Somehow vegetables with short seasons excite the imagination and appetite more sharply than produce that’s available all year around. Good Middle Eastern cooks have many recipes for delicate fava beans, and this turmeric-fragrant soup is one.
Somehow vegetables with short seasons excite the imagination and appetite more sharply than produce that’s available all year around. Good Middle Eastern cooks have many recipes for delicate fava beans, and this turmeric-fragrant soup is one.
Somehow vegetables with short seasons excite the imagination and appetite more sharply than produce that’s available all year around. Good Middle Eastern cooks have many recipes for delicate fava beans, and this turmeric-fragrant soup is one.
Somehow vegetables with short seasons excite the imagination and appetite more sharply than produce that’s available all year around. Good Middle Eastern cooks have many recipes for delicate fava beans, and this turmeric-fragrant soup is one.
Somehow vegetables with short seasons excite the imagination and appetite more sharply than produce that’s available all year around. Good Middle Eastern cooks have many recipes for delicate fava beans, and this turmeric-fragrant soup is one.
Somehow vegetables with short seasons excite the imagination and appetite more sharply than produce that’s available all year around. Good Middle Eastern cooks have many recipes for delicate fava beans, and this turmeric-fragrant soup is one.
Somehow vegetables with short seasons excite the imagination and appetite more sharply than produce that’s available all year around. Good Middle Eastern cooks have many recipes for delicate fava beans, and this turmeric-fragrant soup is one.
Somehow vegetables with short seasons excite the imagination and appetite more sharply than produce that’s available all year around. Good Middle Eastern cooks have many recipes for delicate fava beans, and this turmeric-fragrant soup is one.
Arava Power, based in Kibbutz Ketura in southern Israel, is blazing the bureaucratic path for solar fields in Israel.
Israel reached a milestone yesterday in its efforts to add a substantial solar component to its electric grid: National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau signed the country’s first power purchase agreement (PPA) for solar energy with Ketura Sun, a joint venture of the Arava Power Company and Kibbutz Ketura.
The government’s commitment to a PPA is required for solar installations generating over 50 KW of electricity and is essential for securing project financing. As APC President Yosef Abramowitz explained to the Green Prophet, “what was a high-risk business until yesterday has now become a medium-risk business.”
EV’s phone home: While charging EV’s at home are most convenient, the Israeli EV company is going for a monopoly – making customers charge at Better Place installed outlets.
By the end of 2012, electric cars will be a definite addition to the millions of cars that already ply the streets and motorways of our planet. One of the companies pushing for the technology of electric cars, Better Place Inc, is already establishing itself as a leader by setting up an infrastructure for its vehicles. Better Place recently imported 13 Renault Fluence electric cars into Israel to test the company’s battery recharging and exchange networks being developed there. But critics say the way that customers can charge their cars is a monopoly.
Getting your sustainable, vegetarian Omega 3 supplements is easy when they’re hidden inside delicious confections.
Getting kids to take their vitamins can be tough, which is why kids’ vitamins conveniently come in all kinds of fun shapes, colors, and flavors. I was a Flintstone vitamin kid myself, but I had friends who took vitamins disguised as gummy candies or toffees. But when it comes to making adult vitamins and supplements, for some reason manufacturers don’t see the need to make them fun. How about Centrum Plus vitamins shaped like the cast of Glee? Folic Acid supplements in the form of gummy worms?
While people were looking elsewhere for its answers to the universe, Earth started heating up, glaciers began to wilt, and a cascade of ecological consequences came tumbling down. In Lebanon, that has culminated in the potential loss not only of its national symbol, the ancient Cedar tree, but one of the country’s most celebrated recreational gems: its ski slopes. (Update 2025 – Where to go skiing in Lebanon)
Lebanon has six ski resorts, the most popular of which may be Mzaar (aka Mzaar) which is said to have “world class” facilities for tourists, even platform lifts found in fancy restaurants. Previously avid snowboarders and skiers could sink their teeth into pristine powder for up to three months at a stretch. But rising temperatures have changed that, according to Reuters.
Climate report shows iconic cedars of Lebanon in distress
Mzaar’s manager Christian Rizk refuses to acknowledge that climate change will force a shutdown, insisting instead that the resort has managed to adapt to change. He is willing to acquiesce, however, that times have been rough.
“Last season was catastrophic,” he told Reuters on a sunny late autumn morning near the barren slopes of Jebel Sannin, Lebanon’s second highest mountain at 2,695 meters. “This year we are installing new ski-lifts higher up, above 2,000 meters.”
As Reuters points out, many species climb to higher altitudes in order to reach cooler temperatures, including the Cedar tree. With temperatures climbing, the tree will have no place to go.
“I couldn’t give you a specific date when we might see the last cedar on our mountains, but eventually that might happen,” Vahakn Kabakian, an Environment Ministry official preparing Lebanon’s next climate change report to the United Nations, explained to Reuters.
By 2040, Lebanon could lose 40 percent of its snow, which will not only destroy snow-related tourism, but will also have a devastating impact on groundwater aquifers usually replenished with snow melt. As early as 2015, Lebanon may not be able to keep pace with demand, though the capital is already hydrologically bankrupt.
“In Beirut, summer demand for water already exceeds what the network supplies — partly because around 40 percent is lost to leaks — so many people pump from wells. Over-extraction from coastal aquifers has led to seawater intrusion and salinity,” according to Reuters.
So, if you live in Lebanon (or anywhere else in the hot and dry Middle East), now is a good time to fix those leaky pipes and install a good water catchment system on your roof. You’re going to need it.
No more Mr. Nice Guy! Interpol intends to step up regulation of illegal wildlife trade and other environmental crimes.
What eventually became The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) began with fits and starts in the early 20th century. Then the Nazis and disturbing fellows like Reinhard Heydrick, Chief Executor of the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” took control and diluted its vigor as a non-partisan organization devoted to rooting out international crime.
After 1945, Interpol rose up from the ashes and has since become the second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations. Such villainy as child pornography, drug and human trafficking, and genocide all fall under their purview. In a sign of just how serious they are, during the recent 79th General Assembly in Qatar, Interpol resolved to place a renewed emphasis on “green crimes.”
Is nothing holy anymore? The Iranian Government rubber stamps oil exploration in the country’s most important national park.
The Iranian government has decided to start an oil exploration project in a national park in Kavir National Park in the Semnan province, south east of Tehran.
The opponents of the project, from the Iranian Environmental Organization, which is a governmental institution, and also environmental activists, have had debates with the advocates, who are the governmental authorities like the Ministry of Oil heads.
These two pioneered how cycling thousands of miles to Mecca can be done.
Every year, millions of Muslims from all corners of the world board a flight heading to Saudi Arabia to fulfill their pilgrimage to Mecca. While there are no figures on the carbon footprint of these flights, they must make up a decent chunk of the overall carbon produced during hajj season and undermine the possibility of a truly ‘Green Hajj‘.
Two pilgrims from South Africa- Natheem Cairncross, 28 and Imtiyaz Haron, 25- however, decided to take a different route and embarked on an epic nine-month trip from Cape Town to Mecca by bike. Cycling almost 6,800 miles from South Africa to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, this slideshow follows them on their inspirational journey through Africa and the Middle East to their final destination.
What is Hajj?
Hajj is a once in a lifetime pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca takes place in the last month of the Muslim year, and all Muslims are expected to make it to Mecca at least once during their lifetime. Hajj is a pilgrimage made to the Kaaba, the “House of God”, in the sacred city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Hajj is a pilgrimage made to the Kaaba, the “House of God”, in the sacred city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Natheem and Imtiyaz in South Africa with supporters.
The pair started their journey back in February 2010 in Cape Town and went on to cycle through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Turkey, Syria and Jordan. Since their travels, hundreds maybe thousands have made the journey.
Although Natheem and Imtiyaz planned to cycle the entire journey, their plans were scuppered when they couldn’t get visas for Ethiopia and Sudan.
They were forced to change their route and decided to fly to Turkey and cycle the rest of the journey from there. In Kenya
“Cycling all the way from Cape Town to Mecca would to most people seem an impossible task,” they say.
“This thought did occur to us in the initial stages but after reading and meeting so many that have undertaken similar journeys, we grew confidant, positive and started to believe that we can achieve this goal.
After three years of contemplation we finally set off on this historic journey with open minds, bare necessities…”
Enjoying a moment’s rest in Tanzania.
The pair have spent months saving for their nine-month journey to Mecca by bike.
Natheem sold his car and they both also received a lot of help and support from their families and communities as well as the people they met on their journey.
In a Syrian market
The pair said that they were blown away by the generosity of the people they met along especially in Syria where where children ran up to their bicycles and invited them home to lunch.
They added that although they were on a tight budget, they always managed to find food and shelter- usually offered by people they met who were always eager to hear about their journey.
Natheem and Imtiyaz take a break from Jordan’s rocky terrain.
Neither Natheem or Imtiyaz are professional cyclists and had to undertake training for the long trek so that they could endure the rugged terrain and any problems thrown at them.
Despite several tire punctures, broken chains and cushion malfunctions they usually managed to cycle 80-100km per day.
Natheem and Imtiyaz at their final destination: Mecca!
The pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the five pillars of Islam and every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it must undertake the journey at least once in their lifetime.
If you’re green minded, and healthy, why not do it by bike!
It’s no secret that the Gulf states are heavily dependent on foreign farmlands for their food and no more so than the United Arab Emirates which imports 80% of its food products. Most foods you see stocked in the UAE’s supermarkets will have been brought in from elsewhere ready to sell directly to the consumer and only a tiny portion (around 20-25%) are from locally processed foods.
However, the oil-rich nation has realised the dangers of this crippling food dependency (particularly in an unstable economy) and launched plans to establish a government-owned trading house aimed at securing food supplies.
Greenpeace calls on ICCAT to close down the Mediterranean Bluefin Fishery at Paris conference.
The Japanese aren’t going to let the bluefish tuna resume its predatory ocean going unimpeded any time soon, since that country comprises 80% of its international market. Nor are Mediterranean countries (and their fishermen) – which in large measure supply that fleshy demand. Meanwhile, activists (Greenpeace in particular) and scientists are adamant that although Asian countries blocked efforts to list the Bluefish Tuna as endangered, that is what they are.
The European Union and United Nations are attempting to restore order where the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) has failed, but all parties are gripped with a chronic political apathy that will end, it is feared, with no more Bluefin to catch.
Young Swahili “beach boys” ride in a traditional dhow in Lamu, which is threatened by a multi-billion dollar port project.
Lamu’s enclave of UNESCO-protected Swahili culture – an enduring tradition born from a fusion of coastal Bantu and Arab traders that settled here centuries ago – is threatened by a multi-billion dollar port project. For seven hundred years the Swahili people have led a tranquil existence among the mangroves and coral reef that, respectively, provide construction material for their homes and boats and shelter for fish.
In time, thanks to a Shariff named Habib Swaleh, Lamu became one of the most respected centers for Islamic education in Africa, a role that still stands today. But the Swahili culture has gradually eroded with an influx of wealthy foreigners and members of other, non-Muslim tribes; now the town’s spiritual leader, Imam Idarus, worries that the incoming port project (slated for the mainland nearby) will draw even more people that will eventually overrun the cultural fabric that knits this community together.
Omar is a Swahili man from Lamu. He was once married to a British woman, with whom he had two children, and lived in Bristol for a time. He is back on the island and on this occasion, someone had invited him for tea.
There are only a few cars on the island – the alleyways too narrow to support them – along with a small handful of motorbikes. Otherwise, everything – bread, sugar, charcoal, cigarettes – is transported from one section of the island to the other on the backs of sturdy donkeys.
The town’s electricity generators are powered by diesel stored in giant, rusted barrels brought in on a small power boat. Most of the local people earn a living either from tourism, by arranging trips to the coral reef and other excursions on traditional sailboats called dhows, or from fishing.
But as part of their Vision 2030 plan to become the foremost powerhouse in East Africa, the Government of Kenya is pushing a major port development plan that could threaten all of this.
Lamu-Southern Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) will include a six-lane shipping port, an oil refinery, three resort cities, three airports, an oil pipeline from Lamu to Southern Sudan, as well as a new railroad. And though the government claims that this development will bring additional jobs to Lamu, local officials note that only 5% of the population have sufficient skills to seek employment there.
Instead, the development will draw skilled foreigners, not to mention untold environmental destruction.
“Never mind the UNESCO heritage site,” Imam Idarus said via a translator, “this will swallow the Swahili population.”
“It will bring prostitution, robbery, kidnapping,” he added. “The people are not prepared.”
The Ministry of Transportation issued a tender in October for the first construction phase of three berths. Although the winner has not been announced, the Kenya Port Authority (KPA) circulated internal news in September that a state-owned Chinese company – China National Machinery Industry Corporation – expressed interest.
China is Sudan’s largest importer of oil, and therefore has a strong interest in seeing this project progress as it will ensure easier access.
Before leaving that (non-CFL) light on after you leave the room, you might want to take a look at the Story of Coal.
In the routine of our daily lives, it’s easy to forget about the ramifications of our actions. When stopping by the supermarket on your way home from work to pick up some items for dinner, it’s easy to go for processed, overly packaged, imported items and stick them in a non-biodegradable plastic bag. As you peruse the shelves of that trendy (but not such great quality) clothing store in search of some new t-shirts, it’s easy to forget about the story of stuff. And when sitting at home with all the (non-energy efficient) lights on, the TV blasting, and every single appliance plugged in (whether you’re using it or not), it’s easy to forget about the story of coal.
But the story of coal is very real, and it ain’t no bedtime story either.
Sperm Wars: What happens to sperm today has long term consequences for a male’s offsprings health and wellbeing, new research suggests, as a result of changes to the DNA.
A recent article on this site documented the increased levels of toxins in pregnant women in Jerusalem vs. their counterparts in the states. It was an eye-opener for those living in the Middle East who advocate for a greener way of life in this part of the globe, but it didn’t address the issue of potential fathers and their exposure to pollutants, a topic also close to the heart of eco-sexuality.
In this companion piece, we report on research that demonstrates that a male’s experiences and exposure to toxic compounds alters his sperm, so much so that the nasty effects are passed on in his DNA. Not only is this seen in animal studies, but human investigations are also showing comparable sperm wars.
Clean Tech Open IDEAS Competition winner Solaris Synergy’s ideain prototype
Solaris Synergy has won an award for a really brilliant idea: float concentrating solar panels on large bodies of water, such as reservoirs, to protect valuable land area for other needs. For now, the company is at the start-up stage, with a tiny (home-sized) 1 KW prototype installed on the company roof as proof of concept, but plans a 200KW system to be installed in a water reservoir in Israel later this year to test the concept.
Hydro-electric power, Better Place vehicles, endangered species and more headlines related to Israeli cleantech and the environment.
Solaris Synergy and Leviathan were named Israel’s leading early stage environmental technologies at this year’s Clean Tech Open IDEAS Competition. CNN aired a feature on wastewater reclamation in Israel and IT-water management company TaKaDu raised an undisclosed sum from Emerald Technology Ventures. For these stories and the rest of this week’s headlines, see below.
Is nothing holy anymore? The Iranian Government rubber stamps oil exploration in the country’s most important national park.
