Few vegetables are so well-loved in the Middle East as cucumbers. This spicy cucumber pickle is delicious as an appetizer or to top your next falafel. “Cool as a cucumber” still applies when the cukes are pickled. Even when spiced and brined, cucumbers add a welcome, refreshingly piquant note to meals featuring fish, meat, and […]
When looking for country-specific environmental indicators, it is often difficult to find a single indicator that holistically summarizes the environmental situation in a tractable and visual manner. This is the first part of two articles (the second one on your water footprint is here). Two interactive environmental info graphics will be explored to help you better understand what is […]
Every year thousands of Europeans head to Morocco for a cheap trip; hopefully more will travel the eco-friendly way. British tour operator Specialist Morocco recently announced that they are opening up their ecologically-friendly tented camp in Morocco’s Southern Draa Valley for another season. And though we are particularly sensitive to greenwashing after witnessing first hand […]
A solar-powered goat farm in Lebanon now enjoys clean energy around the clock while the rest of the country sits in darkness for up to 18 hours a day. Hasan Istaytiyyah was lucky to have six hours of state-run energy a day before he decided to install a solar photovoltaic system and ditch his dirty […]
Streets become highways, trees make way for the mall in a new plan for Taksim Square in Istanbul. Today, Istanbul’s Taksim Square is a bustling hub of activity, with majestic Gezi Park providing some natural solace — even when the trees are brown in winter, as in the above photo. But a new plan would […]
Israeli ecologists are creating habitat to save the severely endangered fish Nemacheilus dori, which measures only two inches. The fate of a tiny endangered fish in Israel`s northern region may rest on whether ecologists can create additional aquatic habitat. The Nature and Parks Authority is working to save the fish, a hillstream loach, in Israel’s northern […]
Turkish firefighting airplane moments after releasing chemicals on 2010 Carmel wildfire: Photo by Skyscraper City Fourteen months after Israel’s worst environmental wildfires destroyed more than 7,500 acres of Carmel mountain forests and claimed 42 lives, a report issued by the office of Israel’s State Comptroller is directing the blame for not dealing quickly and properly […]
Smart sockets explained. Lewis Strauss, Chairman of the US Atomic Energy Commission said this to a group of science writers in 1954: “Our children will enjoy in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter…” While this comment is often given as an example of overly-optimistic technological predictions, electricity is incredibly inexpensive. Just look at […]
World Banks funds new irrigation project for Afghans. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization is boosting its technical support for rehabilitation of Afghanistan‘s dilapidated traditional irrigation systems, in a bid to help farmers increase crop production. The initiative also aims to improve the knowledge and skills that farmers need to run and maintain irrigation systems. […]
With some creativity and design aesthetic, cardboard box forts are taken to a whole new level. Cardboard is becoming an eco-friendly material of choice for furniture design, and sustainable designers have put it to many uses. It is used both for chic contemporary cardboard thrones as well as cardboard cribs and doll cradles. Bringing cardboard […]
From food shortages in Syria to green energy in Jordan, this news round-up will help keep you in the know It’s been busy here at GreenProphet HQ and the stories that have got us talking this week include the wind-powered minesweeper, shocking seal killing revelations as well the upcoming first anniversary of the Fukushima disaster. These major […]
You don’t have to have a million-dollar set up to save water. Follow the links to 100+ simple water-saving tips. Sometimes we believe in short and sweet, and this is one of those times. Below you will find a link to a fantastic resource that provides a wonderful compilation of more than 100 water-saving tips, […]
Libyan sculptor Ali Al-Wakwak has transformed the charred remnants of war into inspiring creations Around a week ago, Libyans celebrated the first anniversary of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. It’s certainly been a turbulent year for Libyans and although the future isn’t as certain as some would hope, thousands took to the streets to celebrate […]
A host of eco-tourism initiatives in Egypt are moving away from the packaged tour to nature-based experiences Nature has been developing solutions to its own challenges for the last 3.8 billion years, so two women in Egypt have set up an eco-tourism venture that tunes into that infinite wisdom. Biologists Sara el-Sayed and Betty Khoury […]
Once the region’s climate skeptic, Saudi Arabia is slowly shifting towards a more progressive stance ahead of the climate summit in Qatar It’s not long now till the climate summit follow up to Durban, is held in Qatar later this year. And in response to the eyes that will be soon focusing on the Middle […]