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Turks Alarmed Over Nickel Heap Leach Dumps

Maurice Picow
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Turks Alarmed Over Nickel Heap Leach Dumps

heap dump leach process diagramHeap leaching or dump leaching extracts nickel using a very toxic process.

Turkish environmental groups are calling for increased awareness against toxic waste dumping like that in Lebanon.  Toxic dumping is taking place in the Caldag region, about 60 km east of Izmir, where a mining concession was given to a UK mining company, Sardes Nickel. Operations started in 2004 to explore and mine deposits of nickel ore located under some of Turkey’s most fertile farm land. The mining, operation according to an article in the Todays Zaman news site will involve using a similar method of  “heap leaching” that utilizes sulfuric acid, one thousand kilograms of acid per ton of crushed ore — to dissolve the target mineral.

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Iraqis Pour Their Art Out at Venice Biennale

Tafline Laylin
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Iraqis Pour Their Art Out at Venice Biennale

art and environment, water, water pollution, water conservation, iraq, venice biennale, wounded waterAzad Nanakeli returned to his Kurdish home Erbil to find all of the wells contaminated with waste and chemicals. AU is one among many art pieces on display at Iraq’s first pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

Fewer canvases are overflowing with pristine landscape scenes as unsustainable building programs throughout the Middle East encroach upon this once-abundant source of inspiration. Of course, land in the region has been set aside to protect historical monuments and indigenous fauna and flora, but artists such as Camille Zakharia in Bahrain increasingly find themselves documenting a depleted, shattered earth.

So it is for six Iraqi artists whose work is currently on display at the 2011 Venice Biennale. After years of war, Iraq’s environmental woes are numerous, though the depletion and pollution of water takes the prize. Called “Wounded Water,” the Iraqi pavilion in Venice doesn’t only creatively depict the ongoing water crisis that has arisen as a result of neglect, but also the sometimes extraordinary ways in which life is able to adapt.

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Pine Nut Truce Brokers Temporary Peace in Afghanistan

Karin Kloosterman
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Pine Nut Truce Brokers Temporary Peace in Afghanistan

pine nut truceTaliban holds fire thanks to tooth-sized nut. Image via the NY Times.

Some say all is fair in love and war, but for guerrilla warfare between the Taliban and Haqqani in Afghanistan, there are limits. Guns go down for pine nut season. Pine nuts are those delicious, tooth-sized nuts which are a staple in pesto. Browned and sprinkled over hummous and Middle East dishes, in the Paktika Province of Afghanistan, near its border with Pakistan, insurgents put down their guns so the able bodied can collect the pine cones, which house the little nuts.

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Bezalel, Israel’s Art Academy, Shops Imported for Local Architecture

Karen Chernick
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Bezalel, Israel’s Art Academy, Shops Imported for Local Architecture

"bezalel art academy"A starchitect from Japan? As Israel’s oldest and leading arts academy, shouldn’t Bezalel be a locavore when it comes to hiring architects?

The Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, established in Jerusalem in 1906 as an institution that would help form a new visual language for the Jewish people, is now synonymous with Israeli art.  (In the green world it has helped create many eco-minded designers, such as Michael Tsinovsky, the maker of melting pot styled furniture, Galit Begas, the creator of the plastic bag shoe, and ocean debris sculpture maker, Koby Sibony.)  Yet recently, when Bezalel made the progressive decision to move the campus back to Jerusalem’s city center (thereby making it more accessible), it also made the bizarre decision to hire a foreign team of architects for the project.  In other words, it chose not to ‘go local’.

It chose, instead, to hire the Tokyo-based architecture firm Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa and Associates (aka SANAA), who will be collaborating somewhat with Nir-Kutz Architects of Tel Aviv.

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Arab Spring Female Activist Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Arwa Aburawa
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Arab Spring Female Activist Wins Nobel Peace Prize

tawakul-karman-nobel-peace-prize-arab-spring-women-yemenYemeni activist Tawakul Karman has become the first Arab woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

Today, Yemeni activist Tawakul Karman was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her role in the Arab Spring along with two other Liberian women who mobilized a women’s ‘sex strike’ which ended a 14-year civil war in their country. Tawakul Karman, the 32-year-old mother of three who formed the group Women Journalist Without Chains in 2005, dedicated her prize to the women of Yemen fighting against tribalism and oppression. As well as going some way to help ensure that women’s role in the Arab Spring isn’t marginalised, the Nobel Peace Prize should also remind those who need reminding that Muslim woman can and do play an important role in the transformation of their societies.

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Book Review: ‘My Journey With a Remarkable Tree’ in Cambodia

James Murray-White
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Book Review: ‘My Journey With a Remarkable Tree’ in Cambodia

Ken Finn is a passionate man. Sitting with him in his Brighton kitchen (which he built himself), our conversation ranges from his book, ‘My Journey With a Remarkable Tree’, to the current state of the economy: “We’ve got to decouple the juggernaut [of economic meltdown] that is hurtling towards us” is a memorable quote from him: to the recent summer of unrest throughout the UK, and both the malaise and regeneration of human, tribal, society, to an exploration of the benefits of travel and our human stories.

I’m here to talk to him about the book, and to be interviewed for his radio show (more about this later), but mainly because since we met at the UKAware Festival 2 years ago in London, I’ve wanted to catch up and have a longer conversation with this deeply engaged individual. I find him warm, deeply articulate and insightful on what he sees around him.

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10 Upcycled Paper Cypress Trees to Be Built as Part of Interfaith Ecological Celebration

Karen Chernick
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10 Upcycled Paper Cypress Trees to Be Built as Part of Interfaith Ecological Celebration

"plastic bottle tree"We already know what plastic bottle trees look like, how will 10 newspaper trees look?

For Christmas last year, Israeli artist Hadas Itzcovitch gifted her city of Haifa a tree made from 5480 upcycled plastic bottles (pictured above).  Constructed immediately after the disastrous Carmel region fires broke out and destroyed so many trees, Itzcovitch’s tree was a symbol of the community’s hope for a greener future.  In a few weeks she will be building another set of 10 green cypress trees, this time as a celebration of the Baha’i gardens in Haifa and of the city’s interfaith residents.

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Yom Kippur Fast Food, Before and After

Miriam Kresh
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image choumous saladMiriam suggests dishes to suit meals before and after the Big Fast of Yom Kippur.

This coming Friday night a Jewish Shabbat and Yom Kippur holiday occur together. While I look forward to a day of prayer and meditation,  a day offline and a day of cleaner air, I confess I don’t relish the thought of the 25-hour fast. So what are the smartest things I can do to make it go easier? And which foods go down best when the fast is over?

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Make Kafta, Syrian Meatballs in Rich Tomato Sauce

Miriam Kresh
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2
Make Kafta, Syrian Meatballs in Rich Tomato Sauce

image-lebanese-meatballsThese big, savory meatballs satisfy big hungers.

Certain dishes are considered working-man’s lunches in the Middle East. They’re foods you  find in small shuk restaurants or roadside eateries. Eggy shakshoukah (recipe here), mulukhiyah soup (recipe here), the classic lentil/rice combination, majadra.

The favored meat in the Middle East  is lamb  and it’s most often prepared in some variation of meatballs, like the popular kibbeh. Now try these savory meatballs in a rich tomato sauce enriched with vegetables and spices. Just delicious.

Kafta, Syrian Meatballs in Rich Tomato Sauce

4 servings

Ingredients for Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon flour

1 carrot, peeled and diced

250 grams – 1/2 lb. tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2- 1 teaspoon cayenne flakes or 1/2 dried red chili

1 quart water

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Ingredients for Kafta:

500 grams – 1 lb. ground lamb

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground allspice berries

1/4 cup parsley, chopped fine

The Sauce:

Sauté the onion in the olive oil until softened and golden, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic. Reduce the heat to low, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add carrot, flour, tomato, tomato paste, chile, and water. Stir well. Raise heat and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Remove from heat and pass through a sieve or puree in blender. Put the sauce in a large skillet that can hold all the meatballs.

Preheat the broiler.

The Meatballs:

Knead together the ground lamb, flour, egg yolk, salt, cinnamon, white pepper, nutmeg,  allspice and parsley. Form meatballs the size of large eggs. Arrange them on a broiling tray and broil until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer to the sauce in the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until bubbling furiously, 10 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 10 minutes.

Serve with rice, couscous, or bulgur.

Enjoy!

Green Prophet’s Middle-Eastern relishes to serve alongside the kafta:

Photo of kafta by Miriam Kresh.

Steven Jobs –– An Environmentalist And A Computer Genius

Maurice Picow
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Steven Jobs –– An Environmentalist And A Computer Genius

steven jobsSteven Jobs and iPhone: a genius and an environmentalist.

Steven Paul Jobs finally met up against a challenge at age 56 that he simply could not overcome – pancreatic cancer. Now that he is being consigned to the annuls of history, and we at Green Prophet are writers of clean technology and environmental issues, it’s a good time to pause and think about what this one individual has done to further both of these subjects, clean technology and making the world’s environment better.

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SolarEdge Does Dallas

Maurice Picow
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1
SolarEdge Does Dallas

solaredgeIsrael’s SolarEdge is making solar energy most cost-effective

SolarEdge Technologies Inc, whose patented Solar Power Harvesting and Optimization System is beginning to receive good reviews, will be exhibiting their products at the upcoming Solar Power International Trade Show in Dallas Texas.The Israel based solar energy company, with offices in the USA, Europe and Japan will have a booth at what is billed as North America’s largest, most comprehensive solar power trade show and conference that will run from October 17 -20 in the giant  Dallas Convention Center.

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Steve Jobs Tribute: A Legacy Environmentalists Can Learn From

Tafline Laylin
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Steve Jobs Tribute: A Legacy Environmentalists Can Learn From

Apple, Steve Jobs, Pixar, iPod, iPad, iPhone, SyriaThe world’s most innovative rebel was the son of a Syrian man who gave him up for adoption. But neither this, nor cancer, nor a series of public failures ever deterred his strength of vision. This is our tribute to Steve Jobs.

“No one wants to die,” Steve Jobs said in a speech to Stanford’s 2005 graduating class, “and yet it is the destination that we all share.” At 56, after struggling with pancreatic cancer for several years, Apple’s co-founder and lead visionary finally reached his destination. And though he once said that he didn’t care about being the richest person in the cemetery, he will be, not only because he is one of the world’s wealthiest people, but because his commitment to personal excellence has completely changed how millions of people from all walks of life interact with their personal computers, their telephones, and one another.

Steve Jobs did not revolutionize the animation and computing industry by feeling sorry for himself when he found out about his illness. When Apple, Inc. – the company that he co-founded after dropping out of college – fired him at 30, he did not give up and slink into oblivion. He kept going and founded NeXT. Nor did he dwell on the idea that his biological parents Abdulfattah Jandali – a Syrian man – and Joanne Simpson gave him up for adoption. Instead, the man behind the Macbook, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Pixar – the animation studio that delighted squealing children everywhere with Toy Story – persevered through his daily challenges with a determination and discipline that sometimes made him fearsome, but always with a focus on making the world a better place.

Steve Jobs broke the rules and shattered stoic conventions, and he did it all with heart. We at Green Prophet are very sad to lose such an inspirational figure, and promise to honor his legacy by striving to heal the planet’s health with the same courage, dignity, and clarity of purpose that this well-loved husband, father, and mentor displayed every single day. “I want to put a ding in the universe,” Steve once said. I think we can all agree that he has definitely done just that.

World’s First Turkish Womb Transplant Is A Success

Zaufishan
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World’s First Turkish Womb Transplant Is A Success

turkey word's first uterus womb transplant medical history “If God allows, we will hold our baby in our arms”. 21-year-old Derya Sert (right) and her doctor Omer Ozkan pose for a photograph before her medical operation

Derya Sert is the 21 year old who had the world’s first successful womb transplant at a Turkish hospital. On August 9th, 2011, doctors at Akdeniz University Hospital in Turkey’s southern province of Antalya, successfully transplanted a uterus to Derya Sert without any major complications. This is a new precedence in the medical developments of women’s health in the Middle East region.

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Masdar Opens First Baseload Solar in Spain – Gemasolar

Susan Kraemer
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Masdar Opens First Baseload Solar in Spain – Gemasolar

solar Gemasolar Masdar first heliostat tower storageNow Masdar builds solar with a 75% capacity factor, almost as much as nuclear

Masdar, the holistic and progressive renewable energy company from the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi, and SENER, a leading engineering and construction firm in Spain have formed a joint venture, Torresol Energy, that just inaugurated their Gemasolar Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project; the first commercial plant in the world to use molten salt thermal storage in a central tower configuration using a heliostat, which will give it a capacity factor of 75%, which is almost on a par with nuclear plants.

Gemasolar is the first of three projects that the newly formed partnership has financed at $1.4 billion US. Raising this amount for first of its kind technology at commercial scale shows what Masdar and SENER are jointly capable of as leaders in strong, credible solar technology.

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A Thousand Student Scouts Clean Jeddah Shores

Zaufishan
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44
A Thousand Student Scouts Clean Jeddah Shores

saudi jeddah beach corniche litter clean up Volunteers have attempted to keep Jeddah’s corniche litter-free for years

On 23rd September, 2011, Saudi Arabia went “green” in its streets and environmental policies to celebrate 81 years as a Kingdom. An inspiring part of the eco-festivities were carried out by young students who swept the Jeddah beaches clean.

Almost a thousand student scouts took to the hot Red Sea shores in an environmental clean up that made their National Day something to be proud of. The scouts are carrying a keep-clean message across the nation, aiming to educate peers and adults alike about the importance of keeping the country an exemplar of green activism.

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