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 […]
Honeywell launches project that converts the oil from salicornia plants, commonly known as samphire into biofuel at Dubai’s AGRAme conference later this month. Image via me’enthedogs. Global issues concerning green agriculture and energy sustainability have raised many viability questions during the early 21st century. Collaborate efforts of world leaders, non-profits, and research institutes have made great […]
The rich folk from the United Arab Emirates are known for their over-the-top cars and wealth. Like gold-plated mercedes. Faux or real, the oil-rich Arab countries, even when they make green initiatives do it in such a bombastic way, counter-intuitive to the gentler, earth-friendly approaches most of us Green Prophets would stand behind. But all […]
Projects like Dubai’s “The World” will cause untold damage of shoreline erosion and habitat loss. So do modern ports, threatening endangered species. But there are solutions, says US expert. Coastal waters are evolutionary hotspots, says Jerry Berne, a shoreline expert from the NGO Sustainable Shorelines in the US. Based in Charlotte, NC, USA, Berne is […]
The Dubai municipality seeks to increase the emirate’s green areas by 4% by the end of next year, including new public parks and additional landscaping, ArabianBusiness.com reported today. According to municipality officials, there is currently the equivalent of 13.18 square meters of green space per capita in Dubai. The aim is to nearly double this figure and […]
How un-green? Not only an over-the-top luxury car, but made from white gold! So what if it can run on biofuel. Are the United Arab Emirate states being over-the-top extravagant when purchasing super luxury cars? Word has it that an Abu Dhabi billionaire is the proud owner of a Mercedes V10 Quad Turbo sports job […]
Organic Foods & Cafe, an organic supermarket and cafe in Dubai, brings a range of organic products to the United Arab Emirates and defines part of its mission as “furthering learning about what is healthy for us and our world and environment around us and promote it.” The supermarket attempts to create a welcoming and […]
Partners shake hands on a new seawater-desert biofuel system to be located in Abu Dhabi. This news in from Dubai: The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Boeing [NYSE: BA], Etihad Airways and Honeywell announced at at press conference today that they will establish a major research and demo project in Abu Dhabi dedicated to […]