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Drip Irrigation Gives Hope to Drought Plagued Farmers in Syria

Green Prophet
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Drip Irrigation Gives Hope to Drought Plagued Farmers in Syria

colorful damascus farm vegetables syria photoMicrofinance loans help Syrian farmers meet their water needs to grow crops like this tasty spread at a market in Damascus.

While severe drought in eastern and northeastern Syria is seriously affecting lives and livelihoods, farmers may draw some hope and comfort from an irrigation success story in the central district of Salamieh. An experimental drip irrigation project run by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (RSP) in the village of Fraytan (17 farmers) in 2003, has spread to 52 villages today.

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Rebranding Yemen With $1 Billion Tourism Campaign. Will It Be Eco?

adam gonn - the media line
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Rebranding Yemen With $1 Billion Tourism Campaign. Will It Be Eco?

yemen men traditional smokingDiversifying away from oil Yemen plans to build six beach resorts over the next five years to draw tourists. How much will be sustainable?

The Yemen Tourism and Promotion Board announced the plan on Thursday to boost the country’s tourism industry. Each of the planned six facilities along the Yemeni coast is valued at $150 – $250 million. In addition, 44 small-to-medium-sized projects across the country’s mountainous interior will be built, ranging from three-star hotels to mud and stone huts.“I’m inviting potential investors to invest in the Yemen tourism sector as we have six major projects in the pipeline approved by the government,” said Omar Babelgheith, Yemen’s deputy minister of tourism development.

The projects “will change the image of Yemen tourism,” he said. The total amount of all the projects is estimated at $1bn said Babelgheith, “which will contribute to support Yemen as one of the main destinations of the world.”

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Baptizing In Jordan's Holy Sewage, The Tour and the Report

Karin Kloosterman
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Baptizing In Jordan's Holy Sewage, The Tour and the Report

kaser el yehud jesus baptism siteThe Jordan River’s source is a sewage pipe, and it ends in a whimper. Predicted to run dry by 2011, Karin goes on a media tour with FoEME to see firsthand the damage done. Here a Russian tourist dips into Kaser El Yehud, believed to be Jesus’ baptismal site on the Jordan.

The bus full of foreign journalists (including Green Prophet’s Maurice) wobbles down a barely graded side-road flanked by an untamed overgrowth of weeds and reeds. “I am going to show you something they don’t want you to see,” says Gidon Bromberg, water activist and director of the Israeli chapter of Friends of the Earth Middle East.

Bromberg has made it his life mission to protect Israel’s precious and limited water supply, the same waters shared by his neighbors and partners in Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority. There is a water crisis in the region; some like Bromberg cite mismanagement as one of the major reasons. Noses are held on approach as the bus reaches the site that some in Israel’s government would rather hide — not for religious or political reasons, but environmental ones.

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Geotectura's Visual Feast, Out of the Box

Tafline Laylin
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Geotectura's Visual Feast, Out of the Box

geotectura-univercell“The Sufi Order International (SOI) community desired to build an interspiritual temple called the ‘Universel’ at the Abode of the Message located in the Berkshire Mountains near New Lebanon, New York,” taken from Geotectura’s online literature.

Although we previously covered their  Greenest Building in Israel, which is currently in the process of acquiring LEED certification, as a special to Green Prophet readers, we would like to present a phantasmagorical selection of Israel-based Geotectura’s architectural designs.

For these various designs,  Dr. Yossi Cory and his team have received approximately twenty design awards, the most recent of which is the 3rd prize in Israel’s Project of the Year Award this year, as well as numerous media mentions. They are driven by a philosophy of social responsibility and energy efficiency, like the Swiss 2000 Watt Society, and unimpeded thinking.  On one wall of their Tel Aviv office, they have a giant painting of Salvador Dali, the eccentric painter of Melting Clocks and other time-bending art.  Geotectura designs might not shift time, but they certainly shift imaginations.

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Egyptian Native Antoine Bittar Shares Solar Expertise in 'Sun City'

Ira Moskowitz
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Egyptian Native Antoine Bittar Shares Solar Expertise in 'Sun City'

Antoine Bittar at MENASOL 2010Dr. Antoine Bittar, one of the solar experts who spoke at MENASOL. (Photo by author.)

While the previous MENASOL speaker profiled here (Nasser Majali) is a relative newcomer to the field of solar energy, Dr. Antoine Bittar, the Engineering Director for Solar Power at RES Mediterranean, is a leading expert in this field.

For the soft-spoken scientist, the conference in Cairo was a homecoming of sorts: Though now based in France, he was born in the neighborhood where the conference took place. Fittingly, he notes, the neighborhood is called Heliopolis – “sun city.”

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Tigo and AGA Deal Means Solar Energy for Residents of High-rises

Russel Cohen
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Tigo and AGA Deal Means Solar Energy for Residents of High-rises

tigo energy solar energy photoTigo offers a tech and IT solution to squeeze more energy from the sun, which may be going vertical in high-rises through US partner.

Solar energy has traditionally been a land or “area-intensive” form of alternative energy. Solar energy generation required massive, land-hungry solar power farms in order to compete with conventional equivalents, or large areas of roof space to accommodate photovoltaic panels that were not known for their efficiency at converting sunlight.

This requirement for extensive areas of roof space left the inhabitants of high-rise apartment building out in the cold, so to speak.

A joint venture between Israeli start-up Tigo Energy Ltd and US-based Architectural Glass & Aluminum Company Inc. (AGA) will eventually offer apartment dwellers the opportunity to reduce their green footprint by making solar energy technology more widely available for this difficult environment.

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EDAMA Works to Forge Partnerships for Green Projects in Jordan

Ira Moskowitz
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EDAMA Works to Forge Partnerships for Green Projects in Jordan

Nasser MajaliThe CEO of Jordan’s EDAMA organization, Nasser Majali. (Photo by author)

Nasser Majali, the CEO of Amman-based EDAMA – an NGO working to promote energy, water and environment projects in Jordan – was not listed as one of the scheduled speakers at the MENASOL solar energy conference in Cairo this week. However, given just a few minutes of advance notice, he gave a smooth presentation about his organization’s mission.

Majali is a serial entrepreneur with no particular expertise in the fields of energy, water or  the environment. Instead, his green passion developed during nature outings as an amateur photographer: He became alarmed by the piles of litter and other environmental damage he witnessed.

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The Best of Buckminster Fuller 2010 Finalists

Tafline Laylin
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The Best of Buckminster Fuller 2010 Finalists

Image credit: © 2009 Farshid Assassi, Courtesy of BNIM Architects.

The International Living Building Institute Offers an Earthier, more Holistic Building Standard.  The Omega Center for Sustainable Living (above) and the SF EcoCenter (below) are Potential Candidates for Certification.

Twenty-three years ago, when then Chair of the United Nation’s World Commission on Environment and Development first rejuvenated the term “sustainable development” in the Brundtland Report, surely she didn’t envision Dubai’s towering Burj Khalifa? By definition, buildings that are sustainable conserve an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.  Big Burj is looking decidedly unsustainable.

Something like Jerusalem’s living building, however, comes closer.  Much closer, and demonstrates that despite the mainstream consumer mentality, people worldwide are deeply concerned about environmental degradation.  News of inventive, ecologically based solutions flood the cyber waves.  And each year, the Buckminster Fuller Challenge awards $100,000 to the best of them.

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Tel Aviv’s Annual Architectural Weekend Celebrates Urban Green Spaces

Karen Chernick
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Tel Aviv’s Annual Architectural Weekend Celebrates Urban Green Spaces

Tel Aviv highlights green buildings, spaces, construction techniques, and gardens during its annual “Houses from Within” weekend. [image via: Ykravitz]

One spring weekend every year, for the past few years, Tel Aviv celebrates its architecture and invites the public to learn about the special structures that get to call the city their home.  These structures usually include architecturally significant public buildings, but also encompass architectural spaces that are generally closed to the public such as urban villas, interior designers’ lofts and open studios that open their doors and welcome the curious masses to view Houses from Within.  For the past couple of years the event has made a greater effort to highlight environmentally friendly and/or sustainable urban spaces, and this year there are more green events than ever before.

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Fishing for Peace in Gaza at TEDx

Green Prophet
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Fishing for Peace in Gaza at TEDx

fish farms gaza nets peace students photoStudents 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 can barely eke out a living. But a new on-land aquaculture project proposed by five Tel Aviv University graduate students could change that reality and develop a thriving industrial park in the heart of Gaza. The team proposes a “Nets of Peace” project to launch the industrial park, designed both to provide a healthy protein supply for Palestinians living in Gaza and to connect the region to foreign business investment and trade.

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Chinese Solar Suntech In $35 Million PV Panel Deal to SBY in Israel

Maurice Picow
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Chinese Solar Suntech In $35 Million PV Panel Deal to SBY in Israel

sby china solar energyRooftop 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 Holdings Company Ltd. It’s the same Chinese company that supplies solar PV panels to the San Francisco airport (links to PDF).

The photovoltaic (PV) solar panels will be able to provide as much as 18 megawatts of electricity in both Israel and Italy, where they will be installed, according to an article published in Globes. Suntech is the largest solar energy component company in China and is one of the largest in the world. SBY will use the panels for solar energy plants it will be constructing in both Israel and Italy. 

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Cautious Optimism at MENASOL Solar Energy Conference in Cairo

Ira Moskowitz
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Cautious Optimism at MENASOL Solar Energy Conference in Cairo

MENASOL 2010Some 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 is about double the number of participants who attended the initial MENASOL conference, held last year in Abu Dhabi, conference director Heidi Hafes explained.

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Louise Reviews Eco-Tourism Book 'The Final Call' With A Questioning Eye

James Murray-White
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Louise Reviews Eco-Tourism Book 'The Final Call' With A Questioning Eye

leo hickman guardian blog final callWorried 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 reviewing it.

In The Final Call, Leo Hickman takes the reader on a journey to the most popular tourist destinations in the world and uncovers the facts about the impact of tourism: exploitation of citizens in developing countries; destruction of natural resources and ecological systems; imbalances of power and control.

The book is well researched and includes reference to reports, documents, policies and initiatives from all the major players in the industry, whether they are governments, environmental and campaigning organisations, tour operators, or travel guide writers.

He balances facts and figures with personal observations and behind-the-scene interviews with bartenders, prostitutes, cruise captains, local people, industry leaders and public officials. Exploring the rights and responsibilities of all concerned, he highlights the socio-economic factors at play in countries aspiring to develop and gain wealth; the increasing uptake of opportunities for tourists; and globalization.

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Unholy Waters: The Jordan River is Nearly Dead, Maurice Reports

Maurice Picow
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Unholy Waters: The Jordan River is Nearly Dead, Maurice Reports

jordan river sewage pipe photoUp 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 Earth Middle East (FoEME), a cross-border environmental NGO. The tour, which took place on Sunday this week was led by Gidon Bromberg, the organization’s Israel Director. He took us to see several locations of what is known as the lower part of the Jordan River, that runs from the southern end of Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) more than 105 kilometers until reaching the Dead Sea. Estimates are that the Jordan River will stop running by 2011 if action isn’t taken today.

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Eco-Activist Yeshiva Offers Summer Session That Brings Torah Down to Earth

Karen Chernick
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Eco-Activist Yeshiva Offers Summer Session That Brings Torah Down to Earth

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 sharing their approach with those unable to stay in Israel for extended periods of time with their 2010 summer session that explores ecology and Judaism all over Israel.

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