UNICEF in this news piece has announced that although a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have made considerable progress towards improving the health of mothers and children, disparities within these countries persist, making this progress inequitable. “The health and well-being of mothers and children is often determined not […]
The Naked Sea installation is intended to draw attention to the declining environmental situation at the Dead Sea. Will you get naked for the Dead Sea? Naked-people-installation-artist Spencer Tunick is still trying to raise funds to create a massive naked art exhibit which he plans on photographing at the Dead Sea – which we covered […]
Istanbul – a major hub for train travel across the Middle East Survey results published this week reveal that the majority of international travelers would prefer to take trains instead of aeroplanes, if they had the opportunity. The poll of 300 consumers, conducted for train technology company Silverrail, showed that 79% would choose trains over […]
A bombing attempt of the natural gas line that runs between Egypt, Israel and Jordan was averted today, according to the Associated Press. In Sinai, six gunmen targeted the natural gas pipeline that carries natural gas from Egypt to Israel and to Jordan. They overpowered a guard and planted a bomb, and then fled. Failing […]
Cycling holidays are tempting travellers to eco-friendly ways of seeing the Middle East In recent months Green Prophet has reported on all aspects of cycling in the Middle East, from new resources for visitors wanting to visit the Middle East by bicycle, to calls for a Critical Mass-style ‘cycling revolution’ in Cairo. In line with […]
Three Jordanian villagers returned this week from training at the Barefoot College in India (Petra photo). Here’s a heartwarming story published in the Jordan Times yesterday that can distract us for a few moments from the human and environmental catastrophe in Japan: A new grassroots program in Jordan aims to bring solar power to rural areas. […]
Checking for radiation in Japan. Wouldn’t happen if a solar power plant is damaged. Japan’s situation involving its damaged nuclear reactors is heading into “critical mass” following more reactor failures from last week’s mega earthquake and subsequent tsunami tidal waves. Worries about this kind nightmarish scenario happening elsewhere, especially in the Middle East has been […]
Petrol and electricity are considered birth-rights, even God-sent in the Arab world. How can this reality compete with the use of renewables? Grid parity, the point when the cost of power generated from renewable energy resources become equal or cheaper than conventional power costs, is around the corner for many countries. In the Arab world […]
Bolster your New Year’s food resolutions with seven recycled titles: largely published before 2011 but still relevant. Eating sustainably can make a huge impact on our planet. Dig in. 1. Eating Animals (Penguin, 2011) Part memoir, part science: novelist Jonathan Safran Foer’s takes a philosophical look at how we justify what we eat . Prepare […]
The epic Sahara Forest Project in Jordan. More planned for its green future. Jordan, one of the five most water-deprived countries on Earth, has more than just a casual interest in developing technologies such as solar energy, water desalination and nuclear power. Its very survival depends on it. So says Alia Hatoug-Bouran, Jordan’s former environment […]
Jordan will be the location of the Sahara Forest Project which uses solar power to create clean water and electricity for agriculture Whilst deserts can be the harshest and most inhabitable places in earth, they are also the perfect locations for new-fangled green technologies such as solar power. For example, Jordan has recently announced its […]
Jordanian environmentalists have launched a new campaign against planned construction in a nature reserve. Jordanian environmentalists have launched a new campaign against plans to build a military academy at Bergish, in the Ajloun Forest nature reserve in north-western Jordan. The plans will, says campaigners from Halt Ajloun Deforestation, destroy an estimated 2,200 trees – some […]
Until the well runs dry? Jordan’s Al-Disi Aquifer pipeline is only a temporary water solution Jordan’s long planned water conveyance project to bring water from an underground aquifer near its border with Saudi Arabia is now closer to reality with the arrival of 200 km of pipeline from Turkey, according to a December 20 article […]
Ancient farmers used indigenous knowledge to sustain communities at Avdat in the central Negev as many as seven thousand years ago. That wisom may hold the key to the future according to specialists. I visited Avdat this August on one of the hottest days of the year when temperatures soared well above 40 degrees. Then, atop the […]
The Director of the Center for Oil Shale Technology and Research (COSTAR) talks to Green Prophet about the benefits and detriments of oil shale exploration. When we first submitted our open letter to David de Rothschild, in which we asked him to intervene in an oil-shale development project in the Elah Valley now backed by […]