Spencer Tunick’s naked shoot at the Dead Sea in Israel: yes, some women even got covered in Dead Sea mud.
Cloaked in secrecy, they wouldn’t know the location until they got into the bus. While politics in the Middle East seems to overshadow environmental issues, some passionate Israelis decided to be a part of history, and photographer Spencer Tunick’s dream of his latest “Naked Sea” installation, at the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth.
In a bid to join the UN, Palestine needs more funding to repair damage and mosques like “The Dome” in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip
Economical growth is evaporating in Palestine’s land. This year, donors to the Palestinian government have not transferred the money they pledged, according to a West Bank and Gaza World Bank report on Monday, 12th September. Despite this, local Palestinians contribute their man power to installing a new window or two.
As a birthday gift to famous model Naomi Campbell, Luis de Garrido from Spain designed an off-grid home complete with photovoltaic panels, a sophisticated geothermal system, an interior landscaped terrace, and – ahem – 25 bedrooms.
For those who believe that the Eye of Horus from Egyptian mythology is actually an illuminati cult symbol, this incredible project on the Isla Playa de Cleopatra in Turkey might be a bit hard to swallow. But for everyone else who sees it for what it is – a work of pure architectural genius – read on.
Although it comes with 25 bedrooms and five lounges, which is definitely well out of range for anyone whose name is not Naomi Campbell or maybe Sheikh Hamad (who inscribed his name into a Gulf beach so that it would be visible from space), it is a scaled example of what can be achieved in architecture when the goal is to achieve complete self-sufficiency.
Egypt and Turkey entered into several new energy-sharing arrangements on a recent diplomatic visit to Cairo by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Energy Minister Taner Yıldız. Analysts speculate that the new alliance comes in response to a perceived Israeli-Cypriot alliance over natural gas extraction.
Oil wars are so last century. The resource with the potential to stir up most turmoil in the Mediterranean region over the next year? Natural gas. In the last week alone, the Turkish government has launched three aggressive foreign policy initiatives regarding this precious (and polluting) fuel.
It can be difficult to sift through all the news and figure out exactly what’s going on, and how each case is connected. Read on for a simple breakdown of natural gas politics in the Mediterranean — and how it’s unlikely to get simpler any time soon.
The Masdar buildings that have been realized are impressive, but they comprise a shadow of the original, grandiose plans
Everybody loves to criticize the Abu Dhabi state-owned energy company Masdar, which has been forced to eat humble pie on numerous occasions for failing to realize the grandiose zero carbon, zero emissions city promised to the world when oil money was pumping in. Their small achievements are certainly impressive – see our exclusive Masdar images here – but few of the original specs have been incorporated into the buildings already erected.
As time goes on and mostly financial obstacles continue to emerge, the plans look increasingly less like the original. Bloomberg recently announced that Masdar is now in the process of revising Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill’s design for an energy-positive headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The firm behind Saudi’s ridiculously large tower along the Red Sea is expecting to hear within the month whether or not their design will survive the latest round of economic setbacks.
“Israel is not a theocracy, it is a democracy. We want to create a work that would probably not happen anywhere else in the Middle East.” Spencer Tunick, photographer.
If all goes according to Spencer Tunick’s plan, the Dead Sea will serve as the backdrop this Saturday September 17 for his next photographic installation: hundreds of Israelis appearing naked at what some have hailed as the world’s deepest natural wonders. Any would-be gawkers please take note: the exact location is top secret.
Update: Read Full Frontal Exposure: World Reacts to Naked Israelis for more on the Naked Sea Project, including photos.
Scientists have always been worried about the runaway effects of climate change. Did anyone think that we might have rising concentrations of cholera-causing bacteria in our oceans as a result of higher temperatures?
If rising temperatures on land are enabling bed bugs and drug-resistant diseases to proliferate, it stands to reason that something similar might happen in our oceans. And it is. A 200 page document detailing over 100 EU-funded marine watch projects shows that since the 1980s, there has been an increase in the Vibrio bacteria. Why do we care? Well, in addition to causing food poisoning, gastroenteritis, and septicemia, one genus of Vibrio – namely V. cholera – causes cholera.
Power and water are inextricably linked in the rapidly growing Middle East. An exhibit hopes to green up both
Desalination and water treatment have seen massive growth in the MENA region, which has now emerged as the largest market in the world. The region will have to build approximately three million cubic meters per day of desalination capacity every year to meet the mounting water demand, according to a report from Ventures Middle East.
Needed investment in desalination and water treatment will total a staggering $20 billion over the next four years. Massive amounts of energy are needed to power desalination, and water can potentially host massive renewable energy plants too. The two could be synergistic and could release the potential for a cleaner future.
So how much of this new water infrastructure could be run on clean renewable energy? Mark your calendars: October 16th to 18th, to attend the Power + Water Middle East exhibition to find out.
We’ll need huge desalination projects to meet the world’s future fresh water needs – but the energy to do it will be in short supply
Reducing the fossil energy needed in desalination is simply critical to a sustainable future, as we cover here, frequently, because the MENA nations are at the forefront of the issue: Saudi Options Narrow With Peak Water and Israel Commits Itself To More Desalination. But it comes with a huge energy cost, which is why “Desalination Should Be A Last Resort”.
So it was with excitement that I opened a Press Release from Israel’s IDE Technologies touting “the first green Reverse Osmosis system” for water desalination. Great! Who better to solve this crucial issue than a company has been around since the dawn of desalination? IDE Technologies is the grandfather of water treatment plants, with 400 desalination plants in 40 countries built worldwide since 1965.
Energy subsidies keeping petrol and electricity prices low in the Middle East are jeopardizing the chances of renewable energy projects
The Middle East may be unique for many reason- the stunning souks, the hospitality of the people and explosive political mentality- but they are probably known for just one thing: oil. Indeed, Gulf nations have emerged from the wilderness and built entire economies and industries around their oil wells. The steady supply of cheap energy also means that petrol prices in Gulf nations are some of the lowest in the world, with many paying under $0.2 per litre at the pump. However, according to a new report by Carboun, these low prices are negatively impacting energy efficiency in the region and undermining the commercial viability of renewable energy projects.
A massive solar flare, like small one shown in this photo, could cause the world’s 440 commercial and 300 plus research nuclear reactors to melt down simultaneously.
The sun, that intensely hot ball of gases located 93 million miles from plant earth, has been the subject of numerous articles here, but mostly for good: for harnessing solar energy in an Israeli kibbutz for instance, as well as in other parts of the Middle East. A while back I speculated on the ideas of the electrical engineering genius Nikola Tesla, who believed it is possible to harness the radio magnetic waves generated by the sun to create “free electricity”.
But what would happen if things went terribly wrong in the event of a massive solar flare? According to a National Geographic report, a major solar flare known as the Carrington Event that was reported to have occurred in the year 1859 and recorded by a British astronomer Richard Carrington. It was so strong that people could read newspapers at night from its light. The latest report suggests if such a flare were to happen, the world’s power grids could fail. In long-reaching consequences, without power for days, or weeks catastrophes could happen.
You’d think the top clean tech investments come from the United States, China or Brazil. Look again on the right side of this chart to show how green economies actually perform. Israel is a top 4 with Denmark, Germany, and Sweden.
A new report called the Global Green Economy Index shows that although the perceived hot spots in clean tech investment appear to be in China, the return on investment is something else entirely. Since we cover the Middle East region we’d like to point out that Israel ranked particularly well on the cleantech dimension, according to the report, at slot #4 out of 27 national green economies.
Sclerophyllous forests in Ramot Menashe now a UNESCO biosphere reserve
For such a small country, Israel has some very beautiful and unique natural landscapes and vegetation, including forests (those not destroyed by fires like the recent ones on the Carmel Mountains ), wild flowers like the purple “Argamon Iris,” and eco tour areas like the Wadi Ara in the foothills of the Galilee. It has now been announced that a woodland area near the ancient archeological site of Megiddo, the Ramot Menashe region is now designated by UNESCO as a world “Biosphere Reserve” due the ability of natural areas to coexist with human development. According to the UN organization, as noted during a recent conference in Dresden Germany.
Inspired by last year’s Sukkah City in NYC (see one of the past designs above), St. Louis is hosting its own sukkah design competition this year.
With the Jewish high holidays fast approaching, some of us are thinking about honey recipes, sustainable festive meals, and sukkahs (or temporarily erected shelters). The folks over at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSL) certainly have sukkahs on the brain, as they are preparing to host Sukkah City 2011, a design competition similar to the one held in New York last year. The theme of this year’s Sukkah City will be “Defining and Defying Boundaries”, asking participants to focus on the material, cultural or metaphorical boundaries that may influence our lives and define the ways that we relate to an increasingly global society.
Stay at Dar Les Cogognes for a boutique-style rest in the exhilarating city of Marrakesh.
Marrakesh is a thrill to travelers looking to access the Middle East oriental flavor, through a North African city a short plane ride from Spain. Despite the occasional terror attack and instability in the Arab world right now, Marrakesh is a relatively safe city, even for single women travelers, and babies (though they will be kissed a million times by strangers). And it is easy to get around on foot. I recommend Marrakesh highly to curious people from the west or east wanting to access Arabian culture without the fear of what traveling post-Arab Spring might do to your safety or well-being, real or imagined.
Marrakesh features marvelous markets, warm people and boutique hotels waiting to be met: I arrived to the Old City with little planning after sojourning at a conference in Rabat organized by the URI. After Rabat, first I headed south to the Atlas Mountains hoping to enjoy some Berber hospitality, which I did at the Kasbah du Toubkal, a boutique Berber-UK-run resort held in the palms of North Africa’s highest peak.
After a couple days in the mountain cool air with good people, it was onwards to Marrakesh, and the heat hit me and my baby as we descended by taxi into the throbbing city that provides absolutely no mercy in the noon day sun. It was so hot it hurt breathing in. We refused the air conditioned taxis and tried to acclimate like a local. We were happy though when the driver arrived at the riad Dar Les Cigognes just outside the Royal Palace gates. A flock of nesting swans were perched in their massive fairy tale nests above us (cigognes is swans in French), and when you walk in the door of this special riad the fairy tale simply continues.
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