We’ve written a book on how to write to save the planet. Now for those of us who aren’t blogging or writing, but who are environmentally conscious, whether you simply want to save money on your monthly electric bill or want to figure out the best way to work or “green” your best friend’s wedding, […]
Traditional power plant operators have been loathe to adopt renewables for infrastructure investment. But a new Israeli hybrid invention could make solar a realistic step forward. While solar energy is the environmentally-friendly alternative of choice for power plants, it’s an expensive option because of the equipment and technology needed to harvest the sun’s rays. Now […]
Desertec is a $500 billion solar project to catch Middle East and Africa sun. Tafline is currently at the Desertec Dii conference in Cairo, reporting from the field. Above is Dii’s CEO Paul van Son addressing the Dii conference Just two years ago, Desertec was merely a pin prick of an idea conceived to tap […]
Desalination’s negative environmental risks can outweigh the benefits, argues our environmental lawyer blogger Josh. Israel will quadruple its output of desalinated water by 2050, according to a report released by the country’s Water Authority Council. The government will also encourage construction of new desalination facilities on manmade islands. These measures will ensure a continuous stream […]
Jogging is great exercise for you, and for the batteries that it can power. A friend of mine in college once had a crazy idea to solve the American obesity crisis and alleviate global warming: encourage the obese to exercise and harness the energy created by their treadmills, ellipticals, cycling machines, etc. as an alternative […]
Saudi King Abdullah announced on Sunday that he was giving women the right to vote and run in municipal elections. What a coincidence. One week after it seemed that Canadian oil was going to beat the Saudis to the gigantic American market by making an inane comparison between the relative ethicality of the two fossil fuel purveyors, since Saudi women can't vote, King Abdullah has given Saudi women the right to vote. Suddenly now, dirty energy lobbying group EthicalOil doesn't have a marketing leg to stand on.
Israeli inventor Meidad Marzan has a vision of solar-powered futuristic city lights Solar power embedded in tiny tiles cladding the sides of skyscrapers could be used to efficiently power programmable light-scapes like lamps creating ever-changing patterns on buildings at virtually no energy cost, using the nascent technology of OLEDs, suggests Marzan.
When Prime Minister Julia Gillard narrowly succeeded in passing Australia’s first carbon tax last month, she probably wasn’t thinking of how Israeli innovation will be a beneficiary. Not everyone is happy that Gillard passed Australia’s first carbon “tax.” Big Coal is furious. And coal is a huge industry in Australia. But Australia’s Greenearth Energy is […]
The question has been asked – how would you build a sustainable city in the desert? Siemens, the German energy corporation, has been active in the Middle East over the past couple of years since it bought a couple of solar companies in Israel. Now it is playing a role again as it has just […]
Politics has long slowed the adoption of more solar in Egypt. This week, a milestone. This week, Spain’s Iberdrola pulled the switch on Egypt’s first combination solar and gas power plant, a 150 MW Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC) power plant in Kuraymat, Egypt, one of just four that was selected worldwide for funding by […]
The University of Madaba’s geothermal system, the largest in the Middle East Khaled Al-Sabawi, founder and president of Palestinian green energy pioneers MENA Geothermal, was one of the speakers at this spring’s much-publicised TEDx Ramallah conference. In an engaging and humorous speech, Al-Sabawi detailed the many benefits that geothermal energy has to offer his native […]
By 2100, at least ten billion people will devour the planet. At a recent film screening in Al Ain, one female student asked: “what’s the point of changing if nobody listens to us?” It is a powerful question and it is a powerful obstacle that becomes mute in the face of this: 10,000,000,000 (billion) people […]
Unsurprisingly, since water scarcity is at the forefront of the cause of most of the troubles in the Middle East, MENA nations dominated the 2011 Global Water Awards held in Berlin this week. Almost half of the international winners were from the Middle East, but surprisingly, traditional fossil-fueled water projects dominated the awardees. Advanced cleantech […]
Garbage dumps roll into the sea? Rola suggests ways for energy intensive Lebanon to help ease its waste and energy problems. As Lebanon enters another waste crisis in the cities of Sidon and Tyre, with reportedly thousands of tons of waste piled up on the streets, the country finds itself once again looking for an […]
Nobody thought to ask him if he approves of a mega solar project on his home turf Solar energy, whether from photovoltaic panels, solar thermal systems, or concentration of sunlight to heat water and create steam to operate an electricity producing turbine, is being promoted by many as the most promising energy source of the […]