Scientists seek to solve the mystery of disappearing coral in Abu Dhabi. Bring in Inspector Clouseau! It doesn’t take a whole lot of common sense to figure this one out: you build monolithic structures and artificial islands on a fragile seashore along the Persian Gulf, have oil tankers pulling petrochemicals from the land which leaks […]
Is Masdar City a beacon for Middle Eastern development? It may take another 10 years to find out. We have been skeptical of Masdar City and Foster+Partners, the architects responsible for the emergent eco-city’s design, but BBC reporter Tom Reap’s recent article paints a compelling portrait of this dubious venture. Although projected building costs are […]
Nissan’s all-electric LEAF gives a run for Volt’s and Better Place’s money. Nissan has no plans, however, to target infrastructure-poor Middle East. The battle over which company will market the first practical electric car is becoming more intense with the introduction of Nissan’s new total electric LEAF model. The Japanese carmaker is marketing this new entry […]
Are the United Arab Emirate states being over-the-top extravagant when purchasing super luxury cars? Word has it that an Abu Dhabi billionaire is the proud owner of a Mercedes V10 Quad Turbo sports job that has a body made of white gold!
A Simplified Thermal Solar Power Unit in the UAE: Turkish Coffee Anyone? The United Arab Emirate’s hot sunshine will soon be providing energy as well, thanks to an agreement the American solar energy company eSolar and the German industrial services Company Ferrostaal. As noted in the UAE news site The National, the consortium will also build […]
Wind farm in Egyptian desert at Zafarana. (Image via windpowerworks.net) The Egyptian New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) and Abu Dhabi’s green energy company, Masdar, signed a framework agreement on February 18th for a 200 megawatt wind power plant, slated for Egypt’s eastern coast near Suez. The project is the first collaborative venture between Egypt […]
The price a pedigree camel fetches could fuel a small town. Is it moral for camel races to continue, while much of the Arab world lives in poverty? Walk a mile for a camel? It certainly seems like rich people living in Abu Dhabi and other UAE states are more than willing to do this […]
Ira reports on the World Future Energy Summit which he attended this January. The event hosted by Abu Dhabi is arguably the most important environment conference to fuel green change among Arab nations. Israel was not among the 36 countries to officially participate in the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi in January. Some […]
A new fund based in Abu Dhabi to accelerate clean tech has just closed its first round of financing. Masdar City is expected to get a big boost. Abu Dhabi’s “Masdar Clean Tech Fund” just completed its first closure, and was successful in raising an impressive $265 million. The fund is co-managed by Masdar Venture Capital […]
Qatar’s new LEED-certified convention center could be as “green” as Masdar City. It will boast a world first of LED lighting in exhibition halls. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are not the only Persian Gulf locations building environmentally sustainable projects. Now, Qatar is building a unique convention center, which although still unfinished has already achieved the […]
Masdar City: What Renewable Energy Should Strive For When the 2010 World Future Energy Summit opened this week in Abu Dhabi, one of the primary goals of this year’s conference was to find more ways to rid the United Arab Emirates and other Middle East countries off their dependence on petroleum as a major energy supplier. The […]
Partners shake hands on a new seawater-desert biofuel system to be located in Abu Dhabi. This news in from Dubai: The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Boeing [NYSE: BA], Etihad Airways and Honeywell announced at at press conference today that they will establish a major research and demo project in Abu Dhabi dedicated to […]
In an historic move, for the first time Jerusalem sent an Israeli cabinet minister to Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates. With no diplomatic ties with Israel, National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau said that he did not meet with any Emirati officials while at the newly established International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), reports AP. […]
The World Future Energy Summit is about to take place in Abu Dhabi. Siemens Corporation has announced that it will launch a number of new and “innovative” initiatives to help fight against climate change and carbon emissions at this year’s World Future Energy Summit. It says it will present “its prove, highest-efficiency industrial solutions” at […]
Could this “dry” setting be the entire Middle East one day if we don’t take environment issues seriously? Business concerns in the Middle East, especially real estate developers in countries like the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are not being concerned enough about the environment, according to a study just released by the UAE […]