The winner of the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) will be announced at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) next week. Throughout 2010 we featured several remarkable entries to the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) design competition that inspires energy as art. Making music with the sun was one such entry, and when Abu Dhabi […]
Abu Dhabi is almost entirely dependent on desalination for its vital water supply. If desalination plants were bombed, the city would have just four days of water. The wealthiest of the United Arab Emirates federation has just begun to build the world’s largest artificial aquifer beneath its scorching sands, at a cost of $436 million, […]
With an extra 15% added to electricity and water bills, Dubai’s residents are bound to cut back their consumption. And that is a good thing! Unlike many other Gulf countries, Dubai is not blessed (or cursed, according to some) with fountains of fossil fuels. As such, the Emirate must import the power that provides customers […]
As the environmental movement in the Middle East blossoms, women are being encouraged to take a more active role in environmental protection We have already profiled the lovely ladies at Naqa’a, an environmental group based in Saudi as well as the Eco-Chicks of Abu Dhabi who are making strides in introducing the climate agenda […]
Breakthrough sustainable clean energy technology gets a field test in forward-thinking Abu Dhabi
Fitted with a satellite device, this flamingo, Yasmeena, will help Abu Dhabi researchers track the bird’s migratory routes. Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency (EAD) has been busy this year. In addition to rescuing endangered baboons and hyenas from a private home, and caring for coral reefs one disc at a time, they have played a pivotal […]
Reef sharks in the Gulf are especially vulnerable without sanctuaries to ensure their protection. Red Sea sharks are threatened by Yemenese poachers who sell their fins to Asia for a fit price. But it turns out that Persian Gulf shark species are also vulnerable. So much so that conservationists have advised regional environmental groups and […]
There are only 28 days before the World Future Energy Summit from January 17-20, 2011 Abu Dhabi is beset with a kind of sustainability schizophrenia. On the one hand there is Masdar City – an effort to achieve carbon neutrality and zero waste – and on the other certain irresponsible and extravagant moments such as […]
CA’s software solution, Hara, could to save billions in energy for Abu Dhabi. The national power company in Abu Dhabi has committed to find ways to drastically slash its energy use, using carbon accounting software made by California-based carbon accounting firm Hara, which makes software to measure existing energy use and carbon footprint, and to […]
Mr. Amin claims that government subsidies given to the fossil fuel industry impedes serious growth of the renewable sector. On Sunday, Israel made a public NIS2.2 billion (US$0.6 billion) commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That announcement came just days after Rupert Murdoch and Lord Jacob Rothschild bought shares in Genie Oil & Gas Inc., […]
The carbon-neutral Masdar City seems to have been a concept for forever, it seems. In my mind, it has long been filed under “noble theory.” So I was surprised to get an email from Foster+Partners today. The Architects responsible for the Masdar Institute matter-of-factly announced the opening of the first building in the visionary city-to-be […]
Since the hype clearly failed, Masdar and Foster and Partners have turned to the nuts and bolts of building a sustainable city instead. Masdar and Foster and Partners (F&P) have eaten several servings of humble pie in the last few months. After a barrage of criticism related to the costs and failed expectations of Abu […]
Masdar students will soon be able to take a break from their hot, clean energy studies for a workout and a swim. Despite widespread criticism leveled at its organizers (which has simmered down since reaching its zenith with a New York Times article earlier this year), the Masdar City project plods on. Still in the […]
As the reality of its dire water straits settles in, Abu Dhabi must prioritize what is grown and where. The planet is heating up, creating change. And with those changes we have new choices. Hard choices. In addition to numerous other functions, trees are necessary to absorb the deadly carbon emissions behind so many climatic […]
To stop boaters from dumping trash in the sea, Abu Dhabi set up trash facilities at Yas Marina Port. It’s hard to know where trash comes from, since we seem to be brimming in it. Every single piece of plastic ever made still exists, and a lot of it gets washed into our waterways. The […]