Improving the Air Quality and Energy Efficiency of Your Home
Houseplants filter air pollution. But there are other things you can do to make sure your indoor space is healthy.
plants
Plants going extinct faster than we thought
Plants: They seem more resilient than we are. And there are so many wild places in the world that they can take over. But a new study reveals that along with large mammals, amphibian and creatures of the sea, plants are going extinct faster than we thought possible. Time to start saving seeds. And not […]
Plant Sharing Point in Tel Aviv to green your city
Got a plant? Want a plant? Dreamers in Tel Aviv start a new swap.
Join the UN’s annual party for the plants
Keeping plant products and global trade in plants safe – Annual meeting: Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (International Plant Protection Convention) happening April 1 to 5 2019, Plenary Hall, FAO Rome. The Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) – the governing body of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) – will hold its annual meeting to review […]
Middle East plants won’t migrate during climate change
Climate change predictions for the Middle East, like other arid regions of the world, are alarming. In an area known for its water scarcity, rainfall is expected to decrease even further in the near future, spelling disaster for the functioning of unique ecosystems — hotspots of biodiversity and rich genetic fodder for essential crops. To […]
How to grow an olive tree in a container
Don't have a garden? You can still own a fruiting olive tree, grown in a container. A sunny balcony and the right climate are the essential things; that, and time.
Israeli Wildflowers Show Environmental Education Can Inspire Change
Today there are a dizzying variety of wildflowers blooming across Israel, welcoming the months of spring. Fifty years ago some of these plant species were on the verge of extinction. With the help of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and the Nature Reserves Authority, the 1965 campaign to publicize the law […]
Worm Composting to Rejuvenate Your Plants and Earth
This little critter, the common red worm, is a natural organic composting machine Composting for improvement of houseplants and gardens and made in your backyard or even in your own living room is a subject covered frequently in Green Prophet. Composting equipment can cost as little as ten dollars for a vegetable compost bin or […]
Morflora’s Plant “Vaccine” Boosts Food Production Without Using GMOs
A new seed treatment could stop the use and need for GMOs. Even though organic agriculture and sustainable farming practices are on the rise, feeding a hungry world demands that commercial farmers rely on genetically engineered (GMO) seeds to boost production and fend off diseases. But environmentalists fear that GMO crops are a sort of […]
Plants Of The Quran: Garlic (Thūm)
Pungent and bittersweet, garlic is no stranger to Muslim cuisine. Check out what makes it eco-holy and why a clove a day is a needed health top-up.
Field Notes from a Sharjah Desert Summer Trek
Early morning on a Saturday in May I headed out on my routine weekend nature trip into the desert. My visit was to a desert area in Sharjah that is approximately 25 kilometers away from Sharjah City and is an area I have been frequenting now for a few years. My trip goals were two-fold: […]
Air Con Water Runoff: Cherish it like the Rain
Tomato sprouts growing with AC water: waste not want not! Another hot summer is now upon us and most people in the Middle East that have them are running their air conditioning units at full blast. Many people may not realize that their AC units are also producing large amounts of “run off” water that […]
Recycling Plants and Paying the Green Forward
In addition to paper and plastic, now Israelis will be able to recycle their garden and windowsill plants too. When redesigning one’s garden, sometimes perfectly healthy plants get tossed out in the shuffle. The plants are not sick or anything, but simply do not match the new landscaping theme of the garden. These carbon dioxide […]
Can Muslims Be Buried At Sea?
The world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden, was given the ultimate green burial. Read more on how Muslims bury the deceased at land and sea.
CollPlant Enables Vegan-Friendly Collagen
Vegan-friendly lip enhancers? CollPlant makes an animal-free collagen, using tobacco plants. Advocates of vegetarianism often point out the detrimental effects of raising livestock on the environment. One frequently cited study is the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) report, Livestock’s Long Shadow, showing that livestock production is responsible for 18 percent of […]
The Oldest Iranian Is Dying
Listed as one of the oldest trees in the world, the Iranian cedar of Yazd, is dying. The oldest living Iranian creature, a cedar tree in Abarghu (or Abarkuh) near Yazd in center of Iran, is about to die. There are different opinions about the real age of this famous tree considered a symbol of […]
Biodiversity Under Threat At Yemeni ‘Alien-Island’
In the alien and isolated landscape of the Socotra Island, just off the coast of Yemen, biodiversity is in a struggle for survival Declared an UNESCO world heritage site in July 2008, the Socotra Archipelago which is located in the northwest Indian Ocean is home to some of the rarest species in the world. According […]
Pauline Wafts Through “Uses & Abuses of Plant-Derived Smoke”
Pauline discovers in her review of “Uses & Abuses of Plant-Derived Smoke” that there is more to plant-based smoke than meets the eye. Read on for details. You’ve heard of tobacco and cannabis but what about jimsonweed or torchwood? This book demonstrates that there’s a lot more to smoke created from plant material than just […]
Moroccan Environmental Activist Faces Two Years In Prison Over Trees
Reporters Without Borders is providing Mohammed Attaoui legal assistance for trumped up charges received for exposing government corruption over illegal logging. In March 2010, as Morocco hit the headlines with plans for an environmental charter and a $9 billion solar project, an environmental activist was arrested for exposing the illegal logging of protected cedar. Just […]
4 Unique Aloe Vera Juice Recipes for Summer and Health
This common potted plant can now become part of your daily diet. Naomi offers 4 recipes for taking advantage of this healthful plant, which offers more than just sunburn relief. Image via odetothebigsea Growing up, my mother was always interested in natural remedies to mild health issues, whether it was burns, cuts or the flu. […]
Sticky Liquid in Carnivorous Plant Could be Organic Fungus Fighter in Hospitals
New Tel Aviv University research investigates anti-fungal agents in the sticky “pitchers” of carnivorous plants. Biomimicry at its best. In the tropics, carnivorous plants trap unsuspecting prey in a cavity filled with liquid known as a “pitcher.” The moment insects like flies, ants and beetles fall into a pitcher, the plant’s enzymes are activated and […]
Qatar Establishing Gene Bank of Local Animals and Plants for Conservation
In a step towards preserve the wealth of its national animal and plant populations, Qatar will be setting up a gene bank of local species. Dr. Sheikh Faleh bin Nasser Al Thani, the Director General for Research and Agricultural Development of Qatar’s Environmental Ministry, said that “Qatar has a precious legacy of flora and fauna […]
Five Edible Wild Plants You Can Pick Yourself
I’d always admired people who eat wild vegetables. No water gets pumped and no gas is drilled to get those plants to the market. But as an immigrant without a horticultural bent, I needed guidance. Fortunately I had expert teachers: Green Prophet’s own Miriam Kresh, and Sarah Melamed, who writes Foodbridge. Miriam has taught me […]
Kaiima Doubles Chromosomes To Make More Plant Power
Biofuels are alternative energy fuels produced from living organisms or metabolic byproducts . If we could just find a more efficient way to unlock their energy, and to minimize the amount of land and water resources needed to grow them, they could replace the polluting and limited reserves of fossil fuels currently in use. Now Kaiima […]
In Jordan and Israel There is a Desert Plant That Waters Itself
A team of researchers from the University of Haifa have stumbled upon a rare desert plant living in Israel’s mountainous Negev desert, which can irrigate itself. The plant, the desert rhubarb, Rheum palaestinum, was first classified by a local Israeli botanist about 70 years ago. It has adapted to harsh desert climates by developing specially […]