Traveling sandstorms force Middle Eastern countries to cooperate, despite former water disagreements.
Approximately two thirds of the Middle East is comprised of desert, including as it does the largest continuous expanse of sand (in Saudi Arabia) known as Rub’ Al Khali or the empty quarter. With so little moisture there are no hovering clouds, and therefore no protection from the pounding sun. The ground gets hotter, creating a wind convection that blows a most furious sandstorm though the region.
These sandstorms have always existed. Camels are one of few creatures that seem impervious to them, evolved as they are to cope. Human beings are not nearly as well equipped. Not only do they risk being blinded by or choking on biting walls of sand, but they are quickly disoriented as visibility is reduced. Realizing that human beings have destroyed everything that might have held the sand in place, five countries have agreed to a plan to reduce the severity of future storms.
Started in Great Britain, we ask all kids in the Middle East walk to school on October 6!
If you usually drive your kids to school, get out your walking shoes: October 6, is International Walk to School Day. This “green” event began in Great Britain in 1994, and has spread to 40 countries including Israel and Turkey. Too many children are driven or bused from door to door, even though they live near school.
At the end of the school day near my kids’ elementary school, the buses are lined up on the narrow street. Cars vie to get as close to the entrance as they can, so their children won’t have to walk more than a few steps. The school asked the municipality to subsidize a traffic guard to help kids cross from the school to the parking lot, but that misses the point. Near-accidents happen on a daily basis, and the huge traffic means that the kids who walk to school are less safe than they would be if everyone walked.
Aish’s eco-fellowships will teach young participants why being green is being more Jewish.
Aish HaTorah, a leading organization in the realm of creative Jewish educational programs and leadership training, was founded in 1974 and has been trying to revitalize the Jewish community ever since. Now it is expanding its programming on Judaism and the environment by attempting to create an eco-fellowship that will focus on “the Jewish Biblical and traditional requirements for compassionate and sustainable living and how that applies to modern times.”
It is no longer necessary to waste gallons of water when washing your car. A new biodegradable product will keep it clean, and protect it from the harsh sun.
With virtually no freshwater resources, Dubai relies extensively on energy-intensive and environmentally-destructive desalination facilities to provide water. But the emirate also lies amidst a hot desert expanse with recurring sandstorms that leave in their wake dry land and dirty cars.
Dubai’s elite take their status symbols – such as cars – so seriously that they must be protected at every cost – even at the cost of 100 gallons per car wash. Though the folks behind the UAE’s new “ice park” are clearly blind to the perils of climate change, the Canadian founders of Ecowash M.E. aren’t, and have imported an environmentally sound method to save Dubai millions of liters of water each year.
Tamzin Pinkerton and Rob Hopkins guide us away from domineering supermarkets and into our own backyards. Ellen has the details.
Tamzin Pinkerton and Rob Hopkins are authors of ‘Local Food, How to make it happen in your community’ – a big, hearty book. In a time when the supermarkets look set on taking over, they give practical guidance on how to set up community projects to help us gain more food independence: food security, self-sufficiency and organic eating are central to their message. ‘Local Food’ is packed with real- life examples of community schemes including farmer’s markets, community gardens and school projects.
A slow recovery in the global cleantech sector has left many Israeli companies without VC funding and media coverage, while BrightSource Energy and Ormat Technologies continue to thrive.
The decrease in VC investments in cleantech companies over the past year and in particular Q3 is raising questions about the cleantech industry’s recovery. According to NASDAQ, research by the Cleantech Group found that investment in cleantech companies during the quarter was about $1.53 billion with North America “accounting for 61% of total clean-tech venture capital, while Europe and Israel accounted for 25%, China for 10%, and India 4%.”
About to break ground later this month in California, and with an IPO in the horizon, US President lauds clean tech companies like BrightSource for creating new “green” jobs.
To bolster his leadership position and defend his support of clean technology, US President Obama lauds the solar energy company BrightSource for creating jobs and green energy sources in California in a recent public address. Watch the video below the fold.
Before taking your carpet in for a super toxic clean, consider whether you want to live with all those chemicals.
Carpets add a lot to any room – color, warmth, a way to decrease echo… and if you usually have your carpets cleaned traditionally, they add a lot of toxic chemical residues as well. Most carpet cleaners use the same nasty chemical used by traditional dry cleaners – perchloroethylene (Perc) – which can cause both short and long term health damage. But, as with dry cleaning, eco-friendly alternatives are popping up everywhere so that you can get green home carpet cleaning.
So if you were hoping that flying your carpet around in true Middle Eastern style would be enough to get the dust and stains out… but just couldn’t get your carpet to fly? Now you can look for an alternative.
There’s no need to worry about being distracted by color and life while diving in the Mediterranean. There’s none left.
Previously off-limits to human beings, Jacques Cousteau brought the wonders of the ocean depths to the general public in two ways: he helped create the first French underwater film called “18 Meters Deep,” and with Émile Gagnan, the precursor to modern scuba diving equipment, the aqua-lung. Had he foreseen how such an introduction would lead to a near-absolute destruction of the silent color and diversity that lives below the surface, the intrepid explorer may never have shared his secrets.
But he did, and though he can’t be blamed, we have subsequently ruined many coral reefs and other marine ecosystems around the world. The Red Sea is in danger, the Gulf States continue to pressure their waters with blind expansionism, and the Eastern Mediterranean’s ecosystem is so disfigured that, sans the distraction of beauty, it has become the perfect place to learn how to dive.
Saudi Arabia prepares in advance for a future without oil, putting solar energy in its place.
Possessing a fifth of the world’s proven oil reserves, Saudi Arabia has long been synonymous with the petroleum industry, but this is not stopping the kingdom from striving to diversify its energy sources. Renewable sources could account for up to 10 percent of Saudi Arabia’s power output by 2020, an executive from the state-owned national oil company Aramco said. “The proposed target is between 7 to 10% of peak electricity generated by renewables by 2020,” Ahmad al-Khowaiter, director of new business evaluation department at Aramco told Reuters.
An environmental awareness campaign is subverted by Jordan’s “aniti-normalisation” groups.
Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) are renowned for reaching across political borders to address environmental concerns that know no borders. For years, in spite of the political aura, Israelis, Jordanians, and Palestinians have worked together to monitor and protect the imperiled Jordan River, Jordan Valley, and Dead Sea. Without their tireless campaigns and distinctly apolitical cooperation, these shared resources would be in even greater dire straits.
In order to draw attention to these environmental concerns, FoEME arranged a bicycle tour with the Israel Bicycle Association to coincide with 350.org’s 10-10 Global Work Party event. But Jordanian “anti-normalisation” efforts have politicized the initiative, putting pressure on Jordan’s FoEME representatives to cancel it.
Taking the opportunity to get to know a little more of one of the world’s most influential green media sites, Green Prophet sits down with Lisa, asking her about Grist’s history, and how young green leaders from the Middle East can learn from Grist’s example, and be a force of change. Read on for our interview.
Kuwaiti desalination plants similar to this one provide all the country’s fresh water at great environmental expense
A Gulf Times article that points out the severe water problems Kuwait faces is really nothing more than a déjà vu of all other states that border on the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE Emirates, Oman and Qatar, and even Iran. The article reported that Kuwait now has to rely on expensive and environmentally damaging desalination for virtually all of its fresh water supplies, and is now consuming almost more water than the country can produce, with an estimated 1.5mn cubic meters of water being consumed daily in the oil rich country.
A new 100 MW wind energy project is slated for northern Israel.
In the wake of the Israeli government’s support for a major wind farm on the Golan Heights, plans are underway for a similar project in the Galilee region, the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported. Measurements in the Galilee indicate that the wind is less powerful than in the Golan – though the Galilee is also less likely to be swept up in a political tempest vis-à-vis Syria.
Get fancy with the world’s best smelling citron fruit. Just make sure it’s organic before you eat it as jam.
The etrog is a stunning fruit. It’s also known around the globe as citron ––but it’s not to be confused with the French word “citron” which just means lemon.
The etrog or citron is indeed a citrus fruit, so cousin to lemon and lime, but it’s a world away from that tangyness and in its own class. Warty, yes, but too lovely-smelling to be eaten. The fruit is pretty tart like a lemon but there isn’t much juice. Since the thick skin is extremely aromatic we suggest turning the whole shebang into a jam. And we will share the process here.
Citron jam.
The citron’s textured and dimply exterior might fool you as being a mutated lemon, and as a peeled fruit there isn’t much to taste. But as a jam? The aromatic flavors are what some compare to the smell of the Garden of Eden.
So this is the Queen of all citrus fruits and it’s cultivated in regions of Morocco to be ready for the autumn and the Jewish holiday of Succoth, the feast of booths. It’s an ecological holiday at the root of things. And if you dig into history you will see archeologists found the etrog trees growing during Biblical times. Today be on the lookout for organic etrog because pesticide use growing etrog is high.
How the etrog is connected to Jewish holidays
After a small cabin is built in the yard for eating and living in for 8 days, Jewish people obtain 4 elements from nature to remind them of their roots.
Every day a ceremony involving a willow branch, a citron, a palm frond and a myrtle branch is enacted. The etrog is used just for its smell while the other elements have characteristics of their own.
Usually there is an etrog left over from Succoth which ended last week so one etrog is not going to make a pile of jam but it will make a small treat. We urge you to use an organic citron if you can find it to avoid any pesticides that might have gone into growing the fruit. As it’s prized for its smell as well as it’s unusual looks and is an ornamental there are few controls on pesticide use for this fruit.
After the Hebrew holiday Succoth, Jewish families everywhere will have an extra etrog which can make a delicious jam. Just make sure the etrog is organic so you will avoid eating unwanted pesticides. Since the etrog is not normally cultivated for eating there are no limits on the pesticides that are used on the fruit.
Here’s Green Prophet’s tried, tested and try recipe that we come back to every year so you can make your own etrog jam.
Making etrog jam
Ingredients for making etrog jam:
1 etrog (citron)
6 cups water
3/4 cup sugar, use organic cane sugar if you can
Method
Slice and remove as many seeds from the etrog as possible. Try slicing the etrog the long way into eighths to get seeds out as efficiently as possible. There are a lot of seeds in an etrog so allow at least one hour for this step. It can be tedious but the results will be worth it.
If you want to try and grow your own citron or etrog tree, save the seeds and put them aside for later.
Slicing up citron fruit for jam or teaching fractions
Chop the etrog fruit into very small pieces, including the peel, consider using a food processor like a Vitamix for this step. Although cutting it up with a sharp knife is more pleasant. Just watch out for squirts of juice in your eye. Notice the scent. Cover cut up etrog fruit with water and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
Next, bring everything to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Drain fruit. Cover fruit with water and simmer again for 20 minutes, then refrigerate everything for at least 12 hours. Drain. Cover fruit with water and simmer uncovered again for 20 minutes. Drain fruit.
These steps are important because if you skip them the finished product will be bitter!
Cover your beloved etrog fruit with water and add most of the sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for one hour. Be careful here, if you leave it for a minute it can burn on the bottom. If it does burn, do not stir up the burned parts into the jam. Dump the stuff into a clean bowl, wash out your pot, put the jelly back in and continue.
Taste to see if you need to add more sugar. Continue simmering for ½ hour or more. The temperature should be 220º–222º, the water should be syrupy and the fruit should be clear-ish.
It should cool and congeal. If it is still runny some people add ¼ – ½ cup of orange marmalade per quart to add “pectin” and cook 15-20 minutes more. Personally, I think that however it comes out is nice.
“It’s true – the etrog is one of the most toxic, highly-sprayed fruits on the market, because it is usually purchased for ritual purposes, and not to be eaten. Don’t make any etrog recipes unless you know that the source of your etrog uses sustainable farming (and if you can find such a source, please let the rest of us know!).”
Traveling sandstorms force Middle Eastern countries to cooperate, despite former water disagreements.
Saudi Arabia prepares in advance for a future without oil, putting solar energy in its place.
A new 100 MW wind energy project is slated for northern Israel. 
