Despite attending Egypt’s Bani-Suef University as a student of commerce, 24 year-old Mohamed Gooda’s passion has always been for science. Having pursued his interest in physics in his spare time, he’s come up with a theoretical method of improving upon the efficiency of the photovoltaic solar cells currently in use the world over. He believes […]
Meet Egypt’s new Solar Energy Association hoping to turn a country’s power crisis into eco-innovation. It’s dark at an upscale Cairo café. It’s not closed and service continues despite the only light coming from windows along two walls. The cause was an electricity outage. While it only lasted around 15 minutes, it was one of […]
Local press and environmentalists in Egypt claim that the unofficial garbage workers of Cairo – the Zabaleen – are being sidestepped by President Mohamed Morsi’s Clean Homeland campaign, which resolves to solve the country’s overwhelming garbage issue within 100 days. This was a dangerous promise to make given that so many of the systems required […]
Nothing escapes the watchful eye of Manar Moursi, the brains and the heart behind Studio Meem. You’ll recall that she recently displayed her sassy Off the Gireed furniture line at the Design is a Verb exhibition at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Arts Center and continues to work with local artisans to produce unique, sustainable products that also celebrate Egypt’s cultural […]
350.org proves that Egypt has an enormous reservoir of young and engaged people. Scientists have determined that to keep the climate stable the average concentration of CO2 in the sky should be limited to 350 ppm, compared to the 400 ppm that was reached in 2012. And while the science of climate change is solid, […]
Maps showing depletion of Greenland’s ice fields between July 8 and 12 2012. July 12 version is on the right. Maps via The Weather Channel and NASA It’s happening much faster than most climatologists thought it would: the world’s polar ice caps and ice fields are melting at an alarming rate and virtually simultaneously. It’s […]
It’s hard to ignore the lack of infrastructure and safety for cyclists in the Middle East. In Egypt you might get sexually harassed if you are a woman riding a bike in Cairo. With the raised sidewalks, when they exist in Amman, Jordan; and the deathly traffic and smog, riding in Amman isn’t such a […]
Egypt’s social protests deeply rooted in issues connected to environmental ones. It’s definitely a hot time in our world this summer: there are massive brush and forest fires in the American states of Colorado and South Dakota, there’s a full fledged civil war going on in Syria that has resulted in indigenous plant seeds being stored […]
Although Moursi has worked on satellite cities in Kuwait and interior design for river Nile cruise boats, it is telling that she has switched her focus to creating a sustainability ethos within the Egyptian context. Such leadership is badly needed in this country, although we are happy to report that the newly-invigorated local populace is slowly taking up the mandate to forge ecologically and socially-responsible businesses.
Okay, so maybe you won’t get a free lunch, but if you become part of a small but growing number of people who are members of Cairo’s Freecycle Network, you could get a toaster, a couch, cutlery, or even lightly-used clothes – for free. Really, the sky’s the limit, and it doesn’t cost a single […]
“Can I talk to you?” a man named Hashim asked as I stooped to take photographs of government workers cleaning up last night’s party mess. Revelers marching through Tahrir Square, surrounding streets and the 6th of October Bridge cheered and set off giant firecrackers well into the early hours of the morning following the announcement […]
Heaping urban trash may be an even more daunting global phenomenon than climate change, the World Bank warned in a recent report. What a Waste: A Global Review of Solid Waste Management reveals that by 2025, city dwellers could produce as much as 2.2 billion tonnes of solid waste a year, up 70% than the 1.3 billion […]
Venus crossed the sun this morning in the Middle East, giving heaven-gazers a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the hot planet. Venus’ next transit accross the sun will be in the year 2117. Earth’s twin made an appearance as a black dot traversing the sun this morning in the Middle East and Egyptians […]
Conservationists in Egypt are worried about the environmental impact of large-scale solar projects in the desert It seems renewables are taking a little bit of a bashing at the moment. First research emerges that wind turbines may be contributing to a temperature rise in the area, and now environmental campaigners in Egypt are calling for […]
Surprisingly they are inspired by Hassan Fathy: we interview Egypt’s Brotherhood’s Think Tank on Environmental Policy – A Green Prophet Exclusive The Muslim Brotherhood estimates that 70 percent of Egypt’s agriculture might be affected by pollution. And in a while they will probably be in charge. It’s time to ask them how they’ll remediate this. […]