America, next to some European countries, has the most stringent environmental policies on health and safety. In 2008 America’s Food and Health Administrations (the FDA) declared BPA, or bisphenol A, an estrogen mimic used in plastics, as safe. But in 2010 it started backpedaling over concerns that it might have health risks, especially in children. […]
Although building a monument to nature is something of a contradiction in terms, o2a studio has done a wonderful job of finding balance between the built and unbuilt in this striking design for the Natural History Museum in Jerusalem. A subterranean facility with stone cladding, the museum is topped with a green roof that creates […]
The disruption to Jordan’s natural gas supply from Egypt has finally awoken a sleeping giant: renewable energy. Long focused on oil shale and nuclear energy instead of renewable sources, the Kingdom has recently entered negotiations with no fewer than 20 international wind and solar-energy suppliers. These are mostly small or medium-sized firms that will provide […]
A sweltering heat wave has swept through Tunisia, disrupting both electrical and water supplies just days before Ramadan begins. Extreme heat destabilizes electrical cables, with as many as three cables a day fraying under the pressure in some cities. Disruptions in the electricity supply in turn cause water pipes to malfunction, leaving many homes, businesses […]
Turn sick buildings healthy with a probiotic air filter from Israel. Above, dust mites. Better Air of Rishon LeZion, Israel is using a new approach to improve indoor air quality. Their probiotic Biozone cleaners harness natural bacteria to break down biofilms and reduce contamination from molds and other allergens. This approach is intended to prevent […]
Want to quit smoking? There’s an app for that. Last week, experts lit up an Israeli conference with new strategies to curb smoking using email, text messages and smartphone apps. Hebrew University’s School for Public Health, in cooperation with The Medical Society for Smoking Prevention and Cessation in Israel and the Hadassah Medical Organization, sponsored a forum focused on using modern communication to help smokers kick the […]
Egypt’s social protests deeply rooted in issues connected to environmental ones. It’s definitely a hot time in our world this summer: there are massive brush and forest fires in the American states of Colorado and South Dakota, there’s a full fledged civil war going on in Syria that has resulted in indigenous plant seeds being stored […]
Charging our clothes to credit cards is nothing new. Now our clothes may be doing the charging. Scientists at the University of South Carolina (USC) have devised a way to turn the material in a cotton T-shirt into a source of electrical power. They envision a future where electronics are part of our wardrobe. A […]
The Gulf obesity epidemic in has come under increased scrutiny recently. Supersized boys and girls are barely recognizable and four of the world’s fattest countries hail from Gulf nations – a staggering number that has increasingly tragic consequences. Just 19 years old, an Emirati boy who weighed 170 kilograms was flying from Dubai to Bangkok to receive […]
“In Qatar, the birds have built their own hidden city. They live in the towers and stairwells of an abandoned palace…” Over at Guernica Magazine, I stumbled across a beautiful short story by Autumn Watts who is a lecturer of writing at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. Evoking the hidden and unseen aspects of […]
To continue feeding its addiction to Iranian oil, Turkey exported eight times as much gold to Iran in the first five months of 2012 versus 2011. In March, the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Iran in response to its uranium enrichment program. Later that month, Iran was cut off from […]
Spencer Tunick will return to Israel this September to celebrate the anniversary of last year’s wildly controversial Dead Sea naked photo shoot. Designed to draw attention to the plight of the hyper-saline (and dangerously endangered) lake shared by Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories, the art campaign was enormously successful even though it drew widespread […]
This building is located in Niavaran, Tehran – a district in the northern foothills. The climate in this area is completely different than the south and center of Tehran because of the nearby Alborz Mountains. Unfortunately, many old gardens in the area have been destroyed by urbanization projects over the last century. But Mohammed Reza Nikbahkt took a […]
After a test trial on about 250 cars Israel’s Better Place electric car company has opened its doors to the general public this week. Apart from announcing new pay-as-you-charge deals, instead of the off-putting flat rate, the company offers a new twist on the limited mobility of EVs: battery switch stations located throughout the country […]
Azza Abdel Hamid Faiad was the winner of the 2011 European Union Contest for Young Scientists for finding a new way of turning plastic into biofuel. A sixteen-year-old Egyptian student, Azza Abdel Hamid Faiad from the Zahran Language School in Alexandria has identified a new low-cost catalyst which can generate biofuel by breaking down plastic waste. The idea of breaking down […]