Despite having to invite and welcome all members of the United Nations at the Qatar Climate Summit, Qatar is not being so friendly to welcoming Israel at the upcoming climate change event this fall. So goes speculation. Qatar says Israel’s environment minister Gilad Erdan can come with his security detail. But Israel doesn’t believe Qatar. For […]
Iron Pyrite or Fool’s Gold plays dominant role in the world’s sulfur cycle, new research shows As sulfur cycles through Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and land, it undergoes chemical changes that are often coupled to changes in other such elements as carbon and oxygen. Although this affects the concentration of free oxygen, sulfur has traditionally been […]
Soaring temperatures and low precipitation could not occur at a worse time for many farmers in the United States, and around the world. Intensifying drought conditions are affecting corn and soybean crops throughout the Midwest, raising grain prices as well as concerns about future food prices. The US Drought Monitor reports that 88 percent of […]
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 […]
A free, week-long summer camp on climate change at the end of the summer, in Jordan. Apply now! The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Foundation (HBS) in Ramallah, along with their Beirut and Tunis offices, hosts their Second Regional Summer School. This year they’re tackling two aspects of climate strategies specific to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) : the […]
Lake Nar is in central Turkey, which was the epicenter of a disease that ravaged the Byzantine population 15 centuries ago. Climate change may have been a factor. The Justinian Plague swept through the Eastern Mediterranean from 541 BCE to 750 BCE, killing approximately one quarter of the region’s inhabitants. Samples of sediment from the […]
Last week global warming’s wrath swept through the United States and hardly anybody took notice. The worst wildfires in Colorado and Utah history torched hundreds of homes and miles of forest. The Waldo Canyon fire alone, which is still only 45% contained, burned 350 houses right down to the ground. Some residents returned yesterday to […]
Waterstudio.NL is world-renowned for its forward-thinking approach to architecture. While so many architects and developers (especially in our region) are still stuck on growing mammoth skyscrapers on land, this Dutch firm has carved a niche in floating architecture in preparation of climate change and rising seas. Their projects are numerous and range from small house […]
Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the Masdar CEO, is the recipient of this year’s United Nations’ Champions of the Earth award. The award honours individuals whose actions and leadership have had a far-reaching positive impact on the environment, in advancing clean energy technologies to mitigate the threats of climate change. Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted renewable energy […]
Monitoring stations all over the arctic are reading greenhouse gas concentrations of 400 parts per million – a grim new milestone that dims hope of reversing runaway climate change. Millions of pounds of methane lay dormant in arctic ice, threatening to accelerate climate change when it melts, violent weather, drought, flooding and other disasters are […]
Saudi Arabia will save an estimated 690,000 barrels of oil a day by investing in renewables. Wonder just why Saudi Arabia finally got serious about solar with a $109 billion plan to solar-power a third of the Kingdom? I did. After all, for a long time, while its greener neighbors have been adding thousands of […]
I speak to Qatar-based environmental researcher Mari Luomi about the balancing act Qatar has to perform at the upcoming climate summit You could say that Mari Luomi’s environmental education began at a very early stage. Wandering through the forests and lakes of Finland when young, she explains that she learnt very quickly that human societies […]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hh0-lxNqoo[/youtube] Earlier this month, Japan ended its love affair with nuclear power. Does Jordan begin where Japan left off? Environmentalists applaud the shutdown of Japan’s last working reactor, but economists are not as enthused. Before the Fukushima disaster knocked out four of their 54 reactors, atomic energy provided almost 30% of the country’s electricity. All remaining reactors have been […]
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has wrapped up a national phase-out of all central cooling systems using chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), reports the Jordan Times: “Jordan’s program for phasing out the use of CFCs, aimed at disposing 1500 tons of the harmful substance, was achieved one year ahead of schedule”, said Ghazi Odat, Director of the Ministry of Environment’s […]