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Jordan To Host Islam And Environment Event

Arwa Aburawa
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Jordan To Host Islam And Environment Event

jordan-environment-islamNext week leaders of various sects will discuss modern interpretations of climate change within the Islamic tradition.

Next week, Jordan will be hosting a three day event on the ‘Environment in Islam’ which is the theme for the 15th General Conference of the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought.

The event, held on the 27-29 of September, is significant as it brings together a wide range of scholars from different sects of Islam who will contribute to the diversity of Islamic interpretation of the modern issue of climate change.

Jordan may have a mixed environmental record with a gray wolf population under threat and a dubiously ‘green’ airport being constructed, but it has been making some strides towards environmental progress. They are currently attempting to combine tourism with conservation to help preserve their ecologically fragile sites such as the ever-shrinking Dead Sea and are also planning to build a wind farm near the ancient city of Jerash.

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A Blogger’s Diary: A Cloud Forest, A Volcano and an Israeli Geographer

Dr. Yosef Gotlieb
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A Blogger’s Diary: A Cloud Forest, A Volcano and an Israeli Geographer

 

costa rica
The author at Poas Volcano. Photo by Terry Chance.

Dr. Gotlieb describes a recent trip to his birthplace: Costa Rica

Alajuela Province, July 22, 2010: For a Costa Rican-born Israeli geographer, a 36-hour lightning visit for a family event in San José afforded an opportunity to one of the most unique landscapes and ecosystems in the world.

Atop the Poas Volcano situated in one of Costa Rican’s renown national parks there are two lagoons, one in the central crater of the now-active volcano, the other, the Botos, filled to the brim with rainwater. Surrounding the area is a rare form of woodlands — a cloud forest — a natural aviary with 79 species of birds.

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Israeli Researchers Discover Coral Reefs Deep In The Mediterranean

Tafline Laylin
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Israeli Researchers Discover Coral Reefs Deep In The Mediterranean

bleached-coralIt’s like finding an oasis in the middle of the desert: Haifa University explorers discover coral reefs 700m beneath the Mediterranean Sea’s surface; will they be able to protect the reef from oil and gas exploration?

The scene of bickering between Israel and Lebanon over gas fields, and potentially harboring a giant garbage patch, the Mediterranean Sea, stunned researchers have found, has a coral reef that spans several kilometers 700 meters below the surface of the sea. Elsewhere in the Mediterranean, energy-hungry countries like Egypt are eager to exploit the sea’s oil reserves. Will scientists be able to use this new discovery as collateral against destructive fossil-fuel exploration?

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“The Moneyless Man” Talks to The Green Prophet About The Middle East

Tafline Laylin
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“The Moneyless Man” Talks to The Green Prophet About The Middle East

mark-boyle-moneyless-manMark Boyle, otherwise known as the “moneyless man,” says that the Middle East’s emphasis on caring and sharing should make adopting a “freeconomic” lifestyle easier than in the West.

Frustrated and worried about the state of our environment, we chomp at the bits and engage in frothy conversations about irresponsible citizens and politicians, but few of us have enough nerve to let it all go: to let go of the cash, let go of the car, and all of the associated conveniences that defines modern life. But Mark Boyle did. For over a year he has lived in a caravan on an organic farm between Bristol and Bath, where he works in exchange for parking there.

He either grows or forages for food, gets around on a bicycle, presses mushrooms into a pulp for paper, and overall demonstrates that it is possible to live without money. Though penniless, Mark is a very rich man who has become an international inspiration. After James reviewed his book ‘The Moneyless Man – A Year of Freeconomic Living,’ we approached Mark with a few questions. Though he scarcely has enough time to make his nettle tea these days, he was kind enough to share his insights about the Middle East.

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Irony At The Dead Sea: Too Much Water In Southern Portion

Maurice Picow
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Irony At The Dead Sea: Too Much Water In Southern Portion

irony-of-too-much-dead-sea-waterWhich way is the Dead Sea heading? Will the tourism industry survive rising waters in the south?

Although the Dead Sea is suffering a severe lack of water in its northern portion, the southern basin, where lucrative mineral extraction industries and most of the lake’s hotels and health spas are located, is suffering from a different kind of water problem altogether. According to a recent article published in the health and environment section of the Jerusalem Post , the Dead Sea’s southern portion is now in danger due to too much water being “pushed up” by layers of salt accumulations underneath that is forming at a rate of nearly 20 cm per year.

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Morocco To Stave Off Desertification With New Environmental Charter

Green Prophet
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Morocco To Stave Off Desertification With New Environmental Charter

moroccos-environmental-charter-firstThe first Arab country to create one, Morocco’s new charter provides a blueprint for environmental protection and sustainable energy production.

In a first for the Arab world, the Moroccan government announced a National Charter for Environment and Sustainable Development, becoming the first African country to launch any such ambitions. It is part of the country’s push to lead the Arab and African nations in their effort to become more energy independent via alternative energy sources, including wind, solar and biogas.

King Mohamed VI announced the charter during the country’s celebrations of Earth Day last April 22 – it was the first such celebrations on the African continent – and hopes that the country will continue to move forward on its promises to garner nearly half of its energy from alternative sources by 2020.

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Don’t Eat Your Etrog Unless You Know It’s Organic

Miriam Kresh
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Don’t Eat Your Etrog Unless You Know It’s Organic

image-etrog-citron sukkoth

Are you sure you want to cook etrog jam this year? Make sure it’s organic, first.

In my parent’s old-fashioned cookbooks are recipes based on the beautiful, fragrant etrog (citron): etrog jam, etrog cake and cookies, even an etrog souffle. As tempting as it is to make jam out of the attractive yellow fruit after Sukkot, refrain. Non-organic etrogim are so full of pesticides that they are a danger to human health.  (If you are sure your etrog is safe, here is our etrog jam recipe.)

Citron is a fragile crop. Farmers we spoke to said that the fruit will spoil even if one rubs against another on the branch, so the very best are chosen and the rest are culled. And they’re particularly vulnerable to insect infestation. In order for an etrog to be kosher for the Sukkot holiday, it must be blemish-free, so farmers are obliged to protect their scanty crop with lots and lots of pesticide. This is legal because the etrog isn’t considered a food crop.

So what can we do with our etrog after the holiday? We love etrogim, and always run out to buy a sackful of unsold extras right after the holiday. We arrange them in a basket and keep them on the coffee table: see photo above. Their exquisite perfume drifts through the room and lasts for many days.

Make an old-fashioned pomander out of your etrog. The best-known way to preserve an etrog is to stud it with whole cloves. You must poke small holes all over the etrog with a sharp, pointed object like a thick, heavy needle, then push the cloves into the holes. The etrog will shrink in and dry out. It will lose its characteristic fragrance and smell of the cloves. Many people like to use a clove-etrog for the Havdalah ceremony after Shabbat.

Chag Sukkot Sameach!

More on Sukkot from Green Prophet:
Make Your Own Ricotta on Sukkot“Ye Shall Live in Booths” and Be With Nature on Sukkot

Where Have All The Iranian Leopards Gone?

Tafline Laylin
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Where Have All The Iranian Leopards Gone?

persian-leopards-conservationPersian Leopards are hurtling towards extinction. While creating promotional mugs and Ts can raise awareness about biodiversity in general, The Iranian Cheetah Society takes on the leopard for measurable results.

High vehicle fatality rates and rubbish in the national parks is not all that threatens Iran. That country stands to lose the remaining populations of majestic Persian leopards if conservation efforts are not put in place to mitigate the various factors that threaten them.

In addition to habitat destruction, and indeed possibly because of habitat destruction, leopards that prey on livestock are killed by farmers. Like Jordan’s Gray Wolves, leopards are also hunted. According to the Persian calendar, 2010 is the Year of the Leopard, and thus as good a year as any to install various programs that will help to protect those that continue to roam Iran’s mountains.

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New Design Approved For Jerusalem’s Giant Glass Museum Of Tolerance

Tafline Laylin
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New Design Approved For Jerusalem’s Giant Glass Museum Of Tolerance

museum-of-tolerance jerusalem
The glassy new plans for the Museum of Tolerance reflect badly on the nearby environment.

During the festival of Sukkot, Jews worldwide are camping out in their organic Sukkahs, touching the earth, reconnecting. Karin wrote about sustainable booths all over Jerusalem, while another, snazzier Sukkah is currently being displayed on Manhattan’s Union Square.

Contrasted with these structures steeped in tradition, the new, cheaper plans for the Museum Of Tolerance in Jerusalem seem glaringly unwholesome. The back end of the six-storey will be covered in glass from “top to bottom” according to the LA Times, though some architects suggest glass is among the least efficient building materials to use in the Middle East, and caused controversy in the past since it is being built on the site of a former Muslim cemetery.

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Bicycle Manufacturers Adjust to a Larger and Heavier Client Base with Super Sized Cycles

Karen Chernick
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Bicycle Manufacturers Adjust to a Larger and Heavier Client Base with Super Sized Cycles

plus-size-bikesEveryone should be able to engage in eco-friendly forms of transportation, like cycling, and now with super-sized bikes they can.

Cycling has been gaining popularity in Israel and other areas of the Middle East over recent years, which is great for the environment, great for reducing vehicle congestion in cities, frugal, and healthy.  But unfortunately, this trend is accompanied by another societal change – an increase in child and adult obesity. And therein lies the rub. Because since overweight people could, arguably, benefit the most from healthy forms of exercise such as cycling, they often have a hard time finding bikes that can comfortably support them.

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Researchers Get Potatoes Off The Couch And Powered Up

Green Prophet
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1
Researchers Get Potatoes Off The Couch And Powered Up
potato-power-developing-world
Cheap, and widely available in most countries of the world all year round, potatoes make an ideal source of power.

Potatoes offer more than just a valuable source of nutrition, now they can also power your lights and computers, say Israeli researchers. The scientists from Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ) have discovered that potatoes can be used as organic batteries, providing a cheap, immediate and easy to use source of green power to parts of the world that currently lack electrical infrastructure.

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Some Reasons You Should Make Time for Breakfast

Naomi Ben-David
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Some Reasons You Should Make Time for Breakfast

Israeli-breakfast-choices
The great breakfast spread; it not only looks fantastic, but it is also a healthy way to start your day.

Waking in the morning and rushing out the door to make it to work on time is a daily hassle for many people, therefore breakfast seems to be another thing on the to-do-list for which there is no time. In the Middle East the traditional breakfast involves cheeses, olives, and salads, however many people find themselves skipping all this, reaching for the coffee mug instead, and heading out the door.

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Great Examples Of ‘Hima’ Or Protected Areas In The Middle East

Arwa Aburawa
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Great Examples Of ‘Hima’ Or Protected Areas In The Middle East

hima-middle-east-islamThough the practice of establishing Himas to protect nature had previously declined, the Middle East is currently witnessing a resurgence of this ancient tradition.

Now that Green Prophet has looked into the tradition of ‘Hima’ or environmental preservation in the Middle East, this post will explore some of the most famous examples of Hima and how they helped create sustainable societies.

As the birthplace of the Hima, the Arabian Peninsula is home to some of the most noted examples of Himas. The two most widely recognised examples are those established by the Prophet Muhammed [pbuh] in Mecca and Medina within Saudi Arabia. These were based on the meaning of Hima under Islamic law, which required that they be declared for the good of the wider community and not for the benefit of private individuals.

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Tinkering With Nature: World’s Largest Lagoon Planned For The Red Sea

Tafline Laylin
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Tinkering With Nature: World’s Largest Lagoon Planned For The Red Sea

san-alfonso-artificial-lagoonIs this a mirage, or does Chilean Fernando Fischmann really intend to build the world’s largest artificial lagoon on the already ecologically-sensitive Red Sea?

In Egypt there will be more artificial fun for rich men and women while the poor can’t even trust that their tap water is safe, that their waste will be disposed of safely, or that they will be able to cook their dinner if the power cuts out. While everyone should be able to enjoy a nice dip in the sea, there is folly in tinkering with nature. Especially when we’re talking about the Red Sea, which has already suffered devastating losses to its coral reef as a result of development, tourism, oil spills, and other human activity.

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The Tomato Has 790 Names! Scientists Have Culled A Few

Tafline Laylin
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The Tomato Has 790 Names! Scientists Have Culled A Few

kew-botanical-gardensScientists have discovered 600,000 redundancies in the Dictionary of Life, and have so far scaled flower plants species from one million to just 301,000.

How many names do you have? Three, four, five? Scientists have discovered that not only do tomatoes have 790 names – what name do we give to Israel’s shriveled tomatoes? – but Oak trees and their relatives have 600. In fact, of the nearly one million flowering plants on record, at least 600,000 are duplicates. From an organizational point of view, this is an absolute nightmare. Like the cook who needs order in the kitchen, scientists need their names to be orderly too. A new study conducted in West London (with cooperation from throughout the world) will ensure more accurate access to information about species that are important economic sources as food.

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