The Emirates are feeling the pressure of energy and water deficits. Unfortunately, their nuclear solutions are still shortsighted. Dubai grew and grew: without any kind of environmental foresight, the Emirate built the tallest this and the biggest that, showing off its engineering might. And despite some efforts to learn from its neighbor’s mistakes, Abu Dhabi […]
Qatar aims to build twelve stadiums for the 2022 World Cup in one of the hottest places on earth? Will that plan go up in smoke? Even the most stalwart fans are bound to protest a FIFA decision to hold the 2022 world cup in Qatar. Aren’t they? From July to September, although humidity levels […]
At a time when sane people are looking for ways to scale back their use of precious resources, Abu Dhabi continues to move full speed ahead. More than once I’ve flattened the gas pedal on long country roads: trees whoosh by, road lines blur, and for those few moments of abandonment, I had not a […]
What’s more comforting on a chilly day than a cup of soup? Try our twist on a traditional Lebanese recipe. When fresh vegetables are scarce in remote areas of the Middle East, people rely on dried pulses stored for the winter in ceramic jars or burlap bags. Onions harvested in summer add piquancy. Samneh, clarified […]
Leafminers tunnel their way through Middle Eastern tomato leaves. Can Jordan’s crops “ketchup” in their wake? It is difficult to imagine a Middle Eastern home without tomatoes. It is a crucial ingredient in virtually every popular dish, including shakshuka. But lower income families in Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Syria and Lebanon are having to acclimate to […]
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 […]
Make your own cheese spread, Labneh. Easy and delicious! Breakfast in the Middle East. There’s black coffee. Pita. Chopped cucumbers and tomatoes. Olive oil to drizzle at will. And labneh, a thick, yoghurt-based cheese whose sour taste perfectly complements vegetables, bread like zalabya, and olive oil. Labneh is as easy to make as our ricotta recipe. […]
Bill McKibben talks about fossil fuels, a “slightly earlier time,” and 350.org’s goal to ensure a future for the world’s youth. Bill McKibben needs very little introduction, but I’ll give one anyway. Not only is he considered one of America’s leading environmentalists, who has written a small sack full of books and contributes to numerous […]
ECOWEEK is at it again, this time looking for green building solutions to Tantur, a theological school based in Beit Jala. ECOWEEK unites budding, newly-minted, and established architects from around the world to sketch modern solutions to enduring challenges. Earlier this year, ECOWEEK – founded by Elias Messinas, an Israeli-Greek green architect – arranged lectures […]
The warmer colors (red, purple) represent parts of the planet that are likely to experience the worst drought within the next few decades. In some places, 2010 was the hottest year on record. Saudi Arabia – with its enormous swath of desert – was particularly hard hit, while Egypt stewed during a series of blackouts […]
Physical passion is the ‘fire’ element of sustainable relationships, and is dependent on a healthy dose of ‘earth, air and water’ according to a noted eco-sexpert. Wendy Strgar is in the business of creating sustainable relationships, and her ecology of love philosophy is both green and desirable. Like the water we drink for survival, love […]
Cool, soothing raw almond milk is great for hot days. But when winter arrives, enjoy a creamy, hot, Middle Eastern version. Almond milk, while it may be killing the bees, is a vegan option for a protein drink, instead of animal milks (like camel’s milk). It’s lactose-free, has no cholesterol, and a cup contains 10 […]
Deputy Editor of XPRESS goes undercover and exposes rampant recruitment racket in the United Arab Emirates. Mazhar Farooqui, Deputy Editor of XPRESS, posted a resume that depicted him as the most worthless employee in the United Arab Emirates. Even so, he was offered all kinds of lucrative jobs. For only $81, the undercover editor was […]
Abu Dhabi’s government plans to pump desalinated water underground to prepare for event that its desalination plants are threatened. Relying almost entirely on desalination plants for drinking water, and with approximately 90% of its groundwater unfit for drinking, Abu Dhabi’s water security is deeply uncertain. A major oil spill or a serious case of sea […]
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah adds environmental stewardship to its political platform. In order to reach the populace in the Middle East, where environmental awareness has not yet reached the pinnacle necessary to combat problems such as pollution and waste, Islamic leaders have met several times to suss out religious mandates to maintain ecological integrity. […]
Try a new twist on traditional tabbouleh, with quinoa instead of bulgur. Tabbouleh or tabouleh is a standard part of mezze – the array of small, piquant dishes set down on the table before a serious meal in the Middle East. Traditionally made with bulgur wheat, tabbouleh is really a cold salad packed with herbs […]
With insufficient arable land of their own, Arab countries are farming in Sudan to secure their food future. Early last year Karin reported on a troubling trend – a neo-colonial land grab occurring in Africa: Britain, Sweden, Germany, and South Korea have all usurped fertile African land in order to develop various agricultural pursuits. Then […]
Kathleen Rogers and the world wide web have revolutionized citizen environmental activism. Since 1970, Earth Day has pivoted grassroots environmental activism in a powerful way, uniting the global community with global concerns. Numerous other campaigns have also emerged, providing untold opportunities for ordinary citizens to voice their insistence on a cleaner, safer, and saner future. […]
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, […]
Little is known about them in the west, but the world’s only vegetarian mammal in marine waters is under serious threat in the Middle East. Dugongs, or sea cows, believed to be the source of mermaid legends, are threatened with extinction within 40 years, and an arsenal of measures, from replacing fishing nets that trap […]
Lacking sufficient water to grow enough wheat for its burgeoning population, Egypt (above pic of Suez Canal farm) looks to other Nile Basin countries for land and water. During the heat of this year’s scorching summer, Russia’s wheat supply took a serious hit and the country scaled back its exports. One of their main wheat […]
In an interview with Green Prophet, Yael Mejia describes the benefits of buying fresh food locally. It was largely because of Yael Mejia’s efforts to provide the good people of Dubai a fresh, no-frill food experience that the region’s first Farmers Market took place. Their Brand Consultant, Yael has been wooing local farms in the […]
“Spill and run” on the Nile could lead to legal action. Only a few days ago we described the Egyptian government’s failure to enforce better maintenance and safety standards for various vessels that travel along the Nile. As a result, untreated waste is routinely dumped in the river, as well as other pollutants such as […]
Certain Egyptian Ministries are finally noticing that the Nile River is not healthy. For 17,000 children a year, they are a bit late. One of the most popular tourist activities in Egypt is to travel along the Nile River, and there is no shortage of options for doing so. Hundreds of eager men are ready […]
Once you’ve tasted bread baked with spicy black cumin seeds, you’ll reach for more…and more. Black cumin is often added to breads and crackers in the Middle East, as we noted in our post about black cumin seed. We suggest scattering some of those spicy black seeds over the dough in our recipe for za’atar […]