In the coming decades, natural disasters could costs Alexandria, Casablanca, and Tunis $1 billion each. The Middle East/North Africa region is the second most vulnerable to climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC). Especially vulnerable are some of North Africa’s most famous cities, including Alexandria, Casablanca, and Tunis. A new World […]
Eventually, desert-dwellers will be able to “print” their own homes using little more than the sun and sand. The Solar Sinter designed by Markus Kayser uses the sun and a high-powered fresnel lens to make glass objects from silica sand directly in the Sahara desert. This design requires no factory, no factory line, and no […]
Made to reflect California’s leading Science and Technology institute, the Zewail City of Science and Technology in Egypt could lift the country out of its semi dark age Egypt experienced a huge brain drain during the three decades that Hosni Mubarak ruled the country. Formerly a highly acclaimed center for culture and education in the […]
Egypt’s fertile lands fed the Pharoahs, but a new report throws into doubt whether it can feed today’s 85 million strong population. It is no secret to Professor Mohamed Kassas that desertification is one of Egypt’s greatest environmental threats. But the United Nations recently removed all doubt on World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought […]
Egyptian environmentalists urge officials to reconsider their plans to acquire 11 nuclear power plants. Egypt’s military intends to acquire 11 nuclear power plants. This comes soon after press reported that government officials expressed concern about a potential radiation leak at the Anshas nuclear power plant just outside Cairo. Though the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA) […]
Two city extensions East and West of Cairo are each expected to accommodate 2.5 million people within the next 10 years. Cairo feels and looks like an apocalypse zone. When I last traveled through the city, small children huddled in dirty doorways, a bloody-faced man groveled on the ground looking for money, and trash piled […]
A new report sheds light on when, where, and how aquaculture is terrible for the environment, and when it’s not so bad. Aquaculture has a bad environmental rap. Possible negative impacts associated with fish farms include eutrophication or the loss of oxygen in water, greenhouse gas emissions, land occupation, excess energy demand, and biotic depletion […]
Expect to see more of these as Suez Cement secures its long term viability in Egypt with private wind farm. The good news? Egypt is getting its first privately owned wind farm. The not so green news? It will be used to generate power for Suez Cement, a company owned by the Italian corporation Italcementi. […]
The Middle East-North Africa region has greater potential for Concentrated Solar Power projects than in another in the world, a new World Bank study finds. If the MENA region plays smart, it could benefit from a huge influx of Concentrated Solar Power projects, according to a new World Bank study. In cooperation with Ernst & […]
We speak to conservationist Mindy Baha El Din about the rise of the environmental movement in post-revolution Egypt, tourism and the challenges ahead Mindy Baha El Din was born in the US and came to Egypt in 1988 armed with a degree in Arabic and Economics as well as a passion for birdwatching, to establish […]
This young Egyptian man believes he is the strongest in the world, and hopes to use this gift to battle lions. The surreal story of the Egyptian man who plans to fight a lion in order to generate revenue for his country has taken a bizarre political turn. Following the announcement that 25 year old […]
Tired of pollution and noise? Seek refuge and organic food at the Desert Lodge in Egypt’s western desert. The stunning Desert Lodge en route to Luxor has everything the weary green-minded traveler looks for: friendly faces who will welcome you with a glass of delicious hibiscus juice, sustainably-built accommodations modeled after an ancient village, fresh […]
The international aid and development organization Oxfam recently revealed some alarming facts and future predictions on world hunger, warning that the world faces a real crisis in agricultural production and nutrition, with climate change exacerbating the crisis. The Middle East is cited as a “taste of what may be to come” as rising food costs […]
Political stability, as well as sunshine is needed for Desertec solar projects. The “Arab Spring” uprisings that have turned several Middle Eastern countries literally upside down may actually become a boost for the Desertec solar energy project that could eventually provide much needed electrical power to several Middle East North Africa countries – and Europe […]
Pottery has been passed on for several generations in el-Qasr, an ancient village 12 hours south of Cairo. In the medieval village el-Qasr, set at the foot of a limestone mountain in Egypt’s western desert, pottery is taken very seriously. In their book Egypt, Civilization of the Sands, Pauline and Philippe de Flers quote the […]