Qatar is a small country in the United Arab Emirates.
Traveling sandstorms force Middle Eastern countries to cooperate, despite former water disagreements. Approximately two thirds of the Middle East is comprised of desert, including as it does the largest continuous expanse of sand (in Saudi Arabia) known as Rub’ Al Khali or the empty quarter. With so little moisture there are no hovering clouds, and […]
Her future doesn’t just depend on how we learn to care for the planet from here on out, but how many other children will be born in her lifetime. Mention eco-sexuality to the uninformed, and you’ll get often blank stares or snickers; people assume that being conscious about one’s personal life takes all the fun […]
A prototype algae biomass farm. Will it work in the super dry Middle East? Biomass, a renewable energy source based on biological material from living or recently living organisms, is hailed as a possible fuel source to provide power for everything from cars and aircraft to electricity for homes, businesses and factories. Previous articles on […]
Glass may be beautiful, but in the Middle East, it’s far from eco-friendly It’s one thing for environmental bloggers to criticize architects or project managers for designing buildings that do nothing to preserve natural resources or inspire beauty in moderation. Foster and Partners, prolific in the Middle East, and just about anything built in Dubai […]
Billboard in Honor of World Breastfeeding Week, Sydney, Australia. The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) sponsored the 2010 celebration of World Breastfeeding Week on August 1-7. The theme, “Toward a Baby-Friendly World,” highlights ten steps to ensure success in breastfeeding. Breastfeeding reduces the rate of infant illness and mortality and protects mothers from post-partum […]
Despite best intentions, Saudi’s Mahazat as-Sayd reserve fence led to the deaths of hundreds of animals between 1991 and 2008 After realizing the damage that plundering humans have had on wildlife habitat, conservationists have developed schemes aimed at reversing some of that damage. Recent programs include tagging turtles in Qatar to better understand their habitat, […]
Normal coral (left) exposed to ultraviolet filters found in sunscreen “bleaches” white (right) when the algae living inside it die. Go to the beach. Swim. Kill some ecosystems and go home. All in a full day trip to any of the world’s sandy getaways. Until recently, this was a trip to get away from the […]
Planning is in full swing for ecoQ, an international environmental protection expo taking place in Qatar in September 2011. (From left to right: Haitham Shehab, Dr. Saif Al Hajari, and a member of the ecoQ team) Next September, the Qatar International Environment Protection Expo (ecoQ for short) will be presenting an international showcase of eco-friendly […]
When you’re stuck in the middle of a crowded, noisy city like Cairo, where waste piles up on the side of the street, and you can’t manage to peel back what you hope is a mirage of decrepit buildings to reveal the earth below, let the hawksbill turtle inspire you. Undisturbed by light pollution from […]
Not yet into the organic food craze of America, the thin craze is taking over the Middle East as sedentary women pop pills to make them thin. Image via hamed Obesity is on the rise in the Middle East. Many Arabs in the Gulf are now overweight after oil wealth has fueled a sedentary lifestyle […]
Qatar Wants World Cup Action, but the Environmental Price May be Too High. This relatively obscure Middle Eastern country, slightly smaller than Connecticut, is putting itself on the map. Oil and gas revenue, according to the CIA factbook, comprises 50% of the nation’s GDP, but Qatar is diversifying its portfolio. As part of its National […]
Qatar’s petroleum industry is making efforts to “go green.” Is it speeding ahead in the right, or wrong direction? We all know too well the devastation that the oil industry can cause. This weekend’s oil spill, the Deepwater Horizon Incident in the Gulf of Mexico is surpassing the devastation of the Exxon Valdez spill and […]
Vodaphone teaches the Gulf how to go green. See what they did in 2020.
Yosef explores Paul Klugman’s environmental economics essay in the NY Times. Klugman and Gore’s words, Yosef finds, may influence decision-makers to slow the gallop toward environmental ruin in the Middle East. Above image of Klugman We greens of the Middle East have to take our manna from whence it comes – even if its from […]
The Icelandic volcano has both environmental and economic effects. Some Middle East passengers are stranded in Europe and wonder if it’s time to think about less polluting modes of travel. By ship? As a massive volcanic ash cloud hovers over most of Europe, Gulf-based airlines are increasingly concerned over the potential effects the Icelandic volcano […]