Environmentally-friendly designed straw bale houses are energy efficient and earthquake resistant. Pakistan's poorest groups rebuild lives through Pakistan Straw Bale and Appropriate Building (PAKSBAB) micro-financed project.
Environmentalists have been telling us for years that we need to stop focusing on the economy and consider nature. Will a ‘Green GDP’ help us do just that in the Middle East? GDP is probably one of the very few widely recognised abbreviated economic terms in the world. It stands for Gross Domestic Product and […]
The focus on sharing profits and taking communities into consideration means that the Islamic way of banking is (theoretically) better for the planet The announcement by the CEO of Doha Bank, R Seetharaman, that Islamic banking is the right platform to boost ‘green financing’ as its values sustainable environmental development has got me thinking about […]
Yerukim believes that money should be “green” and if it doesn’t grow on trees, it should at least help trees grow. A new economic project is slowly growing in Kiryat Ono, Israel with a currency based on rewarding good environmental deeds. Sound crazy? It just might be, but it is slowly growing and it will […]
USAID billboard in Ramallah graffiti-ed with words “We Don’t Need Your Aid” but according to latest World Bank report, growth in the West Bank and Gaza is dependent on aid donors. A stroll around the West Bank is likely to bring you face to face with a project supported by America’s aid agency USAID pretty […]
OECD Officials: Is Israel’s entry enough to ward off political adversaries? We hope it will advance clean tech and initiatives like Desertec into the Middle East. Israel is the only Middle East member. Israel’s dynamic economy, especially in science, information technology (IT) and now clean technology has propelled it to ascend to one of the […]
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 […]
Last week, a scowling Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (left, photo from Ynet) sat in parliament while his land reform took a beating. Key members of his coalition did not show up to vote (they hid in the cafeteria and offices), and so Netanyahu delayed the vote for fear it wouldn’t pass without his supporters. […]
While in the center of the country, the concern is to improve food quality, public transportation and vehicle efficiency, in the periphery Israel’s decision-makers worry about building a satisfying enough environment to attract and keep young people who otherwise flee to Tel Aviv. This reality was clear at a conference this morning on industry in […]
Disputes over natural resources are not a new part of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Water, for instance, is a famous bone of contention between the two parties. Recently, however, a newer twist developed in this ongoing battle between nations. On Monday, Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights, an Israeli rights group, petitioned the High Court […]