Egypt’s Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreak has Already Killed 10,000 Animals

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Thousands of animals have died and more are infected with a deadly strain of foot-and-mouth disease that has plowed through Egypt. Despite government assurances that they were in control of Egypt’s foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), an outbreak has swept through the country, killing more than 10,000 animals to date. The UN Food and Agriculture Association (FAO) […]

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How NASA Sees the Changing Middle East Landscape

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q4YTpa3Bwg] Who would have known 50 years ago that Angel Falls can be experienced like this? Flying in a motorized paraglider over one of the most diverse continents in the world I find it absolutely awe inspiringly mind blowingly beautiful that nowadays we have the technology to provides us with new perspectives on this spherical […]

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Understanding Jordan’s Nuclear Ambitions

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Begin with a 3-pronged disclaimer: I’m no engineer; I’m as political as a daisy; and since leaving university, my preferred way of learning is fairly chaotic. I bump into things. That draw me to other things. Thing One and Thing Two quickly lead to Thing Fifty-Three; and when I look up, blinking, discombobulated, I’m “sort of” knowledgeable about […]

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UN Sponsors Global Wet T-Shirt Contest!

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It’s World Water Day today, relevant and necessary for the Middle East.  Well, not quite, but I got your attention. Raise an icy glass filled with clean water: it’s World Water Day. In 1992, the United Nations General Assembly declared each March 22 to be World Day for Water, raising awareness of water issues at local and […]

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Environmentalists Mourn the Passing of Egypt’s Patriarch of Environment

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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 […]

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Cairo’s Zabaleen Scavenge for Renewables to make Solar Cities

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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. […]

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Pamukkale for Liquid Relaxation the Turkish Way

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Think Egypt’s White Desert meeting Mont Blanc.  Three days of heavy snowfall hit downtown Amman, fat flakes screaming for clothes not found in our closets.  Schools shut and offices closed.  Icy roads wrought havoc on the annual Dead2Red bike and running race. Park aside historical significance, religious connotation, and cultural pride: I say this waterbody’s main value is as […]

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Sustainable Architecture In The Middle East – Interview with Karim Elgendy

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We speak to Karim Elgendy, founder of the Middle East sustainability initiative ‘Carboun’ about what motivates his work and why green ratings for buildings aren’t a silver bullet Last month, Carboun an advocacy initiative promoting sustainability in the Middle East celebrated its second anniversary. Headed by Karim Elgendy they have certainly come a long way in very […]

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