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Socotra Island dragon trees from Yemen bleed when cut

Green Prophet
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7
Socotra Island dragon trees from Yemen bleed when cut
socotra dragon tree
The Dragon tree

If I were in charge of promoting tourism in Yemen, I’d be using the native dragon tree, or Socotra tree, as my mascot. Native to the Socotra Island these unusual trees have evolved in isolation over millions of years.

dragon tree yemen
Dragon trees in the background, Yemen

The Latin name of the endangered Socotra dragon tree or dragon blood tree is Dracaena cinnabari and it is native to the Socotra archipelago of islands in Yemen in the Indian Ocean. It is called a dragon tree due to the red sap that the trees produce.

“If you prick us, will we not bleed?”

dragon-blood-tree-yemen
Dragon trees bleeding

What is Dragon’s Blood Resin?

The sap is believed to have medicinal purposes: The Socotra tree, also called the Dragon’s Blood tree, holds significant medicinal value, and various parts of the tree have been used in traditional medicine for centuries.

One of the primary medicinal uses of the Socotra tree is from its resin, known as Dragon’s Blood. This resin has been prized for its therapeutic properties and is extracted by making incisions in the bark of the tree. Dragon’s Blood has been traditionally used as a healing agent for various skin conditions as it is believed to possess antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties, making it effective in treating wounds, cuts, and skin infections.

The resin is often applied topically to promote wound healing, reduce inflammation, and prevent infection.

Dragon’s Blood from the Socotra tree has been employed for its anti-inflammatory properties to help alleviate joint pain and arthritis symptoms.

In addition to its external applications, the Socotra tree has been explored for its potential internal medicinal uses. Some studies suggest that compounds found in the tree may have antioxidant properties, offering protection against oxidative stress and contributing to overall health. Scientists say that more research is needed.

socotra-yemen-dragon-trees
Perfect, natural symmetry in the dragon tree

The largest island of Yemen is also called Socotra and it comprises about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago.

Due to its isolation one third of its plant life is found nowhere else in the world. It has been described as “the most alien-looking place on Earth”.

Travelling to Yemen is currently not advised due to the attacks by the houthis on American and allied forces. Do book it down for one of your future bucket list things to do. In good days it not easy getting to Socotra.

amazing, arab, arabian, arabic, beautiful, beauty, canyon, climate, coastline, color, deep, environment, exterior, fauna, forest, green, heritage, horizon, horizontal, island, landscape, location, mountain, natural, nature, outdoor, panorama, panoramic, park, plant, rock, sand, scenic, sea, sky, socotra, soqotra, splendid, stone, summer, sun, sunlight, tourist, tranquil, travel, tree, view, water, yemen

This is what the dragon tree looks like when it is completely dried out.

socotra-tree-yemen-dragon

If these dragon trees from Yemen don’t make you want to get out and do something to protect our earth, we don’t know what will.

Middle East plants won’t migrate during climate change

Green Prophet
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1
Middle East plants won’t migrate during climate change

socotra dragon tree

Climate change predictions for the Middle East, like other arid regions of the world, are alarming. In an area known for its water scarcity, rainfall is expected to decrease even further in the near future, spelling disaster for the functioning of unique ecosystems — hotspots of biodiversity and rich genetic fodder for essential crops.

To test these dire predictions, Prof. Marcelo Sternberg of the Department of Molecular Biology and Ecology of Plants at Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Life Sciences, together with ecologists from the University of Tübingen in Germany, subjected natural ecosystems to an experimental drought over the course of nine years, simulating predicted future climate scenarios.

In the course of their experiment, conducted in four different ecosystems ranging from desert (3.5 inches of annual rainfall) to moist Mediterranean woodland (30.7 inches of annual rainfall), the researchers found that, contrary to predictions, no measurable changes in annual vegetation could be seen.

Species richness does not change

None of the crucial vegetation characteristics — neither species richness and composition, nor density and biomass (particularly important for ecosystems traditionally used as rangelands) — had changed appreciably in the course of the rainfall manipulations.

“Based on our study, the going hypothesis that all semiarid regions will react strongly to climate change needs to be revised,” states Prof. Sternberg. The surprising results of the study were recently published in Nature Communications.

The affected ecosystems proved resilient, likely due to the highly variable amounts of annual rainfall for which the regions are known. The experimental climate changes, which simulated a decrease of about 30 percent of current rainfall, seem to fall within the natural “comfort zone” of wild plants.

Plants won’t migrate

In their experiment, the scientists were intent on testing one of the basic assumptions of climate change — that an affected plant species will migrate to more hospitable areas in order to survive. The researchers tested for two possible alternatives: first, a species dying off due to its inability to migrate to new and more suitable areas, and second, other varieties of the same species adapting to the new conditions created by the climate change.

“This second option has been overlooked by most researchers,” said Prof. Sternberg, who found local adaptation to be the primary course of action for the plant communities that were tested.

“Our experiment is likely the most extensive climate change study ever done, because of the number of sites involved, the long duration of experimental manipulations, and the immense species richness,” said Prof. Sternberg.

According to Prof. Sternberg, the Mediterranean and semi-arid annual plant communities would be little affected by climate change, at least in the short to medium term.

However, it cannot be ruled out that species composition could change after 20-30 years, because natural short-term climatic variations impose a different selection regime on organisms than a long-term trend of changing climate conditions.

Prof. Sternberg is currently searching for a new collaboration and funding to maintain the long-term experiment and expand its breadth and scope.

Dragon tree in Yemen from Shutterstock

Something fishy about new iridescent fashion?

Faisal O'Keefe
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0
Something fishy about new iridescent fashion?

Prada-fish-leather-fashionLeading fashion houses are turning to schools in search of new materials for high-end handbags, shoes, and accessories. We’re talking fish schools, as designers troll seafood industry waste streams looking for alternatives to increasingly banned exotic leathers. It’s not new, but it is trending. Is “leather” made from fish skin inventive recycling or another misstep for our master species?

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مجازر الطيور في لبنان

Basel Ismaiel
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0
مجازر الطيور في لبنان

hunted

تخاطر الطيور المهاجرة بحياتها حين عبورها سماء لبنان في رحلاتها الموسمية بين أوروبا و افريقيا، إذ أن هنالك قوانين موضوعة تنظم الصيد فعلا، و لكن ليس هنالك من ينفذ أو يحاسب

الصور المرفقة في الرابط هي من غنائم موسم الصيد في لبنان هذا الصيف: ضحايا من كافة أنواع الطيور البرية – لقالق، بجع، هداهد، نسور، طيور مغردة. و هذه الصور هي فقط للذين تفاخروا بجريمتهم عىلى مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي، و ما خفي أعظم

هذه الظاهرة ليست لبنانية بامتياز، ففي قبرص تصاد ملايين الطيور المغردة لتقدم كأطباق مخللات، و الصور الواردة من القاهرة لا تقل بشاعة

ترحل هذه الطيور عن أوروبا في الشتاء لتلجأ إلى أفريقيا عبر الشق السوري الأفريقي، لتعود إلى أوروبا حين يذوب الشتاء، هذا طبعا إن ما أفلحت بارودة صياد بإنهاء الرحلة مبكرا. هذا الجرائم بحق الحياة البرية التي هي شاهد على ابداع الخالق يجب أن توثق، و المطاعم أو المحلات التي تقدم أطباق أو بضائع من جراء هذا الإجرام يجب أن تقاطع و تهمش

10701974_341150952729090_4126522465200714289_n 10670143_344590132385172_986633204083186620_n 10675704_344590149051837_3237193589886765853_n illegal bird hunting lebanon 10501989_341151229395729_2240136476212825712_n 10435009_339904706187048_5270258416716875990_n 1902751_341150349395817_1039910814186573443_n 10345982_344590115718507_4789762248220014433_n 10660378_334739560036896_9173491296511077937_n hunted-pelican hunted hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon

Europeans try to save storks, then this happens over Lebanon (warning graphic images)

Karin Kloosterman
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12
Europeans try to save storks, then this happens over Lebanon (warning graphic images)

hunted

There is no fighting chance for migratory birds when they fly over Lebanon: Hunting laws may be in place in the Middle East, but who’s enforcing them?

From storks and pelicans to hoopoes to eagles to migratory songbirds… see the images of the bloodbath in Lebanon during this year’s hunting season. And these images are only from the jerks who posted their kill on social media networks.

If you think migratory birds are in trouble as they pass over just Lebanon, think again. In Cyprus song birds are hunted down by the millions every year for a pickled dish, and the images coming out of Cairo are just as gruesome.

RELATED: Pickled song birds for a song

Birds that over-winter in Africa fly to Europe every summer via the Syria-Africa Rift Valley, then back up to Europe when winter thaws. As if obtaining food isn’t hard enough, these birds are regularly trapped and shot down for sport and food.

Crimes against wildlife must be reported and markets and restaurants offering these kinds of “delicacies” on the menu must be shamed. It’s a shame that the hunter’s faces were blotted out.

10660378_334739560036896_9173491296511077937_n illegal bird hunting lebanon 10501989_341151229395729_2240136476212825712_n 10435009_339904706187048_5270258416716875990_n 1902751_341150349395817_1039910814186573443_n 10345982_344590115718507_4789762248220014433_n 10675704_344590149051837_3237193589886765853_n 10670143_344590132385172_986633204083186620_n 10701974_341150952729090_4126522465200714289_n hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon hunted wild birds in Lebanon

Images collected by Stop Hunting Crimes in Lebanon

Making a little Disco Soup for brunch with leftover food in Lebanon!

Karin Kloosterman
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1
Making a little Disco Soup for brunch with leftover food in Lebanon!

disco-soup-shuk-Tel-Aviv
On the occasion of World Food Day, Beirut will play host to the funkiest food salvage event in history: Disco Soup! While it’s not the first Disco Soup to hit the Middle East (Tel Aviv had its version Disco Shuk last April where droves came out for free food), this event in Lebanon only goes to show how funk-a-licious Beirutis are when it comes to food and this important eco event.

The Beirut Food Disco brunch is happening tomorrow, October 19, and it’s being hosted by Food Blessed and Slow Food Beirut. Organizers say everyone is invited to a free party of peeling, preparing surplus food, while jamming to dance music. Bellbottoms are not required.

This is food people that otherwise would have gone to waste.

Fun may it be to eat free food and dance, the loftier goal (you know there always is one!) is to raise awareness to food waste globally.

Start chopping between 10am to 2 pm and the Sioufi Public Garden in Achrafiyeh.

About Disco Soup Global

Since the beginning of 2012, the Disco Soup anti-food waste phenomenon has spread to Holland, Belgium, Canada, Israel, Colombia and South Korea, serving thousands of meals to the sound of dance music, sparking creativity, boldness and solidarity amongst people of all origins, ages and social backgrounds.

Now it’s Lebanon’s turn to join the movement.

What’s more on the plate at Disco Food Beirut?

The menu calls for 300kgs of salvaged food, one celebrity chef, a handful of DJs, peelers (no, not strippers!) and knives.

Foodblessed is a community-driven, volunteer-based, local hunger relief initiative run by a group of volunteers with a passion and will to fight hunger in Lebanon. Their mission combines environmental and social responsibility.

Follow Disco Soup Lebanon’s people over on Foodblessed

Image above of Disco Shuk in Tel Aviv

Genetically engineered plants to replace airport security checkpoints?

Faisal O'Keefe
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0
Genetically engineered plants to replace airport security checkpoints?

PhytodetectorsImagine if passing through airport security could be as pleasant as a stroll through a park. Scientist June Medford is working to harness the innate sensing abilities of plants, genetically engineering them into lean, green bomb-and-drug detecting machines. Medford is a “synthetic biologist” (not to imply she’s artificial, but to clarify that she dabbles in the re-design of existing, natural biological systems in attempt to find new useful purposes).

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Walk like an Egyptian using Google Street View

Kelly Milone
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2
Walk like an Egyptian using Google Street View

ancient-egypt-pyramids-Giza-google street view.jpgIf you’re familiar with Google Street View, you might have used it to see the Burj Khalifa up close and personal or spanned the sweeping expanse of the Liwa desert (mapped by a camel!) from your home computer or smart device.

But have you seen the treasures of ancient Egypt through the eyes of one of Google’s Trekkers?

As of last month, the pyramids at Giza, the necropolis of Saqqara, the citadel of Qaitbay, the Saladin Citadel of Cairo, the Hanging Church, and the bygone city of Abu Mena are “Egypt highlights” that are part of Street View Special Collections, a newer feature of Google maps. The pyramids have also joined the ranks of the Street View Treks division.

The Street View technology is striving to capture the imagery of record-setting landmarks and other historically and culturally significant sites. It has traveled to places so remote you can call them “off the grid” – take Antarctica, for example – and even underwater.

Ancient Egypt – or what remains of it – most definitely deserved a place among the high-definition adventures. After all, the pyramids of Giza, dating back nearly 5,000 years, are the only wonder of the ancient world still standing today. Now, we can view 360° panoramas of one of the world’s most illustrious ancient civilizations, subject of intense study and curiosity for several centuries.

Although you won’t get a stamp on your passport by visiting Egypt this way, you can still feel like a globetrotter when you pan, zoom, and maneuver your way into Egypt’s goldmines (quite literally – see this article on King Tut’s bling). Maybe turn on some appropriate sound effects to get yourself desert-ready. Bon voyage!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd3E5dWunKo[/youtube]

Photo of the Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Menkaure and Khafre from Shutterstock.

Syqe marijuana inhaler syncs your medical cannabis dosage using 3D printed technology

Karin Kloosterman
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0
Syqe marijuana inhaler syncs your medical cannabis dosage using 3D printed technology

syqe-inhaler-medical-cannabis-israel

Newspapers like Bloomberg are calling the newly “legalized” cannabis business in the United States the next gold rush. If legalized throughout the US, the cannabis business will eclipse wine. That’s something worth about $40 billion a year. So “prospectors”, inventors and investors there are laying down their stakes and claiming access to new territory.

syqe

 

But in Israel where cannabis has been researched freely since the 60s (I have had the pleasure of interviewing THC discoverer Raphael Mechoulam); and consumed legally with a license, there has been plenty of wiggle time and room for innovation. Syqe, a new medical inhaler printed with 3D technology is one of the latest companies to innovate specifically for the medical cannabis market.

One of the problems I’ve learned researching the efficacy of cannabis as a therapeutic agent is dosing. It’s very hard for patients who are not regular smokers to know how to dose and therefor right therapy.

syqe-inhaler-vaporizer-09-17-720x340

Syqe Medical, a new medical cannabis company from Israel, has developed an inhaler that lets people, we’ll call them “patients” but anyone can use the device, to supply metered doses of vapor made from cannabis granules.

The dosage can be programmed via your iPhone. See an image below of how the cartridges should look.

I spent my summer researching cannabis and medical marijuana in Canada, and spent time at the vapor lounge Get Melted in Toronto. I visited medical cannabis companies and people developing growing technologies. All agree that medical cannabis could be the next big thing. Many of the people I spoke to smoke recreationally, but not all of them. They do all see the market potential in this new frontier.

But bags of money aside, people who are turning to cannabis for medical relief are swearing that this age old natural remedy has the power to change lives, like that of a little American girl (about 5) called Charlotte who was convulsing herself to death with 200 epileptic seizures a day.After using cannabis which was bred to be low in THC (that which gets you “high”) and high in CBD (that which gives you therapy) Charlotte is now able to start living a normal life. She experiences about one epileptic seizure a week now and has a very popular medication named after her, Charlotte’s Web CBD Oil.

After using cannabis which was bred to be low in THC (that which gets you “high”) and high in CBD (that which gives you therapy) Charlotte is now able to start living a normal life. She experiences about one epileptic seizure a week now.

Now when it comes to inhaling vaporizing is a big deal among cannabis uses because vapor gives a clean and concentrated dose. Usually people buy the product and then vaporize it in their own devices. Syqe Medical (pronounced si-kee), backed by the Israeli government with about $1 million USD will provide metered doses to those who need it via pre-loaded cartridges.

The device itself can be printed on 3D printers anywhere.

As for the pot – well that depends on country and state legislation on how you will obtain those cartridges.

The Internet of Weed

The Syqe device can sit in your pocket like an asthma inhaler for convenience. They say it’s the world’s first medical device which delivers doses with pharmaceutical conditions,  based on clinical data the company is collecting.

Testing the Syqe device in the lab:

syqe-medical-marijuana

Syqe claims to deliver high resolution of dosage – to get the precise balance between symptom relief and psychoactive effects – the balance between the TCH and the CBD.

An app connects to the data and user experience lets the doctor augment dosage if necessary remotely. Syqe it will also collect data on the strains and their medicinal effects. The device is supposed to be ready for sale by the end of this year.

Israel is a hotbed of technologies for cannabis. The latest great is a company called flux developing Eddy to personalize your medss. We will keep reporting on them as they unfold.

Hunter Green: a biodegradable watch for a planet living on borrowed time

Karin Kloosterman
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4
Hunter Green: a biodegradable watch for a planet living on borrowed time

hunter-green-watch-eco

You’ve got open eyes. You’ve read the reports, like this one from the WWF on how polluting we’ve become. Yet we can’t get enough of consuming stuff on planet earth. Pick up the New York Times and see an editorial running on watch ads. Fancy, crazy expensive watches for elite people, not this planet in peril.

hunter-green-wrist-watch-eco

Enter Hunter Green. This is a new watch line that’s made with practically everything that will make an eco-lover tick. The watches are biodegradable eventually, and are made to be lead free, and mercury free with zero toxins.

The watches have been made with biodegradable and organic corn resin so that modest earth lovers like you and me can express ourselves. Isn’t that what green fashion is all about?

See this eco-friendly watch come to life through Kickstarter

Into the Hunter Green watches you’ve also got an organic cotton and cork (a very sustainable renewable resource) strap.

hunter-green-watches-eco-enviro

Designer Hunter Mayers, now looking for a $30,000 launch fund on Kickstarter (and which is about 1/4 of the way there!) was inspired to start this new line of watches after meeting film director David Lynch.

He tells Green Prophet: “I have a background in the Film/TV industry as a Designer and Graphic Producer. I was at David Lynch’s house for a charity event, (sounds more glamorous than my real life actually is. ha!)…

But…

“His house is very modern, as was his outfit that day. Dark colors, nothing flashy. I noticed David was wearing a bright neon yellow, cheap plastic, wristwatch. He was expressing himself,” Mayers says. “After my visit I wanted to purchase a watch like his, to express myself. I found many watch designs I liked but none that were good for the environment. I was shocked to see the lack of eco-friendly choices.

“I have a design background, so I started designing… Hunter Green was born.”

Putting a watch to task

hunter-green-watch-green

Mayers grew up surfing in Maryland and put time into thinking about saving our planet from pollution after seeing so much trash out at sea. To raise awareness, he’ll be giving 5 percent of every sale of his watches to the Plastic Pollution Coalition (of which Green Prophet is a member). The watches which will be available to ship in about half a year and will cost about $125.

Getting to the point of a Kickstarter that could deliver on time wasn’t trivial, says Mayers: “I had many issues trying to locate a watch manufacture…as the materials I wanted to use weren’t widely used in the watch industry.

“This struggle, although frustrating, made me what to see this through even more. I felt like I was onto something special,” Mayers concludes.

Think so too? While it may seem trivial that a watch could actually save this planet, we love the project for the awareness it brings to the watch industry and the way timepieces are made. And it makes me think of my dad’s old collection of pocket watches from one hundred years ago. Watches that none of us will probably ever wear again, begging the question: Do watches in the 21st century really need to withstand the test of time? I’d rather mine melt into the earth when I am done with it.

Fund Hunter Green watches here on Kickstarter

Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE among world’s top 10 wasters

Karin Kloosterman
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1
Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE among world’s top 10 wasters

Garbage middle east pyramids

Bahrain, in the Middle East is one of the most wasteful nations on earth, according to the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) 2014 Living Planet Report (download the PDF here), published recently. Bahrain as the ninth worst offender in terms of the environmental impact it has on the planet, per head of population.

But Bahrain is not lonely among its neighbors: Kuwaitis, the report highlighted had biggest “ecological footprint”. They consume more resources per person than any other country in the world followed then by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

“We are on a totally unsustainable path … and are living beyond our boundaries,” says Marco Lambertini, general director for the WWF.

The rest of the top 10 offenders were Denmark, Belgium, Trinidad and Tobago, Singapore and the United States, with Bahrain and Sweden listed in ninth and tenth place, respectively. Funny, because Swedes consider themselves so eco-conscious. Maybe due to a bad conscience.

“The size and composition of a nation’s per capita ecological footprint reflects the goods and services used by an average person in that country, and the efficiency with which resources, including fossil fuels, are used in providing these goods and services,” the report summed up.

It continued: “If all people on the planet had the footprint of the average resident of Qatar, we would need 4.8 planets. If we lived the lifestyle of a typical resident of the US, we would need 3.9.”

Many of the poorer countries on the list, countries like India, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo had an ecological footprint that our world could sustain.

Resources monitored were based on trees being felled, groundwater pumped and CO2 being emitted faster than the earth can deal with it.

Ways Muslims can deal with excessive waste can include reusing water from prayer rituals by recycling it in gardens (for pious plants!), demanding more efficient modes of public transport and buying less packaged foods.

ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com

Ultimate organic coffee smoothie that will nourish your body and taste buds (recipe)

Kelly Milone
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1
Ultimate organic coffee smoothie that will nourish your body and taste buds (recipe)

coffee-smoothie-healthy-recipe-for-blender.jpg

We loved the feedback from the latest gadget for coffee lovers: a hybrid alarm clock that tells you to rise and shine by brewing a fresh cup of joe on your bedside table.

I’d like to present you with a spin on that old cup of joe, in the form of a nutrient-rich, energy-boosting coffee smoothie.

It can’t realistically serve as a wake-up call, as the thunderous blending of the ingredients (especially if you have a Vitamix!) would make for a very rude awakening.

However, it’s well worth getting up for. No need to go to Starbucks, either.

Recipe for healthy coffee smoothie:

  • 8 to 10 Coffee ice cubes. You can brew coffee ahead of time and pour it into an ice cube tray to freeze. Here’s a tip: If ever you have leftovers from the morning’s brew, pour it into open slots in the tray!
  • 1 cup almond milk.
  • ¼ ripe avocado.
  • 2 tsp raw cacao nibs, sweetened or unsweetened
  • 1 tablespoon hemp protein powder
  • Pure maple syrup or maple cream as sweetener; amount based on preference! For the ratios provided, I like to use 1 tablespoon maple cream.

These ingredients are team players; they work together so well! Using the measurements above, you’ll get about a pint of smoothie.

Consider using certified organic and fair trade coffee, to encourage responsible small-scale farming and environmental sustainability.

As far as flavor variations or additions for this smoothie are concerned, go for it!

I took this recipe from the blog, Passport to a Healthy Me, but experimenting in the kitchen is always fun for me. For this coffee drink, I’m thinking to play around with vanilla or cardamom, next time I make it (tomorrow morning).

Image: from my own kitchen.

Could global warming trigger new ice age?

Maurice Picow
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1
Could global warming trigger new ice age?

ice age in the city

The Wrath of global in arid regions like the Middle East is a major issue affecting present day life on earth.

Global warming has also been attributed to unusual “polar vortex” cold spells which have occurred the past few winters in both North America and northern Europe; with unusual weather felt in the Middle East as well.

Scientists who study global climate patterns are now talking about the possibility of global cooling, and they have written about local cooling on Forbes. It’s a cooling change so pronounced that it could result in a “mini ice age” like the one that put much of Europe into the deep freeze from 1250 to 1850 CE.

This global cooling cycle created periods of unusually cool summers, causing a severe famine in 1315-1317.

It also resulted in the Norsemen abandoning their colonies in Greenland.

Contrary to theories that present day global warming trends have been greatly influenced by humans some climatists now believe that man-caused elevations of carbon dioxide emissions are not the main cause of our current climate change problems (human emissions of CO2 are only 4 to 5% of total global emissions).

Changing ocean current patterns  as well as “solar cycle” changes (particularly sunspots) are said to result in cyclable bouts of colder climate patterns.

These change patterns result in longer, more severe winters and shorter, much cooler summers; which have severe impacts on annual food production.

globalcool3

Our planet was a much warmer place in prehistoric times; which allowed such creatures as giant amphibians and reptiles to flourish.

Severe climatic changes such as dramatic ocean current shifts, as well as changes in CO2 concentrations may be what resulted in the demise of the dinosaurs; and not some cataclysmic event like the earth being struck by a giant asteroid.

An article originally published in 2008 by the Global Research Centre on Globalization states that increased amounts of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere could cause global warming of 1° F per decade and 5-6° C (10-11° F) by 2100.

However, the article continues that “historic records of past natural cycles suggest global cooling for the first several decades of the 21st century to about 2030.”

According to these findings, the earth has gone through alternate periods of global warming and global cooling; due to a number of factors. These include alternating changes in the Pacific Ocean’s Decadal Oscillation (PDO)  that shifts between warmer “positive” phases and cooler or “negative” phases.

This PDO oscillation alone resulted in several global periods of fluctuating temperature cycles in the 20th century.

Judging from how the Middle East has fared recently from the wrath of global warming, some cooler and wetter climate changes would be welcome over what this region has experienced the past two decades. As for other parts of the world, especially North America, cooler and wetter weather would be beneficial as well. Cooler, but not too cool.

Read about issues dealing with global warming and cooling:

Will the Polar Vortex “Dip” Freeze the Middle East?

 Oceans Siralling Downward; Threatening Life on Earth
The Wrath of Global Warming and the Middle East

Ice age in the city from Shutterstock

Lego ditches deal with Shell over Greenpeace oil spill video

Faisal O'Keefe
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2
Lego ditches deal with Shell over Greenpeace oil spill video

Greenpeace LEGO ShellLego announced a break in its 50-year partnership with Royal Dutch Shell, a split sparked by an anti-Arctic drilling video produced by environmental activists Greenpeace. The clip – which capitalized on our love for Lego building block toys – went viral on YouTube with over 6 million hits.  It incited a million email complaints to the toy maker and pulled in the same number of signatures to the Greenpeace anti-drilling petition. So now it takes toys to turn our heads?

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Google Street View uses camels to map UAE’s Liwa Desert

Faisal O'Keefe
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1
Google Street View uses camels to map UAE’s Liwa Desert

google-lima-camel-desert-maps


Google, bastion of cool-tech, has gone Throwback Thursday in a major way – resorting to camels to capture its latest addition to Google Maps. Thanks to their “camel-cam”, you can now explore Abu Dhabi’s Liwa Oasis exactly as the Bedouin have done for centuries, without leaving home.

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The Dessner Effect: the more they give, the bigger everyone’s music gets

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At Berlin’s PEOPLE Festival, Aaron and Bryce Dessner brought 180 musicians together for a radical experiment in collaboration. Backstage, the Dessner effect revealed a creative revolution challenging the commercial rules of the music industry.

NASA scientist spends 378 days on “Mars” growing food. What can Earth learn?

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NASA scientist Matthew Montgomery spent 378 days inside a simulated Mars habitat growing vegetables with hydroponics. What can farming on Mars teach us about conserving water, saving energy and protecting Earth?

Petra by Night returns as Jordan tries brings tourists back to Wadi Rum

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The Nabataeans understood that prosperity in the desert depended on respecting environmental limits. Two thousand years later, Petra's greatest attraction may still be the wisdom of the people who learned to live within them.

At COP31, 350.org demands an end to fossil fuels, not another round of promises

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From Bill McKibben to climate organizers across the Middle East, Green Prophet has followed 350.org for 16 years. At COP31 in Türkiye, the movement is demanding an end to fossil fuel expansion and a fair transition to renewable energy.

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