Nobody thought to ask him if he approves of a mega solar project on his home turf
Solar energy, whether from photovoltaic panels, solar thermal systems, or concentration of sunlight to heat water and create steam to operate an electricity producing turbine, is being promoted by many as the most promising energy source of the future. While widespread use of solar energy does appear promising as an energy supplier, there are downsides to solar energy that people should be aware of.
Israel is fortunate to have an Environmental Protection Minister who is passionate about his job. So passionate, he gave up an opportunity to work as ambassador to the UN.
Israel’s Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan turned down an opportunity to represent Israel as ambassador to the United Nations, according to a Jerusalem Post report. He expressed his gratitude to both Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman for their confidence, but decided that Israel needs him more.
This move comes hot on the heels of a fervent campaign to re-educate Israelis about food waste with a series of billboard, television, and radio advertisements, and to instill greener habits throughout the country. Environmental agencies expressed their respect for the decision.
One unexpected consequence of the riots is cleaner air, because fewer factories are running.
Amid the turmoil and disappointment of Egyptian President Mubarak’s refusal to leave Egypt despite ongoing and increasingly desperate protests, an unexpected consequence has emerged. Infamous for its stultifying smog, Cairo is packed with factories and cars that create an unhealthy breathing environment for its constituents. Long term government plans include relocating the factories but in the meantime, despite Mubarak’s pleas for Cairenes to return to work, many businesses remain closed. This in turn has cleared the air.
This should be the scene of a brand-new prefab building made in the UAE, but the building is still sitting in an Essex container port.
The UAE is well-known for its ginormous skyscrapers and oil-guzzling lifestyle, and increasingly Abu Dhabi is making a name for its eco-consciousness, but it can’t be said that our Gulf friends are the go-to people for eco-friendly buildings.
Which is why the UK paper this is Leicestershire has grabbed the following story by its rather slippery horns. Why, they wonder, would the Rutland Primary Care Trust spend £2.3 million on a building made in the UK, rather than one from Europe, and why, six months after its expected installation, is that building still at the Essex container port?
The latest research out of Israel hints to pregnancy prevention via antioxidants.
It’s a tale with two endings, a conundrum for consumers of antioxidant-rich foods, drinks and facial products. What has been touted as a natural way to slow the aging process by minimizing cell damage via oxidation may be one culprit in female infertility. So suggests Professor Nava Dekel of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.
With the Pope’s thumb’s up – confess to a phone, and save greenhouse gas emissions?
The Catholic Church is embracing the burgeoning digital world and encouraging its followers to do the same. With its own You Tube channel and Facebook page (hopefully this won’t encourage a host of Catholics with eating disorders), the Holy See believes that technology and Catholicism can be mutually beneficial. Which is why Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Fort Wayne Diocese approved the iPhone confession app created by Patrick Leinen of Little iApps in Indiana. Too cold or too lazy to drive to Church? Pick up your iPhone instead, and save some greenhouse gas emissions while you’re at it.
This 1934 streamlined DIY car could go 50-70 miles on a gallon of gas. Not bad, in today’s terms.
The idea of building environmentally friendly or “green” cars is not something new, even though Green Prophet has written many articles on new electric and hybrid cars. In addition to factory produced models, other articles have on “do it yourself” (DIY) models, which have included a home-made electric car, using conventional wet cell car batteries; and even a Palestinian home made electric car powered by solar energy. Let’s look back a little at what people before us had come up – well before the notion of Peak Oil and global warming.
Around 2,500 took part in the car-free day – aiming to encourage the use of public transport
Empty car parks and full Metros and buses is not a sight you’re likely to see very often in the Dubai but for one day it became reality. On Wednesday, around 2,500 employees decided to leave their cars at home and ride the metro or bus to work as part of the car-free day initiative organised by the Dubai Municipality. Considering that this is a nation where only 4 percent of population walk anywhere in a week, this really is a breakthrough. The event was declared ‘a huge success’ for actually getting people to see the benefits of using public transport and for convincing them to leave their cars at home. How did they do it!?
Carrots are fat and sweet now. Dress dinner up with this tangy Moroccan carrot salad.
We’re enjoying every drop of blessed rain, Arabs and Jews having prayed for it during the hot, bright summer. The moisture in the earth fattens root vegetables, which we usually think of as soup ingredients but which make delicious salads as well. Find more winter salad recipes from Green Prophet here. Carrots do more than coleslaw: Brighten their sweetness with lemon juice and balance the whole with Middle Eastern spices, and you have an easy side dish for lunch or dinner any time, these rainy days.
The UAE takes another green step with a sustainability camp set for February 26.
The United Arab Emirates has been up to all manner of green things over the last couple of years. From solar-powered cash machines to plans to go plastic-free by 2013, and now they are hosting a unique sustainability camp on February 26, 2011. Rather than taking a narrow understanding of sustainability, the campaigners insist that sustainability is more than just being a tree hugger. The groups says that, “sustainability is the potential for long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions.” As such, they’re inviting everyone from human rights groups, animals rights activists to compost makers and tree planters along to share their struggles and successes in becoming more sustainable.
As solar energy becomes a more widespread reality and lessons are uncovered, conferences allow stakeholders to get the learned scoop.
Given that Morocco has the highest concentration of solar power in the MENA region, it is appropriate that the country should host this year’s third annual MENASOL conference on May 4-5. These two days comprise the single most important conference for solar stakeholders interested in exploiting the region’s limitless solar reserves to attend. With over 350 leading experts expected to attend, and presentations that demystify everything from regulations to regional technology preferences, this year’s conference should attract its widest audience yet.
MENA has enough sun to make everyone smile, so why aren’t we using it?
Until 2008, not one of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries produced a single kilowatt of renewable energy, so reliant are they on oil and natural gas. And yet three of the six are on Al Masah Capital’s list of the Middle East North African region’s best locations for solar energy generation. That seems like a waste of untapped potential. According to a recent Al Masah report, however, rising renewable energy generation in the region might be the clue to keeping revenue-generating oil exports steady.
These beautiful Palmwood® gates at the entrance of Masdar City help keep the hot desert winds at bay.
What should the gates to the world’s most talked about carbon-neutral city look like? For starters, they should be built out of a material that is sustainable, and they should blend in with Foster & Partner’s high-tech/ancient Arab vision. The gates, external cladding, and screens were all made from Pacific Green’s Palmwood® – a beautiful alternative to forest-depleting hardwood – and also contribute to the project’s commitment to passive design.
With GMO beets likely to hit the US market, and their sugar to reach global markets, savvy eco-conscious consumers are going to have to pay extra attention to finding organic, non-engineered beets.
One prevailing assumption about GMO foods is that if one country bans them, her citizens are safe. But a statement from Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food & Water Watch, suggests that dangers of GMO foods is looming larger across the globe, including the Middle East. This in response to the USDA’s recent approval to plant genetically engineers beets, following on the heels of GMO alfalfa deregulation in the US. Could the sugar from such bulbs make its way unknowingly into our food chain?
When it’s cloudy, does the money stop flowing?
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi has become the first bank in the UAE to launch a solar-powered ATM, and it’s the first time this Green Prophet has heard of such an initiative.
But after Googling a bit, we see it’s not the first.
“As part of our CSR [corporate social responsibility] initiatives, we hope to be the ‘trend-setter’ in adopting solar power for future ATMs in this country,” says Suvo Sarkar, the General Manager of the bank, who hopes the act will be an example for other banks in the region to follow.
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