A Dubai Big Bus passing ultra luxurious Atlantis on the Palm hotel. Green is where the money is. The futuristic city of Dubai is often hailed as the showcase of the Arabian Gulf. Dubai has many attractions including the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building and so big that it needs a huge waste disposal […]
Saudi is pulling out the pom poms to protect OPEC oil-producing nations from losing money as climate change negotiations start at the COP 17 circus in Durban. It’s that time of year again, when delegations suit up for the circus that has come to typify the United Nations Climate Change Conferences. Rich, polluting countries unwilling to […]
This flashy car gives a whole new meaning to recycling! Image via Virendra Saklani/Gulf News Reflecting the Emirati obsession with flashy cars, a Pakistani man has painstakingly coated a Chevrolet Camaro with thousands of “recycled” coins worth nearly $6,000. A longtime resident of the United Arab Emirates, Tarek Javaid has put 3,000 hours into the project since October last […]
Residents of Sharjah – the Emirate just north of Dubai – enjoy drying off in giant human dryers like these pictured above, which reportedly slash carbon emissions by half in some situations. With average temperatures of 104 degrees Fahrenheit during summer months, you’d think residents of Sharjah – an Emirate just north of Dubai – […]
UN scientists say rapid coastal development, booming populations and the fossil fuel industry is wreaking havoc in the Arabian Gulf The Arabian Gulf, which is also known as the Persian Gulf, is a semi-enclosed area of sea in the Middle East region that has eight bordering countries from Iraq down to Oman. As a major […]
A report last week showed that development projects like The World manmade islands above are destroying the Gulf’s fragile marine ecosystem. One major culprit, Nakheel, aims to restore their own damage with 500 artificial reefs. Last week the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health in Toronto released the first official report linking […]
Lifestyle diseases associated with excess are undermining maternal and fetal health in Abu Dhabi. According to 2010 statistics by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD), 20 percent of Emirati women and 18 percent of expatriate women in the emirate have diabetes. In addition, 38 percent of Emirati women and 32% of expatriate women are obese. […]
2,000 miles away from the nearest continent, thousands of baby albatrosses are dying. The cause? Plastic. Over the years, we have watched plastic take a terrible toll on our fauna and flora. We’ve seen it kill our camels, pollute our waterways, and fill the belly of a very sick turtle. The plastic issue is so […]
At least there is public transport in Dubai. Don’t get too comfy though. You’ll get fined for falling asleep. We’ve all heard stories of a friend of a friend who was in some remote country: the friend did something perfectly normal in his home country, like walk on the grass, only to be fined by […]
Guest writer and Oxford student Will Todman describes the mood in Lebanon following the announcement that Jeita Grotto failed to secure a spot as one of the new 7 Natural Wonders of the World. Lebanon’s hopes of having its candidate, Jeita Grotto, declared one of the new 7 Natural Wonders of the World were crushed […]
An SSC Tuatara at 444km/hour or a Nissan Leaf? As Europe, North America and even Israel rolls out modest EVs and hybrid cars, they are a no-go for the luxury brand shoppers in the Gulf region. “Hybrid cars still can’t cut it in United Arab Emirates,” is the sub-heading sum-up of an article in this […]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILlF34KJMJw[/youtube]Take a new tour through the Masdar Institute with this video. Modeling traditional Arabic cities and using old innovation like windcatchers, Masdar has become an expensive showcase for sustainable living in the Middle East. The above video gives a tour of some of the renewable energy initiatives there, like heliostats, and its pod cars. I […]
Gulf States have been drilling oil for decades now. Can we really get them to co-operate at the upcoming climate summit in Durban and re-think oil? Climate negotiations to get world leaders to agree to a fair and binding agreement that will keep climate change in check have been ticking away in the background for […]
Pictured on the far left, the Green Sheikh took a break from his environmental activism to support breast cancer awareness at a polo event in the United Arab Emirates. We have been warned that the earth has reached a dangerous borderline. Here I’ll give you my personal opinions about the environment, in order to hopefully […]
This poor Lebanese stray dog might have a chance if neutered and then adopted out While some people might be against the neutering of stray animals like dogs and cats, this practice is much better than having them shot on sight as they are in Lebanon or allowed to starve to death, as occurred recently […]