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5 Green Books to Buy for Christmas (Or Hannukah)

Karin Kloosterman
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5 Green Books to Buy for Christmas (Or Hannukah)

girl reading lonely planet book christmas

There are more Christians in Egypt than Jews in Israel. And few westerners might realize that there are Christian Arabs living in the Holy Land of Israel – some since the early beginnings of Christianity. There are Christians in Lebanon, in Syria, and until most of them were chased out, they were in Iraq too. So let us not forget Christianity is an important part of the fabric of of that multi-colored tapestry we call the Middle East. If you are buying gifts this holiday season, consider buying books, eBooks, or hard copy books for your loved ones. I personally love books as gifts – to give and get. They are easy to regift or pass on when the reading is done.

Whether you are buying for a business executive who needs to make the company more sustainable (hint, hint), a young environmental activist who wants to change the world, or an MBA student eager to be in the loop, here are some important book ideas to help them inspire change. Read on for some suggestions.

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Durban May Agree on Green Climate Fund, Overriding US Republicans

Susan Kraemer
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9
Durban May Agree on Green Climate Fund, Overriding US Republicans

empty-states-voters-RepublicanA way to bypass a minority of ignorant US voters on international climate policy?

The climate talks at Durban look like they may finally yield some positive movement on a  Green Climate Fund, that would work the same way as the Clean Development Mechanism that has been so successful in growing renewable energy in the MENA region in Morocco and Egypt, but funded differently. The policy as theory has been developed and pushed at Copenhagen and then at Cancun, but it had not got any traction till these talks in Durban.

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Is Conscious Contraception Site Selling a Bag of Toxic Tricks?

Tinamarie Bernard
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5
Is Conscious Contraception Site Selling a Bag of Toxic Tricks?

birth control pillsLike Tom’s Shoes, Conscious Contraception says it will give birth control to the poor with every purchase. Our eco-sex expert doesn’t like certain aspects of the idea at all.

The idea is commendable – get contraception into the hands of those who want to prevent unwanted pregnancy but cannot afford or don’t have access to it. With all things environmental, however, the devil is in the details, and in the case of a newly launched website that intends to be conscious about contraception, a sweeping case of greenwashing may be putting chemicals into chemistry, instead of the other way around. Fortunately, as front runners for ecosex, we recommend better contraception options.

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Freekah, Feta and Fig Salad RECIPE

Miriam Kresh
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Freekah, Feta and Fig Salad RECIPE

image-freekah-saladThis hearty freekah-based salad combines earthy, pungent, and sweet tastes. Perfect for winter eating.

Freekah is one of Green Prophet’s favorite superfoods. It’s so nutritious, it shouldn’t even taste good – which it does. And it’s versatile. You can substitute it for rice in many recipes, such as our Lebanese Lentil Soup. Always searching for new ways to cook with this light-green grain, I found it featured in the Lebanese-inspired Dirty Kitchen Secrets blog by Bethany.

Cold weather demands dishes that stick to your ribs, and today’s sophisticated palates demand something special by way of layered flavors, texture contrasts, and color. This  salad fulfills all those demands. Here’s our variation.

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Interfaith Women’s Group Commemorates Carmel Fire Tragedy

Miriam Kresh
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Interfaith Women’s Group Commemorates Carmel Fire Tragedy

image-carmel-fire-commemorationFaith-based TRUST-WIN women’s initiative promotes peace between peoples of the Middle East.

Muslim, Christians, Druze, and Jews gathered in the Galilee town of Dalyat Al-Carmel on December 1st, a year after the Carmel Forest fire. The worst fire in Israel’s history, it took 44 lives and destroyed over 5 million trees, as well as hundreds of homes. (See a controversial view of  the planned reforestation here.)

The victims were officers and cadets of the Israeli prison system. They were on their way to evacuate a Galilee prison when a fireball burst on their bus. Among them was a 16-year-old volunteer firefighter.  The group, all good comrades, comprised members of each of Israel’s major religions.

To mark the completion of the mourning year, the TRUST-WIN (Women’s Interfaith Network) inaugurated a garden named “The Garden of the Mothers.” It contains two ancient olive trees, 44 saplings to represent each of the people who perished, and monuments. Present at the ceremony were families of the prison staff who perished and clergy from each faith, as well as women from the TRUST-WIN.  Here’s a Green Prophet report on another ecological commemoration of the fire and expression of interfaith peace.

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Biblical Hyrax Is Now A Pest

Maurice Picow
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Biblical Hyrax Is Now A Pest

Hyrax hare biblical pestThe hyrax are cute to some, and pests to others. Photos by Arik Kershenbaum

They are considered as cute little critters to some people, and they have been around since at least biblical times. But nowadays, like other animals that are classified as pests – like jellyfish during the summer months, or wild boar that often damage crops and orchards, the hyrax or Rock Rabbit as they are usually known in Israel, are now multiplying so fast that they are considered pests. Why? Because they are moving into the foundations of new building projects.

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Spine Bike Built to Break When Stolen

Karen Chernick
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Spine, ronen specktor city bikeRonen Spector has designed a bike lock so integral to the bike’s actual structure that ruining the lock would ruin the bike.

With so many cool bicycle designs out there though, you may still want to sport a rocking bike without worrying about theft.  Ronen Spector, a recent industrial design graduate from Shenkar in Israel, has designed an urban bike to suit those requirements and in which a part of the bike frame itself serves as the lock. Meaning, damaging the lock would damage the bike.  And what’s the point of stealing a damaged bike?

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Women are Aroused by Cucumbers and Carrots According to an Islamic Cleric

Tafline Laylin
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26
Women are Aroused by Cucumbers and Carrots According to an Islamic Cleric

Muslim, sex, vegetables, Cleric, IslamA Muslim Cleric in Europe has stated that cucumbers and carrots prompt women to have seedy sexual thoughts and that they should therefore be banned from touching them.

Women should be banned from touching cucumbers, carrots, bananas, and zucchinis, says a European Muslim cleric, simply because they resemble the male penis and could prompt women to think of sex.

The Sheikh whose name has not been revealed, according to Bikya Masr, has suggested that women who need to cook with these ingredients should have the men in the family cut them up into small pieces. This shape-shift will reportedly banish all sexual thoughts from women’s minds.

Asked how they should avoid wanton thoughts while shopping for groceries, the cleric retorted that this is between “them and God.” Does this mean that men should stay away from pomegranates and peaches?

:: Bikya Masr

image via morguefile

Artist Chronicles the Petrochemical Age With Crude Oil Paintings

Tafline Laylin
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2
Artist Chronicles the Petrochemical Age With Crude Oil Paintings

art, oil, environmental art, Saudi Arabia, crude oilPiers Secunda spent years collecting archival footage and crude oil to create these striking historical paintings currently on display at the Aubin Gallery in London. 

Just like the first gush of black gold that emerged from Saudi Arabia’s inaugural oil well in 1937, the idea to chronicle the petrochemical age came quite suddenly to artist Piers Secunda. He was riding on the London tube reading Daniel Yergin’s history of oil, The Prize, when it occurred to him that he wanted not just to paint oil scenes, but to paint them with crude oil.  

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World-Famous Architect Jørn Utzon Admired Morocco’s Vernacular Architecture

Tafline Laylin
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World-Famous Architect Jørn Utzon Admired Morocco’s Vernacular Architecture

green design, sustainable design, vernacular architecture, morocco, Jorn Utzon, Jan Utzon, Atlas Mountains

Jørn Utzon spent time in Morocco, where he admired the traditional architecture. The Kasbah du Toubkal south of Marrakech is a sterling example of the design and materials commonly used.  

In the late 1940’s, long before he experienced the honor of seeing a building he designed named a UNESCO world heritage site, Jørn Utzon traveled to Morocco. Only the second person in the world to achieve this honor, the genius behind Sydney’s remarkable Opera House was deeply inspired by the country’s vernacular architecture – particularly the tall earthy homes that cling to the Atlas Mountains’ verdant valleys.

The notes and sketches that Utzon accumulated during his stay have been carefully preserved and will provide material for an 8 day Easter workshop being held in Marrakech next year. Following in his father’s footsteps, architect Jan Utzon will lead the workshop that is being organized jointly by the University of Portsmouth, the Jørn Utzon Research Network (JURN), the Utzon Research Center in Denmark, and the National School of Architecture in Morocco. 

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Eco-Tourists to Israel Can Now Be a “Forester For a Day”

Karen Chernick
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Eco-Tourists to Israel Can Now Be a “Forester For a Day”

"forest eco tourism israel"In an attempt to maintain Israel’s forests and prevent forest fires in the future, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and the Jewish National Fund enlist tourists to become “Foresters for a Day.”

About a year ago, the Carmel forest in northern Israel suffered the worst fire in the nation’s modern history and 5,000 hectares of forest land were destroyed.  Several Jewish organizations around the world have made efforts to rehabilitate the damaged forest (despite the theories of some ecologists that replanting too soon could disturb the forest’s natural healing process).  Joining their efforts now is the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) with a “Forester for a Day” program that will educate eco-tourists about the fire and take steps to prevent forest fires in the future.

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Nature’s Wisdom Through the Photographer’s Lens: The Green Sheikh

Green Sheikh
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1
Nature’s Wisdom Through the Photographer’s Lens: The Green Sheikh
The Green Sheikh, Falconry, travel, nature, environmental art, photography, The Middle East, falconry
The Green Sheikh loves falconry

After publishing so many stories about Arabs who offend nature so deeply, the Green Sheikh’s soothing  words are especially timely. 

What links humans, nature and technology is one of the secrets of life. This link should be used to reach sustainability and to seek “Nature’s Wisdom,” which originates from a conscious and extensive belief in friendship and culture, in order to achieve the natural balance of life.

Our eyes let us see and imagine and bring us to a charming landscape, while a pure heart connects us with the earth and gives us consciousness of nature. A bright spirit influences the waves and sense of magic with its transparency, although many of us can only see superficially, losing the perception of nature and of particular environmental facts. But the photographer helps us re-gain our connection.

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Spencer Tunick Mad Over Naked Dead Sea Photo Leak

Karin Kloosterman
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1

leak dead sea photoLeaked pictures from the Dead Sea naked shoot reveal identifiable information of the naked models.

When more than a thousand people signed up for the Naked Sea project, US installation artist Spencer Tunick took great care to ensure that the privacy of the naked models would be kept, um, private. Green Prophet’s Alex was part of the day, and he spoke about the fun, and routine that the volunteer models had to go through to ensure the day would be kept secret until the pictures were taken.

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A $7000 Electric Car Coming to the Middle East?

Maurice Picow
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1
A $7000 Electric Car Coming to the Middle East?

streetscooter electric car from germany It won’t take you long distances, but it will take you around town; and at a reasonable speed too.

Electric cars of various shapes and sizes are appearing a lot on the news these days. Despite performing less unfavorably in international vehicle crash tests, two of the big issues that may be preventing more people from purchasing these cars are their limited driving range and their cost, especially in countries that impose high import duties and other purchase taxes for cars. But a new and cheap car the StreetScooter could change all that. The price tag? About $7,000. Close to the Tata Nano.

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Kuwaiti Kills Wolf and Then Shows Off

Tafline Laylin
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20
Kuwaiti Kills Wolf and Then Shows Off

animal conservation, poaching, hunting, wolves, middle eastSome people make collages of family pictures, but a group of friends in Kuwait compiled these images after killing a wolf with a shotgun.

In response to yesterday’s post about the only two countries in the Middle East that offer wolves any kind of legal protection, a Kuwaiti reader forwarded a link to a story published online by Al Watan. A google translated version of the story goes like this: a young man went on a fishing trip with friends, carrying a shotgun, and was greeted by a lone wolf at the entrance of his tent one morning.

Abdullah Algelawi told the paper that the wolf or fox attacked, he wasn’t certain what kind of animal it was at first, so he proceeded to pump a pile of shotgun shells into it. Then he posed with the dead, bloodied Gray Wolf, sometimes hoisting it up, and proudly forwarded the following images to his local paper. 

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A new collaboration between luxury brand Coach and textile reuse pioneer Bank & Vogue attempts to stitch those two worlds together: high fashion and the global textile waste stream.

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