Subscribe
type here...
Subscribe
Home Blog Page 451

These Pictures of Baby Arabian Sand Gazelles Will Make Your Day

Tafline Laylin
-
0
These Pictures of Baby Arabian Sand Gazelles Will Make Your Day

Al Ain Zoo, biodiversity, desert, Gulf, Arabian Peninsula, wildlife conservation, baby gazelles, Arabian Sand Gazelle, Rhim GazelleThis Arabian sand gazelle in the United Arab Emirates is now six days old!

While some zoos in the Middle East and North Africa have a terrible track record when it comes to their treatment of animals, Al Ain Zoo in the United Arab Emirates functions as a leading wildlife conservation center that specializes in threatened species from the world’s arid regions. It was at their veterinary center that these adorable Arabian sand gazelles were born on 18 March, 2012.

Also known as Rhim or slender horned gazelles, Arabian sand gazelles are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) list of threatened species because of illegal hunting, habitat disruption, and agricultural development. The Al Ain newborns, three males and two females, were bred in captivity and these pictures of them certainly made our day!

Continue

Is Real Madrid’s $1 Billion Artificial Island Another Reason to Support Barcelona?

Tafline Laylin
-
1
Is Real Madrid’s $1 Billion Artificial Island Another Reason to Support Barcelona?

artificial islands, unsustainable development, gulf, coral, biodiversity, Persian Gulf, Arabian Gulf,

If you need another reason to support the Barcelona soccer team, this might help: in order to expand their fan base in the Middle East and Asia, Real Madrid is joining forces with the United Arab Emirates to build a giant soccer resort complete with a stadium, fancy villas, two high rise hotels, and a hi-tech museum. But here’s the most egregious part of the plan: even though a report was released by scientists last year that puts responsibility of coral and biodiversity loss squarely in the lap of unfettered development, Real Madrid intends to build their 430,000 square foot soccer resort on an artificial archipelago in the Arabian/Persian Gulf.

Continue

5 Amazing Things About Tunisia that Wikipedia Won’t Tell You

Tafline Laylin
-
16
5 Amazing Things About Tunisia that Wikipedia Won’t Tell You

Jasmine revolution, renewable energy, <a href=Tafline’s reporting trip to Tunisia has evolved into a personal odyssey that has revealed a side of the country Wikipedia can’t convey.

I’ve been in Tunisia since Tuesday afternoon and almost every day has been fraught with challenges. This is typical of travel, of course. Few things ever go smoothly, belongings are lost or broken, and then figuring out how to to fix these problems outside of your home country is tricky. But for most people who travel, getting to the other side of the obstacles is partly what makes the experience so worthwhile.

Although I came to Tunisia to learn about the country’s green initiatives, so far my personal odyssey has revealed aspects of life in this country that Wikipedia will never convey. Read on to learn more about my adventure and five things about this North African country that might surprise you.

Continue

Hyquator’s Solar Cells Could Give Clean Water to Billions

Maurice Picow
-
4
Hyquator’s Solar Cells Could Give Clean Water to Billions

Hyquator device kickstarter Looks like a flat thermometer, but its inventors say it can disinfect 100 glasses of water on a single battery charge.

As many as a billion people on this planet do not have easy access to clean drinking water, especially in Third World countries in Africa and southern Asia. We have previously written about solutions to provide safe drinking water, including such methods as heating water via the sun in plastic beverage bottles. Another method to provide clean water is the use of special water filters that use bacteria to eat nitrates; while yet another is to use car and building air conditioning units to take water vapor from the air and turn it into clean drinking water. But now, a new device is being promoted by the Kickstarter Project Funding Platform that involves a small, solar energy powered device that its innovators say can disinfect dirty water by killing or inactivating all kinds of pathogenic microorganisms within minutes and prevent their further growth.

Continue

Wharton’s Looking for Middle East Green-novation at Innovation Tournament

Faisal O'Keefe
-
8
Wharton’s Looking for Middle East Green-novation at Innovation Tournament

green-novatopmCrazy idea keeping you up at night?  Are you a solver of problems with worldwide impact? Would your innovation benefit from expert mentoring? Join the Innovation Tournament

If so, grab your entrepreneurial lance and take aim at this opportunity to participate in a worldwide challenge; gain guidance from international business experts; attract elusive project funding; and publicize your greenest ideas.Knowledge@Wharton and a college in the United Arab Emirates Launch Innovation Tournament for Green Ideas in the Middle East.

The Higher Colleges of Technology, the largest higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates, and Knowledge@Wharton, the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania, are getting serious about green entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa.

Continue

Hundreds Join SlutWalk Israel on Facebook and the Streets

Tinamarie Bernard
-
0
Hundreds Join SlutWalk Israel on Facebook and the Streets

SlutWalk started in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in April 2011 in response to the slur of a Toronto Police officer who suggested that women could remain safe by avoiding dressing like ‘sluts.’ Since then, the movement has spread across the globe as a worldwide protest against aggression and rape. Activists are reframing the dialogue, calling on societies to place the blame on the perpetrators, and not the victims.

We’ve covered the social justice angles in our OpEd, connected the dots between environmentalism and women’s issues, and revealed that Israel is the first country in the Middle East to organize three SlutWalks. Now we’re providing interested readers with links to the Facebook event pages, including dates and location information (please note: most of the information on Facebook is in Hebrew).

Continue

Electric Cars on Display at Automotor Exhibit in Tel Aviv

Miriam Kresh
-
1
Electric Cars on Display at Automotor Exhibit in Tel Aviv

image-renault- fluence-z.e.Better Place offers the public a close-up view of the electric Renault Fluence Z.E. and the sporty Tesla Roadster at the Automotor Exhibit in Tel Aviv, April 8-11 .

Rising fuel prices and a growing commitment to reducing air pollution are causing more Israelis to turn towards alternative cars. Maurice’s post from January tells of 100 electric cars on the road. Since then private customers and 60 companies inclding Cellcom, Nike, HOT and G4S have signed leases for hundreds more.

To educate the Israeli public, Better Place built a special auditorium at the Automotor Exhibit showing the Fluence Z.E. family sedan and the Tesla Roadster. There will be room for visitors to get a feel for driving the electric cars, as Maurice did. Visitors may view the simple process of battery recharging and become familiar with the battery recharging pole. A battery-switch station will be shown, where a driver can exchange an empty battery for a freshly-charged one in less than 5 minutes. Customer service personnel will be available to explain the financial and ecological advantages of electric cars over conventional cars and how the monthly lease of the battery works.

Continue

Saudi Arabia Dumps Oil in Time for US Election Season

Brian Nitz
-
0
Saudi Arabia Dumps Oil in Time for US Election Season

camel tied in front of oil refinery, in Saudi Arabia

A fleet of oil tankers is heading from Saudi Arabia to the US in order to drive down “unjustified” oil prices of $127 per barrel.  Saudi Arabia’s current capacity of 9.9 million barrels per day already exceeds self-imposed OPEC quotas.  Saudi Petroleum minister Ali Naimi said production could go up another 25% to 12.5 million barrels per day, if necessary.  To put this into perspective, despite the fact that Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) oil reserve has been a cornerstone of  U.S. political wrangling for decades, pumping at this rate would deplete ANWR in 21 months.

Continue

Syria’s Seeds Are Locked Away in Norway, But Are Seed Vaults Safe?

Linda Pappagallo
-
1
Syria’s Seeds Are Locked Away in Norway, But Are Seed Vaults Safe?

seed vault syria
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault locked safe away in Norway has once again opened its steel doors welcoming 25,000 new seed samples including varieties of chickpeas, fava beans and other seeds from Syria. Around 110,000 Syrian duplicate seed samples out of 750,000 samples stored in Syria have been safely consigned, should the conflict in Syria destroy national seed banks (as happened in Afghanistan and Iraq), at least we are sure that some of the local and ancient agricultural biodiversity has been salvaged.

Opened in 2008, and ranked as the 6th “Time’s Best invention”, the Svalbard vault is the world’s main back up of duplicate seeds collected. More than half a million samples are safely deposited on behalf of 1,750 genebanks from around the world; this “seed deposit service” is provided free of charge thanks to the Norwegian government and the Global Crop Diversity Trust which cover all operational costs. The facility, which cost 9 million USD , has been funded entirely by the Norwegian government and it has a very neat apocalyptic feel to it.

Sunk 125 meters into the Norwegian permafrost, outside the village of Longyearbyen one of the world’s most northerly habitation, the vault is maintained at a constant temperature of -18 degrees Celsius, the concave tunnel head is designed to deflect missile strikes, and the vault has been built deep enough into the mountain to withstand nuclear explosion and rising sea level. Oh, and in case electricity happened to cut off, it would take two centuries for the vault to warm to freezing point. It is not surprising that such precautions have led the Svalbard vault to be nicknamed as the Doomsday Vault, pictured below.

Continue

UN Sponsors Global Wet T-Shirt Contest!

Faisal O'Keefe
-
0
UN Sponsors Global Wet T-Shirt Contest!

wet tshirt manIt’s World Water Day today, relevant and necessary for the Middle East. 

Well, not quite, but I got your attention. Raise an icy glass filled with clean water: it’s World Water Day. In 1992, the United Nations General Assembly declared each March 22 to be World Day for Water, raising awareness of water issues at local and global levels. The first World Water Day made a splash in 1993.  Waves of educational events and symposia on water management and security cause participation to swell.

School kids and environmental groups keep the day vibrant.  The internet makes event-promotion a snap. Particularly powerful is the UN’s website, which offers free campaign materials to help stage your own event,  links to what others are doing, and methods to reduce your water footprint. Drink in their facts:

Continue

Where Can You Find the World’s Most Expensive Gasoline? Probably Turkey.

Julia Harte
-
2
Where Can You Find the World’s Most Expensive Gasoline? Probably Turkey.

After a rise in the cost of gasoline on Tuesday, Turks are now paying what may be the world’s highest price for the precious liquid.

95-octane unleaded gasoline jumped to 4.62 Turkish Lira ($2.60, or € 1.93 ) per liter on Tuesday. By comparison, the European countries with the highest current gas prices — Italy, Denmark, and the Netherlands — pay € 1.85, € 1.83 and € 1.83, respectively, according to Energy.eu.

These prices make U.S. complaints about the high price of gas seem laughable in comparison: Turkey’s current price at the pump works out to approximately $10 per gallon.

Continue

An Independent Tunisia at Night (PHOTOS)

Tafline Laylin
-
1
An Independent Tunisia at Night (PHOTOS)

A handful of Tunisian men walk down Avenue Habib Bourguiba after a full day of protesting on Independence Day

We landed in the capital as thousands of Tunisians wearing and carrying their red and white flags swarmed on Avenue Habib Bourguiba to celebrate their independence from France on March 20, 1956. At one point a man shouted at policemen sitting in a bus as others carried him off. After I took a photo of this unfolding, two men in uniform followed me down the street and insisted that I delete the image.

Although I wanted to be the cool and fierce journalist who refused, there was no one around to back me up and I don’t speak French. So, delete. Besides, I’m not on a political mission, even though sometimes it is hard to separate environmental and political issues. Take a peak of a few images we snapped of downtown Tunis last night and stay tuned for more news.

Continue

Environmentalists Mourn the Passing of Egypt’s Patriarch of Environment

Tafline Laylin
-
8
Environmentalists Mourn the Passing of Egypt’s Patriarch of Environment

Eulogy, Dr. Mohamed Kassas, desertification, patriarch, Egypt, environmentalist, leadershipDr. Mohamed Kassas was a leading pioneer of Egypt’s environmental movement and a beloved mentor. 

Dr. Mohamed Kassas was active until the end, says Mindy Baha El Din, Manager of Nature Conservation Egypt. Just yesterday Christians packed the St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo to bid farewell to their patriarch Pope Shenouda III, and today environmentalists throughout the country are mourning the loss of their own hero – the father of desertification and a “truly unique man.”

After spending more than a week in Manal hospital in Cairo after suffering from health complications, the 91 year old Professor Emeritus of Botany at the University of Cairo and former President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) died today.

Continue

Egyptians Panic as Foot and Mouth Disease Sweeps Through the Country

Tafline Laylin
-
0
Egyptians Panic as Foot and Mouth Disease Sweeps Through the Country

FMD, epidemic, Foot and Mouth Disease, Egypt, Livestock, food, health, Many Egyptians have stopped buying meat after thousands of livestock have died from foot and mouth disease in the last three weeks.

Even though it is extremely rare for humans to contract foot and mouth disease, many panicky Egyptians have stopped purchasing meat since the virus began to spread through the country, leaving thousands of dead cattle in its wake. After last year’s revolution and subsequent mismanagement of natural resources and political matters, Egyptians are unable to trust government exhortations that they are monitoring the epidemic that has affected cattle and livestock in Alexandria, Cairo, and various other governorates.

The General Authority for Veterinary Services reported that 40,222 cattle have been infected and 4,658 cattle have died since the disease broke out three weeks ago.

Continue

Israeli Cleantech VC Nears $100 Million Goal

Shifra Mincer
-
0

digital green clean tech
The finish line is in sight for Israel Cleantech Ventures (ICV), which has been racing towards a $100 million goal.

ICV is an Israeli venture capital fund that was founded in 2006 to focus exclusively on raising capital for investment in renewable energy companies. In its February financial filing the company showed it had raised nearly half the $100 million it has set to raise this year. As international funds like Blackstone begin noticing the Israeli cleantech sector, the homegrown ICV fund will become incrasingly significant on the global map.

Continue
1...450451452...785Page 451 of 785

Have news to share? Renewable energy news, architectural, artificial intelligence, biotech, sustainable design ideas, eco-architecture, green travel?
Email us: [email protected]

Company

Headlines

Japan wants to build a solar panel ring around the moon

0
Unlike solar power on Earth, which is limited by night cycles, weather, and seasons, the Moon offers something close to uninterrupted exposure to the Sun. By placing solar infrastructure in orbit or along the lunar surface, engineers could generate continuous clean energy at a scale that may exceed global electricity demand,  the Japanese scientists say.

African kids born in these Star Homes are less likely to die

0
What the Star Home demonstrates is something bigger: that health can be built into infrastructure. Instead of relying only on healthcare systems, communities can reduce disease at the source—through smarter design.

Art from Oman at the Venice Biennale

0
Oman is returning to the Venice Biennale with Zīnah, an immersive installation by artist and curator Haitham Al Busafi that transforms a traditional form of horse adornment into a large-scale sensory experience.

Korean researchers create battery from greenhouse gases

0
Professor Ji-Soo Jang, in collaboration with Professor Taekwang Yoon of Ajou University and Professor Hansel Kim of Chungbuk National University, has developed a novel energy device that generates electricity during the process of capturing greenhouse gases.

Newsletter

Get important news delivered directly to your inbox and stay connected!

© 2007 to 2026 Green Prophet, All Rights Reserved