After months of debate about the wisdom of holding the 2022 World Cup football tournament in Qatar during the height of summer, FIFA’s medical chief has announced that he is not thrilled with the idea. Michel D’Hooghe told The Associated Press that while he has received strong assurances that the solar-powered stadiums and training facilities […]
If new anti-smoking images slapped on Jordan’s smokes don’t help puffers kick the habit, maybe Jordan should look Down Under for greater motivation: Beginning this year, as part of Jordan’s obligations to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the Ministry of Health asked cigarette companies to feature graphic anti-smoking images on cigarette […]
There are currently 1.6 million automobiles on Istanbul’s roads, according to Embarq Türkiye — and each day, 640 more are registered. Following British and German models, the Turkish Finance Ministry has begun designing a new scheme for taxes on motor vehicles and their purchase, reports Turkish paper Hürriyet Daily News. Under the plan, the taxes will […]
Roughly half of the world’s population lives in resource-rich countries, and yet the same number survives on less than $2.50 per day. How can this be? Partly, the answer lies with irresponsible resource extraction. Giant corporations move in to communities, suck up their oil, gas, or minerals, make shifty deals with corrupt governments, and leave […]
By appointing the Chief Executive Officer of the country’s leading renewable energy initiative as Minister of State, the oil and gas rich United Arab Emirates sends a very clear message to its own people and the world that they are serious about cleaning up their overall energy portfolio. Last week the UAE rearranged its cabinet, […]
SunDwater’s solar powered water distiller can convert polluted water like this into clean drinking water Chronic and even acute shortages of fresh drinking water is one of the developing world’s most serious issues today; especially in areas torn by internal conflict such as Syria. A number of viable methods for making water potable have been […]
Can executions be green? Laurie answers this tongue in cheek. Tardy executioners have prompted Saudi Arabia to re-evaluate their centuries-old practice of public beheadings.The use of capital punishment in Saudi Arabia is based on a hardline interpretation of Sharia (Islamic) law. The practice attracts international scorn because of the wide array of crimes which garner […]
Suntech’s financial woes may have an effect on solar energy plant projects like this one Suntech Solar, the Chinese solar panel manufacturing company that became involved in a number of Middle East solar energy projects, including deals to sell home solar panels in Israel and a bid for Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City’s Nour 1 solar energy […]
Ahmed Abdel Azim and his team at Suez Canal University advance research in mycology (fungi) Its not the first time that Green Prophet covers stories on how Egyptian scientists are applying science to public policy. In 2011 Azza Abdel Hamid Faiad, winner of the European Union Contest for Young Scientists, found a new way of turning […]
Bertini Derailleur racing bikes like this one were used by Israeli cyclists in the Rome 1960 Olympiad Bicycle riding, including bike sharing in Tel Aviv and traveling by bike in the Middle East have been popular topics that Green Prophet writers have enjoyed sharing with their readers. Those living in urban areas, where bike riding is […]
On a man-made Abu Dhabi island, fake wind towers heat homes instead of cooling them. I recently photographed a new housing development on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. You can see it on Google Earth. The wind tower design originates from Persia. The earliest examples of wind towers, used for cooling houses, in the United Arab Emirates can […]
Locusts that bred in southern Egypt first swarmed Cairo, causing panic in Israel and Jordan, and now Lebanese farmers are battling the pests as well. Farmers in the north and south of Lebanon reported locust clouds over the weekend and expressed concern over the impact the insects would have on their crops. But the Agriculture Ministry […]
The Shams 1 Concentrated Solar Plant (CSP) in Abu Dhabi is the largest of its kind in the world and it has finally gone live. Green Prophet visited the 100MW plant in the western region of the United Arab Emirates earlier this year as part of a Masdar-sponsored media tour during the World Future Energy […]
I grew up eating horsemeat. It was considered a treat –– a Dutch delicacy. Maybe once every four or five months my dad would come home with half a pound of it wrapped in waxed paper from the Dutch store. It was sliced thin, like prosciutto. Salty and delicate it almost melted in my mouth. […]
Is red tide a man-made pollutant or a natural phenomenon? Is it a plant, animal or chemical? The answer is all of the above. The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Environment and Water indicates that red tide may be present in the waters of the Gulf of Oman. As a precautionary measure, Sharjah Electricity and […]