Harsh winter storms have damaged crops in Israel to the tune of $5.5 million, according to Meir Ifrah, CEO of the Vegetable Growers Association. The recent drought had already damaged local produce. See our post on Israel’s shriveled vegetables here. Prices are close to double what they were last year at this time. Growing your […]
The Volt is already “charging” towards customers, and hopefully success Finally, after months of speculation, marketing hoopla, and just plain old media hype, the first GM Chevrolet Volt electric cars went out to waiting Chevy dealerships and the customers who ordered them months before. The Volts, containing an electric engine as the main power driver, […]
Sadly, the source of the recent Golan fire in Israel (before the Carmel fire) may have been an “eco-friendly” Rainbow Festival participant. Environmentalists can get it so horribly wrong sometimes. They may decide to buy certified organic out-of-season produce from thousands of miles away instead of buying local and seasonal. Or they may ditch their […]
The Al Fahidi Fort is just one historical building in the UAE that would be placed under federal protection if a new architectural law passes Details of past events – notable battles and people – may be recorded in books or passed down through oratory. But buildings such as this sextet of cave homes in […]
With so many flat roofs across the Middle East, surely the region is ripe for a bit of rooftop gardening? Recent reports that people in the Gaza Strip are embracing rooftop gardening has got us thinking about the urban gardening phenomena and it’s relevance to the Middle East. Whilst growing your own maybe something greenies […]
Spice up your breakfast egg with this easy recipe from Saudi Arabia.
Can you guess where this winterland is located? In Dubai! In the middle of the desert. In a recent post, Pablo from Treehugger (a site we deeply admire) concluded that Ski Dubai’s indoor ski slope is not that bad. He based this conclusion on a beautifully calculated analysis of the facility’s energy consumption compared to […]
Could the stories of a lost city of Atlantis, first noted by Herodotus and Plato, have some basis in fact? A “Persian Gulf Oasis” may have been host to humans for over 100,000 years before it was swallowed up by the Indian Ocean around 8,000 years ago. A once fertile landmass now submerged beneath the […]
Is using human fat as lipo-diesel going too far in the name of environmentalism? In general, most people look for ways to trim the fat. Trim some fat out of your diet, or your budget, or, if you’re “green”, trim some fat out of your carbon emissions. But how do you know if you’re going […]
Eco-spiritual inspiration in Sufi poetry. Sufis, followers of the mystic sect of Sufism, have a deep reverence for nature and nowhere is this more obvious than in their world-famous poetry and literature. The renowned 13th century Sufi poet Rumi wrote sublime poetry highlighting the connection between spirituality and nature, and Sufi literature and poetry frequently […]
The cruel sea, with 10 meter high waves took its toll on the ancient port of Caesarea this weekend. Sunday’s severe winter storm that raged all over Israel and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean caused substantial damage to the sea wall and parts of the archeological sites of the ancient sea port of Caesarea. […]
In the running to become National Geographic’s 2010 Adventurer of the Year, David de Rothschild continues to spread awareness of the world’s oceans. Towards the end of July this year, David de Rothschild and his crew finished an 8,500 mile journey in a boat made out of 12,500 plastic bottles, the Plastiki. This epic adventure […]
Plants to restore the Carmel forest by planting new trees are misguided, according to a leading researcher. Rushing to the scene of the recent Carmel fire to plant a pile of trees would be a mistake, according to a leading researcher from Israel’s University of Haifa. While Professor Ido Izhaki recognizes the unfortunate toll that […]
Saudi Arabia has called for the inclusion of CCS into the CDM mechanism at previous climate talks. This year, Norway made it happen. At the recently concluded climate meeting in Cancun, some progress was made on a controversial topic. Norway, a country that has been a leader in the development of low carbon oil technologies, […]
Transplanting seas to inland ocean lakes? A good idea for the Middle East? The two century-old and highly respected Japanese engineering giant Shimizu has hatched a wild and crazy proposal to rehabilitate the desert for human use. Their idea is to move vast amounts of seawater along canals that would track deep into desert landmasses […]