Koh Phangan may be known for yoga, detox retreats, and full moon parties, but beyond the curated paradise lies a different reality—one of injured stray animals and the quiet work of rescue. This story explores PACS (Phangan Animal Care for Strays), a grassroots animal shelter tackling overpopulation, disease, and neglect on the island. Through firsthand experience with teens, it reveals how meaningful travel, volunteerism, and compassion offer a deeper kind of healing—far from the Instagram version of paradise.
The earliest stages of life, from infancy through childhood, form the foundation for lifelong health and development. During these years, the brain develops rapidly, children learn social and emotional skills, and the body undergoes significant physical growth.
Back in late 2025, Green Prophet began asking uncomfortable questions about what’s really inside your yoga pants, from transparency failures (yes, those infamous see-through leggings) to the less visible and scarier issue: Your sweat is unlocking microplastics and chemical coatings sitting in the most absorbent parts of the human body.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Koh Phangan may be known for yoga, detox retreats, and full moon parties, but beyond the curated paradise lies a different reality—one of injured stray animals and the quiet work of rescue. This story explores PACS (Phangan Animal Care for Strays), a grassroots animal shelter tackling overpopulation, disease, and neglect on the island. Through firsthand experience with teens, it reveals how meaningful travel, volunteerism, and compassion offer a deeper kind of healing—far from the Instagram version of paradise.
The earliest stages of life, from infancy through childhood, form the foundation for lifelong health and development. During these years, the brain develops rapidly, children learn social and emotional skills, and the body undergoes significant physical growth.
Back in late 2025, Green Prophet began asking uncomfortable questions about what’s really inside your yoga pants, from transparency failures (yes, those infamous see-through leggings) to the less visible and scarier issue: Your sweat is unlocking microplastics and chemical coatings sitting in the most absorbent parts of the human body.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Koh Phangan may be known for yoga, detox retreats, and full moon parties, but beyond the curated paradise lies a different reality—one of injured stray animals and the quiet work of rescue. This story explores PACS (Phangan Animal Care for Strays), a grassroots animal shelter tackling overpopulation, disease, and neglect on the island. Through firsthand experience with teens, it reveals how meaningful travel, volunteerism, and compassion offer a deeper kind of healing—far from the Instagram version of paradise.
The earliest stages of life, from infancy through childhood, form the foundation for lifelong health and development. During these years, the brain develops rapidly, children learn social and emotional skills, and the body undergoes significant physical growth.
Back in late 2025, Green Prophet began asking uncomfortable questions about what’s really inside your yoga pants, from transparency failures (yes, those infamous see-through leggings) to the less visible and scarier issue: Your sweat is unlocking microplastics and chemical coatings sitting in the most absorbent parts of the human body.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Koh Phangan may be known for yoga, detox retreats, and full moon parties, but beyond the curated paradise lies a different reality—one of injured stray animals and the quiet work of rescue. This story explores PACS (Phangan Animal Care for Strays), a grassroots animal shelter tackling overpopulation, disease, and neglect on the island. Through firsthand experience with teens, it reveals how meaningful travel, volunteerism, and compassion offer a deeper kind of healing—far from the Instagram version of paradise.
The earliest stages of life, from infancy through childhood, form the foundation for lifelong health and development. During these years, the brain develops rapidly, children learn social and emotional skills, and the body undergoes significant physical growth.
Back in late 2025, Green Prophet began asking uncomfortable questions about what’s really inside your yoga pants, from transparency failures (yes, those infamous see-through leggings) to the less visible and scarier issue: Your sweat is unlocking microplastics and chemical coatings sitting in the most absorbent parts of the human body.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Koh Phangan may be known for yoga, detox retreats, and full moon parties, but beyond the curated paradise lies a different reality—one of injured stray animals and the quiet work of rescue. This story explores PACS (Phangan Animal Care for Strays), a grassroots animal shelter tackling overpopulation, disease, and neglect on the island. Through firsthand experience with teens, it reveals how meaningful travel, volunteerism, and compassion offer a deeper kind of healing—far from the Instagram version of paradise.
The earliest stages of life, from infancy through childhood, form the foundation for lifelong health and development. During these years, the brain develops rapidly, children learn social and emotional skills, and the body undergoes significant physical growth.
Back in late 2025, Green Prophet began asking uncomfortable questions about what’s really inside your yoga pants, from transparency failures (yes, those infamous see-through leggings) to the less visible and scarier issue: Your sweat is unlocking microplastics and chemical coatings sitting in the most absorbent parts of the human body.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Koh Phangan may be known for yoga, detox retreats, and full moon parties, but beyond the curated paradise lies a different reality—one of injured stray animals and the quiet work of rescue. This story explores PACS (Phangan Animal Care for Strays), a grassroots animal shelter tackling overpopulation, disease, and neglect on the island. Through firsthand experience with teens, it reveals how meaningful travel, volunteerism, and compassion offer a deeper kind of healing—far from the Instagram version of paradise.
The earliest stages of life, from infancy through childhood, form the foundation for lifelong health and development. During these years, the brain develops rapidly, children learn social and emotional skills, and the body undergoes significant physical growth.
Back in late 2025, Green Prophet began asking uncomfortable questions about what’s really inside your yoga pants, from transparency failures (yes, those infamous see-through leggings) to the less visible and scarier issue: Your sweat is unlocking microplastics and chemical coatings sitting in the most absorbent parts of the human body.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Koh Phangan may be known for yoga, detox retreats, and full moon parties, but beyond the curated paradise lies a different reality—one of injured stray animals and the quiet work of rescue. This story explores PACS (Phangan Animal Care for Strays), a grassroots animal shelter tackling overpopulation, disease, and neglect on the island. Through firsthand experience with teens, it reveals how meaningful travel, volunteerism, and compassion offer a deeper kind of healing—far from the Instagram version of paradise.
The earliest stages of life, from infancy through childhood, form the foundation for lifelong health and development. During these years, the brain develops rapidly, children learn social and emotional skills, and the body undergoes significant physical growth.
Back in late 2025, Green Prophet began asking uncomfortable questions about what’s really inside your yoga pants, from transparency failures (yes, those infamous see-through leggings) to the less visible and scarier issue: Your sweat is unlocking microplastics and chemical coatings sitting in the most absorbent parts of the human body.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Koh Phangan may be known for yoga, detox retreats, and full moon parties, but beyond the curated paradise lies a different reality—one of injured stray animals and the quiet work of rescue. This story explores PACS (Phangan Animal Care for Strays), a grassroots animal shelter tackling overpopulation, disease, and neglect on the island. Through firsthand experience with teens, it reveals how meaningful travel, volunteerism, and compassion offer a deeper kind of healing—far from the Instagram version of paradise.
The earliest stages of life, from infancy through childhood, form the foundation for lifelong health and development. During these years, the brain develops rapidly, children learn social and emotional skills, and the body undergoes significant physical growth.
Back in late 2025, Green Prophet began asking uncomfortable questions about what’s really inside your yoga pants, from transparency failures (yes, those infamous see-through leggings) to the less visible and scarier issue: Your sweat is unlocking microplastics and chemical coatings sitting in the most absorbent parts of the human body.
Reliable light matters in more places than ever. It matters on a back road after sunset, in a cabin with limited power, and at home during a storm outage. Research across sustainability guidance, preparedness resources, and off-grid living coverage points to one clear takeaway: people want lighting that works well, lasts longer, and creates less waste.
Hopefully, the UAE’s new solar energy desalination process will help create more green water.
Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency is testing a new solar energy desalination system that is much more environmentally friendly, as well as less costly, according to the English language Dubai News. The process is said to be a “zero-carbon process which helps reduce cost of water treatment, especially in desert areas where dust and high temperatures impair the efficiency of solar panels used in the existing desalination system.”
Desalination is now the major provider of fresh water in the UAE, and is still so costly that Abu Dhabi and other UAE locations are seriously looking into waste water recycling and treatment as a means to reduce the reliance on desalination to provide their fresh water needs.
A Ritzy venue for Bahrain’s sustainability conference planned for January 27th and 28th.
Because Bahrain is so small, the island state is almost easy to ignore. Except that it is a financial hub for the Persian Gulf States, and therefore exerts a certain amount of influence.
Hence, a sustainability conference sponsored almost exclusively by companies such as Chevron, Air France, Kanoo Plastics, and PJ Investments (HK) Asia – despite its environmental film component – is laden with unhappy irony.
Polluting factories will be relocated out of Cairo at their own expense. Will they simply trash their new home? Or will the government encourage them to clean up their act?
Widely criticized for its smog and congestion, despite its central, green “lung” – the Al-Azhar park – Cairo is desperate to clean up its city. As it turns out, entrenched as industries are, that is no easy feat. The Cairo 2050 “Cleaner, Greener, Better” plan has already ruffled resident feathers as thousands will be forced out their homes. Now the Helwan Governorate intends to relocate industrial polluters too, a good thing, at their own expense, a little more tricky.
Why can’t getting around be as safe and comfortable as sitting in a car, and yet be something of a workout too? Scott Olson, the athletic Minnesota inventor of Rollerblades and the Rowbike, has come up with yet another way to do just that, and his company has a presence at the internationally attended World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi this week to promote the idea and help ween the UAE off fossil fuels with his SkyRide Technology. His SkyRower and SkyRide Technology allow you to safely propel yourself through the sky, at up to ten miles an hour, suspended under a monorail.
The Zayed Future Energy Prize is like the Nobel Prize for solutions to climate change.
An extremely select jury of international experts in climate change solutions, headed up by IPPC chairman, Nobel prizewinner Dr Pachauri, decided that the Danish wind giant Vestas should be the winner of this year’s Zayed Future Energy Prize, which honors the environmental vision of the late founder and former President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan.The competition is intended to foster the innovation, long-term vision and leadership in renewable energy and sustainability that the world is in desperate need of. But the thing about innovators is that they innovate. Vestas did something surprising with its $1.5 million Zayed prize.
Construction has begun in Israel on the world’s largest reverse osmosis desalination plant. What about water conservation and recycling?
SDL Desalination Ltd, a company owned by IDE Technologies and Hong Kong’s Hutchison Water, announced earlier this week that it has begun construction on the world’s largest reverse osmosis desalination plant. The plant, slated to be ready by 2013, is the final one of three that are intended to meet 44% of Israel’s water needs in 2013.
These are no ordinary pyramids. When built, eight orbiting solar-paneled pyramids surrounding one larger “earth” will generate enough energy to power 250 Abu Dhabi homes.
For months we’ve been teetering at the edge of our seats waiting to learn who will win the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) design competition. Finally, our waiting is over.
This morning, at the ongoing World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi, Masdar’s Associate Director of Sustainability, Dr. Nawal Al Hosany, awarded the first place prize to the design team responsible for the Lunar Cubit. Second Place Mention went to the Windstalk, and Third to Solaris.
Violators of the new recreational fishing ban in Southern Sinai will be tracked and prosecuted.
At the end of last year, a spate of shark attacks left three tourists injured and one elderly woman dead. What caused the sharks to act so contrary to their nature is still under investigation, though the situation appears to be under control.
The well-publicized incident took a toll on the region’s tourism industry, which recovered following the government’s decision to lift the snorkeling ban. South Sinai’s governor has now announced that all sport fishing – by locals and tourists alike – will be henceforth banned.
Environmental Studies in Israel, Enlight Renewable Energy’s recent surge, Leviathan Energy, and more headlines related to Israeli cleantech and the environment.
With the aid of a 700,000 euro grant from Europe Aid, the Local Energy Center launched this past week and will help local authorities reduce stress on the power grid and become more energy efficient. A Tel Aviv University professor is challenging current theories on thin-film solar panels and construction began in central Israel on the world’s largest reverse osmosis desalination plant. For these stories and the rest of this week’s headlines, see below.
The Fourth World Future Energy Summit hosted by Masdar opened this week bringing out many of the world’s foremost influencers and thought leaders on renewable energy, including heads of state, policy makers, government officials, business leaders, technologists, financiers and academics. All have travelled from corners of the world to Abu Dhabi to debate, discuss and promote the challenges and solutions relating to the world’s energy needs.
Iceland’s President Olafur Grimsson at Masdar conference:”Renewable Energy is the way of the future”
Iceland is a small country which recently came into “prominence” when one of its volcanoes caused a huge volcanic ash cloud to ground commercial airline flights for nearly a month last spring. But all this potential energy is also resulting in Iceland being almost completely energy independent, due to the use of geothermal energy, as well as other forms of renewable energy to create electricity and heat homes and businesses in this island nation.
Carob is an easy and sustainable chocolate replacement
Ancient food of the Middle East, carob’s sweet flavor makes this vegan dessert naturally good.
The sweetly named carob tree produces a fruit that can be used as a chocolate substitute. Its cultivation is less harmful to the environment and it can made into syrups, desserts, spreads, toffees, drinks or used as a sweetener.
When I was a little girl living in New York, Israel was just a faraway hot, sandy country to me. Tu B’Shvat is a Jewish holiday that meant planting a tree by mail, although today you can plant a tree in Israel online.
It was when Dad would bring home carobs. “Boxer,” he’d say. Yiddish for carob. A taste of the Holy Land, something to bring the New Year of the Trees closer. We kids would chew away earnestly on the long black pods, fascinated with the sweet taste with a cheese flavor. The shiny black seeds, hard enough to split a tooth, we carefully collected for our own arcane purposes in a box under my bed.
You can live off carobs if you are in the Middle East
Having lived in Israel for over three decades and now a grandmother, I still delight in carob, although as a powder, for cooking. These just-sweet-enough carob balls are so right for a Tu B’Shvat celebration. or a dessert at a vegan meal. The recipe includes other native Israeli foods: honey, almonds, wheat and nuts.
Vegan Carob Nut Balls
Ingredients:
3/4 cup almond butter
1/2 cup carob powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup puffed wheat
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
For coating:
1. 1/4 cup Dried, powdered coconut
2. 4 Tblsp. cocoa powder mixed with 4 Tblsp. carob powder and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3. Blend 3 Tblsp. carob powder and 1/4 cup sugar. Melt 2 Tblsp. margarine or coco butter/oil, remove from heat and mix in carob powder/sugar. If needed, thin the coating with a little warm milk (soy, almond, coconut milks are fine). If too thin, add a little more carob powder.
Vigorously mix the almond butter, carob powder, cinnamon, honey and vanilla. The dough will be stiff.
Add the nuts and cereal. Wet your hands to form the dough into balls. The surface of the balls should be moist in order to help the coating stick.
Roll each ball in one of the coating mixes. Refrigerate till firm.
Dubai has hardly been noted for its energy-saving green buildings. But new regulations are about to change that.
Dubai’s Energy Council has just announced the passage of new green building regulations that were initially proposed a year ago. These tough new building codes could reduce energy consumption by almost a fifth, according to Amal Koshak, senior manager for demand management at Dubai’s Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).
“It was approved a month ago by the executive council, and there is a 3 years grace period, and the expected savings are 20 percent for electricity, and 15 percent for water,” Koshak told Middle East Utilities on Monday.
New buildings will have to comply with a range of conservation measures, from energy efficient lighting, in the building itself, to participating in the creation of thermal storage in district cooling plants, similar to Sweden’s district heating (in reverse) that is a big part of that nation’s nearly 100% fossil-energy independence.
Planning out your vacations for the new year ahead? Beirut, Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi make the cut.
A few months ago, world-renowned travel guide company Lonely Planet made a list of its top 10 cities for 2011. Tel Aviv made the prized 3rd place spot (after New York and Tangier, but before Valencia, Delhi, and Chiang Mai). Tel Aviv tops a Green Prophet list as well: the list of Middle Eastern eco-cities to visit in 2011 (or as soon as you possibly can).
Besides Tel Aviv, our list includes Beirut and Abu Dhabi.
Remarkable “junk” cathedral is built by one man with a ton of faith.
Have you ever got down on your knees and promised your creator that if you got that groovy green job, or if these natural stimulants improved your libido, or if that horrible bout of encephalitis went away, you would do something amazing? Quit smoking, start eating better, or maybe even give up cars and take up biking instead?
And then, did you forget all about your promise when the thing you wanted came about?
After recovering from tuberculosis, which forced him out of the Benedictine order of monks, Justo Martinez (known fondly as Don Justo) promised to build a massive cathedral for the Lady of the Pillar, who helped him through his ordeal. And that is what he has been doing for the last 50 years.
Masdar energy conference started this week. 
