Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
The Israeli government continues to process a bill that will regulate, for the first time, management of the country’s electronic waste. If it gets approved by the Knesset, the bill would require manufacturers to finance the proper recycling of their materials.
The bill would also stipulate that by 2020 it would be illegal to send electronic products that had not been recycled or reused to the regular landfill. Data from the Environmental Protection Ministry suggests that Israel produces 85,000 tones of electronic waste a year.
We’ve featured some of the world’s most beautiful mosques on Green Prophet, but this is the first that resembles a cave. Slated for a prairie landscape in Buyuk Cekmece on the outskirts of Istanbul, the Sancaklar Mosque by Emre Arolat Architects is designed to offer genuine reprieve from the growing madness of urban life.
This is achieved in part by surrounding the park’s higher elevation with tall walls that draw a distinct boundary it and the surrounding landscape. And then natural stone steps lead to a peaceful underground space that promotes a heightened spiritual experience.
The mayor of Lebanon’s capital Beirut has launched “Beirut is Amazing,” an ambitious plan to finally green up the infamous concrete city. Following dedicated activism and scores of complaints from urban planners and designers, the city recruited the private sector to help regenerate existing green spaces and to create a few more.
But Horsh Beirut, which constitutes 77% of the city’s green lung, will not be opened to the public yet, though mayor Bilal Hamad told The Daily Star that studies are being conducted to determine how to manage the park so that it is not destroyed. Meanwhile, a coalition of 12 non-government organizations will stage guerrilla picnics tomorrow at 13 spots throughout Beirut as part of ongoing efforts to gain access to the park, which has been closed for 20 years.
We’ve been wanting to write a post that will get our readers in the mood for summer eco-travel, but it’s bad business to send people to countries that are bubbling with underlying trouble. Here’s the kind of letter we’re expressly trying to avoid: “Your writers recommended that we visit Egypt to sample biomimicry tours or Fayoum’s gorgeous new eco-haven but then we were harassed in Tahrir Square and abducted in Sinai. We’re dumping you!”
Of course, we would never recommend anything we wouldn’t do, and are heading to Egypt next week despite the ongoing uncertainty, but we decided to keep this post really safe by suggesting a visit to five countries that have options for the earth-conscious travelers and that, for now, are unlikely to erupt in mayhem. And we really hope to never eat those words.
Essentially, if you’re coming from the US or Europe, don’t be surprised to find that there are no recycling bins outside your hotel rooms or earth-friendly shampoo in retail outlets. Instead, having a light footprint while traveling through the Middle East and North Africa requires critical thinking and often a little more effort than home.
Here are five countries that make it a little easier to connect with the earth without destroying it:
1. Oman
Technically-speaking, Oman is located in SW Asia on the Arabian Peninsula. But it’s a Sultanate, an Arab-speaking country, and lies within our realm of concern. It is also one of the most beautiful countries in the region, having retained so much more of the slow desert pace than its neighbors Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
There are 2,092 kilometers of shoreline, a central desert plain and rugged mountains in the north and south and 32 Marine and littoral protected areas ensure that these vast natural reserves are reasonably well protected. It is also one of the premier diving spots in the world, a little known fact in the west, with over 100 dive sites to choose from around Musandam alone.
People are friendly and hospitable, it’s easy to obtain visas, and it is incredibly stable and peaceful.
2. Morocco
Although Morocco doesn’t have a pristine human rights record and activists constantly call attention to corruption, somehow King Mohamed VI has managed to quell any would-be riots.
Which means that tourists can travel without fear by bus and train to most locations, ensuring a lighter footprint than that of cars and planes, to resplendent locations that boast the nation’s rich cultural and natural heritage. There are eco-lodges galore, including one that looks like a castle, vegetarian restaurants, local crafts, and outdoor activities that draw scores of French and Spanish tourists from across the Mediterranean each year.
If you haven’t hiked to the top of Mt. Toubkal, slept under the stars in the Sahara, or sampled the ubiquitous tagine, this summer is as good a time as any. (Update 2024: European tourists were murdered on Mt Toubkal a few years ago. Women: travel with caution, and with a guide.
3. Jordan
King Abdullah II of Jordan has not been immune to the Arab Spring uprisings, nor has the country escaped rigorous anti-nuclear activism that has finally paid off, but the country is a reasonably-peaceful place to visit and there are an increasing number of activities for the earth-hearted traveler.
Occasionally there are small protests on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the main road in downtown Tunis, and social inequities abound, but it’s a rising nation that does boast a small selection of earth-friendly attractions (in addition to a host of pressing ills).
DAR HI eco-retreat in southern Tunisia
For a beautiful place to stay, try the DAR HI eco-retreat in southern Tunisia designed by Matali Crasset, and not far from there, a visit to the Matmata troglodytes are an illuminating experience (especially if undertaken at times when the tourist rush has either yet to fire up or has already simmered for the day.)
5. ISRAEL
Of all these countries, Israel is probably the greenest. And, it is also probably one of the safest despite the impression of relentless violence that mot media outlets portray.
Although political drama abounds, mostly it is restricted to the West Bank and Gaza Strip and even then, visitors are usually perfectly safe traveling through all of the areas that are open to them. The heavy security may be off-putting, but unless you’re actively seeking ways to get involved, it is surprisingly easy to take a break from current events.
We recently reviewed a handy DIY guide to Tel Aviv that points out many of the green options available in the city, including where to eat and sleep, and there are numerous hiking opportunities as well. During summer months, it’s probably more comfortable to hike in the mountains up north, although it isn’t unknown to set out on early morning trips in the Negev or along the Dead Sea.
Happy Summer Green Prophet readers. Stay safe, stay hydrated and most of all, stay green!
Kuwait is planning to build a city in the desert for 2,500 residents, and the Sabah Al-Ahmad Culture Center will be its nucleus. Albeit materially extravagant, BDP. has proposed a design that takes energy conservation very seriously. And in this relentlessly hot and humid seaside environment along the Gulf, that won’t be easy.
Integrated with photovoltaic panels, a lily pad roof hovering over the center will provide both power and shading, while cooling and ventilation towers combined with high thermal massing will establish a comfortable microclimate for what is expected to be a vibrant public gathering space brimming with educational, entertainment, research and exhibition opportunities.
A young child sits in a Haitian tent city – a temporary housing solution for displaced refugees. Thousands of African migrants will soon be moved to similar units in Israel’s Negev Desert to the dismay of local residents.
Following a spate of violence against African migrants living in southern Tel Aviv, the Defense Ministry has dispatched dozens of bulldozers to Ketziot near the Egyptian/Israeli border to clear land for a detention center. Called Ir Amim, which means City of Nations in Hebrew, the desert asylum center will initially contain enough recycled shipping containers to house 3,000 African migrants.
Eventually the Ketziot center will be expanded to accommodate an additional 8,000 people. The Defense Ministry also announced that it will erect up to 25,000 tents for migrants in five detention centers that will be run by the prison service. The idea is to keep African migrants out of Israeli cities and create a deterrent to any future asylum-seekers. But the Negev Regional Council and local residents are deeply opposed to the plan.
An illuminating article in Haaretz describes how certain industrious Israelis realized the marketing potential of khat juice – an exhilarating stimulant made from extracts of Catha edulis and other ingredients – and turned the potent drink into one of the most highly sought after drugs in all of Tel Aviv.
Dafna Arad goes into significant detail about the local social and health impact of this new trend, describing a society so eager to prolong their dancing and productive hours that they are flocking to restaurants to buy it, but does a little less to address the trend’s potential environmental consequence or its greater social impact.
Ruz Bukhari, a traditional and well-loved Arabic dish.
Pilgrims from Uzbekistan brought Ruz Bukhari with them long ago, as they traveled to Mecca and Medina. We’re sure they traveled by camel caravan, but nowadays pilgrims make their haj in all kinds of ways, even by bike. Along the way, the recipe infiltrated borders, as recipes tend to do, with Pakistan, Afganistan, and Arabic countries, eventually reaching Yemen.
Every country has its own version. Some cook Ruz Bukhari with lots of blended tomatoes. Some like it with fewer spices but accompany it with a salad made fiery with chillis. I prefer to serve this vegetarian version hot-spicy, with a cooling drink like Turkish Aryan or cold almond milk. Seasonings vary with the characteristic taste of every region. But everyone agrees that the spices make the dish.
Make this with brown rice for more nutrition, or white for more tradition. But the rice must be Basmati quality and no other.
Ruz Bukhari
Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 cups Basmati rise, rinsed and soaked in salt water 1/2 hour, then drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 onions, chopped
1/2 cup black raisins
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground allspice or baharat spice
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne flakes
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
5 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 large carrot, diced
500 grams – 1 lb. fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cups water, boiling
Equipment:
Medium-sized pot
Clean kitchen towel
Sauté onion in the olive oil till golden.
Keep heat at medium and add all the spices, stirring and cooking for 3 minutes.
Add carrots. Cook 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes and continue stirring for 10 minutes. Cook until the tomato juices have reduced and are just beginning to dry. You must keep a sharp eye on the pot here.
Add water carefully, avoiding the steam that will spurt up. Stir the bottom of the pot to loosen anything sticking there.
Add rice and raisins.
Cover with a kitchen towel and then the pot lid. Reduce heat to minimum. Steam for 20-30 minutes.
Allow the rice to sit off the heat 5 minutes before serving.
Researchers discover the negative link between Palm plantations, nesting birds and manta ray populations.
Over meals and sunset chats at a remote research station in Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific, a group of researchers from Stanford University discover one of the longest ecological interactions ever documented. While Douglas McCauley and Paul DeSalles were tracking manta ray movements for a predator-prey interaction study, Hillary Young was studying palm tree proliferation’s effects on bird communities and native habitats. Soon through discussions of their work and observations, the group of scientists began to see a link between manta ray population densities, bird communities and palm plantations.
Doctors at the Memorial Hospital, Istanbul, help patients’ recovery with soulful music.
In the Intensive Care unit, Dr. Erol Can puts a flute to his lips. He is wearing blue hospital scrubs and his stethoscope still hangs around his neck. Propped up in bed and connected to an oxygen tank, a patient listens as the anesthetist plays a makam – a piece in a classic Arabic/Turkish musical style.
A monitor displays his galloping pulse and blood pressure slowing down to a healthier pace. Dr. Can plays on, weaving music and science, body and soul together.
Air pollution is one of many environmental factors that impact public health. But doctors aren’t learning about this, finds new Israeli study.
According to a new study by Israeli medical students, doctors in the United States, Israel and Europe are receiving inadequate environmental health education. The study, titled “Our Health and Environment,” was sponsored by Haifa-based Public Health Coalition and conducted at the University of Haifa International School.
Out of the 25 universities surveyed – 10 in United States, 10 in Europe and five in Israel, only the clinical medicine program at Bar-Ilan University in Israel required a course related to environmental health. Only four other university programs out of 25 offered such courses at all, and they deemed such courses optional electives.
Some of the world’s top medical programs, including those at Stanford University, Yale University, John Hopkins University, the University of Oxford, and Hebrew University in Jerusalem, all fail to offer their medical students courses that focus on environmental impacts on health and environmental toxicology.
Israel’s national water company, Mekorot (who we’ve interviewed here), is expanding with projects across the globe. It will build and operate two desalination plants in Cyprus to supply almost half of the country’s drinking water. Also on the horizon is a $180 million deal to build a water filtering facility along the La Plata River near Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mekorot Chairman Alex Wiznitzer said he hopes Mekorot’s water projects will be able to create contacts in nearby Arab countries. The United Nation’s has called the Middle East the world’s most water-stressed region. Water security is a vital regional issue.
Wiznitzer told Reuters: “The underdeveloped world doesn’t understand that water is the number one problem in the world. Not oil. Not gas. Not other resources. Water.”
Green Prophet’s reports on happenings in the Gulf region have increasingly been using the acronym GCC, which stands for Gulf Cooperation Council. Perhaps a bit of an explanation is in order. GCC is a political and economic alliance between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Saudi Arabia (KSA). It was formed in 1981 following Iraq’s invasion of Iran and the start of the Persian Gulf War, ostensibly to enhance regional security and bolster trade.
Collectively, these six countries possess nearly half of the world’s oil reserves. Neighboring Yemen has agitated for membership, but its crippled economy and status as a republic are key differentiators that have so far kept them out of the club. KSA is the most powerful member and the Council is headquartered in Riyadh.
Supported in part by the Egyptian German Private Sector Development Programme (PSDP), the ZERO award 2012 has extended their deadline for Egyptian designers eager to submit innovative green ideas to the country’s architecture, interior design, and urban planning challenges. The top entries from each category will be recognized publicly and internationally and the winners will also travel to the final competition in Germany.
Previously open to Ethiopian and German participants as well, the deadline for Egyptian architects, landscape and urban designers has been extended by seven days to June 16th, 2012, so there’s still time to submit your proposals. The top three contestants from each country will be awarded materials and consultation valued at up to €500 which should be used towards developing a marketable prototype as well as support sourcing funders and producers.
Called ZERO, this innovation competition for sustainable startups is in its second year. The focus this year is on green architecture and design and contestants are invited to visit www.icehubs.com/zeroaward for detailed instructions on how to prepare proposals and enter the competition. We know that there are many talented Egyptian innovators out there… so get up and go! Go now. Apply. And make your ideas known.
Waterstudio.NL is world-renowned for its forward-thinking approach to architecture. While so many architects and developers (especially in our region) are still stuck on growing mammoth skyscrapers on land, this Dutch firm has carved a niche in floating architecture in preparation of climate change and rising seas. Their projects are numerous and range from small house boats to whole islands.
But we question whether it is fair to bill one of their recent projects, the Greenstar Hotel underway in the Maldives, as a beacon of light, the shining star of sustainable development? More vulnerable to rising seas than virtually any other nation, the Maldivian government has signed an agreement with Dutch Docklands to develop 80 square million feet of floating buildings, golf courses, hotels, and other floating buildings. But is this the right approach?
