Middle East NGOs must cross social, political and religious barriers to achieve long-term solutions to solve their regional complex environmental problems. While changes in political landscape across the Middle East and North Africa continue to pose immediate security and economic challenges for the region, can the environmental movement find a voice through wider political participation […]
Saudi researchers develop a new model for predicting flash floods in the Middle East. They cripple cities like Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and take lives each year in the Middle East: flash floods come without warning, and are hard to predict (check out our flash flood survival guide), but now Arab scientists at the King […]
Professor Mohammed Kassas in his office at Cairo University, photographed by Louise Sarant If Hassan Fathy is the Middle East’s father of sustainable architecture, then Mohamed Kassas is the prophet of desertification. The spry ninety year old Egyptian Professor of Botany told Almasry Alyoum that his love of nature sprouted in a fishing village along the […]
A leading Muslim group denies the Cairo municipality’s request to relocate graves in the crowded city. Following the success of Al-Azhar park in Cairo, also known as the city’s lungs, the municipality looked to cemeteries as possible venues to develop more community parks in Egypt’s crowded capital. But Dar Al-Ifta, the research institute tasked with […]
Amnesty International has called on the Egyptian authorities to investigate serious allegations of torture, including forced ‘virginity tests’, inflicted by the army on women protesters (we've written about in Egypt) arrested in Tahrir Square earlier this month.
Waterfalls on the Blue Nile. Ethiopia has plans to grab hold of a bigger share of the river despite Egypt’s long held monopoly. Defiant of Egypt’s historic monopoly over its flow, Ethiopia is pushing ahead with a controversial plan to build a massive dam on the Nile river. Egypt and Sudan have maintained control of the […]
As a new political order struggles to assert itself in the autocratic states of the Middle East novel challenges – and possibilities – emerge. In looking toward the future, social Greens throughout the region would do well to coordinate an agenda geared toward a sustainable tomorrow.
Some very good news from Egypt. The very progressive renewable energy policy spearheaded by Hassan Younis, the pre-revolution Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy will continue, post-revolution. He is one of four ministers who will stay on in the new government and will continue their good work for the new Egypt. One of the projects […]
Istanbul – a major hub for train travel across the Middle East Survey results published this week reveal that the majority of international travelers would prefer to take trains instead of aeroplanes, if they had the opportunity. The poll of 300 consumers, conducted for train technology company Silverrail, showed that 79% would choose trains over […]
A bombing attempt of the natural gas line that runs between Egypt, Israel and Jordan was averted today, according to the Associated Press. In Sinai, six gunmen targeted the natural gas pipeline that carries natural gas from Egypt to Israel and to Jordan. They overpowered a guard and planted a bomb, and then fled. Failing […]
If bike riding or jogging in Tel Aviv, the sea front is less polluting Ever wonder why you feel dizzy or have acute shortage of breath when engaging in moderate outdoor exercise like bike riding or jogging in cities where air pollution is higher than normal – especially in heavily polluted Middle Eastern cities like […]
Mekano Architects have dreamed up the ultimate solution for Cairo’s filthy Garbage City. Long an eye-sore and public health menace, the area on the outskirts of Egypt’s capital was once a recycling center for the Zabaleen. They sorted through waste and recycled it, and used pigs to devour organic waste. After swine flu emerged, however, […]
The Arab region holds the densest concentration on earth of countries seeking to generate nuclear electricity for the first time. Rola points out the dangers. Over the last few years, while talk of a nuclear power ‘renaissance’ was spreading globally, Middle Eastern and North African countries have been rushing to jump on the commercial nuclear […]
Souvenirs of the recent revolution are already on sale in Tahrir Square In recent weeks, Green Prophet has reported on concerns for MENA regional eco-tourism after visitor numbers slumped over concerns about safety, and on worries that the conflict in Libya could damage the country’s stunning historical remains. But plans to promote Middle East and […]
Checking for radiation in Japan. Wouldn’t happen if a solar power plant is damaged. Japan’s situation involving its damaged nuclear reactors is heading into “critical mass” following more reactor failures from last week’s mega earthquake and subsequent tsunami tidal waves. Worries about this kind nightmarish scenario happening elsewhere, especially in the Middle East has been […]