It’s estimated that the environmental impact of a single “eReader” (Kindle, iPad…) equals that of 100 books. Whether the motivation is to truly improve environmental performance, or simply garner positive press, seems every business is jumping on the low carbon bandwagon. Nowhere is exempt from the pressure to green up, not even the beleaguered (and […]
Conservationists in Egypt are worried about the environmental impact of large-scale solar projects in the desert It seems renewables are taking a little bit of a bashing at the moment. First research emerges that wind turbines may be contributing to a temperature rise in the area, and now environmental campaigners in Egypt are calling for […]
Recently Arwa posted NASA images that depict how we have drastically altered countries in the Middle East and North Africa – a jarring post that was read by hundreds of people around the world. Today we bring you a staggering video by Globaïa, which globalizes local issues and demonstrates how efficiently human beings have conquered […]
Sturdy wild wheat and barley are essential for humanity’s survival. New study shows we are losing genetic diversity Israel’s wild wheat and barley are known to be the ancestors of our modern grains. When Man cultivated them, their genetic resistance to drought and disease carried over to cultivated varieties. This aided mankind’s struggle to grow […]
Wouldn’t it be great if we could tell parents living in Gulf countries that their kids are getting fat because they’re being fed too many McDonald’s burgers, and have them respond by adding some greens to their diet? But this isn’t what happens. Even though a 2010 national school health survey in the United Arab Emirates […]
When BrightSource withdrew its IPO this month, the death knell for solar was sounded, as always. The truth is more mundane. According to the always inquisitive Katie Fehrenbacher over at GigaOm who managed to snag a Q&A with the company, BrightSource just doesn’t necessarily need the extra money right now. Its Ivanpah solar thermal project is already fully funded […]
Greenhouses will sprout in Aqaba’s desert under a pilot called The Sahara Forest Project - led by Norway.
In the Middle East and North Africa, although it’s still possible to shop in the slow, traditional way – to buy fresh food from the butchery, the dairy and the bakery – it is sadly becoming less common. This is especially true in the big cities, where people live high-flying lifestyles and prefer one-stop-shopping. Izmir […]
You see all kinds of weird transportation in the Middle East: but the worst is drifting where young Arab males purposefully “drift” their cars into crowds of people. I don’t understand the lust for cars. I’m unresponsive to the siren call of Formula 1, NASCAR, and Top Gear. I think commuter trains and subways are […]
Bringing the merits and techniques of earth architecture to those unable to travel to the California Institute of Earth Architecture founded by Nader Khalili in 1986 was always the internationally-renowned architect’s priority, and it finally came to fruition in 2011 at the first six-day onsite International Workshop in Australia. Now Hooman Fazly and Robert Gordon […]
Israel works to create a buffer zone around Egypt and Gaza fearing rare strain of foot and mouth disease will spread. With vaccines in short supply the Food and Agriculture Association of the United Nations warn that animals should not be moved around Gaza to stop the spread of a new strain of foot and […]
Sudan’s Mohammad Baloola says his invention can eradicate an emerging Gulf disease: diabetes. As a biomedical engineering student at Ajman University of Science and Technology, Mohammad Baloola found homegrown inspiration for his final year project. Four members of his family are diabetic, a collective muse for his ingenious artificial pancreas. The pancreas is the body’s sole […]
From urbanisation in Morocco to lake shrinkage in Iran, these shocking NASA photos prove how this region is in dramatic ecological flux. Unless you have been living in a consumer-induced coma, it will not have escaped your attention that the world is under serious environmental stress. And a large chunk of that stress has been human-induced. […]
Turkey has started exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the town of Iskele in northern Cyprus (red arrow), angering the government of the Greek-controlled southern region. The Turkish Petroleum Corporation began onshore drilling operations on April 26 at a 3,000-meter-deep well, named “Türkyurdu-1” (“Turkish Homeland”), which Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız called a “force for […]
Few ideas are more absurd to me than this: because people refuse to cut back on beef consumption, catastrophic levels of methane are being released into the atmosphere each year. Even Forbes wrote in a recent report that cutting back on meat is one of the fastest ways we can slash our carbon emissions and […]