Will Alaska’s crystal clear lakes quench the thirst of the Middle East? It looks like the old water trading game is once again getting attention. While it formerly involved such schemes as towing icebergs from Antarctica to Saudi Arabia, as well as bringing water in converted tanker vessels from Turkey (which now has a severe […]
The Mecca of green? “Green” activism has defined Jewish and Christian culture for decades already. Now, Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia keen to “green” the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Yussif Osman sits quietly by his desk, a framed piece of cloth behind him next to a picture of his father who died just a few years […]
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 […]
Israel’s offshore oil resource are larger than previously thought, pitting the state against oil tycoons defying demands for a larger public share of oil revenues. In the context of fossil fuel-induced climate change, does the development of petroleum resources have any justification at all? Last week, a consortium including the American energy corporation Noble Energy […]
A new alternative plant growth method for biofuel, Israeli streams, drinking water and more. Image by Or Hiltch. During the week of May 16, 2010, Pythagoras Solar continued to attract media attention for its new transparent photovoltaic glass unit that can be used as windows or skylights while doubling as solar panels. Israel dedicated the […]
How can the polluting oil tar sand oil extraction – here Opti Canada’s operations – be better than offshore drilling? The Gulf of Mexico oil “leak” is a gusher pouring as much as 3.4 million gallons of oil into the waters every day, scientists estimate in a NY Times story. It’s below the surface what […]
At the MENASOL conference in Cairo last week, MENA Cleantech’s Samer Zureikat cited this 11th century scientist, Ibn al-Haytham, as one of the forefathers of solar technology. (Image via orientpix.com) I was sitting behind Samer Zureikat, the CEO of MENA Cleantech, at the MENASOL solar energy conference in Cairo last week when one of the […]
OECD Officials: Is Israel’s entry enough to ward off political adversaries? We hope it will advance clean tech and initiatives like Desertec into the Middle East. Israel is the only Middle East member. Israel’s dynamic economy, especially in science, information technology (IT) and now clean technology has propelled it to ascend to one of the […]
Multimatrix and AES invest in Israel water company to catch the wind. Harnessing wind energy has never been a priority endeavor in Israel, compared to projects dealing with solar energy. In fact, the only large size wind energy project there has been the Mei Golan wind farm, composed of ten large wind turbines on a […]
The 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 […]
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.
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 […]
Builder of Jerusalem and Israeli solar energy company Brightsource. Meet Arnold Goldman. Image via NYTimes. Serious philosophers rarely make good businessmen. But solar energy innovator Arnold J. Goldman is no navel-gazer. Goldman heads Jerusalem-based BrightSource Industries and its California-based parent, BrightSource Energy, which is contracted to deliver more than 2,600 megawatts of solar electricity in […]
Raw sewage from Jerusalem flows straight into the Dead Sea. Many of Israel’s army bases were built quickly, in isolated spots, and 150 of them are not even connected to the country’s sewage system. The waste ends up in the groundwater, contaminating fresh water sources and crops and preventing the water from being recycled for […]
Sunnier days for smog-ridden China ahead? The next wave in China may be clean energy culled from the sea. Image via ivanwalsh The Israeli clean tech company SDE is finalizing the construction of the first of a number of sea wave power plants to be installed in China during the upcoming month, the company reports […]