Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Before promoting sustainability progress, companies must ensure their initiatives are genuine and measurable. Today’s audiences are increasingly skeptical of vague environmental claims, particularly as awareness of “greenwashing” has grown.
Sydney is best known for the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you’re looking to enjoy dinner with views of these landmarks, here are some great options.
It's sea turtles which may in the end save islands in the Seychelles. They may also better help us understand climate change. Like rings on a tree, scientists have found a way to read sea turtle shells and how they are impacted by climate change tells a story.
For centuries, the Sámi shaman drum was one of the most powerful sacred objects in northern Europe, and one of the most feared by church and state. If ISIS looks bad to us today for its religious fundamentalism, Christians were just as fervent.
Overfishing has led to a massive depletion of Gulf fish stock, so Dubai has announced plans to crack down on illegal sales of immature fish.
Last year Green Prophet traveled to the United Arab Emirates to talk to locals about fish. After seeing reports of sharks being caught and sold openly, and watching The End of the Line, we leaped at an opportunity to make presentations at schools and public venues about unsustainable fishing practices. But our audience was sometimes less excited.
Locals frequently sited tradition and jobs as justification for eating hamour, for example, one of the most overfished species in the world, and law enforcement was virtually non-existent. But new tallies that reveal historically low fish stocks have compelled the Dubai Municipality to step up efforts to curb sales of undersized fish and restore balance to the Gulf’s ecosystem.
You can make variations of sauerkraut and all sorts of winter sauces, using natural fermentation
Flavorful, crunchy home-made sauerkraut is easy to make at home.
Cool weather is best for putting up sauerkraut, so now is the time to chop up some cabbage and go for it. Like our Middle-Eastern preserved lemons, sauerkraut ferments in brine. According to fermentation guru Sandor Katz, whose book we reviewed here, brined foods boost immunities and may even have anti-carcinogenic properties. He used natural fermentation to stop HIV from hurting his body.
Simplifying everything, even the food you eat will make you healthier: Sandor Katz who cured himself from the effects of HIV with fermented foods.
We claim that fermented foods can heal your gut. And if you like to eat sauerkraut anyway, you’ll enjoy the fresh, un-canned taste and crunchy texture of the jar you put up yourself. Sauerkraut is easy to make and takes hardly any time.
Home-made sauerkraut recipe
Large bowl
1-gallon jar or crock
Jar with 1 liter/ 1 quart capacity
Something to weigh the sauerkraut down while it’s fermenting: a plate that fits inside your jar or a Ziploc bag filled with water
Clean kitchen towel
Ingredients for sauerkraut
2 kg. – 5 lb. fresh cabbage, white, red, or a mixture
3 tablespoons salt – sea salt is healthiest, but plain table salt will do.
Cut the cabbages in halves and cut the cores out.
Method for making sauerkraut
Miriam’s homemade sauerkraut.
Chop the cabbage finely, scooping it into the bowl as you chop. Sprinkle salt in between the layers.
When all the cabbage is chopped and salted, mix it well and pack it into the 1-gallon jar. Push it down hard, using a wooden spoon, potato masher or your clean fist.
Place a clean plate or weight inside the jar to keep the cabbage tightly packed.
Cover with the kitchen towel.
The cabbage will begin to release juice almost immediately, but it takes about a day for enough liquid to form to cover the vegetable. You will need to press it down again every so often to encourage the liquid to release. If the cabbage isn’t covered with brine by the next day, make a simple cold brine of 1 cup water/1 tablespoon salt and add it to the jar.
Check the jar every day and push the cabbage down if needed. It will reduce in volume. Once you’re sure that it will fit, repack it into your smaller jar. As with all fermenting things, the less contact with air, the less chance of spoilage.
Start tasting after a week’s fermentation, and serve whenever you feel that the taste is right. Refrigerate. Pack the cabbage back down every time you remove some, and make sure that the object weighing it down is clean. Replace brine if needed.
That’s it! Enjoy!
Serving suggestion: Boil unpeeled potatoes and heat the sauerkraut. Place both, hot, in the same bowl and drizzle melted butter over all. A real rustic treat.
Editor’s notes: Shredded cabbage, grated carrots, grated green apple, some minced garlic, a pinch of caraway seeds and a pinch of mustard seeds about 3 to 3.5% salt by weight of the above ingredients. Ferment for 6-8 weeks is an alternate recipe.
The donkey’s ancestor, African Wild Asses once lived all over North Africa, but now they are critically endangered.
Donkeys aplenty can be found roaming fields and mountains all over Africa, but their ancestor the African Wild Ass is critically endangered. Equus africanus used to be found as far north as Morocco’s Atlas Mountains and as far east as the Arabian peninsular, but now only a few hundred of them are left in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan. Domesticated about 6,000 years ago, wild asses adapted extraordinary tools for surviving in harsh desert climates, but now they are hunted for meat and medicine.
Daniella Dimitrova Russo from the Plastic Pollution Coalition warns that bioplastics will not solve plastic pollution.
Plastic pollution is one of the major issues facing our planet today. Plastic bags festoon trees in Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, and along the streets of New York, USA. Plastic washes up on the beaches of American Samoa, Hawaii and the Galapagos Islands. Disposable plastic items like lighters, bottle caps, and straws are found in the stomachs of albatrosses from the Midway atoll, and in the bodies of animals around the world. Plastic particles float in the five oceanic gyres. Simply put, plastic pollution is all around us.
Spectrums: CFL (top) has mercury’s characteristic violet and green. Incandescent (middle) spectrum is smooth with strong reds (warm). LED (bottom) has a bright peak in blue.
If only there were a light bulb as efficient as a compact fluorescent light (CFL), but without the ghastly green light and brain-eating toxic mercury. Am I asking too much? The inventors of the Electron Stimulated Luminance (ESL) lights don’t think so. A company called Vu1 plans to sell ESL bulbs in Europe and the Mideast in 2013. Vu1 lights are based on cathode ray tube (CRT) technology, are dim-able and have the cozy glow of incandescent light bulbs. How did Vu1 accomplish this magic? It helps that I know a little bit about CRTs from the days when my brother and I repaired old televisions.
On the first anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Greenpeace volunteers gathered in Amman to hold a vigil
The event was organised to show solidarity with those who have suffered due to the Fukushima incident and all those who have been placed in danger due to the use of nuclear power. Greenpeace Jordan, which has been campaigning against the country’s plans to build a nuclear reactor, added that they wanted to say that Jordan “still has a chance to protect the future of its people.” At around 6.30pm, 40 sky lanterns were released by Jordanians citizens and Japanese students to remember the nuclear disaster which began to unfold exactly one year ago in Fukushima.
“We stand in solidarity with the roughly 150,000 residents of the area whose homes and lands have been contaminated by the nuclear meltdowns and who face uncertainty concerning their personal health and that of their children,” said Raefah Makki, Greenpeace Arab World Communications Director. “Jordan must never experience the same,” added Makki.
Public transportation shuts down completely on the Jewish Sabbath across Israel, but now Tel Aviv (Israel’s secular capital) wants to allow buses within the city on Saturdays.
It’s a bit of a paradox: Saturday is the one day that Israelis universally have off from work, but it is also the only day that public transportation doesn’t operate. And so if you are a secular Israeli without a car (for either financial or ecological reasons), there is no way for you to get around and enjoy your day off. (In Tel Aviv you can still take advantage of the city-wide bike sharing system, but that’s not always practical.)
The reason for this weekly public transportation hiatus is religious. The Jewish Sabbath is designated as a day of rest, and Orthodox Jews observe it by abstaining from driving or riding in motorized vehicles, using electricity, and conducting monetary transactions, among other things. Which is fine for Orthodox Jews, but Tel Aviv is largely secular and its residents would like an inexpensive, eco-friendly way to get around on the weekends.
Food miles explained: I know the best option is to grow and buy locally. But when that isn’t possible, what is the least worse option?
It was like one of those weird trivia quizzes, What do these places have in common: Israel, Egypt, Chile and the United States? The answer is that berries from these countries were shrink-wrapped together to be sold in an Irish grocery store. According to the label on a package of berries I bought in a local store in Ireland, the cherries came from Israel, the strawberries from Egypt, the blueberries from Chile and the raspberries from the United States. Something didn’t seem quite right about this. Especially since I am concerned about food miles. I decided to look into the economics of shipping these products to my home.
Chevy’s Volt Electric Hybrid car being suspended due to poor demand
When General Motors announced its new plan to build the ultimate electric car, the Chevy Volt, blogs were a talking, and it was as though customers were lining up to buy. But with setbacks following adverse publicity involving the car’s battery pack catching fire in crash tests and extremely slow sales of the car in US dealerships GM has announced that they will suspend production of the Volt.
From protests in Turkey to everything you wanted to know about climate change, catch up on the latest green news from the region
Saudi Minister Denies Land Bridge to Egypt Plans
Following a rather mixed reaction to the news that plans were afoot to build a bridge connecting Egypt and Saudi via the Red Sea, the Saudi Minister of Transport has denied any agreement between the countries. Speaking to the Arab News, the minister said, “There is no any such agreement to the effect between the ministry and any other party concerning the project.”
SOM is behind the new Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi, which will feature all kinds of “retail therapy!”
The 2.5 million square foot Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi will combine three state of the art hospitals in one giant, green space. Aiming for two Estidama pearls, the new center designed by SOM will replace the existing Sheikh Khalifa Medical Center and will incorporate a variety of passive techniques to combat the heat.
SEHA, the Abu Dhabi Health Service company, is keen to ensure a sense of peace and comfort for both patients and visitors, so the sprawling medical center will be arranged around lobbies, cafes, courtyards, hanging gardens, and retail facilities. The idea seems to be that a little retail therapy goes a long way to help visitors avoid looking at sickness and death.
Masdar expands its solar ambitions to the South Pacific
The tiny kingdom of Tonga in the south pacific has just signed a memorandum of understanding with the Abu Dhabi based company Masdar for a 500 KW solar project to be built on the island of Vava’ in Tonga.
This will add to the 1 MW solar project that broke ground at the end of last year on the main island of Tongatapu, in collaboration with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to reduce the cost of electricity for the average consumer.
We speak to Karim Elgendy, founder of the Middle East sustainability initiative ‘Carboun’ about what motivates his work and why green ratings for buildings aren’t a silver bullet
Last month, Carbounan advocacy initiative promoting sustainability in the Middle East celebrated its second anniversary. Headed by Karim Elgendy they have certainly come a long way in very short space of time. Since its launch Carboun has moved from producing some great infographics highlighting environmental issues in the Middle East, to playing an active role in green projects in the region. As well as a growing team of representatives, they are hosting an event at the UN Conference of Parties (COP 18) at Doha in December and have also launched 24/7 Electricity, a research project that looks into energy generation challenges in Lebanon. I caught up with Karim to find out more about Carboun, the major challenges ahead and what sustainable design can do for the region.
Cold, wet and utterly miserable, this is no “dancing camel”
Regular Green Prophet readers have surely seen our articles on animal cruelty and abuse. They range from cruelty toward circus animals, to abuse towards animals in private and public zoos. Cases of wild animals like cheetahs and baby tigers being kept as pets by jaded wealthy people in various locations, including the Arab Gulf have also been widely reported. These are occurrences that happen all too frequently, unfortunately, and despite concerted efforts by animal rights activists and various public awareness groups, the practice of abusing, torturing, and killing both wild and domestic animals continues unabated all over the Middle East. Even in Israel, where animal rights laws are very advanced. On a recent trip to Jerusalem I found an abused camel, tied to an electric pole.
Yesterday a solar flare that slammed into earth did not create any of the disruptions forecasted by scientists.
Earthlings waited with bated breath yesterday as a solar flare hurled by a coronal mass ejection on the sun slammed into our planet. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) both cautioned that this would be the worst such flare since 2006 and that it could cause “severe” disruptions to modern technology such as GPS and satellite systems and power grids. But the solar storm was far weaker than anticipated and created nary a disruption. This time.
Overfishing has led to a massive depletion of Gulf fish stock, so Dubai has announced plans to crack down on illegal sales of immature fish.
Spectrums: CFL (top) has mercury’s characteristic violet and green. Incandescent (middle) spectrum is smooth with strong reds (warm). LED (bottom) has a bright peak in blue.
