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Abu Dhabi To Plant Sewage-Fed Forest By End Of 2011

Tafline Laylin
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Abu Dhabi To Plant Sewage-Fed Forest By End Of 2011

abu dhabi wastewater sewageAbu Dhabi leads the Gulf Region in environmental innovation. This time, a desert forest irrigated with treated wastewater.

Last year we were somewhat alarmed that the UAE had ambitions to plant one million trees. Even though the carbon sponging benefits are potentially enormous, the water required to keep said trees alive might have overwhelmed the pros. A new initiative circumvents this dilemma. Developed by a joint coalition of Abu Dhabi’s’s Water & Electricity Authority, Veolia water, and the construction company Besix, a four acre forest 40km outside of the capital will create a carbon sink, a habitat for living things, and an educational facility.

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7 Books for New Year’s Resolutions on Sustainable Food!

Faisal O'Keefe
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7 Books for New Year’s Resolutions on Sustainable Food!

Eating-Animals-Jonathan-Safran-FoerBolster your New Year’s food resolutions with seven recycled titles: largely published before 2011 but still relevant. Eating sustainably can make a huge impact on our planet.

Dig in.

1. Eating Animals (Penguin, 2011)

Part memoir, part science: novelist Jonathan Safran Foer’s takes a philosophical look at how we justify what we eat . Prepare yourself for an epiphany.

food-manifesto book cover2. Manifestos on the Future of Food & Seed (South End Press, 2007)

Food activist Vandana Shiva edits a collection of papers from advocates of the slow food movement, organic farming and local eating.  A choppy ride, but in the end these varied views (from the likes of Prince Charles and Michael Pollan) make a solid case for food deindustrialization.

animal-vegetable-miracle3. Animal Vegetable Miracle: Miracle of Our Year of Sustainable Eating (Faber & Faber, 2007)

A chronicle of the year that author Barbara Kingsolver and family went to the woods, unlike Thoreau, to eat deliberately. Their radical experiment to “go locavore” explores my mom’s old gem “you are what you eat”.

4. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (Penguin Press, 2006)

Michael Pollan explores modern American eating: dubious trends with far-reaching influence. If you like your wake-up calls loud and clear, crack this binding.

5. New Book of Middle Eastern Food (Alfred E. Knopf, 2000)

Claudia Roden’s original 1973 classic updated and expanded.  Culled from 30 years of extensive Middle East travel, she’s concocted simple prep methods for over 800+ regional recipes from Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.  Read it for the recipes, but also for the riveting stories behind this extraordinary food.

jewish food6.  Book of Jewish Food (Alfred E. Knopf, 1996)

Oy, Claudia, again with the 800+ recipes?

Here’s the story of the Jews told through the story of their cooking, with emphasis on development of both Ashkenazic and Sephardic cuisine. Ms. Roden’s stories are as delicious as her recipes.

caroline-knapp-appetites7. Appetites (Counterpoint Press, 2003)

It’s sad to tag this as an “anorexia” book.  Sadder still that its author died before publishing more of her sagacious take on the modern female experience. Caroline Knapp’s memoir of her war with self-image expands to explore wider cultural messages.  It’s a powerful call to all women to learn what it is to “feed both the body and the soul”.

ELTE Weaves New Life Into Aging Persian Rugs

Tafline Laylin
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ELTE Weaves New Life Into Aging Persian Rugs

elte second life rugWhat’s almost as good as a Persian or Turkish Rug? An old one given new life with special dye.

In addition to oil, Iran has a commodity that no one needs to fight about: carpets. According to the Financial Times, in 2008, that country’s exports accounted for 30% of the world market. A staggering number of people rely on carpet-making for their livelihood: 1.2 million weavers craft 5 million square miles of carpet each year. (Learn how to green clean your carpet.) Unlike is some places, where a Persian or Turkish rug is merely a fancy decoration that hardly gets used, carpets in the Middle East are functional. (The Solaris carpet can even generate energy!) As such, they get worn to the bone, so to speak. Instead of letting them go, a Canadian company, ELTE, gives them a second life.

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VW and GM in Full Gear for Electric Cars in Qatar

Maurice Picow
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VW and GM in Full Gear for Electric Cars in Qatar

VW’s XL1 looks great and saves fuel.  But is it affordable?

Although the much written about Better Place electric car concept is a favorite on Green Prophet; and is even  criticized as being an electric car monopoly in its origin country Israel,  the cars themselves have yet to hit the streets on a commercial basis. At present, they are still considered as being in the testing stage.  In other parts of the world electric concept cars, especially dual engine hybrid models, are now on display at various motor shows, including a recent motor show  in Qatar.

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What Egyptian Regime Change May Mean for Regional Energy Cooperation

Maurice Picow
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What Egyptian Regime Change May Mean for Regional Energy Cooperation

egypt solar energySparked be energy shortage, and Egypt in so much turmoil, what will happen to solar energy projects like this one?

Many of us are following the recent turn of events in Egypt, in which the people have decided that it’s now time for some “changes” in the Land of the Nile. While the political ramifications of what will happen if Egypt’s long time leader Hosni Mubarak is forced to resign his post as Egypt’s President is still unknown, the question of continued environmental cooperation between Egypt and other countries is even more uncertain.

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Ehrlich Architecture Trumps Hadid And Foster With UAE Parliament Win

Tafline Laylin
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1
Ehrlich Architecture Trumps Hadid And Foster With UAE Parliament Win

ehrlich-architecture-uae-parliamentConsidered a huge upset in the architecture world, Ehrlich firm wins bid to build the new UAE Parliament Building.

Foster & Partners have a solid footing in the Middle East, with Masdar City and other popular projects under their belt. And Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid is a celebrity who inspires red-carpet treatment wherever she goes. Both firms bid for the new United Arab Emirates parliament building design competition in Abu Dhabi, but their entries were eclipsed by Ehrlich Architecture’s beautiful dome building. Architect’s Newspaper called it the biggest upset since 1987 when Frank Gehry won the Walt Disney Concert Hall Bid.

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The Grass Is Greener In The UAE

Tafline Laylin
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The Grass Is Greener In The UAE

How green is your fodder? Turns out, in the UAE, not so green. A new program aims to change that.

In order to combat the dual challenge of desertification and regional water shortages, the United Arab Emirates are experimenting with myriad innovations. The latest encourages local farmers to switch to a different variety of fodder. A variety that uses less water. Not surprisingly, indigenous grass species are better adapted to survive in the Emirates. After a decade of testing, the Ministry of Environment and Water, along with the International Center for Agricultural Research, are urging farmers to make the switch.

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3 Wild Edibles And How to Eat Them

Miriam Kresh
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3 Wild Edibles And How to Eat Them

edible weeds photoMiriam suggests ways to cook free wind-sown vegetables.

At this time of year, you may find free vegetables growing in your own backyard (like Karin did), or in your windowbox. Springing up from wind-sown seeds and roots that slept underground through last summer, the newly green landscape is actually full of green vegetables. The first thing is to identify what’s growing out there. Take a reliable local field guide with you – or a reliable local grandma who’s foraged and eaten wild greens since childhood – and pick the plants they say are safe. Chicory is coming up around now – read this post on how to cook it with onions. Then take your bounty to the kitchen and cook it up.

Mallows. The youngest, tenderest leaves of the mallows, make a fine addition to the salad bowl. The taste is mild and just sort of green – you’d never guess how rich in vitamin C mallows are. Stuff bigger leaves with rice and pine nuts just like grape leaves. Roll them up and cook them in a lemony, tomatoey, olive oily sauce. In early summer when mallows flower, eat the flowers in salad or dry them to add to winter teas.

Nettles (photo below). Yes, they sting. But they’re full of iron and other good minerals that protect your kidneys and adrenals. Nettles have a taste slightly like seaweed. They’re good rinsed, shaken dry, and dropped into soup 10 minutes before serving. Or try a cup of chopped nettles instead of spinach in a souffle.They’re particularly good paired with sharp cheese.

Hint: either wear gloves or use scissors to cut them in the field. Use the scissors or a pair of tongs to handle them.  Nettles lose their sting when cooked or dried. And once their light-green seeds have matured and are brown, nettles are best left alone until next year.

image-nettles

Cape Sorrel. Just ask the neighborhood kids what “hamzutzim” are. They’ll know how best to eat the fresh, sour-tasting leaves and flowers – raw. But don’t make an entire salad out of them, because their oxalic acid, like rhubarb’s, is only OK up to a point. Just toss a small handful into the salad bowl, along with other greens, or line a sandwich with the leaves instead of lettuce.

image-cape-sorrel

More on wild edibles from Green Prophet:

Go Wild With Two Winter Salads

Edible Weeds in Your Middle Eastern Garden

Photos of nettles, and Cape sorrel by Miriam Kresh.

Do Creases Make You Cross? 10 Tips for Wrinkle-Free Clothes without Ironing

Hannah Katsman
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Do Creases Make You Cross? 10 Tips for Wrinkle-Free Clothes without Ironing

electric irons aren't necessary to keep clothes wrinkle-free.
With planning and proper care you can cut back on your ironing for greener clothes.

My friend finds ironing relaxing. I find it a chore, especially in the hot climate of the Middle East. And according to the Consumer Energy Center, operating an electric iron uses one kilowatt hour an hour, almost twice as much as a washing machine. Irons need to be replaced frequently, and they make your home harder to cool in the summer. Fortunately, people dress casually in the Middle East and most people think wrinkles aren’t a big deal. But if creases make you cross, follow these tips to cut down on ironing:

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Jordan’s Envoy in Washington Outlines Environmental Priorities

Larry Luxner
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Jordan’s Envoy in Washington Outlines Environmental Priorities

sahara forest project imageThe epic Sahara Forest Project in Jordan. More planned for its green future.

Jordan, one of the five most water-deprived countries on Earth, has more than just a casual interest in developing technologies such as solar energy, water desalination and nuclear power. Its very survival depends on it. So says Alia Hatoug-Bouran, Jordan’s former environment minister and recently minted ambassador to the United States. But Bouran — the first woman ever to represent the Hashemite Kingdom in Washington — said Jordan can’t do it alone. To realize its full potential, she said, her thirsty desert nation of 6.3 million people needs U.S. and European investment, as well as a comprehensive Middle East peace settlement that encourages greater cooperation with neighboring Israel.

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Compost Toilets and 4 Good Reasons for the Middle East

Rebecca Wosner
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compost toiletWill it smell? Can I save money? And will it create fertilizer?

Flushing our waste down the toilet is not the ideal way of utilising our precious and very limited water sources here in the Middle East. Moreover, the pollution that we are causing to our rivers and seas is becoming an increasing concern. Like the Jordan River nearly dead from human waste. What was once seen as a hygienic method of dealing with our waste has now been proven to be a dirty problem that needs solving. One possible answer is to replace your flusher with an independent compost toilet. There are many advantages to this change you can make to your life. Here are just a few.

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Working in Blocks, Spin-offs of Arizona Solar Energy Projects Could Fit Mideast

Maurice Picow
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Working in Blocks, Spin-offs of Arizona Solar Energy Projects Could Fit Mideast

solar energy arrayArizona solar energy “modules” may work well in the Middle East

The American state of Arizona has much in common with many parts of the Middle East; especially with the same number of days of available sunlight for generating solar energy. A more practical way to make solar energy available to the general public has been created by a Tucson based company Solon Corporation that has completed a 1.6 Megawatt solar array power plant to make solar energy produced electricity available in 150 Kwh “modular blocks”. Solon is working together with the local electric power company Tucson Electric Power Company (TEP) which already has the electricity service infrastructure for distributing the electricity to local homes and businesses.

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SLIDESHOW: Entries for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup Stadiums

Tafline Laylin
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0
SLIDESHOW: Entries for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup Stadiums

al-khor-stadiumSome of the Albert Speer & Partner designs – made in Frankfurt – depict existing stadiums that will get a facelift, while others are brand new.

Whether or not you agree with FIFA’s decision to award the 2022 World Cup bid to Qatar, one thing is certain: Albert and Speer’s stadium designs are amazing. We have already outlined many of the features that the group has promised, including solar-powered cooling complete with misters for spectators’ ankles, all in one, carbon-neutral package. For critics who worry that the tiny country doesn’t have a team that’s good enough to justify the materials necessary to build, remember that most of the stadiums can be dismantled and shipped elsewhere. For now, though, let’s bask in the glory of 21st century design, shall we?

Watch the SLIDESHOW on Qatar 2022 possible stadiums HERE and decide.

Morocco, Egypt Eye Eco-tourism Markets

Sarah Irving
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Morocco, Egypt Eye Eco-tourism Markets

shark in egyptCan countries with unrest commit to eco-tourism aspirations?

With countries across the Middle East – North Africa (MENA) region facing often fatal unrest like the food riots in Tunisia, it seems rather frivolous to be thinking about the travel industry. But with tourism a major earner for many Middle East & North African countries, the environmental impacts of international visitors isn’t an issue that is going to go away. Earlier in January Morocco became the latest MENA state to announce that ‘sustainable tourism’ is to become a key part of its national economic strategy. The government’s ‘Vision 2020’ plan includes a doubling of visitor numbers for Morocco, but also demands that this happens hand-in-hand with much better environmental standards. Buzzwords like ‘sustainable growth’, ‘responsible custody of the environment’ and ‘authentic social and cultural life’ characterise the plans, and they focus on well-known destinations like Marrakech and the Mediterranean coast.

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72% Efficient ZenithSolar Gets Demo Down Under

Susan Kraemer
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72% Efficient ZenithSolar Gets Demo Down Under

The Israeli firm ZenithSolar, which combines highly efficient solar electricity along with solar heating, is doing a demonstration in Australia.

ZenithSolar’s first 16-unit project has been up and running successfully in Israel for a year at Kibbutz Yavne, making electricity to sell the grid, and hot water for its 230 residents, producing at peak production 250 KW Combined Heat and Power on a relatively small footprint of only 352 square meters (3,789 square feet). Now the breakthrough Israeli firm is about to bring a high profile demo to Australia, where Greenearth Energy Australia plans to show a combined heat and power solar technology that could revolutionize solar energy.

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Adamah in Los Angeles wants to make Jewish climate action local, practical and spiritual

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At a time when climate anxiety can feel abstract and overwhelming, and being Jewish something people may need to hide in big cities, Adamah Los Angeles is trying something different: turning Jewish values into local climate action with dirt-under-the-fingernails practicality.

How to safely remove astroturf and plastics from your backyard

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For families with kids, pets, or anyone trying to build a cleaner outdoor space, removing old astroturf is one of the simplest ways to reduce unnecessary exposure to plastics and heat. Some past studies suggest that if kids have played on these surfaces you need to wash their hands. 

Is artificial turf bad for your health?

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Artificial turf, the green plastic stuff that is supposed to look like grass, was sold to many home-owners as a clever compromise: a green-looking surface that makes you feel homey, but which needs no mowing. It survives heavy use, and in dry places like Middle East deserts, and in California or Texas, it can replace thirsty lawns. But it is toxic.

Renewables hit 5,149 GW in 2025 as the world edges away from oil shocks and fossil-fueled conflict

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“In the midst of uncertain time, renewable energy remains consistent and steadfast in its expansion,” said Francesco La Camera, IRENA’s Director-General. “A more decentralised energy system, with a growing share of renewables and more market players, is structurally more resilient.”

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