Park Inn Muscat receives the Middle East’s first internationally recognized Green Globe standard certification Creating quality tourism options in the environmental context has only been popular since the early 1990s. Now there are all kinds of opportunities to enjoy a relaxing holiday without causing harm to the surrounding environment: from bio tours in Israel, to […]
Get mad about poor energy policies that are heating up our planet, and then get organized on 10-10-10 I was taught the value of balanced writing free of slanted language. “Let the facts speak for themselves,” my noble university professors proclaimed. “Don’t appeal to emotion.” But as a working environmental journalist emotionally and intellectually saturated […]
Noise pollution threatens Great Barrier Reef Fish. Are Red Sea fish in danger too? Several human interferences impact the Red Sea: poaching by Yemenese fishermen, frequent oil spills, and even sunscreen is harmful to corals. These examples barely bob on the surface of the greater problem though. Worldwide, phytoplankton is diminishing, a sign of serious […]
Not only does Jibal Faifa Water Company’s bottled water contain excess levels of cancer-causing chemical, but plastic bottles are the bane of the environment It comes as no surprise that water, that miracle of life without which we would quickly shrivel up and die, dominates the headlines. We are either witch-hunting BP for its role […]
The next time you think of replacing your cell phone, remember it’s made of nickel, silver, gold, platinum, as well as plastics and other finite materials; will you reconsider? We love to share clever designs with our readers, to write about the technologies we hope will save the world one micro chip at a time. […]
Inspired by Babylon’s Hanging Gardens? Weber Thompson’s Vertical Farm pyramid concept can be used in Abu Dhabi or Dubai as well. American cities like Newark New Jersey are a long way from Abu Dhabi or Cairo; but vertical farming concepts now being planned for American cities, are also being considered for locations in the Middle […]
Chicken fillets pounded thin and fried are shnitzel in Israel. Miriam serves a healthier, herby, baked version. Sizzling summer weather takes away our appetite for anything but light, nutritious food. Coming in from the street feeling broiled ourselves, a quick, home-cooked meal is the answer. Like these organic chicken fillets. They’re more interesting than the […]
Normal coral (left) exposed to ultraviolet filters found in sunscreen “bleaches” white (right) when the algae living inside it die. Go to the beach. Swim. Kill some ecosystems and go home. All in a full day trip to any of the world’s sandy getaways. Until recently, this was a trip to get away from the […]
Arwa offers a 6 step guide to greening your Ramadan holiday. With the month of Ramadan quickly approaching, Muslims across the world are beginning to prepare for the month of fasting from sunrise to sunset. Food supplies are stocked up (ironic, I know), appointments are rescheduled and preparations are made for the month of spiritual […]
Natural and effective mosquito repellents like marigolds might be growing in your own garden. I’m a mosquito’s favorite nosh. Even just attending my window sill plants on a summer day, I’ll be slapping at my ankles and cussing at the little stingers. Being wary of toxic pesticides that pollute the environment, I’m glad to read […]
Although they only received 2nd place in Turkey’s national design competition, 1/1 Architecture combines “green” with culture in this stunning design True green architecture is rarely an end in itself. Many architects creating ecologically sensitive designs with a view toward sustainability have either a political underpinning, like Omar Yousef’s work, or a social motive, like […]
Reducing overall energy consumption allows more leeway during crippling heat waves across the Middle East. We are all feeling the heat (not just Iran). And though we are cautious about assumptions that global warming is contributing to these higher temperatures, we can’t deny that we are spending a little more time under our fans and air-conditioning […]
Do errands with no fuss, wearing baby in a sling. Ever watch a mom push a stroller with one hand and hold a fussy baby with the other? Or struggle up the steps of a bus, then try to fold the stroller while holding a squirmy baby? A sling is a simple solution for these […]
Hotter summers, intense irrigation and threats of losing their Nile, Egyptians are under quota for water compared to other Arab nations. They take to the streets. Looking at Google Earth (above) truly shows how Egypt is a fertile crescent of the region. But in the face of losing water from the Nile, tens of thousands […]
Natural disasters are expected to rise in the coming years in the Middle East. The UN supplies a quick DIY list of tips to keeping developing communities risk-free from floods. While it’s not exactly flash flood season in the Middle East, now is the time to prepare: Floods have got bigger, droughts in countries like […]
With BP’s leaky well in the Gulf of Mexico barely capped and Tony Hayward ousted, Libya will allow BP to commence drilling deep off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea [image via arenamontanus] While the BP oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico drew worldwide consternation, inspiring an ardent campaign to quit our dependence on […]
Palestinian Architect Omar Yousef draws attention to the occupation’s “forced ecology” at the Ecoweek conference in Israel [image taken by Tomer Appelbaum] Designed to teach young architects the most progressive building practices available, beyond borders or cultural differences, the Ecoweek conference taking place in Israel draws inevitable attention to disparities. Green Prophet’s interest in natural […]
Gilatz builds another solar plant in Italy, capitalizing on the country’s hefty solar subsidies. Solar is going viral, and can be profitable too. Gilatz Investment, a publicly traded company on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, has signed a deal through a subsidiary for the construction of a third 2 MW solar power plant in Italy, […]
Don’t swat the wasp! Insects are important links to the food web and deserve protection status too. As the world begins to pay closer attention to the importance of preserving biodiversity, more has emerged about the Middle East’s wild side. Hundreds of birds flock through the UAE en route from Africa to Asia, while conservation […]
This light, pleasantly spiced Moroccan fish stew is perfect for a summer lunch or dinner. We like a hot meal in the summer, but it has to be light, and it shouldn’t require a lot of time in the kitchen. This herbed and spiced fish stew needs only a few minutes of preparation, then half […]
Even as they sound an important climate change alarm for Middle Eastern viewers, AFED’s endorsement of MASDAR and KAUST deserves its own alarm. At Green Prophet, we have lamented environmental inaction in the Middle East for a long time. Ridiculous artificial island schemes and dying rivers, such as the Jordan, are only 2 examples from […]
Tesla Model S Coupe: Expensive bang for your bucks. The Middle East can only drool for now. Tesla electric sports roadsters floated a successful IPO stock offering and are now tearing down the roads in European countries like Turkey, Hong Kong, Japan, and Canada. Still considered to be an expensive recreational toy due to its high price […]
One of the most pristine crater sites in the world, Kamil teaches us to respect nature’s superiority over our lives. With its wealth of whale fossils trapped within what was once the Tethys sea, and the River Nile, now subdued but previously an angry god that rose and fell at will, affecting millions of people, […]
The First Phase of Tel Aviv’s first “Green” high rise to be completed in January [image via emporis.com] Although the Middle Eastern sustainable development agenda lags behind the western world, several recent developments and innovations demonstrate that we can keep pace. Studied Impact in Dubai has designed a renewable power plant that is fit for […]
A weekly Green Prophet series that looks at the Arabic “green” blogosphere and online communities. After looking at a personal environmental blog from Lebanon , at a Syrian environmental blog that raises environmental awareness among the Syrian public, and at a personal Iraqi environmental blog, we are flying this time to Iraq’s neighbor, Kuwait. Here, we […]