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Kite Surfer Pulls ‘Sail-Support’ Wires to Track the Sun

Karin Kloosterman
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Kite Surfer Pulls ‘Sail-Support’ Wires to Track the Sun

eterngy, etracker solar panelInspired by kite surfing, an Israel engineer at Etenergy develops a PV dual-axis tracker to get 40% more energy from large PV solar installations.

What happens when an Israeli engineer with experience in solar power goes kite surfing with the wheels of his mind turning? Eyal Dror founder of the company ETracker has developed a new kind of pivoting solar energy tracker. When connected to solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, the company’s solar tracker rotates with the sun. With poles and wires built like a kite surf Etenergy says they can get a lot more energy from the sun, especially in windy regions. I met with Dror and Simon Fried from the company last week at the WATEC event in Tel Aviv, to learn that their new tracker the Etracker uses half as much materials as conventional trackers, and can give 40 percent more power to existing systems for a fraction of the price of today’s dual axis trackers.

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Developer’s Artificial Reefs Unlikely to Restore Gulf Damage

Tafline Laylin
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0
Developer’s Artificial Reefs Unlikely to Restore Gulf Damage

artificial reef, manmade islands, gulf, persian gulf, arabian gulf, dubai, marine ecosystem, coral reefs, environmental destruction

A report last week showed that development projects like The World manmade islands above are destroying the Gulf’s fragile marine ecosystem. One major culprit, Nakheel, aims to restore their own damage with 500 artificial reefs.

Last week the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health in Toronto released the first official report linking rapid development projects with widespread destruction to the Gulf’s marine environment. Environmentalists and activists have long suspected that man-made islands and row after row of the world’s biggest this and that could not possibly be sustainable but the report taken up by such prestigious journals as Nature finally made that truth unequivocal.

Much of the damage done to this fragile ecosystem can be attributed to real estate developers Nakheel, which is behind such projects as The World manmade islands, Palm Jumeirah, and Palm Jebel Ali. Although they told The National it has nothing to do with the damning report released last week, the company recently announced that they will build 500 artificial reefs in an effort to restore the ecosystem in and around their own projects. 

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Critical Mass of Cyclists to Test Jerusalem’s Bike Paths

Karen Chernick
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Critical Mass of Cyclists to Test Jerusalem’s Bike Paths

"bike path jerusalem"During this month’s ‘Critical Mass’ in Jerusalem, cyclists will check out the city’s new bike paths.

Maybe it’s because Israel is becoming a nation of pedalers, or because biking is a hot form of eco-tourism, but for whatever reason a group of Jerusalem cyclists has been getting together for a monthly Critical Mass.  (And no, Critical Mass is not some kind of large religious gathering, even though it’s taking place in Jerusalem.)  Critical Mass, a cycling event typically held on the last Friday of every month in over 300 cities around the world, is an event that has been taking place in cities around Israel for some time.

This month’s Jerusalem Critical Mass will be a little different though, and will aim to test out some new bike paths that the municipality has installed.

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Guest Photo Gallery From the Heart of Tahrir Square, Egypt

Tafline Laylin
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1
Guest Photo Gallery From the Heart of Tahrir Square, Egypt

tahrir square, arab spring, egypt, photos, CR gas, protests, live ammunition, militarySicilian photographer Giusi Cosentino has shared striking images straight from the heart of Tahrir Square. 

Sicilian photographer Giusi Cosentino and her partner Alex Tricani were commissioned to document life in Cairo in order to boost tourism. Fate pushed us together a couple of weeks ago when our bus to the Siwa oasis near Libya broke down, and we subsequently traveled together to meet the Veiled Weavers of Siwa and the One-Eyed Salt Carver who still loves his craft.

Convincing the world that Cairo is a good place to visit is becoming increasingly difficult for the pair. Protestors are camped out for the sixth day at Tahrir Square to rebel against the country’s rogue military, which has responded with a potentially lethal brand of tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition.

Nothing brings a story home better than beautiful images, so Giusi has shared hers with us. Please visit her remarkable Manifestanti in Piazza Tahrir photo gallery for an up-close look at what our Egyptian friends are currently facing.

International Call for Papers: Ecosexuality Anthology

Tinamarie Bernard
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International Call for Papers: Ecosexuality Anthology

ecology sex, sexualityHave something to say about the sensual side of green? A new magazine is looking for submissions.

As a philosophy, ecosexuality is quite new even to many environmentalists who are keen on greening their personal lives yet are unaware of this socially transformative movement.  From using eco-friendly lubrication to maintaining healthy reproductive and sexual well-being, to adopting the ideals of ecology in one’s primary relationship, ecosex is many things to many observers and mavericks, including myself, who support the idea of sustainable love that is good for people and the planet. Now those who imagine a greener way to love, including lovers in the Middle East, can lend their voice to the symphony and help create as well as advance the idea of what it means to go “green between the sheets.”

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Lifestyle Poor for Abu Dhabi Women’s Health, Pregnancies, Babies

Tinamarie Bernard
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77
Lifestyle Poor for Abu Dhabi Women’s Health, Pregnancies, Babies

muslim woman with babyLifestyle diseases associated with excess are undermining maternal and fetal health in Abu Dhabi.

According to 2010 statistics by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD), 20 percent of Emirati women and 18 percent of expatriate women in the emirate have diabetes. In addition, 38 percent of Emirati women and 32% of expatriate women are obese.  The result is that more women in the country are experiencing complicated pregnancies including  gestational diabetes, and it’s all made worse by a pattern of delaying to seek appropriate maternal and child health care, the experts warn.

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Israeli Artist Transforms Rockets Into Roses

Miriam Kresh
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Israeli Artist Transforms Rockets Into Roses

image-kassam-roseBlacksmith and artist Yaron Bob creates beauty and a message of  hope from  deadly rockets.

Karen asked on our post about jewelry made from upcycled bullets, how can we change the context of other discarded or grotesque objects in order to view them as beautiful?

Now, how can weapons of death ever become symbols of peace? It takes a spirit determined to draw hope and grace from terror and despair.

Israeli artist Yaron Bob does the most daring recycling imaginable. He takes spent Kassam rockets and from them welds roses, menorahs, and jewelry.

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Egypt’s Military May Be Using Lethal Teargas

Tafline Laylin
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Egypt’s Military May Be Using Lethal Teargas

Egypt, Cairo, Toxic Pollutants, Military, Teargas, Tahrir Square

Many people fear that the Egyptian military is using a lethal new brand of teargas to dispel protestors in downtown Cairo.

During the last two weeks in Egypt there existed a menacing energy that I hadn’t experienced before and which felt certain – like a pressure cooker – to explode at any moment. Sadly, as I was waiting to board my flight to South Africa on Saturday, violence did erupt again with terrible crackdowns from both the Central Security Forces (CSF) and the Military.

Presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei called what is happening a “massacre” and tweeted that “Tear gas with nerve agent & live ammunition [are] being used against civilians in Tahrir.” This potentially new brand of tear gas has received widespread attention and the medical community is concerned about its long term impact.

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Iraq and Libya For Eco-Seeking Bravehearts

Maurice Picow
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Iraq and Libya For Eco-Seeking Bravehearts

iraq and libya, eco-travel and green tourism Iraqi historical sites are many, but the security situation is still risky
Middle East Eco Tourism has been written about a lot on Green Prophet, including upscale Five Star Eco-Tourism in locations like Abu Dhabi and Jordan, hiking holiday tours in Lebanon, and even how to travel through parts of the Middle East by bike. But if you are looking for really unusual travel destinations in today’s politically changing Middle East, consider places like Iraq or Libya, where archeological sites intermingle with unfinished ecological projects  started by the country’s former strong man, Muamar Gadaffi.

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Beirut’s Rooftop Revolution by Wassim Melki

Will Todman
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15

Wassim Melki green roof, sustainable design, beirut lebanonWe interview urban designer Wassim Melki who envisions a sustainable future for Beirut’s skyline.

Beirut is almost completely bereft of public green spaces. Satellite images show expanses of grey apartment and office blocks and a depressing lack of trees or any other kind of greenery. But architect and urban designer Wassim Melki has a plan to radically change all of this. Whilst finding space to create public parks, or even planting trees alongside roads is practically impossible, he suggests that the solution lies on rooftops.

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Recycling Plants and Paying the Green Forward

Karen Chernick
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Recycling Plants and Paying the Green Forward

"uprooted plant growth"In addition to paper and plastic, now Israelis will be able to recycle their garden and windowsill plants too.

When redesigning one’s garden, sometimes perfectly healthy plants get tossed out in the shuffle.  The plants are not sick or anything, but simply do not match the new landscaping theme of the garden.  These carbon dioxide consuming and oxygen producing plants need not go to waste, however, thanks to the new initiative of a plant nursery in Israel.  Wendy Nurseries recently open a donation center for second hand plants and trees, which in turn are implanted in welfare institutions and military bases that need some aesthetic and ecological sprucing up.

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Turkish Town Bewildered By Strange Chemical Precipitation

Julia Harte
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Turkish Town Bewildered By Strange Chemical Precipitation

That bluish stuff on their hands? Sticky powder that can’t be washed away with regular cleaning products — and is probably coming out of one of the many factories in the area.

It’s raining unidentified factory exhaust in the township of Dilovası, about 100 kilometers east of Istanbul. Since early last week, residents have been baffled by the sticky substance falling from the sky, and frustrated by its adherence to their cars, houses, windows, and trees.

Three brave locals wiped some onto their hands to show a photographer for the Turkish daily Milliyet. (Don’t worry about the orange spot, though — it’s henna, and it’s just a sign that the hand’s owner has been to a wedding recently).

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Top 6 Freaky Foods To Avoid

Tafline Laylin
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0
Top 6 Freaky Foods To Avoid

meat glue, food and health, industrial food, organic food, water, water contamination, holy water, vegetarian foodHuman hair in bread, arsenic-laced holy water, and chemically-treated veggie burgers are among the top 6 freaky foods to stay away from. Step on in to learn more.

Over the years we have covered a host of freaky food and water-related stories that have the power to turn even the most adventurous eater into an obsessive label-reader, so we thought it was high time to collate six of the most disturbing in one convenient post as a reminder of how important it is to question just about everything we eat and to source our food from ethical markets.

You’ll be shocked to learn that holy ZamZam water from Mecca was found to be laced with arsenic, non-organic soy goes through a toxic chemical bath before it is compressed into a veggie burger, and that bread you love so much could very well contain traces of human hair. Learn more about these and other “hair-raising” food stories right after the break.

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New Electronic Monitoring Device Could Foil Bluefin Tuna Exploits

Tafline Laylin
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0
New Electronic Monitoring Device Could Foil Bluefin Tuna Exploits

Bluefin Tuna, illegal fishing, Mediterranean, Gaddafi, animal conservation, endangered speciesBluefin Tuna fishing stakes have risen with the adoption of a new electronic monitoring system that will make it harder for frausters to fudge their catch numbers.

Although considered largely unsuccessful at preventing the nearly inevitable extinction of the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna at last week’s International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) gathering in Istanbul, Susan Lieberman of the PEW environment group told Jennifer Hattam with Treehugger, one of the contributors to our recently launched blogging guide Barefoot Bloggers, that certain progress was made.

In particular, the group was able to persuade ICCAT to adopt a new electronic monitoring device that will make it a lot harder for fishermen to fudge catch numbers. If unsuccessful, if Bluefin Tuna fishing in the Mediterranean is not better managed, another member of the PEW delegation Lee Crocket told the Washington Post that the population will have less than a 24% chance of reviving in the next decade.

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Mannequin-made Chair Puts Human Form in Motion

Karen Chernick
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2
Mannequin-made Chair Puts Human Form in Motion

mannequin gravity chair, Israel designer, designs free fall
When this mannequin free falls, low-carbon-footprint chairs with “human” form are made.

Israeli designer Ezri Tarazi, the head of the Industrial Design Department at Israel’s Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, is no stranger to sustainable design.  Some of his previous projects include eye glass frames made from wood, and home furnishings created from upcycled ammunition boxes.  But he put an entirely new spin on sustainable design recently with his free-falling mannequin chair – which employs the drop of a female mannequin filled with 100 kilos of concrete in order to sculpt the metal chair instead of using energy-guzzling machines.  The chair is almost entirely man (and mannequin) made.

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Code Red from the Galapagos: human drugs and sunscreen are polluting the sea

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Millions of visitors swim in the pristine waters of the Galápagos each year, but new research suggests sunscreen chemicals and other human-made pollutants are reaching even the islands' most protected marine habitats. Scientists are calling for urgent monitoring to safeguard one of Earth's most iconic ecosystems.

AI will crack the codes from the Dead Sea Scrolls

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Artificial intelligence is opening a new chapter in Dead Sea Scrolls research. By combining machine learning with chemical analysis, scientists hope to uncover where the ancient manuscripts were produced, identify connections between scribes, and reveal hidden patterns across more than 25,000 fragments that have remained unsolved for decades.

90% of Americans worry about microplastics

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Microplastics are showing up everywhere—from dollar store toys and synthetic clothing to bottled water, toothbrushes and even human sperm. A new Ocean Conservancy survey finds that nearly 9 in 10 Americans are concerned about the health impacts of microplastics, while support is growing for tougher regulations. As scientists uncover plastic particles in the heart, placenta and reproductive organs, the question is no longer whether microplastics are affecting our lives, but how much damage they are already doing.

Understanding Food Production: Karl Studer on the Urban-Rural Knowledge Gap

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Karl Studer occupies an unusual position in American business. As President of Quanta Services, he oversees electrical infrastructure operations across the United States, Canada, and Australia, managing thousands of employees and multibillion-dollar projects.

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