When he first began his career as a young biologist, Allan Savory basically ordered the culling of 40,000 elephants. He and other scientists in Zimbabwe observed that former grasslands set aside as national parks were turning to desert and decided, after considerable research, that elephants were responsible. But it didn’t help to kill them. In […]
Foster + Partners, the same UK architectural firm that created the zero-carbon city Masdar, is about to break ground on their first project in Israel - a solar-powered center for brain studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Now tourists can try out Better Place swappable batteries. For $65 a day, electricity and battery packs included. Better Place, Israel’s controversial electric car network provider, has had its share of issues and adverse publicity which began to heat up after its iconic founder and international CEO Shai Agassi was sacked this past October. This act […]
We are accustomed to writing about art and architecture that addresses environmental and social problems in the Middle East, but nothing as interesting as Larissa Sansour’s Nation Estate has crossed our desk before. Conceived in 2011 when Palestinian authorities appealed to the United Nations for nationhood status, the sci-fi short film and photographic series takes […]
Dancing is good for you, but the Harlem Shake is a cringe-worthy global phenomenon that’s spawned a thousand epic fails: the YouTube dance craze’s been done underwater, on commercial air flights over the Grand Canyon, and now, by soldiers in the Israeli Defense Force. “It’s just a sign of the times when you see soldiers dancing and […]
Duprat collects larvae from their natural habitat and brings them to his studio lab where he gently removes their own natural cases and places them in special tanks filled with various semi-precious and precious stones including turquoise, coral and lapis lazuli, as well as sapphires, pearls, rubies, and diamonds. They immediately tuck in constructing new protective cases, creating natural art in a scientific setting.
Cellphone usage outside is less risky than in a closed environment Cell phones have blamed for a number of environmental health problems, including collapse of bee colonies; and even problems with human sperm production. In fact, overuse of cell phones has even been considered as being more risky than other environmental hazards like car engine exhaust […]
Tomato and potato soup being cooked on an open fire at Qah Camp for displaced Syrians. Camp officials say they are hoping they will receive the money needed to run electrical systems so that heaters can be used © Jodi Hilton/IRIN Residents of Syrian towns that have run out of heating oil say they are […]
Water scarcity has already become a fact of daily life for Egyptians The world’s driest region, the Middle East* and North Africa (MENA), is getting drier at an alarming rate. And yet, despite massive population growth (the Middle East’s population grew 61 percent from 1990 to 2010 to 205 million people) predictions of so-called “water […]
This is a Chevrolet logistics depot in the Jebel Ali Freezone in Dubai. A rough estimate from studying the site on google earth puts the number of cars at about 8000 (on 12 Aug 2012.) Have a look for yourself at 24°55’40.06″N 55° 6’6.28″E. I’ve heard it said that American car manufacturers in the 1950s started […]
Pity the paper book. Libraries everywhere are closing due to lack of funding and tepid public support, and e-readers are luring people away from bookstores. Big-box bookstores tried, but they couldn’t replicate town libraries: vital public spaces where inter-generational interaction can freely occur between all economic strata. There are occasional glimmers of change. Last October, […]
Pomelo fruit and the Middle East arak are making one of the year’s hottest and refreshing new cocktails. Here’s the recipe. Baffled Once: Purchased as wacky Christmas gifts, the four bottles of arak inside our New York-bound suitcases were packed more carefully than human transplant organs are, but their bottle caps were as leaky as […]
Incredulously, despite everything that we know about climate change and its inevitable consequences of drought, food insecurity, rising sea levels and widespread ecological change, certain sectors of society stand steadfast by the suicidal notion that developing increasingly dangerous fossil fuels is “good” for us. Led by ruler-backed organizations such as King Abdullah City for Atomic and […]
Have you been watching the gradual unfolding of a hot new solar power market in the Middle East and North Africa without really understanding how to get involved? If so, you might want to read on. PV Insider is hosting a free webinar tomorrow, Tuesday 5th March at 08.00am GMT / 09.00 CET / 12.00 GST […]
Major health institutions, restaurants, and company canteens in Israel now opt for a vegetarian Monday. Proud of its environmental initiatives, Israel created an interactive map showing Israeli green influence around the globe. Israelis can legitimately talk about grass-roots projects like turning a huge landfill into an ecology park, too. Now Israel has embraced the Meatless […]