Phenomenal time lapse video makes Doha look like magic
Want to see a city on “speed” grow? This time lapse video captures Doha as it expands rapidly for the 2022 World Cup in soccer.
Doha
Watch Qatar’s Palm Tower Burn Down to the Ground
We’re not the biggest fans of all the Middle East’s skyscrapers – the Burj Khalifa, the Kingdom Tower coming to Saudi and other soaring glass towers, because of their high environmental impact. Which is why we got such a kick out of these awesome candles from China.
Oil-Rich Qatar Takes Eco Expertise to Philadelphia’s Famous Greenbuild
The Qatar Foundation is distinguishing itself as a leader at Greenbuild, the world’s largest gathering of green building pioneers in Philadelphia, where Hilary Clinton will deliver the 2013 keynote address tomorrow.
5 Steps to a Carbon Neutral World Cup in Qatar
Qatar has promised a carbon neutral 2022 World Cup, but we know from the Masdar City experiment how hard that is to achieve. Still, here are five dubious steps AECOM and Zaha Hadid Architects are reported to be taking to support that goal with their joint design – Al-Wakrah Stadium.
Will Qatari Kids Make Eco Films with Eyes Wide Open?
Young filmmakers from 19 schools in Qatar will be competing in the first ever Junior Environmental Filmmaker Awards contest. Small teams of three and four kids from grades 7 to 9 will be making movies about water.
Damien Hirst’s Birth Sculptures Challenges Doha’s Sense of “Science”
It’s something we can’t avoid as human beings: we begin as naked embryos that go through stages of gestation. We emerge naked, until clothed.
OMA to Mastermind Doha Airport City in Time for 2022 World Cup
Starchitects OMA have won an international design competition to be the master planners for Doha’s new Airport City in Qatar. Occupying a 10 kilometer square space that will link the new Hamad International Airport with Doha, the mixed-use complex will be comprised of four circular districts connected by a “green spine.” Phase One of the 30 […]
Qatar Airways Praised for its Natural Gas/Biofuel Push to the Skies
Cheaper flights for all? If Qatar’s “Pearl project” can develop the natural gas industry for planes, it could translate into reducing overall costs for US carriers. Qatar Airways ambitious new plan to erect a $19 billion Pearl project that will be the largest gas-to-liquids plant in the world, is receiving massive praise and optimism over its future […]
Failed COP18 Climate Talks Boil Down to Money (Op-Ed)
Although just about everybody at the COP18 climate talks in Doha, Qatar, understood the importance of arresting climate change following a slew of recent reports that show temperatures and sea levels rising faster than we imagined, the conference closes today without a commitment to cut a single pound of CO2 emissions. The reasons for that […]
Climate Change to Worsen Migrant Workers’ Lives in Qatar
Trade unionists have used the COP18 discussions in Qatar to bring the silent but disturbing plight of migrant workers to light. While the emirate boasts about its plans to build a bevy of solar-powered stadiums in advance of the 2022 World Cup in addition to a host of other eco-boosting projects, very little has been […]
Activists Call for a ‘Robin Hood Tax’ to Boost Climate Change Fund
Activists have gathered at the global COP18 climate event in Doha, Qatar to press negotiators to put aside money from a ‘Robin Hood tax” to boost the climate change fund. Evoking the legend of England’s Robin Hood, who either stole from or persuaded the rich to help the poor depending on which story one believes, a […]
Activists at COP18 in Qatar: Islam and the Arab-world Not Eco Enough
Young Arabs in Doha are telling the Arab world it’s time to take a lead on climate change during the first climate change talks to be held in the Middle East. With more than a billion Muslims in the world, Arab activists claim that Muslim leaders are pretty much silent about global warming and environmental […]
Turkey Wins “Fossil of the Day” Award At Doha Climate Change Negotiations
With the world’s fourth largest number of planned coal-fired power plants, Turkey is flouting international concern about climate change. As the United Nation’s climate change talks in Doha enter their second day, Turkey has been called out on its irresponsible climate policies with the “Fossil of the Day” award. Although Turkey has kept a low […]
A 1,700 Gigaton Carbon Bomb is Thawing in the Permafrost
Negotiators working on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol in Qatar ought to know that 1,700 gigatonnes of carbon lie buried in the permafrost, which is double the amount that currently wreaks so much havoc here on earth, reports UNEP. Then, as arctic temperatures rise as a result of global warming and the permafrost melts, […]
COP18 Updates – Women, Students & A President Courting Oil
Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, who is the president of the COP18 got a thorough telling off for courting big oil executives in the lead up to the climate talks The annual UN climate talks are coming the Middle East for the first time ever. As such, climate change and environmental issues are hitting the local […]
Qatar’s Solar-Powered Convention Center Cuts COP18 Carbon
Every year it’s the same thing. Hundreds of delegates from around the world fly somewhere to agree to climate change solutions. Journalists bemoan the lack of progress, environmentalists criticize the amount of carbon emissions spewed into the atmosphere as a result and the public at large completely loses faith in the process. The UN Convention of […]
Over Polluted Qatar Hosts UN Climate Conference
This month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP18) will be hosted by Qatar, the tiny peninsula nation in the Persian Gulf that holds the world record for per capita CO2 emissions. According to a report entitled Indicators of Sustainable Development 2011 released by Qatar’s statistics’ authority, the state has experienced a 27% annual increase in […]
The Arab Youth Climate Movement Is Born
Established in the lead up to the COP18 Doha negotiations, the Arab Youth Climate Movement brings together over 20 campaigners from 15 Middle East/North Africa countries As the saying goes, there is power in numbers. So it’s great to see environmental organisations across MENA come together to “create a more sustainable, prosperous, meaningful, just, and […]
Will Qatar Oust Israel At Climate Change Event?
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 […]
Bloggers to Win Free Doha Climate Change Conference Trips this November: Adopt A Negotiator
The ‘Adopt A Negotiator’ project is looking for young bloggers and activists from the region to take part in the Doha Climate Change Conference this November Are you a budding blogger with an interest in the environment? Or maybe a video journalist with a passion for social issues? Well, if you are and also happen […]
Qatar Eco-Summit Spotlights Environmental Safety
8th annual Health, Safety and Environment Forum in Energy happens in Doha from October 8 -10 Accidents associated with oil and gas operations endanger human life, damage adjacent communities and threaten the environment. The shockwaves of these accidents affect the business involved and its workers, and extend far beyond. Millions of dollars are spent annually […]
Qatar Foundation Site to Go Car-Free With Siemens Trams
Public transportation is not popular among the Gulf elite who can easily afford the expense of fueling their own cars. And for many, global warming and climate change are nothing more than buzz words. So it will take a special effort to transform the emirate into one that gives up the convenience of personal vehicles. […]
Greenland’s Melting Glaciers Will Affect Your Middle East
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 […]
Qatar Accused of Stealing Barcelona’s Street Lighting Design
After six years of failing to negotiate with them, a Catalan designer is going public with a story that could cause Qatar tremendous embarrassment in the lead up to the 2022 World Cup. A member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and bound by the Paris Convention and the TRIPS […]
Qatar’s Msheireb Regeneration Project Will Be Largest LEED Cluster in the World
Qatar is targeting 76 Acres of LEED Certified Buildings When complete, the Msheireb regeneration project in the heart of Doha’s historical district will feature the world’s largest collection of LEED-certified buildings. Projected to cost $5.5 billion, the city’s new heart will eventually comprise 100 new buildings, all of which will target either Gold or Platinum […]