With nectar now readily available year-round, Israeli bees are increasing their honey production. Israel may be a desert, going six months of the year without rain, but local bee populations are thriving and honey production rising thanks to a new flowering tree brought over from Australia. It’s not a good time for honeybee populations worldwide. […]
In a historic measure that demonstrates Jordan’s new environmental commitment, the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature has agreed to establish nine more protected areas With the help of certain enlightened individuals, such as the activists who pranced through Amman wearing lettuce to encourage vegetarianism, and Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), who […]
It’s a tent, it’s a tunnel, and it funnels the year-round cool Shamal wind. We’ve been so enthralled with the Land Art Generator Initiative and the various designs that they have made available to the public, that we just had to share another with our readers. We’ve covered the solar thermal music designs that are […]
Digging for freshwater, Wadi Holdings found salt water instead; two years later, and their Seabass farm in the desert is roaring Anyone with an untrained eye entering a desert environment would see a vast expanse of virtual nothingness: only the occasional sandstorm or a stray herd of camels sauntering by might break the blank horizon, […]
One of the most pristine crater sites in the world, Kamil teaches us to respect nature’s superiority over our lives. With its wealth of whale fossils trapped within what was once the Tethys sea, and the River Nile, now subdued but previously an angry god that rose and fell at will, affecting millions of people, […]
Wait, what? Whales in the desert? Fossils of earliest suborder of now extinct whale sheds new light on evolution. Even though human population expansion and over-exploitation of natural resources has accelerated the rate at which climatic change wreaks havoc, nature has always been in flux. Few things drive this concept home more concretely than a […]
Prior to the installation of an asphalt highway connecting the once peaceful region of Bahariya to Cairo, the oasis was mostly hidden from the greater world. Then archaeologists re-discovered the Valley of the Golden Mummies and tourism in Egypt soared, generating valuable income for the local community. However, the influx also comes with a considerable environmental cost.
Farming the sun from hot climates to Europe? This is the plan of DESERTEC. Today we speak with Oliver Steinmetz. Oliver’s a co-founder and volunteer board member for the DESERTEC Foundation, a small NGO founded in 2008 to promote the DESERTEC concept of supplying clean energy from desert regions to regions with less sun, like […]
“The New York Times reports the unveiling of the French architect’s latest Middle Eastern project To some, the desert comprises an intimidating plain of dirty barren nothingness; to others, like Lucy, a source of happiness and inspiration. And to others still, like Ilana Meallem, it is a way of life. Ilana graduated from the Arava […]
Greening the Desert? A Qatar bank and the UN are now partners. Parts of the Middle East, especially in the Persian Gulf area will get a bigger environmental boost thanks to an alliance between Qatar’s Doha Bank and the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO. In an article published in the Eye of Dubai news […]
A new Middle East spider species, Cerbalus genus, is discovered in Israel. Its future uncertain. It’s like hearing about a wedding and a funeral from the same person: a new spider species has been discovered in Israel, but the bad news is that its habitat is seriously endangered, reports a new University of Haifa study. […]
(A bird’s eye view of Chan HaShayarot) We’ve already learned about immersion Arabic in a solar Bedouin village in Israel. Here’s another eco-tourism stop: located in the Negev, just south of Sde Boker, the Chan HaShayarot provides guests with a true Bedouin experience including camel rides, Bedouin food, and the option of sleeping in a […]
Aora Solar Energy Company, formerly known as EDIG Solar, is ready to begin producing clean tech energy at their power station located at Kibbutz Samar in the Arava Valley. The station, which uses a combination of solar generated electricity thermal power and alternative fuels such as bio-diesel, bio-gas, and natural gas, is expected to produce […]
Each week Orthodox Jews read one segment of the Five Books of Moses so that they can complete the entire Five Books within the course of a year. In last week’s Eco-Rabbi post I discussed free trade and the commandments, this week I write about how to create room for God to live within us. […]
With everything going on over the past month, many of our thoughts have been turned towards the southern area of Israel and the Negev. At more than 60% of the country’s land mass, however, the Negev desert should really be part of the Israeli consciousness more often. Community based NGO Shvuat ha-Adamah/Earth’s Promise, based in […]