Charles David Keeling began recording CO2 levels at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory in 1958, back when concentrations hovered at around 315 parts per million. Five decades later and that number has soared to 400ppm and his son told Yale Environment 360 we’re unlikely to stop it from rising any time soon.
Why the 400ppm CO2 Milestone is so Important
Turkey, Iran, Syria Top List for Worst Journalism Countries
How can change occur if we’re not free to write about sensitive issues like human rights and the environment?
According to the 2012 census by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), there are 232 journalists in prisons worldwide, over half being held in the Middle East, the most of them surprisingly in Turkey. The online ‘zine Foreign Policy posted its “worst countries for journalism” with the Middle East grabbing three of the Top Ten slots.
As we scour the media, we already see how this fares for environmental reporting which is practically non-existent in the Middle East.
Bahrain = 1
Saudi Arabia = 4
Israel and the Palestinian Authority = 3
Iran = 45
Syria = 15
Yemen = 1
Uzbekistan = 4
Kyrgyzstan = 1
Iraq = 1
Turkey = 49
Read about this region’s biggest muzzlers of free expression, below:
Journalists in prison, Turkey
The world’s most repressive country is showcase Muslim democracy and NATO darling, Turkey.
A New Yorker article published last year stated, “According to the Journalists Union of Turkey, 94 reporters are currently imprisoned for doing their jobs. More than half are members of the Kurdish minority, which has been seeking greater freedoms since the Turkish republic was founded, in 1923.”
CPJ’s 2012 census counted 49 jailed reporters, but The Friends of Ahmet Sik and Nedim Sener (named after two imprisoned writers) maintains a list of 104 journalists currently imprisoned there. Another 800 face charges, and scores more have left their jobs because of government pressure.
“The government wants to set an example; it wants to intimidate,” investigative journalist Ertugrul Mavioglu told The Guardian. “Journalists are being told, ‘There are limits on what you are allowed to say.’”
Andrew Gardner, Turkey specialist at Amnesty International, added, “This prosecution forms a pattern where critical writing, political speeches and participation at peaceful demonstrations are used as evidence of terrorism offenses.”
Attorney Meral Danis Bektas said Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, openly threatened journalists and dictated what they wrote. Bektas said: “All of the defendants stand trial for doing their jobs. Free press and freedom of expression are cornerstones of democracy. Without them, democratic political participation becomes impossible.”
The government denies the journalists were arrested for their work as members of the press, instead citing terrorist offenses.
Journalists in Prison, Iran
Iran earns the silver medal for jailed journalists, with 45 behind bars as of December 2012.
The government controls all television and radio broadcasting, banning coverage critical of specific topics and events including national nuclear policy and the economy.
Internet access is skyrocketing, but content is restricted and censored and users risk persecution for online activity.
Social media (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) was blocked following the 2009 election and the number of disabled political sites grows exponentially. A 2010 Computer Crimes Law legalizes government internet surveillance and criminalizes online expression.
Cybercafes are obliged to record customers’ personal data and browsing histories. Last year, a national intranet was finalized, aimed at cutting Iranians’ connection to the worldwide web.
In 2012, Iran banned 250 ”subversive” books and closed the professional association “House of Cinema” that supported 5,000 Iranian filmmakers and artists. Don’t count on reading Lolita in Tehran, and forget about seeing the movie.
Journalists in Prison, Syria
Journalists receive reporting licenses at the pleasure of the prime minister. According to the CPJ, 28 licensed writers were killed in 2012 and 15 more were incarcerated by the end of that year.
Syria’s 2001 Press Law gives the state full control over all print media. It forbids reporting on issues of national security and allows the state to determine whether information is factual or not. Violate the law and face up to three years in prison with fines reaching $20,000.
The 2011 Media Law guarantees the “right to access information about public affairs” and bans “the arrest, questioning, or searching of journalists”, yet ironically bars publication of content that affects national unity and security, and incites public unrest. Guess who makes the determination?
Bonus: Journalists in Prison, Saudi Arabia
Chillout Cafe: Dubai’s First Ice Lounge Makes its Chilling Debut
Ice hotels are fairly commonplace in northern countries where temperatures regularly fall below freezing, but that didn’t stop the Sharaf Group from opening an ice lounge in the middle of the desert.
Indonesia Opens to Geothermal Power
Tapping into the earth’s vast geothermal energy reserves to create electricity in countries like the Muslim country of Indonesia, which has frequent volcanic activity, is becoming a very ecological friendly way to solve energy needs.
Geothermal energy is also being tapped in Middle Eastern countries like Jordan, which recently completed the Middle East’s largest geothermal system. Besides Indonesia, another South Asian country, the Philippines, is expanding its geothermal energy “reserves” and presently creates around 27 percent of its total electricity from these sources.
In a recent CNN Eco Solutions program, Richard B. Tantoco, President and COO of Energy Development Corporation (EDC) , the country’s largest energy development company, said that the decision to exploit the country’s geothermal energy resources came out of necessity due to the increasing cost of oil and other fossil fuels.
“Oil became much more expensive in the 1970’s; and following the Yom Kipper War and Arab oil embargo it increased in price six times. As a result, we had to look for other energy sources and found that we had an ample supply of geothermal energy reserves,” said Tantoco.
The two main EDC geothermal plants in the Philippines are Bacman I and Bacman II. Both plants cover an area of 18,870 hectares (7,636.58 acres) and include the boundary of Legaspi City, Sorsogon City, Bacon District of Sorsogon City and the town of Manito Albay in the Bicol Region, South of Luzon.
Geothermal in Jordan
Total electricity output of the two plants is 130MW. By contrast, the MENA geothermal plant in Jordan, said to be the largest of its kind in the Middle East, is producing around 1.7 MW.
The Philippines development of geothermal energy has resulted in it being the number two developer of this energy source in the world; behind only the USA. Due to very little polluting energy needed to develop geothermal energy, it is very ecologically clean, says Mr. Tantoco.
“Countries that are using geothermal energy import less oil, gas and coal” he adds. EDC, which initially received help from the New Zealand government, is now exporting this technology to other countries; and now has exploration projects in Indonesia, Chili, and Peru. To make the geothermal energy process even more environmental friendly, steam distilled from the turbines and the water is sent back into the ground by a process known as “resurgence”.
In addition to these geothermal projects, EDC also has projects involving hydro-electric and wind power. “We have now been involved in ecological energy for more than 40 years; and have gained a lot of experience in doing so” says Tantoco.”
Read more on geothermal energy:
MENA – Geothermal’s Largest System in The Middle East is Complete
Iceland’s Prez Promotes Geothermal at Masdar’s World Future Energy Summit
Gulf Inventor Creates “Alma” – a 20 Square Mile Saltwater and Dew Collector
Abdullah al-Shehi from the United Arab Emirates has shown his worth in environmental technology by patenting his sea-borne water collector that he hopes will help deliver clean water to desert regions across the Middle East and the world.
2013 Aga Khan Architecture Awards Betters Muslim Communities in Iran, Morocco and Lebanon
The nominees for the 2013 Aga Khan Award for Architecture were recently announced: 20 candidates – half hailing from the Middle East – all vying for a million dollar prize.
UN: Eat Beetles and Crickets to Fight World Hunger
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently issued a report calling for wider uptake of insect for food and feed.
IMF: Cut Energy Subsidies and Reduce Global CO2 by 13 Percent
Climate change is one of the most urgent issues of our time, yet most countries in the Middle East and North Africa continue to subsidize energy derived from fossil fuels. Seeking solutions, The Guardian launched a three part Global Public Leaders Series and sent us this recent lecture by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Kuwait Prepares for the End of Oil
While the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been outspoken about their shift to renewable energy to shore up for when oil supplies start to wane, Kuwait has largely remained in the shadows. Kuwait has the best solar irradiation along the Arabian Peninsula, which means they are well poised to bring solar energy on board.
Tangram 2022 World Cup Stadium Cools Itself Like a Lizard
Tangram Gulf recently unveiled a naturally-cooled FIFA stadium design for the 2022 World Cup in Doha, Qatar.
Turkey’s Largest Wind Plant to Power 170,000 Homes
Turkey’s largest wind power plant has broken ground and is expected to generate enough clean energy to electrify up to 170,000 homes.
Jumpstarting Solar Power in the MENA Region
The Middle East and North Africa have faced a number of hurdles in getting what experts believe could be the greatest solar power grid in the world off the ground. From Morocco to Egypt to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), obstacles have continued to stand in the way of creating a grand solar project. Until now.
Landfill: Where Dubai’s Building Rubble Piles Up
My last photo blog on Green Prophet featured one of the many sites in the Hajar Mountains from which construction aggregate is extracted. This time I’m showing a different kind of mountain on the outskirts of Dubai. This is a landfill for building rubble.
Ancient Moroccan Granaries Revived as Thriving Civic Centers
Salima Naji has been recognized by the Aga Khan Development Network for her efforts to revive a series of earth buildings in the lesser Atlas Mountains, Morocco.
Oman’s Sustainable GU Tech Campus Scoops Coveted Construction Prize
Oman is a small nation bordering Abu Dhabi on the Arabian peninsula; it has a long coastline and one of the largest populations of endangered Loggerhead turtles on earth. It also subsidizes energy and water, essentially arresting any kind of sustainable development. There’s no incentive to conserve something that comes for free – until now.
There’s a new architectural firm in town and they are laying the groundwork for a more responsible future and it starts now with the new GU Tech in Halban. The first German university on the peninsula, the new campus recently scooped Commercial Construction Project of the Year at Oman’s 2013 Construction Week Awards.
Ernst Hoehler and Muhammad Al Salmy are the progressive brains behind Hoehler & Partner LLC in Oman’s capital Muscat. A team of committed architects, planners and engineers, the firm came to being in 2008 largely as a result of winning the award to design the GU Tech Campus.
Although Oman is not really equipped to incorporate renewable energy into the national grid and has focused very little attention on ecological urban planning, the US and German-educated team are deeply concerned about the nation’s future. After all, one day fossil fuel resources will run out, and future generations will be left to deal with it.
It hasn’t always been this way. As Al Salmy explains to The Times of Oman, Omanis were well versed in sustainable design about 600-700 years ago – as evidenced in various villages carefully constructed to make optimum use of prevailing winds and water resources.
GU Tech comprises the best of ancient Islamic design and contemporary materials to deliver an attractive, energy-efficient space with a decent amount of green space.
A state of the art air-conditioning system redirects cool air to an inner courtyard area, which is chilled a further five degrees by a curious system of sails – perhaps inspired by dhows, and grey water is purified and then used to irrigate the vegetation.
The facade resembles a mashrabiya screen which further mitigates solar gain, and energy efficient lighting conserves energy as well.
In all of their projects Al Salmy Hoehler & Partner LLC strives to make buildings “solar-ready” so that when Oman does implement a national grid that can handle renewable energy generation, these projects can simply plug and go without requiring a major retrofit.
“The nine jurors emphasized in particular the pioneering role of the project in the Sultanate in terms of overtopping the usual local standards with a modern, sustainable and state-of-the-art equipment and design,” according to the German Emirati Joint Council for Industry & Commerce (AHK).
“They highlighted as well the exemplary implementation of a modern architecture in a design which conveys successfully between traditional Omani architecture and a modern, clear and functional architecture.”
A fine design indeed. More please.
Images via Hoehler & Partner Facebook Page