Sharjah Launches the 'Environment Awareness Award’ for May with aims to increase students’ participation in environmental activities at school. With AED100,000+ in total prize money, the Sharjah Environment Award initiative will see 145 schools and 150,000 students taking part, focusing its first year on THREE R’s: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle!
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.
Artificial islands are sinking in the mire: Dubai has to face new environmental woes that come with “progress.” When one thinks of Dubai shopping, economic prowess and cleanliness come to mind. While all three have become staples and synonymous with the Gulf city, the environmental toll that has been unleashed as a result is beginning […]
Al Murooj Rotana Hotel, Dubai - Keynote speakers, experts and environmental specialists from across the world will attend the "Greenomics" conference on 8th Nov 2010 to share greener business ideas.
An ecological disaster in their own right, Dubai’s Jumeirah Islands’ environmental record is sinking deeper with this algae-choked lake. Tourists are charged $200 a night to stay in this Jumeirah Islands apartment. Residents similarly pay a handsome sum to live at one of Dubai’s much-touted artificial palm islands. Within the last few years, despite warnings […]
Little is known about them in the west, but the world’s only vegetarian mammal in marine waters is under serious threat in the Middle East. Dugongs, or sea cows, believed to be the source of mermaid legends, are threatened with extinction within 40 years, and an arsenal of measures, from replacing fishing nets that trap […]
It is no longer necessary to waste gallons of water when washing your car. A new biodegradable product will keep it clean, and protect it from the harsh sun. With virtually no freshwater resources, Dubai relies extensively on energy-intensive and environmentally-destructive desalination facilities to provide water. But the emirate also lies amidst a hot desert […]
Though the Burj won top project of the year, a little-known Sudanese project gets top kudos for its sustainability It may be tall, and it may be grand, but we don’t think the Burj Khalifa is worth boasting about. Even so, this towering blight on Dubai’s sustainable horizon took “project of the year” at the […]
Businesses in Dubai interested in reducing their carbon footprint should become consult their food map and source food locally. Not far from Dubai, the Abu Dhabi eco-chicks arrange nights out and other eco-centric activities that coalesce the emirate’s green minds. They have also created a user-friendly map to make organic and sustainable businesses easier to […]
Is it the story like the cobbler who doesn’t wear shoes? Government regulated oil prices are forcing Dubai companies to charge lower fees than they pay to import the gas. Now, gas retailers in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates are finding it hard to deal with rising prices and government price controls. Emarat, one […]
Dubai’s government is developing more organic farms, but oil-dependent desalination plants used for water casts a shadow on their carbon footprint News from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates tended to be dominated by new construction projects being announced or more recently debts levels, but it seems that the government is making a serious push […]
Don’t swat the wasp! Insects are important links to the food web and deserve protection status too. As the world begins to pay closer attention to the importance of preserving biodiversity, more has emerged about the Middle East’s wild side. Hundreds of birds flock through the UAE en route from Africa to Asia, while conservation […]
More than a playground for the rich, Dubai’s Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary protects a wild selection of birds [image via mape_s] Dubai. The very word evokes a sense of plastic dread: tall, extravagant buildings shimmering in the sharp sun, the tallest buildings, the trendiest, and one of the worst environmental offenders we can think […]
Smart Grids are redefining the electricity future. Worldwide experts in the field will gather to share their know-how with the Middle East in Dubai this December. [image via GDS digital] When temperatures soar, so does electricity consumption. At the peak of a scorcher day, everyone at home or in their offices hikes up their air-conditioning […]
Who to believe? That Dubai properties hasn’t paid or that Hopkins Architects reneged on their agreement? There are different species of architectural firms operating in the feeding frenzy that is Dubai. Some, such as Foster&Partners, are contributing to the country’s environmental malaise, while others, such as Studied Impact, are trying a bit harder to reduce […]
Sun, wind and solar updraft, could this skyscraper be the world’s first dual power plant and residential building? It’s not easy to shine in Dubai, where architecture and design have captured all the world’s firsts: the tallest skyscraper, the largest collection of artificial islands – so large they are said to be seen from space. […]
Poor Harry: At least he won’t wind up being a hand bag We’ve written about animal abuse cases in the Middle East before, including an entire shipment of animals for a performing circus in Beirut Lebanon. But perhaps one of the strangest cases of rare animals being smuggled into places is a recent one dealing with […]
About 50% of the waste in the UAE is organic. A new converter launched at conference aims to reduce this amount by 90% within a day. For years, composting has been considered as the environmentally best method for disposing of organic waste material, especially ones like the NatureMill Urban Composter, we wrote about in January. […]
Dubai Metro works on expanding ridership and cutting down on personal vehicle usage, adding three more stations last week. [image of one of the Dubai Metro stations via: PakistanHousing] The Dubai Metro system, which already carries over 100,000 passengers a day, expanded to three more stations last week in an attempt to increase ridership even […]
Help Sustainability Advisory Group hear the real deal about corporate responsibility and sustainability in the Middle East. [image via: Ben] Environmental organizations are, of course, very important. But often big change comes from the big companies who have big power. Which is why it’s important not only to support green non-profits, but companies that are […]
Tel Aviv highlights green buildings, spaces, construction techniques, and gardens during its annual “Houses from Within” weekend. [image via: Ykravitz] One spring weekend every year, for the past few years, Tel Aviv celebrates its architecture and invites the public to learn about the special structures that get to call the city their home. These structures […]
Israel holds Earth Hour a little later than the rest of the world, but just in time for Earth Day. Stubborn as always, Israel insists on doing things a little differently. The official international date for Earth Day, the worldwide energy saving campaign, was on March 27th and many other Middle Eastern countries – such […]
Yosef explores Paul Klugman’s environmental economics essay in the NY Times. Klugman and Gore’s words, Yosef finds, may influence decision-makers to slow the gallop toward environmental ruin in the Middle East. Above image of Klugman We greens of the Middle East have to take our manna from whence it comes – even if its from […]
Burj towers over Dubai. The environmentally-wasteful building will turn its lights off on Earth Hour. (Image via csmonitor.com) The Green Prophet has questioned the environmental sustainability of the tallest building in the world, but the Burj Khalifa in Dubai will at least do its part to observe Earth Hour on March 27 by switching off […]
Is it really sensible to squish one million people into this self-sustaining city/building? Like many of Dubai’s projects The World, which will exacerbate shoreline erosion and habitat loss, and Burj Dabai, reputedly the world’s tallest building, are flashy and expensive. They are also divorced from the United Arab Emirates’ environmental hazards such as scant freshwater […]