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How Quick Eco Flicks Transform Clueless UAE Youth

Tafline Laylin
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2
How Quick Eco Flicks Transform Clueless UAE Youth

green-filmOnce ignorant youth wished they were forced to watch documentaries in school, so moved are they by their new eco-knowledge.

Surrounded as they are by the glittering trappings of excess, where materialism appears to pave a golden path to happiness, convincing Dubai’s youth to care for their environment might seem like a colossal challenge. Not so, according to filmmaker Areeba Hanif.

For her final project at the SAE Institute in Dubai, Ms. Hanif set out to measure the power of documentaries (and maybe sci-fi, like EKON?) to educate youth. While she found that most of the emirate’s young people were spectacularly unaware of environmental issues, a quick flick made all the difference.

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Rachel Botsman Makes the Case for Collaborative Consumption

Karen Chernick
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0

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQa3kUJPEko[/youtube]

Moving from a culture of “me” to a culture of “we”.

Rachel Botsman, a researcher and social innovator, is hooked on the idea of what she calls “collaborative consumption” – a phenomenon that is gaining force in the 21st century.  She recently gave a TED talk about the concept (see clip above) and said that what is essentially happening is that “technology is enabling trust between strangers.  We now live in a global village, where we can mimic the ties that used to happen face to face but on a scale and in ways that have never been possible before.  So what’s actually happening is that social networks and real-time technologies are taking us back – we’re bartering, sharing, swapping, trading – but they’re being reinvented into dynamic and appealing forms.”

Collaborative consumption has started to emerge in the Middle East over recent years, with the appearance of online services such as carpooling in Cairo, or car sharing in Tel Aviv.

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Egypt Requests Bids to Get 2.7 Gigawatts of Wind Power by 2016

Susan Kraemer
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0
Egypt Requests Bids to Get 2.7 Gigawatts of Wind Power by 2016

Egypt is putting out a request for formal bids for wind farms to produce a staggering 2,690 Megawatts (2.7 GW) of electricity by 2016.

At 80 million, Egypt already has the highest population in the Arab world, and it is growing fast economically, with over 6.5% growth expected this year. Its demand for electricity, understandably, given these pressures, is extraordinary.

Egypt has recently had blackouts due to electricity shortages, sending rioting protesters into the streets. It could have taken a timid route to build fossil energy to supply its rapidly growing population. But instead it is implementing an admirably bold policy to act effectively to get 20% of renewable power on its grid by 2020, with 12% coming from wind power.

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Loss Of Marine Life Could Lead To Ecosystem Collapse

Tafline Laylin
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1
Loss Of Marine Life Could Lead To Ecosystem Collapse

ecosystem-oceans-balanceResearch shows that if we aren’t able to stay the loss of ocean biodiversity, we could witness total ecosystem collapse.

The loss of ocean predators such as Bluefin Tuna, which were given insufficient protection at a last year’s International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), and sharks – like those poached by Yemeni fishermen in the Red Sea – could very well end up in total collapse.

This news comes from research compiled by Brown University and the University of Washington, which reveals for the first time, with certainty, that past mass extinctions were caused by the depletion of “ecological redundancy.” And in the past, it took 10 million years for those ecosystems to recover.

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Clinton Lauds Masdar’s Renewable Energy Efforts, Is ‘Betting On The UAE’

Ira Moskowitz
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Clinton Lauds Masdar’s Renewable Energy Efforts, Is ‘Betting On The UAE’

hilary clinton masdar city Clinton’s visit came one week before Abu Dhabi hosts its annual World Future Energy Summit.

Green Prophet has presented a number of negative assessments of Masdar and Abu Dhabi’s ambitious efforts to build a carbon-free city. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seems to have missed or dismissed these reports. During a visit to Masdar City this week, Clinton had nothing but praise for the UAE’s “very creative efforts” to pursue renewable energy.

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Beer Expo in Tel Aviv Tonight, Jan. 13

Miriam Kresh
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3
Beer Expo in Tel Aviv Tonight, Jan. 13

image-beer-expo-israelIsraeli beers and  small breweries show off  at the Beer Expo in Tel Aviv’s Nokia Sports Hall.

For a small country, there is an astonishing variety of fresh new beers available now. Israeli boutique breweries are sprouting up all over the country – from the Golan to the Negev. Last night at the Beer Expo, we sampled ales and stouts of all colors and characters produced by local small breweries. Jewish beers, Palestinian beers, imported beers, beers flavored with honey and beers flavored with herbs, like The Dancing Camel’s extraordinary rosemary-flavored brew.

More good news is that some of them, including the prestigious Golan Brewery owned by the Golan winery, are committing themselves to more natural and even organic beers. The not so good news is that the organic ingredients will likely be imported from Europe.

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Rising Food Prices Behind Riots in Algeria and Tunisia

Arwa Aburawa
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2
Rising Food Prices Behind Riots in Algeria and Tunisia

tunisia-food-prices-riot-protestThe recent riots that have rocked North Africa are not just about unemployment and political corruption but also the rising cost of basic food

As violence spirals out of control in Tunisia and the death toll continues to rise, it’s clear that the concerns that are bringing people to the street are ones of basic need. It’s not just about political corruption which seems to riddle various Arab governments- it about the the increasing difficulty people face trying to put food on the table.

Violent clashes in Tunisia between protesters and security forces broke out over the weekend and have killed a reported 21 people so far. The protesters say they are unhappy with rising food and fuel prices, unemployment and corruption as well as the excessive violence they have faced during the unrest. A curfew has been enforced in Tunis in Tunisia to help quell the riots but as climate change disrupts food supplies, will the region see more food riots?

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Gulf States On Track To Build “European-Style” Rail System

Tafline Laylin
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0
Gulf States On Track To Build “European-Style” Rail System

railwaysAn extensive network could link the GCC states as early as 2017.

The benefits of railways are getting renewed attention worldwide. Though there are doubts about whether Israel’s light rail will reach completion, and a recent accident caused some to call its trains a death trap, rail projects in the Middle East can reduce carbon emissions and congestion.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States plan to tune into these benefits with an ambitious rail project expected to cost up to $100 billion. The network will link the region, facilitate expanding cooperation between the Gulf States, and improve movement of freight within, according to Gulf in the Media

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LAGI’s “Beautiful Energy” Design Winner TBA At World Future Energy Summit

Tafline Laylin
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0
LAGI’s “Beautiful Energy” Design Winner TBA At World Future Energy Summit

land-art-generator-initiativeThe winner of the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) will be announced at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) next week.

Throughout 2010 we featured several remarkable entries to the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) design competition that inspires energy as art. Making music with the sun was one such entry, and when Abu Dhabi meets sand, sun, and sky was another.

Finally, the competition’s winner will be announced on January 19th at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi, setting in motion the construction phase of the world’s first beautiful power plant. Dr. Nawal Al Hosany, Associate Director of Sustainability at Masdar, will hand over the award.

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Turkey Joins 78 Others to Pass Feed-in Tariffs To Encourage Renewable Energy

Susan Kraemer
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1
Turkey Joins 78 Others to Pass Feed-in Tariffs To Encourage Renewable Energy

map of turkey and europeFeed-in Tariffs can jump-start renewables faster than any other renewable energy policies. But is Turkey’s high enough to do the job?

The Republic of Turkey has just joined the throng of rapidly growing developing nations that are offering a Feed-in Tariff (FIT) to developers of renewable energy, in order to put more renewable power on the grid. A FIT is a guaranteed payment by the kilowatt-hour, for energy produced. Because these pay just for the power produced, they are risk-free policies for governments to enact, so long as the price is neither so low that they are ineffective, nor so high that the initial investment in building the clean fuel-free energy infrastructure costs ratepayers too much.

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New English International MA Program in Environmental Studies at Tel Aviv University

Karen Chernick
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New English International MA Program in Environmental Studies at Tel Aviv University

"tel aviv university green"The Tel Aviv University campus is about to get a little greener.

Tel Aviv University is greener because of the activity of the campus’s Porter School of Environmental Studies, which is always starting some new eco initiative.  Whether it is the construction of the greenest building in Israel, or the cultivation of a community garden, chances are that the Porter School is behind it.  Now the school is hoping to get the international community more green as well, by offering a new English-language International MA Program in Environmental Studies, to be launched in fall 2011.

For the first time, the Porter School program will be offered in English and geared towards students from overseas.

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Fighting ‘Ecocide’: Interview With Environmental Lawyer Polly Higgins

Arwa Aburawa
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3
Fighting ‘Ecocide’: Interview With Environmental Lawyer Polly Higgins

polly-higgins-ecocideArwa speaks to environmental lawyer Polly Higgins about ‘Ecocide’, corporate eco-destruction, water scarcity and why we shouldn’t give up on climate summits just yet

Polly Higgins is a lawyer on a mission to bring serious environmental destruction to an end. Whilst this may seem ambitious, she insists that using the legal system to outlaw environmental crimes can make a real difference.

Voted by the Ecologist as one of the ‘World’s Top 10 Visionary Thinkers’, she has submitted a proposal to the United Nations to make the crime of ‘Ecocide’- or extensive environmental destruction- the 5th Crime Against Peace alongside genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression.

I spoke to Polly, who recently published her book ‘Eradicating Ecocide’, to find out more.

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Green Prophet On “Dubai Eye” Radio With Siobhan Leyden

Tafline Laylin
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2
Green Prophet On “Dubai Eye” Radio With Siobhan Leyden

siobhan-dubai-eyeThe voice behind the words: one of Green Prophet’s many contributors talked to Siobhan on her weekly Green Team show. LISTEN HERE

Today yours truly was on the Dubai Eye show, gushing about Green Prophet and the Middle East’s most pressing environmental concerns.

In the first half of the show (listen to me talking about Middle East green), Siobhan interviewed Robert Ferry of Studied Impact and the Land Art Generator Initiative, one of the region’s most innovative design houses that focuses on making power generation and distribution beautiful.

In the second half, I rattled on about how I became interested in Middle Eastern environmental issues, and how Green Prophet aspires to provide a community for eco-minded Middle Easterners while simultaneously drawing the international arena’s attention to projects in our region.

We identified water, energy, and fossil fuels as pressing concerns, as well as plastics, and then oooed and aaahed over Studied Impact and the Japanese technology that converts plastics back to oil. And then, Siobhan asked me to identify a buzzword for 2011. I chose “interconnectedness,” the realization of which was on my Christmas wish.

Dubai Eye broadcasts “The Green Team” environment show every Wednesday at 13h00 local time. The show’s host (whose Gaelic name is pronounced Shevaun) is a ten year veteran from Northern England who has her finger firmly positioned on Dubai’s hopping pulse. Tune in today’s Green Team show and stay tuned.

INTERVIEW WITH GREEN PROPHET PART I

INTERVIEW WITH GREEN PROPHET PART II (click here and scroll down)

A few stories covered on the today’s Dubai Eye program:
READ: Lagi’s Guide To Making Renewable Energy Beautiful
Abu Dhabi Builds Aquifer To Hide Desalinated Water
New Machine Converts Plastics Back To Oil

Israel Cleantech Intelligence: Clean Air and 6 More Headlines

Lisa Damast
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Israel Cleantech Intelligence: Clean Air and 6 More Headlines

Biofuel investments in Israel is expected to rise 2011

Virent energy, Israel’s green police, renewable energy sources and more headlines related to Israeli cleantech and the environment.

Collaboration between Israel and Virginia is set to grow with Virginia’s plans to meet with and provide financial assistance to some Israeli cleantech companies. Israel’s Clean Air Act that was signed in 2008 finally went into effect and Israeli biofuel and energy efficiency companies are likely to see a rise in investment this year. For these stories and the rest of this week’s headlines, see below.

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Tel Aviv’s “Fast Lane” For Traffic Safety and the Environment

Maurice Picow
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6
Tel Aviv’s “Fast Lane” For Traffic Safety and the Environment

Commuters will ride for free. But will the toll-run “fast lane” help solve Tel Aviv’s increasing traffic nightmare?

Looking for a faster way to get to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem every day? Instead of being stuck in the daily traffic jam, a daily routine for drivers coming from both Israel’s capital and the bedroom communities of Modiin and Beit Shemesh, why not try the fast lane?

It’s now possible to take the new “fast lane” which will enable those traveling on it to reach the main traffic artery of Tel Aviv, the Ayalon Freeway, in only 11 minutes instead of commuter times of up to two hours. The new 13 km stretch will actually be a toll road to cars with less than 4 passengers. Busses and cars with at least four passengers will get to use it for free.

According to estimates in the Marker, between 1,600 to 2,000 cars an hour are forecast to use the lane during busy times. The toll is expected to be between NIS 17 and NIS 20 during rush hour. When the measured speed will drop to below 70p km per hour, the toll cost will increase, due to more cars using the lane. How will this impact the environment?

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