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energy conservation
Energy-aware Dubai airports pre-empted Earth Hour – why not all year?
Dubai International Airport (DXB) switched off all non-essential lights across its three terminals for 24 consecutive days to mark this year’s Earth Hour. It’s sister airport, Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International, located 20 miles south west of Dubai, did the same.
Hit the switch and join millions for Earth Hour 2014
It’s Earth Hour this weekend, which means you have the chance to join millions of people around the globe in a united effort to consume less energy.
Summer Solstice Wattage Waste Watch
Here is a summer solstice challenge for northern hemisphere Green Prophet readers. How many outdoor electric lights are shining at the sunny sky during the longest days of your summer?
50 Gulf Companies Voluntarily Cut Energy and Water Use
A host of private companies in Dubai and other emirates that have joined a voluntary initiative to reduce their energy and water consumption have experienced enormous success, demonstrating that it’s not impossible to do so. Last week the Emirates Wildlife Society – World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF) recognized five firms in particular for exceeding energy […]
Turkey’s “Mrs. Energy” Campaign Should Lose Gender Roles, Columnist Says
“Empty your vacuum bag often” urges Mrs. Energy (“Energy Hanım”) in this advertisement. An energy conservation campaign recently launched by the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Family and Social Policies has already aroused ire among female commentators in the country. The plump poster-wife for the campaign always appears in domestic […]
EU Upgrades Relations with Israel, Energy Over Politics
In advance of the annual EU-Israel Association Council meeting on Tuesday, the European Union stated it will offer Israel upgraded trade and diplomatic relations in over 60 areas, including energy and agriculture. This offer will also grant Israel access to European government-controlled markets and enhance Israel’s co-operation with nine EU agencies. This announcement came almost […]
Dubai’s Radisson Blu Goes Green
On the grand scale of greenliness, the Radisson Blu scores pretty low, but they are making an effort that is worth writing about. On a recent visit to their branch in Dubai’s Media City, Michael Strauss, a contributing editor to the Green Traveler Guide, found their efforts to go green “sincere.” Committed to scouting out […]
Morocco’s Atlas Kasbah Eco-Lodge is 80% Solar-Powered
It may look like a castle, but this beautiful red-earth building is actually an 11-roomed hotel that receives 80% of its energy from the sun. And like the eco-lodge, Hassan and his wife Hélène of the Atlas Kasbah are no run-of-the-mill owners. He is Berber, she is French, and they both possess Masters Degrees in Sustainable […]
Sustainable Architecture In The Middle East – Interview with Karim Elgendy
We speak to Karim Elgendy, founder of the Middle East sustainability initiative ‘Carboun’ about what motivates his work and why green ratings for buildings aren’t a silver bullet Last month, Carboun an advocacy initiative promoting sustainability in the Middle East celebrated its second anniversary. Headed by Karim Elgendy they have certainly come a long way in very […]
Sunday Snippets: Green News From the Middle East
Had a busy week? Well, why not stop and sample the delights of Sunday’s news nuggets It’s been a busy week here at Green Prophet headquarters and we’ve all been hard at work highlighting the green and not-so-green news of the Middle East. Personally, finding out that Mekkah wouldn’t be replicating the mistake of building […]
3 Eco-Svelte Energy Slashing Contracts Awarded in Lebanon
Slashing energy consumption and improving efficiency can be eco-svelte too! Energy efficiency is to svelte new solar fields what a grey tweed coat is to a bright cherry one: decidedly dull in comparison. But shaving off a few kilowatt hours here and there can dramatically improve either a home or business’ bottom line, even without […]
Big Brother? Masdar Monitors Student Energy & Water Consumption
A one-year investigation by researchers will hopefully reveal what incentives are most likely to encourage energy and water conservation among Masdar’s student body. There’s nothing sinister about it really. Masdar City in Abu Dhabi is aiming for carbon neutrality in an unforgivingly hot and dry environment teeming with young students. Naturally these twenty-somethings – among […]
Dubai Ends Cheap Local Gas
The Dubai government’s Emirates National Oil Co (ENOC) has stopped supplying subsidized gasoline to gas stations in neighboring sheikdoms in the United Arab Emirates. Hit hard by the property crash, the once high-flying Dubai government is now penny pinching. Even at the risk of destabilizing the region – in the same way that rising food […]
InnoSave Greens Big Electric Motors to Save Energy Costs
Large public escalator systems, like this one, can operate “greener” by using InnoSave’s energy saving systems. Electric motors, running on both direct and alternating electrical current have made our lives much easier, ever since they were invented by such people as Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. The use of sophisticated electric motors are also being […]
The True Grit Behind Hot Building Schemes
Outside temperatures often reach into the mid-fifties (celsius!) during Middle East summers. Construction workers feel the heat. Behind every glamorous building in Dubai are hundreds of mostly South Asian workers. Yesterday, during a ten kilometer city hike from the Burj Khalifa to Bur Dubai, the quality of life for nearly half of the Emirate’s population […]
As Energy Demand Swells, Turkey Falls Dark for Earth Hour 2011
Istanbul’s incandescent Bosphorus Bridge will join iconic structures around the world in turning off its lights for Earth Hour this year. For the past four years, Istanbul’s majestic Bosphorus Bridge has been lit all night long by an LED display that consumes electricity at a rate of 90 kilowatts. (That’s roughly 400 megawatt-hours per year, […]
Lights Out During Earth Hour 2011 in Israel this Week
20 Israeli cities will be participating in this year’s annual lights-out Earth Hour. Following an initiative that began in Australia in 2007, Israeli cities (spearheaded by Tel Aviv) have observed Earth Hour for the past few years. Earth Hour is a global movement that urges individuals, businesses and governments to support action on climate change […]
Interview With Dubai’s Most Innovative Design Couple
Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian working in their Abu Dhabi Studied Impact Design studio. Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian have made the United Arab Emirates their home, for which we are very grateful. Their teachings, their design studio Studied Impact, and their public initiatives such as the internationally-acclaimed Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) have coincided […]
Dubai’s Conservation Incentive: Higher Energy And Water Bills
With an extra 15% added to electricity and water bills, Dubai’s residents are bound to cut back their consumption. And that is a good thing! Unlike many other Gulf countries, Dubai is not blessed (or cursed, according to some) with fountains of fossil fuels. As such, the Emirate must import the power that provides customers […]
Is Egypt The New Dubai?
Is marketing Egypt as the next hot spot for high-tech architecture the right way to deflect Dubai’s failure? From an ecological perspective, Dubai is heading towards failure. From an economic perspective, some argue that it already has. How will this improbable city pick up the pieces? Todd Reisz, an architect based in New York City, […]
General Electric CEO’s Incomplete Blueprint For MENA’s Future
GE’s Nabil Habayeb connects growth and sustainability without a second thought. Is that still the best model? General Electric has long maintained a presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In addition to setting up an Ecomagination headquarters at Masdar City, GE has recently helped connect Turkey’s electricity backbone to Europe through smart […]
Abu Dhabi Builds Giant Lightbulb For “Turn It Off” Campaign
Giant lightbulb installation in Abu Dhabi International Airport forms part of a campaign to reduce energy and water waste. How do we best effect change is a question that environmentalists, marketers, and social activists are constantly addressing. In the UAE, one man hopes to stop reckless driving through a campaign that combines emotion and logic, […]
How To Handle Record High Summer Temperatures
Reducing overall energy consumption allows more leeway during crippling heat waves across the Middle East. We are all feeling the heat (not just Iran). And though we are cautious about assumptions that global warming is contributing to these higher temperatures, we can’t deny that we are spending a little more time under our fans and air-conditioning […]
ecoQ Conference in Qatar (2011) for Clean Technologies and Sustainable Energy
Planning is in full swing for ecoQ, an international environmental protection expo taking place in Qatar in September 2011. (From left to right: Haitham Shehab, Dr. Saif Al Hajari, and a member of the ecoQ team) Next September, the Qatar International Environment Protection Expo (ecoQ for short) will be presenting an international showcase of eco-friendly […]