‘Z’ is an anonymous cartoonist whose pink flamingo trademark came about due to his efforts to stop development projects which would destroy the bird’s natural habitat By day an architect and by night a bitingly critical cartoonist, ‘Z’ is a force to be reckoned with. His criticism of the previous Tunisian dictator Ben Ali meant […]
Another major fire in the Middle East: this time in a traditional market, souq. Firefighters battled a blaze that erupted last week in Manama, Bahrain’s capital city, destroying hundreds of shops in the popular Isla Town Market. Over 500 stalls and shops were destroyed in the five hours it took to bring the blaze under […]
“Trees can sense that you’ve come to help them“ – Oded Yaffe: Photo by Ilya Melnikov Helping to save and protect trees is an ongoing task in a small countries like Israel and Jordan that have been frequently plagued by wildfires. And by over development in Jordan. One dedicated person, Oded Yaffe who has devoted his […]
An Israeli is part of a team to invent a new kind of “green” LED light called the OLED. If brought from theory to practice they could be manufactured from plastics and made by ink jets. Valy Vardeny and Tho D. Nguyen from the University of Utah (Salt Lake City) worked with Eitan Ehrenfreund from Technion-Israel […]
The time has finally come to announce the winner of the Facebook competition launched in cooperation with MuMu Organic – the first organic clothing line in Greece. Randomly chosen by our judges, Shannon Gilmour gets to enjoy the dress of her choice, which will be shipped to her from Greece. Readers will recall that we asked […]
Recently I made a tiny film clip to raise awareness about the pollution surrounding the Giza Pyramids. In the comment section of that post, one of my colleagues quipped that Egypt’s newly empowered islamists would probably destroy the iconic Pharaonic structures. He was perhaps responding to a rumor that was circulating on social media at […]
In Kuşköy, which literally means “Bird Village” in Turkish, the villagers have been able to communicate across long distances well before the invention of cellphones. Laid out along a deep, lush valley in Turkey’s Pontic Mountains, Kuşköy isn’t an easy village to traverse quickly. So some time ago — 400 years, according to some local […]
Israeli designer Omer Inbar is selling Bug Lights – a series of desk lamps that look like insects. Decidedly minimalist and definitely unique, each product comes with a choice of several different kinds of 25 W bulbs that emit a soft glow, along with a 1 meter long cable and a bug light ID postcard.
Eliminating BPA from baby bottles is just one step towards eliminating our exposure to harmful, noxious chemicals. Score one small victory for consumer groups and ecosexuals everywhere: The United State’s ban on bisphenol-A or BPA is a small step towards ending our romance with toxins. That’s the good news. The downside is that this ruling by […]
Already working on wind farms in Israel, this company launches a full scale solution for wind farms worldwide Meteo-Logic, a software provider of custom-made accurate weather forecasting, launched yesterday a new service specifically designed to provide the wind farm energy industry with highly accurate localized weather forecasts. Meteo-Logic offers detailed weather parameters and tools required […]
Make sugary sweet fizzy Kool-Aid drinks at home with Israel’s Sodastream? Company sends mixed environmental message with new deal. The home carbonating company Sodastream has entered into a deal with Kool-Aid to provide Kool-Aid flavors to Sodastream’s carbonated water. Sodastream from Israel is currently in a small war with Coke, and this latest move with […]
It’s hard to ignore the lack of infrastructure and safety for cyclists in the Middle East. In Egypt you might get sexually harassed if you are a woman riding a bike in Cairo. With the raised sidewalks, when they exist in Amman, Jordan; and the deathly traffic and smog, riding in Amman isn’t such a […]
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 […]