Syria faces a severe drought. A shift in weather patterns, or just a dry season? A severe water shortage in Syria is forcing farmers to look for alternative means of livelihood but the drought’s impact doesn’t end with the crops. Around a quarter of a million Syrian farmers have been forced to abandon their land […]
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The eastern squat toilet is the world’s perfect eco-toilet. Come and look inside. Some people think they’re primitive, but I love them. The hole-in-the-floor Middle East squat toilets can be found in Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Egypt –– and likely in other Middle East countries I’ve yet to visit. They’re used in China too. Not […]
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No red carpets for us environment-lovers, stupid! The typical Hollywood movie premiere is a scenario that we’re all pretty familiar with: celebrities pull up to the red carpet in large, gas-guzzling cars (what would happen if Brad Pitt and George Clooney carpooled in a Smart Car for a change?), pose for the photographers, and then […]
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A wind farm in Turkey. Should Turkey look east to oil-rich countries, or west to renewables? Turkey seems to be becoming more interested in renewable energy these days, especially in the areas of solar, geothermal like that of Ormat, and wind energy. But the future of this country, which straddles the link between east and […]
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Non-profit groups from 18 developing countries called on Saudi Arabia to “stop playing an obstructionist role” in the current climate change negotiations in Barcelona, claiming the oil kingdom’s delaying tactics will hurt the world’s poor. “Developing countries need all the support they can get,” said Wael Hmaidan of IndyACT Lebanon and founder of the Arab […]
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Climate change activists are pooling their resources as we speak in Barcelona at the Barcelona Climate Change Talks. This is an antecedent to the big United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen in December where countries are expected to draft real solutions to stopping the over-production of greenhouse gases. Part-time Green Prophet Stacy Feldman reports […]
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During the week of October 25, 2009, SolarEdge announced it raised $23 million in funding from General Electric (GE) and other investors. The deal was identified by BusinessWeek as one of the signs that Israel can become a leader in renewable energy. Sunday Energy and Ormat are collaborating on a solar energy project in Israel […]
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AECOM, a known global provider of technical and management support services, including many environmental projects, has now teamed up with the Ellerbe Beckett architectural firm, known for its environmentally designed building projects all over the world. AECOM is a Fortune 500 country with more than 44,000 employees. It is in involved in more than 100 […]
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The waste produced by Arab cities is among the highest in the world. Dubai, United Arab Emirates – “The short version of the story is that we’re not doing a very good job of managing waste,” says John Roosen, Technical Director of AECOM Environment Middle East. “Nowhere in the world does. We are going to […]
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The 2010 World Future Energy Summit (WFES) is less than three months away; and plans are already underway to ensure that this conference will be even more successful than WFES 2009, which drew more than 18,200 visitors from 84 countries. Hosted by Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Future Energy Company, the main themes of the 2010 Summit […]
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They are on investors’ hit lists and the green tech media is keen to monitor their progress. Key policy makers from the United States urge them on. Israeli solar technology innovators are channelling and shaping the sun’s energy and breaking the world’s dependence on oil. With organizations like the Cleantech Group, an international business development […]
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A model of Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi. A playground for foreigners or ecological nightmare? Looking at this gigantic real estate project, one might wonder if there will ever be an end to all of the monstrosities that being erected on every piece of available land in the United Arab Emirates and other parts […]
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“Defenders of the environment,” Shireen Qudosi explores the “green” beliefs of Islam’s Sufis. Sufism is the undiscovered sect within Islam known only through its most famous disciple, the 13th century philosopher poet Rumi whose work reflected strong themes pairing nature and spirituality. Sufis, “heirs of a mystical ancient tradition”, helped propagate the faith to the height of […]
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Planting green roots in the Muslim community in America, this video points out the Islam-inspired Green movements in Washington and California. Like the Jewish eco-groups established for years already in the US, we see over here in Israel how the green values from America translates well to Israel. America’s environment culture has a positive knock-on […]
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Abu Dhabi to build new green city in Middle East. It sits in the middle of a harsh, barren desert, sweltering in searing heat. It has no clean water, its sea is polluted and there is no topsoil, just a covering of sand. It is also the biggest per capita consumer of fuel, massively reliant […]
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