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.
In a real emergency, romance takes a back seat to physics, panic, and how fast 150 people can squeeze through a narrow tube. The Federal Aviation Administration says every aircraft must be evacuated within 90 seconds. That’s the gold standard. But new research suggests that in the real world, especially as we age, that number might be more aspirational than achievable.
Research from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Queensland, published in Ocean & Coastal Management, found that nearly three out of four marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide are exposed to sewage pollution.
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.
In a real emergency, romance takes a back seat to physics, panic, and how fast 150 people can squeeze through a narrow tube. The Federal Aviation Administration says every aircraft must be evacuated within 90 seconds. That’s the gold standard. But new research suggests that in the real world, especially as we age, that number might be more aspirational than achievable.
Research from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Queensland, published in Ocean & Coastal Management, found that nearly three out of four marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide are exposed to sewage pollution.
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.
In a real emergency, romance takes a back seat to physics, panic, and how fast 150 people can squeeze through a narrow tube. The Federal Aviation Administration says every aircraft must be evacuated within 90 seconds. That’s the gold standard. But new research suggests that in the real world, especially as we age, that number might be more aspirational than achievable.
Research from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Queensland, published in Ocean & Coastal Management, found that nearly three out of four marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide are exposed to sewage pollution.
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.
In a real emergency, romance takes a back seat to physics, panic, and how fast 150 people can squeeze through a narrow tube. The Federal Aviation Administration says every aircraft must be evacuated within 90 seconds. That’s the gold standard. But new research suggests that in the real world, especially as we age, that number might be more aspirational than achievable.
Research from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Queensland, published in Ocean & Coastal Management, found that nearly three out of four marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide are exposed to sewage pollution.
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.
In a real emergency, romance takes a back seat to physics, panic, and how fast 150 people can squeeze through a narrow tube. The Federal Aviation Administration says every aircraft must be evacuated within 90 seconds. That’s the gold standard. But new research suggests that in the real world, especially as we age, that number might be more aspirational than achievable.
Research from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Queensland, published in Ocean & Coastal Management, found that nearly three out of four marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide are exposed to sewage pollution.
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.
In a real emergency, romance takes a back seat to physics, panic, and how fast 150 people can squeeze through a narrow tube. The Federal Aviation Administration says every aircraft must be evacuated within 90 seconds. That’s the gold standard. But new research suggests that in the real world, especially as we age, that number might be more aspirational than achievable.
Research from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Queensland, published in Ocean & Coastal Management, found that nearly three out of four marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide are exposed to sewage pollution.
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.
In a real emergency, romance takes a back seat to physics, panic, and how fast 150 people can squeeze through a narrow tube. The Federal Aviation Administration says every aircraft must be evacuated within 90 seconds. That’s the gold standard. But new research suggests that in the real world, especially as we age, that number might be more aspirational than achievable.
Research from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Queensland, published in Ocean & Coastal Management, found that nearly three out of four marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide are exposed to sewage pollution.
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.
In a real emergency, romance takes a back seat to physics, panic, and how fast 150 people can squeeze through a narrow tube. The Federal Aviation Administration says every aircraft must be evacuated within 90 seconds. That’s the gold standard. But new research suggests that in the real world, especially as we age, that number might be more aspirational than achievable.
Research from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Queensland, published in Ocean & Coastal Management, found that nearly three out of four marine protected areas (MPAs) worldwide are exposed to sewage pollution.
BrightSource Energy is making a big bet on CSP while others switch to PV
The third huge US solar project from BrightSource Energy is its largest yet. At a whopping 750 MW it is the size of three or four US coal or gas plants.
But it comes at a time when many utility-scale solar companies are switching to PV (photovoltaic) solar – those traditional rooftop solar panels that most people associate with solar – from Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) such as this. Why?
In an extensive interview with the Jerusalem Post, ex-Shell scientist Harold Vinegar who is part of the Israel Energy Initiatives (IEI) behind the oil shale venture, insists that Israel has the potential to extract “250 billion barrels of oil and perhaps more” using cleaner and cheaper techniques.
H.R.H. Princess Alia Al Hussein (pictured right) is known around the world as an advocate for animal rights. She is currently on a mission to end the inhumane slaughter of animals for halal meat. Just in time for Eid al-Adha!
Jordan’s H.R.H. Princess Alia Al Hussein – sister to King Abdullah II – believes that stunning animals prior to slaughter is not only halal, but should be mandatory. Ḏabīḥah (ذَبِيْحَة) is the word used to describe how Muslims ensure that the meat they eat is pure and wholesome. According to a Wikipedia entry on the subject, “this method of slaughtering animals consists of using a well sharpened knife to make a swift, deep incision that cuts the front of the throat, the carotid artery, wind pipe and jugular veins but leaves the spinal cord intact.”
Unfortunately, many Muslims and Jews, who have similar rituals for kosher meat, take these traditions to drastic ends – often killing animals prior to stunning them. Last year we wrote about a bloody scene in Egypt, where scores of livestock were butchered on the side of the street in a manner considered more haraam (forbidden) than halal. And Australia, which produces a lot of the meat exported to the Middle East considers it perfectly lawful to slaughter animals without stunning them first. Longtime animal rights activist Princess Alia is determined to change that.
Natasha Paracha was Miss Pakistan World in 2008. In 2011, she’s using her beauty and smarts to build a sustainable renewable energy climate in Pakistan.
Everyone knows that the first thing you ask any beauty queen is about that wish –– what she would do to make the world a better place if she ruled the planet. In 2008, Natasha Paracha got that question moments before she became Miss Pakistan World. But instead of pursuing a glamorous tour promoting products, she chose to make her wish come true: today she is using education as a tool to accelerate clean technologies and sustainable development in Pakistan.
Natasha is from Islamabad, Pakistan and is residing in New York City and lives between both worlds helping Pakistan become more sustainable. She is doing this in a number of ways –– both locally and globally. Her insights can help investors and philanthropists access opportunities to ignite change.
In Pakistan she works with the Alternative Energy Development Board, the Ministry of the Environment, and with private businessmen focusing on climate change and renewable investments. In North America she’s the spokeswoman for Katerva, an ideas and technology accelerator.
Green Prophet speaks with Paracha on what investors and entrepreneurs can learn about the clean tech opportunities emerging from Pakistan, desperately in need of help.
From overstretched contractors exposed by Wikileaks to Japanese criticism over the poor selection of the reactor site, Greenpeace is raising serious questions over Jordan’s nuclear plans
However, a local branch of Greenpeace has been raising serious questions about these plans. One of which is the ability of the Russian company Atomstroy Export – which is one of the final three bidders currently being considered by the Jordanian government – to fulfill its commitments. The other being the poor location of the nuclear reactor so close to a water-poor, bustling metropolis.
Bono’s ONE organization advocates inviting hungry people into your sukkah this holiday time.
Bono and Sukkot. These are two words that you have probably have never seen in the same article, let alone in the same sentence, but the U2 frontman is breaking ground by drawing connections between between important social causes and Jewish symbols. Besides being one of the greatest rockers alive, many of you may know that Bono’s advocacy group fights poverty and brings awareness to the dire situation that permeates the horn of Africa, where a severe drought has affected millions of people. The group recently released a PDF booklet that links the desperate situation there with the ancient Jewish holiday Sukkot that is still underway until Thursday.
Jogging is great exercise for you, and for the batteries that it can power.
A friend of mine in college once had a crazy idea to solve the American obesity crisis and alleviate global warming: encourage the obese to exercise and harness the energy created by their treadmills, ellipticals, cycling machines, etc. as an alternative energy source. The idea was a little unorthodox, but had a kernel of brilliance as well. Why not use human activity as an energy source?
Using power generated from human activity such as walking or jogging is not a new idea, but has previously required large, clunky equipment. Two researchers at the University of Wisconsin Madison, Tom Krupenkin and J Ashley Taylor, have been working on that issue, though, and have come up with an innovative and convenient way to harness human jogging power.
Navies crowd into once placid waters as Turkey presses Cyprus on gas reserves
Turkey has a corvette, frigate and helicopters escorting its exploration vessel, the Piri Reis, as it explores for gas and oil. The US has quietly dispatched an aircraft and Russian naval vessels have been seen patrolling. News reports say US reconnaissance planes have circled the vessel on at least two occasions and on another occasion low-flying Israeli warplanes and helicopters “harassed” a Turkish ship.
Once the preserve of fishing boats and yachts, in the space of just a few weeks the serene waters of the Eastern Mediterranean have become a field of contention. As Greek Cyprus begins exploiting its potentially vast gas and oil reserves, Turkey has asserts its growing role as a regional power, and a worried Israel is pushing back.
Algeria sets plans to achieve 40% renewable energy by 2030
Perhaps because it has noted what’s happened in neighboring Morocco (Could Morocco be First to Get 42% Solar?) and Egypt (Egypt in Top 22 Nations for Renewable Investment Potential) following their progressive renewable energy plans, now Algeria has announced an investment of more than $20 billion in renewable electricity over the next 20 years. The move would bring all three MENA nations to the forefront of climate actions worldwide.
Egypt now leads all the MENA nations in attractiveness for renewable energy investment through the EU’s Clean Development Mechanism and Morocco – which already has a grid linked up to Europe – has become a key Desertec investment point since announcing its plans to provide 42% of its own electricity from solar, which is by far the most ambitious plan in the world. What’s more, as a kingdom, there is no opposition party to sabotage renewable energy as the Republican party does in the US.
A local in Algeria
Algeria’s electric utility, Sonelgaz has a very fast-growing customer base of 6.2 million. It grew 3.9% from 2007 to 2008. Currently, most of Algeria’s electricity is produced through natural gas, although earlier this year the country launched a hybrid plant that boosts gas-fired production with solar panels.
Nordine Bouterfa, head of the Sonelgaz group in Algeria, told a press conference: “The total sum of electricity production development between 2011 and 2021 is nearly $35.4bn, $20bn of which will be dedicated to renewable energy. By 2030, some 40 per cent of electricity production for national consumption will come from renewable energy.”
In this plan, Algeria will be following in Morocco’s ambitious solar footsteps.
It is very encouraging to see these emerging nations embrace clean energy. Algeria will be split almost 50/50 between traditional and renewable energy investment. These are the nations where – if they followed the fossil energy route – the next 50 years of increased carbon emissions would be greatest.
So it is the energy choices of these nations that will make or break civilization, since it is in the world’s emerging economies that electricity growth is fastest.
A coal utility in Israel and the global leader in solar panel production form a joint project
Everybody knows that China is the world leader in cheap solar. By contrast, Israel has barely begun to tap the global solar market. Yet the world’s largest solar panel producer in China, Suntech, has invited Israel’s state-owned electric utility, Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) – which has no experience in solar power at all – to build three photovoltaic solar energy arrays in northern China, as part of a project worth $US 1.3 billion dollars.
IEC maintains and operates all of the power generation stations, sub-stations and transmission and distribution networks throughout Israel. All coal or gas. It has no solar projects under development. The project would be IEC’s most ambitious development overseas and its first ever solar PV power station. According to energy China Forum, the three solar arrays will total 240 MW, which is about the size of many coal plants. So… why IEC?
This contemporary home located between Bethlehem and Jerusalem is wrapped in a Mashrabiya screen, which keeps the home nice and cool even on scorching hot days.
We’ve lauded the benefits of ancient building techniques many times before. Both Hassan Fathy’s incredible mud structures in Egypt and ancient Syrian beehives are a model for sustainable design because neither require an air-conditioner to stay cool. But don’t worry. It isn’t necessary to live in a mud building or a cave in order to enjoy the benefits of passive design.
This 1700 square meter home designed by Senan Abdelqader is a contemporary stand out among the solid stone homes that typify architecture in the Arab village Beit Safafa located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. It is wrapped in a mashrabiya – a latticed screen envelope on the outside of buildings that is not only aesthetically appealing, but also serves several practical functions.
The terraced home’s basement is tucked into the side of a steep slope. Natural lighting is facilitated with sunken courtyards that act as light wells. From this stout base emerges the rest of the home which is wrapped in a stone mashrabiya facade.
Stone is an excellent building material since it has superior thermal massing. In other words, it absorbs the heat of the day which can then be released at night when it is cooler. That being said, most of the stone being used in this region is Jerusalem stone – and its excess use exacts a steep environmental cost.
Set apart from the building, the pixelated envelope serves multiple functions: it circulates air to provide passive cooling, it deflects excess solar gain as well as wind and rain, and it allows just the right amount of diffused light to enter the home. This beautiful home also has a rooftop garden.
Beit Safafa is on the precipice of rapid urbanization. If that is the case and it has to be, we at least hope that other homes in the region will look to Abdelqader’s sustainable leadership for inspiration.
More Examples of Vernacular-Inspired Architecture:
8 million fluorescent tubes are improperly disposed every year in Egypt, leaching dangerous levels of mercury into the environment. Finally, that seems set to change.
On the cards since 2007, Alexandria has finally opened up their first hazardous waste facility – mostly in order to manage mercury. Although many countries have attempted to limit the manufacture of products that contain mercury, Egypt still produces 40 million fluorescent tubes a year according to our friends at Almasry Alyoum. And nearly one quarter of them end up in landfills at best, or broken and spewing mercury at worst. After realizing how dangerous this unmanaged mercury is for the country’s fauna, flora, and people, in 2007 the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) teamed up with the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in order to effect the Safe Disposal of Hazardous Waste Project. Nearly five years later, that collaboration has borne fruit.
Mosaic artist Ruslan Sergeyev and the “My Wave” recycled ceramic art creation on Netanya promenade. Festival includes a mosaic of lost socks. Photo by Igor Sarni
Israel’s eight-day Sukkot festival, now ongoing, often includes a number of motifs and local themes which give emphasis to projects that help preserve the environment. This year is no exception as an ongoing mosaic arts festival, Netanya Mosaic, is currently occurring in the coastal city, located 30 km north of Tel Aviv.
This festival said to be the first of its kind in Israel traces the development of the use of mosaics as an art form from ancient times until the present day. What is particularly interesting about this festival is that participating artists are using a number of recycled materials to create their art work, including glass, ceramic tiles, wood, fabrics, paper, and even clothing articles, items which have often been noted in Green Prophet articles for creating both art forms and furniture from discarded and recycled items.
Praying in a Tokyo church could expose you to radiation levels higher than Chernobyl dead zones.
In the same manner that Japanese authorities failed to prevent the Japanese nuclear disaster earlier this year, the authorities are dealing with radiation fallout –– in Tokyo. They are not telling the whole story. Locals armed with their own dosimeters are clocking levels higher than at the exclusion zone of Chernobyl. What one resident found at his 11-year-old kid’s baseball field is radiation levels that can make you sick. Another test found the highest radiation dose, in an undisclosed area of a church. Some 20 hotspots have since been identified.
Maqlub is a traditional Palestinian, one-pot meal that feeds dozens.
A traditional Arabic dish of ancient origins, mouth-watering Maklubah (maqlub, maqlube) is a gala menu all by itself.
“Maklubah” means “upside-down” in Arabic, and this dish must be stood on its head to deserve the name. A Turkish translation of the 13th-century Baghdad Cookery Book has a recipe for Maklubah, but I’m sure that people knew and were happily eating it centuries before then.
Considered an Arabic rather than a Jewish dish, Maklubah is still known in a simpler version in some Sephardic homes (Bukharians eat a one-pot rice dish called plov). This sumptuous recipe requires an hour and a half to prepare but it’s worth the effort. It’s so delicious, it will make everyone eating it love you.
From Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey to Israel and Jordan, each place has developed a regional recipe for layered rice and chicken or pre-cooked lamb or beef. Some call for saffron in addition to turmeric; some substitute nutmeg for allspice.
3 medium tomatoes, thickly sliced
2 large onions, thickly sliced
3 medium potatoes, sliced
1 small head cauliflower, separated into florets
1 medium eggplant, quartered and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and halved
6 skinless chicken breasts
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1-1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 1/2 cups raw rice, soaked in cold water for 1/2 hour, then 1/2 cup of it set aside
3-5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
METHOD
In large sauté pan, cook onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until golden. Add turmeric, thyme, allspice and pepper to taste. Set aside onion mixture.
Sauté potatoes in 1 tablespoon of oil in non-stick pan until lightly golden, but not cooked through. Set aside.
Sauté cauliflower in remaining oil. Set aside. In the same pan, sauté eggplant until lightly browned.
Brush chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with turmeric and paprika.
In large pot, spread sliced tomatoes along the bottom. Cover the tomatoes with the 1/2-cup of reserved soaked rice and sautéed onion. Arrange chicken over onions. Place eggplant slices and slices of garlic between chicken pieces. Distribute cauliflower over the top, then repeat with potato slices.
Press everything down in the pot with the back of a large spoon or spatula.
Spread remaining rice over potatoes. Sprinkle salt over rice. Add broth to cover. Place pot, uncovered, over a medium flame and let liquid simmer 15 minutes. Then cover pot, reduce heat and cook on low for 30-45 minutes. Add more liquid by tablespoons if needed to keep mixture moist, but be careful not to add so much that rice becomes sticky.
Take a round metal tray and place on top of pot. Flip pot onto tray. Pat the pot on the top and sides to release the food. Wait a minute, then pat again. Remove pot to display a lovely “cake” of makluba, ready to be spooned out to hungry family and guests. Garnish with toasted pine nuts if desired.
Any slightly burned rice from the bottom of the pot is considered a delicacy.
Serve with a simple tomato salad (like this one), and some good beer.
* Notes: Substitute broccoli or zucchini for the cauliflower. Feel free to add thick chunks of bell peppers if liked. If you prefer dark meat, pre-cook 6 pieces of chicken thighs and drumsticks in olive oil till almost done. You may use 750 grams – 1.5 lb. cubed lamb or beef instead of the chicken, but it must be braised till tender ahead of time (use cooking liquid in the Maklubah).
Natasha Paracha was Miss Pakistan World in 2008. In 2011, she’s using her beauty and smarts to build a sustainable renewable energy climate in Pakistan.
Bono’s ONE organization advocates inviting hungry people into your sukkah this holiday time. 
Navies crowd into once placid waters as Turkey presses Cyprus on gas reserves
Mosaic artist Ruslan Sergeyev and the “My Wave” recycled ceramic art creation on Netanya promenade. Festival includes a mosaic of lost socks. Photo by Igor Sarni
Praying in a Tokyo church could expose you to radiation levels higher than Chernobyl dead zones.
