Subscribe
type here...
Subscribe
Home Blog Page 381

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

Karin Kloosterman
-
0
Activists at COP18 in Qatar: Islam and the Arab-world Not Eco Enough

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. 

Continue

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

Brian Nitz
-
0
It’s California or Bust for Better Place’s eTaxis


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.

Continue

Dead Dugong With “Tears of Blood” Found in Egypt

Tafline Laylin
-
2
Dead Dugong With “Tears of Blood” Found in Egypt

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.

Continue

Zara Gives in to Greenpeace and Public Pressure

Tafline Laylin
-
1
Zara Gives in to Greenpeace and Public Pressure

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.

Continue

Sustainable Tunisian Crafts by Matali Crasset

Tafline Laylin
-
0
Sustainable Tunisian Crafts by Matali Crasset

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.

Continue

Arab and Jewish Teenagers Grow Algae for a Greener Future

Tafline Laylin
-
5
Arab and Jewish Teenagers Grow Algae for a Greener Future

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.

Continue

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

Julia Harte
-
0
Turkey Wins “Fossil of the Day” Award At Doha Climate Change Negotiations

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.

Continue

USA Fracking Will Top Saudi Oil Production in Five Years

Faisal O'Keefe
-
1
USA Fracking Will Top Saudi Oil Production in Five Years

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.

Continue

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

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

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.

Continue

Jerusalem Cookbook and Green Prophet’s Review

Miriam Kresh
-
9
Jerusalem Cookbook and Green Prophet’s Review

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.

Continue

Christo Stacks Oil Drums in Abu Dhabi Mastaba Artwork Mimicking Pyramids

Faisal O'Keefe
-
2
Christo Stacks Oil Drums in Abu Dhabi Mastaba Artwork Mimicking Pyramids

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?

Continue

Zööba: Egyptian Street Food Goes Inside

Tafline Laylin
-
0
Zööba: Egyptian Street Food Goes Inside

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.

Continue

Israel Strengthens Environmental Ties to Africa: Part 2

Leigh Cuen
-
2
Israel Strengthens Environmental Ties to Africa: Part 2

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.

Continue

Beemtech’s Smart Sensors Slash Energy Use in Commercial Spaces

Karin Kloosterman
-
5
Beemtech’s Smart Sensors Slash Energy Use in Commercial Spaces

radiator energy savings, dollar billsOnline and remote controls for smart energy solutions for heating, cooling and office space lighting.

About 20 percent of the operational expenses in office buildings, schools and hospitals goes toward energy — HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and electricity. Usually a default temperature is set for all year round, and the HVAC system and lights stay on even in unused rooms.
Now an Israeli company Beemtech aims to keep managers aware of how the space is being used in order to control the temperature and lighting more efficiently, and reduce costs dramatically, says CEO Nati Freiberg.

Continue

COP18 Host Could Be Swallowed Up by Rising Seas

Tafline Laylin
-
0
COP18 Host Could Be Swallowed Up by Rising Seas

UNFCCC, COP 18, Qatar, Rising Seas, Doha, Climate Change, A sea level rise of 100 inches or eight feet in Ar Ru’ays, a city at the northern tip of Qatar, would render 100 percent of the population homeless. Considered one of the top ten developing nations that is most vulnerable to rising seas, the host of the 18th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC has good reason to push for a successful meeting.

17,000 delegates from around the world have gathered in Doha and so much is at stake. This year the existing Kyoto Protocol expires and Canada, Russia, Japan and New Zealand have said they won’t sign on for another round. Those nations that have committed to an amendment must agree on the terms and expiry date, while the battle between developing and developed countries, and who should bear responsibility, desperately needs to be resolved.

Continue
1...380381382...786Page 381 of 786

Have news to share? Renewable energy news, architectural, artificial intelligence, biotech, sustainable design ideas, eco-architecture, green travel?
Email us: [email protected]

Company

Headlines

Billie Eilish’s Mom Maggie Baird Launches “Climate Kitchen” on Public TV

0
Maggie Baird, best known as the mother of Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, is stepping into a much larger spotlight, this time as a climate storyteller.

Monitoring farmers’ tillage patterns from space

0
Tillage is one of the clearest signals of how a farm treats its soil. Intensive plowing can degrade structure, release carbon, and increase erosion. Conservation practices—no-till, cover cropping, minimal disturbance—do the opposite. They build soil, retain water, and support biodiversity. But until now, measuring these practices at scale has been slow, expensive, and often self-reported.

Hydrophilis SCUBA gear could make us one with the sea

0
Hydrophilis, Oliver Isler’s experimental rebreather suit, reimagines diving by reducing drag, eliminating bubbles, and bringing humans closer to the natural movement of marine life.

Alcohol the night before work in the heat may raise inflammation, study finds

0
If you work as a roofer, landscaper, pool builder, or in construction, installing garden slabs or solar panels, building sheds, or working on outdoor home improvement projects, take note of new research that can help you protect your heart.

Newsletter

Get important news delivered directly to your inbox and stay connected!

© 2007 to 2026 Green Prophet, All Rights Reserved