Green Prophet’s brought you the story behind this year’s winner of the Jameel Prize – 3, an international award for contemporary design inspired by ancient Islamic tradition. But there are nine other finalists who warrant a closer look. Meet fiber artist Faig Ahmed – guaranteed his amazing rugs will trip you up! The Azerbaijan-based mixed-media […]
Protests broke out across Turkey after an explosion at a coal mine on Tuesday afternoon has killed at least 270 people. Opposition politician Ozgur Ozel recently proposed to investigate mine safety following earlier deaths, but the government shut him down. Now outraged citizens are urging Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resign.
Saudi Arabia has announced that the construction industry has five years to “green” up their business. Amid a massive construction boom, the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) has decreed that all companies must reduce their air, water and noise pollution in keeping with regulations approved in 2008.
A liquid formula that goes down easy and provides you enough nutrients for the day. Would you ever start eating soylent?
Actors and actresses are starting to arrive in Abu Dhabi to film a segment of Star Wars 7 in the desert, according to sources close to The National – one of the best regarded newspapers in the United Arab Emirates. How does this fare for the local environment?
About 500 people have died from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) believed to be transmitted by camels. And now Saudi Arabia is issuing a warning to camel handlers. This warning should go into effect for tourists who seek out the thrill of a camel ride as well.
The $55 billion beauty industry may have been dealt a fatal blow by a brainy Harvard Business School beauty! Inventor Grace Choi has come up with a way to circumvent pricey cosmetics counters with a point-and-click process in your own home or office. Choi lets you turn any phone, camera or computer into your own personal […]
Remember the old days in Beirut when you could actually see the Mediterranean Sea? The crew over at Najjar & Najjar Architects remember, and they want it back! Their Kinematic IRIS sea pods are designed to not only provide refuge for residents living in the shadow of urban regurgitation, but to generate energy as well.
Syria’s war has killed 150,000 people and forced more than three million from their homes. About a million of these refugees live in Jordan and as many as 200,000 have lived in the Zaatari refugee camp near Jordan’s Syrian border. This Green Prophet visited nearby Zaatari village where another 500 refugees live.
You might not want to tell your Moroccan grandmother, but technology first developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) that recycles urine and waste water is being implemented to provide clean drinking water for 1,200 university students.
Ever seen a spider do back flips? If you have arachnophobia, you might not want to, but for everyone else, the spinning Cebrennus rechenbergi desert spider in Morocco is quite a sight.
According to local news reports, a massive fire has torn through the city of Qazvin, north Iran. The blast is suspected by some to be nuclear in origin and high numbers of casualties are expected.
For some, being a farmer is suicidal. Water and land are scarce, small farmers struggle to compete with the likes of Monsanto, and there are a host of environmental problems to contend with as well. In this context, it’s almost unthinkable that this bright young man dreams of following his father’s footsteps – as a farmer in Iran.
Rubber tires are pure nastiness, especially when they’re no longer useful for cars. They languish in landfills, provide habitat for mosquitoes and rats, and often cause horrendous fires – like this one in Kuwait that was visible from space. Hit the jump to find out how Hala Smadi is putting them to good (re)use in Jordan.
Over 400 senior executives will descend on Dubai this week to learn how best to develop and construct photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) plants in the region’s top markets including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Morocco.
What if we could apply the charisma, imagination and marketing genius of Steve Jobs to help promote green technology? Israeli entrepreneur Shai Agassi had many of the characteristics of Apple’s much-worshiped CEO but instead of personal entertainment devices, Shai focused his energies on electric cars. He had enough chutzpah to convince investors to bet nearly […]
After making billions on online advertising Google execs are now putting some money into companies of their dreams. The latest – the Google driverless car concept. “Look Ma, no hands!”
Masdar is taking decisive steps to build Masdar City’s first private homes. Adding to existing and planned educational, retail and business facilities just outside of Abu Dhabi, the 500 new houses promise to be “super sustainable” and ready within the next two years.
The Kenyan government is reportedly paving the way for China to build a new city just outside of the capital. Some 100 Chinese investors aim to build roughly 20 skyscrapers in the enclave, which is expected to become a shopping destination for products from China and other countries.
It’s one of the world’s biggest mysteries: how did the ancient Egyptians transport massive stones across the desert to create the pyramids? Scientist from the FOM Foundation and the University of Amsterdam report that they now know how the pyramid stones were transported. The clue is the dampness of the desert sand.
Residents of Jerusalem were told yesterday to boil their water for two minutes until further notice. High levels of treated sewage water had leaked into the main drinking water system. The neighborhoods affected include Arab and Jewish regions alike: Baka, Abu Tor, Talpiot, Tsur Baher, Silwan, Ras el-Amud, the Old City, Mamilla and Musrara.
Jacob Deatherage founded a clever company that saved my skin many times over a decade of holidays – letting me serve up clever gifts that are useful, affordable and green.
Blogging makes a writer vulnerable to hyperbole – anything to capture a corner of the internet. But it’s not hyperbole to say that Desypher’s architectural expression vis-à-vis the Islamic Museum of Australia is unparalleled in any contemporary Islamic architecture I’ve come across.
GAD Architects stacked a series of recycled shipping containers on top of a fancy shopping mall in Istanbul to create this remarkable modern day bazaar. Officially it’s a food court, but in practice, it is so much more.
I stood in a golden wheat field some five miles north of Acre in Israel. Paul Nirens of the Galileat organization had arranged a demonstration with a local farmer, to show us how the Druze traditionally roast green wheat for freekeh. To reach the field, we’d driven over a ditch of teeth-rattling bumpiness, part of the […]