Going green has gone decidedly mainstream now. Governments are encouraging green buildings with tax incentives while buyers are willing to pay a premium for your property if you’ve invested in green technology. If you’re looking to sell your house quickly and lucratively, there’s no better way than going green. But most of the advice on […]
Urban farming, whether found in large urban cities like Chicago, or in a Palestinian refugee camp near Bethlehem, is rapidly becoming a worldwide movement. All it really takes is a small, available plot of ground, an accessible rooftop on a warehouse or other urban building; or even a large balcony in a private home for growing a […]
Car accidents are a number one cause of death in the Middle East. Forget conflicts, more people are dying from dangerous driving. Car accidents, as any police officer, medical personal, or car accident lawyers can tell you, are among the most common and most devastating parts of our culture. Even in New York where public […]
In 2014, Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde created a bike path that glows at night thanks to absorbed solar energy. Now manufacturers are tackling larger roads, building energy-producing highways that can generate solar energy and send it directly to existing power grids. French infrastructure company Colas, a subsidiary of Bouygues SA, has developed “Wattway”, a photovoltaic (PV) road […]
Many Green Prophet readers already turn to alternatives when gifting, choosing to give for a loved one to causes with resonant meaning, or buying items that have impact far beyond the artefact itself. This Hanukkah and Christmas, consider a practical present that ticks all eco-humanitarian boxes, especially as you give it away to a stranger.
A small Florida microbrewery has developed a biodegradable and edible six-pack ring, a new approach to sustainable packaging aimed at protecting marine species vulnerable to plastic pollution. The decision to go green was an easy one for Saltwater Brewery. The company was founded in 2013 by fisherman, surfers and people who love the sea. Americans […]
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that fewer than half of bicycle riders between the ages of 5 and 14 wear a protective helmet, despite common sense, and well-publicized studies that show helmets cut risks of serious head injury by nearly 70%. Our friend Shimrit died while wearing a helmet on a […]
Palestinian Said Salim Abu Nasser is on a mission to make urban farming more sustainable. He transformed a derelict lot in Gaza City into a 200 square meter micro-farm that produces safe and affordable food in a maximally sustainable way.
This week, 25 open water swimmers endured seven hours paddling throught the hypersaline waters of the Dead Sea to draw world attention to the environmental degradation of that three million year old lake. Equipped with facemasks and snorkels specifically designed to protect them from the mineral-rich water, they dove in on the Jordan shoreline, and emerged in […]
Finding a viable alternative energy source to create low cost bio energy may be closer than we think. Some of these sources include energy from trash and algae as fuel for our future energy needs. Another alternative energy source, comes from a “product” usually discarded as a waste substance: urine. The use of urine as a fuel […]
The presence of poop and poop products in our daily lives has been receiving increasing attention for some time. News stories include the discoveries of meat products fed with faeces and pumped with toxic contaminates. From a product standpoint, creating recycled paper products from poop have also been covered. But swallowing a pill full of poop to […]
The 2016 Rio Olympics are history, but a hindsight review shows a surprising sideshow of contemporary human issues running through the international athletic games. We’re not talking about substandard construction in the Olympic Village, contaminated water, or violent crime. Instead, we spotted elite athletes using the event to broadcast personal agenda. It makes perfect sense […]
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is better known for his love of horses than his affinity for sea life. But the Dubai sheik’s new video posted on his junior wife’s Instagram account may change that. The short clip, posted by Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, shows the United Arab Emirates (UAE) VP and Prime Minister and […]
Have you ever made a purchase in your life by which you gave the green light for planting a tree? It’s a great incentive that can be launched by a company anywhere, selling anything. More often than not, however, the companies that embrace this duty to the environment are ones which use trees to make […]
Let’s get meta. A “force of nature” is defined as a natural phenomenon that is beyond human control. When three Academy Award®-winning celebrities come together on a film, their combined energies could colloquially be called “a force of nature”. Now imagine that their film is about…the forces of nature. This week an astonishing film premiered – […]
I just met a pair of young Swedes, newcomers to Amman who were quickly appalled by the piles of plastics lining our city streets. They stitched up simple bags from mesh netting that they take to local markets, insisting on using their lightweight, reusable alternative in place of plastic produce sacks. Until the rest of […]
In two weeks, a team of international athletes will attempt a world first by swimming across the Dead Sea, one of the saltiest bodies of water on earth, at the planet’s lowest point. The sea, which is technically a lake, resonates with deep historical and spiritual significance that partners perfectly with environmental activism. This risky swim […]
“Green” building has become not just a trend in recent years, but a legal requirement in some countries. In the US and UK LEED is the standard. In the Middle East there is Estidama and the Pearl system. Of course, large building firms have budgets to cope with such changes in the law, but you […]
Ever since Buzzfeed-style link-baiting articles took Facebook readers attention the style and quality of online reporting has changed drastically. It’s hard to compete with momentary distraction of kittens and what she did last summer. One way around keeping readers on your web property without linking them out elsewhere is native ads. Though the payment isn’t […]
One of the biggest industries in the world is video games and for most people finding the right equipment for their hobby is a top priority. Especially when you are eco-conscious and want to buy things that will last long, stay relevant, and which will consume less energy. The world of computer video games is […]
Green Prophet was bowled over by the teen rapper whose environmentalism got him a ticket to COP21, now an even younger eco-warrior has gotten our attention. A nine year old Dubai boy, annoyed by streetside litter, decided to pick up some trash. A good deed, that. But it’s where he took that action that makes […]
New York City’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is hosting an exhibition on refugee shelters to kickstart dialogue on the design challenges caused by humanitarian crises. Entitled “Insecurities: Tracing Displacement and Shelter”, the show looks at emergency housing in contemporary crisis zones. It is the first time a major museum has explored the plight of the […]
(Photo by Artyom Krivosheev/Barcroft Images/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2016) Anyone with a Facebook account knows people love pictures of adorable animals. Photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam are tapping into that animal magnetism to boost support of wildlife conservation. Their second annual Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards is inciting “conservation through competition”, helped by heaps of […]
Michelle Obama has made America’s gardening great and she’s now laying down roots so the gardening tradition will continue even after her family leaves the White House this January. Obama created the garden in 2009, and made sure to expand it twice so it will be hard to plow under by the next family. She’s […]
Local, real food (#realfood) is more than a rage. It’s the new everything in food. After decades of eating shipped-in waxy veggies, greens and fruits, consumers and chefs are demanding a new kind of food. Vegetables and fruits that are local, and full of flavor. We want food with high oil and vitamin content that […]