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Rosh Hashanah 5772 Green Gift Guide for 2011

Karen Chernick
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2
Rosh Hashanah 5772 Green Gift Guide for 2011

"gift box"Instead of standard apples and honey, put some creative green thought into your Rosh Hashanah gifts this year.

The Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah 2011  is quickly approaching next week on September 28, and for many Jewish people this is a time of gift-giving in the new Jewish calendar year 5772. Gift giving is hard enough – it is difficult to find that perfect gift to show someone that you love them and understand their tastes. But it can be even more difficult when you’re faced with the task of giving a gift or gift box to someone who is eco-conscious (and who, therefore, may be against commercial gifts that use up various resources).

So here’s a helpful gift guide for some different types of greenies: the Compulsive DIY-er (or DIY Appreciator), the Foodie, the Interior Design Junkie, and the Eco Fashionista. Read on!!!

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“Do You See Yourself” Crowdsourcing Campaign in Lebanon Shames Dangerous Drivers

Tafline Laylin
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0
“Do You See Yourself” Crowdsourcing Campaign in Lebanon Shames Dangerous Drivers

boy in trunk lebanonCould reckless driving in Lebanon come to an end with the new Cheyef 7alak crowd sourcing campaign?

There’s something uncanny about seeing yourself on video: somehow your manifested self looks and sounds nothing like the inner self. Your voice doesn’t sound like your own, your nose looks bigger than you think, and you see all kinds of physical gestures you never knew you made. Cringe.

At least, that was my experience. Our editor in chief basically agreed that I look like a complete dork in this You Tube clip compiled for a Mashallah news conference earlier this year, though at least I got geeked out  for a good cause. But how does it feel when a stranger takes a photo or video clip of you acting like a complete jerk on the road? Embarrassed? Violated? Enough to change your behavior?

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Egypt and Ethiopia Kiss and Make Up Over Nile Dam Dispute

Tafline Laylin
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2
Egypt and Ethiopia Kiss and Make Up Over Nile Dam Dispute

conservation, water rights, Nile River, Egypt, EthiopiaAfter fighting over the Nile for the last several months, Egypt and Ethiopia have kissed and made up.

After a decades-long monopoly over the Nile river, Egypt became defensive when Ethiopia stood up to reclaim its rightful share of water. In addition to making public a plan to build what is now known as the Grand Renaissance Dam in March this year, Ethiopia corralled several other Nile Basin countries in order to re-draft legislation that previously gave Egypt almost exclusive rights to the river that serves 160 million people. The trouble is, 83 million Egyptians depend on the Nile for nearly all of their water, which is why, after a lot of posturing on both sides, Egypt has finally made friends with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

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Demand For Water To Double By 2030 In UAE

Arwa Aburawa
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1
Demand For Water To Double By 2030 In UAE

water-uae-desalination-demand-double-2030Water conservation policies are being promoted in the naturally water poor nation of United Arab Emirates

Considering that the United Arab Emirates is located in harsh and arid desert, the fact that the average resident uses around 364 liters of water a day – way above the global average of 200 litres- is surprising. Natural groundwater is supplemented with desalinated water and treated water to boost supplies and provide a steady supply of clean water to residents (well, most of the time). However, a recent report which found that water demand is likely to double by 2030 in the UAE has got government authorities worried and they are now promoting the benefits of water conservation.

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New Life Found In Dead Sea! (Amazing Photos)

Karin Kloosterman
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4
New Life Found In Dead Sea! (Amazing Photos)

New Life at the Dead Sea: How do they survive and what is their energy source is the next big question.

All the attention from the naked Israelis at the Spencer Tunick photo shoot at the Dead Sea has brought good vibes to the dying salt lake: Israeli and German scientists say they have found new things for us to think about: deep replenishing springs and new life below fissures in the floor. Ben Gurion University researchers discovered deep springs on the floor of the Dead Sea, which provide fresh water to the rapidly dwindling lake. In parallel, German researchers has found new forms of life growing around the fissures in the sea floor. Click below to see the gallery.

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Siemens pulls out of nuclear energy for good

Maurice Picow
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3
Siemens pulls out of nuclear energy for good

siemens nuclear energySiemens CEO Peter Loscher on nuclear energy: “This chapter is closed for us”

German industrial giant Siemens, already a leader in developing renewable energy projects and sustainable future residential communities has announced that it will phase out its participation in building equipment for nuclear power plants. The announcement was reported in Germany’s Der Spiegel, with an interview with Siemens CEO Peter Loshcer who said that his company is doing this in response to the recent nuclear disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, which anti-nuclear power activists now say was “much worse than Chernobyl”.

Remaining Nuke plants in Germany (in yellow)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Löscher told Der Spiegel:

“The chapter (of building nuclear plants) is closed for us. We will no longer be involved in managing the building or financing of nuclear plants.”

Loscher went on to say that shifting the attention of Siemens towards renewable energy is “the project of the century”. This marks an abrupt shift for a company that only two years ago announced it was partnering with a Russian company to construct as many as 400 new nuclear power plants by the year 2030.

Siemen’s decision to leave the nuclear energy business goes along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s announcement that all of Germany’s remaining 17 nuclear power plants will be shut down by the year 2020. (They were shut down by 2023).

Siemens decision to shift its energies towards renewable energy projects has already been felt in countries like Israel, where Siemens purchased the controlling interest in the solar energy company Solel Solar for $413 million in 2009.

Afterwards, Siemens bought a 40% state in another Israeli solar energy company, Arava Power.  Arava Power has signed deals with 15 Negev and Arava desert region communities to provide them with electricity from solar energy. They have an installation of about 5 MW already installed at Kibbutz Ketura.

Siemens still has some on-going nuclear energy plant projects to complete, but no new projects will be undertaken. It will continue to offer steam turbines, generators, control systems and the various other components for use in thermal power plants, including nuclear ones. Geo-thermal power plants such as those in Iceland will be one of Siemen’s new priorities.

::Der Spiegel/Reuters

More articles on renewable energy and the down side of nuclear energy:

Dr. Helen Caldicott : Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Much Worse Than Chernobyl

Arava Power to Electrify the Negev Desert After Signing 15 Solar Energy Deals

Siemens Buys Israel’s Solel for $413 million

Siemens Asks Middle Eastern Students to Think About How to Build Sustainable Cities in the Desert

 

 

 

 

Homemade pomegranate molasses recipe

Miriam Kresh
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0
Homemade pomegranate molasses recipe

pomegranate molasses recipe The Middle-Eastern pantry staple can be made at home easily.

Pomegranates come into season now, just as summer fades and before the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Fresh pomegranate seeds are one of the traditional Rosh HaShanah simanim (symbolic foods) on the holiday table. Downtown juice stands everywhere in the Middle East offer glasses of sweet and sour, dark-red pomegranate juice. And to get pomegranate molasses for drizzling over our eggplant with tahini/labneh sauce or adding to our classic muhamarra recipe, you usually have to trek out to a store and buy it.

Now you can make this versatile Middle-Eastern flavoring at home, with 5 minutes’ active preparation and about an hour of letting it simmer down on the stove while you’re doing other things. There’s no comparison between the fresh flavor of your own pomegranate molasses and that of the commercial stuff, especially if your juice comes from local and organic fruit. And you can adjust the sweetness/tartness to your taste by adding or reducing the sugar and lemon juice. With all of three ingredients to work with, your own pomegranate molasses can only go right.

Homemade Pomegranate Molasses Recipe

Ingredients:

4 cups pure 100% pomegranate juice (bottled or fresh)

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Pour pomegranate juice, sugar, and lemon juice into a small saucepan.

Heat up over medium until the sauce begins to simmer lightly. Stir to dissolve sugar. Allow the liquid to simmer very lightly for 60-80 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, till the liquid reduces by 75% to about 1 cup of molasses.

The liquid is ready when it has a light syrupy consistency and coats the back of a spoon. Don’t let it thicken too much, or it will harden when it cools.

Remove from heat. The syrup will continue to thicken as it cools. If you’re unsure about the consistency, measure the reduce liquid– it should be between 1 and 1 1/4 cups of syrup. If it’s a lot more liquid than that, continue reducing.

After the syrup cools completely, store it in an airtight jar or container in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

Enjoy!

More joyful pomegranate ideas and recipes:

Environmental Activist Beaten and Tortured In Iran

Arwa Aburawa
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0
Environmental Activist Beaten and Tortured In Iran

salt lake iran tortureAmnesty International is calling for an investigation into a report that a female activist was tortured in custody following protests over Lake Orumieh’s destruction in Iran

The Iranian government’s reaction to protests over the ever-shrinking Lake Orumieh (Salt Lake) has taken another sinister turn as reports emerge that female activist and journalist Faranak Farid, aged 50, was arrested and tortured in custody following a mass arrest on September 3.

Amnesty International has received information that she was beaten by plain clothes officers so severely that she temporarily lost hearing in her left ear and was unable to move one of her arms. She was then interrogated at length at a detention centre and then forced to sign a document she was unable to read as her glasses had been confiscated.

Ms. Farid (pictured below) is one of several hundred environmental protestors believed to have been arrested since late August 2011 when the campaign to end the destruction of Lake Orumieh intensified. Protests were triggered by the rejection of an emergency bill put to the Iranian parliament on August 17 to raise the water level of Lake Orumieh by diverting water into it from the Aras River.

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Walk Off McDonalds at Masada – A Sacred Dead Sea Site

Tafline Laylin
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9
Walk Off McDonalds at Masada – A Sacred Dead Sea Site

food and health, McDonalds, Dead Sea, IsraelZionists believe that the McDonalds at Masada, a sacred Jewish site, cuts to the heart of their strongest ideals.

It takes serious exercise to burn off a 480 calorie Big Mac, which is perhaps why Omri Padan – the steward of all 130 branches of McDonalds in Israel – decided to put the latest at the foot of Masada. Situated along the Dead Sea, where 1,000 Israelis got naked over the weekend, these well-preserved Roman ruins are reached by the “snake path” – a long and steep footpath that winds around a series of switchbacks before reaching the summit. It’s a challenging walk that will slash at least part of that burger, but Zionists who consider this site sacred are not amused.

Update 2024: the Masada siege might have been only weeks not years

The Mass Suicide of Masada

Masada is one of the most important sites in Jewish history. After the Roman Empire destroyed their temple in Jerusalem circa AD70, a sect of Jews called the Sicarii Zealots fled to Masada, where for three years they managed to hold on to their identity.

When the Roman 10th Legion eventually caught up to the rebels and prepared to lay siege, the zealots committed mass suicide. They were determined not to be enslaved by imperialist forces. For Jews in both Israel and the diaspora, this story is a reminder to hold on to their values in the face of all adversity, and at all costs.

So when the McDonalds franchise – one of the most prominent symbols of modern imperialism – opened a branch in the visitor center of their sacred place, they began to mount a near-silent campaign against it.

According to Indy News Israel, Benny Katz of the Semitic Action movement correlates the initial “explosion” of foreign chains in Israel, along with American TV and products, with unchecked westernization.

Katz told Indy News (now :

…But the fact that they’re now opening up at Masada, one of the most sacred sites of Jewish heroism and a national symbol of resistance to foreign imperialism, shows that the forces of global capitalism are taking the fight to the heart of the Zionist narrative.

Katz is behind a campaign to bring down McDonalds in Masada, but to date it has been largely ineffective. Although Indy News reports that a facebook boycott page has been gaining momentum, it only has 111 supporters. Seems like they will have to gather much more steam than that to shut down the branch, which has already opened.

In the meantime, anyone who eats McDonalds before heading up to the ruins should forego the cable cars and take full advantage of the site’s built-in exercise program. It could be a “rule.”

More Dead Sea News:

Naked Israelis on Everyone’s Minds

1000 Naked Israelis Strip to Save the Dead Sea

Dead Sea Inspires Advantix Cleaning Tech

Egypt’s Sekem biodynamic farm a Sustainability World Leader

Arwa Aburawa
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1
Egypt’s Sekem biodynamic farm a Sustainability World Leader
sekem-organic-farm-middle-east-egypt-sustainability-wef
Egypt’s biodynamic farm called Sekem

SEKEM, an Egyptian organic farming community has been chosen as one of 16 ‘Sustainability Champions’ in the developing world which are tackling environmental and social problems

A recent report by the World Economic Forum has identified 16 successful companies from as far afield as Costa Rica and China which have shown great environmental awareness and tackled social problems. These ‘New Sustainability Champions’ include just one company from the Middle East and North Africa region- SEKEM.

Established by Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish in 1977, SEKEM is a truly unique enterprise which integrates social, economic and environmental development in an organic farming community just outside, Cairo. Today the company is run by Dr. Abouleish’s son Helmy and what started as a 70-hectre organic farm is now a several thousand hectres farming community which champions sustainable agriculture.

After years of working to improve the soil quality of reclaimed land from the desert on the southeastern edge of the Nile Delta, SEKEM harvested their first crop of organic fruits, vegetables and spices in 1983. They now produce organic fruit, vegetables, cotton, cereals, herbs and herbal medicines which are all grown without pesticides or fertilizers.

The main advantages of organic agriculture in these reclaimed desert lands is that it helps to improve the soil, it optimises water use and also supports more workers than conventional farming. SEKEM, which means ‘vitality from the sun’ in Egyptian hieroglyphics, currently employs around 2,000 people.

SEKEM farms use organic waste fertilizers which are able to hold more water than chemically fertilized land- something which is ideal for the water scarce country. Working with Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture, SEKEM also demonstrated the possibility of successfully growing organic cotton by using biological pheromones to control cotton insects. By 2000, the use of pesticides on Egyptian cotton fields had fallen by over 90% and 80% of Egyptian cotton is now grown without synthetic insecticides.

Indeed, Helmy Abouleish has said that a 100% conversion of global agricultural land into organic agriculture would transform the agricultural sector from a significant contributor to climate change into a net carbon sink.

As well as various subsidiaries involved in the agricultural field, such as Conytex which produces children’s garments from organic cotton, one of SEKEM’s initiatives is the Egyptian Society for Cultural Development. Founded in 1984, the society has helped build a kindergarten, the SEKEM primary and secondary school with 300 pupils, a vocational training centre, an institute for Adult Education, an education programme for disabled children as well as a SEKEM medical centre which treats 30,000 people a year.

Workers all enjoy great working conditions, a fair wage and run remarkably well-managed farms and beautiful buildings surrounded with the fragrances of chamomile and mint. In 2003, the eco-friendly business won the prestigious Right Livelihood Award – known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’ – which honours those working on the most urgent challenges facing the world.

: Image via Bijan/flickr

For more on organic farming in the Middle East see:

Nature Reserve In Jordan Growing Organic

Qatar To Invest In 1,400 New Local Farms

Organic Farming On The Rise In Emirates

Under The Nile’s Organic Cotton Clothes & Toys For Babies

Despite Solyndra Bankruptcy, Solar Grew 69% From Obama Policy

Susan Kraemer
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1
Despite Solyndra Bankruptcy, Solar Grew 69% From Obama Policy

solyndra bankrupt
Republicans want you to believe that Americans hate clean energy

The US Republican party has seized on the half billion dollar bankruptcy of Solyndra to prove that green jobs are some sort of scam, and green power doesn’t work. They’ve seized on one bankruptcy to prove that all clean tech companies are doomed to failure, and government shouldn’t invest in them. But Californa’s Solyndra was just one innovative clean tech investment among $90 billion worth of clean tech investments by the Department of Energy under the Obama administration’s Recovery Act.

The other 99% are doing fine. And the resulting solar job growth, at 69%, is the one bright spark in the dismal US economy, as we’ve covered here. ( BrightSource Solar Project to Make More Energy than Fossil Fuel Plants)

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Naked Israelis on Everyone’s Minds

Karin Kloosterman
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9

naked israelis dead seaNaked Israelis to the rescue. Mission: Save the Dead Sea.

Hugging trees, saving whales, and starting recycling campaigns for environmentalists. Now, eco-activists from a range of organizations ––  including Green Prophet –– are suggesting that people bare all, and go naked for the environment. Witnessed by the Naked Dead Sea photography event this weekend at the Dead Sea to save the shrinking Dead Sea, I have to ask:  Is olive colored skin the new green?

My sister’s old best friend is a naturalist who spends her weekends getting naked in northern Ontario (you can find naturalists at any number of top dating websites if that’s your thing). She loves the freedom of it all. But as much as I love being naked in my own home in the privacy of shuttered windows, I am not going to be ready any time soon to use my body as the messenger. I will use my fingers tapping on keyboard and brain to expose the naked truth instead. But I encourage those willing to get naked for a large number of environmental issues.

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The Red Sea is Getting Hotter Faster Than the Rest

Tafline Laylin
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0
The Red Sea is Getting Hotter Faster Than the Rest

coral, red sea, global warming, climate change, rising temperaturesAs the Red Sea gets hotter, what will be the fate of its magnificent coral reefs?

1,000 Israelis dropped their drawers over the weekend – a memorable event made even more so by acclaimed photographer Spencer Tunick, whose photo shoot in a secret location has drawn much-needed attention to the dying Dead Sea. The Red Sea could use similar treatment given its own environmental issues – sick coral reefs, oil spills ad nauseam, uninhibited post-revolution development in Egypt – but we might have to wait a while. In the meantime, Nature Middle East reports that researchers from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have discovered not only that the Red Sea is getting hotter, but that the rate at which its temperatures are rising exceeds that of the global average.

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Wild Animal “Pets” Still Commonplace in the Gulf

Maurice Picow
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10
Wild Animal “Pets” Still Commonplace in the Gulf

wild cheetah leashThis baby cheetah was found wandering the streets in Abu Dhabi

The trafficking of wild animals for sale to rich and wannabe rich collectors in the Gulf appears to have reach a new high following the recent Green Prophet disclosure of a “pet” cheetah cub being led around on a leash by a Porsche driver in Dubai.

This unusual example of wild animals being sold as pets in various parts of the United Arab Emirates, follows on the heels of other episodes, including one of an injured baby cheetah found on the loose in Abu Dhabi; and another example of an anaesthetized baby leopard found in a suitcase on its way to being sold to someone in Dubai.

The accounts of rare and wild of animal trafficking seem to be happening every day. A new kids book might help stop the problem, by creating awareness from the ground up.

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Following Naked Dead Sea – Would You Strip for the Jordan River?

Maurice Picow
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Following Naked Dead Sea – Would You Strip for the Jordan River?

spencer tunick photos Israel dead seaSpencer Tunick briefing naked participants prior to a photo shoot. Can the Naked Sea stunt be done to save the Jordan River as well?

The momentous event staged at the Dead Sea  by American photographic art producer Spencer Tunick at the Lowest Point on earth is now over ; and those who participated in this historical event, including Alex Gutman, who contributed his personal account of “getting naked” for it, have gone away with a feeling that they participated in an exceptional event.

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Key Rules Recreational Cannabis Users Must Follow in Pittsburgh

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