Over the last thirty years, carbon emissions in North Africa and the Middle East (MENA) have doubled with citizens in the Gulf states producing up to 10 times the amount of CO2 as the average global citizen Awareness of the dangers of climate change may be on the increase in the Middle East but action […]
Carboun, an organisation which promotes sustainability in the Middle East, has produced its first infographic which does a great job of mapping out the region’s carbon emissions I am huge fan of infographics – information as graphics – for the simple reason that they are a great way to get a handle on lots of […]
We applaud Dubarch’s steps towards sustainability, but is a 70 hectare 5 star resort in no-man’s-land a good idea? The Tourist Development & Investment Company of Abu Dhabi (TDIC) started developing a resort in the vast and uninhabitable area outside the capital called the Empty Quarter. Architects Dubarch designed what will be a high-profile, luxury 5 […]
Fans of formula one racing claim that energy saving techniques will ruin all the fun because cars won’t be as noisy! Just yesterday we reported on a floating Olympic stadium that could offset the sometimes heavy environmental costs associated with what we almost all love: sport. In preparation for 2022, Qatar will have to build […]
The CEO of a Dubai-based company says growing organic food in the UAE is “stupid.” No one would ever expect an organic food distributor to favor importing food to locally-grown produce, except in the Middle East. Despite efforts from people like Baker & Spice’s Yael Mejia, who is working furiously to improve the quality of […]
Do women in Cairo have bigger carbon footprints because they are afraid to ride their bikes? Transportation is a large contributor to air-pollution. Today, the whole world is shifting towards more sustainable means of transportation. While in most countries men and women are equally active in such a movement, in more traditional societies, women are […]
Green Prophet’s Arwa measures her family’s carbon footprint to Hajj. Last year, my auntie and her family- the Hussains– did one of the most important things that a Muslim can do in their lives. They fulfilled one of the five pillars of Islam and went to Hajj which is a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi […]
Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian working in their Abu Dhabi Studied Impact Design studio. Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian have made the United Arab Emirates their home, for which we are very grateful. Their teachings, their design studio Studied Impact, and their public initiatives such as the internationally-acclaimed Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) have coincided […]
Italian expatriate and Managing Editor, Lisa Durante’s new book is designed to inspire the UAE to lead a “greener” life. Certain sectors of the United Arab Emirates are savvy about organic agriculture and the environmental benefits of a vegetarian diet. But judging by the ubiquity of mega-malls and towers, not all. Former development journalist and […]
Dubai’s Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) launches the first “green station” in the UAE. The station features solar-powered lights, a waterless car wash system, eco-friendly products, and the vapor recovery system, a new technology that reduces carbon emission and fuel wastage.
There are only 28 days before the World Future Energy Summit from January 17-20, 2011 Abu Dhabi is beset with a kind of sustainability schizophrenia. On the one hand there is Masdar City – an effort to achieve carbon neutrality and zero waste – and on the other certain irresponsible and extravagant moments such as […]
The United Arab Emirates has one of the largest carbon footprints in the world. Not surprising considering the small country has an indoor ski hill in the middle of the desert and a number of other Las Vegas-esque attractions (like the IceLand waterpark), but the government has said enough. A new high-tech plan was announced on […]
Pet owners in the Middle East pay lots for imported pet food. Miriam offers recipes for Fido’s food with locally sourced ingredients to keep him healthy, save money, and reduce carbon emissions. A dog somewhere on the street howled pitifully, all day and all night. Neighbors told us that her owner had gone abroad, leaving money […]
Tel Aviv University students join Paul McCartney’s and Yoko Ono’s international effort to raise awareness about the impact of meat on our health and environment. [Photo credit: Erez Katsav] A couple of weeks ago, Tel Aviv University students joined others at Harvard, Oxford, Columbia, and many other universities worldwide in a campaign – Meat Free […]
He’s interested in Dead Sea development. Now Israeli billionaire Yitzhak Tshuva appears to have done it again after his Delek Energy subsidiary Yam Tethys won a $1 billion contract recently to furnish natural gas to the Israeli Electric Company (IEC). The gas, according to the Jerusalem Post, will power new electric power plants instead of […]