Page 594 – Green Prophet

UN World Development Information Day Conference Takes Place in Israel for the First Time

Business

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November 3, 2010

UN World Development Information Day Conference Takes Place in Israel for the First Time

For the very first time, UN World Development Information Day was observed by a conference in Israel.

Since 1972, the United Nations has observed World Development Information Day every year on October 24th (which coincides with United Nations Day). The goal of this day is to concentrate global public opinion on international development problems and the need for strengthening cooperation between nations in order to solve them. This year Mashav (Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation that is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) conducted a World Development Information Day Conference – constituting the first time that Israel has held such an event.

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Green Your Thumb and Start Gardening For Food

Health

Miriam Kresh

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November 2, 2010

2

Green Your Thumb and Start Gardening For Food

Will we really have to face a world without humus? Green Prophet explores urban gardening to offset food shortages.

Climate change has already made historical marks on the planet, but for the most part, we’ve been complacent about our food supply. Water comes out of the tap. Supermarket shelves look well stocked. We still wonder how to get through all the greens in our weekly CSA delivery. And yet shortages have already started to occur.

This summer’s soaring temperatures created a tomato shortage in Jordan, Egypt and Israel, with shocking price spikes. Butter has been scarce – in the extraordinary heat, dairy cows produce less milk. We read gloomy forecasts of fewer, less attractive, and more expensive vegetables, legumes – s0 less cooking oil – herbs, and fruit.

Humus aficionados worry that the Middle East’s favorite spread will go the way of the Dodo – although it’s hard to imagine a future without humus. (See our humus recipe in this post.) While famine is only a distant spot on the horizon for people owning computers and able to read this post, shrinking food supplies are already a reality. What are you and I going to do about it?

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Dubai Expat On Cloud Lucky Wins Nat Geo Photo Competition

Travel

Tafline Laylin

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November 2, 2010

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Dubai Expat On Cloud Lucky Wins Nat Geo Photo Competition

Winjnand Van Till captured what would become National Geographic’s 2010 top Landscape photo in The Netherlands edition.

An amateur photographer has captured the most telling image of Dubai to date, winning a National Geographic photo competition for his effort. We’ve seen this Emirate from the underground metro, holiday shots depict its scraper-spattered skyline, and many a curious streetwalker has tweaked their neck to see the tip of the Burj from the ground. But this latest image demonstrates to what extent Emaar Properties, the Burj Khalifa’s ambitious developers, reached for the clouds when they conceived the world’s tallest building.

Wijnand Van Till – a 34 year old Dutch Citizen currently working in Dubai’s telecommunications industry – explained to The National how the photo came about.

“It was just a lucky shot,” he told the paper. “It proves that you should always keep your camera close by.”

Lucky for him, Mr. Van Till’s happy snapping produced a timeless image chosen as the best out of a pool of 20,000 hopefuls. He traveled last Wednesday to the Royal Tropical Institute accept first place in the landscape category of the Netherlands edition of National Geographic.

Some people feel lucky when they win on slots: Even though the expatriate is not a professional photographer, Jochem Wijnands, a National Geographic photographer and one of the judges said that Mr. Van Till deserved to win because of his “go-getting attitude.”

“For us, this kind of image was spectacular, like something from another world,” Mr. Wijnands said.

Meanwhile, the image of Dubai peering through last April’s clouds has also gained mileage within the Emirates, receiving recognition for being the overall winner in the Canon Competition. In addition to organizing this competition, the Dubai-based photographers group Gulf Photo Plus is nourishing other promising photographers with workshops and exhibitions.

“Photography in the area is rapidly improving,” said Mohamed Somji, the organisation’s director. The group currently has 14,000 members.

Mr. Van Till won an all-expenses paid trip to Kenya, where he hopes to expand his photographic repertoire.

:: The National

More about Dubai:

More Signs Of Dubai’s Foul Ecology At Jumeirah Islands

Burj Khalifa Takes Project of the Year At Middle East Architecture Awards

Dubai Gas Stations Running Out of Gas

Reclaiming Bahrain’s Coastal Architecture In Venice

Cities

Tafline Laylin

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November 2, 2010

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc-KLWyxSCc[/youtube]
For the first time, the Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain is participating at the La Biennale International Architecture Exhibition in Venice. But theirs is an unusual approach. In accord with this year’s theme – to experience rather than merely observe architecture – Bahrain’s National Pavilion comprises a multidimensional, sensory depiction of an earlier, more integrated, and slower Bahrain.

The exhibition, which has leaned on a slew of top-notch architects, organizers, photographers, and researchers to render its urbane greatness, was commissioned by Bahrain’s first female Minister of Culture, Sheikha Mai. A visionary beyond compare, Sheikha Mai is the driving force behind many of Bahrain’s preservation projects. This latest effort captures the magnificent essence of Bahrain’s illustrious coastal history, a legacy she hopes to Reclaim as stakeholders decide the Kingdom’s future.

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I visit beehives and get swarmed

Animals

Miriam Kresh

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November 2, 2010

4

A solution to colony collapse disorder? Miriam meets the Black Bear apiary in Israel where they are breeding bees back to their ancestral size.

Stephen and Alison Epstein, from Canada and the US, walked up and down, inspecting the tiny apiary. They slid frames laden with honey, wax, pollen, and bees – plenty of bees – out of the white boxes. (Read more about the difficulties of beekeeping in Israel here.)

They were monitoring the creation of new queen bees, without which there would be no eggs and no new workers to make honey and take care of the hive.

Today’s bees produce lots of honey per hive, but they’re susceptible to the varroa mite that has caused colony collapse disorder in many parts of the world. Green Prophet posted about colony collapse disorder here. Instead of treating the bees with chemicals and antibiotics, the Epsteins are turning the clock back 100 years to when smaller, sturdier bees resisted diseases and survived.

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Israel, Jordan and PA Water/Peace Group Get Onassis €250,000 Prize

Cities

Karin Kloosterman

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November 1, 2010

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Israel, Jordan and PA Water/Peace Group Get Onassis €250,000 Prize

Aristotle Onassis is alive and kicking in the environment through the new International Prize for the Protection of the Environment. This year it goes to Friends of the Earth Middle East

The environmental organization “Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME)” and a friend to Green Prophet is the first organization chosen as the winner of the Onassis Prize for the Protection of the Environment, which was established in May 2009. The official award ceremony will take place in the City Hall of Hamburg, on November 17, 2010.

Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) is an environmental organization of the Middle East that brings together Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian representatives. For a long time FoEME has been active towards maintaining the River Jordan as a vital natural resource for all people living within the borders of Israel, Palestine and Jordan.

The core aim of FoEME is to consider water as a fundamental natural resource for the development of the region. They do work together to protect the Jordan River, for example.

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“Mekkah Metro” Marks A Green Hajj For Pilgrims

Arwa Aburawa

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November 1, 2010

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“Mekkah Metro” Marks A Green Hajj For Pilgrims

A high speed train to Mecca in Saudi Arabia will cut down on carbon emissions during hajj this year, but its reach is limited.

Every year, around three million Muslims from across the world prepare for the spiritual journey of a lifetime. Many will have been saving up for the trip for years and will be prepared to travel thousands of miles to reach their destination: Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform the hajj.

As one of the five pillars of Islam, every Muslim who has the financial and physical ability is encouraged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca which is Islam’s most holy site. The question is can this spiritual pilgrimage, which leaves behind a trail of waste and carbon emissions, really be transformed into something more green?

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Inspired By Nature, Water Tips For The Middle East #1

Travel

Tafline Laylin

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November 1, 2010

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Inspired By Nature, Water Tips For The Middle East #1

In a region where water grows increasingly scarce, we look to nature for various tips on how to make the most of what we have.

Melissa Sterry, a futurologist and scientist whose “Bionic City” incorporates lessons from biomimicry, resilience theory, and living architecture to create a city model that can withstand any extreme natural phenomena, explained that nature has thousands of solutions to the Middle East’s water problems.

Inspired by this, we’ve decided to embark on a quest to bring our readers examples of fauna and flora that have adapted shrewd solutions to water conservation, extraction, or filtration. We’re kicking off with an inconspicuous little beetle from the Namib desert that has a few slick tricks on its wings.

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Yemen’s Water Crisis Could Worsen Security

Business

Tafline Laylin

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November 1, 2010

0

Yemen’s Water Crisis Could Worsen Security

The Federation of American Scientists urge Yemen to take up “science diplomacy” – otherwise existing security problems could get worse.

Yemen looks like the bust of a flat-faced woman floating on the Gulf of Aden. Recently this harsh stretch of land, which shares its northwestern and most volatile border with Saudi Arabia and is flanked by Oman in the east, has been the scene of much hullabaloo over a terror plot in the US. Most of the country’s problems are attributed to Al-Qa‘ida’s presence in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a disruptive presence indeed. But scientists are trying to draw attention to another crucial source of present and future danger: water scarcity.

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Ungreen News: Israeli PM Travels in Million-Dollar Armored Audi

Transportation

Maurice Picow

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November 1, 2010

1

Ungreen News: Israeli PM Travels in Million-Dollar Armored Audi

A green choice? Fit for a Mexican drug lord, with cigar moistener, the outside view of the Israeli PM’s new Audi A-8 Security. Worth a million bucks?

Shades of James Bond? No folks, this isn’t a special version of the gadget loaded Aston Martin DB-5 that James Bond star Sean Connery drove around in some of the earlier Bond films. And which recently sold at auction for a paltry $4.5 million. And it’s clearly not that white gold Mercedes Benz of some wealthy sheikh in Abu Dhabi still turning heads wherever it goes.

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Interview with Assaf Wexler of Dosuno Design, a Multidisciplinary Design Studio

Design

Karen Chernick

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November 1, 2010

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Interview with Assaf Wexler of Dosuno Design, a Multidisciplinary Design Studio

Green Prophet talks to Assaf Wexler of Dosuno Design about the sustainability of multifunctional furniture, using recyclable materials, and an eco-prognosis for his old hometown of Tel Aviv.

When it comes to furniture design (or design in general), Green Prophet has consistently been a fan of the sustainable variety – which comes in many shapes and sizes. Sustainable furniture can be upcycled and made out of repurposed materials, such as old doors and shutters. It can also be made out of recycled materials altogether (like Amir Zinaburg’s chairs made out of recycled soda cans). We’ve also seen very stylish and durable furniture made of cardboard – a recycled and easily recyclable material. But to date we have not seen much multifunctional furniture design, which is sustainable because it frees people to require less furniture (and therefore fewer resources).

Israeli designer Assaf Wexler and his partner, Santiago Restrepo, of Dosuno Design in Bogota, Colombia, create many multifunctional furniture pieces and we decided to have a chat with them.

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Luz Rises Again as BrightSource for California

Business

Susan Kraemer

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October 31, 2010

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Luz Rises Again as BrightSource for California

As a Californian, I am very happy that BrightSource Energy has been first to break ground on the new solar power projects in California’s desert.

After all, the brains of BrightSource Energy, Israel-based BrightSource Industries, which is responsible for the plant design and engineering, used to be Luz.

Luz built the world’s pioneering solar thermal project in California’s desert, back in the Carter era ’80s, when, just like now, a truly rare green-minded US president promoted clean energy. Now, once again there is a massive resurgence in clean solar energy in the US, propelled by Obama administration funding under the Recovery Act.

But last time, we almost killed it.

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People Who Live in Glass Houses…Should Harvest the Desert Sun

Cities

Susan Kraemer

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October 31, 2010

3

People Who Live in Glass Houses…Should Harvest the Desert Sun

These pretty glass tiles from Sweden offer yet another way to create a net zero home, by harvesting energy from the sun all through those sunny Middle East winters. SolTech Energy tiles are engineered to harvest the heat needed to heat your home by trapping rooftop sunshine and then feeding that heat through the house.

The idea is to turn your entire roof space into a solar heat farm.

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San Francisco Taxis Make The Switch To Better Place Electric Vehicles

Transportation

Tafline Laylin

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October 31, 2010

0

San Francisco Taxis Make The Switch To Better Place Electric Vehicles

San Francisco plans to join the EV fray with an electrified taxi fleet.

In the short-term, electric vehicles (EVs) aren’t so sustainable. Although they reduce carbon emitted from individual vehicles to basically zero, they still require electricity, the bulk of which in most countries is produced by burning carbon-emitting fuels.

They also require unfriendly batteries that are not easily disposed. But once electricity is generated from solar and wind power and appropriate recycling solutions are created, EVs could go a long way to reducing city din and smog.

But there’s more. A significant challenge is getting enough of a charge to make EVs practical. Modern drivers are accustomed to being able to travel long distances, stop, fuel up, and drive on. But recharging EV batteries requires an investment that tests our time-starved society. As a solution, this past April Better Place inaugurated a battery switch program for a Tokyo taxi fleet. Following their success, San Francisco plans to implement the same.

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Formula Companies Harm Saudi Babies by Promoting “Safe” Formula

Health

Hannah Katsman

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October 31, 2010

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Formula Companies Harm Saudi Babies by Promoting “Safe” Formula

Pfizer’s Saudi Arabia campaign to teach doctors safe baby milk practices is like cigarette companies promoting cancer prevention.

In the book Understanding Breastfeeding in the Middle East, author Modia Batterjee laments the decline of breastfeeding in Saudi Arabia. At first glance, the 26 Club Forum for Child Health and Nutrition founded to “raise awareness on the new health problems that affect Saudi children,” is a step in the right direction. Now, 26 experts in the field of infant health and safety gathered last Thursday to discuss health among Saudi children. The theme of the first session is “Breast Feeding: The Ideal Diet.” Yet a closer look at the organizers and content of the forum raise serious health concerns.

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