Arab men get their own fashion week. Can they be a brave green voice in an overly polluting industry?
The Dubai-based Arab Fashion Council has pioneered the first men’s fashion week in the Middle East. But will it be eco?
Presented by Arab Fashion Week in partnership with Facebook, Arab Fashion Week- Men’s will run from January 28 to 30. Thereafter, it will take place twice a year each January and June in line with the menswear fashion week calendar.
Reinforcing the Arab Fashion Council’s goal to establish a sustainable platform through which to champion fashion design talent from across the region, both established and emerging menswear designers from the UAE, Lebanon, Qatar, and Iran, have confirmed their participation in Arab Fashion Week- Men’s. A sustainable platform, but will the wear actually be sustainably? Made ethically, to last, with materials that are ecologically sourced?
Furthermore, as part of a strategic partnership between The Arab Fashion Council and The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, four emerging menswear designers from Paris Fashion Week Men’s, have been selected to participate in the first Arab Fashion Week- Men’s.
“Emerging brands express a fashion forward view on the world. We are pleased to present some of these talented designers from the Paris Fashion Week calendar in Dubai at Arab Fashion Week-Men’s, to allow them to increase their global reach,” said Serge Carreira, Head of Emerging Brands Initiative, The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.
Arab Fashion Week– Men’s will commence on January 28 with designers premiering their collections through their individual expressions of digital creativity on Facebook Live and Instagram Live, allowing 2 billion users all around the world to view and pre-order the designer’s collections direct through Instagram Shopping and the ByTribute luxury marketplace.
Karin Kloosterman, editor and founder of the Middle East sustainable news site Green Prophet says that “finally a recognition that Arab men are fashionable and want to see runway fashion. But how can we weave local traditions into Arab fashion, along with an eco-ethos? Leading American brands ready-to-wear brands like Reformation use sustainable fabrics and deadstock.
“The word sustainable is thrown out too lightly now. Everyone is using it. But what is sustainable? What can menswear creators do to change the polluting face of men’s fashion? Usher in a new reality. We are waiting.”
Arab Fashion Week- Men’s is powered by the Arab Fashion Council’s commitment to the principles of equality and progress across the region.
“Facebook, Inc is pleased to partner with the Arab Fashion Council to present the first Arab Fashion Week- Men’s on Facebook Live and Instagram Live, as part of our combined mission to empower the creative community in the Middle East,” said Joana Jamil, Strategic Partner Manager, MENA, Public Figures & Social Influencers at Facebook.
“As the only official fashion week established within the region, The Arab Fashion Council is thrilled to launch Arab Fashion Week- Men’s and to begin a new journey to shape the future of the emerging menswear market across the Arab world both by nurturing the creativity of regional designers and, through our continued support to international designers wishing to explore opportunities within the region,” said Jacob Abrian, Founder & CEO, The Arab Fashion Council.
Ancient Greek burial stone discovered while clearing paths for nature park in Israel’s Negev Desert reveals period of time in transition
A stone bearing an inscription in Greek from the end of the Byzantine period – around 1400 years ago – was discovered last weekend in the confines of the Nitzana National Park in the Negev Desert in Israel. The flat, round stone, about a foot in diameter, was used as a tombstone in one of the cemeteries surrounding the ancient settlement.
The stone was found by a “Project 500” worker from the Israel Parks and Nature Authority while cleaning and preparing nature paths in the Nitzana National Park. The stone was left at the head of the path when it was noticed by David Palmach, the director of the Nitzana Educational Village, who realized that it bore an inscription. Palmach photographed and collected it to prevent its being looted. He also contacted the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Israel Antiquities Authority, and the inscription is being transferred to the National Treasuries Dept.
The inscription was deciphered by Leah Di Segni of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and it refers to “Blessed Maria, who lived an immaculate life” and died on February 9th.
A time of Islam conquering the region
According to Tali Erickson-Gini of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “Nitzana is renowned as a key site in research into the transition between the Byzantine and the Early Islamic periods. During the fifth and sixth centuries CE, Nitzana acted as a center for the villages and settlements in the vicinity. Among other things, it had a military fortress as well as churches, a monastery and a road station that served Christian pilgrims traveling to Santa Katarina, which believers regarded as the site of Mount Sinai.”
Mount Sinai is where Jewish believers say Moses received the 10 Commandments. Nitzana in an aerial photograph below.
According to Dr Erickson-Gini, Nitzana was founded in as early as the third century BCE as a Nabatean road station on a major trade route and the place was inhabited intermittently for about 1300 years, until it was abandoned in the tenth century CE and its name was forgotten.
Archaeological excavations at the site in the 1930s unearthed a papyrus archive, and the name ‘Nessana’ was rediscovered. The burial-stone find, naming the deceased as Maria, joins other stones commemorating Christians buried in the churches and cemeteries around Nizzana that have been unearthed in excavations by the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, among others.
Israel Antiquities Authority Southern District archaeologist Pablo Betzer says, “Unlike other ancient towns in the Negev, very little is known about the burial grounds around Nitzana. The find of any inscription such as this may improve our definition of the cemeteries’ boundaries, thus helping to reconstruct the boundaries of the settlement itself, which have not yet been ascertained.”
It’s common for archeology remnants to be uncovered by civilians in Israel. Especially in the winter time as heavy rains disturb old sands. Remember last year when a boy in Israel found the Bel Air of tombstones while out hiking?
Nitzana was Nabatean too
Nitzana (Hebrew: ניצנה; transliterated at the site as “Nizana”, Byzantine Greek Νιζάνα) is an ancient Nabataean city located in the southwest Negev desert in Israel close to the Egyptian border. It may have been a camel caravan station on the eastern branch of the ancient Incense Route, serving pilgrims and merchants travelling to Sinai or central Egypt.
Gaza built from the ruins of Nitzana
The Nabataean towns of the Negev were typically founded around the first century BC, conquered by Romans two centuries later, who garrisoned the site, and inhabited by Byzantine Christians from at latest the fourth century until the invasion and the Muslim conquest of Syria in the seventh century. Relatively few stones remain on the site because most were recycled into buildings in Gaza in the early 20th century.
We love the Nabateans because they had excellent systems for water capture and reverence for nature. And they built beautiful things like Petra.
The first people to green the desert? Nabateans who built Petra were like the Mayans of the Middle East. The ancient people were developed in agriculture, spirituality and architecture. Archaeologists dig into how they dealt with drought in Jordan, one of the driest countries on earth.
Will you reduce your carbon footprint this year? Meet your eco-match? Maybe it is written in the stars.
Time marches on as it always does. Once again, an old year ends and a new one begins. This time last year, we were all filled with excitement and anticipation over what 2020 would bring. It certainly turned out to be an unusual year, to say the least. Unexpected changes and unprecedented challenges came into play. While some astrological readings foreshadowed upcoming hurdles, extra time for looking inward, and life taking major turns for 2020, no one fully understood the magnitude to which those predictions would come true.
Looking Ahead
This brings us to 2021, and many people are wondering what developments will come to pass for them during the next few months. Quite a few are turning to their Horoscope for the answers they seek. As always, the stars are providing answers as long as we’re willing to look for them. Understanding the finer points of your sign may be the key that unlocks all 2021 holds in store for you.
Aries
First off, Aries are typically brazen and adventurous. By some accounts, 2021 will be the year to use those characteristics to your advantage and pursue some of your greatest aspirations. Maybe a desert trek? Reigning in the standard Aries impertinence and recklessness may be the best approach in some situations, though.
Taurus
Next on the list is Taurus. Those born in this constellation tend to value their peace and quiet and enjoy the calmer sides of life. Good things are sure to come during the new year. Like reading a good book.
Gemini
Busy and ambitious Gemini are known for their mental clarity and fast-paced thought patterns as well as forcing their bodies to keep tempo. This may be a good time to slow down a bit and give yourself a little break.
Cancer
Those born under Cancer are generally balanced and intuitive of other people’s feelings. Considering the past year, your unique (eco) gifts could be extremely helpful to others who need a little grounding and understanding.
Leo
If you’re a Leo, you’re most likely a cheerful, confident soul filled with passion and drive. No doubt, those traits will propel you to new heights as you stride through the new year with your head held high.
Virgo
As a Virgo, you’re incredibly practical and analytical. Those are important traits to have in most situations. That said, they could lead you to overthink things and cause yourself unnecessary stress as 2021 unfolds.
Libra
Being born under the sign of the scales, Libras are naturally balanced in virtually all aspects of life. While your drive for equilibrium and consistency is almost always a good thing, don’t obsess over those elements too much as you settle into the new normal.
Scorpio
Steeped in the emotional world and usually trying to keep a certain distance from cold reality, Scorpios tend to be viewed as mysterious. This may be a good time to close the gap you often try to create between yourself and others.
Sagittarius
Always apt to try new things and enjoy unusual experiences, those born in Sagittarius are particularly equipped for whatever 2021 may have planned. Embrace your openness, and it will take you far.
Capricorn
For the most part, Capricorns are grounded and realistic. Still, they’re perfectly capable of losing themselves in emotion and fantasy when their practical sides will let them. Don’t let your pessimism get the best of you during the coming months.
Aquarius
Members of the Aquarius sign are independent and generally have unique ways of looking at the world. You’re a giving person and willing to help where you can. Drawing a line between being charitable and being taken advantage of isn’t always easy, though.
Pisces
Pisces are often torn between the solidity of the real world and the beauty of the fantasy realm. This could certainly work out in your favor. Unlike most people, you can allow yourself an effective emotional escape while still keeping one foot planted in reality.
Rushing Headlong into the New Year
As we say goodbye to what was perhaps the strangest year any of us has ever experienced, we can’t help but wonder what is yet to come. Those in each sign of the zodiac are uniquely equipped with traits and characteristics that will be essential to them as well as their loved ones moving forward. Whether you’re a ram, a scorpion, a crab, or anything in between, have no fear, and let yourself live for new experiences during the coming year.
American consumers are more concerned about the planet than steady economic growth, new report. Your company wants to be a part of this. What steps do you take?
Each company should create detailed reports that evaluate the environmental impact of the business, numerous social responsibilities and factors that can improve corporate governance. Once the investors review these reports, the shareholders may provide additional investments, request more information, examine the value of the company and study relevant trends.
Evaluating Corporate Policies That Can Affect the Environment
If a report examines environmental sustainability, the report could describe climate change, the benefits of recycling, numerous types of emissions and the company’s policies. While the experts customize the report, the specialists can also evaluate renewable sources of energy, and many companies have installed cutting-edge equipment that could utilize solar energy, hydroelectric power, windmills and geothermal energy.
According to multiple surveys, more than 82 percent of respondents would like to invest in companies that use renewable energy. Once a business reduces emissions, the company’s policies could significantly improve the reputation of the business, enhance efficiency and decrease long-term expenses. Moreover, several reports have indicated that approximately 73 percent of customers frequently search for companies that utilize renewable resources.
Studying Socioeconomic Factors and Providing Comprehensive Solutions
Generally, the report could examine numerous policies that may affect thousands of employees, and when a business customizes the report, the company’s experts could describe the salaries, the working conditions, the available vacations and the opinions of many employees. While the investors review the report, the shareholders may ensure that the work environment is safe. The investors can also examine equipment that could enhance automation, optimize communication, reduce downtime and improve the cohesiveness of each team.
The report may describe various types of retirement plans, and if a company provides retirement plans, the business could improve the satisfaction of employees, retain many workers and optimize the company’s reputation. Additionally, the company may offer a substantial bonus that could motivate many employees. According to numerous reports, incentives can significantly increase the productivity of the workers, augment the company’s revenue and improve the morale of employees.
Numerous studies have suggested that more than 57 percent of businesses regularly import multiple types of products, and typically, this strategy could considerably reduce each company’s costs. The detailed report should describe international suppliers that provide necessary resources, high-quality products, advanced technology or helpful advice.
Examining Corporate Governance and Reviewing Helpful Guidelines
If a report evaluates corporate governance, the report could describe the corporation’s structure, various types of policies, the company’s directors and numerous regulations. Once the business improvesESG reporting, in the esg framework chosen the experts may also examine guidelines that could protect each customer’s information, and the company could create policies that may prevent the employees from sharing personal data.
After an enterprise provides numerous guidelines, the business could substantially improve transparency, accountability and the company’s efficiency. The business can also increase security, and usually, these strategies may prevent data beaches, improve the company’s reputation and increase the confidence of investors.
Creating Multiple Types of Reports
Once a company gathers important data, the business can hire experts who specialize in ESG reporting, and the specialists could evaluate the interests of investors. These experts may examine the accuracy of the information, compare several types of reports and study detailed statistics. The specialists could also interview many employees, the managers, the directors and the owner of the company, and during several meetings, the experts can discuss the reports, provide informative presentations and answer numerous questions.
Improving the Availability of Each Report
When a business designs a website, the company should create multiple pages that contain the informative reports. Subsequently, the investors can easily find the reports, contact the company and verify many facts. Usually, this strategy could significantly improve transparency, increase the trustworthiness of a business and optimize the company’s reputation.
Neder Khalili (1936 to 2008) was an Iranian-born architect whose vision of sustainable building for the relief of the poor has been realized in communities around the world.
Like the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy before him, Khalili built homes of earth with thick walls, curves instead of straight lines, and consideration for the needs imposed on residents by their climate. But where Fathy’s system proved unsustainable over the decades, Khalili’s technology seems likely to endure.
SuperAdobe structures in Colombia.
Khalili escaped Iran as a young man and established his office in California, where he was licensed as an architect in 1970. He taught his theories around the world, reaping recognition and awards for his work.
At the request of NASA in 1984, Khalili developed a technology that could be used to build on Mars and the moon. Eventually it became known as SuperAdobe, a form of architecture using dirt-filled sandbags, barbed wire, plaster, and very little else. Although it first remained a theory, NASA published the plans, which were awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004. We reported more on Khalili’s works and awards, here.
Aerial view superadobe village in Iran.
In practice, SuperAdobe has been used to create homes, community centers, playgrounds and more, in 49 countries and counting. The projects built in the States pass global safety requirements and earthquake code tests in California.
A SuperAdobe community in Jericho.
The Los Angeles Times reported, ““The city (of Hesperia) conducted tests, under the supervision of the International conference of Building Officials, and found that SuperAdobe stood up to twice the amount of weight that would crush a pitched-roof house.”
In 1991 Khalili founded the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture (Cal-Earth), a non-profit school where he taught the SuperAdobe building technique with the aim of showing ordinary people – not only students of architecture – how to build their own homes from filled sandbags. His daughter and son now run the organization and train teams in theory and practice.
Plastering a SuperAdobe wall.
How SuperAdobe works is explained on the Cal-Earth site:
“Long or short sandbags are filled with moistened earth and arranged in layers or long coils. Strands of barbed wire are placed between each layer of sandbag to act as both mortar and reinforcement. Stabilizers such as cement, lime, or asphalt emulsion may be added. Similar to how a potter stacks coils of clay to make a vessel, builders stack coils of earth to make a structure.
The structural design uses modern engineering concepts like base-isolation and post-tensioning. The long coils of sandbag provide compression (vertical) strength. While the barbed wire adds tensile (horizontal) strength. In addition, the sandbags add flood resistance. The earth itself provides insulation and fire-proofing.”
Supplies needed to build SuperAdobe structures are synthetic, UV resistant degradable sand bags, four-point, two strand, galvanized barbed wire, shovels, tampers, dirt and water.
SuperAdobe village in Iran
This beautiful domed village was created on the island of Hormuz, in Iran, by the architectural firm Zav Architects, based in Teheran. The residents have traditionally been involved in illegal activities, but the hope is that, having been trained in SuperAdobe construction, they will turn to more acceptable ways of making a living. This is similar to the vision of Hassan Fathy, whose New Gourna village was created to house residents of the original Gourna and guide them to farming and construction trades.
Until the Covid pandemic appeared, Cal-Earth offered courses, hands-on workshops, youth programs, field trips and lectures. All possible classes have been moved online and are available as videos or Zoom sessions now. Visit Caltech for details.
What does Pablo say?
Green Prophet’s friend and advisor, environmental artist Pablo Solomon says:
“People in our part of Texas have made adobe bricks from caliche clay for centuries. It is a naturally occurring mixture of clay and limestone gravel (often small fossils). When it dries in the sun it is incredibly hard. Like all adobe, you must plaster over it to keep the moisture out.
“Also, you might find this interesting–a guy out in Marfa, Texas (near Big Bend National Park) mixes cement, shredded paper and sand to make a light weight concrete for construction by blocks or pouring. The really unique aspect is the way he mixes the composition. He pulls a mixer behind his pick up truck as he drives around and gears attached to the trailer wheels cause the mixer to turn.”
Aura Air signs $30 million deal to supply Japanese market with air purifying system, which has proven to be 99.99% effective in killing COVID-19
An air filtration and disinfection system developed in Israel that kills viruses could bring Japan’s ailing karaoke industry back to life.
Tel Aviv-based startup Aura Air has signed a $30 million deal with Japanese distributor J-TEC to supply the Japanese market with its advanced technology, which is specially designed to purify air in closed spaces. The company’s system has proven to be 99.99% effective at eliminating COVID-19 particles, among other pathogens.
Oren Eliyasov, business development director at Aura Air, told The Media Line that the agreement with J-TEC includes the Japan Karaoke Box Association and other major clients in Japan, such as SMBC Trust Bank and JTB Corporation, one of the largest travel agencies in the country.
“The karaoke association says that there are 100,000 [karaoke] rooms all over Japan,” Eliyasov said. “Currently, most of them are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
Karaoke, which means “empty orchestra” in Japanese, was developed in the Land of the Rising Sun in the 1970s and quickly spread around the world as a popular form of entertainment. In Japan, it has long been a favorite outing for groups of friends and families.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, however, many karaoke bars in the country have reduced operations or shut down entirely as the industry struggles to stay alive. Karaoke nights generally take place in small crowded rooms, an ideal setting for spreading the novel coronavirus.
Aura Air’s device monitors air quality 24/7 and constantly purifies it, Eliyasov said.
“Basically, we found out that we’re capable of reducing the coronavirus by 99.99%, which gives a lot of confidence to clients and those who would come and sing in the karaoke rooms,” he explained.
Aura Air uses a combination of four filters to completely change the air in a standard-sized room every 2.5 hours. It has a pre-filter to catch large particles and dust, a patented multilayered HEPA filter that includes a carbon-infused fabric, UVC LED lighting to neutralize bacteria and viruses, and a Sterionizer device that produces positive and negative ions to purify air.
Piloted to clean Covid-19 air in hospitals
Founded more than three years ago, the startup recently completed a month-long pilot of its system in Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in Israel, and also installed its technology in the reception halls of the King of Spain’s Zarzuela Pala.
According to Aviad Shnaiderman, co-founder and CEO of Aura Air, the system is already in use in more than 50 countries, in their hospitals, clinics, educational institutions and public transportation.
“We conducted several clinical tests in hospitals, labs and in universities in Israel,” Shnaiderman told The Media Line. “We proved that we are able to destroy a lot of viruses, bacteria and fungi.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has helped to accelerate Aura Air’s sales worldwide.
“The coronavirus helped us to educate and raise awareness of indoor air quality,” he said. “It did a fast-forward for everything that we believe in and that we claim.”
Measures pollutants real time
What distinguishes the company’s system from others on the market, Shnaiderman added, is that it provides a measurement of pollutants in real-time and that it uses a unique process to filter and disinfect the air.
“It’s an IoT (internet of things) product for smart homes and smart buildings,” he said, explaining: “It connects to the internet, mobile phones and other smart devices and applications.”
The startup’s recent entry into the Japanese market also has a personal story behind it.
“I was traveling in Japan two years ago and had a girlfriend there, which led me to learn Japanese so that I could communicate with her parents,” Eliyasov said. “This led to me falling in love with the culture, people and language over there.”
While the relationship did not last, it did lead Eliyasov to joining Aura Air as a business developer for Japan, which the company hopes will become one of its major markets.
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This story was first published on the Middle East News Source, The Media Line
A government decision breaks the norms by allowing women to work as cabin crew
Despite Saudi activists going to prison for women’s rights, Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) over the weekend opened the door for Saudi women to work as flight attendants for the first time.
The kingdom’s flag carrier clarified in a statement on Friday that Saudi female applicants must be high school graduates between the ages of 20 and 30, with the “required level of the English language,” that their weight be “proportional to the height in accordance with the standards of Saudi Airlines” and that they pass a medical examination.
Saudia is the third-largest carrier in the Middle East in terms of revenue, behind Emirates and Qatar Airways.
Karema Bokhary, an analyst and academic who was a candidate in Riyadh’s 2015 municipal council elections, suggested to The Media Line that in five years or so, Saudi women might have equal rights, as the society would overcome major obstacles in terms of their rights.
“Allowing Saudi women to work as flight attendants forms a very interesting topic. … I’m going to monitor who’s going to apply and their numbers as well,” Bokhary said.
She explained that historically, Saudi society had forbidden females to work in trades such as saleswomen, much less as flight attendants who were somehow considered servants. “They [Saudis] might consider it a further humiliation for Saudi women as they will have to serve, clean and deal with any requests as it will be their job.”
The decision was a good tipping point in the kingdom, as it normalized the job and made it available for all, women and men, Bokhary said. “Also, the payoff for the job is very high, especially since it opens the way for women who are not university graduates to work. At the same time, the decision will enable them to travel.”
There was great interest within the country regarding women working in new fields and their conditions and pay, “as it’s very important to enable women to support themselves and be productive members of society, rather than burdens,” she continued.
Nevertheless, it was important for Saudi Arabia to preserve its identity amid these major changes, and for Saudi women to protect their identities as well, Bokhary said.
“We don’t want to be like the Western world. I think there’s confusion now, especially since the door was opened all of a sudden and some women are using it to become famous, but eventually this bubble will burst,” she said.
She indicated that the movement to support women’s rights started during the reign of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz (2005-2015) and made great strides under the current monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz. “And Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has completely opened the way for women and fully supporting Saudi women, and he’s not pulling back. The sky’s the limit for them,” Bokhary said.
A central part of the prince’s Saudi Vision 2030 program to make the kingdom less dependent on oil is for Saudi women to work across a broad spectrum of industries, whereas in the past they were limited to such sectors as education.
Riyadh has publicly committed to increasing the rate of female employment by reforming both the economy and the legal system, Bokhary said.
Hanaa’ Khayari, 20, a student at Riyadh’s King Saud University who works part-time as a hostess in a restaurant, told The Media Line she was grateful to her country and the changes that have been made for women, and that Saudi Vision played a major role in opening opportunities for females.
“I hear that a large number of Saudi women want to work as flight attendants, within certain comfort criteria drawn up by the airline company itself to help women work in a healthy environment,” Khayari said.
For Saudi women to achieve their goals and to be independent within society, they must prove themselves, she said. “It’s a huge opportunity, as women will be able to visit many countries and meet new people, in addition learning new languages and cultures.”
It was important to encourage Saudi women to apply to join the airline’s cabin crews, by focusing on the benefits and the advantages the job would provide females. “For instance, by explaining how women can evolve and grow in the field, she said.
“I thank King Salman and the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the number of girls who will benefit from this great opportunity,” Khayari said.
Prof. Widad al-Jarwan, who specializes in political sociology at King Saud University, told The Media Line people should bear in mind that Saudi women were living normal lives, just like everyone else in the kingdom, as they joined the educational system more than 70 years ago and many had graduated as teachers and physicians.
“And the door was opened for them more than 15 years ago in terms of studying abroad …, the same as for men in all fields,” she said.
The whole world was undergoing many changes and passing new laws, as even in the most developed countries some obstacles stood before women in some matters, and not only in Saudi Arabia, Jarwan explained.
“Now there are new changes and transformations that include radical reform of legal, social and civil affairs in terms of women, under Riyadh Vision,” she continued. “Women are half of society, and the options for empowering women are increasing regarding their type of work and specialization, and obtaining all of their family, social and legal rights.
Women formed the most important part of society, as mothers, wives and the ones raising the next generation, she said. “They protect the country and produce for it.
“Saudi women have exceptional talents and mentality that enable them to combine education, work and their families. Saudi women are strong, capable and productive women for their country,” Jarwan said.
If one compared the Saudi woman to other women around the world with transparency, pragmatism and sincerity, the results would show that females in the kingdom were better off in terms of living conditions, she said. “Education is available to her in all specializations. Work is available for her in all fields. Financial social support is available for her and in exceptional cases as well, such as disability and widowhood.”
Saudi society in general, by virtue of the religious, societal and governmental norms, respected, valued and sympathized with women, Jarwan emphasized. “We have a very, very high percentage of women in education and work and in senior positions. In our country, we are keen to contain all aspects that would put women in the best condition.”
Major steps have been taken in the past three years toward granting equal rights to Saudi women, including lifting the ban on female drivers, and granting them the freedom to leave the home without a male guardian and to attend public events such as soccer matches.
Saudi women also now have the right to, without male guardian permission, register births, marriage or divorce, live apart from their husbands, travel overseas and obtain family records. Moreover, they can register as a co-head of household, along with their husbands.
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This article was first published by the Middle East News Service, The Media Line
Some spoon the flesh out to eat, some peel the fruit. It’s also known as the pineapple guava.
Sweet, musky feijoa fruit (Latin name: Acca sellowiana) is native to the southern highlands of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. The French botanist and traveler Edouard Andre introduced it to Europe in 1890.
The feijoa (said fey-joya) tree was first grown as an ornamental hedge for its beautiful red flowers, but people soon learned to enjoy the flavor of the exotic fruit.
The feijoa tree’s beautiful flowers.
Botanists improved the species. Eventually the tree made its way to other European countries, all the way to Russia and to the Far East. New Zealand leads the cultivation and export of feijoa, but now Israel and Turkey also boast of feijoa harvests.
It’s a hardy sub-tropical plant that yet needs a cold winter to fruit. The season is short, but in the right conditions, feijoa offers an abundant crop. Around this time of the year, magazines in Australia and New Zealand offer recipes for people who don’t know what to do with all the feijoa in their gardens.
In Israel, November and December are the months where it appears in markets. It has an oval, egg shape and a juicy inside with tiny seeds. Its fragrance reminds you of pineapple – feijoa is also known as “pineapple guava,” with a little strawberry or pear aroma in there somewhere.
A feijoa tree in France
The flesh should be white when ripe. Any sign of brown in the flesh means that it’s over-ripe. Feijoa doesn’t have a long shelf life; it only lasts two or three days after ripening. You have to be alert to get the best out of feijoa. Best if you forage it so you know it’s ripe and organic.
It’s tricky to pick it off the tree because you can’t be sure it’s ripe, but the tree lets you know when to harvest. When feijoa fruit is ripe, it falls. Gardeners must get up early and inspect the ground to see what fruit fell overnight. Once you collect a small pile, you can eat them, put them in the fridge or freeze with the skins off for shakes and freezes.
A little-known fact: the petals of the feijoa flower are edible and sweet. But you can’t pick off too many flowers, or your fruit crop will be disappointingly small.
Feijoa Muffin Recipe
Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour 4 tablespoons baking powder 1 cup granulated sugar 3 large eggs 1 ¼ cups milk 1/2 cup peeled, finely diced feijoas 125 g – ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled A few spoonfuls of coarse sugar
Sift the flour into a large bowl. Whisk in baking powder and granulated sugar.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Gently fold the diced feijoas into the egg mixture.
Gently stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Gently stir in the butter.
Divide the batter evenly between 12 cups of a well-greased or lined muffin pan. Sprinkle the tops with a little coarse sugar before baking.
Bake muffins at 220°C – 425°F for 15-20 minutes, until evenly baked. To test for doneness, poke a toothpick in the center of a muffin in the middle of the pan. When the muffins are fully baked, the toothpick will come out clean of crumbs.
Let muffins cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and transfer to cooling rack. Allow muffins to cool on rack for about 5 more minutes before serving.
5 pounds (2kg) feijoas 6 slices fresh ginger Zest from ½ orange and lemon 1 cup sugar per 1 cup juice
Peel the feijoas and chop roughly into a large pot. Add the sliced ginger, orange and lemon zest. Fill with water to ½” – 1cm above the feijoas. Bring to a simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the feijoas are completely soft. If the feijoas are hard it may take a little longer.
Place a bowl under a strainer and line it with muslin. Carefully pour in the feijoas and juice. Gather up the sides and tie with string. Hang the muslin over the bowl, tying it high enough for the juice to drip slowly through. Do not be tempted to squeeze the muslin. Leave overnight to drain.
Next day, measure the juice into a clean pot. For each cup of juice add 1 cup of sugar. Slowly bring to a simmer, then boil gently for 15 minutes. Remove the scum from the top as it boils — it is ready when a little is tested on a saucer and it will almost set.
Thutmose IV was the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled in the 14th century BC, but not for long. His reign lasted only eight to ten years. He was lucky that his tomb wasn’t invaded and his mummified remains torn apart for sale, as tomb robbers have done over the centuries. Karin wrote about a recent foiled mummy heist here.
Thutmose IV bringing offerings to Amun.
Not much is known about his time on the Egyptian throne. He constructed chapels; was victorious in a minor skirmish protecting gold mine routes from Nubian attackers; made an astute political marriage with a princess from the rival Mittani kingdom (in today’s Syria).
Thutmose also completed the work on the eastern obelisk at the Temple of Karnak started by Thutmose III, which, at 105 feet, was the tallest obelisk ever erected in Egypt. But his greatest act was to restore the Great Sphinx of Giza, which was buried up to its neck in sand .
The Sphinx, millennial guardian of secrets, also guards a hint that Thutmose may have employed fratricide to clear the way to the throne. His older brothers should have been successors after their father, but these brother disappeared into history just as Thutmose grew old enough to dream of kingship. The hint is unwittingly contained in a monument known as the Dream Stele.
On attaining the throne, Thutmose built a chapel between the paws of the Sphinx, and its back wall was a 12-foot-tall granite slab inscribed with a story. This is the Dream Stele. On it is inscribed a dream in which the Sphinx speaks to Thutmose, promising him kingship in exchange for releasing it from its burial in the sand and restoring its awe-inspiring beauty.
Some of the inscription has faded, but the Dream Stele still bears its story.
Thutmose, reads the Dream Stele, had spent the day hunting lions with friends. He grew tired by noon, and lay down for a nap under the shadow of the Sphinx’s gigantic head. In the elaborate style of the time, the Dream Stele reads,
“One of those days it came to pass that the King’s Son Thothmes came, coursing at the time of mid-day, and he rested in the shadow of this Great God. Sleep seized him at the hour when the sun was in its zenith, and he found the Majesty of this Revered God speaking with his own mouth, as a father speaks with his son, saying: ‘Behold thou me, my son, Thothmes. I am thy father, Hor-em-akhet-Kheperi-Ra-Atum; I will give to thee my Kingdom upon earth at the head of the living. Thou shalt wear the White Crown and the Red Crown upon the Throne of Geb, the Hereditary Prince.
The land shall be thine, in its length and in its breath, that which the eye of the All-Lord shines upon. The food of the Two Lands shall be thine, the great tribute of all countries, the duration of a long period of years. My face is directed to you, my heart is to you; Thou shalt be to me the protector of my affairs, because I am ailing in all my limbs. The sands of the Sanctuary, upon which I am, have reached me; turn to me in order to do what I desire. I know that thou art my son, my protector; behold; I am with thee, I am thy leader.’”
In other words, the Sphinx told young Thutmose that he, not his brothers, was the real king.
Thutmose IV looking cheerful and well-fed.
It’s possible that the Dream Stele was a piece of propaganda set up to make Thutmose’s unexpected rise to the throne look legitimate. This theory is supported by the discovery of three previously made stelae that show Thutmose’s brothers making offerings to the Sphinx – but their names had been carefully struck off to erase them.
Egyptologist Selim Hassan‘s interpreted this to mean that Thutmose removed his brothers and even their names, so that they may be forgotten.
“I am afraid that this theory does not present Thothmes IV in a very favourable light, and if he was not actually a wholesale murderer (and there seems to be grounds for supposing that he was), at least he was a cold-hearted egoist,” wrote Hassan.
The Dream Stele between the paws of the Sphinx.
Yet Thutmose had the common people in mind, because he built a chapel for those who wanted to worship at the Karnak temple but were denied entry. It was a place “where the god Amun would hear the prayers of the townspeople.” In a time where worship was as vital as bread, it was an act of kindness.
The reconstruction of his face is so startlingly real that you feel he’s still with us, just waking up from that famous nap in the shadow of the Sphinx. But what can we tell of this short-lived Pharaoh? For he died before he was thirty.
Presumably he fell ill in his last years. Statutes and carvings depicting him as king show a well-fed man with almost chubby cheeks, but his mummy is gaunt.
A surgeon at Imperial College London studied the lives of Thutmose and his ancestors, many of whom died young. He concluded that they suffered from familial temporal epilepsy, a form of epilepsy that often involves shattering spiritual visions during violent seizures. If true, it could have been the reason for Thutmose’s early death, and for the dream, and for what he did to fulfil that dream.
It’s no secret that as a person gets older, they become more susceptible to certain ailments and medical conditions. This could include minor issues like everyday aches and pains, or serious conditions like breast or prostate cancer. The good news is that it is possible to ensure healthy ageing and to reduce or completely avoid common medical problems associated with the ageing process. To that end, here are four tips you can incorporate into your current wellness outline that will serve you well today and many years into the future:
Consult with Medical Professionals
There’s no substitute for advice from a doctor. Maybe you are overdoing it in your Iyengar yoga class or going for too many runs with the wrong footwear. Though it is possible to make smart health decisions on your own, it’s still a good idea to check in with your doctor on a regular basis and mix their advice with people you trust. Your doctor can provide you with numerous treatments for common medical issues directly. Additionally, they can also help you get in touch with specialists for certain issues. If, for example, you begin to suffer from bunions, your doctor can recommend you contact an organization like Northwest Surgery Center in the United States for further assistance.
Treat Your Body with Care
So you’ve been exercising and staying on top of being fit, but staying up late, indulging in fast food, smoking cigarettes like it’s 1977 or drinking alcohol like it’s 1999 –– these are all vices that can have a severe detrimental impact on your overall well-being. Cutting back on these bad habits (or better yet, eliminating them entirely) will help you build a healthier and happier lifestyle. Have you heard about the fad in the US where people are looking for alcohol-less drinks? It’s becoming a thing. Note that as you get older, tiny bad habits in your 20s can grow to become damaging to your health and even harder to quit. So cut them out ASAP!
Relax
CBD me to relax
Your mental state can have a big influence on your physical health. As such, it’s crucial for ageing individuals (well that’s all of us at some point) to find ways to relax and unwind on a regular basis. Yoga classes, CBD products, and meditation are all tried-and-true methods designed to relieve stress. Reading books or starting a hobby like pottery on the wheel or ceramics is a a great way to lose yourself for a few hours a week. It’s my favorite hobby. Or try a new game like chess. It’s great for the mind. If you’re concerned about your mental wellness, make sure to reach out to someone who can help – a friend or a professional.
Rethink Your Routine
Just because a diet and exercise routine helped you achieve your fitness goals in your 20s and 30s, doesn’t mean the same routine will deliver the results you want to see in your 40s and 50s. In fact, it only makes sense that as you get older, you should reconsider your exercise regimen and daily diet. Now might be a good time to try out new workouts or healthy meal recipes or a keto diet. Why not? Trying new things can be difficult, and you may experience some setbacks when you introduce new concepts into your routine. However, keeping things fresh is essential to living a healthy life –– no matter your age.
Do you know just how important sleep is to your overall health? With nearly 1 in 3 Americans not getting enough sleep, it’s safe to say that many of us seriously underestimate just how crucial a good night’s rest is to our health. When’s the last time you had a good sleep? What do you do before bed on the nights you get the best sleep? Your bedtime routine has a huge impact on your sleep quality, and if you don’t have one to begin with, your sleep will suffer.
Luckily, Green Prophet is here to help. This short guide will help you create a bedtime routine that will last and that can seriously improve your overall sleep quality. We’ll cover everything from a consistent bedtime to spiritual matter, to what activities you should and shouldn’t do right before you sleep. Let’s dive in!
First and Foremost: What Do You Do Now?
First, we have to look at your daily bedtime ritual—or lack thereof. What do you do during the last hour before bed? Do you even have a set bedtime, or do you put on Netflix and wait until your eyes are too heavy to stay open to go to sleep? Do you watch screens, your TC, scroll on social media, or read a book before bed?
Most of us overworking snack at night or drink a late caffeinated drink to help stay awake during the evening hours or maybe a last-minute work Zoom call or meeting for school, but this can have a negative effect on sleep. Analyze your routine and look closer at what things might be keeping you awake. Even green teas have caffeine, so research a but to make sure your diet isn’t keeping you awake.
Step 1: The Bedtime You Choose
The time that you go to bed is a crucial part of the routine. Staying up late is fun, and you might feel like you’re getting more done or more time to yourself, but you’re just making it harder to perform the next day. So, instead of putting off sleep or not listening to Siri telling you when it’s bedtime, it’s time to embrace sleep. Because it can be a wonderful thing.
Set a bedtime for yourself and stick to it every night. You’ll have nights where things come up, and that’s fine—as long as you don’t make a habit of being late. Think of bedtime as being just as important as getting to work on time.
Step 2: Relaxing Your Mind And Body
Obviously, if both your mind and body are tense, or full of anxiety it’s significantly more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. So, the next thing you need to do is figure out how you’re going to relax before bed. Put aside at least half an hour each night to relax before sleep. During this time, it’s incredibly important to protect both your environment and your brain from distractions. That means relocating to a room free of electronics, as blinking blue light from phones, air conditioners, humidifiers, and TVs actually keeps you awake.
What things help you relax? Is it reading a good book? Snuggling up with a partner, pet, or child? Writing? Maybe you can start keeping a gratitude journal so you can track all of the things you’re grateful for each day. A few years looking back you will be grateful that you did this.
Some people include spiritual practices in their bedtime routine, to great effect. Bedtime prayers, simple meditations or intentions, or even just taking deep breaths and asking for a good night’s sleep can help calm you down and prepare you for rest. Remember those old wave machines from the 90s? You can find apps that simulate the sound of the sea.
Don’t forget your spirituality as part of your overall health standard. Prayer and spirituality both can have a positive impact on your overall attitude, your sleep, your good dreams and your quality of life.
Step 3: Try To Be More Active
It’s far easier to fall asleep at night when you’ve been active all day. Getting plenty of exercise like yoga or going for a run or parkour trail and eating healthy foods can put your body into a healthier natural rhythm, and once you’re there, sleep should come much easier for you. Ditch the high-fat and sugary foods that are the staple of American fast-food diet. These foods not only damage your body, but also cause extra stress with their ill effects and long-term financial effects.
Getting exercise is easy when you think about it. You don’t even have to go to the gym. A simple daily walk can have positive effects, and when you’re more active, you’ll feel better, too. If you take a walk each day, come home and eat healthily, and stick to your bedtime routine, you’ll find that your overall sleep patterns become much more consistent and healthy. Health is not a single-facet pursuit; there are several factors to consider, and you have to make sure you’re hitting all of them.
Final Thoughts on Zzzzzz
An effective and lasting bedtime routine can improve your overall quality of life, your self-esteem, and so much more. Don’t underestimate the power of a consistent good night’s rest! People that get better sleep are happier, more productive, and tend to perform better in all aspects of their life. Ready to get started? It’s time to set up your nightly routine.
Even fast food businesses can do small bits that add up. How about solar powered “neon” signs?
There can be no two opinions that the Earth is facing a severe climate crisis in the shape of global warming. The ozone layer protecting Earth from the Sun’s harmful UV rays is thinning with each passing year, and weather conditions have become harsher and unpredictable. It results from the overuse of fossil fuels, carbon dioxide emissions, and pollution caused by human beings. “Businesses should care to introduce eco-friendly solutions into the manufacturing process,” believes Gevorg Hambardzumyan, CEO of Front Signs, a US sign manufacturing company producing solar-powered light box signs to minimize the carbon footprint. If you are worried about the worsening environment, you can do your bit by making your office more eco-friendly. Here are six easy and exciting tips using which you can make your office more eco-friendly.
Switch to Clean and Green Energy
Clean, green energy is the best way to reduce your carbon footprint. Yes, there was a time not so long ago when you had a valid excuse for not switching to renewable energy as it was costly. Today, solar panels’ prices have come crashing down. The government provides lots of incentives to people installing solar panels.
They also receive tax cuts to gain monetarily in the long run. If your office building’s location does not permit solar panel installation, you can plan to buy clean energy produced at another site. If you are using signage to catch passersby’s attention, make sure to use LED lights inside these boxes. LED lights eat very little energy and produce cool light to cause minimal pollution.
There are lots of advantages to using clean energy. Some of these are as follows:
Considerable savings in electricity bills.
Reduction in your carbon footprint.
Tax benefits that offset the initial cost of solar panels.
Solar energy is virtually maintenance-free and very long-lasting.
Buy Office Supplies That Are Eco Friendly
You never paid attention to office supplies earlier. But you will be surprised to know that for everything used in your office, there is a more energy-efficient and eco-friendly option available in the market. You may find environment-friendly office supplies a little bit costlier, but you also get the satisfaction of leaving behind a much smaller carbon footprint from your office.
Some of these eco-friendly office supplies include recycled papers used for printing, bamboo pens, and LED lights that are highly energy efficient. If you are desirous but don’t know about eco-friendly office supplies, you can learn more about them and their sources from the website of Energy Star. From fans to lights, you can buy all highly energy-efficient appliances to save on your energy bills. Shout your love for the environment by installing signs that carry inspirational messages for your customers and employees.
Try to Make Your Office Paperless
The biggest culprits in leaving behind a large carbon footprint are papers used for writing letters and printing documents. Even the greenest of papers you buy from the market contain some wood obtained from trees, including 100% recycled papers sold in the market. According to Vince Digneo, the greenest paper means no paper at all. If this comes from a sustainability expert working at Adobe, it must be a Gospel truth. Going paperless is not an easy job, and your customers would create difficulties initially, but you can make them silent with the help of signs telling the world that your office has gone paperless. You can give a strong message to all your vendors and customers using these lightbox signs.
According to an estimate, nearly 90% of the waste generated in offices comes from workers’ revisions and corrections on papers while creating documents. There is no scope for any waste when your office has gone paperless. You can create documents in Google doc or Microsoft Word, where editing and revisions do not generate any waste.
Add Some Green Plants to Your Office
You cannot take your office into a forest, but you can certainly give your workers and visitors the feel of a clean and green office by adding some green plants to it. These plants are beautiful and soothing to the eyes and enhance the decor of your office. Green plants increase the office’s oxygen levels. They bring some liveliness into an otherwise dull office full of machines and appliances.
By keeping a green plant on the table or in a pot near the desk, you keep feeling fresher and closer to nature than when there is no plant in the office. If you want, you can even order display screens depicting various kinds of landscapes to reflect your love for nature. Also, plants have many more benefits:
Green plants reduce stress and anxiety levels.
Plants make you feel happy.
They add to the oxygen levels, offsetting pollution caused by chemicals and gases.
Green plants help in getting rid of ailments.
Plants give a boost to the motivation and productivity of workers.
Allow Maximum Use of Natural Light
According to a report by the World Green Building Council, employees who get a chance to work on a table near the window have a 15% higher productivity than employees working under artificial lights. You make your office more eco-friendly and benefit from the higher productivity of your employees by maximizing the use of natural light inside the office.
With an abundance of sunlight, you also need very few artificial lights inside the office, thereby saving on your energy costs. You can install sensors to turn on LED lights whenever it is cloudy outdoors. It will help in reducing your energy bills. Employees are also happy as their bodies synthesize vitamin D from the sunlight, and they do not fall asleep at work.
Make worker’s commute green
You cannot claim to have a 100% eco-friendly office if you and your workers make use of fossil fuel-guzzling automobiles for your commute. You can request your employees to come to the office by walking or using bikes to reduce your carbon footprint. You can offer them incentives for switching to biking and tell them that it is also better for their health. or maybe you can help lease them electric cars.
Hybrid or full electric?
You can also provide a work from home facility to employees whose presence is not essential in the office. You can use conferencing tools to contact and interact with such employees. You will be surprised that a green commute dramatically reduces carbon emissions and your office’s carbon footprint.
Making efforts to have a more eco-friendly office is good for the environment. It is also great for the productivity and health of your employees. Either way you look at it, it’s a win-win situation for your business and the environment.
As consumers we can buy miwaks, natural toothbrushes and opt for fluoride free. But what are some of the choices dentists need to make when facing a toxic environment like mercury and the chemicals needed in dentistry?
Human activities have been causing irreversible damage to life on the planet through anthropogenic global warming that we are all a part of, even if you are vegan and drive a car run on old vegetable oi. The dental industry is well known for its procedures producing large amounts of greenhouse gases leading to large carbon footprints. It focuses on using items with one patient and throwing it away. Therefore, an increase in the number of patients increases the amount of waste. Green practices focus on improving the environment by reducing waste.
Are you a dentist looking to clean up and eco-fy your practice a bit more? While you won’t be able to change a lot of the tools you need, you can be mindful about the following which matters to your patients:
Recycling hazardous waste
Recycling in dental practices should be a practical tool to manage your office waste with an ultimate goal of reducing your waste. Implementing recycling can reduce the trash that gets to the landfill.
One of the best ways to recycle is participating in programs, which repair old dental instruments and donate the refurbished materials to dental practices that give free services to the needy. Maybe a local pottery studio would like some of the old tools for carving?
Try to find companies for medical and hazardous waste and set up a system for disposing and managing the recyclables. Lastly, working together as a dental staff to recycle items used every day like soda bottles can go a long in improving your green practices. Your clients will notice.
Going Paperless
Eliminating reems of paper charts, paper forms and other trails of papers in the office make a good impact. It reduces dust and the way your office looks as well. Send reminders that automated to patients using smartphones, tablets, and computers offering new patient chart creation and tablet check-ins. For senior patients, a good old phone call can do the trick and beffore you burn their old records, give a couple month window for them to come and pick them up for posterity stake. Studies have shown that cloud computing reduces the carbon footprint as well as reducing the cost.
Conserving Energy in the Office
Conserving energy by staff members enables them to practice a green-economy in dentistry like turning off the lights and equipment. Setting the computers to go dark instead of using a screensaver. Having water filters in the office will also help staff members to conserve water by refilling reusable bottles rather than using disposable plastic bottles. In times of Covid however make sure that staff do not touch the water station with their bottles, but that they hover above.
Using Digital Radiography
Using digital radiography instead of the old-fashioned X-rays on the gums will eliminate the need to use traditional film X-Rays and adversely reduce the level of harmful chemicals released into the environment by traditional film X-rays. This practices also reduces the exposure of patients to radiation and enabling dentists to access X-ray images immediately on a screen, no wait time. It’s a very good service for busy clients and children, especially.
Metal-free Smile Treatments
Eco-friendly dental practices use metal-free restoration like composite tooth filling. They are safe for the environment and also offer a natural look to the patients who worry about their smile aesthetics.
Patient Products That Are Reusable
There are several types of disposables used by dentists in their practice such as headrest covers, latex gloves, patient bibs, and disposable plastic suction tips. This has created waste.
Therefore, dentistry is making their practices green by changing to bibs, cups, metal suction tips that are reusable and cloth headrest covers. There are services that can launder these items which have a better feel and touch to the end user.
Removing of Amalgam Fillings Safely
The use of mercury in the material for dental amalgam restorative and research has shown that it can create adverse effects on the patients and the environment. Green dental practices work with patients to remove the amalgam fillings, replace them with safe alternatives, and dispose of them safely.
Using Autoclavable Items
You rely on the autoclave to disinfect stainless steel instruments after each use. However, the list of autoclavable items goes beyond instruments. Cloth bibs, air and water tips, stainless steel prophy cups, and biodegradable dental suction tips are some of the reusable tools that can be autoclaved rather than using their plastic counterparts.
Waste Reduction
Disposal of waste effectively is a key concept in green dentistry. Dental practices can adhere to this by reducing the number of products they use. Examples include using biodegradable paper cups, decreasing the number of plastic barrier wraps, and dispensing patient self-care products without plastic bags. Dental practitioners can consider cycling waste such as gloves and masks and paper products.
Final Takeaway
Green dentistry is an eco-friendly approach. It shows that you are willing to invest time into caring about our planet and the environment for patients. Dentistry can participate in sustainable practices through small changes that have a positive impact on the environment and the people who meet you. Every dentist can participate in the conservation and reduction of greenhouse gases while minimizing landfill waste and water usage that contributes to a healthier environment and more sustainable resources. Green dental practices help dentistry give social value to the local community and a brighter future for present and future generations.
The Hoggar Mountains (Arabic: جبال هقار, Berber: idurar n Ahaggar) are a highland region in the central Sahara, southern Algeria, along the Tropic of Cancer.
Mountains host about half of the global biodiversity hotspots and are home to a growing number of the world’s hungriest people, according to a new United Nations study. The study shows that the number of mountain people vulnerable to food insecurity in developing countries increased from 243 to almost 350 million between 2000 and 2017.
Mountains provide between 60 and 80 percent of the world’s freshwater, which is essential for irrigation, industry, food and energy production and domestic consumption. Many of the world’s most important crops and livestock species also originate in mountain regions and are a source for food and medicine.
Yet the joint study found that mountain ecosystems are becoming increasingly fragile, under pressure from changes to land use and climate, overexploitation, pollution, demographic shifts and other factors which threaten livelihoods and food security.
“The vulnerability to food insecurity of the mountain people in the developing world is compounded by the presence and occurrence of natural hazards and armed conflicts that disrupt livelihoods or put strain on the natural resources on which mountain people depend,” the study concluded.
It also noted that environmental degradation affects mountain people disproportionately. Climate change has increased the degradation of mountain ecosystems and the incidence of natural hazards such as landslides and droughts.
Around 275 million rural people vulnerable to food insecurity were estimated to live in mountain areas that have already been affected by natural hazards.
The COVID-19 pandemic has added urgency to an already difficult situation as restrictions imposed by various countries have amplified the vulnerabilities of mountain communities that depend on agriculture and tourism for their survival.
“One in every two rural mountain people in developing countries do not have enough food to live a healthy life and they are now dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We must protect our mountains and the livelihoods of those who depend on them,” said FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo, commenting on the study’s findings.
The joint study recommended urgent action to address climate change and remove food insecurity and malnutrition in mountain areas. It called for policies to improve the resilience of mountain ecosystems and promote sustainable food systems that support innovation, research and community involvement.
“Ultimately, the goal of this study is to call on decision-makers and others stakeholders to strengthen cooperative action to reduce the vulnerability of mountain people, in particular local communities and indigenous people, and of the most vulnerable among them, often women and children,” the study said.
Who are the mountain people of the Middle East?
Taurus People of Turkey, Iraq and Iran
The Taurus Mountain range extends through southern Turkey to the Iraqi and Iranian borders. The famous Mount Ararat, seen in the Bible as the resting place of Noah’s Ark, is located in the eastern part of the range, and is the highest peak of the Taurus Mountains at 16,583 feet (5137 meters), according to the resource Teach Middle East. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers both originate in the eastern Taurus Mountains, and are fed by snowmelt as they flow toward Iraq.
The Taurus Mountains give us a good example of transhumance, or seasonal nomadism, in the Yoruk people. Over thousands of years, nomad herders like the Yoruk have wintered their animals on the southern side of the Taurus closer to the Mediterranean, away from the bitter cold of the mountains and the plateau, and then moved them to summer pastures in the cooler heights to escape the blistering heat and insects of the plain.
The Taurus Mountains have also acted as a natural political boundary between states over the centuries. They marked the boundary, for example, between the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic state founded after the rise of Islam from the seventh century until the Battle of Manzikert in 107, when the Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantines and moved decisively into Anatolia.
The Zagros and Elburz People of Iran
The Alpine Watch club, Iran
The Zagros and Elburz Mountains run along the western and northern borders, respectively, of Iran. The Zagros extend about 1000 miles from northern Iraq through western and southern Iran. The Elburz run over 600 miles across northern Iran along the coast of the Caspian Sea.
In both ranges many peaks exceed 9,000 feet, with Zard Kuh being the highest point of the Zagros at 14,921 feet (4,548 meters), and the dormant volcano Mt. Damavand the highest peak in the Elburz Mountains at 18,602 feet (5,670 meters) high. See the Mountain Watchers of Iran here.
The Hijaz and Asir Mountain People of Saudi Arabia
Running along Saudi Arabia’s border with the Red Sea, the Hijaz and Asir Mountains form an escarpment along the cleavage of the African and Arabian plates. This escarpment lifts the western edge of the Arabian plateau, which then slowly slants downward and eastward toward the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. The mountains of the Hejaz and Asir ranges average 6,000 to 7,000 feet (1,829 – 2,130meters), with Mount Sawda’ in the south rising to just over 10,000 feet (about 3000 meters) in the south.
Mountains in Iran
The Red Sea Mountain People
Along the Tihamah, the narrow coastal plain between the Red Sea and the mountains, there is enough rainfall, although floods often occur during the monsoon season, to support agriculture in this watershed, but too little moisture crosses over the mountainous barrier to support farming on the desert of the central Arabian plateau.
The Atlas Mountain People of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia
At the base of Toubkal.
The Atlas series of mountain ranges in northwestern Africa extend 1200 miles southwest to northeast across the North African countries of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. In northern Morocco, the Rif Mountains receive enough rainfall to support forests and a great diversity of wildlife; to the east, this range becomes the Tell Atlas.
Further south, the broad belt of the Middle Atlas and then the High Atlas (peaking at Mount Toubkal, standing at 13,665 feet or 4165 meters) and then the Saharan Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean basin from the Sahara Desert to the south. On the north-facing slopes of this great climate barrier, rich farmland exists.
The Atlas mountain ranges not only restrict the passage of water from the verdant Mediterranean edge to the Sahara, but also have played a role in restricting the movement of humans. In this difficult terrain, over the centuries of conquest by new groups such as the Arabs and the French, the indigenous culture of the various Imazighen peoples (or Berbers) has survived centuries.
The Lebanon Mountain People
Glamping in Odom in the mountains of Lebanon
The Lebanon Mountains, along with the Anti-Lebanon Mountains further to the east, parallel the Mediterranean coast from southern Lebanon into Syria. Between the two ranges lies the fertile Bekaa Valley. In ancient times, Lebanon was famous for the huge cedar trees that grew in the Lebanon Mountains and which still appear on its flag, although there are very few specimens remaining.
Like the Atlas, the Lebanon Mountains have long been a refuge for minority groups wishing to escape both persecution and assimilation into the dominant culture. In this case, the mountains have provided refuge over the centuries for Christians, particularly the Maronites; the Druze; and communities of Shi’a Muslims.
Want a mission in life to help the planet? Look to find a way to help the mountain people. In areas like crafts, artisans, regenerative agriculture you can restore livelihoods and repair the earth.
Thanks to Covid many of us have fled the rent of cities and have bought homes in Vermont or somewhere in the country. This is a must especially if you have kids. Sooner or later, you will end up having to deal with a water leak in your home. It happens to us all, from the US to Australia where it’s now a wet winter.
Most homeowners simply ignore leaks, especially when they are small. I always hope they will just go away on their own and sometimes they do. But even a simple dripping water faucet can lead to some problems and dangers and well, it’s really not eco-responsible all the same. Some leaks eventually lead to large leaks and huge headaches that require emergency plumbing. And that’s no fun. There are piles of resources on emergency plumbing online. Google Plumbers Near Me to find one.
So let’s say you want to stay one step ahead of calling a plumbing ambulance. There are some hidden dangers that appear when you have a water leak in your home, and most of them aren’t pretty or healthy.
Mildew And Mold Issues
Mildew and black mold are very dangerous and almost always appear if the water leak is not quickly taken care of. They simply appear and grow in areas that easily build up moisture, wet areas, and in damp places. Just a few water drops daily will create damp spots that are a perfect growing environment for mold.
Mold will spread to various parts of your home, like walls, floors, furniture, wood framing, the HVAC system, carpets, and clothes. Remember that mold can be really toxic, and if you do not remove it fast, it becomes more and more difficult and costly to deal with.
Health Effectsof leaking taps
This is directly connected with the appearance of mildew and mold. These growths can hurt the structural integrity of the home but also pose a really serious health risk. This is especially the case when you suffer from asthma or respiratory issues. Spores can easily cause skin irritations, allergic reactions, throat inflammation, nose inflammation, red eyes, itchy eyes, coughing, and more. You can also read this guide on what to expect during mold remediation.
Water contamination
When the leak comes from a broken or burst pipe, one that is carrying drinking water, you can end up faced with contamination because various contaminants enter the pipe. This is easy because there is a pressure drop or change that leads to attracting the contaminants. As an example, the pipe can end up sucking the water coming from the environment, together with all the particles in it.
Health risks associated with water leaks are multifaceted, especially when considering scenarios involving the contamination of drinking water. The Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit is a prime example of the severe consequences that can arise due to water pollutants. Instances of leaks in residential or public water systems can introduce harmful substances, such as lead, bacteria, or chemicals, posing significant health risks to individuals exposed to the contaminated water. This parallels the far-reaching implications of individuals affected by the Camp Lejeune water contamination, emphasizing the importance of prompt detection and remediation of water leaks to safeguard public health.
Increased Utility Bills
When water keeps leaking, your water bill is higher than it should be. This is also the case with energy consumption when you have electrical devices that use water. Also, when water damages home insulation, the HVAC system will need to spend more electricity on heating up or cooling down the environment. Leaks can reach your ceiling, attic, or roof. There, it can damage insulation much faster than you might think. Cold and warm air is thus lost, and you pay more for heating and cooling bills.
Structural Damage
We naturally see water as a harmless substance. After all, it cannot really hurt us when just a few drops hit our skin, right? How can a small leak destroy a house? Well, this is possible when the leak is not taken care of at the right time.
Plumbing and roof leaks can easily cause drastic structural damage to ceiling joists, wall framing, rafters, framing, and deteriorate wood. As a result, you will need to deal with a really extensive and costly repair. This is why it is always mentioned that you have to detect water leaks as soon as possible when the leaks are small so that the damage that appears is salvageable.
Fire Hazard
This is another thing we normally do not think about. How can water cause a fire hazard?
Water leaks can easily turn into a fire hazard when it reaches electrical wiring. This drastically increases the risk of creating short circuits or shorted wires. This can lead to electrical fires, which would naturally create serious home damage. Always turn off your electricity as soon as you notice the presence of a leak close to electrical wiring.
