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Should Al Gore Profit From Global Warming? Should Any of Us?

Maurice Picow
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35
Should Al Gore Profit From Global Warming? Should Any of Us?

img20081311232hi[1] Al Gore receives award for his anti global warming efforts

Al Gore, who barely lost (or won) the US Presidential election in November 2000, and vowed never to return to US political life, appears to have come out a winner for not doing so. The former Vice President for 8 years under the Clinton Administration decided to devote his time afterwards to teaching as well as making the world aware of the dangers of global warming, a warning that has been noted several times on Green Prophet, including a more recent article tying global warming and climate change with what is happening in the Middle East.

Gore’s efforts to make the inhabitants of our planet more aware of what fossil fuels and other man-made polluters are causing must have rubbed off on some people, as it has resulted in Gore being honored and awarded a number of acclaims and prizes, including an Academy Award in February, 2007, from the Hollywood film industry for his documentary film: An Inconvenient Truth, that paints a sobering a graphic picture of what is happening to this planet thanks to its human inhabitants. 

This honor was followed a few months later with Gore and the UN sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , jointly winning the 2007  Nobel Peace Prize. Gore was also honored in Israel less than a year later, in July 2008, with an award from the Dan David Foundation  for alerting the world to the dangers of overuse of fossil fuels.

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Environmental Impact of a Syrian Drought

The Media Line
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7
Environmental Impact of a Syrian Drought

syria drought water beehive villlage photoSyria faces a severe drought. A shift in weather patterns, or just a dry season?

A severe water shortage in Syria is forcing farmers to look for alternative means of livelihood but the drought’s impact doesn’t end with the crops.

Around a quarter of a million Syrian farmers have been forced to abandon their land over the last two years following three years of drought and failed crops. It’s one of the worst water crises in recent years with residents in Damascus and other major cities putting up with periodical water cuts during off-peak hours.

The crisis is not only the result of several years of below average rainfall but also the rising needs of a growing population, in a country with more than 20 million people and an estimated growth rate of 2.1%.

Syria’s main sources of water are the Euphrates River, the Tigris River, the Orontes River and ground water. Syria’s economy relies heavily on agricultural export, a strategy which is being called into question by experts.

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The joy of the Arab squat toilet in Sinai

Karin Kloosterman
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19
The joy of the Arab squat toilet in Sinai

squat-toilet-sinai-photoThe eastern squat toilet is the world’s perfect eco-toilet. Come and look inside.

Some people think they’re primitive, but I love them. The hole-in-the-floor Middle East squat toilets can be found in Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Egypt –– and likely in other Middle East countries I’ve yet to visit. They’re used in Thailand, and China too. I’ve used them in Syria, last time I was there.

Not common in Israel where the standard flush toilet is in use, I recently re-encountered the Middle East toilet in Sinai, Egypt, when staying at a bare bones sort of desert retreat run by Bedouin. (We stayed in huts with no electricity, no running water. No TV, no iPods…)

Contrary to what spoiled westerners might believe, squat toilets are extremely clean, are the answer to the toilet-paper-saving bidet, and in the natural squat position, our bodies are best aligned to the right position when we relieve ourselves. In short, they are environmentally-friendly.

squat-toilet-sinai-1

Over in Israel, water-saving buttons on western toilets mean that about half the water is flushed down the drain than what’s used in the US; but when you use a squat toilet (I’ve seen them in peoples’ homes in Syria, not just in public locations), much water is spared from going down the drain.

And you never use toilet paper. You just turn on the spigot to help you wash your private parts, and make sure the area is clean for the next person.

aquat-toilet-sinai-egypt-photoThe toilet looks discolored or unclean. What you see is mainly sand and soil residue brought from the outside in.

What’s essential, after the fact, is making sure you clean your hands well with soap and water in a sink; you’ll find that at rest facilities you’ll be handed paper after you leave the lavatory. That’s for drying them.

squat-toilet-middle-east-photoThe view from the toilets looking out to the Red Sea and Saudi Arabia.

At this particular place we were in at Sinai (Kum Kum 3), water runoff from the sinks and showers went to watering plants outside the bathroom areas. A great idea for recycling water at one of the driest places on Earth.

hoosha-hut-sinaiOur bare bones, low-impact desert hut. No running water. No electricity. No air con with nights so hot you feel like you are in a tumble dryer.

To get yourself ready for the squat toilet experience, see a tutorial on YouTube which also suggest ways to strengthen your thighs for maneuvering:

More on green toilet talk:
Your Toilet May Be Overflowing
Green Prophets Start At Home… In The Bathroom
Jordanian Water Campaign Going To The Home

All photos: Karin Kloosterman. Free to use with link and credit back to Green Prophet.

New Research Ship To Paint The Red Sea Green

Karin Kloosterman
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9
New Research Ship To Paint The Red Sea Green

red-sea-ships-marine-photoMarine research on the Red Sea will be more serious, thanks to new ship.

With pirates, environmental pollution, increasing water traffic and a collapse of coral reefs, a new research ship with its course set for the Red Sea port of Eilat is good news for us to hear. According to Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the university dedicated a new $1.3 million research ship at the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat.

Purchase and outfitting of the new ship was financed by Israel’s Council for Higher Education, the Israel Ministry of Science and Technology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Weizmann Institute of Science and private donors.

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Lebanese High Society Bike Down Green Carpet to Watch "The Age of Stupid"

Karen Chernick
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6
Lebanese High Society Bike Down Green Carpet to Watch "The Age of Stupid"

age-studid-lebanon-bike-premiere-photoNo red carpets for us environment-lovers, stupid!

The typical Hollywood movie premiere is a scenario that we’re all pretty familiar with: celebrities pull up to the red carpet in large, gas-guzzling cars (what would happen if Brad Pitt and George Clooney carpooled in a Smart Car for a change?), pose for the photographers, and then proceed to watch their film.  And the film is usually an action movie with high speed car chase scenes, or a gushy romance, or a goofy comedy.

A couple of weeks ago, the League of Independent Activists (IndyACT) and its partners – the Green Party of Lebanon, the British Embassy in Lebanon, and the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce – challenged this typical movie premiere movie event with a “Green Carpet” premiere screening for the environmental film, “The Age of Stupid.”

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Turkey Unsure to Look East or West for Renewable Energy Development

Maurice Picow
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16
Turkey Unsure to Look East or West for Renewable Energy Development

A wind farm in TurkeyA wind farm in Turkey. Should Turkey look east to oil-rich countries, or west to renewables?

Turkey seems to be becoming more interested in renewable energy these days, especially in the areas of solar, geothermal like that of Ormat, and wind energy.

But the future of this country, which straddles the link between east and west, appears to be centered around a proposed amendment to a renewable energy law (links to PDF) , which although passed back in May, 2005, has yet to really become the norm in  a land that is trying to decide whether to align itself with the west, resulting in eventual EU membership, or renew its ties with the Islamic World. Recent measures to dissociate itself with its ally Israel in recent weeks illuminate this dilemma.

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The 2010 Eilat Eilot Renewable Energy Conference Looks To Carbon-Free Energy

Maurice Picow
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19
The 2010 Eilat Eilot Renewable Energy Conference Looks To Carbon-Free Energy

Artist concept of the Timna Renewable Evergy ParkArtistic rendition of the Timna Renewable energy park In Eilat

During a speech at the recent 2009 Israel Presidents Conference, Prime Minister Netanyahu remarked that Israel is embarking on programs to enable it to be almost entirely reliant on alternative energy systems by the year 2020. This plan, which  many  people see as more of a visionary dream (because Israel won’t even be able to curb its greenhouse gases by 2030), may be much closer to becoming reality following the upcoming Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Conference, scheduled to take place in Israel’s southernmost city on February 16-18, 2010.

In fact, the very theme of the upcoming conference, sponsored by the Eilat Eilot Renewable Energy Authority, may make it one of the most important of its kind as it will also include the inauguration of a special 200 MW Timna Renewable Energy Park, a center for the development of renewable energy projects.

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The World's Poorest Protest Saudi Arabia's Obstructionist Role in Climate Change Negotiations

Stacy Feldman
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5
The World's Poorest Protest Saudi Arabia's Obstructionist Role in Climate Change Negotiations

protest-saudi-arabia-climate-change-talks-photoNon-profit groups from 18 developing countries called on Saudi Arabia to “stop playing an obstructionist role” in the current climate change negotiations in Barcelona, claiming the oil kingdom’s delaying tactics will hurt the world’s poor.

“Developing countries need all the support they can get,” said Wael Hmaidan of IndyACT Lebanon and founder of the Arab Climate Alliance in a statement issued Wednesday. “It is unfortunate to have a country among their ranks that is weakening their positions.”

Saudi Arabia considers a climate change deal in Copenhagen “a threat to its oil trade,” the groups said. They claim that to disrupt negotiations, the delegation has tried to remove language that would support vulnerable countries, among other tactics.

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Are Israeli Emission Controls Hopeless?

Daniella Cheslow
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3
Are Israeli Emission Controls Hopeless?

gilad-erdan minister environment israelWithout any change in policy, Israel may be heading to double its current emissions by 2030. According to the Jerusalem Post, a study commissioned by Israel’s Minister of the Environment Gilad Erdan (left) and executed by the McKinsey consulting firm found that Israel’s problem is high population growth coupled with rising standards of living.

The Post reports that Israeli emissions, at 10.2 tons per person per year, are more than Western Europe’s but half of the United States’.  The lion’s share of those emissions come from electricity production. The coal power plant in Ashkelon – which we wrote about here (Israel’s Minister of the Environment Says to Shut Down Coal Plant) – will undoubtedly add to that figure.

But there is some hope, McKinsey says. If Israel ramps up solar, wind and natural gas power, implements the electric car, retrofits homes to be energy efficient, and generates power from garbage, then the amount of emissions forecasted for 2030 could drop by as much as 70 percent. That figure would slide even lower if Israelis become vegetarian and cut back on air conditioning and heating.

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Can Israel's Prime Minister's Alternative Energy Agenda Help the Middle East?

Maurice Picow
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7
Can Israel's Prime Minister's Alternative Energy Agenda Help the Middle East?

An Israeli solar energy plant
BrightSource solar energy company could be part of the alternative energy solution.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be interested in leading his country away from its current dependence on imported oil and into various forms of alternative energy. But he wants his vision to go far beyond the borders of the tiny State of Israel and for it to be a goal for other nations to strive for as well.

In a recent address at the 2009 Israeli Presidential Conference that occurred October 20-22 in Jerusalem, the Prime Minister spoke about a national project for “developing an alternative to oil within 10 years”.

Although he didn’t present a concrete plan for reaching this accomplishment, he compared this idea with other accomplishments his country has achieved in the technological and medical fields and added that the citizens of his country have two great resources: “minds and hearts” as well as the “desire and ability” to wean Israel away from an energy source that continues to feed the coffers of countries who actively sponsor terrorism; saying that  “dependence on fossil fuels strengthens the dark regimes that encourage instability and fund terror with their petrodollars”.

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Looking at the US and China As Stacy Reports From Barcelona Climate Change Talks

Stacy Feldman
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6
Looking at the US and China As Stacy Reports From Barcelona Climate Change Talks

stacy-feldman-solve-climate-blogger-green-prophetClimate change activists are pooling their resources as we speak in Barcelona at the Barcelona Climate Change Talks. This is an antecedent to the big United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen in December where countries are expected to draft real solutions to stopping the over-production of greenhouse gases. Part-time Green Prophet Stacy Feldman reports from Barcelona:

It’s crunch time on global climate change.

This week, delegates from 192 nations are meeting in Barcelona, Spain, for the final five days of global negotiations leading up to the make-or-break UN Climate Change Conference from Dec. 7-18 in Copenhagen.

For two years of these climate treaty negotiations, oil-producing Middle Eastern economies have gotten flack for fighting to protect the oil trade and not the planet. At the Bangkok climate talks in October, the Saudi delegation led a quiet campaign to get compensation from nations that cut oil consumption due to coming carbon regulation, a position it first took back in 2000.

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Solar Energy and 9 Israel-related Cleantech Headlines, Week of October 25, 2009

Lisa Damast
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13
Solar Energy and 9 Israel-related Cleantech Headlines, Week of October 25, 2009

solel-solar-energy-tech-photo

During the week of October 25, 2009, SolarEdge announced it raised $23 million in funding from General Electric (GE) and other investors. The deal was identified by BusinessWeek as one of the signs that Israel can become a leader in renewable energy. Sunday Energy and Ormat are collaborating on a solar energy project in Israel and scientists at the Technion have developed a green battery that can last for thousands of hours. For these stories and the rest of this week’s 9 headlines, check below.

Solar

7 Solar Innovators From Israel That Could Fuel Our Planet

Israeli Solar Gets Its Moment in the Sun

SolarEdge Plans Holistic Approach to Solar Energy Efficiency

General

Eilat-Eilot region seeks to become center for renewable energy

Israelis at the forefront of the green industry

Economy

‘Going Green’ would boost economy – environment minister

Partnerships and Deals

Yissum, BrightSource sign research agreements

Sunday Energy and Ormat in $195M deal

Battery

Green battery runs non-stop for years

AECOM Teams Up with Ellerbe Beckett to Create More Sustainable Building In The Middle East

Maurice Picow
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4
AECOM Teams Up with Ellerbe Beckett to Create More Sustainable Building In The Middle East

aecom green building midde east
AECOM,  a known global provider of technical and management support services, including many environmental projects, has now teamed up with the Ellerbe Beckett architectural firm, known for its environmentally designed building projects all over the world.

AECOM is a Fortune 500 country with more than 44,000 employees. It is in involved in more than 100 countries and had revenues of more than $6.1 billion as of end July, 2009. Current AECOM residential projects are located in the Caribbean, Hong Kong (3 projects), the US State of Texas, and in Australia. Hopefully the new partnership will impact all the Middle East waste.

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The Middle East Is Drowning In Waste

The Media Line
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14
The Middle East Is Drowning In Waste

garbage-middle-eastThe waste produced by Arab cities is among the highest in the world.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates – “The short version of the story is that we’re not doing a very good job of managing waste,” says John Roosen, Technical Director of AECOM Environment Middle East. “Nowhere in the world does. We are going to drown in waste.”　

Roosen’s words hardly overstate the scale of the problem faced by the engineers, scientists and government officials gathered this month at the first annual IQPC City Waste forum in Dubai.

According to a recent report by the Arab Foundation for Environment and Development (AFED), the Arab world produces approximately 250,000 tons of solid waste every day, most of it dumped untreated in makeshift landfills, if it is collected at all.　

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Queengil Provides Sensible Drip Irrigation Tape Drop by Drop

Maurice Picow
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8
Queengil Provides Sensible Drip Irrigation Tape Drop by Drop

queengil drip irrigation israelIt is finally raining in Israel and other parts of the Middle East; but the region’s acute water shortage is far from being over. An Israeli company Queengil, is trying to help alleviate the problem of providing maximum crop irrigation with available water resources, refining the technology of “drip” irrigation which has already been doing so for over 50 years. Its in the same business market at other Israeli drip irrigation companies like Plastro and Netafim.

Since its inception in 1987, the water conservation products made by Queengil have been very useful for farmers in arid areas to provide water for growing a variety of crops, including grains, fruits and vegetables, and a variety of flowers and other plants.

Also known as micro-irrigation and trickle irrigation,  the idea of letting water seep slowly into the ground to irrigate crops has been in existence since ancient times, when clay piping and pots with small holes in them were buried in the ground to let water seep from them slowly to dampen the soil.

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