In the not so distant past, it was considered to be a luxury if you could spend a fortune and get away from it all for week or two. Today, luxury is about having time. This is time to spend doing things such as gardening. Maybe you have a large yard where you can house […]
Mining for ice, is the latest natural resource and crazy plan concocted by the United Arab Emirates to solve their drinking water shortage. A 2014 UN report dealing with climate change stated that “the worst is yet to come” to countries with chronic to acute water shortages. The report particularly noted that countries in the Arab Gulf […]
Some might say Turkey is overrun with stray dogs and cats. These strays and their good treatment by mosques and business owners have become a part of Istanbul culture. Unfortunately, poor treatment of these animals has also been a part of the culture, with insufficient penalties in place. Now, legal measures are being proposed to […]
People have this general perception that the Middle East lags behind in matters of sustainability. There is the misconception that people in this region lead flashy lifestyles and engage in over-consumption to balance out the ever-increasing wealth from an endless supply of oil. However, when you get to the ground, you soon discover that the […]
World Environment day, June 2, is approaching. And we have readers every day emailing us about what they can do to do their part. The best guide we can offer is to look to the larger and established sustainability and environment organizations to follow the key issues they believe are worth supporting. We are listing American […]
Buying second hand things such as clothing and furniture is a great way to live more sustainably on this planet. But when it comes to old appliances, quite often, especially in the case of refrigerators, it makes more common sense to buy an energy efficiency model. Of course you can slash your electricity bill by […]
Solar powered flight has been in the news ever since the sun powered Solar Impulse 2, piloted by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Picard and his associate Andre Borschberg, flew around the world in 2015 to 16. This flight, relying solely on wing mounted solar panels, took over a year to complete before finally landing in Abu Dhabi in […]
There is an often quoted study from 2007 that showed that at that time, 53% of people – or 1.1 billion consumers – strongly preferred to do business with companies with a reputation for being green. Now, we are a whole decade on from that study, and green matters have become more than just a […]
It’s summertime and the weather is fine, goes the odd song and after a heat wave this week, Israel remembers how amazing and simple it is to spend your days away at the beach. Beaches are great activities for kids, for teens, for parents. Bring a picnic or sit up at one of Israel’s beach […]
Build a “mini city” on Mars? A project being conceived in the United Arab Emirates plans to construct a human settlement on the Red Planet within the next 100 years. These plans are a result of environmental studies made at Abu Dhabi’s on-going sustainable Masdar City environmental project which also studies the wrath of global warming and its […]
If you could move to Mars, what would your house look like? Would you eat from your local hydroponic Martian farm, drink wine from the Martian vineyard and eat meat cultured by vegetarian butchers? Mars architect Vera Mulyani is building the first Mars City, on Earth, and is pretty sure your future home on Mars, […]
Landlords have the opportunity of making profits off of real estate either as a side venture or as a career. If you are thinking of investing in real estate to rent, here are a few facets you should consider. Marketing Marketing is the first step in finding tenants. In order to create a solid marketing […]
The guy sleeping above is Etgar Keret living in a tiny house wedged between buildings in Europe. The real estate market always seems to be on the rise. A new generation of renters has emerged, and this generation desires different qualities in a rental property than those of the past. Modern tenants are looking for […]
April is Arab American Heritage Month, and here are six publications from a half dozen Arab American authors whose work is influencing the literary landscape of the USA, and beyond. I’ve chosen one for each of the six Muslim-majority nations whose citizens are currently banned from entering the America. Crack one open and learn some […]
Windmill apprentices wanted: Click-clack…click-clack, click-clack the rhythm echoes the heartbeat of the Persian desert wind. For more than one thousand years the people of Nashtifan, in northeastern Iran have heard this sound as they harnessed the “storm’s sting” wind that gave their village its name. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qqifEdqf5g] There are about 30 windmills in the desert […]