Led by Berber guides, five Australians and I head out on the Chebbi dunes outside Merzouga, Morocco for an unforgettable night under star-filled skies. Yesterday, Merzouga in southern Morocco (a stone’s throw from the border of Algeria) was so hot that I almost passed out in the internet cafe where I worked all day. There’s […]
Lack of space in urban environments often means that farming opportunities are limited, but a technique of farming indoors and upwards may resolve this problem Over a week ago, I had the opportunity to attend an event featuring Dickson Despommier, the grandfather of vertical farming. As Green Prophet editor Karin explains in an interview with […]
Weather paradox: severe drought in south with flooding elsewhere With 122 degrees in New York City, intense drought and wild fires in several American states, and mass starvation due to abnormal drought in the Horn of Africa. Middle Eastern countries like Yemen are “running dry” , and ones like Egypt are in danger of […]
Ford offers up another $100,000 to get green initiatives in the Gulf and Levant rolling. Applications are due 10 September, 2011. After writing a visceral post about environmental organizations that accept money from large corporations, in protest of greenwashing, Arwa interviewed the Emirates Diving Association, who explained their decision to accept $10,000 from Ford. One […]
Despite disgusting facilities and maltreatment of wild animals, Egyptian zookeeper Ahmed-Al Timsah’s permit has been renewed. When Apartheid ended officially in South Africa, racism didn’t go away. Likewise, though we had hope that a post-revolution Egypt would usher in a period of more humane treatment of animals, Egypt remains a corrupt society with a terrible […]
Lebanon could get a lot cleaner thanks to a brilliant plan devised jointly by Nestle Pure, Spinneys, and Servicorp. That’s right. Nestle Pure, Spinneys, and Servicorp are planning to save Lebanon from the plastic waste that kills tens of thousands of Mediterranean creatures each year by introducing reverse vending machines to certain Spinneys locations throughout […]
The Israeli cabinet has just announced a decision to invest millions in renewable energy projects in the controversial Israeli settlements of the West Bank Around a week ago, the Israeli government announced that 10% of its renewable energy quota would be going to the West Bank. This means that literally millions (some have put the […]
Inflatable wind turbines are lighter and cheaper than heavy conventional ones Following a number of Israeli clean technology companies being winners in the General Electric Company’s Green Innovation Marathon, GE has announced plans to establish a “Green Tech Shop” in Haifa in which a number of renewable energy and other green technology projects will be developed […]
Muslim, Jewish, and Christian leaders are meeting today in Jerusalem to discuss climate change and launch the new Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development. Leaders of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian faiths will be convening this morning in Jerusalem to speak out about climate change at an Interfaith Climate Change Forum. Current environmental conditions in the […]
Has a real remnant from Jerusalem’s Second Temple come to light? For twenty-odd years, people stood in front of a glass cabinet in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, and thrilled to view a small ivory pomegranate. It was supposed to be part of the High Priest’s sceptor in Solomon’s Temple (516 BCE to 70 EC). Sadly, […]
The public was ignorant about the the dangers of smoking till the 1960s. The fashion for meat glue in food seems ominously similar. Finding a scientist to talk about meat glue wasn’t easy. I spoke to neurologists, biologists, pathologists, the head physician at a local hospital, and biochemists. None had even heard of transglutaminase. When […]
The modular toaster, designed by Hadar Gorelik, is sustainable by virtue of its intended long-term use. Sustainable design is often thought of in terms of upcycled or organic materials, but it is also about what happens to the designed object in the long run. Cardboard furniture, for example, is sustainable not only because it is […]
Science, Industry and Technology Minister Nihat Ergün test-drives a solar-powered car at a solar vehicle competition in the Turkish city of Izmir. A strange array of vehicles were seen speeding around Izmir, Turkey last week, as the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) hosted its first Alternative Energy Vehicle Races in the sunny Aegean […]
Despite problems confronted on its own soil, Japan proceeds with its commitment to fund a photovoltaic project in Egypt. Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA) announced that it will proceed with plans to support a solar energy generating station south of Alexandria. Egypt applied to the aid agency for assistance with the “Project for the Introduction […]
Hanging from the ceiling like an ivy plant, Omer Deutsch’s “Secondary Growth” computer design softens the harsh, plastic, traditional work cubicle. If you’re reading this right now, chances are you are a person who spends at least an hour or two a day on a computer (if not more). This has become commonplace practice for […]