In an interview with Green Prophet, Yael Mejia describes the benefits of buying fresh food locally.
It was largely because of Yael Mejia’s efforts to provide the good people of Dubai a fresh, no-frill food experience that the region’s first Farmers Market took place.
Their Brand Consultant, Yael has been wooing local farms in the United Arab Emirates since the Dubai branch of Baker & Spice opened last January. B&S can then source as many of their ingredients locally as possible, and encourage others to do the same. Not only does fresh food taste better, according to Ms. Mejia, but food that doesn’t travel from the other side of the planet does not carry such a massive carbon load.
According to Sheikh Abudulaziz, technology can help stave off environmental crisis, but the real power lies in the people and their willingness to adjust their lifestyles.
In the Middle East, “The Green Sheikh” has become somewhat of a celebrity role model for Emirati youth. Though he could easily have followed the money-lined petroleum path, Sheikh Abdulaziz al Nuaimi chose environmental sciences instead; he has since devoted his life to developing sounder environmental practices.
In addition to his position as environmental adviser to the Ajman Government, he is the chairman of Green Base Environmental Services and the founder of the Majlis for Holistic Knowledge and Holistic Health, Maurice explained earlier. Lately he has focused much of his energy on influencing young men, who he believes have the capacity and responsibility to be an example in the UAE.
A possible solution to Israel’s water crisis, Israel’s slow adoption of renewable energy, self-sustaining nuclear energy and more headlines related to Israeli cleantech and the environment.
Oregon’s governor will be heading a delegation to Israel later this month to check out Israeli cleantech opportunities. Israel and Canada are set to collaborate on birding and the environment and a coral reef has been found deep under sea off the coast of Tel Aviv. For these stories and more, see this week’s headlines below.
There will be no peace without water. Leaders need to address the Middle Eastern water scarcity with the same urgency as oil.
People often associate the Middle East with oil. But in the region’s cities, villages and farms, access to a different resource is becoming rather problematic: water. Addressing this issue can not only ensure a sustainable future, but will also help create conditions for lasting peace.
There is a shortage of water in the region. At the same time, industrial and municipal waste flowing through the Hebron-Besor river basin, which flows from the West Bank through the Negev region in southern Israel and to the Mediterranean, has damaged surroundings and posed serious health hazards to residents in the area, exacerbating current political tensions. Until recently, for example, an ongoing sewage spill from an Israeli West Bank settlement resulted in the contamination of the environment and agricultural fields of an adjacent Palestinian village.
Israeli fashion show attempts to go “au naturale” with a natural-landmark-themed garment contest.
Fashion and the natural world don’t always go hand in hand (unless you’re lucky enough to come across some whimsical banana-shaped pumps by designers such as Kobi Levi). Usually haute couture is the anti-natural, with silhouettes that combat the shapes that we were born with and materials (such as fur) that require the destruction of something natural. Yet in an attempt to come up with a national garment for Israelis, fashion designers decided to center their inspiration on the natural.
Namely, on Israel’s only freshwater lake, the Sea of Galilee.
Displayed in a garment design contest/fashion show in Tiberias (a city that is located on the shores of the Sea of Galilee) during the last few days of Sukkot, the designers demonstrated that the natural is a powerful source of inspiration.
The designers were also calling attention to the fact that the lake is in serious trouble in need of a serious makeover.
The Sea of Galilee is Israel’s largest fresh water reservoir and is a major source for Israeli water consumption. The water levels have steadily declined over recent years, due to years of drought, and now the levels are so low that there is danger that the laktgreee may become salt water.
Liraz Rubin, one of the fashion designers whose work was displayed in the show, said that “my design is inspired by the lake, where the fish want to live but the water is getting scarce and the lake is sad. You can see in the design itself that the fishermen can hardly find any fish. It’s a cry to save the Sea of Galilee and its fish.”
For some of the judges, though, the focus was more on fashion and less on conservation. Yuval Kaspin, an Israeli celebrity designer and one of the judges, said that “in some of the designs the connection between the Sea and the garment was definitely discernible. The designs which caught our attention the most were those that indeed reminded us of the Sea, but did not ‘over-chew’ the concept for us.”
In Tunisia last week, Islamic ministers meet to set a precedent on tackling water scarcity in home countries.
In the Middle East and across the Muslim world, water scarcity is becoming one of the most pressing issues related to climate change- but what is actually been done to tackle these problems?
Last week, the conference of Islamic environment ministers in Tunisia ended with the Tunisian president (above) urging the region to look for the most effective ways to deal with water scarcity. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali explained that water scarcity “constitutes a source of deep concern for most Muslim countries given their water poverty, imbalanced demographic growth, arbitrary exploitation of water resources, aggravated pollution, and severe and frequent climate changes, together with associated problems of drought.” He added that resolving this issues was one of the ‘most important duties’ of our time.
Traffic fatalities are 5 times the world average at 22,000 deaths a year: It’s time for Iranians to get on their bikes.
Iran has the highest rate of traffic accident fatalities in the world – even higher than the United Arab Emirates. While car ownership rates in Iran is less than the western countries, the traffic accidents still account for an unbelievable number of victims. Knowing the stats, this is a good call to get people on their bikes and a push for public transportation. Some months ago Dr. Hassan Emami Razavi the Deputy Minister of Health in Iran said that the traffic accident fatalities of Iran is 5 times more than the world average. Cars created without air bags and seatbelts, poor driver education, young drivers, and delapidated roads are to blame.
At present, the fatality rate is about 20,000 people annually. In 2002, 44 deaths occurred for every 100,000 people. The same factor in the same year for Germany and Canada were 9 and 6 respectively. In 2008, it was 12.25 for the United States. Last year, the media focused on the issue and announced that car accident fatalities of Iran is 25 times more than Japan and 2 times more than Turkey, which has similar cultural conditions to Iran.
Researchers and the media usually try to consider the problem and give reasons. There is a list of them.
Generally the reasons are related to humans, the cars themselves, and the conditions on the road. The accidents that are related to human factors can include the accidents that are caused by human mistakes when driving or passing the street, or social and cultural aspects like obeying the driving regulations.
For example, how people use seat belts is one of these issues. In the past few years, using seat belts has risen. But there are still problems with safety and helmet use by motorcycle riders. In Iran using seat belt is compulsory for the front seats but not for the back seats. That is why in June 2010, Alireza Zamani, a Parliament member, asked for making the back seat belt use compulsory to reduce fatalities.
Basically, the population of Iran is comparatively young. So some researchers raise this matter as one of the reasons for the accidents. As they say, the young people are responsible for the car accidents.
Many accidents occur because of deficiency or lack of safety facilities in the car. Producing cars with seatbelts have been obligatory for Iranian car producers since 1999. But most of the cars that were produced before that date do not have seat belts.
Similarly just 7 out of 37 types of cars which are produced in Iran have air bags and ABS brake.
Flickr: Jan Tik
The network of the roads of Iran is very old. Many accidents, which usually pile up the fatalities happen on old roads that have been built decades ago with poor road engineering standards. These kinds of roads are usually located in points far away from the main metropolitan areas or provincial centers.
Nevertheless, the statistics show that the fatality rate is dropping. In 2002 about 30,000 people died in car accidents. Now it has been reduced to 20,000. Although statistically some improvements can be seen, there is a long way to solve this multi-variable problem.
As car users and drivers, the first step we can have is to reduce accident fatalities by having in mind some primary safety hints. Read these safety hints (in Persian). And of course choosing new modes of transport such as the bus, and petitioning the government for better standards and enforcement.
“Spill and run” on the Nile could lead to legal action.
Only a few days ago we described the Egyptian government’s failure to enforce better maintenance and safety standards for various vessels that travel along the Nile.
As a result, untreated waste is routinely dumped in the river, as well as other pollutants such as diesel fuel and oil.
Last week two more oil spills along the Nile occurred near Mansoura. And though the perpetrators failed to take accountability for their mess, Al-Masry Al-Youm reports that authorities hope that “oil prints” will lead them to the source.
They exist here in Israel too! Too much pizza and cheeseburgers, and not enough exercise and whole food diets.
One of America’s most popular internet health news websites, Natural News, is telling its readers that Americans are on their way to becoming a nation of overweight and obese people and that three fourths of all Americans will be either overweight or obese by the year 2020. This prediction comes on the results of findings made by a study made by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which found that citizens of the worlds most affluent countries are becoming more overweight, and that Americans are “leading the charge”/ They are now ranked number one in the world.
For the first time in history, Israeli architects who designed Tel Aviv’s Port took best design at the European Biennial of Landscape Architecture Awards.
The port of Tel Aviv had been an abandoned concrete pile for years before Mayslits Kassif Architecture turned it into one of the most hopping spots in Israel’s seaside city. Every day of the week, the port astride the Mediterranean is packed with cyclists, sun goddesses, tourists, and locals, and on the weekend the farmer’s market rivals any of the best in the west. In addition to generating income with a series of shops and restaurants, the new look has given Israelis a sense of pride, as well as an urban escape. For this the architects received the European Biennial Landscape Architecture Award for Best Design.
Oregon’s Governor Ted Kulongoski (left) will be “fishing” for clean tech and high-tech opportunities in Israel later this month.
Oregon’s Governor Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat, will be coming to Israel for an 8-day trade mission later this month. Like other American politicians, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger included, Kulongoski is looking to meet with Israeli clean tech companies, high-tech cos, and venture capitalists to partner with. Israel has built its name in telecom, high-tech and, more recently, technology refugees from these arenas have moved over to clean tech offering creative ideas to problems such as water and renewable energy.
Certain Egyptian Ministries are finally noticing that the Nile River is not healthy. For 17,000 children a year, they are a bit late.
One of the most popular tourist activities in Egypt is to travel along the Nile River, and there is no shortage of options for doing so. Hundreds of eager men are ready to take hapless foreigners for a sunset sail on a falucca or fishing, while approximately 300 floating hotels offer extended trips from Luxor to Aswan. Unbeknownst to tourists, however, their Nile memories leave behind a terrible stench.
With elections next month expected to yield no new resistance to environmental apathy, the sudden interest from the Ministries of Environment, Tourism and Transport in the State of The Nile could be a case of too little too late, unless, of course, they can hit the government where it hurts most: below the money belt.
Once you’ve tasted bread baked with spicy black cumin seeds, you’ll reach for more…and more.
Black cumin is often added to breads and crackers in the Middle East, as we noted in our post about black cumin seed. We suggest scattering some of those spicy black seeds over the dough in our recipe for za’atar topped pita, but here is another Middle Eastern favorite bread that has black cumin in the dough.
Zalabya bread recipe
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 cup warm water
1 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup black cumin seeds
1 cup olive oil for the dough
1 tablespoon granulated yeast
1/4 cup warm water for the yeast
Salt to taste
Olive oil for frying
Method:
Dissolve the yeast in the water
Combine flour, sesame and black cumin seeds, olive oil, salt and water in a bowl. Mix well. Add more water by tablespoons if needed to make a pliable dough.
Add the dissolved yeast to the batter. Mix well . Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 30 minutes, or until double its original size.
Take pieces about the size of a large egg out of the dough.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and heat it over a medium flame. Fry the dough, pushing it into a circle with the spatula. When the zalabya is golden-brown on the underside, turn it over and fry till all is the same golden-brown color.
Add more olive oil as needed. Serve the zalabya hot.
LebaneseBloggers elbow their way through wishy washy red tape to spread urgent environmental and political messages.
Environmental bloggers go to great lengths to confront the dual challenge of making people aware of serious environmental concerns, and inspiring them to do something about it. We absolutely have to cut carbon emissions, a message that Bill McKibben and the crew at 350.org have driven across the planet, so that global weather patterns don’t spiral out of control. And in order to do that, we have to reduce our dependence on oil and gas.
For some, that may mean installing a few solar panels and an organic garden on their roof. For those who don’t own a home but drive a car, reverting to bicycles or public transportation would make a difference. Not only do these small actions add up, but almost all of the “green” initiatives we have introduced can lead to a deeper and happier life. Earnest bloggers desperate to unlock the shackles of traditional media elbow their way through greenwashers and meek government in order to spread this urgent message. In Lebanon, their work is beginning to pay off.
Will pink viagra gain a following among in this part of the world and change woman’s dress codes?
Yesterday was the secular date of 10.10.2010, and many women are using the once in lifetime calendar event as an expression of love and personal sexuality. Taking this in mind, is there really such thing as a “Pink Viagra”; and will women, especially Middle Eastern women, be partial to using a preparation that is alleged to restore their sexual libidos and enable them to once again enjoy having sex? Though not intended to single out women living in this part of the world, an article in the Washington Post says that America’s Food and Drug Administration, the country’s food and pharmaceutical watchdog, is considering giving its approval to a drug called “flibanserin” which is mooted as being able to fiddle with a woman’s sexual brain waves and increase or in some cases restore her sexual libido or desire to “roll in the hay” with either her spouse or lover.
In an interview with Green Prophet, Yael Mejia describes the benefits of buying fresh food locally.
There will be no peace without water. Leaders need to address the Middle Eastern water scarcity with the same urgency as oil.
For the first time in history, Israeli architects who designed Tel Aviv’s Port took best design at the European Biennial of Landscape Architecture Awards.
Oregon’s Governor Ted Kulongoski (left) will be “fishing” for clean tech and high-tech opportunities in Israel later this month.
Once you’ve tasted bread baked with spicy black cumin seeds, you’ll reach for more…and more.
Will pink viagra gain a following among in this part of the world and change woman’s dress codes?