Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Reading nutrition advice from 50, 40, and even 20 years ago feels like stepping into an alternate universe. It’s hard to believe how close-minded and definitive those tips were when we look at them in relation to today’s actual scientific studies.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Reading nutrition advice from 50, 40, and even 20 years ago feels like stepping into an alternate universe. It’s hard to believe how close-minded and definitive those tips were when we look at them in relation to today’s actual scientific studies.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Reading nutrition advice from 50, 40, and even 20 years ago feels like stepping into an alternate universe. It’s hard to believe how close-minded and definitive those tips were when we look at them in relation to today’s actual scientific studies.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Reading nutrition advice from 50, 40, and even 20 years ago feels like stepping into an alternate universe. It’s hard to believe how close-minded and definitive those tips were when we look at them in relation to today’s actual scientific studies.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Reading nutrition advice from 50, 40, and even 20 years ago feels like stepping into an alternate universe. It’s hard to believe how close-minded and definitive those tips were when we look at them in relation to today’s actual scientific studies.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Reading nutrition advice from 50, 40, and even 20 years ago feels like stepping into an alternate universe. It’s hard to believe how close-minded and definitive those tips were when we look at them in relation to today’s actual scientific studies.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Reading nutrition advice from 50, 40, and even 20 years ago feels like stepping into an alternate universe. It’s hard to believe how close-minded and definitive those tips were when we look at them in relation to today’s actual scientific studies.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Reading nutrition advice from 50, 40, and even 20 years ago feels like stepping into an alternate universe. It’s hard to believe how close-minded and definitive those tips were when we look at them in relation to today’s actual scientific studies.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
Lady Gaga – who refuses to be censored – was voluntarily “filtered” during her recent appearance on American TV talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live. Her gaganess showed up in a voluminous white dress, cape and matching hat that looked like bleached (and controversial!) karakul lambskin – but was actually sewn from coffee filters.
Gaga’s frothy white outfit is a creation from the Gareth Pugh Fall 2014 collection, a young Brit designer who often turns to unusual materials such as plastic construction sheeting and paper. When asked about her upcycled dress, Lady Gaga told Kimmel, “You can do anything with your crazy ideas if you just put your mind to it.”
Gaga has rocked feathers, shells, plastic bubbles and of course, meat. But her poker face makes it tough to tell if she knows that coffee filters may be carcinogenic.
Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) has finally signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with US-based First Solar Inc. and the Shams Ma’an Consortium for a 52.5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project – the first such project in the kingdom and one of the largest in the region.
A former flight attendant has grounded himself in Thailand in a masonry dome-home he built in just six weeks. The 500 square foot structure is simply constructed much like a tropical igloo, with cement blocks stepping in for ice bricks. The best part? It cost under $10,000!
Flash floods are very dangerous; they come quickly, often catch people by surprise, and their force is formidable. This is especially true of Israel’s Wadi Zin, a deceptively dry riverbed most of the time. Visitors to the Dead Sea captured rare footage of a recent flash flood – a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The companies Acciona and TSK will be meeting in Dubai to discuss the challenges and opportunities of constructing the Noor I CSP plant in Morocco. Meet the Acciona and TSK delegation as they attend the May 6 to 7 solar Menasol event in Dubai.
Springtime in Jordan means sandstorms, not downpours, but a solid week of rain just pummeled Amman – lashing, cold, complete with thunder! Here’s how we locals beat the doldrums caused by Jordan’s Arab Spring – on the cheap!
For Israelis, butter has mysteriously disappeared from being an open market product. We gather it’s a mix of climate change and the fact that a Chinese multinational bought out its national dairy. But leave it to use to keep the western east prosperous and happy. Hey, don’t mess with our butter.
But if you have no choice, it’s easy to make your own butter. All it takes is double cream and some salt. The most basic equipment will do: a mixer, a pair of sturdy wooden spoons, some cheesecloth or a sieve, and a couple of bowls.
Did you ever make butter in school? I did, in fourth grade. The teacher filled a jam jar with double cream, tightened the lid, and we kids took turns shaking it as hard as we could.
All of a sudden, little white grains formed in the sloshing liquid. Encouraged, we redoubled our efforts, and in about 15 minutes, Teacher triumphantly fished out about two tablespoons of butter. It was white and flavorless, but we thought it was divine.
For basic, wholesome, freshly-made butter, follow the simple steps outlined below. We assume you don’t have access to the traditional “butter bats” – wooden paddles used to shape the formed butter into cubes, rectangles, or rounds.
Or you could use the wooden spatula used for ma’moul cookies, as an idea.
A bowl big enough to rest the spoons in, filled with ice water
A large square of cheese cloth, to contain the butter
Another bowl filled with ice water
Soak the spoons in ice water for half an hour. This is necessary in order to prevent the butter from sticking to them.
Pour the cream into a cold, very clean mixing bowl. Use medium speed to whip the cream until thick. If the speed is too low, it will take a long time; if too fast, it will create a big mess.
The cream will go through the softly whipped, then stiffly whipped stages. Keep whipping. It will separate into fatty grains. A white liquid will remain; that’s buttermilk. Keep the buttermilk for drinking cold, or for baking.
Drain the buttermilk from the butter. Gently plop the butter into the cheese cloth. Gather up the ends of the cloth and cover the butter. Twist the cloth to squeeze out as much buttermilk as possible from the butter. If using a sieve, drain the butter and run some cold water from the faucet over it, turning it over once or twice.
Place the butter in the second bowl (filled with cold water so the butter doesn’t melt). Knead the butter well; drain and do this again, always kneading the butter in cold water until the water is clear.
It’s necessary to remove all the buttermilk, or the butter will quickly go rancid.
Cut the butter, with a cold knife, into slabs of desired size. If you want salted butter – and salt will help preserve the butter for between two and three weeks – cut the butter into 4 pieces.
Pat each piece out in a thin layer with the cold spoons. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt over every piece. Work the salt in with the cold wooden spoons, then, still using the spoons, shape the butter as you like. Wrap the pieces in waxed paper and refrigerate. You may freeze some if you like.
You may also omit the salt, but then the butter must be eaten or used in cooking within two or three days.
If you want spreadable butter, simply take a piece out of the fridge 20 minutes ahead of time. An alternative is to add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the butter before shaping it.
If you can get fresh cream of goat’s or sheep’s milk, you can make the most luxurious butter on the planet.
The train system runs like clockwork in Morocco. It’s fast, easy and safe. So we’re excited to see a new project that makes them sped up to the 21st century in design: Silvio d’Ascia Architecture teamed up with Omar Kobité Architecture & Eric Giudice Architects to design a modern high speed railway station for Kénitra.
Saudi cleric Saleh al Fawzan has decided that all-you-can-eat buffets are against Sharia (Islamic) law, unappetizing news for Muslims devoted to bargain dining deals!
Last Friday, a ferocious desert rainstorm blew into Dubai swallowing up the city and making the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa – disappear! Video below!
Nobody knows more about bicycles than the Dutch, but Israelis will have a chance to glean some design and urban planning wisdom from the waterlogged nation next week at the “Going Dutch” conference established by their Prime Minister and (the much more fit) Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
A new golf course is being built in the shadow of the Egyptian pyramids, the plans for its fairways and greens were recently unveiled by Thomson Perrett & Lobb, an architectural firm specializing in course design.
It’s not the first links in Cairo, nor the first course near the Cheops, but Insha’allah that Egyptian environmentalists will make it the last!
The game of golf isn’t quite as old as the pyramids, but golfing near the Great Pyramid of Giza has deep roots (unlike new gardens to be planted in the area).
Note the sportswoman above, teeing off back in 1938 on sand and desert scrub. They had it right back then, adopting the game to the place they played it. Today, there are at least seven places to play golf in Cairo, the most picturesque being the Mena House club which sits about 700 meters from the pyramid’s base (see lead image and again, below – the green fields at the top of the photo shows the Mena House course).
Not one concedes to its address, each more artificially verdant than the next.
This area is desert, inhospitable to golf-course greenery. Everything planted requires copious amounts of irrigation, and growth chemical, weed-killer and pesticides. This is a water-starved nation in continual battle with African nations over water rights – how inappropriate is it to squander limited resources to maintain climate-incompatible recreation?
In fairness, golf is just one part of the 1,500 acre New Giza development which will also include hotels, a hospital, a university, sports club, and mixed-use areas with restaurants, shopping and offices. Almost 6,000 residential villas and apartments will be built in 10 new “neighborhoods”, each surrounded by parks and lakes. The amount of water used to support those functions will dwarf the amount the golf course will drink.
“With so many golf developments having been put on hold over the past year, it is a credit to the developers and everyone involved with New Giza that the project is moving forward,” said principal Tim Lobb. The project had kicked off in 2010, but financial restraints and political unrest sent it into hibernation.
“The site for the golf course is part of one of the most dramatic landscapes we have worked on, with incredible hilltop views to the pyramids and 50-meter-high cliffs, which have been incorporated into the golf course design.”
Abeer Seikaly’s Woven Shelters were a popular reader’s choice, garnering 200,000 page views when we published the first images.
Refugees like those who have fled Syria or Sudan or… spend on average twelve years in a temporary home, which got us thinking: what makes a good shelter? With climate change creating more refugees, the answer isn’t simple:
A robust, durable structure may be costly and hard to ship, while tents that are easy to ship en masse can be shredded in rough weather. And we need to think about the ecological aspect. Join us as we weigh the pros and cons of 10 refugee shelters:
In our analysis of different refugee shelters, we have included structures that have already been used first, and then added a few interesting concepts at the end. While the latter half have yet to be proven in the “real world,” it’s worth thinking about ways to improve existing shelters in order to ensure that refugees have the best quality of life possible. They deserve to have a home, even if it is temporary, that allows them to rebuild their lives.
IKEA teamed up with the UNHCR to develop a solar-powered flatpack shelter that could be easily deployed to refugee camps or scenes of natural disasters. These are durable and provide ample security, as well as electricity that allow children to learn after dark and their parents to work.
Once in mass production, they should only cost $1,000 each, they house five people, and they only weigh 100kg. Downside? The shelters are only designed to last a few years (though that is common in refugee housing, which is not supposed to be a permanent solution, and also common in IKEA’s reason for being!) and aesthetically they aren’t so pleasing.
2. Stackable Exo emergency refugee shelters
That they are stackable (like styrofoam cups, their inspiration) comprise the main benefit of Reaction Housing’s Exo emergency shelters because that allows for easy transportation. They are also solar-powered and insulated, and they are secure, which is a huge must in disaster situations.
Made of aircraft-grade aluminum, they are durable, which means they should last, and they can be reused. The main downside to this design is size. Albeit just 80 square feet, they can fit up to four people in bunk beds, but they don’t allow for much else. Plus, they are currently very costly.
3. UNHCR’s lightweight, temporary tent shelters
I’ve included the two kinds of shelters that are most commonly deployed in this list in order to demonstrate what is actually practical in the field. The UN refugee agency uses two kinds of refugee structures and this is the more lightweight, temporary option.
While cheap and easy to ship en masse, as you can see above, they offer very little comfort and are easily destroyed. These are very basic shelters that simply put some space between refugees and the elements.
Trouble is, with more than 40 million refugees in the world and money scarce, aid agencies can hardly be expected to procure five star housing or glamping. Even so, efforts are constantly made to rethink refugee housing design – as evidenced by the IKEA prefab.
4. UNHCR’s canvas tents
These canvas tents are designed to last quite a bit longer than the emergency refugee shelters and are the most common variety deployed in refugee camps. This particular image was taken at the Dadaab camp in Kenya.
At 4×4 meters, they provide more space than the lightweight shelters; also, given that they are made from 50 percent cotton and 50 percent polyester canvas, they are both more durable and waterproof. But they aren’t very livable, have no partitions, no electricity. UNHCR pays manufacturers in India and Pakistan about $195 for one of these.
5. Nader Khalili’s buildings fit for space
While not commonly used, Nader Khalili’s earth buildings, which were originally designed with NASA to be used in space make great emergency housing. We love Nader, as he thinks about the soul elements of the person in these structures.
Constructed with sacks of earth stacked on top of one another in a circular plan and then covered in earth. These shelters rely on local materials, local labor, are quick and easy to construct and they are literally dirt cheap. These may not be the most suitable solution in tropical climates however – not because they won’t be cool, because they are beautifully insulated, but because it might be hard to find dry soil with which to fill them.
6. Clean Hub refugee shelter
First used in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina threw the city into absolute mayhem, the Clean Hub refugee shelter (link to organization is no longer working as of Oct., 2019) is built in part from a repurposed shipping container. At 160 square foot, the hub is a portable, self-sustaining source of clean water, electricity and sanitation, and it can be fabricated and shipped anywhere in the world within days.
But it’s very costly at $15,000. Unless they are mass produced so that the price comes right down, this is not a sustainable solution. Maybe take this defunct solution as a model on how to do it better.
7. Ex-Container for refugees
After the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, local architects designed the Ex-Container, a double story prefabricated tiny home modeled after a 20 foot shipping container. They are rugged, and have a clean, beautiful interior. Unfortunately, the government rejected the company’s efforts to have them widely distributed; seems like another firm won the bid. It is unclear how much these costs.
On the downside, this design might be complicated, which could be a barrier to widespread development, and the solar skin could really amp up costs.
9. Shapeshifting shelter for refugees made by AI
Yahya Ibraheem from Jordan submitted this design Shapeshifting shelter to us. She wrote her thesis about how parametric modeling can be used to improve refugee shelters, and in so doing, generated a few really nice features that make a lot of sense. Parametric modelling uses the computer to design objects or systems that model component attributes with real world behaviour.
This refugee tent can be customized to fit different sized families and different climate conditions and the interior can be partitioned to make different rooms, such as bedrooms, bathrooms or kitchens.
Still very much in its infancy stage (Ibraheem has yet to address the materials that might be used or what it might cost to produce this design), it is unlikely to be used in real-world applications, but it does make some very serious thought breakthroughs that could be useful to aid agencies.
10. Life Box for refugee shelter
We really love the idea of the Life Box in part because it is suits different needs in different situations. There are three kinds – ‘air’, ‘land’ and ‘water,’ and just like it sounds, they all come right out of a box.
The ‘air’ type refugee box is used for disaster areas that can be only reached by aircraft, and the outer layer is used as parachute during airdropping.
The ‘land’ type refugee box can be used in areas that are reachable by road, but its outer layer is placed inside the box.
The ‘water’ life box is designed specifically for flood-affected areas, and can be used on land and water. The Life Box has won a Red Dot Design award two years running and it’s easy to see why.
In addition to being easy to ship, lightweight, the four-person shelter even contains provisions! It’s a great short term solution, but it wouldn’t be great to live in this for more than a couple of days.
While we contemplate whether GMO engineers can free our world from its glaring lack of light emitting houseplants and radiant pigs, we overlook far more amazing secrets of nature which make our best bio-science minds look like rank amateurs. The humble rhubarb plant is one such example.
Pack away the clunky radon-detectors and carbon monoxide alarms! Silicone wristbands have emerged as the simplest of environmental warning devices – cheap to manufacture and damn stylin’ too. Not quite Fitbit –– Pop on some plastic bling and know what exactly you’re breathing!
Lady Gaga – who refuses to be censored – was voluntarily “filtered” during her recent appearance on American TV talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live. Her gaganess showed up in a voluminous white dress, cape and matching hat that looked like bleached (and controversial!) karakul lambskin – but was actually sewn from coffee filters.
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