Batroun is an outpost of beauty in Lebanon. The next generation of environmental activists want to make sure it stays that way. Georges “Junior” Daou belongs to the next generation of Lebanese. A long time nature-lover, he has devoted himself full time to rejecting toxic waste in Beirut, consistent oil spills that degrade the Mediterranean […]
For Muslims who cannot grow celebrated beards, this is for you! A brilliant tongue-in-cheek DIY post for making your own knitted, crocheted and sustainable beard.
This art installation by Matthew Laws & Hall Watts is an accurate portrayal of what our 2030 water consumption will look like. Few places are as water stressed as the Middle East. The Gulf countries have to live with the reality that their very existence depends on desalination, the Levant is scarcely better off, and […]
Ezri Tarazi’s recycled design also draws important attention to how much conflict informs the Israeli identity. Any visitor to Jerusalem can attest to a palpable tension, an energy, if you will, that scrunches together hundreds of years of political and religious positioning. That same aura rises above almost every Israeli and Palestinian home. And it […]
Renowned photographer Camille Zakharia talked to us from Bahrain about his upcoming exhibit at Art Sawa in Dubai. Camille Zakharia has photographed “the mundane” for as long as he can remember, but he is anything but. After fleeing Lebanon’s civil war in 1985, he has lived in the United States, Greece, Turkey, and Canada. But […]
Exhibition in Israel brings together sustainable “contemporary cavemen” (and designers). Post Fossil, a current exhibition at the Design Museum in Holon, Israel, asks the question: how to create in a post-fossil-fueled world? As the exhibition description states, “Time has come for extreme change. Society is ready to break away from last century for good. To […]
The winner of the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) will be announced at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) next week. Throughout 2010 we featured several remarkable entries to the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) design competition that inspires energy as art. Making music with the sun was one such entry, and when Abu Dhabi […]
Hu2 Design stickers help those in the house who don’t really “get” where stuff comes from. Some people flat out deny global warming and any other environmental problems. Others kind of get it, but aren’t prepared to give up their Hummers. Others still perpetually express their guilt for eating meat and flying to Dubai for […]
Ever wondered about the science of solar or wind energy, but feel overwhelmed by too much information? READ cuts through the noise with a guide that is both informative and inspiring. Who says the Middle East doesn’t have progressive leanings? There may be the odd dud who thinks mocking global warming with a water park […]
Conservative women who visit Jeddah swim wearing their Hijab and all, but still manage to enjoy what this lovely seaside city has to offer. Diana Rayan, a Palestinian blogger and photographer living in Saudi Arabia contacted us with images of Jeddah, a city in Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea which is said to be […]
These clumps of plastic debris killed the camels from whose bellies they were retrieved. I’m not going to beat around the bush: I loathe plastic bags. There are many reasons, chief of which is the impact they have on our domestic and wildlife. Months ago we reported that camels were discovered to have been killed […]
Artists bridge the divide and draw attention to the plight of endangered species. Israel and Iran may be arch enemies politically, but a recent design competition demonstrates that their artists are more alike than different. Although we have featured many Israeli designs in the past, such as these outrageous shoes and this lovely ceramic e-cooler […]
It’s a tent, it’s a tunnel, and it funnels the year-round cool Shamal wind. We’ve been so enthralled with the Land Art Generator Initiative and the various designs that they have made available to the public, that we just had to share another with our readers. We’ve covered the solar thermal music designs that are […]
A weekly Green Prophet series that looks at the Arabic “green” blogosphere and online communities. After looking at “The Forum of the Ornithological Society of Kuwait and at the Saudi Green Blog, we are continuing our trip through the Gulf Countries and arrive this week at the Oman Eco Group Blog. This blog has been […]
The Deep, now at The Bloomfield Science Museum in Jerusalem offers a rare glimpse into the biological bounty of the planet’s oceans. Image © Claire Nouvian A visit to The Deep, an exhibition now appearing at Jerusalem’s Bloomfield Science Museum is an educational foray into the planet’s least known repository of biological resources. Instituted in commemoration […]