Able to store enough heat to generate power that can last well into the night, Masdar’s Gemasolar, built in Spain last year was state of the art in solar thermal energy storage, able to reach temperatures of over 500°C. Now a U.S. startup funded by the Obama administration energy department with a $3.3 million ARPA-E grant has […]
Dubai is considering biological control: camels to dine in Dubai’s Ras al Khor wildlife sanctuary overrun by mangrove trees Too many mangroves is not a good thing – at least not at the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary in Dubai, where they were introduced in 1990. So an ecologist at Dubai’s Wildlife Protection office has […]
Saudi Arabia has lots of open land, and lots of sand which is rich in silicon; which is needed to make polysilicon for the solar industry. This year, the Kingdom has announced its second polysilicon manufacturing partnership, this time with Germany’s Centrotherm Photovoltaics.A year ago, Saudi Arabia had announced a $1 billion solar joint venture […]
We travelled to Zazen Boutique Resort on Koh Samui, Thailand and were pleasantly surprised at their pioneering eco initiatives on an island without much awareness.
This guest post by Daniella Dimitrova Russo the co-founder and executive director of Plastic Pollution Coalition gives us reasons to still worry about buying BPA-free products. What is the connection between obesity, reproductive and other endocrine-related conditions, heart disease, and cancer? Recent studies point conclusively towards one ubiquitous chemical that is used in everything from […]
The most advanced country in the world for "legalizing it" for medical reasons, the main reason Israelis can smoke cannabis to feel better is this man Rafael Mechoulam.
A wastewater treatment plant in Israel rolls out the brown carpet for holiday tourists We’ve seen the most foul waste treatment plants come out smelling like roses after reclamation programs, and energy generated from human waste is no longer surprising to anyone who hears about it, but we never really thought that our most refined […]
A bit ridiculous? Change your font size by one point and save trees…? It’s called the Minus One Project, and it is a very neat example of a practical project with one very specific objective: it encourage offices, schools, homes and everyone else to lower their font by one size before printing. Maybe not the perfect idea […]
Age-old agricultural techniques in the West Bank help conserve rare plants that might otherwise have perished, according to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. A new survey shows that farmers following traditional practices in the south Hebron Hills have sustained a large number of rare plants. According to plant researcher Yair Or, the fieldwork turned […]
Could you ever imagine patios like this one built with composite materials? If you’ve been thinking about building a hanging garden on your urban Middle East deck, patio, or porch, spring is the perfect time to start planting your seeds. While people living in crazy and compact Middle East cities like Beirut, Tel Aviv, Cairo […]
A Lebanese man takes on a bucking bull at Lebanon’s very own dude ranch… do you think he made 8 seconds? If you’ve always dreamed about cowboys and Indians, stop. They fought and killed each other and it was grisly. But the southwestern ranch lifestyle is entirely less violent and now it’s possible to taste […]
This guy may look kind of sexy with his pipe, but the BBC unveils just how toxic smoking shisha really is. It’s always been a source of curiosity to me that even my health-conscious friends in the Middle East rarely pass up an opportunity to suck on a shisha pipe – as though that seductive […]
Kids in the Middle East love those super-sweet soda and drink beverages. Loaded with sugar, parents should limit intake for new reasons. With all the food and beverage issues making headlines, like pink slime hamburgers and meat glue worries, there is new bad news on syrupy soft drinks that people order with those “slime burgers” and French […]
A new pavilion by A-Bureau takes back an area of downtown Bahrain overrun by traffic – even if only temporarily. Right in the midst of the worst government crackdowns in Bahrain last year, we interviewed Camille Zakharia – a talented photographer whose work has been shown all over the world. Recently he sent us images […]
Enslaved Jews in Egypt built storehouses in Pithom and Ramses, according to tradition. But did they cement the bricks with dates and honey? “Seder” means “order.” The first Passover night’s meal follows a specific order, and the first thing we see on the seder table is a plate of symbolic foods. In the center of […]