Hajj terminal for Mekkah is aviation’s green gem
Hajj Terminal, in Jedda, Saudi Arabia was built only for Mekkah by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, a Chicago-based architectural firm. It stands the test of time as a green gem.
EU’s Planned Nabucco Gas Pipeline To Be Displaced By Russian Project
The Nabucco natural gas pipeline (in orange) was designed to lessen eastern Europe’s dependence on Russia’s sometimes unreliable gas supply. But Russia’s South Stream pipeline project (in blue) now seems more likely to be built. A 2,400-mile pipeline transporting 30 million cubic meters from central Asia to Austria each year. That was the plan when […]
Tu B’Shvat Ecology Study Opportunities, 2012
The 15th day of the Jewish month of Shavat signals the launching of new Jewish eco-education programs. A potent mystical, ecological, legal and historical mix runs through Tu B’Shvat, a date known as the New Year For The Trees. For more on the meaning of Tu B’Shvat, read this post. According to Jewish tradition, it’s […]
Proposal for Riyadh’s Celebration Hall in Saudi Distorts Bedouin Values
Studio Schiattarella and Tecturae’s winning proposal for the Celebration Hall of Riyadh distorts true Bedouin values. It is common in Middle Eastern design to evoke images of a more sustainable past in order to justify a less sustainable present, and nowhere is this more true than in Saudi Arabia. The winning proposal for the Celebration […]
20 Penguins From Texas Live at Dubai Ski Slope
10 King and 10 Gentoo Penguins imported from Texas are now living at Ski Dubai – an indoor ski slope in the desert! Picture : © Samuel Blanc / www.sblanc.com It’s bizarre enough that Dubai has an indoor ski slope despite outdoor summer temperatures averaging at over 40 degrees Celsius, but now a colony of penguins has […]
Is Pink Slime Worse Than Meat Glue for Enhancing Fast Food?
Looks good – tastes good for meat eaters. But how much of that meat patty is pink slime? Ever wonder what makes the meat patties used in hamburgers in fast food eateries like McDonalds and Burger King seem so fresh? The secret is not really how much meat glue is used, or whether the meat […]
Run Your Carbon Footprint Against the World’s
My feet are big, at US women’s size 10, but my footprint is enormous. See how yours compares to other nations in the world Drop a teabag in a mug, add boiled water, and in the time it takes to brew, you can calculate your carbon weight. Trust me – you’ll need a comforting drink when […]
Israel Embraces Solar As It Races Towards 2020 Clean Energy Goal
The arid Middle Eastern desert climate offers little in the way of natural resources. But it does boast of brilliant and fierce sunlight. In a continuing effort to reach the goal of 10% renewable power by 2020, Israel has recently been issuing a slew of new solar licences, including a 120 MW thermal solar plant […]
Why Zaha Hadid Should Green the Central Bank of Iraq Headquarters
It’s official: Zaha Hadid is going to design the new Central Bank of Iraq’s Headquarters; Tafline argues that it should be green. Zaha Hadid is widely celebrated for her incredible, untethered design, but less so for her environmental sensibilities. So when we learned that the deal to design a major project for her home country, […]
Stuffed Jerusalem sage recipe
marmia in Arab markets. To celebrate the emergence of winter's wild greens, here is a vegan recipe featuring a Middle Eastern specialty: Jerusalem Sage.
DIY solar panels made from grass
MIT researchers say that soon all we’ll need to harvest our vast solar resource is grass and stabilizing powder. While Masdar and Suntech and other solar energy projects are laboring under expensive, high-tech materials in order to improve their energy-absorbing capability, MIT researchers in the United States are taking a different approach: using grass. (No, […]
Lebanese Activists Democratically Demand Access to Horsh Beirut Urban Park
Next Wednesday activists will hold a public forum to democratically demand access to the Horsh Beirut urban park. In 1696, the Horsh Beirut Pine forest used to be as large as 1,250,000 square meters but the Crusaders, Mamluks, Ottomans, and World War II allies each took their turn plundering its timber in order to build ships and weapons. Further damage […]
Acqua by Raha Shirazi: You’ll Never Take Water for Granted Again
A powerful short film by Iranian-Canadian filmmaker Raha Shirazi, Acqua will make you look at water with new eyes. Raha Shirazi’s film Acqua is almost guaranteed to make you never take water for granted again. In it, a woman walks through snow in search of water with a jar on her back. Everywhere there is water, […]
China’s Suntech is Among Masdar’s Solar Bids for Nour 1
Frank Wouters of Masdar Power at Abu Dhabi’s World Future Energy Summit. With its first large scale solar farm expected to be operational by August, Masdar is now about to construct its second utility-scale solar project in the UAE, the 100 MW Nour 1. The first, Shams 1, used concentrated solar-thermal power (CSP) technology, that drives a steam turbine […]
Male Birth Control One Zap Away?
Ultrasounds are routinely used in prenatal care in women. New research suggests his testes could be next on the agenda. The lizard look is optional. Researchers have been exploring a male birth control pill, but with the exception of condoms, vasectomies or coitus interuptus – each with varying success rates and not necessarily halal depending […]