Ancient Date Palm That Lived 2000 Years Ago Bears Fruit Again
Date pits from 2000 years ago have born viable fruit in Israel.
desert
Death Valley peaks hot – the highest since ’31 at 130F
Death Valley, USA. It's looking pretty hot out there. Climate change is forcing its effects.
This eco hotel in Jordan is ideal for desert escapism
Looking for Covid escapism? There is a wonderful place to explore in Jordan in the Dana Biosphere Nature Reserve.
Solar panel “Roomba” Ecoppia gets $40 million investment
It's like a Roomba for solar panels. Makes solar panel plants up to 40% more efficient by cleaning off dust while everyone sleeps.
Las Vegas Going Green in a Quest to Become Saudi Arabia of Solar Power
A green oasis in the desert? Las Vegas is shedding its old image and preparing for a future without fossil fuels Las Vegas is a town built around big ambitions, its founders turning an arid wilderness into the premier entertainment paradise in the world. However, in recent times it has been undergoing something of an […]
New solar energy plant in the desert? Don’t disturb the soil
Deserts may not look like much, but there is a slow building up of life organic and inorganic in the soil. We need to preserve them from damage.
Can you believe earth is running out of sand?
British economist Milton Friedman once warned that if you put the government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years you’d have a shortage of sand. Whether governments or free markets are to blame, it is possible to deplete abundant resources such as Irish rain. Now thanks to global obsessions with concrete icons, fracking […]
Sustainable student village from shipping containers!
Sderot’s dusty streets and woeful aspect come naturally after enduring years of rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. In this Western Negev town in Israel, all bus stops are small bomb shelters. A traffic roundabout represents the town center, with a pizzeria, a stationary store, and some tired-looking clothing shops around it. The young, […]
5 underground homes and hotels for desert dwellers and tourists
Some advocates of eco architecture say that for preserving the urban space the higher up you build, the better. But with an astonishing amount of desert landscape all around us, in Asia, in the Middle East, Africa and even in the United States, we’re thinking – let’s showcase the buried homes, the sustainable buildings that have […]
Star Wars 7 “otherworldly” set in Abu Dhabi desert
Actors and actresses are starting to arrive in Abu Dhabi to film a segment of Star Wars 7 in the desert, according to sources close to The National – one of the best regarded newspapers in the United Arab Emirates. How does this fare for the local environment?
Moroccan desert spider flees predators in 6.6 ft back flips
Ever seen a spider do back flips? If you have arachnophobia, you might not want to, but for everyone else, the spinning Cebrennus rechenbergi desert spider in Morocco is quite a sight.
Bamboo WarkaWater tower harvests potable water from air
On a recent trip to Ethiopia, Italian designer Arturo Vittori discovered how collecting water is both dangerous and time-consuming – especially for women and children. He thinks these water-trapping WarkaWater Towers will help.
Cuteness is a curse for the adorable Fennec Fox
With its oversized ears and soft brown eyes, the world’s smallest canid is also probably the cutest. But being adorable has turned out to be lethal for the Fennec Fox in Tunisia, where both locals and tourists are loving the species to death.
Desert Breath spirals on Red Sea remind us of troubled Egypt’s immense beauty
To many Egyptians, the desert is a hostile place: water is scarce, terror cells hide in its vast expanse, or land mines make crossing them a death trap. But the Desert Breath land art project near Hurghada on the Red Sea coast reminds us that Egypt, despite its many troubles, is a place of extraordinary beauty.
Wildlife Thrive at Flooded ‘Arabian Canal’ in Dubai Desert
In my last post I described how I had discovered the remains of a defunct development known as the ‘Arabian Canal’ in the desert some 30km outside Dubai. This time I’m featuring one of these remaining waterways which is still, mysteriously, flooded, despite having been abandoned some 4 years ago.
Saudi’s Fledgling Cycling Culture (Video)
Albeit huge advocates of urban cycling, we have been sensitive to the fact that – mostly because of culture – the practice hasn’t taken off in the Middle East. But a You Tube video from Saudi Arabia challenges all the naysayers.
Tunisian Desert Dunes Threaten Darth Vader’s Tatooine Home
Star Wars fans lovingly restored Luke Skywalker’s Tatooine home in Tunisia recently, but the former home of young Anakin, who would eventually become Darth Vader, is about to be engulfed by fast-moving desert sand dunes.
Knafeh Recipe, for the Most Fabulous Middle-Eastern Dessert
Does a vision of rich, creamy, sweet and cheesy dessert with a crunchy topping totally seduce you? Well, it seduces people with a sweet tooth everywhere in the Levant. In Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Greece and Turkey, good housewives make knafeh, the most luxurious dairy dessert.
Desert Soccer Pitches Reveal Arab Obsession with Football
Ask yourself: if you lived in the deep desert, where the sand burns your soles at midday, would you run outside and play soccer? No sane person should. But Dick Sweeney has sent us thought-provoking images of soccer posts in extreme environments that reveal just how much Arabs love their football.
Iran’s Ancient Ice Houses Showcase Sustainable Refrigeration
Refrigeration is perhaps one of the greatest inventions of modern man, but it has come at a price. Not only do they require a great deal of energy to stay cool, but they also rely on ozone-depleting chloro-fluorocarbons (CFCs), or freon (though some countries have phased these out.) As an increasing number of people walk […]
Superpower “Laxative Nut” Jatropha Tree Could Solve Egypt’s Fuel Crisis
In Egypt, people often have to line up for hours to fill their cars and trucks with diesel fuel – particularly during summer months when it comes at a premium. Concerned to ease these shortages, as well as pollution and climate change, Egyptian agricultural engineer Wadad Khaireddine is pushing to grow a desert full of […]
Algerians Mould Bricks from Sahara Sand Dunes
Although the Sahara desert used to be a green retreat for giraffes and hippos 5,000 years ago, it is now a giant, sometimes rolling landscape of sand. A lot of sand. In fact, roughly two thirds of Algeria is made up of sand, according to the authors of a study published in the Arabian Journal […]
First African-Styled Hunting Resort in Gulf Country Will Serve its Kill
With the advent of modern agriculture and technology, it is no longer necessary for most people to shoot their dinner. Yet the taste for the sport of tracking and shooting an animal has persisted, and in some countries, hunting is carefully regulated to maintain a sound balance between predator and prey. Working with the local […]
Markus Kayser’s Sun Cutter is Low-Tech Laser Cutter Powered Entirely by Sun
Anyone who loved the 3D Solar Sinter that uses the sun’s energy to turn sand into functional glass objects will love the Sun Cutter. Also designed by Markus Kayser, this homemade laser cutter carves pre-programmed industrial designs into a variety of materials – including cardboard, paper and even thin slabs of plywood – and it […]
Livestock are Key to Reversing Desertification, Biologist Says
When he first began his career as a young biologist, Allan Savory basically ordered the culling of 40,000 elephants. He and other scientists in Zimbabwe observed that former grasslands set aside as national parks were turning to desert and decided, after considerable research, that elephants were responsible. But it didn’t help to kill them. In […]