Green Sheik and Michael Braungart at green event in Abu Dhabi. One of the most respected environmental activists in the Middle East, no sustainability conference is complete without H.H. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi’s stamp of approval. So it is an enormous compliment that the “Green Sheikh” attended an event co-hosted by Abu Dhabi’s leading […]
Around 2,500 took part in the car-free day – aiming to encourage the use of public transport Empty car parks and full Metros and buses is not a sight you’re likely to see very often in the Dubai but for one day it became reality. On Wednesday, around 2,500 employees decided to leave their cars […]
These beautiful Palmwood® gates at the entrance of Masdar City help keep the hot desert winds at bay. What should the gates to the world’s most talked about carbon-neutral city look like? For starters, they should be built out of a material that is sustainable, and they should blend in with Foster & Partner’s high-tech/ancient […]
When it’s cloudy, does the money stop flowing? The National Bank of Abu Dhabi has become the first bank in the UAE to launch a solar-powered ATM, and it’s the first time this Green Prophet has heard of such an initiative. But after Googling a bit, we see it’s not the first. “As part of […]
Abu Dhabi leads the Gulf Region in environmental innovation. This time, a desert forest irrigated with treated wastewater. Last year we were somewhat alarmed that the UAE had ambitions to plant one million trees. Even though the carbon sponging benefits are potentially enormous, the water required to keep said trees alive might have overwhelmed the […]
Considered a huge upset in the architecture world, Ehrlich firm wins bid to build the new UAE Parliament Building. Foster & Partners have a solid footing in the Middle East, with Masdar City and other popular projects under their belt. And Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid is a celebrity who inspires red-carpet treatment wherever she goes. […]
The municipality in Abu Dhabi is sponsoring 500 solar-paneled recycling containers. A whole host of constructive ideas are being generated in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi. A pair of cousins on segways educate visitors to the Corniche about waste management, and the municipality’s turn-it-off campaign encourages moderate energy and water use. The most recent plan, […]
Code Red! Why throw away your cans when they’re worth a pretty Dirham? The Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) is deeply active throughout the UAE. Although their UAE tree campaign generates an unhappy choice between water and trees, in the two decades since they opened their doors, they have done wonders for UAE environmental awareness. Despite […]
Masdar - the Eco-city - is home to the hottest and most energy efficient transport system in the world: The Personal Rapid Transit (pod car). The PRT is fast, powered by lithium batteries, driverless, can carry up to 10 people safely and looks oh so beautiful in the gleaming sun... Check out more here.
Abu Dhabi is to green up desert oil fields using composting of waste products, including those from the oil industry itself. The French start-up company Microhumus Analysis & Engineering made the announcement that this year it will begin field trials in Abu Dhabi of a novel technology to compost oil-contaminated desert land, at this week’s […]
Minneapolis Rollerblade Inventor Wants Masdar Biking Monorail Skyways Why can’t getting around be as safe and comfortable as sitting in a car, and yet be something of a workout too? Scott Olson, the athletic Minnesota inventor of Rollerblades and the Rowbike, has come up with yet another way to do just that, and his company […]
These are no ordinary pyramids. When built, eight orbiting solar-paneled pyramids surrounding one larger “earth” will generate enough energy to power 250 Abu Dhabi homes. For months we’ve been teetering at the edge of our seats waiting to learn who will win the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) design competition. Finally, our waiting is over. […]
Masdar energy conference started this week. The Fourth World Future Energy Summit hosted by Masdar opened this week bringing out many of the world’s foremost influencers and thought leaders on renewable energy, including heads of state, policy makers, government officials, business leaders, technologists, financiers and academics. All have travelled from corners of the world to […]
Oil prices and food prices are interconnected. Wealthy Arab states try to create a food pipeline to stave off riots. As oil prices once again begin to climb past $100 a barrel as they did in 2008 so too, as in that oil price shock, food prices are rising, too. As then, there are now […]
Two award-winning companies – Aldar Properties and Enviromena – team up to solar power an Abu Dhabi school. ALDAR Properties is one of the largest real estate development, management and investment companies headquartered in Abu Dhabi. Their development portfolio includes hotels, marinas, schools, gulf courses, estates management, and theme parks. They are the people behind […]