For Green Prophet, I often write about (let’s face it) depressing issues such as climate refugees and environmental conflicts in which everyone pays the price but I do sometimes get to write about some fun stuff too. That’s basically what is going into my top 5 Green Prophet blog stories of the year. These are the odd […]
King Mohammed VI rode with French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and head of Moroccan government Abdelilah Benkirane on Casablanca’s spiffy new tramway during its debut run, which traversed the distance between United Nations Square and Mohammed Square on 12 December, 2012. Designed to reduce air pollution, ease vehicular congestion and increase economic development in what […]
Whether your sandy reminiscences are wet or dry, two artists have devised ways to make your memories tangible. My brain inextricably links sand to sea thanks to 25 summers spent on a New Jersey barrier island. Middle East experiences have me now connecting the grainy stuff to locations and memories largely devoid of water, such […]
Nobody wants to see rubbish littering the magical Sahara desert, unless of course it belongs to WE MAKE CARPETS. The Dutch collective has been arranging ordinary household objects into dazzling carpets for a few years now, but their most recent installation commissioned by the Taragalte Festival in southern Morocco is among their finest. Made entirely out […]
With Christmas just around the corner, hordes of European and English visitors will skip across the Mediterranean for a fast, cheap holiday in beautiful Morocco. Many will fly into Fez to explore one of the oldest medinas in the Arab world, others will ride camels into the desert sunset, while more intrepid travelers will head […]
Consequences of climate change especially acute in the Arab world, and traditional methods for coping with climate are severely stressed finds new World Bank assessment. All eyes are on Qatar now as the country hosts the UN-sponsored climate change event COP18. We’ve been reporting on COP18 before it began and during, and recently posted about […]
In a bid to highlight our water use and waste, photographer Peter Holmes has created a series of memorable portraits of water use in different countries. “Statistics about water consumption are difficult to comprehend and are un-relatable to everyday life – this project attempts to make water consumption visible in a meaningful way.” Well, that’s […]
A new marketplace for Casablanca – complete with rainwater harvesting and a clever trash chute? While the souq or market is integral to Moroccan culture, they are frequently crowded and polluted as population density expands throughout the North African country. TomDavid Architecten from The Netherlands submitted a proposal as part of an international design competition […]
Who’s got the wind in the Middle East? Morocco and Egypt have the biggest wind power plants, but don’t discount Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Wind power has taken a backseat to solar power across the Middle East and North Africa, but there are still some ambitious projects in wind power […]
When western women catch wind of a new “miracle oil,” the next super lotion that promises eternal youth and exquisite beauty, be sure that demand for the thing will soar. This is what has happened with argan oil, that illustrious “liquid gold” derived from a nut in Morocco, which is used in both culinary and […]
Over the past week, there has been much fanfare and reporting on Spain’s surprising absence from the signing of the first Desertec project, leaving many to question if Spain was pulling out altogether from the project. Certainly, it was not the right move by Spain to simply not show up at the signing event, but […]
Delegates from around the world have gathered in Morocco to determine the fate of a fish. It’s a strange thing – men and women in suits locked behind closed doors, poring over statistics and spreadsheets, jockeying for position and power – all to decide how many bluefin tuna may be legally hauled out of the […]
Morocco’s ambitious Desertec solar energy project received a setback after Spain failed to show for the official signing of the agreement that aims to transform North Africa’s energy market. The first Desertec project between the EU and Morocco is now under threat as Spain had been an instrumental partner in the project. Officials from France, […]
The newly formed Arab Youth Climate Movement held a successful ‘Day Of Action’ which called on the Arab world to take the lead at the upcoming climate negotiations On Saturday, members of the Arab Youth Climate Movement united in a day of action aimed at encouraging the Arab world to take the lead on climate […]
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI recently visited the site of Mohammed VI Green City, a future “eco” development being built just outside of Benguerir – one of the largest phosphate producing areas in the country. Located just 70 kilometers north of Marrakech, the new city will be constructed in tandem with the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, which […]