Full of adventures, and matching the rhythm of the place, Does recounts his long hitchhiking journey from Belgium all the way to Egypt. First, stay with your feet to the ground: Moving from Europe to the Middle East isn’t something you do overnight. Especially if you’re not willing to take an aeroplane, whether because entering […]
No better place to do a reality check on our environmental vision than Cairo’s Manshiet Nasr neighborhood. Its local inhabitants, the Zabaleen (Arabic for garbage pickers and recyclers) started closing our material cycles thirty years ago, something we even now barely find necessary. They know that what is without value for most, isn’t useless per sé. […]
As West Bank settlers develop water sources, Palestinians say they are excluded. Which narrative is right? Ein Ariq, WEST BANK — A convoy of white United Nations jeeps pulls into the olive-tree laden valley below the Jewish community of Eli. They are greeted by Jamal Deragmeh, the mayor of the nearby Palestinian town of Lubban […]
Nacho Zamora is touring Dubai, speaking with various leaders about incorporating solar-powered public art projects – like The Verdant Walk by North Design Office. Any pedestrian who has braved the backstreets of Dubai knows two things: there are a lot of open spaces vying for attention and the sun is relentless. An independent researcher from […]
Eighteen months ago, Itzhak Ben-David, the Israeli Environment Ministry’s deputy director for enforcement, visited several Israeli army bases in the West Bank. What he saw was shocking. Fuel and oil were leaking unabated into the ground on several sites. In response, Ben-David asked the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to conduct water quality sampling and monitoring. […]
Today’s pilgrims to Medina are way cooler than their predecessors thanks to sun shelters surrounding Islam’s second-holiest mosque. Al-Masjid al-Nabawī, the second mosque built by the Prophet Mohammed, is one of the world’s largest. But continual expansion over the centuries hasn’t kept pace with the increasing swell of Hajj pilgrims who congregate each year in its courtyards. […]
I speak to Elad Orian of Comet-ME, who is campaigning to prevent the demolition of solar panels providing electricity to remote Palestinian communities Elad Orian is clearly a man on mission. It’s just gone 8pm and he is busy telling me about his work with Comet-ME, which provides renewable energy to Palestinian villagers living in […]
Israeli students won a prestigious award for designing a portable, solar-powered water treatment system that anyone can use. Confronted with dire shortages that are shared by Jordan, the Palestinian territories, and just about every other nation in the MENA region, Israeli scientists are considered to be among the top producers of water treatment and saving […]
Goldfish have made up a small part of the Iranian New Year festivities for thousands of years, but some activists want this practice to end. A longstanding Zoroastrian tradition, the Iranian New Year known as Nowruz is a time for spring cleaning, visiting friends, banishing the old, and preparing for the new. Beginning at the […]
Among other eco-conscious Church leaders, the Archbishop of York has gone vegan and fair-trade for the duration of Lent. Lent, the pre-Easter season of reflection and self-examination, began this year on February 22nd and finishes on Saturday, April 3rd. Believing Christians set aside time for prayer and religious acts. One Lenten tradition is strengthening self-discipline […]
Green Prophet’s founder (that’s me) caught on camera wearing a controversial karacul hat. My husband’s people come from the Silk Road region of Tajikistan, where the elders pride themselves on wearing grey or black karacul hats. Football shaped, with soft fur, they give a man a look of distinction. On a recent outing to a […]
Funding and technical support has been offered by Europe to help build a desalination plant in Gaza – but is desalination a wise choice? In the Gaza Strip it is estimated that just 5% of the available water is suitable for consumption. As such any efforts to help improve water security are not only welcome […]
Want to support a cable company that cares about the planet? True, a lot of environmentalists promote reading over television. A nice intimate dinner and good chats with friends over a night at the movies. And of course we know it’s the better way to let our kids play outside before we let them switch […]
Jerusalem’s light rail may have been up and running for months already, but some residents believe that cycling is still the best way to get around. In the fall of 2011, Jerusalem finally got its much anticipated light rail (after years of construction). The light rail was intended to offer a comfortable and eco-friendly means […]
Dubai’s electric utilities are considering buying back power generated from solar panels on the roofs of houses and office buildings. Last year, the city carried out its first ever study to see how much solar power is being produced outside the grid and it found that local businesses and other private owners were producing around 5 […]