While online hightech companies might seem to be on the money, investors are hungry for new advances in physical products. But developing them takes years, and lots of money. There is a lots of waste in the prototyping stage in terms of time, materials, and money. Rapid prototyping using 3D printers can help form ideas […]
From San Francisco, to Amsterdam to Tel Aviv to Cairo, and now Beirut. Rooftop gardens are growing everywhere. Fueled by a desire to suck greenhouse gases, create heat sinks, beautify the city and even grow food, rooftop gardens may be the only way to feed our planet’s 7 billion mouths. While today many of the gardens are […]
Growing crops by hydroponic farming, or on water, has been practiced since the ancient Babylonians planted their legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon. These were the world’s first vertical farms concept. Hydroponic water gardens also include roof top gardens in Middle East cities like Beirut and Cairo as soon today/ In fact, the practice of hydroponic, water based […]
Those of you who grew up in countries blessed with ample fresh water supplies may have fond memories of going fishing as a child with paper carton filled with small, wriggly earthworms. Most people in the Middle East, however; due to chronic water scarcities, have seldom seen this little squiggly creature that is often found […]
Another terror attack today in Jerusalem. Vengeful and permanent acts of aggression that leave no room for negotiation. I want to remind you that despite the horrible killings by axe and guns there are builders of peace from this Holy Land. Thomas Friedman from the New York Times said it last month, and it’s been something I […]
What would the world’s major cities look like if they were plunged into complete darkness? We get a glimpse during black-outs, like when New York City suffered major power outages during Hurricane Sandy, but those scenes occurred under overcast skies which blocked the stars. There’s a fascinating photography exhibition underway at East Wing gallery in Dubai that […]
WASHINGTON — Israel is the best-prepared country in the Middle East for climate change, followed closely by the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Turkey, according to data released Nov. 5 by the University of Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index (ND-GAIN). Publication of the 2014 index was followed only a week later by the signing of […]
In this day and age, with the superpower of Google, you can locate any recipe, and find infinite recipe ideas, online. So what’s the point of owning a cookbook? Aren’t cookbooks a little outdated? The answer, in my opinion, is no. An analogy could be made comparing “real books” to “E-books,” such as those purchased […]
Photographs are visual reminders of past events, at least for those of us who can see. Scan a stack and stimulate long-forgotten memories. But what artifacts help the visually impaired to stroll through their histories? Singapore-based tech company Pirate3D is helping the blind to “see” photographs through their innovative 3D printing project, “Touchable Memories”. It began as […]
Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde has created an LED-lit glowing bike path that. The solar-powered LED lights glow at night, and give cyclers a trippy ride that looks like Van Gogh’s Starry Night painting. The path is less than a mile long, and was created using both glow-in-the-dark tools and solar-powered LEDs. Find it in Brabant, the Dutch county […]
Dr. Dorian Paskowitz was a Jewish physician and an unconventional guy from the United States who raised his large family in a trailer and who brought surfing to the Middle East.
Until you’ve cycled high noon in the Middle East summer you’ll have no idea how incredibly hard it is to live without shade. I live in Jaffa, Israel – a Mediterranean Middle East city that will fry eggs on cars most days of the year. If you dare to venture out during the summer days, […]
Open a newspaper in the Middle East and expect to be whacked with some bad news. Still, I wasn’t prepared to read that – according to the World Misery Index (the name was a tip-off to what was coming) – Jordan (where I live) is the fourth most miserable country in the Arab world. Regionally, only […]
What’s vegewarian, anyway? Answer: it’s selecting sustainable dishes based on non-meat foods at least once weekly. Halloumi is said to have originated long ago in Cyprus. Cheesemakers spread the Halloumi technique abroad of compacting milk fresh curds and curing them in brine, and now many Middle Eastern countries produce the cheese. It may be made […]
Drop-A-Brick is a clever PR campaign to cut water waste in severely parched California, a state with dwindling aquifers that is experiencing its worst drought in 500 years. It’s a project that can be implemented everywhere there is indoor plumbing, and the concept is sound – displace some tank water and over time, save buckets of the […]