Despite the forecast of dire effects of global warming in the Middle East, oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia have continued to keep oil production at high levels. Located in one of hottest regions on earth, the Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia has also expressed high interest in building nuclear power plants, despite being a country rich in solar energy potential.

The present specter of falling oil prices is adding a new harsh reality to a country that depends on oil production for nearly its entire economy. Crashing oil prices are hurting this desert kingdom tremendously. The headlines in a February article in Britain’s Sunday Express newspaper appears to say it all: Welcome to AUSTERITY, Saudi Arabia: Crashing oil prices sends economy into meltdown.

On record for years as being the world’s largest oil producer, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is now rapidly using monetary reserves to finance the wasteful lifestyles of its extended royal family. With oil prices presenty hovering at around $34 a barrel (see chart), Saudi Arabia will soon be unable to finance the various subsidies given to its citizens for education, energy, health care, and water allocations. Subsidies included free or dirt cheap gas.

Water resorces, almost entirely coming from giant desalination plants, are not only very costly for the Kingdom, but evironmentally damaging as well. Low oil prices will make it more difficult for Saudi Arabia to embark on plans to have as much as a third of its own energy needs met in twenty years by using solar energy. The use of solar energy to create electric power has been planned for years in the Kingdom; with a $109 Billion solar energy plan announced in the Spring of 2012. What happened there?

Low oil prices will force the Kingdom introduce massive austerity programs. These include reduction or cancellation of previously mentioned subsidies, drastic scale-backs of construction and infrastructure programs; and certain, painful belt-tightening in the Saudi royal family itself.

Without sufficient oil revenues to keep its economy afloat, there simply are not other means to provide needed foreign currency to keep the country going. Even sand, once another income source for the Kingdom, due to its use in the construction industry, is less available now.

In adddtion to Saudi Arabia, other oil income-dependent countries, including Russia, Azerbaijan, Venezuela, and the United Arab Emirates are also suffering economically from low oil prices. The situation is not forcasted to improve in the near future. Masood Ahmed, head of the Middle East department for the Sunday Express, was quoted in regards to the Saudi economy: “This (oil price collapse) will have to be part of a multi-year adjustment process.”

We hope it doesn’t end in conflict, an all too common story here in the Middle East.

Read more on oil:
Saudi Arabia dumps oil in time for U.S. election season
Solar rich Saudis running after nukes
The wrath of global warming and the Middle East
Saudi Arabia’s Desalinaton Market a $50 Billion opportunity

Photo of Saudi Oil Well by Green Tech Media 

The post Saudi economy trashed by cheap oil appeared first on Green Prophet.

In Beijing the air pollution is so bad that you sometimes can’t see your hand in front of your face. Above the charts bad, cities of the world are now coming to terms with their own local air pollution.

Sharjah, a coastal city in the United Arab Emirates has air pollution reaching dangerous peaks like Mexico City, Beijing and Tokyo, researchers now find.

Among the pollution in the air is ethane, propane, benzene, butane and toluene. Benzene, a known carcinogen was found to range from 0.34 parts per billion to 3.2 ppb. Compare this to the averages in other polluted cities: for Mexico city it is 0.6ppb, for Beijing it is 2ppb and for Tokyo it is 4ppb.

Read here how air pollution put a Green Prophet writer in the hospital in Cairo.

The survey of Sharjah air pollution was done at the American University of Sharjah. Like we always say, it is usually the west that brings attention to the environmental woes our planet faces –– especially in the Middle East where awareness and concern is low.

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After a rise in the cost of gasoline on Tuesday, Turks are now paying what may be the world’s highest price for the precious liquid.

95-octane unleaded gasoline jumped to 4.62 Turkish Lira ($2.60, or € 1.93 ) per liter on Tuesday. By comparison, the European countries with the highest current gas prices — Italy, Denmark, and the Netherlands — pay € 1.85, € 1.83 and € 1.83, respectively, according to Energy.eu.

These prices make U.S. complaints about the high price of gas seem laughable in comparison: Turkey’s current price at the pump works out to approximately $10 per gallon.

How it got this bad

Turkey’s tax rate for petroleum hasn’t changed since 2002, when a special consumption tax was introduced on imported products. But the country’s increasing demand for petroleum, combined with the fact that it imports 90 percent of the fuel, has steadily driven prices up within Turkey over the past decade.

Worldwide, the price of crude oil is also increasing. The cost per barrel increased from $105 to $107 in February: a jump that translates into an extra annual expense of $800 million for Turkey. The government can’t assume this whole burden itself, which is why Turks are now grumbling at gas stations around the country, according to English daily Today’s Zaman.

Further hurting Turks is the fact that gasoline is traded in U.S. dollars, which have been increasing in value relative to the Turkish Lira this year.

What’s the answer?

To reduce its dependence on foreign petroleum and natural gas, Turkey ought to rapidly develop its renewable and nuclear energy infrastructure, said Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency, on the day that Turkey’s new petroleum prices were announced.

“With growing energy needs, our energy imports will increase as well as the prices we pay, which is a very crucial issue for the country’s current account deficit [CAD],” Birol was quoted as saying in the Zaman.

“By building nuclear power plants and using solar as well as wind power, Turkey’s dependency on foreign imports will decrease. Having nuclear power will bring Turkey more say in the region and in the world.”

Focus should be on renewables, not nuclear

Half of Birol’s advice is wise.

Turkey certainly has an abundance of natural renewable energy sources, although it should focus on its remarkable solar resource and its already rapidly expanding wind energy sector rather than proceeding with more controversial and destructive hydroelectric plants.

But advising Turkey to build a nuclear plant is dangerous. After a 7.2-magnitude slammed eastern Turkey last October, plans to build the country’s first nuclear energy facility seemed to have been dropped. The planned site for Turkey’s first nuclear plant is located on an active fault, near the Mediterranean Sea, whose waters are too warm to properly cool a nuclear reactor.

Furthermore, that nuclear plant would be majority owned and operated by the Russian atomic energy agency, ROSATOM — hardly a way to wean Turkey off of foreign energy dependence.

Although Birol didn’t mention it, Turkey also has the potential to design and build vehicles that run off of renewable resources. A renewable car expo in Izmir last year showcased some of the country’s most cutting-edge models.

:: Today’s Zaman 

Read more about Turkey’s efforts to use less foreign petroleum:

Renewable-Energy Cars Heat Up in Turkey

World’s First Manual Gear Hybrid Introduced to Turkish Market

Turkish Government Renews Efforts to Reduce Dependence on Foreign Energy

Image via neil alejandro

The post Where Can You Find the World’s Most Expensive Gasoline? Probably Turkey. appeared first on Green Prophet.

Energy subsidies keeping petrol and electricity prices low in the Middle East are jeopardizing the chances of renewable energy projects

The Middle East may be unique for many reason- the stunning souks, the hospitality of the people and explosive political mentality- but they are probably known for just one thing: oil. Indeed, Gulf nations have emerged from the wilderness and built entire economies and industries around their oil wells. The steady supply of cheap energy also means that petrol prices in Gulf nations are some of the lowest in the world, with many paying under $0.2 per litre at the pump. However, according to a new report by Carboun, these low prices are negatively impacting energy efficiency in the region and undermining the commercial viability of renewable energy projects.

More Subsidies = More Inefficiency

Carboun’s report and visual guide to energy and carbon emissions in the Arab world highlights the fact that after sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab world’s economy has the lowest energy efficiency record of any region in the world. Karim Elgendy, one of the founders of Carboun which is a sustainability consultancy, told GreenProphet: “Our research found that increased energy use in resource-rich countries of the Arab world is not a result of growing economic activity. In fact it represents a wasteful use of energy that is driven by energy subsidies. As energy subsidies increase in the region, its energy use per capita tends to increase, while its economic energy efficiency tends to decrease.”

Low Costs Encourage Excessive Consumption

For example, the report found that the Arab region generates $4.6 GDP per unit of energy consumed whilst the more energy efficient European Union generates $8.1 from the same unit of energy. Oil-rich nations including Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Libya generate even less at $3.7 GDP per unit of energy. This low efficiency is partly attributed to the energy subsidies which are widespread in oil-rich nations as they keep energy prices low and encourage increased consumption by cushioning consumers from the real cost of using more energy.

Renewables Can’t Compete With Cheap Energy

Another impact of these energy subsidies is that they make renewables less attractive to businesses and consumers. Compared to the artificially low costs of electricity and petrol, renewable projects just can’t compete and that shows in the renewable energy targets in various countries in the region. As Elgendy explains, “Countries with less energy subsidies tend to have higher renewable energy targets than those with higher subsidies…”

On average, oil-rich nations such as Qatar and Kuwait plan to generate just over 3% of their energy from renewables by 2020. Other more resource-poor nations in the Arab world such as Tunisia and Algeria, however, have a more ambitious target of creating 16% of their total energy via renewables by 2020.

So not only are energy subsidies creating more inefficiency by encouraging excessive consumption, they are also jeopardizing the Middle East’s chances of embracing cleaner energy such as wind and solar. And this diversion from a more sustainable and resilient energy path is the real problem with cheap energy subsides.

For Carboun’s visual guide to energy and carbon emissions in the Arab world, please see Carboun’s latest infographic.

:: Image via Crishna/Flickr.

For more on energy use in the Middle East see:

Carbon Emissions In MENA Double Over 30 Years

Masdar’s Carbon Capture Programme Could Lead To Mass Delirium & Comas

Despite Best Intentions, Gulf Countries Can’t Quit C02

80% of Middle East and Africa Concerned About Climate Change

The post Subsides Jeopardize Renewable Energy Projects In The Middle East appeared first on Green Prophet.

We reported on the green gas station in the UAE last week. Featuring solar-powered lights, a waterless car wash system, eco-friendly products, and the vapor recovery system, a new technology that reduces carbon emission and fuel wastage.

It does sound like an environmental oxymoron: an ‘eco-friendly’ petrol station? But officials at the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) last week showcased its first green station, with environmental upgrades worth about Dh3.6 million. ENOC has an aim to reduce the ecological footprint of the station’s consumers, so they are literally pumping eco-sensibility.

The World’s First Green Petrol Station

The new station is located in The Meadows, part of Dubai’s Emirates Living residential area, and is fitted with noise reduction barriers and a system that collects the harmful vapours released from fuels, as well as solar lights, water recycling and other “green” features. ENOC’s ‘green’ station is the first of its kind in the region to generate half of its energy requirements from renewable sources.

The world’s first ‘green’ gas station, BP’s Helios House in Los Angeles, was built with cutting-edge earth-friendly design, using such materials as farmed wood and less-polluting paint, a rooftop made of 90 solar panels and a rainfall collection system used to irrigate plants nearby. From recycled-glass floors to a living cacti roof, Helios House has been the inspiration behind the Middle East’s first ‘green’ filling station, having received approval from the USGBC: LEED certification system (LEED).

According to ENOC’s Chief Executive Officer, Saeed Abdullah Khoory, the ‘green’ station is one in a series of eco-friendly initiatives the oil company has been supporting for a greener future in the Middle Eastern region. “With the opening of the station, we are setting a trend not only in the UAE but across the Middle East. We are encouraging Dubai residents to reduce their environmental footprints by using the green services we provide,” he said.

“There is a mindset that oil companies are polluting companies and are not responsible,” said Zaid al Qufaidi, the head of the retail business stream of ENOC/EPPCO. He said he hoped once motorists became aware of the technologies on the site, such perceptions would change for the better.

“As a company with over 30 subsidiaries and more than 6,000 employees, we believe our actions have a direct impact on the community and the environment,” said Saeed Abdullah Khoory.

However, one major setback is the financial cost. While it costs about Dh18 million to build a station of this size, the clean technology investment comes with a 20 percent increase.

The Science Bit ‘Where Bad Fumes Turn Good’

As a car is refuelled, vapours in the fuel tank escape into the atmosphere. These vapours contain toxic volatile compounds that are harmful to people and the environment.

On calm, sunny days, these compounds react with other pollutants to form smog, known to scientists as ground-level ozone.

Repeated exposure to smog can increase the risk of respiratory infections in healthy people as well as aggravate pre-existing conditions like asthma.

Ground-level ozone also has strong global-warming potential.

According to researchers, about 0.5 percent of pumped fuel evaporates at a temperature of 40°Celsius.

The green filling station takes these vapours back, saving about 99 percent of these emissions. Once it is collected, the vapour goes into a central underground tank, where it is put under intense pressure and liquefied into fuel again.

The Green Bit

The petrol station serves 550 customers and uses an average of 65,000 litres of fuel a day. The renewable system has been under testing for two months at The Meadows petrol station and has already saved 22,000 litres of fuel.

The station is the first in the Gulf to have noise reduction barriers, a feature of particular importance considering its location in a residential area.

The petrol station also has a system that recycles water from its car wash, dubbing it a ‘waterless’ system that is more efficient than traditional car wash facilities. As vehicles are washed, the water – rather than going in the sewage network – is collected in an underground tank and purified so it can be used again.

To increase energy savings, the station uses light emitting diodes (LED), which are several times more efficient and last longer than traditional lights. Finally, outdoor lights and signs are powered by solar panels. Solar panels have increased usage throughout the Sahara Desert, and Middle East these past 5 years.

More Green features

• The ENOC petrol station uses 30 green tactics, including:
• A vapour cepollection system to trap toxic fumes that escape when fuel is loaded into the station’s main storage tanks, or into the fuel tanks of individual cars.
• Sound reduction barriers to prevent noise pollution in the surrounding residential area.
• A water recycling system at the car wash that allows waste water to be re-used.
• Solar-powered lights and signage to reduce energy usage.
• LED lights to reduce energy usage.
• Recycling bins for residents.
• Part of ENOC’s plans include manufacturing furniture made from recycled materials.

Despite all of these state-of-the-art ‘Green” technologies, the irony is obvious. The station attendants are armed with green-living brochures in one hand and gas pumps in the other. Critics say the green gas station is “like a vegetarian who eats fish”, – Grishaber.

However, this green station is as close to ‘environmentally friendly’ as an oil company can get in the UAE. Considering the limitations of technology, dependency on fossil fuels and the desert climate, ENOC’s effort at creating sustainable eco-friendly practices for an unsustainable resource like petrol is a positive, albeit tiny, step in the green direction.

Images:: flickr & Alrroya

More on greening the UAE:
Party With The UAE’s Green Sheikh On 10/10/10
UAE Scholars And Imams Speak Up For The Environment
10 ‘Hyper-Miling’ Techniques For Greener Driving

The post Environmental Oxymoron: A ‘Green’ Filling Station In UAE appeared first on Green Prophet.

A Japanese man concerned about the environment his children have inherited dreamed up a way to convert plastic back into oil, reducing carbon emissions in the process. With all the plastic in the world still in existence, and peak oil on its way, plastic (and a machine like this) may soon become one of the world’s most prized commodities.

Conceived by Akinori Ito with the Blest Corporation, this machine can handle all kinds of plastics including  polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene. And they can be made in various sizes from small to large that can be used in a range of applications (personal to industrial).

Stuff the bags, caps, and other plastic packaging into the machine. Put on the lid. Flip a switch, and voila. A few minutes later the melted plastic releases gas through a tube. A beaker of tap water cools and then converts those gases into oil.

The oil can then be further refined into gasoline, diesel, or kerosene, and can power everything from cars to generators, or even used as is.

Heating the plastic with electricity instead of flames keeps emissions down (particularly compared to giant oil refineries). The process also requires 1kWh of electricity for every kilogram of plastic, which produces one liter of oil.

I’m floored that it took us this long to think about such a technology; in hindsight, it seems so simple. Plastic is made from oil but doesn’t decompose, so why not convert it back? Sheer genius.

If the fuel is re-used in vehicles, then further emissions will be released into the atmosphere. However, for every kilogram of plastic burned (ostensibly to get rid of it) 3kg of CO2 billows beyond; converting it back to oil initially spares 80% of those emissions.

Mr. Ito has carted his machine to developing countries and demonstrated to communities that plastic isn’t garbage, it’s fuel. That has transformed their thinking and inspired them to clean up after themselves.

I’m dreaming of a day when governments worldwide become wise to this technology and initiate massive plastic collection parties. Sign me up!

:: flixxy.com

More on plastics in the Middle East:

Is the Mediterranean Harboring a Giant Plastic Patch?

Syria Campaigns to Curb Plastic Appetite

UAE Camels Killed By Choking on Plastic

The post New Machine Converts Plastics Back To Oil appeared first on Green Prophet.

How greasy is that outfit you’re wearing? People don’t always realize that today’s modern fabrics may contain petroleum. And petroleum is used in a surprising number of consumer items. Petroleum production and consumption increases greenhouse gases and means more drilling, especially in the Middle East. With the recent increase in oil consumption in the region, residents are polluting their own backyard.

The Eco MENA (Middle East and North Africa) community shares important tips for consuming less oil. Reducing petroleum consumption helps green the Middle East,  and the whole planet. Are you aware of how many ways you use petroleum daily? Follow these guidelines to cut back:

1. Carpool, cycle or use public transport to go to work. If you must drive, try hyper-miling to save gas.

2. Avoid buying plastic, or products stored in plastic containers. Plastic is made from petroleum. According to Umra, about 4 percent of the world’s annual oil production goes into the plastic, and another 4% provides the energy to make it.

3. Buy organic fruits and vegetables. Fertilisers and pesticides are often petroleum-based.

4. Buy beauty products (shampoo, soap, make-up) based on natural ingredients, not oil.

5. Cboose locally produced products whenever you can. Fuel usage goes down because the goods travel shorter distances.

6. Buy clothes made out of organic cotton or hemp, not from oil derivatives. Bamboo chadors, anyone? And don’t forget about the bedclothes. Petroleum hides in synthetic fibers such as acrylic, nylon, polyester, fabric coatings, and buttons.

7. Instead of relying on plastic or paper disposable dishes, learn to wash dishes using a minimum of water.

8. Stop buying bottled water and soft drinks.

9. Fly less. Air travel accounts for 3-5% of carbon dioxide emissions.

10. Demand that your government encourage renewable energy instead of subsidizing oil
Demand that your government lower taxes on smaller cars with low fuel consumption, improve public transportation, and make the streets bicycle and pedestrian-friendly.

More green lifestyle posts:

The Most Effective PR Campaign in Israel’s History: Protecting Wildflowers

Breastfeeding and Keeping Up with Supply and Demand

Are Green Garbage Bags Environmentally Friendly?

Top image via ontwerplus
Lower image via wonderlane

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