds, and diseases. However, the thick outer rind is a natural barrier, and many growers follow Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to minimize chemical use

5. Add It to Salsa

Give your salsa a surprising twist by using diced watermelon rind. Combined with onion, jalapeño, lemon juice, and herbs, it creates a refreshing condiment that balances sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors. It’s a surprise why it’s not used more often. Just scrape off the hardest out later with a potato peeler or a dextrous hand. 

Related: 10 summer mocktail recipes

The next time you slice into a watermelon, remember that the fruit doesn’t end where the pink flesh does. With a little creativity, those rinds can become jams, pickles, slaws, and more, saving money, reducing food waste, and adding something new to your summer table and gut biome.

The post 5 Ways to Use Watermelon Rinds appeared first on Green Prophet.

Long before “sustainability” entered the modern lexicon, Islamic tradition had its own ecological saint. His name is Al-Khidr — The Green One. He appears briefly in the Quran, yet his presence has shaped Islamic thought, Sufi mysticism, and folk tradition across fourteen centuries. Today, he’s emerging as an unexpected symbol for Muslims thinking seriously about the environment.

So who exactly is this Green Prophet and why does he still matter?

The Quranic Story

Al-Khidr’s appearance comes in Surah Al-Kahf (18:60–82). Moses, seeking wisdom, tracks down a servant of God gifted with hidden knowledge. What follows is one of the stranger encounters in the Quran. Moses watches Al-Khidr do things that look, on the surface, like wrongdoing: he damages a working boat, kills a young man, and fixes a wall in a town that had refused them food and shelter. Moses can’t hold his tongue. He objects every time.
Each time, Al-Khidr says: you don’t understand yet.

Only at the end does he explain. The boat belonged to poor fishermen — a tyrant king was seizing vessels by force, so damaging it protected them. The boy would have grown to cause his faithful parents great harm. The wall hid an inheritance belonging to two orphans — its collapse would have exposed it to thieves. The lesson cuts deep: what looks like damage from the outside can be protection. What looks like loss can be preservation. The full picture isn’t always visible to human eyes.

Why “The Green One”?

The name Al-Khidr — from the Arabic root kh-dh-r, meaning greenness and verdure — comes from a tradition that wherever he sat on dry, barren ground, the earth turned green beneath him. Not metaphorically. Lush and fertile, as if he carried life itself.

That image has always been striking. But read it against today’s headlines — desertification spreading across the Sahel, rivers running dry, topsoil lost to industrial farming — and it lands differently. Al-Khidr isn’t just a figure from medieval folklore. He’s an archetype for regeneration itself. For the idea that a single presence, rightly attuned to the natural world, can restore what seemed irreparably lost. His greenness signifies life, fertility, and the sacred reciprocity between human beings and the Earth.

The Immortal Wanderer

Tradition holds that Al-Khidr drank from the Water of Life — Ayn al-Hayat — and became immortal. Many Muslims believe he still walks the world today, appearing at moments of need and vanishing before questions can be asked.
Stories of mysterious strangers who offered guidance, then disappeared, come from Morocco, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, and as far as Indonesia. Sailors claimed he appeared during storms. Dervishes said he initiated them into Sufi knowledge. Ordinary people described an old man at a crossroads who pointed them the right way.
Whether you read these accounts literally or as spiritual metaphor, the underlying message is consistent: divine wisdom remains active in the world and doesn’t wait for official channels.

Al-Khidr and the Sufis

In Sufi tradition, Al-Khidr holds a category of his own. He’s not a scholar. He doesn’t teach from texts. His knowledge — called ‘ilm ladunni, knowledge directly from God — bypasses conventional transmission entirely. No chain of teachers. No years in a madrasa. Just direct illumination.

For this reason, Sufi masters across the centuries have described him as the hidden teacher, the one who appears when the inner student is finally ready. Some have claimed him as their initiator when no human master was present. He represents a kind of wisdom that cannot be manufactured — only received, through patience, humility, and genuine openness to what lies beneath the visible surface of things.

A Figure Shared Across Faiths

One of the more surprising dimensions of Al-Khidr’s story is how far he travels across religious boundaries. Across the Levant, Palestine, and parts of Turkey and Lebanon, Muslims and Christians have historically shared shrines honoring both Al-Khidr and Saint George. The two figures — one from Islamic tradition, one from Christian — became intertwined as joint protectors of travelers, farmers, and those who work the sea.
Some scholars draw connections to Elijah, the Hebrew prophet who likewise appears suddenly, performs acts that confound ordinary logic, and never quite dies. The parallels are hard to ignore.

These overlaps suggest something real: that certain spiritual archetypes transcend any single tradition, because they point at something humans across cultures have always recognized.

What the Green Prophet Means Now

The world is watching forests shrink, rivers dry up, and species disappear faster than they can be catalogued. The crisis is real, and people across many traditions are reaching back into their own inheritances for frameworks to understand it. Al-Khidr offers one that’s distinctly Islamic — and distinctly ecological.

His story insists that nature is not backdrop. It’s not resource. It’s a domain of meaning that human perception only partially grasps. The complexity of an ecosystem, like the complexity of Al-Khidr’s seemingly strange actions, operates on a logic deeper than what’s immediately visible. That’s not a medieval idea. That’s ecology.

The Green Prophet has been waiting in the tradition all along. Perhaps now, more than ever, is the right time to pay attention to what he’s saying.

The post Al-Khidr: Islam’s Original Green Prophet appeared first on Green Prophet.

For many people outside Islam, the idea of a vegetarian Muslim sounds unusual. (This is what a Muslim vegetarian looks like). Images of Eid lamb feasts, halal kebab shops, and giant Ramadan buffets dominate perceptions of Muslim food culture. But quietly, across the Middle East, Europe, Southeast Asia, and North America, a growing number of Muslims are choosing vegetarian or vegan lifestyles for environmental, ethical, spiritual, and health reasons.

And according to most Islamic scholars, there is nothing in Islam that says Muslims must eat meat. Islam allows meat consumption, but it does not require it. In fact, many Muslim thinkers throughout history promoted compassion toward animals, moderation in eating, and avoiding waste.

The Quran repeatedly calls humans “stewards” of the Earth, responsible for balance and care for creation. For some modern Muslims, that responsibility now includes reducing meat consumption because of factory farming, climate change, water shortages, and animal cruelty. Jews who normally eat meat on Friday nights are also part of the trend. 

Halal does not mean meat is mandatory

One of the biggest misunderstandings is the idea that because halal meat is permitted, Muslims are somehow expected to eat it. But Islamic dietary law mainly focuses on what is allowed and forbidden. Vegetarian food is generally considered halal as long as it contains no alcohol or forbidden ingredients. Read here why Muslims don’t drink alcohol. 

Most Islamic scholars agree that Muslims may choose vegetarian or vegan diets for personal reasons including health, ethics, spirituality, or environmental concerns.

Islam and compassion for animals

Animal welfare has deep roots in Islamic teaching. Prophet Muhammad taught kindness toward animals and condemned cruelty. Islamic tradition includes stories warning against overworking animals, mistreating them, or killing unnecessarily. Of course when we hear about horrific forms of animal abuse in Jordan, Hebron or Turkey where a million dogs were killed last year, that does not define a religion. That’s a human interpretation of it. 

Modern Muslim scholars like Basheer Ahmad Masri argued that industrial factory farming violates Islamic principles of compassion and humane treatment. Masri believed many Muslims would reject industrial meat production if they fully understood the suffering involved. Read here about the time when Daniella Cheslow got close to her meat during an Eid sacrifice. 

This debate has become more urgent as industrial meat production expands across the Gulf states and wider Middle East as more and more people earn greater sums of money for food such as meat. 

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are investing heavily in food security projects, including lab-grown meat, vertical farming, and plant-based foods. Dubai has even hosted vegan festivals and sustainable food summits as governments try to reduce the environmental costs of imported meat.

Young Muslims are changing food culture

Social media has helped create a visible community of vegetarian and vegan Muslims. On TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, Muslim creators now share vegan Ramadan meals, plant-based iftars, halal vegan recipes, and discussions about animal ethics in Islam. (Reach out to us if you want featured on Green Prophet!)

A complicated issue during Eid

One of the biggest tensions for vegetarian Muslims comes during Eid al-Adha, the Islamic holiday involving animal sacrifice. For many Muslim families, meat is deeply connected to tradition, hospitality, and religious celebration.

Some vegetarian Muslims still participate symbolically by donating money for charitable food distribution rather than personally consuming meat. Others focus on the Quranic message behind the sacrifice: generosity, gratitude, and helping the poor.

The issue can become emotional because food is tied closely to family identity and culture.

In some communities, vegetarian Muslims face criticism or are told their lifestyle is “Western” or un-Islamic. But historically, vegetarian practices existed among certain Sufi traditions and Muslim spiritual movements for centuries.

The future of halal may be greener

The halal food market is now worth trillions globally, and companies are beginning to notice growing demand for halal-certified vegetarian and vegan products.

Plant-based shawarma, vegan kebabs, meatless biryani, and dairy-free desserts are appearing in Muslim-majority countries and diaspora communities alike. They are particularly visible in cities like Berlin, where every second shawarma seems to be vegan.

In places facing climate pressure and water scarcity, including much of the Middle East, reducing dependence on industrial meat could become less of a niche lifestyle and more of a practical necessity. For many Muslims, vegetarianism is no longer seen as rejecting Islam.

In memory of Green Deen Ibrahim Abdul Matin. To learn more about Christian and Muslim vegetarians in the Middle East, reach out to Lebanese Vegans. They offer free vegan meals to those in need. A sample menu is below.

The top image is of vegan Muslims via the Kampungvegan

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Several days ago I saw a dramatic scene of destruction as I was chancing to look out my rear kitchen window. A pair of robins had been building a nest on top of a birdhouse hanging outside my room’s side window. I had even gotten a short video of one of them in the nest. Yet when I looked up a massive bird was squatting on the birdhouse, a raven. With a brief leap into flight the raven took back off, sweeping the nest off of the birdhouse, where it fell apart on the ground. At first I was devastated, relating the nest to my hopes and dreams for a relationship and a new home in the future. Yet things didn’t remain dismal for long.

Soon two small brown birds, maybe chickadees, were flying in and out of the bird house itself. At one time the birdhouse was intended as a bat house, yet never really used as such. Now a nest was being built inside of it to start a new life for two bright and cheerful birds building a new life out of something that had been ruined time and again.

A video I once saw by the spiritual psychotherapist, scholar, and torah speak Nili Salem, posits that everything breaks with divine purpose in order to make room for repair. In the moments of destruction, the circumstances of devastation can fill us with doubt and despair. Sometimes it takes time to see that foundations had to be cleared in order for new homes to be built on greater stability.

Looking back on the pain and heartbreak I’ve experienced in life, the raven might be seen as an agent of destruction or might be seen as an agent of change; it turned out to be the latter, leading to greater renewal. We never know which it’s going to be in the moment, yet one thing that smaller birds teach us is to be prepared to build when these moments of destruction occur.

In life, there are moments that seem deeply symbolic if our minds interpret them that way. Not everyone notices these things and when they do, it can be easy to start noticing too many connections and correlations, and overload of synchronicities. How we interpret symbols that we perceive comes down to what Ms. Salem frames as blessing and curse, or a practice I’ve been taught to think of as ayin tova; seeing the good with intention and gratitude for what is. Though awareness of possible negative outcomes can help us fly past them if we can loosen the grip of anxiety and fear on our minds. When we’ve seen too much of anything, whether it’s trauma, omenistic symbolism, simply the normal stresses of daily life, or any combination thereof it can crash our minds.

And this is another lesson that smaller birds teach: they were grounded while the robins were not, more importantly they pace themselves by taking turns and waiting for one another. Thus taking a pause to collect the pieces of what we’re working on mentally, then shifting to internally arranging things in a peaceful and fitting manner until completion, noticing our thoughts and keeping only the best materials to build our perspectives from.

One thing you will find different birds do is make different choices in nesting material; they build with what they can lift and fits both their needs and desires. Humans are not always any wiser than the robins, sometimes we site ourselves poorly or even choose still more poorly in what we build with. This applies to where we choose to live, our family, our friends, our education, our career, and any number of other situations and circumstances.

It can be easy to pick up too much, whether that’s material, our commitments, or so often an overwhelming amount of information. When we do that we fail to build with integrity, structural or otherwise. In some senses this puts the little birds at an advantage to the robins, who have more carrying capacity while lacking the discernment that the humble little brown birds practice out of natural necessity. Humans are no different in that, while we can learn from the life around us to take care in how we build our homes and what with, else we may load before looking.

Often we have to make the best with what we have, like squirrels who inherit nests and territories from generation to generation. Yet unlike squirrels, we can learn to bark and fight less before moving onwards. We can unlearn inherited mindsets and perspectives in order to have the room and resources we need in order to grow and expand.

When things seem like they’re falling from where we built them, it’s important to remember that we can pick ourselves up and move on to a niche that suits us, even if it’s flying further than we think we can. In the Torah, God floods the world and the small family of Noah sets forth with whatever plant and animal life they can bring with them in the ark that Noah built on God’s direction. So imagine being a dove, caged beneath the deck of a ship. Even just flying free to look for land would be a joy in a flooded world. And in a storm, flight is so often replaced by shelter in the closest thing to safety even if it’s no place to build our nests. And as soon as things are clear, that joy in taking flight to higher ground can become real.

However if we never knew flight and then God hid us from sight in the cleft of a rock, we might not know when it’s truly safe to emerge. We might even see what looks like clear weather and good signs, a good time to build yet still struggle to emerge without someone to fly with who can show us that the air truly is safe. You never seem to see birds building nests without a partner, so maybe this is natural. We’ve been taught that we can go it alone and maybe we can carry that burden ourselves, yet that means we have to make up the difference by picking up more and faster, not taking breaks or pacing ourselves. If we’re stuck in that cleft we may never even consider flying free and build our nest there with less than we truly need. And that can leave everything we build exposed to being brushed off whatever narrow space we find, whether by a careless visitor squatting where we made our nest or even just a strong gust of wind knocking us off our perch.

Half of learning to fly is probably falling, so we can find a blessing in these moments of unsteadiness by learning to build on a more grounded basis and weather the storms with the knowledge that the clouds will part in order for us to find our way home.

Maybe there are no secrets in life, just honest and direct conversations with the Universe. And the only way to do that is by being in the presence with what’s around us. Regardless of plumage, if you wait long enough any number of birds will pass by. The questions I find myself wondering are who lands and who stays to build.

So each morning from nine to noon I’ll be waiting on my porch to see what the Universe brings and what ends up staying.

The post What the small birds teach appeared first on Green Prophet.

Wearables are having a moment and when it comes to babies, would-be parents will spare no expense. While I was pregnant I decided to participate in the minimum, as some research suggests that even the sound wave pulses created by ultrasounds can be harmful to a developing fetus. But for high-risk pregnancies, some scientists believe round-the-clock monitoring might be good for mom and baby.

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have created a soft, wearable ultrasound patch that can continuously monitor a fetus for hours at a time — and it can do so consistently even as the fetus and umbilical cord constantly move during pregnancy.

The technology could help doctors detect complications earlier in high-risk pregnancies. In one case during clinical testing, the patch detected prolonged abnormal fetal signals that prompted medical intervention through an early Cesarean delivery, which researchers say may have helped save the baby’s life. The technology could also expand access to prenatal care in low-resource settings, or in rural areas, where skilled ultrasound technicians and continuous, long-term monitoring are often limited or unavailable.

“Wearable ultrasound technology has the potential to enable continuous prenatal monitoring and improve pregnancy outcomes in ways that were previously not possible,” said study co-first author Geonho (Tom) Park, a chemical and nano engineering PhD student at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. Park co-led the study with fellow UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering co-first authors Yizhou Bian, Hao Huang and Sai Zhou.

Currently, most prenatal ultrasounds typically provide only brief snapshots of fetal health and require trained sonographers to operate the equipment. The new wearable ultrasound patch is designed to stay on the body and continuously track a baby’s anatomy and blood flow in real time, without requiring someone to manually guide the ultrasound probe.

“To comprehensively monitor mothers and babies over the amount of time needed to catch complications like preeclampsia, you need a system that can work continuously and largely on its own,” Bian said. “That is why the sensing depth, functional capabilities and autonomy of this ultrasound technology are critical.”

A major challenge in continuous fetal monitoring is that both the fetus and the umbilical cord are constantly moving. To address this, the researchers developed autonomous tracking algorithms that automatically identify and follow the umbilical cord as it moves. This enables the device to maintain consistent measurements even while the mother or fetus changes position.

“With continuous monitoring, we were able to observe dynamic fluctuations in blood flow that would likely be missed with conventional ultrasound exams,” Huang said.

“Our system even detected an abnormality during one of our clinical visits,” Park added. “That pregnancy later resulted in a delivery at 29 weeks, and it demonstrated how continuous monitoring could help identify complications much earlier than we can today.”

This project builds on over a decade of research at UC San Diego in the laboratory of chemical and nano engineering professor Sheng Xu. His team has led development of wearable ultrasound technology for a range of healthcare applications, including non-invasive monitoring of central blood pressure as well as mobile heart monitoring and efforts to use everyday gestures to reliably control robotic devices. This research was conducted in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

For this new work, the team evaluated the wearable ultrasound patch through a multi-center clinical study conducted at Jacobs Medical Center at UC San Diego Health and the John Radcliffe Hospital at the University of Oxford. In tests, the patch produced measurements that closely matched those from standard handheld ultrasound devices. Researchers also collected continuous monitoring data for hours at a time across 62 pregnancies, including healthy pregnancies as well as pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, high blood pressure and abnormal fetal growth.

Next, the team plans to integrate the patch into a compact electronic system that could eventually allow the patch to operate wirelessly.

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First time I saw a 2 gauge gun in person was at a Pennsylvania gun show, leaning against a velvet-lined display case. The dealer was using it as a conversation piece. He had a hand-lettered sign taped to the table: “yes, it’s real. no, you cannot fire it.” The thing was longer than the table. The bore was wide enough to swallow a roll of quarters. The buttstock looked like someone had pried it off a Civil War cannon and not bothered to refinish it.

I stood there for probably ten minutes. The dealer eventually wandered over and started telling me about Chesapeake market hunters, and I went home and fell down a rabbit hole I have not entirely climbed out of.

What a 2 gauge gun actually is

Shotgun gauge runs backwards, which trips people up. Smaller number, bigger bore. A 12 gauge measures about .729 inches across the bore. A 10 gauge is around .775. An 8 gauge, common for waterfowl in the late 1800s, sits at roughly .835.

A 2 gauge bore measures about 1.326 inches. Bigger than a golf ball. The system is old British: the gauge number equals the count of round lead balls of bore diameter you need to make a pound. So a 2 gauge ball weighs half a pound. A 1 gauge, which also existed, fired a one pound projectile, at which point you have basically built a small cannon and the federal government starts asking questions.

Most 2 gauge guns weighed between 60 and 150 pounds, with barrels that ran four to ten feet long. Nobody fired these from the shoulder. The recoil from two or three ounces of black powder pushing a pound of shot would have broken a person’s collarbone. They were mounted on small flat-bottomed boats called punts, which is where “punt gun” comes from. The shooter lay flat in the boat, aimed the entire vessel, and fired into a raft of resting ducks at dawn.

One well-loaded shot could kill fifty to a hundred birds at once. Market hunters supplying restaurants in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York filled barrels in a morning. By the 1860s the Chesapeake had a whole guild of punt gunners working the coves before sunrise.

The makers and the era

There was no Winchester catalog page for a 2 gauge gun. These were hand-built, mostly in England by Greener and Holland and Holland, and in smaller numbers by American smiths working in port towns along the East Coast. Greener’s 1881 book The Gun and Its Development discusses bore sizes up through 4 gauge as practical waterfowling pieces, and treats anything larger as specialty work, which is a polite way of saying somebody paid extra to be eccentric.

This is also when American sporting goods houses started selling serious firearms to the leisure class. The Abercrombie and Fitch guns of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century are a good example. Before it was a mall brand, Abercrombie was an outfitter for African safaris and Adirondack hunting camps, and it sold double rifles and large-bore shotguns to people who could actually afford to use them. Some of those guns turn up at auction now and routinely clear five figures. A few were chambered for cartridges no commercial ammunition maker has produced in eighty years.

No major modern manufacturer ever made a 2 gauge gun in any volume. You will see internet rumors about an alpha guns prototype or an ab prototype llc piece in the 4 or 8 gauge range, but those are almost always 10 or 8 gauge guns being miscatalogued by people who do not know what they are looking at. Ale firearms, Excalibur guns, and the various small American shops working today stick to standard sporting calibers. The 2 gauge is a historical curiosity.

If you want to see what people actually buy now for waterfowl, big bore hunting, or competition, you can Shop Firearms across the full range of legal gauges, and you will notice 10 gauge is the ceiling. The reason for that ceiling has a date attached to it.

Why the 2 gauge gun got killed off

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The treaty itself was signed with Canada in 1916, and the U.S. implementing legislation followed two years later. It banned market hunting of migratory waterfowl and outlawed guns larger than 10 gauge for taking migratory birds. That single sentence ended the punt gun era in North America. Grandfathered guns kept floating around, and some poaching continued into the 1930s, but the commercial reason to own one was gone.

Related: hunting in the Middle East is a sport and a crime

Britain held on longer. Punt gunning stayed legal in parts of England under licensing into the late twentieth century, and a handful of practitioners still own and occasionally fire registered guns under heavy restriction. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation lists fewer than fifty active punt gunners. It is a dying practice kept alive more out of historical preservation than utility.

The ecological argument was straightforward, and honestly it was overdue. Duck populations on the Atlantic flyway had collapsed by the early 1900s. Canvasbacks, the premium market bird, were down to a fraction of their pre-Civil War numbers. You cannot pull a hundred birds out of a flock with one trigger pull, do that every dawn for forty years across an entire coast, and expect the population to hold. The treaty worked. Duck numbers recovered through the middle of the twentieth century, though they have wobbled since.

There is also the unromantic fact that a 2 gauge gun is a miserable thing to own. It cannot be fired from the shoulder. It requires a specialized boat. It uses ammunition no one manufactures, so the owner has to hand-load every shell from raw components. The bore is too large for any standard wad or hull. And it is loud in a way that genuinely damages hearing, even with modern protection.

What survives, and where to see one

The Smithsonian has at least one punt gun in its collections, though it rotates in and out of display, so call ahead if you are making a trip. The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art in Salisbury, Maryland has several, which makes sense given that the Chesapeake was the American capital of the practice. The Havre de Grace Decoy Museum, also in Maryland, displays gunning equipment from the market hunting period and is worth the trip if you are anywhere near the upper bay.

In England, the Holland and Holland archives include records of large bore commissions going back to the 1850s. Several British country houses have wall-mounted examples used by previous generations of the family, which I find slightly unsettling as decor, but to each their own. Bonhams and Holts have both auctioned working punt guns in the last decade. Prices run from about eight thousand pounds for a rough piece up to north of forty thousand for a documented gun by a known maker.

What you almost never see is one being fired. Legal restrictions, ammunition scarcity, and physical danger mean that even collectors who own functional examples tend to keep them as static pieces. There are a few YouTube videos of British punt gunners firing modern-built replicas, and they are worth watching once just to understand the scale of the muzzle flash. It looks like something off a small warship.

I doubt anyone will ever build a new 2 gauge for serious use. The treaty is not getting rolled back, the ducks would not survive it if it were, and nobody wants to hand-load a half-pound shot charge every time they go out. But if you find yourself at a Maryland decoy museum, or in front of a glass case at a regional gun show, take a minute with it. There is nothing else quite like standing next to a working firearm that weighs more than you do.

The post The strange history of the 2 gauge gun, and why nobody actually shoots one anymore appeared first on Green Prophet.

I did not go looking for Oskar Schindler. But he found me. One day, while wandering through an old cemetery near Zion Gate in Jerusalem with my mother—who had come to the Holy Land to feel the Bible—I came across his grave.

The cemetery sits just outside the Old City walls. It is simple and unadorned. Before me lay a modest grave slab covered with piles of stones, as Jewish people do when they visit a loved one. This grave had more stones than any other. The name belonged to a man who was not Jewish, yet chose the Jews when it mattered most.

Before his death in 1974, Schindler asked to be buried in Jerusalem. He rests there because he risked everything to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust. For his moral courage, he is remembered as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. The Talmud, compiled roughly 1,800 years ago, teaches that righteous people from any nation or faith are granted a share in the World to Come. In Judaism, the olam ha-ba is not simply heaven. It is the world you help create through your actions.

Schindler chose to build his place in that world. Standing by his grave, I hoped that some of his righteousness might rub off on me. I feel the same way when I think about those who stand with Jews today, even when doing so brings isolation, financial loss, and threats to their safety.

Douglas Murray speaks openly about rising antisemitism in the West. Luai Ahmed challenges antisemitism in the Arab world and supports Israel despite the personal cost. Goldie Ghamari, an Iranian Canadian politician, has spoken forcefully against antisemitism and has received death threats.

Then there is Paul Finlayson. “I said I stood with Israel, and I was called a criminal,” he told me. Paul is a Canadian educator whose life changed after he compared Hamas to the Nazis. He says the statement led to his dismissal from his teaching positions and devastated his career and family.

According to Paul, he went from earning $300,000 a year to $24,000. “My income has been reduced by 90%,” he said. “My family is shattered.” These are his claims. Whether one agrees with him or not, his story raises important questions about free speech, due process, and what happens to people who publicly support Israel.

I did not grow up Jewish. By the time I was eighteen, I had met only a handful of Jewish people. But over the years, getting close to Jews and to Israel changed me. My family comes from Europe, where too many people stood by while their Jewish neighbors were taken away. That history still echoes through generations. The thread runs from Oskar Schindler to the present day.

Supporting what is right requires action. Who will stand up for Paul? If not me, then who?

The post I Went Looking for Jerusalem. I Found Oskar Schindler appeared first on Green Prophet.

The recent rise in Abu Dhabi-listed energy stocks reflects growing investor confidence in the UAE’s increased strategic flexibility following its exit from OPEC, according to Sam North, Market Analyst at eToro. Iran has blocked oil exports so the UAE has gone around the OPEC block to make a clean exit and ship oil via its own pipeline.

Despite a month or so of missiles and expats fleeing Dubai and Abu Dhabi, confidence in the Emiratis is back. North explained that markets are not pricing in an immediate surge in oil production, but rather a longer-term shift in optionality. “The move is being interpreted as a structural change that allows the UAE to monetise its expanded production capacity more efficiently,” he said. “This creates a clearer growth narrative across upstream activity, drilling, infrastructure, gas processing and dividend potential.”

He cautioned that higher output is not guaranteed in the near term. “Production cannot simply ramp up overnight. Logistics, regional security risks and the broader oil price reaction remain critical constraints. If additional supply materially lowers crude prices, it could offset gains from higher volumes,” he added.

While the UAE’s departure raises questions about OPEC’s long-term cohesion, eToro noted, markets are not yet pricing in a full breakdown of the cartel’s pricing power. Instead, North noted a gradual shift. “This is more than a short-term disruption, but it is not the end of OPEC. The real risk is fragmentation over time if members prioritise individual revenue over collective discipline.”

Investors are increasingly monitoring key indicators to assess whether market control is shifting. These include compliance levels among remaining OPEC+ members, rising supply from non-OPEC producers such as the US, Brazil and Guyana, as well as inventory builds and oil futures pricing trends.

“OPEC’s influence is ultimately measured by whether its decisions continue to move physical barrels and prices, not by official statements,” North said.

Despite expectations of increased supply, oil prices remain supported by geopolitical tensions, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude trading near elevated levels reflects this balance between supply expectations and risk premiums.

“The UAE’s potential output acts more as a stabilising force preventing extreme price spikes, rather than driving a sustained sell-off,” North noted. “Around a quarter of global seaborne oil passes through Hormuz, so any disruption continues to embed a premium in prices.”

Energy equities are responding unevenly to the evolving landscape. Companies with direct exposure to UAE production growth and infrastructure are benefiting from increased activity expectations, while global oil majors face a more mixed outlook.

“Higher volumes support services and investment, but a weaker OPEC framework could lower long-term price floors,” North said. “Investors are rewarding firms tied to UAE expansion while becoming more selective toward producers reliant on high crude prices.”

Lower oil prices, if sustained, could provide support to global equity markets, particularly in oil-importing economies such as India. Cheaper crude typically improves trade balances, reduces inflationary pressure and supports consumer demand.

At a macro level, increased supply could help ease global inflation, though central bank responses will remain cautious. “Lower energy costs are disinflationary, but policymakers will look for sustained trends and broader indicators such as wages and core inflation before adjusting rates,” North said.

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As tensions rise in one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, the ripple effects go far beyond oil—touching food systems, climate pressures, and regional stability

By Dr. Osama Moh’d Gazal, Environmental and Climate Change Advisor, Jordan

The Arabs have controlled the region (The Gulf of the black gold oil), for a longer period, especially considering the spread of Islam and modern Arab states’ establishment. Persians, then known as the Sassanids, controlled it for about 1000 years before the Arab conquest. The term “Persian Gulf” was commonly used historically, while “Arabian Gulf” is often used by Arab states. The name reflects the region’s complex history and competing claims. Returning to the Historical overview of the strait we can find that Persians were the first major power to control the Gulf (definitely with the Strait of Hormuz), but Arabs have had a longer stretch of influence overall.

Historically, the name “Persian Gulf” stuck in Western maps, but Arab states prefer “Arabian Gulf” or “Gulf”. The modern geopolitics of the Gulf involves complex regional dynamics, with Arab states like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar playing key roles. Iran’s influence and tensions with Arab states, especially over issues like nuclear deals and regional power struggles, are significant factors. However, in the last 20 years, after the Iraqi regime of Saddam was destroyed, the conflict between Arab and Iran escalated into three main dimensions (Iran-Arab tensions: Proxy conflicts in Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon, Competition for resources and influence, lastly, and the most important, the Security pacts where US and European alliances with Gulf states). The Gulf has been a contested region, with various empires vying for control.

Amid the repercussions of war, the struggle for control, the imposition of influence, and the assertion of dominance by the strongest power in the region, the most potent leverage has emerged in the hands of the Persians, for now, the Hormuz. Whether this leverage remains in their grasp or is lost will depend on the unfolding course of the conflict. The Persian/Arabian Gulf has been strategically significant since ancient times, though it has experienced prolonged periods of Arab control, particularly following the collapse of the Persian Empire during the era of Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab. With the decline of the Arab Caliphate and the rise of the Ottoman Empire, Persian influence over the region was reasserted.

Today, we are witnessing a renewed struggle for dominance and control over one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints. The Strait of Hormuz represents a formidable asset for the Persians, who seek to leverage it to exert pressure on the global stage, particularly by influencing oil prices.

As one of the eight most strategically significant straits worldwide, it facilitates the transit of approximately 90% of globally traded petroleum fuels. More specifically, it ranks as the second most vital maritime passage, governing over 26% of the world’s seaborne petroleum trade. Any sustained disruption or restriction of maritime movement through this strait would not only jeopardize oil and natural gas supplies. Still, it would also have profound implications for food security, both regionally and globally.

From the outset, international warnings have emphasized the necessity of maintaining the unimpeded functionality of this critical waterway through diplomatic engagement and commitment to peaceful conflict resolution. The focus has been on upholding humanitarian considerations and ensuring that the strait continues to serve its vital role in global trade. However, amid escalating military tensions and intensifying geopolitical rivalries, diplomatic channels and multilateral agreements have collapsed, and the security of international maritime routes has been severely compromised. The prevailing dynamic is now dictated by the logic of military force.

We must broaden our assessment of the potential consequences beyond the prevailing discourse centered on oil. While economists and military analysts have naturally concentrated on the hydrocarbon sector given its strategic importance and the immediate disruptions to energy markets caused by deteriorating security in the Strait of Hormuz, the repercussions extend far beyond petroleum. Despite the overwhelming military superiority of the primary adversary of the Persians, an ally of Arab states in this confrontation, the strait remains a highly advantageous asset for the Persians in this struggle. Even if the conflict remains confined to sporadic threats and patrols by small naval vessels, the strategic value of this chokepoint endures. However, the current reality involves more than posturing; it includes the mining of waters and tangible measures to maintain control over this historically contested passage.

Now we can’t understand issues related to the Oil-Food Security Nexus without returning to the recent Oil Price Shocks and Food Security in the region, recognizing that these are food-import-dependent nations. The 1991 Gulf War led to a sharp increase in oil prices, which in turn raised transportation and production costs for food commodities. This resulted in higher food prices, disproportionately affecting low-income households. Countries in the Arabian Gulf region, already reliant on food imports, faced exacerbated food insecurity due to increased costs and disrupted supply chains. The current crisis calls for global food price volatility. The war-induced oil price spike contributed to global food price instability, emphasizing the vulnerability of food systems to energy market shocks.

Current oil prices already offer a glimpse into the potential impact of a full-scale closure of the strait. Yet, the threat to global food security is equally dire and will become increasingly evident over time, affecting both the region and the world at large.

Furthermore, the environmental toll is mounting, with elevated greenhouse gas emissions resulting from military operations, the destruction of vast fuel storage facilities, and the potential ignition of oil wells should the conflict escalate. (The consequences will not be confined to the Gulf states and Iraq, affecting tens of millions of people, but will reverberate across the interconnected global system. Food security is at risk, agricultural productivity will decline, and production costs will surge. Farmers will face increased operational expenses and greater difficulties in exporting goods, all of which will contribute to rising prices and exacerbate food insecurity. This raises a critical question: Are the countries in the region prepared to withstand these far-reaching and debilitating indirect consequences should the conflict persist? This burden will weigh most heavily on nations with fragile economies and vulnerable food systems.

Natural disasters caused by climate change were historically several times more devastating than those caused by other factors, but the impact of these disasters has now become more balanced as a result of humanity’ ability to adapt to climate change and lessen loss of life. However, the impact of these calamities on food security remains significant due to the lack of sustainable human agricultural systems. Military conflicts and wars related to the control and expansion of influence, such as those currently taking place in the Middle Eastern Gulf region, known as the Arabian or Persian Gulf today, are among the most significant human-related activities contributing to climate change, given their link to emissions that exacerbate this phenomenon.

Despite my scientific perspective and in-depth understanding of climate change, which is regarded as a natural periodic phenomenon on Earth that existed before humans and their activities, human-caused pollution has piqued the interest of numerous experts. They investigated the potential influence of higher concentrations of specific human-caused emissions on climate change using mathematical and statistical models. And because many activists in this field are not specialists but merely amateurs in the world of climate change, participating in workshops, traveling, and gaining fame, the idea of real climate change has shifted to be associated only with the gas emissions resulting from direct human activities, such as energy production from fossil fuels, or indirect activities, such as livestock and poultry farming, among other activities that many accuse of causing climate change.

Climate change is a reality, despite mistakes in mathematical and statistical models that underpin all scenario forecasts based on carbon dioxide levels, despite studies showing that carbon dioxide concentrations were far higher during ice ages. These errors result from assigning scientific topics to unqualified individuals who are only interested in money and fame and do not delve into understanding the meanings of the phenomenon of climate change in a scientifically precise manner, rather than going beyond logic and science in terms of Earth’s climate history. Although their violations of logic have become sophisticated and presented through statistical and mathematical models that astonish people and even impress those managing these models into believing results that are built on non-scientific foundations, without considering a scientific historical study of Earth’s climate and the real factors influencing this climate, and excluding factors related to the primary energy source for the planets of the solar system and the changes occurring in this system.

In my opinion, any model intended to imitate reality and predict the future is a failure if it does not account for sun-related phenomena and their impact on Earth’s climate. However, as scientists, we must acknowledge that climate change is a reality that we face, and we must adapt as humans to the dangers of climate change, particularly during periods of drought and rainfall scarcity, as well as seasonal overlap and irregular rainfall distribution in comparison to what we and the Earth’s biosphere are accustomed to. And let us not forget the risk that has gone unnoticed due to the focus on global warming and the greenhouse effect, which is associated with a fall in temperature as well as a reduction in carbon dioxide levels, resulting in reduced agricultural production and affecting food security.

Interestingly, this more genuine hazard, from which we are now clearly experiencing, demonstrates that death rates from severe cold waves greatly outnumber those from heat waves. Many specialized scientists have written on the subject, and their studies have demonstrated that the future will be worse, especially as the current solar cycle brings us into a period of low solar activity, increasing the risk of the Earth entering a little ice age.

Our readiness for food security concerns is inadequate and has not been thoroughly investigated, as we continue to rely on investment strategies in four key crops: wheat, rice, corn, and soy, to assure more efficient production, but with less diversification and greater fragility. Our agricultural policies have utterly overlooked the value of crop diversity in ensuring a more resilient and sustainable food system in the face of climate change and the hazards of disrupted supply chains, as is currently occurring because of the Strait of Hormuz issue.

With great thankfulness, the focus and debate were on human activities that produce gas emissions that are thought to exacerbate or accelerate climate change on Earth. However, there has been only timid discussion of the impact of wars in this equation, as they are regarded as one of the most prominent and dangerous reasons, not only for the direct suffering of peoples involved in conflicts or forced to participate in bitter wars between great powers seeking control and extending influence, but also for the indirect effects, which are regarded as the most difficult and dangerous in the long run.

Conflicts, the desire for control, and the expansion of influence, away from the meanings of humanity and the spirit of sharing in the Earth’s resources, and prioritizing the principles of diplomacy and agreements that guarantee everyone’s rights, lead to an increased focus on heavy military industries and the pollution and gas emissions they produce, which are accused by mathematical and statistical model studies of causing climate change, global warming, and extreme events related to heat waves or extreme cold periods or heavy rain and hard drought periods.

The Gulf War and subsequent conflicts underscore the intricate relationship between oil prices and food security. Policymakers must consider the food security implications of oil price volatility when addressing regional stability and global food systems. Representing Jordan, our recommendations include:

1. Diversify energy sources to reduce dependence on oil.

2. Enhance regional food production and trade cooperation.

3. Implement policies to mitigate the impact of oil price shocks on vulnerable populations.

4. To address future challenges following the escalation of global food insecurity risks as a result of the Strait of Hormuz crisis, it is critical to first defuse the crisis and develop plans to prevent vital waterways for global food and energy supply chains from becoming threats and tools in the hands of regimes that disregard international law and respect for the integrity of global trade, exploiting such situations to exert pressure and control. Perhaps the solution is to put these critical waterways under international supervision.

5. Furthermore, it is critical to expand efforts to urge countries to strengthen their food security strategy and prepare for emergencies, whether natural disasters caused by climate change, such as droughts, or by conflict.

The Persians are known for wisdom, civilization, legacy, and a worldview with deep roots in administration and the capacity to govern and expand their power. But the problem with the Persians is not with the people who carry on this great heritage, which I personally respect and admire; rather, the problem is with the system that uses religious beliefs to control and be hostile to others, not with the ancient Persian civilization. Despite America’s vast dominance, there have been several studies and projections, but has Iran opted to commit suicide? And will it take positive steps for the benefit of its people and the region, as Japanese Emperor Hirohito did after World War II, adopting a peace, development, and renunciation of foreign interventions and the nuclear issue to save the country (similar to Japan’s renaissance), because continuing on the path of confrontation is very costly and will lead to Iran’s destruction and return to the Stone Age.

The Middle East, particularly Jordan, faces significant food security challenges exacerbated by regional conflicts, economic vulnerabilities, and climate-related stressors. Key factors complicating food security in Jordan include:

1. Trade Disruptions: Jordan’s reliance on imports for staple foods (e.g., wheat, sugar) makes it vulnerable to trade disruptions in neighboring countries, especially given the current regional instability.

2. Economic Pressures: High unemployment, inflation, and a substantial public debt burden strain household purchasing power, limiting access to food.

3. Water Scarcity: Jordan’s severe water scarcity impacts agricultural production, increasing dependence on imports and vulnerability to global price shocks.

4. Refugee Crisis: Hosting a large refugee population (e.g., Syrians) strains food systems and increases demand for limited resources.

5. Climate Change: Decreasing rainfall and increasing temperatures threaten agricultural productivity, further straining food availability.

6. Global Price Volatility: Jordan’s import-dependent food system is exposed to international price fluctuations, particularly for staples like wheat and oil.

Jordan’s food security is intricately linked to regional stability, global market trends, and climate resilience. Addressing these challenges requires, enhancing regional trade cooperation, investing in water-efficient agriculture, implementing social protection programs for vulnerable populations, diversifying energy sources to reduce import bills. We pray for a peaceful resolution to this conflict and an end to power struggles that come at the expense of peaceful nations.

May God grant the peoples of this region the strength to overcome these tribulations and crises, and to transcend the sectarian divisions and animosities that have plagued them for decades. We also pray for the protection of our leadership, our people, and our nation, Jordan, as an oasis of security, peace, love, and coexistence in a region that has long endured more than its share of global conflicts.

Editor’s note: Green Prophet, founded by Karin Kloosterman, has been a leading voice on ecological issues in the Middle East for 20 years, while following Hormuz, Iran, water, war, freight, food security and climate resilience across the region. For related reading:

A Fact-Based Reflection on Sustainability and Tourism in Hormuz

The Aga Khan is greenwashing their awards

Design a Bridge for the Strait of Hormuz

Electric and hydrogen long-haul trucks are finally leaving the prototype era

The future of trucking and freight is electric and hydrogen

Tesla Semi, electric road trains and the safer freight future

From “Water Terrorist” to Global Laureate: Iran’s Kaveh Madani Wins the Nobel of Water

Renewables hit 5149 GW in 2025 as the world edges away from oil shocks and fossil-Iran’s water mafia and thirst for war leaves the country on brink of being dry.

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Paris has long dictated what the world wears. But a quieter movement is reshaping that influence — one that covers more, not less. Paris Modest Fashion Week is part of a growing global shift toward clothing that balances style with cultural, religious, or personal values of modesty. Designers from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, and beyond are using the Paris platform to show that fashion doesn’t have to rely on skin to be expressive.

France is home to around 5 to 7.5 million Muslims according to estimates, and Özlem Şahin, head of the organization behind Modest Fashion Week, has described Paris as “one of the leading modest fashion capitals in Europe”.

Flowing silhouettes, layered textures, structured tailoring, and inventive fabrics dominate the runway. The aesthetic is less about concealment and more about how fabric moves, how it frames the body, and how identity is communicated.

For some, modest fashion is rooted in faith: Islamic, Jewish, or Christian traditions. For others, it’s about autonomy: rejecting fast-fashion norms that equate confidence with revealing clothing. In a world saturated with hyper-sexualized imagery, modest fashion offers an alternative language. I can relate. In my early 20s I went through a hyper modesty stage to avoid the male gaze.

There’s also a sustainability angle because modest fashion made from hemp and linen often leans toward longer-lasting garments such coats, abayas, tailored pieces which are designed for repeat wear rather than seasonal disposal. Many designers in the space are also experimenting with natural fibers, ethical production, and slower design cycles.

As luxury brands begin to tap into modest markets, questions arise about authenticity and cultural appropriation. Who is telling the story — and who profits from it? Paris Modest Fashion Week sits at that intersection: culture, commerce, and changing values.

Same is true for Saudi Arabia, which in 2024, held its first “immodest” fashion runway, featuring bathing suits.

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