For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.
For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.
For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.
For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.
For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.
For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.
For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.
For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.
Three years of extra snow has weakened Ireland’s salt stocks, demonstrating an overall lack of preparedness for the effects of climate change. Outline of Birket Maraqi salt lake in the oasis of Siwa, Egypt
Facebook status updates from the UK read like this: “go away snow”, “does anyone know if its safe to drive to this or that icy town?”, or, finally, “thank goodness – I can fly.” People joke that the UK shuts down with the kind of snow that Minnesotans can suntan in. But there’s also a serious side to this story.
The weather in the UK is not normal. Just like Russia’s drought and the Middle East’s higher temperatures, global warming has permanently altered weather patterns. And by having to import salt from Egypt to clear its roads, Ireland demonstrates the same lack of preparedness we all have for this new reality.
Egypt finally harnesses a powerthat it understood centuries ago
Egypt now has one of the very first entire towns in the world to be powered exclusively with solar power. And actually, it is a pair of towns, so it is a world first. The two villages were not previously on the national grid. Oum Al-Sagheer and Ein Zahrah are located about 500 miles from Cairo at Siwa, which is a desert oasis tourism destination.
Hassan Younis, Egypt’s minister of Electricity and Energy announced the project this week. The villages will get solar to power all the mosques and schools and each of the other facilities in the two villages, as well as the houses of their residents, and even right down to the street lighting.
Predictions of water loss in Yemen by 2020 threaten lives and agriculture – Children must still fetch water for towns that are increasingly parched and dry.
According to experts cited by CNN, Yemen could be the first nation to completely run out of water in as little as 10 years, a prospect that creates a grim future for the young population of 24 million that is expected to double in 20 years.
In Yemen’s capital Sana’a, which could be the world’s first city to go dry, the population is growing at a rate of 7 percent per year as people are fleeing from the parched outer areas of the country to Sana’a. Despite a 1,185 mile shoreline, as the poorest nation in the Middle East, experts predict Yemen is on target to literally run out of water.
Reef sharks in the Gulf are especially vulnerable without sanctuaries to ensure their protection.
Red Sea sharks are threatened by Yemenese poachers who sell their fins to Asia for a fit price. But it turns out that Persian Gulf shark species are also vulnerable. So much so that conservationists have advised regional environmental groups and governments to set aside sanctuaries that will protect them.
As predators, sharks play an essential role in any marine ecosystem. Without them, prey are able to proliferate, in turn eradicating food lower on the chain. Failure to institute substantial measures to protect Gulf sharks would lead to a serious imbalance, and harm the economics of people who rely on it.
Using drip irrigation techniques, the 1,000 square metre ‘water scarcity park’ will harvest rainwater and also use solar power to generate electricity to pump water for irrigation. Drip irrigation is a technique used to conserve water as draws water directly from it sources and takes it the plants through a network of pipes with small holes so that water waste is minimal.
Netafim pipes snake through farmer’s fields and deliver water and nutrients right at the root base
The park which was opened by the country’s Vice-President Dr Najah Al-Attar, is located in Dummar, a suburb of Damascus and is planted with various drought-resistant flora. It is hoped that the park will be used as model for public and private parks and help rationalize the consumption of water and energy.
The water scarcity crisis in Syria has been blamed on a combination of poor water management, lack of rainfall and the over-extraction of water. In the past, Syria was comfortably supported by the Euphrates River in the top half of the country but the diversion of large amounts of water into agriculture and industrial sector means that the supplies are not sufficient to support the population. According to reports in The National, scientists reported that between 2002 and 2008, water availability dropped from 1200 cubic meters to 750 cubic meters per person in Syria.
Unlike the rich Gulf states which are able to afford expensive desalination plants, Syria is struggling with water scarcity and urban household face water cuts each evening. Severe drought in the rural east of the country has also drastically affected 1.3 million people with 800,000 of whom had had their livelihoods devastated and half a million forced to move into the cities just to eke out a living. According to a February report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, this has been the “largest internal displacements in the Middle East in recent years.”
Sadly, Syria is not an isolated case in the region as the entire Middle East is facing water shortages. A report by theArab Forum for Environment and Development(AFED) remarked that Arab region is one of the driest in the world- 70% of the land is dry and rainfall is sparse- and the effects of climate change will only exacerbate the situation. After delays in the rainy season serious concerns were raised with regards to water availability in Lebanon and Jordanians were also urged to pray for rainwater. The AFED report added: “Without fundamental changes in policies and practices, the situation will get worse, with drastic social, political and economic ramifications.”
Chefs without borders: now anyone can cook for the crowds.
What if we told you that there is a way, if you’re as industrious as the Dutch founders of a website called Tweetjemee, to buy meals from your neighbors? Frankly, if such a service existed I’d harass Miriam every day for her spinach and mushroom soup or her delicious-looking sambusaks.
For every lousy cook like me, there are hundreds of Miriams who have sensational culinary skills just waiting to be shared. Tweetjemee cooks have an opportunity to do just that, while everyone else in the neighborhood can enjoy a home-cooked meal without the hassle of going out to a restaurant.
Daniel Birns, international activities advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy, speaks Dec. 15 at a US-Israel environmental symposium at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC.
Virginia’s largest electric utility is eagerly seeking Israeli “clean-tech” partners that offer innovative technologies aimed at slashing the world’s dependence on fossil fuels through the development of renewable energy sources like solar, wind, seawater and biofuels.
Dominion Resources GreenTech Incubator, based in Ashland, Va., is a nonprofit business incubation program formed by Dominion Resources, the Virginia Biosciences Development Center and two other local entities. David Lohr, the program’s executive director, will lead an official Virginia delegation to Israel on Jan. 6, with the goal of identifying three to five companies that could be ideal matches for the year-old venture.
“This is our first international effort, and we’re very excited,” said Lohr. “Our joint initiative tries to incubate and commercialize technologies in the clean-energy sector. We are hoping to replicate the success we had with Israeli life-sciences companies three years ago by moving into green-tech. This has been part of our strategy from the outset.”
The Virginia executive was one of three speakers at a Dec. 15 environmental symposium co-sponsored by the Israeli Embassy, Washington law firm ZAG/S&W and the U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Foundation.
The issue of raw sewage may not be hitting the headlines in the Middle East like concerns over water scarcity, but in the Palestinian territories and Israel it’s a real problem. Inadequate waste water treatment plants in the Palestinian territories means that only 22.5 million cubic metres out of around 150 million cubic metres of raw sewage created every year is adequately treated to make it safe for reuse. Most of the raw sewage is contained in septic tanks which aren’t always well-enforced and so the sewage can easily seep into the ground and contaminate Palestinian and Israeli ground water supplies.
It seems that just like nature, sewage knows no boundaries and so raw sewage irresponsibly released by either community ultimately affects the shared Palestinian-Israeli water sources. A recently launched joint Israeli-Palestinian project supported by the Italian Trade Commission is hoping to draw the two sides together in a bid to resolve this sewage problem.
In a new study with applications for the Middle East, a pair of US researchers finds wind turbines could help to reduce the adverse effects of climate change on agriculture, during the hotter summers that we expect in our future.
We already know that wind power is a way to prevent climate change, because it reduces our dependence on fossil fuels. But what if wind turbines can also reduce the effects of our fossil energy dependence: the rise in temperatures, and the catastrophic effects that that is predicted to have on agriculture?
What if wind turbines can provide a little cooling effect – almost like giant fans in the sky – helping to also mitigate the effects of climate change? It turns out, that is exactly what happens.
How far are you willing to go to maintain anti-public peeing social conventions?
This is a question that plagues me at night, when I’m camping, and the bathroom is on the other end of the campground. On the one hand, watering a bush seems better than flushing a toilet, but sends untreated pollutants, which will eventually land up in a stream or a river, into the ground.
Treehugger posted an axes that weighs the argument differently, in terms of biological and social liberation. The graphic suggests that dogs and shameless public pee-ers, who both have their favorite walls judging by the stench, are the most biologically and socially liberated of them all.
A fungus good to grow for sexual health: the company is donating 5% of their proceeds to support breast cancer research.
A California startup called Back to the Roots is now offering a grow-your-own mushroom garden kit that can be kept inside on a windowsill for anyone with a penchant for urban farming. Consumers from the Middle East can order the Easy-to-Grow Mushroom Garden online for USD 19.95 plus S&H. Besides putting the fun in fungus, mushrooms boost our immune systems and may also tickle a woman’s fancy, at least according to some ancient Egyptian and South Pacific legends.
If you’re looking to rest your laurels somewhere warm and eco-friendly, why not consider Tunisia, the world’s most egalitarian Arab nation.
Tunisia is the Arab world’s best secret. Not only does it boast high home ownership, high literacy, and good health care coverage, but it is so egalitarian that the First Lady boasts they don’t refer to women’s rights since they are a given. She says a country can’t run without the help of half its population.
It is also beset with construction projects. This country – only a hour’s flight from the most cosmopolitan European cities – is definitely trying to draw upscale visitors. But it has the opportunity to do so in a beautiful, creative, and sustainable manner. Designed by Matali Crasset, Dar HI eco-retreat has set the bar.
“Energy storage is the intelligent way to make renewable energy carbon free. Currently renewables require some sort of backup power–for example: when the wind stops blowing, the most common solution today is carbon based backup systems. Energy storage can end this quandary,” said President Calderon.
Customers would be energy companies and utilities on both sides of the border.
Turkey is hosting the 11th summit of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), which opened on Monday in Istanbul. The ECO Meeting is being held this week on 20-23 December 2010. The ECO was founded in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, and now it has also included Asian countries – Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.
ECO is an intergovernmental organisation which involves these seven Asian and three Eurasian nations. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade and investment opportunities among the member countries.
Cook up a potful of fresh spinach soup for healthy winter comfort food. Or add tofu and it works as a whole meal in the summer.
Cool, moist weather makes winter prime season for leafy greens in the Middle East, and spinach is one of Green Prophet’s favorites. As with our creamy eggplant soup, it’s natural to turn turn this delicious local vegetable into soup. Featuring fresh spinach and immunity-boosting mushrooms, this recipe is so satisfying, so good for you, and so tasty that we think it qualifies as both slow food (see our post about slow food here) and comfort food.
Spinach-Mushroom Soup recipe
4 generous servings
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons oil or butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
2 cups fresh, cleaned and chopped spinach
1 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup water
2 cups milk
black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon cream per serving
METHOD
Saute the onion in the oil or butter till it’s golden.
Add the mushrooms, bay leaf, and salt. Saute 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the flour in and stir well. Cook the flour and vegetables together 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add the cup of water. Stir to obtain a thick, gravy-like mixture.
Cover and cook the mushroom/onion mixture 15 minutes over medium heat.
Add 1 cup of milk. Lower the heat and cook 10 minutes.
Add the spinach and 1 more cup of milk. Cook 5 minutes longer, always on low heat.
Taste the soup for seasoning. Add more salt if needed and freshly-ground black pepper to taste.
Drizzle a teaspoon of heavy cream into each bowl as you serve the soup.
Bon appetit!
You can also add cubes of rubbery cheese or tofu like in India.
Three years of extra snow has weakened Ireland’s salt stocks, demonstrating an overall lack of preparedness for the effects of climate change. Outline of Birket Maraqi salt lake in the oasis of Siwa, Egypt
Chefs without borders: now anyone can cook for the crowds.
Daniel Birns, international activities advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy, speaks Dec. 15 at a US-Israel environmental symposium at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC.
Members at 2009 ECO Summit in Tehran
Cook up a potful of fresh spinach soup for healthy winter comfort food. Or add tofu and it works as a whole meal in the summer.