Students in Tel Aviv propose business “net” – work for peace. Left to right: David Welch, Ohad Kot, Danielle Angel, David McGeady and Osher Perry from Nets of Peace. As one of the largest seafood producers in the Middle East, Israel’s innovative fish-farming industry is booming. Just a few miles downshore in Gaza, though, fishermen […]
Rooftop solar panels like these are SBY’s most popular product and will power up Israel and Italy. In one of the largest deals ever for Israel’s local solar energy market, SBY Solutions Ltd an Israeli based solar energy company, plans to purchase more than $35 million worth of solar panels from the Chinese Suntech Power […]
Some 250 people participated in the MENASOL conference in Cairo this week. Courtesy image. The 2nd annual MENASOL solar energy conference on the development and finance of utility-scale solar projects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) opened Tuesday in Cairo. Approximately 250 people from around the world gathered for the two-day conference. This […]
Worried about the impact of the tourism industry on the world’s resources? Want to know whether tourism sustains or destroys local communities and ecology in the developing world? Then this is the book for you. ‘The Final Call’ is a thoroughly good read and I had to remember that I was actually meant to be […]
Up close and personal. Karin gets a “sniff” of sewage pipe pouring into the Jordan River. This folks, is the source of the lower Jordan River. Green Prophet’s Karin and I received a real lesson in reality about the health of the Jordan River, at the Jordan River Media Tour sponsored by the Friends of the […]
Eco-Activist Beit Midrash offers an alternative (and ecological) alternative to the traditional yeshiva experience. [image via: shorashimroots] The Eco-Activist Beit Midrash (EABM) based in Jerusalem has been devoted to a Jewish approach to environmentalism for a long time. In their own words, they are trying to “bring Torah down to earth.” And now they are […]
Slow Food people and chefs like Moshe Basson know that eating slow can reduce stress. New study shows how stress affects health, diet and fat reserves. Image via macbeck Few people would say that they lead stress-free lives. It starts with the pressure to fit in at school, then you need to wear the right […]
From garbage dump to municipal park. The impressions of Alexandria I shared in a recent post were largely negative, so here I’ll present a happier picture: a green oasis in Cairo built upon a former garbage dump. The photos are mine; the background information comes mainly from touregypt.net.
Jordanian teens work to learn more about Jordan River conservation efforts and practices. Friends of the Earth Middle East (known as foy-me for its acronym FoEME) have accomplished to develop an unprecedented study of the quality of water in the Jordan River, which they hope will lead to its rehabilitation. Highly polluted from a variety […]
Tractors carving up the face of a hill in preparation for the new town. (Photo credit: Green Prophet) About a half hour’s drive north of Ramallah, construction has begun on the first planned Palestinian city. Surrounded by sleepy hilltop villages and terraced olive orchards, Rawabi, which means “hills” Arabic, is being marketed as a green and […]
Green Prophet looks to ancient Iran for some current alternative ideas to electricity-powered air con. Catch the wind with the bagdir wind tower! The concept of “green building” has taken off in the Middle East over the last few years. The need for ecologically efficient housing and offices is becoming more urgent as the cost […]
Israel-based design team creates an LED lamp packed with Lycopene and powered completely by tomatoes. Yum. When it comes to energy-saving and eco-friendly design, we’ve seen some pretty nutso stuff already on Green Prophet. We’ve salivated over Hasadna’s ice cream spoon chandeliers, envied Merav Feiglin’s TrashLights, been impressed by Studio Mesila’s upcycled wood laminate lamps, […]
Israel’s Air Force, Shari Arison, Asia and more made headlines related to Israeli cleantech this past week. Image by Jesse Fox During the week of April 25, 2010, ten reasons were given for Israel’s leadership in cleantech. Shari Arison was named one of the world’s greenest billionaires by Forbes and, in a somewhat similar move […]
Despite its claim to promote sustainable urban development practices, the world’s largest, disposable Expo invites irony and criticism. The first ever world fair took place in 1851 at Prince Albert’s behest. That fair was initiated to display participating nations’ industrial prowess. The tradition continues with ever-increasing largesse, culminating in this year’s World Expo that officially […]
Despite its impressive shoreline, Alexandria – the self-proclaimed “Capital of Arab Tourism” – seems to be a city in decline. (Hint: watch out pedestrians). When the Green Prophet’s editor heard I’d be stopping in Alexandria en route to the MENASOL solar energy conference in Cairo next week, she asked (implored) me to write a post from […]