Inspired by the “love lock” phenomenon that covers the Parisian bridge Pont des Arts, three Algerian journalists have kicked off conversion of a bridge in Algiers popular with suicides into a “bridge of love”.
Algeria’s Controversial Love Lock Bridge Rebrands Suicide
Raft of Turkish Protests Remains Powerfully Afloat
International media is streaming updates on Syria, Big Brother antics by USA and UK intelligence services, and British buildings that can melt cars, but hardly a word on continuing protests in Turkey. And they are continuing despite chronic under-reporting by Turkish press.
Flip America’s Cup Loss Into an Environmental Win: Here’s How
The 2013 America’s cup will be long remembered as one of the closest matches in sailing history and one of the most unlikely comebacks in sporting history when Emirates Team New Zealand came within seconds of securing the America’s cup; but eventually lost when Oracle’s team USA followed a two race penalty and six race losing streak with nine straight wins.
UN Blames People for Global Warming, Warns of Dire Consequences
Just when the weather was cooling down in the Middle East a little, we get woke up again with the usual alarm and this time from a United Nations panel: humankind is to blame for global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns in a new report just out.
Security Hampers Pakistan Quake Efforts
En route to aid thousands of people injured and displaced by a devastating earthquake in Pakistan that killed at least 350 people on Tuesday, a military helicopter dodged two rockets fired from the ground.
The Guardian Uncovers Modern Day Slavery in Qatar
Almost as soon as Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup with a suite of swanky solar-powered stadiums, activists started clambering about the emirate’s terrible working conditions. Turn’s out, their warnings were dead on.
The Iconic VW Van in the Middle East
Volkswagen’s “hippie van” was the preferred mode of transportation for peace lovers during the 1960s, but Brazil is shutting down the last production line this year to meet rigorous new safety requirements. See our nostalgic photo tour of VW vans in the Middle East.
Wildlife Thrive at Flooded ‘Arabian Canal’ in Dubai Desert
In my last post I described how I had discovered the remains of a defunct development known as the ‘Arabian Canal’ in the desert some 30km outside Dubai. This time I’m featuring one of these remaining waterways which is still, mysteriously, flooded, despite having been abandoned some 4 years ago.
Elephant Ivory Racket Linked to Westgate Mall Terrorists
We interviewed Karl Amman about illegal wildlife trafficking at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi about two years ago. Since then, increasingly violent poaching incidents have been linked to terrorist groups such as al-Shabaab, which recently claimed responsibility for an armed attack on the Israeli-built shopping center in Kenya.
Hong Kong Bans Shark Fin Soup and Bluefin Tuna
Sharks hauled from the Persian Gulf provide fodder for shark fin soup in Hong Kong, and the endangered bluefin tuna is popular there too. But now the government has instituted a new ban that could reduce consumption of both.
Joshua Tree Light Pollution Dims BrightSource Energy’s 500MW Palen Solar Project
Slated for a site 36 miles west of Blythe, California, the 500MW Palen Solar Plant – a collaborative project between BrightSource Energy and Abengoa Solar – is meeting resistance from critics concerned about its light pollution.
Sun’s Magnetic Field Will Soon Reverse – Be Prepared for the Flip
The sun’s magnetic north and south magnetic poles are expected to reverse over the next few months. We’ve witnessed only a few such reversals and are not entirely sure what effects they may cause. Read more for an explanation of what we do know about solar and terrestrial magnetic field reversals.
White label sustainable aerosols from cans
They squirt, spray and lather. Some even give lifesaving bursts of medicine. But truth be told, the aerosol spray container hasn’t changed much in the last 60 years, says Gadi Har-Shai, CEO of the Israeli startup GreenSpense. Traditional aerosols are polluting and dangerous. So he invented a new alternative, the eco-sleeve, using nanotechnology.
“This will definitely contribute to a better and safer world,” he says.
Instead of getting propelled by compressed air in a metal container, the product is air-forced from a sleeve that sits inside any kind of container, much the same way a bagpiper squeezes air from the bladder of the instrument through the pipes.
“Imagine a flexible bag inside the product. Over the bag we have mounted a special sleeve that presses the bag in order to push material out,” explains Har-Shair.
“The special elastic sleeve is based on nano-technology and it is very thin while generating high pressure. There is zero pressure on the external container and all the pressure is directed to the center. Now we can eliminate the traditional metal container,” says Har-Shai.
This solution is less costly than metal, and could eliminate the hundreds of thousands of tons of volatile organic compounds and carbon emissions coming from aerosol cans each year.
Because the GreenSense sleeve squeezes the product inward rather than outward, the packaging can be made from any kind of material, including biodegradable plastic or recycled cardboard. The shape can even be square – something not possible in the past due to the physics of compressed air.
“You can have a square, or just about any shape –– not just cylindrical,” says Har-Shai.
Banishing ubiquitous aerosols
More than three billion aerosol cans around the world use a standard cylindrical metal canister surrounding an inner compartment, or bag, under extreme pressure. They’re everywhere.
The eco-sleeve will be ready for market by the end of this year.
“They are used in personal care, household products, pharmaceuticals and for technical products, nasal sprays, veterinary products and so on,” Har-Shai says.
“For personal items, we’ve got shaving creams, sun care, deodorants –– some 12 billion products produced every year around the world. This is a big industry that started around World War II but the methods remain the same,” he explains.
“The eco-sleeve mounts over standard pouches used with current dispensers,” he says. “It generates high pressure to provide the usual consumer experience of continuous dispensing, replaces the gas, and as a result, eliminates the need for cylindrical, pressurized metal containers.”
Whereas aluminum aerosol cans cannot be recycled, Har-Shai says the eco-sleeve, made from rubber and other ingredients, can be downgraded to another use.
GreenSpense launched its eco-sleeve this year in Paris at the Aerosol & Dispensing Forum, while the company itself was founded in 2011 in the Misgav Trendlines incubator. Some $750,000 has gone into development so far, and the final product is expected to be ready by the fourth quarter of this year.
Dream clients include L’Oreal, Gillette and Beiersdorf, the company that owns Nivea. PepsiCo has expressed interest, says Bar-Hai.
“We got a lot of attention and have started discussions with major companies, and in parallel are continuing development,” says Har-Shai, an engineer with consulting and development experience at large Israeli companies including Iscar, Scitex and Objet.
The idea was his own. “I started asking myself questions about aerosols and eventually it rolled into a large project.”
Will Tesla’s New Model X Crack the Middle Eastern Market?
Tesla has received both critical acclaim and financial gain for its successful Model S sedan, and has followed this up with the development of the Model X SUV. At the same time, Tesla has planned to rapidly grow their supercharger network throughout North America and Europe and expand into the Asian market. Where does this leave Tesla in the Middle East?
Hundreds of Dead Cormorants Found Slaughtered Near Oman Border
We were really troubled by this latest tip: hundreds of dead cormorants were found dead on a beach, about an hour from Dubai, according to a local photographer. A byproduct of fishermen’s nets? See the exclusive photos.