I know I know, the proposed federation of six gulf countries has nothing to do with anything remotely green. I also realize that the ulterior motive is to gain political strength and stability in the region and it is possible that this may even escalate the unrest, given that not everyone is happy with this union. However, if the coalition is indeed modeled after the European Union, then maybe these countries Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar,Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman could learn a few green lessons from the European Union and serve as the platform that can promote the cause of green energy and cleantech in the region. Let us look at the ways this can be done.
3 Ways a Gulf Federation Could Build a Greener Middle East
Egyptian Brothers Design a Clever Separator for Gulf Recyclables
Egyptian brothers Mostafa and Mohamed Nassar have designed a clever two-meter tall waste separator that aims to make recycling in Abu Dhabi and the other Emirates “as easy as pressing a button,” The National reports.Providers of steel solutions for construction, oil and gas industries and manufacturing plants, the Abu-Dhabi-raised pair believe that collecting recyclables can be profitable for landlords. But more importantly, they say, Gulf recycling rates will never increase unless the process is made entirely more convenient than it is currently. That’s where the WMS Metal Industries’ ENVIRO waste separator comes in handy.
Easy Trifle Recipe for Shavuot
Enjoy a delicious dairy dessert on Shavuot (but don’t count the calories).
Shavuot, the Jewish festival that celebrates receiving the Torah on Mt. Sinai, has always been associated with having a dairy meal. The origins of the custom go back to antiquity, and there are several explanations for it. Some hold that milk symbolizes the purity and sweetness of the Torah; as milk is to babies, so the Torah is to the Jewish soul.
Others give a vivid picture of the gathering of the Jewish nation at the foot of Mt. Sinai, waiting for Moses to descend with the Tablets of the Law. Aware of their ignorance as to the laws of kashrut, and wishing to achieve as high a spiritual level as possible, the Jews refrained from eating meat all the 50 days from the Exodus to Shavuot.
But I’m afraid that there is no commandment to eat delicious, decadent, sweet treets like cheesecake (see our recipe) or the trifle described below. Oh, well. My advice is: elevate eating with a blessing, and enjoy.
Easy Trifle for Shavuot
yield: 12 servings
Ingredients:
For syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 tablespoons brandy
For filling:
250 grams – 1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 – 1/4 cup sugar, divided in half
700 grams – 3 cups soft cream cheese
200 grams – 1 package ladyfingers cookies, or other light cookie
For garnish:
1 cup mixed forest berries: currants, mulberries, raspberries, etc.
1 small basket strawberries or 1 thinly sliced nectarine, or 1/2 banana or other soft fruit
Boil together all the ingredients for syrup except the brandy. Simmer 5 minutes. Take off the heat and add the brandy. Set aside.
Whip the cream with half the sugar until light.
In a separate bowl, whip the cream cheese with the second half of the sugar for at least 7 minutes, until it’s light.
Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese, mixing gently but thoroughly.
Dip the ladyfinger cookies into the syrup on both sides – a light dip, not to soak the cookies. Line the walls and bottom of your tray or serving bowl with the cookies, breaking some if needed to cover gaps in the container.
Pour about half the whipped mixture into the serving bowl, smoothing it lightly. Lay down another layer of ladyfingers dipped in syrup. Pour the remainder of the whipped mixture in and smooth again, lightly.
Garnish with fresh berries and fruit to your taste.
Enjoy!
More Shavuot recipes on Green Prophet:
Photo of trifle by Miriam Kresh for Green Prophet
Peak Phosphorus Fuels the World’s Growing Bellyache
Whisked away down the toilet and into our waterways, we are losing stocks of phosphorus and the result can be very scary.
Looking for something new to worry about? Phosphorus hops onto the list of rapidly diminishing natural resources: a dangerous dwindling of something that probably never crossed your mind. Production will likely peak in our lifetime, and be fully depleted by 2100. So what’s the big deal? Phosphorus is the bedrock of food production.
Israel Invests in Domestic Solar Power
The World Wildlife Fund and the Cleantech Group recently published a report saying that Israel is the second best place in the world to develop green technologies, second only to Denmark. Israel has long been a major exporter of such innovations, a leading developer of water-saving technology, such as its agricultural inventions, and solar power. Now Israel is starting to bolster its own energy infrastructure, utilizing that world renowned expertise at home.
Dubai’s Underwater Hotel by Deep Ocean Technology (PICS)
When it first emerged that plans for an underwater hotel in Dubai had been revived, Arwa wrote “Dubai has more gimmicks and tacky accolades than a Las Vegas souvenir store so the last thing it needs is more plastic tat. It’s just not good and most of these outlandish projects pay very little attention to the environmental impact of their development.”
Comprised of an above water disc connected to an underwater disc by five legs, a vertical shaft, lift and stairway, the Water Discus hotel “willl allow guests to admire the depths of the ocean while making the most of the warm climate,” according to Deep Ocean Technology, the project’s designer.
This new development follows on the heels of the Hydropolis project that was sunk in 2009 when a financial crisis caused an exodus of expatriates and their investment dollars. But now it seems that Dubai is beginning to recover and has learned absolutely nothing about the impact of too much intervention on the Gulf’s fragile ecosystem. Step in for more renders of this crazy underwater hotel and let us know, should it be built?
Arava Drags Israel into Solar Century with 58.5 MW Project Licensed, Contracted, and Financed
Is the sun finally rising on Israeli solar?
After a very slow start in solar energy production, Israel is finally beginning to join her Arab neighbors fast-forwarding into a solar future, like the Saudis’ $109 Billion Solar Plan to Power a Third of Saudi Arabia.
Arava Power Company, Israel’s only solar developer to make any headway against the entrenched bureaucratic resistance, now has financing and power agreements for eight solar power projects totaling 58.5 MW, valued at (a comparatively high by U.S. standards) $204 million.
In March, the company was given the go ahead by the country’s Public Utility Authority (PUA) to install a 40 MW project, once it got funding from the Obama administration in February.
(Related: Arava’s 40 MW Solar to Power a Third of Touristy Eliat’s Peak Power.)
But the only project to be approved prior to that was (again, Arava’s) small 5 MW installation that we covered in Bedouin Solar Power Activate! Even that tiny project faced months of bureaucratic battles.
Track the Sun-Powered Solar Impulse Flight to Spain and Morocco
As I write this, the Solar Impulse is traveling 94.2 km/h at an altitude of 7,016 meters en route to Madrid, where co-pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg will switch seats before leaving for their final destination Morocco. This is the world’s very first sun-powered transcontinental flight and its historic landing in Rabat, Morocco will coincide with the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy’s (MASEN) inauguration of the first of five massive thermo-solar plants in the Ouarzazate region.
Gorgeous WEwood Watches Made of Salvaged Wood on Sale in Egypt
WEwood watches are the brainchild of an Italian shoemaker who loves watches and two entrepreneurs who are eager to restore the earth we devoured in just 250 years; together they have grown a sustainable, avant-garde business that has expanded its reach from Florence to Los Angeles and most recently to Cairo.
Each unique piece is made of salvaged wood that would have been scrapped otherwise and fitted with Miyota’s state of the art timekeeping mechanism. They are splash-proof and svelte and contain nary a toxic, artificial chemical. Hit the jump to see a few images and to find out how to make one your own.
Eco-Friendly Bakery Gives Historic Presidential Voters in Egypt Free Pastries
Today Egyptians stood in line for hours to vote in the first real, competitive presidential election in the country’s history. And our favorite bakery, the only one in Egypt to recycle their own packaging into attractive notebooks, bookmarks and other stationary, is encouraging voters to play a role in the future of their homeland. As part of their “I Got Ink” campaign, all six Cairo branches of The Bakery Store are offering free baked goods to anyone who shows up with a bright purple index finger indicating that they have indeed cast their historic vote.
What Arab Youth Want (A List of 10 Things)
Democracy used to be at the forefront of Arab Youth’s minds, but in 2012 that has changed. Now youth from 12 Arab countries in the Gulf, the Levant and North Africa claim they are more concerned about receiving fair wages for their work and being able to own their homes, though lack of democracy remains an important obstacle to their ambitions.
This is according to the 2012 Arab Youth Survey. Launched in 2008, the annual survey is conducted by research professionals from Penn Scheon Berland (PSB) who travel to villages and cities in order to interview 2,500 young Arab men and women in person. Here is a list of the top 10 concerns that emerged during these discussions.
Qatar’s Polysilicon Manufacturing to Help Supply 10 Percent Solar Goal
Qatar to tap the solar potential of the Middle East to supply 10 percent of its electricity by 2018.
Qatar is the latest of the oil-rich Middle East/North African (MENA) nations to make bold solar plans to trap a world-record insolation to supply energy for its rapidly growing economy – one that bolted an incredible 20 percent last year.
This week a senior official of Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) announced the replacement of over 10 percent of its conventional forms of energy used to produce electricity and water with solar power by 2018.
With an incredible daily supply of 16 hours of solar insolation, Qatar has the chance to build a solar-based electricity supply which is far more efficient than any other part of the world.
Save the Cave Dwellers of Cappadocia (PHOTOS)
Nothing is more earth-friendly than carving out an existence in the belly of a cave. Yet, despite its 1985 UNESCO cultural and natural World Heritage Site listing, development and mass tourism often overrun traditional life in the surreal fairy-chimney-pocked landscape of Turkey’s Göreme-Cappadocia, rendering genuine cave dwellers a near-extinct species.
Gripped by a longstanding love affair with the region, visual artist Aili Schmeltz spent last summer in the Ibrahimpasa village documenting the homes of more than a dozen cave dwellers. She collected hours of audio footage and thousands of images, four of which she has shared with us. Within the next year, she hopes to arrange her work in a book that will help save this priceless heritage.
International Finance Corp Looking To Invest Millions In Israeli Cleantech
Israeli cleantech has long been present in the American market. Companies like Ormat have been developing geothermal resources in the US for decades. Now Israeli companies may be getting support to expand to developing countries as well. A senior official from the International Finance Corp (IFC)–a member of the World Bank, with a portfolio of $12 billion, which actively supports investment in developing countries–said the group was looking to invest tens of millions in Israeli cleantech companies that could expand operations to developing countries, Reuters reported on May 17.
Cheap Travellers and Surprising $ Stats for Tourism Industries
She might travel on a budget, but this backpacker can spend double the amount of money of the average non-budget traveller, and she’ll probably have more fun.
It’s easy to look down on the lowly backpackers when you are a country looking to earn lots of income from tourism. Many Middle Eastern countries rely seriously on tourism for bolstering the local economies, like Egypt, Morocco, Turkey and even Israel. When tourism drops, people feel it. So popular is tourism to iconic sites like the Nile River and the pyramids, or the Old City of Jerusalem that luxury vacations and hotels spring up all around these markets to reel in the Big Fish: you know the rich tourists who spend a week and $300 and per night on a hotel room. Bargain travellers, you know who they are: they look for deals on last minute flights, search online sites like Agoda religiously looking for the best hotel deal, and when they arrive at their destination tend to stay at cheaper hotels and hostels, sometimes working in reception, even washing dishes to subsidize their “rent”.
Tourism ministries haven’t been too keen to focus on these kinds of travelling “parasites” who try to live on dollars a day. Because, you know, the Big Fish bring in more money –– or so it would seem. Our friends over at the Fauzi Azar Inn in Nazareth just sent us an illuminating article based on research that will surprise you about the economic impact of budget travellers.