Thieves divert public water in Jordan for greenhouses and swimming pools. With the Middle East facing a severe water shortage, government efforts to desalinate sea water, regulate usage and prevent waste are being undermined by a growing problem: theft. Thieves have gotten creative about diverting water from public pipes for private or business purposes, bypassing […]
Afghanistan’s desolate Ghazni Province may hold the world’s largest deposits of lithium. (Image: Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) Just days after the Afghan War became the longest war in US history – 104 months, surpassing the 103-month American engagement in Vietnam – the New York Times, quoting top US government officials, reported the discovery of […]
Air conditioning powered by the sun, which bypasses the electricity grid? Perfect for the Middle East. It’s perfectly logical: When the thermostat rises on scorching hot days, the air conditioners kick in, causing a massive electricity surge that strains the grid. Summer blackouts and brownouts are already occurring in the US and in the Middle […]
Other areas for business development, partnership and expertise? Processing forest product waste (which comes from the pulp and paper industry) –– in bio-diesel, Finland’s Neste has built the biggest renewable energy plant in Singapore for certified palm oil. And st1, another company, can efficiently create bio-ethanol from the food industry with end products going to farms as feedstock.
With an abundant Nile flowing through it, people in Cairo wonder about industrial pollution dumping affecting their health, and future. A common question asked by visitors to Cairo is “can I drink the tap water?” Many Cairenes have no problems with drinking the water. The Nile River is Cairo’s main source of water and begins […]
A living conservation laboratory (above): a new partnership with Rome will boost Acre’s efforts to protect its ancient history, making it more sustainable architecturally and for its residents and visitors. Declared a World Heritage site by the United Nations (UNESCO), for more than 20 years the Israeli city of Acre (pronounced “Akko” by the locals) […]
With a burgeoning population and no natural resources to provide energy, Palestine has found a hero in MENA Geothermal. In a world where natural gas is diminishing and oil spills spoil our oceans, we would think there is no better means to generate energy. Because if there were, surely we, intelligent beings that we are, […]
[youtube width=”560″ height=”400″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43mUeMB_Go&feature=player_embedded[/youtube] The Bedouin village of Um Bateen, just outside Beersheba in southern Israel, has no paved roads – which makes it the perfect place for a new mountain bike club. Now the Bikes4All project sponsored by the Israel Cycling Federation and funded by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, has distributed free […]
If Lebanese sewage dumping can be seen from the air, it is centainly seen, and smelled on ground level. Rampant corruption and nepotism among Lebanese government officials is causing a delay in improving the country’s environment, according to the Lebanon Daily Star. The remarks were made by the country’s environment minister, Mohammad Rahhal during a […]
Finally, the recipe for sourdough bread! We’ve broken it up in parts, because it’s complicated, but today we’ll put it all together so it’ll makes sense if you’ve been following the parts. Last week we started with making a sourdough starter, and dedicated a whole post on how to care for and feed your sourdough […]
Abu Dhabi City Municipality teaches its employees how to reduce consumption on Paper-Less Day. [image via: hunflickr] Generally known worldwide as bureaucratic, red tape repositories for paper forms, municipalities do not have the most eco-friendly reputation when it comes to paper consumption. (In fact, some environmentalists may claim that all those paper forms are wasteful […]
Anti British Rhetoric Placing the two Nations on a Collision Course As the White House starts crunching the numbers behind the costs of BP’s Gulf of Mexico debacle, the projected costs – and future debt of BP – begins to become clearer, placing Washington and London on a collision course. In the US, the spill […]
The Honey Council, Hive Thievery and Bee Ecology education in Arabic: In Israel and Lebanon, honey is both a problem and a solution. Image via orinrobertjohn Archeologists have uncovered beehives in northern Israel that date back 3 000 years. A courtyard in the ancient city of Rehov was home to bees producing honey in at least […]
There is life after plastic. Ban the bags, and save the camels
In 2008, the Israeli government announced a 20 million shekel (around $6 million US) plan to revamp cycling tourism. Upping the ante, the government wants to put about $30 million into making Israel a cycling destination hotspot. Cycling tourism is worth billions of dollars in Europe, where lodges and facilities are set up for the […]