Zazen for Feeling Some Eco-Zen-Chic on Samui Island, Thailand
We travelled to Zazen Boutique Resort on Koh Samui, Thailand and were pleasantly surprised at their pioneering eco initiatives on an island without much awareness.
Energy Efficiency
Setsuden Helped Japan Conserve 75 Nuclear Reactors Worth of Energy
The Middle East can learn about energy savings from the Japanese, and the Japanese concept of setsuden. Sometime during the mid 1990s a series of heat waves coincided with a refueling shut-down at one of my home state’s nuclear power plants. Citizens were asked to voluntarily cut usage. Somehow we managed to conserve the equivalent […]
Are ESLs A Mercury-Free Replacement for CFL Lights?
Spectrums: CFL (top) has mercury’s characteristic violet and green. Incandescent (middle) spectrum is smooth with strong reds (warm). LED (bottom) has a bright peak in blue. If only there were a light bulb as efficient as a compact fluorescent light (CFL), but without the ghastly green light and brain-eating toxic mercury. Am I asking too […]
5 Technologies to Make Desalination More Efficient
People who live in Mideastern coastal cities might understand the despair expressed in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “Water, water every where, and nor any drop to drink.” The poem details the effects of saltwater and thirst on marooned sailors. The ancient mariner hangs an albatross around his neck as an act […]
Will Smart Sockets Change the Economics of Efficiency?
Smart sockets explained. Lewis Strauss, Chairman of the US Atomic Energy Commission said this to a group of science writers in 1954: “Our children will enjoy in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter…” While this comment is often given as an example of overly-optimistic technological predictions, electricity is incredibly inexpensive. Just look at […]
Termite Mounds Inspire Energy Neutral Buildings
Mr. Dubai, why not build your hotel like a termite would? Green Prophet has written many articles on green building, and the revival of beautiful earth architecture in the Middle East. Earth architecture is certainly a more sustainable and interesting alternative solution – for those lucky enough to own some rural land, but can buildings […]
New Cooling Lagoons Could Save the Gulf’s Marine Enviornment
Crystal Lagoons has developed an alternative cooling and energy harvesting system for power plants that doesn’t require the use of seawater. Gulf countries that lack freshwater resources rely deeply on seawater desalination to meet their daily needs and cool down thermal generation plants. According to Gulf News, the United Arab Emirates alone uses four trillion litres […]
Masdar Aims to Become the Guru of Sustainable Building Materials
Masdar will break ground on a new Facade Test Center in a few months. It will research the most energy efficient building materials on the market. Masdar is constantly reinventing itself in order to ensure that the Gulf’s first genuine low-energy and low-carbon building project succeeds, and its latest reincarnation may well become one of […]
Yaniv Pardo’s Twisting Tower for Netanya in Israel
Netanya’s efficient new twisting tower will be powered by geothermal energy and transform this once-obscure Israeli city. We have a real soft spot for earth architecture, such as Nader Khalili’s gorgeous domes and arches fit for space, and these amazing Syrian beehive-shaped buildings that have lasted hundreds of years, but we also acknowledge the great […]
12 Uber Simple Steps to Green Your Life in 2012
Step in for this wonderful list of 12 easy ways to green your 2012. image via maliny The folks over at Nourishing the Planet have come up with a stellar list of simple steps that every person can take to green their lives. Although it is written with an American audience in mind, each of […]
Sustainable Architecture Saudi Style: King Abdullah Financial District
Although the massive 3,300,000 sq m King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh will feature a variety of “green” initiatives, this is definitely sustainable architecture Saudi style. We applaud any individual or organization that seeks to green up their portfolio, and Saudi Arabia is no exception. Really, it’s difficult to blame the Kingdom’s residents for striking […]
Kite Surfer Pulls ‘Sail-Support’ Wires to Track the Sun
Inspired by kite surfing, an Israel engineer at Etenergy develops a PV dual-axis tracker to get 40% more energy from large PV solar installations. What happens when an Israeli engineer with experience in solar power goes kite surfing with the wheels of his mind turning? Eyal Dror founder of the company ETracker has developed a […]
Watec – Meet Green Prophet at Israel’s Huge Water Event
Meet Karin at the WATEC conference this week in Tel Aviv. It happens every two years, and this week delegations from all corners of the planet are expected to converge in Tel Aviv, Israel for the two-day water conference and expo called WATEC. I interviewed Booky Oren this year, the conference chair, about what to […]
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 […]
Dead Sea Inspires Advantix Systems’ Cooling Tech
Advantix Systems is yet another new Israel-based cleantech company just entering the U.S. market with an innovative solution for a big problem for US states as the climate heats up with climate change, while simultaneously, fossil fuels become rarer and more expensive, in the ongoing journey down the other side of Hubberts Peak. The company […]