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Eco-Hybrid Car From Qatar Unveiled During Climate Talks

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GORD, hybrid car, Qatar, COP18, climate change, global warming, hydrogen vehicles, Eco-Hybrid Car,Counteracting overwhelming criticism leveled at Gulf nations for their lack of environmental accountability, the Gulf Organisation for Research and Development (GORD) unveiled a low-emission, lower fuel consumption hybrid car-concept that can be applied to any vehicle.

“The engine captures thermal waste energy that is utilized to generate electric energy to run hydrogen fuel cells using the potable water as a source for the gas,” GORD announced in a press release. Initial studies show that this technology emits 50% less carbon monoxide (CO) & nitrous oxide (NOX) than conventional oil or natural gas-powered vehicles.

United Arab Emirates Celebrates 41 Years – at the Zoo

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al ain zoo men in tent The Arab Gulf emirates celebrates National Day at the zoo until Dec 3. Come for a picnic and see the animals. 

Al Ain Zoo presents visitors with an exciting programme of events and activities in celebration of the 41st United Arab Emirates National Day. Visitors can also learn about the core of the UAE’s heritage with Arabian wildlife and traditional cultural proceedings at the zoo’s heritage village during the festivities from Thursday 29 November until Monday 3 December.

Activists at COP18 in Qatar: Islam and the Arab-world Not Eco Enough

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arab youth climate change doha cop18 in qatarYoung Arabs in Doha are telling the Arab world it’s time to take a lead on climate change during the first climate change talks to be held in the Middle East.

With more than a billion Muslims in the world, Arab activists claim that Muslim leaders are pretty much silent about global warming and environmental issues. AP is reporting this as world leaders gather in Doha, Qatar for the UN-mediated COP18 climate change talks this week. Arab activists from Lebanon sent Green Prophet the same message today in a press release asking for Arabs, not necessarily Muslims, to step up to the plate to be part of the solution. 

It’s California or Bust for Better Place’s eTaxis

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The Better Place electric transportation company was founded in California’s silicon valley, not far from where the Tesla electric car company began. But while Tesla and Chevy’s Volt electric cars have been sold in the United States, Better Place didn’t enter the fickle US electric car market. Instead they teamed with French automaker Renault and pioneered their subscription model electric cars in Denmark and Israel where border to border coverage didn’t require many battery swap stations. Now Better Place has partnered with California-based Coda Automotive electric car company and engineering company FEV with plans for electric taxis and two battery swap stations in Los Angeles California, eventually expanding to six. This is enough to service 60 electric taxis.

Dead Dugong With “Tears of Blood” Found in Egypt

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HEPCA, IUCN, Endangered Species, Diving, Egypt, Red Sea, Hurghada, Tourism, DugongDivers found a dead dugong in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt early this week, according to the environmental advocacy group HEPCA. Immediately after Colona Dive Center alerted HEPCA about the dead marine mammal discovered between Magwaish Island and Gotaa Magawish, the latter sent a patrol boat out to investigate, according to a post on the group’s Facebook page.

When they arrived, rangers working for the Egyptian Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs were towing the 500kg female dugong to shore and Professor Adel Sehem gave them permission to do further analysis in order to determine the cause of death. While it is too soon to know for sure, activists suspect that the increased development and tourism traffic in Hurghada might be partially responsible.

Zara Gives in to Greenpeace and Public Pressure

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Zara, Fast Fashion, Detox, Greenpeace, Clothing, Fashion, Sustainable Fashion, China, Pollution, Chemicals, Environmental ActivismGreenpeace tapped into some serious people power with their recent “Detox” campaign and the world’s largest fast fashion retailer had no choice but to give in. After nine days of intense public pressure led by the environmental activist group, fashion giant Zara has agreed to phase out the use of toxic chemicals in its supply chain and products.

Greenpeace amped up their campaign against Zara over the last week following the company’s failure to respond to the GP report “Toxic Threads: The Big Fashion Stitch-Up” released on Nov. 20, which outlines how textile manufacturers release hormone-disrupting chemicals and other hazardous materials into China’s waterways.

Sustainable Tunisian Crafts by Matali Crasset

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sustainable design, matali crasset, tunisia, palm lab, HI Hotels, ecotourism, eco design, local materials, artWhen we first wrote about the boutique Dar HI Hotel in Nefta, Tunisia, Ben Ali was still in power, and Tunisia was one of the Middle East and North African region’s most egalitarian Arab countries. So much has changed since the Jasmine Revolution, leaving both the population and their natural environment more vulnerable than ever before.

Which is why the timing of Matali Crasset exciting new line of twelve unique and ecological furnishings crafted by Tunisian women is so impeccable. To be distributed exclusively by France’s Made in Design, these one-of-a-kind woven, handcrafted goods are made with the most responsible materials available by artisans who can really use the cash.

Arab and Jewish Teenagers Grow Algae for a Greener Future

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arabs, jews, algae, Kibbutz Ein Shemer, Eco-Greenhouse, agriculture, biofuels, wastewater treatment, food, medicineDespite the many wounds that cripple cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian governments, Arab and Jewish teenagers work side by side to further algae research in Israel. Established in 2008, the Micro Algae Educational Project packs two important imperatives into one succinct program for high school students: ecology and social healing.

Conducted in the Eco Greenhouse on Kibbutz Ein Shemer, the project aims to establish the ideal growing conditions for algae and then foster a variety of real-world applications, including food, medicine, bio-fuels and water treatment. So far, more than 300 Arab and Jewish students equipped with little more than a curious mind and a healthy dose of tolerance have participated in the project, and many more are on track to do the same.

Turkey Wins “Fossil of the Day” Award At Doha Climate Change Negotiations

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With the world’s fourth largest number of planned coal-fired power plants, Turkey is flouting international concern about climate change.

As the United Nation’s climate change talks in Doha enter their second day, Turkey has been called out on its irresponsible climate policies with the “Fossil of the Day” award. Although Turkey has kept a low profile in the negotiations so far, according to the Climate Action Network (CAN), it is “clearly their time to step onto the fossil stage,” according to the award announcement.

USA Fracking Will Top Saudi Oil Production in Five Years

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american girl at a gas pumpThe United States is poised to become the world’s largest oil producer by 2020 thanks to increased output of new exploration technologies such as fracking. But what does this mean for politics?

The World Energy Outlook 2012 released by the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that America will surpass Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil producer by 2017, becoming a net oil exporter by around 2030. The US currently imports around 20 percent of its energy needs. The IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol told a news conference in London that rising energy efficiency and increased production will enable the US to achieve previously unthinkable energy self-reliance by 2035, with increased reliance on natural gas as cheap domestic supplies boost demand.

According to CBS News,  the report says rebounding US oil and gas production and increasing light tight oil and shale gas resources are “steadily changing the role of North America in global energy trade,” speeding up redirection of international oil trade from the Middle East toward Asia.

A 1,700 Gigaton Carbon Bomb is Thawing in the Permafrost

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permafrost, methane, carbon bomb, climate change, global warming, Doha, COP18, kyoto protocolNegotiators working on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol in Qatar ought to know that 1,700 gigatonnes of carbon lie buried in the permafrost, which is double the amount that currently wreaks so much havoc here on earth, reports UNEP. Then, as arctic temperatures rise as a result of global warming and the permafrost melts, tons of heat-trapping gas will gush into the atmosphere.

Only, this 1,700 gigaton bomb has not been accounted for in prediction models. That a huge concentration of latent ice-age old carbon poses potential danger not just to humanity and to other species but to the roads, pipelines and buildings lying above it has been neglected, said UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. A suggested three-pronged course of action will hopefully change that.

Jerusalem Cookbook and Green Prophet’s Review

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review jerusalem cookbookAuthor of the hugely popular cookbook Plenty, Yotam Ottolenghi teamed up with  co-chef Sami Tamimi to produce a cookbook that will dazzle, inspire, and satisfy your senses.

Both men were born the same year in Jerusalem; Ottolenghi in the western Jewish side and Tamimi in Arab east Jerusalem.  They  never met until they were in their 30s, in London. Now business partners and cooking together, they’ve grown nostalgic over the foods they knew as boys. Jerusalem: A Cookbook is the result – 120 recipes based on the big flavors and incredibly diverse cuisines that Jerusalemites love.

Christo Stacks Oil Drums in Abu Dhabi Mastaba Artwork Mimicking Pyramids

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christo oil drums abu dhabiMagnificent public art or environmental boondoggle? Oil drums stacked to the height of the Giza pyramids. 

Christo, the artist who temporarily wrapped acres of fabric around the Pont Neuf and the Reichstag, now plans to stack thousands of empty oil drums in the Abu Dhabi desert in his first ever permanent installation. The finished work will rise 150 meters above the desert, a mass that would eclipse the Great Pyramid of Giza: is this magnificent public art or environmental boondoggle?

Zööba: Egyptian Street Food Goes Inside

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vegan, vegetarian, street food, Zooba, Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt, concept restaurant, boutique restaurant, local foodOrdering a foul or falafel sandwich at any fast food chain or street vendor in Cairo puts consumers one step closer to triple bypass surgery. This has less to do with the food itself than it does with how it is prepared, since Egyptian cuisine, a fluid, nebulous thing fraught with the influence of so many nations, is often comprised of perfectly healthy ingredients that even vegans can eat, except they’re usually not so fresh and swim in fat.

Now there’s Zööba, a “hip” new restaurant in Zamalek that takes the heart-stopping edge off street food while maintaining both the tradition and the fun. Using mostly seasonal produce and only the freshest ingredients and spices, this tiny concept eatery founded by Chris Khalifa and Moustafa El Refaie offers up wholesome dishes that come with a side of Egyptian pride.

Israel Strengthens Environmental Ties to Africa: Part 2

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Agriculture, Food, Israel, Africa, Water, Natural Resources, Connections, Environment, Politics, Relations, RegionalInvesting in African Agriculture

This past April, MASHAV, Israel’s agency for international development cooperation, signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The memorandum is aimed at addressing food security through partnerships with farmers in Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Rwanda. Israel will contribute expertise in irrigation, water technologies, agricultural production and climate change.

Israeli experts have experience with desertification and hostile, dry environments. The Negev Desert makes up around 60 percent of Israel’s total landmass. Yet, since its establishment in 1948, Israel has managed to create a thriving agricultural economy. This experience could be particularly valuable in African countries with scarce water resources.