Fresh artichokes are all over Middle Eastern markets now. Lovers of the edible thistle enjoy scraping the steamed, seasoned leaves with their teeth and never mind getting melted butter or vinaigrette all over their fingers.
Despite having enough solar power to energize the planet for the next 20 centuries, Saudi Arabia has instead reaped the benefits of its oil reserves for decades. This wealth has spurred a spate of massive developments in Mecca, transforming a small desert hamlet into a thriving metropolis. But this may be a curse for Islam’s […]
The last international climate change negotiation (COP17) took place in Durban in 2011 and the outcomes were pretty disappointing given the urgency of the matter in hand. Unsatisfactory outcomes aside, climate change negotiations have been providing momentous opportunities for NGOs, individuals and the private sector to engage and exchange ideas on solutions to climate change mitigation. […]
“I am the Lorax and I speak for the trees.” What would nature’s ambassador tell us? Children’s author Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) used this question as inspiration for his classic ecological fable, The Lorax. His simple message is that when limited resources (such as truffula trees) are consumed without care, entire ecosystems (singing […]
The High Line Park built on a historic freight line in New York City (pictured below) is one of the most talked-about urban renewal programs in history. There is an entire website devoted to it, a special team maintains the verdant 23rd street lawn and another is responsible for removing ice and snow. This park […]
Better Place is not doing as well as everyone expected, with financial losses running in the millions. The idea seemed flawless: battery-powered cars that could run on 100% electricity and could be recharged almost instantly by swapping batteries at special charging stations. But despite all the optimistic predictions, Better Place, the Israeli company that has […]
Every square meter of Saudi Arabia produces an extraordinary 7 kilowatt hours of energy daily in each 12 hours of sun power. If the Saudis were to use up each days solar energy supply, or 12,425 TWh of electricity, it would be a 72 year supply. Put another way, in just one day, enough solar […]
Gold and Co. London encases electronics in 24 carat gold-plating; their best market? The Gulf, naturally. It’s impossible and rude to speak for the dead, but we find it hard to believe that Steve Jobs would have wanted anything he designed covered in gold. But this is the Gulf and we’ve seen stranger things, including […]
Dubai-based initiative My Ex Wardrobe for selling and buying womens clothes In today’s world, the privileged among us tend to live in a world of endless possibilities: endless food, endless clothes, even endless travel destinations. Some of these are great (the travel options) but some things are better in small doses to avoid waste. One […]
I catch up with Applied Clean Tech to know more about their recycled toilet paper project Above: recycled poo pellets that serve as raw material for recycled paper It will probably take a certain market approach and finesse to get people to accept, let alone truly appreciate, recycled toilet paper. But Refael Aharon, the CEO […]
Frying pan company Neoflam smacks TV show with libel law suit There was consumer chaos a few months ago in Israel when a local investigative report TV show Kolbotek, not unlike 60 Minutes in the US, tested ceramic frying pans and pots for potentially dangerous levels of toxic chemicals like cadmium and lead. The report […]
Activists have launched an international campaign to boycott key Namibian industries ahead of its annual slaughter of 91,000 seals. Not long ago we wrote a story about Hatem Yavuz, the “King of Seal Killers,” and our readers were outraged. An Australian man with Turkish heritage, Yavuz is now responsible for 85% of the world’s seal […]
Turkey’s massive wind resource has long been recognized. Now China’s wind giant Sinovel has signed an agreement to supply turbines to build 600 MW of wind projects in Turkey, in what could be the company’s largest overseas deal to date. In the deal sealed this week in Beijing when Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan visited China’s […]
100 eco-minded individuals will gather in Israel next weekend to brainstorm creative technological approaches to environmental challenges. Have you ever dreamed about brainstorming with 99 other eco-minded individuals to find clever solutions to our various environmental challenges? If so, this may be for you. TentTech is an invitation-only gathering of 100 artists, scientists, designers, agriculturalists, […]
There are 250 rescued animals living at the BETA animal shelter just outside Beirut; too many for fancy villa owners. It should come as no surprise, after seeing the video of the Ethiopian maid Alem Dechasa being beaten by her employer, that Lebanon also has a deplorable animal rights record. We recently featured the devastating […]