Plant pathologist Norman Borlaug, 95, died this Saturday, raising questions about the legacy of industrial food in the Third World. In 1970, Borlaug received a Nobel Peace Prize for averting famine through bringing fertilizers, pesticides and new plant strains to countries like India, Mexico and Pakistan. But environmentalists argue that his plant engineering only delayed […]
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The evils of plastic water and beverage bottles have already been noted in previous Green Prophet articles, including one dealing with bottled water conflicting with green values ; and another more recent one that noted how so-called bottled water is really mostly tap water that is bottled and then sold at premium prices. But now, there may […]
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According to the blog 360East, Amman is about to adopt a Bus Rapit Transit system and make plans for installing light rail, two important steps to break Amman’s 30-year love affair with the private car. Having lived in Amman in summer 2006, I can attest that buses are a mess. They are very cheap but […]
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Summer is always hot in the Middle East, but this season has gotten really fiery in Lebanon, where blazes have damaged over 15 million square meters of forest since June. The Lebanese Daily Star reports that farmers who burn their land after clearing it don’t take note of wind and dry conditions that quickly spiral […]
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With the regional drought carrying on for its third year, Iraq is in a water bind as its rivers dry up. Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reports that Baghdad has urged Istanbul and Damascus to release water so that residents of southern Iraq don’t flee of thirst. The problem is that they are suffering from water […]
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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5kg1oOq9tY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.350.org%2Fmission&feature=player_embedded#t=97[/youtube] Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) is an Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian environmental organization that has been doing a lot of good since 1994. The organization focuses on promoting cooperative efforts in order to solve communal environmental problems in the Middle East and improve relations between the people in the region. Now they […]
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The Gulf of Aqaba (also known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat) is an important Middle Eastern body of water. The 99 mile long extension of the Red Sea is surrounded by four countries – Jordan, Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia – and houses coral reefs and hundreds of fish and invertebrate species. Since […]
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The UAE Emirate state of Qatar is planning to launch an environmental program to turn desert areas into usable pasture lands and other green areas by findings ways such as desalination. They also plan on replenishing the country’s rapidly depleting ground water resources, and using scientific innovations for growing of grass and other plant life […]
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Israeli solar energy companies such as Solel Solar, Aora, Ormat technologies, and a host of others are now world leaders in the development of sun power to produce electricity. But Israel, a small country of 7 million, with more than half its land area being desert, has been a solar energy pioneer virtually since its […]
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World Water Week, an annual meeting in Stockholm about the world’s most urgent water-related issues, took place this year between August 16-22. Organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), it brought together water experts, practitioners, decision makers, and global leaders in order to come up with solutions to international water crises. It also recognized […]
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Last week we heard about the Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna) going into private homes in Amman and installing water conservation devices, but now they’ve gone straight to Jordan’s youth. Aiming to raise children’s awareness of the importance of water conservation, the Jordan Water Company held its first ever children’s water festival in Amman last Tuesday. […]
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A new NGO, known as Green Ramadan, plans to make Muslims and non-Muslims more aware of protecting the environment. Daniella touched on the new Ramadan project earlier. Meanwhile the organization is so new that its website, www.greenramadan.org is still in the development stages. Yet, the message being given will hopefully bring a new awareness among Muslims, […]
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With one half in Asia and the other in Europe, the cultural hub of Turkey has long depended on two bridges to link the city over the Bosphorus Straits (above). But a proposed third one has raised the ire of environmentalists who say it will damage the city’s forests and water resources, reports the English-language […]
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Although Lebanon’s Christian and Muslim communities live in an uneasy balance, a trendy farmers market has helped bring the nation’s diverse groups together to sell traditional food. According to Agence France-Presse, 47 families sell fruit, vegetables, preserves and bread in Beirut’s Souq El Tayeb, the first farmers market in the country. Chef and TV personality […]
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Jordan opened 15 lower-cost vegetable markets Saturday in several cities in honor of Ramadan, the month-long Muslim fasting holiday that began Friday. According to the Jordan Times, the government began the market program last Ramadan. In exchange for a free stall, water and electricity, farmers agree to mark their produce down 30 percent. The program […]
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