Page 617 – Green Prophet

Syrian Vendor Could Lose His Cart For Sidewalk Sales

Travel

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August 25, 2010

Syrian Vendor Could Lose His Cart For Sidewalk Sales

Syrian’s police and vegetable vendors play a game of cat-and-mouse; will authorities find a way to let the market prevail?

With its campaign against plastic bags and its shiny new renewable energy plan, Syria’s environmental esteem is rising high. Moshe’s weekly flight to the greater Middle Eastern blogosphere demonstrates all kinds of awareness from Damascus and beyond. But what about Syria’s police force? Recently they’ve been raiding veggie vendors in the streets, either confiscating their produce or levying fines, ostensibly to reduce congestion. Even so, locals say the risk is worthwhile.

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Egyptian Energy Crisis Sends Protesters to the Streets

Business

David E. Miller- The Media Line

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August 25, 2010

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Egyptian Energy Crisis Sends Protesters to the Streets

Unstable power…Egyptians activists blame their poor governmental planning for power cuts that have disrupted Ramadan.

The Egyptian government has announced its intention to continue decreasing electric output pending the end of a heat-wave which saw temperatures climb to 40 degrees Celsius. Government spokesman Magdi Radi announced that an “emergency plan” prepared by the government would ensure the addition of 550 megawatts to the national grid within two weeks, as well as 700 megawatts before the end of this year.

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Moroccan Environmental Activist Faces Two Years In Prison Over Trees

Business

Arwa Aburawa

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August 25, 2010

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Moroccan Environmental Activist Faces Two Years In Prison Over Trees

Reporters Without Borders is providing Mohammed Attaoui legal assistance for trumped up charges received for exposing government corruption over illegal logging.

In March 2010, as Morocco hit the headlines with plans for an environmental charter and a $9 billion solar project, an environmental activist was arrested for exposing the illegal logging of protected cedar.

Just weeks after he published an exposé documenting the illegal logging as well naming those who were responsible, Mohammed Attaoui was arrested on what appear to be trumped up charges. In his exposé, Attaoui claimed that although cedar wood is a protected species in Morocco, corruption amongst the forest service and local government officials are allowing logging to go on unimpeded.

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UAE To Export Camel-icious Milk To The West

Travel

Tafline Laylin

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August 24, 2010

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UAE To Export Camel-icious Milk To The West

We had a hump, err, hunch that camel milk would makes its way West

Plagued by bed bugs that proliferate during warmer temperatures and the kind of distorted energy policy that replaces residents in the Braka village with four nuclear reactors, the UAE doesn’t always have a lot to be proud of. Except, perhaps, camel’s milk. Rich in vitamins and iron, and easier to digest than cow’s milk, we wondered how long it would take for camel’s milk to reach America’s Wholefoods shelves. As it turns out, that might happen a lot sooner than we thought.

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Mazzy reviews ‘The Story Of Stuff’

James Murray-White

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August 24, 2010

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In order to change our unending addiction to Stuff, we need to redefine progress. We need to realize Stuff doesn’t make us happy.

The Story of Stuff is subtitled “How our obsession with stuff is trashing the planet, our communities, and our health – and a vision for change.” Its author, Annie Leonard, is not anti-stuff but she explains that, “I want us to value our stuff more to care for it, to give it the respect it deserves. I want us to recognize that each thing we buy involved all sorts of resources and labor.” Leonard describes Stuff as “manufactured or mass-produced goods, including packaging.” Hence, this book is all about “Stuff we buy, maintain, lose, break, replace, stress about, and with which we confuse our personal self-worth.”

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Complications of Coffee – A Habit Worth Kicking

Health

Naomi Ben-David

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August 24, 2010

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Complications of Coffee – A Habit Worth Kicking

Turkish, espresso or instant. The Middle East loves its coffee. The excitement of a good cup of coffee is familiar, but what other more negative effects are there?

Does your day only start when you have had that big cup of steaming coffee? Is that big cup of coffee only the first in a long line of coffees without which you cant make it through your stressful day? We put ourselves through a lot of stress, so why would you put more pressure on your body by drinking endless cups of coffee?

When it comes to addictions, coffee is usually not the first thought (cigarettes, perhaps), we tend to think of drugs or alcohol as the only harmful addictions. However, if you can’t drag yourself through your day without a cup of coffee then you have a problem.

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Is the Mediterranean Sea Harboring a Giant Plastic Patch?

Travel

Maurice Picow

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August 24, 2010

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Is the Mediterranean Sea Harboring a Giant Plastic Patch?

Trash like this at Nahal Poleg kills Mediterranean marine life and pollutes the sea. What does the future hold for of our seas and oceans?

Following the August 1^st arrival in Sydney, Australia of environmentalist David de Rothschild and the crew of the Plastiki sailing vessel, more attention has been given to another giant marine “plastic materials garbage patch” in the Atlantic Ocean. This is a “new” phenomenon, which scientists say may be even larger than the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” that de Rothschild and fellow Plastiki crew members sought to investigate during their 154 days voyage in a boat made almost entirely from recycled plastic and other waste material.

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Will Foster & Partners Achieve Carbon Neutrality In Hong Kong?

Cities

Tafline Laylin

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August 24, 2010

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Will Foster & Partners Achieve Carbon Neutrality In Hong Kong?

The carbon-neutral city, Masdar, has all-but-failed. Can this urban park in Hong Kong do better?

Architectural firm Foster & Partners have their stamp all over the Middle East: they had a hand in Masdar City, that ambitious carbon-neutral city plan that has turned into an embarrassment, and they are “greening” Jordan’s Queen Alia Airport. While we’re impressed with their designs, we’re less impressed with their environmental ethic. Unfortunately, not everyone shares our sentiment, which is why this firm has spread their tentacles all over the world to Amsterdam, South Korea, and now Hong Kong.

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World Bank Grants Egypt 1.2 Billion Egyptian Pounds For Wind Energy

Energy

Green Prophet

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August 24, 2010

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World Bank Grants Egypt 1.2 Billion Egyptian Pounds For Wind Energy

With a little boost from the World Bank, Egypt hopes wind energy will provide 20% of energy needs by the end of the decade

Although Egypt continues to pursue a ruinous relationship with oil giant BP, it appears that some efforts are underway to develop its renewable energy market as well. The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank approved a grant to Egypt, a loan of $1.2 billion Egyptian pounds to support the development of wind energy. 800 million pounds will be provided by the Clean Technology Fund, which will be a first for the fund in the Middle East and North Africa.

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Abu Dhabi Should Opt for Solar Not Nuclear for Future Needs

Business

Matt Khoury

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August 24, 2010

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Abu Dhabi Should Opt for Solar Not Nuclear for Future Needs

The UAE relocates the residents of Braka in order to build four nuclear power plants.

As the shovel hits the sand in the remote (former) village of Braka, the site of the United Arab Emirates future nuclear power plants, many argue that using solar power would not only be safer and more environmentally friendly, but also cheaper. The residents of Braka, a village described as a row of shacks on a white untouched beach, have been relocated to other parts of the kingdom after it was chosen due to its remote location far away from the population centers to host four nuclear reactors. When completed in 2020, these will produce 5,600 MW, or a quarter of the country’s electricity demands.

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Green Prophet Flies To “The UAE Environment & Life Blog”

Lifestyle

Moshe Terdiman

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August 24, 2010

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Green Prophet Flies To “The UAE Environment & Life Blog”

A weekly Green Prophet series that looks at the Arabic “green” blogosphere and online communities.

After looking at “The Forum of the Ornithological Society of Kuwait and at the Saudi Green Blog, and at The Oman Eco Group Blogs, we are continuing our trip through the Gulf Countries and arrive this week at the UAE Environment & Life Blog. This is a new blog, which has been active since June 2010. It is written mostly in Arabic and its aim is to update its readers in all the “new scientific researches and activities which are connected to agriculture and environment.”

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VIDEO: Making Music From The Sun

Design

Tafline Laylin

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August 23, 2010

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An earthquake inadvertently converts a statue into a musical installation; Dr. Duffey replicates the effect with his own designs

We’ve seen some interesting, creative applications of alternative energy. There is the father and son team in Gaza who created their own solar oven, though they had to stop filling orders when the glass ran out. And Maurice reported on giant windstalks that are poised to generate electricity from kinetic energy produced by the wind. But creativity has taken on a whole new dimension with Dr. Michael Duffey’s solar thermal music project and designs. The Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) has recently published two videos that demonstrate Dr. Duffey’s work, which derives its inspiration from a byte of Egyptian history.

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Gas Discovery Will Not Change Israel’s World Standing

Business

Tafline Laylin

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August 23, 2010

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Gas Discovery Will Not Change Israel’s World Standing

Although the Tamar and Leviathan gas discoveries might seem like manna from heaven, Israel shouldn’t drop its guard just yet

Compared to its Arab neighbors, Israel’s oil and gas reserves are scant, of which the government is painfully aware. So eager are they to find and develop their own such reserves they passed the Israel Petroleum Law (1952), which essentially gives free reign to the first person to discover oil to rake it all up as swiftly as possible. They’ll take anything: oil shale, a very destructive and inefficient source of energy, and yes, they’ll take gas too.

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Dye Solar Cell “3G Solar” Moves On-Grid

Cities

Matt Khoury

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August 23, 2010

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3G Solar moves on-grid, where the market is more lucrative than off-grid, developing countries

The Israeli solar power firm 3G Solar will move on grid as part of a new ownership strategy, according to PlasticEletronics.com. What sets 3G Solar apart from most other photovoltaic solar companies is its unique technology based on the Dye Solar cell, invented in 1988 by Professor Michael Graetzel of Lausanne Polytechnique in Switzerland. Today Professor Graetzel is active in 3G solar, whose so called “Graetzel” cells are based on a layer of nano-sized titanium dioxide particles impregnated with dye.

Artificial photosynthesis

DSC technology can best be described as ‘artificial photosynthesis’ using an electrolyte, a layer of titania (a pigment used in white paint) and ruthenium dye sandwiched between two substrates, at least one of which is transparent.

Light striking the dye excites electrons, which are absorbed by the titania to become electric current. When the dye absorbs a photon, the resultant excitation injects electrons into the titanium oxide, which transports them to the negative electrode. They also claim that one of the advantages of dye solar cell is that it will offer low cost solar power with little capital imput or technical expertise by the manufacturer.

Wax off, wax on

3G Solar CEO Barry Breen added that the change of path for the company that previously focused on off-grid power production in the developing world towards an on-grid market occurred in combination with forthcoming new technological developments; the new owners aim to develop in the framework of a new three year R&D project that will boost efficiency and market share

The three year R&D period will serve as an indicator of how far away the DSC technology is from large scale commercial use. So far one of the few products that have reached the market is a backpack by the Welsh company G24 Innovation that lets is carrier load electrical batteries using a dye solar cell patch on the back of the backpack.

Low efficiency

One of the main problems with the dye solar cell technology is that it achieves only around 7% efficiency in their cells, which is lower than standard photovoltaic technology. On the other hand, it does not use silicone making it cheaper to produce and buy, hence the previous target of off-grid communities in the developing world.

Previous investors in 3G Solar include the Quercus Trust, US based 21Ventures (we’ve featured here) and the Israeli Chief Scientists Office.

Photo via 3G Solar and story via PlasticEletronics.com

More on solar technology:
Dye-ing To Power Solar Cells in Africa
Israeli Solar Company 3GSolar to Go Public in Canada
Quick Guide to Israeli Solar Energy Companies

Junktion’s upcycling sale for the holidays

Design

Karen Chernick

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August 23, 2010

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Junktion’s upcycling sale for the holidays

A Clearance sale and the approaching High Holidays provide good excuses to check out Junktion Studio’s upcycled, recycled, unique designs.

The Jewish High Holidays are coming up in just a couple of weeks, and for some of us this is a traditional time to exchange gifts. In Israel these gifts often come in the form of useful things for around the home, but how many hand towels or soap dishes or trivets does one really need?

How about mixing up your Rosh Hashanah gift giving this year? If you must give a material gift, how about a funky, upcycled design one? Thankfully, Junktion Studio in Tel Aviv is having a clearance sale just in time.

In case you’re not familiar with Junktion and its work, it is one of a handful of design studios in Tel Aviv that works with upcycled materials (or, less poetically, with “junk”). Founded just two years ago, Junktion has already made a name for itself.

As the Junktion designers say, they like to “give a second chance to what the city has already classified as junk. Junktion people take everyday objects out of context, sometimes attaching them to others, unrelated, and at other times just turn them upside down on the table, take a step back and say: hmmmm… Junktion people love seeing objects in new ways, stuff that makes us think, stuff that makes us act, stuff that makes us laugh.”

Officially, Junktion is holding a 20 to 50% off sale in order to clear house before moving to a different studio, but we think their sale couldn’t come at a better time.

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