At the start of August, wildfires exploded across the Mediterranean basin, fueled by a wicked trio of extreme heat, drought and wind. In southern France, the Aude region around Carcassonne saw the country’s largest blaze since 1949, burning more than 16,000 hectares. In Spain, a 16-day heatwave — described by the national weather service as the most intense on record — set the stage for weeks of fire in the northwest near Zamora.

Greece endured simultaneous outbreaks around Patras, several Ionian islands, and Chios; satellites showed ~100,000 acres burned in just two days. By early September, the EU’s science hub estimated roughly one million hectares scorched across Europe in 2025 — an area bigger than Cyprus — with emissions and fire counts well above last year.

This isn’t just “bad luck.” Rapid attribution studies from World Weather Attribution find that the specific cocktail of hot, dry and windy weather that supercharged fires in Türkiye, Greece and Cyprus this summer is ~10 times more likely because of human-caused climate change. A separate WWA analysis shows extreme fire weather in Spain and Portugal is now effectively “common” in a warming world — a grim new baseline we’ll have to plan around, not a blip we can just ride out.

What it feels like on the ground

Fires today don’t behave like the fires our grandparents knew. Structures ignite faster; smoke is a toxic stew; embers leap roads like they weren’t even there. Our own reporting on smoke’s health harms — even from far-away blazes — is sobering: see how wildfire smoke damages lungs and hearts.

In Israel, we’ve documented both the on-the-line response and long-tail recovery, from front-line firefighting and evacuations to lessons from the Carmel blaze a decade ago — when, counter-intuitively, letting nature lead regrowth proved wiser than rushing in with well-meant tree plantings.

A warmer Mediterranean from climate change means longer fire seasons, drier fuels and stronger heat waves. We’ve reported on this shift for years — from early signals of Mediterranean winter drought trends to the uncomfortable truth that it’s not “just warming” but global scorching.

Add land-use change — abandoned farms, flammable plantations, dense edge housing — and fires spread faster and hit more people. Meanwhile, climate whiplash is reshaping risk across our region; the same storm systems that flood deserts are part of a new normal we covered in MENA’s flash-flood wave.

What we can do next (like, starting yesterday)

Prevention isn’t sexy, but it works. We can make homes less flammable, communities more prepared, and landscapes less primed to explode. That looks like smarter codes and materials — even bio-based ones. Our look at hemp-lime blocks found they smolder slowly and hold structure in fire tests,buying valuable minutes for firefighters  and families alike. For deeper resilience, check out Earthship-style off-grid homes that reduce dependence on fragile grids when heat waves knock power and comms offline.

We also need to treat mental resilience as climate infrastructure. Neighborhood-scale actions can ease eco-anxiety while cutting risk: placemaking to build social ties, shrinking our personal footprints, and backing projects that restore ecosystems at scale — from community-led reforestation in Iran to ambitious corporate pledges like doTERRA’s native tree plantings in Hawaii.

Policy matters too — and we’ll keep holding leaders to account (see our coverage of health-protective climate rules).

What Green Prophet readers can do

Feeling overwhelmed is normal, but it’s not the end of the story. Start where you live: create defensible space (clear brush, prune trees), swap to ember-resistant vents, and ask your city for shaded “cool corridors” and community fire drills. Learn the health basics for smoky days (N95s > cloth masks), keep HEPA purifiers on hand, and check in on elders and neighbors. Put your money and voice behind solutions: fund local ecological grazing and prescribed burns; back nature-positive jobs; and push for serious climate policy, not just slogans.

And yes, keep sharing rigorous reporting — amplify scientists, firefighters, and the communities living on the frontlines. Together, we can make the next fire season a little less brutal, and a little more survivable. Even small steps add up, promise.

The post Mediterranean Mega Fires Burn Record Land as Climate Change Fuels Extreme Heat and Drought appeared first on Green Prophet.

International holidays, as a whole, are not the most sustainable, especially when they involve flying. On the other hand, we all deserve a sunny getaway every now and then, and breathtaking destinations like Algarve offer a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. So, how do you find the right balance? A walking holiday could be your answer. 

Reducing your footprint

A walking holiday in Portugal essentially means that, once you get to the airport, you stop using any kind of transport. Instead, you simply walk from A to B, wherever that may be for you. As such, you reduce your carbon footprint significantly, avoiding the use of cars or public transport all together. Besides the sustainability aspect, it’s a highly rewarding way to explore a country, since you get to see parts of it you would normally miss out on. 

Your walking holiday will typically take place on a pre-planned long-distance trail, which could last anywhere between a week and a month. One of the most popular walking routes in Algarve is the Rota Vicentina network of walking and hiking trails. The Fisherman’s Trail, in particular, is a great option if you want a 7-day experience with a balanced mix of sandy beaches, stunning landscapes, authentic villages and delicious foods. 

The idea behind walking holidays is to explore Algarve’s natural beauty in the most respectful and sustainable way possible. The “Leave No Trace” principle is absolutely fundamental here, meaning your footprints should be the only sign of your visit. Respecting the wildlife is also key, particularly as the region is home to a vast variety of bird species (if you’re lucky, you’ll see them stork nests on the cliffs in spring!). 

Supporting the local communities

A huge part of sustainable holidays is where you choose to spend your money. The local communities benefit from tourism, as long as it helps to grow their economy. On a walking holiday, you will typically be staying in small, independent hotels or B&Bs along your route, rather than those owned by global chains.

Moreover, you will be visiting numerous historic towns and fishing villages, where you can savour fresh seafood and other Portuguese produce. Again, when choosing where to shop or eat, make sure to go for locally owned spots, as opposed to tourist restaurants and franchise cafes. Not only will this ensure that your money stays in the local economy, but you will also most likely receive a much more authentic, quality meal without the tourist price tag. 

If you book your holiday through Orbis Ways, they will take care of the accommodation and other services for you. Working with a well-established network of local businesses, Orbis Ways ensure that you stay at charming local hotels or country cottages. Not just that, the agency encourages sustainable travel by compensating the CO2 emissions produced by your trip! 

Small actions with big impact

A walking holiday across Portugal’s Algarve coast will certainly be an unforgettable adventure. And, the small compromises that you make during your travels do not just contribute towards the preservation of this beautiful region, but also make your experience more authentic and rich – making it a win-win for everyone!

The post Exploring Portugal’s Algarve coast sustainably on a walking holiday appeared first on Green Prophet.

The post Apple “Jak” shoes are Portugal’s simple, slow fashion shoes selling at Selfridges in London appeared first on Green Prophet.

Since the foundation of the first Kibbutz in Israel, which today is a modern commune with various democratic, socialist or anarchistic systems in place (or not), nations around the world have looked to the Israeli model for communal living. You’ve seen American style communes and the problems there in the 60s in Mother Nature News, but Israel started differently as it was building up its newly established country.

I’ve lived in a kibbutz in Israel for one year when I was 29 and it was life-changing. Great for someone single, yes. Great for someone with young kids? Yes. Great for old age. Most definitely. But in the end, I chose the freedom of the city and owning my own home in the country.

There are religious kibbutzes in Israel, ones based on ecological and social experiments including open love and organic food. You can find one for all walks of life. But what if you are not in Israel and are thinking about making your own intentionally community in Portugal? In Costa Rica and which is not at Pacha Mama?

Start research on communal living with CALL

One of the cornerstones to learn about the foundations of the new commune and kibbutz movement is CALL (Communes at Large Letter), a free seasonal magazine that reports on intentional communities in Israel and the rest of the world. It’s a great resource to connect with offering a sober and realistic take on what building a commune entails? What about millennials? The last issue offers some very handy resources.

For those interested to know more about intentional communities, you can subscribe to CALL. It is a modest magazine that explores all ways of community living, and includes information on international conferences and events. This link here takes you to the latest 20/21 issue.

And a film worth checking out on the Israeli kibbutz movement is Apples and Oranges (2021), about sex, love, drugs and volunteering at a kibbutz in the 60s:

Communal living and how do we do it right is a particularly relevant concept in today’s world where some of us strive to build homes that are less impacting on the environment. We are seeing hundreds of queries of people looking to move to the nature in Portugal for instance (or to Texas – check out this course that helps you build straw bale homes) , but it’s happening anywhere and everywhere there is nature to be explored.

COVID accelerated the desire and need for people to find a new way of living.

CALL the organization itself, was started in 1976 at the initiative of the late Mordechai Bentov, a kibbutz member and cabinet minister.

Today their headquarters are at the Yad Tabenkin Institute, on the campus of Seminar Efal, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. Check out their website and newsletter. Intentional communities are not just a kibbutz thing. There is also social permaculture, a way for people to farm and better the land with the support and interest of like minds all around. See our post on regenerative farming for more and check out the CALL newsletter in the link below.

::CALL

The post Want to Start Your Own Commune? appeared first on Green Prophet.

The mystery is such a mystery that even when botanists say they might have found clues, the secret, I suspect it will still be a mystery: the source of techelet, ancient blue used by Jews. The color blue was hard to come by in ancient times, and it was expensive, like the queen of all blues lapis lazuli, but like today it was revered especially in spiritual sources. The Jews used an ancient blue called techelet to dye their prayer garments, the four cornered clothing they wear to keep their minds and hearts on doing good deeds. The Bible explores how these strings on the prayer shawl should look, and that they should be dyed blue, it says.

But where does this blue come from? It’s important for religious Jews to be vigilant with biblical commandments, so to find the original source of blue is important to them. The Talmud names the source as a sea creature called the hillazon which many believe to be a sea snail known as the Murex trunculus.  But, while there is broad consensus for this identification, its acceptance in practice is not universal.

Europeans, also loved blue and artisans used it widely as a color in medieval times. One that came in favor was a blue called turnsole or folium, and as part of a research project researchers from Spain took ancient instructions on how to do it. They found the plant in a nearby village, collected the berries and went step by step to recreate it.

The researchers from Portugal reported their findings which included analysing the structure of the dye using modern equipment. It’s probably more complicated to make than sourdough bread. But I wonder, is the ancient blue used back then in watercolor dye any clue to the ancient blue used by Jews?

Published in Science Advances, the group has identified the molecular structure of the dye by following ancient preparatory techniques.

About 1000 years ago during Medieval times in Europe, a special blue was used called folium or turnsole to color paintings and illustrations. For a few hundred years, dye makers went into great detail to explain how this blue was made. The old books say the blue was made from the berries of the Chrozophora tinctorial plant—which is a small, grayish-green wild herb that grows in Europe.

Botanists on the team from Nova University scoured the countryside nearby and found the plant growing along the road in a town called Monsaraz in Portugal. The team then followed all the instructions from the ancient dye makers on how best to collect the berries and when.

They learned how to extract the pigment from the berries and then how to treat and purify it. They then soaked a small piece of cloth with the dye of the berries and when they needed to use the dye would take a small snip of the cloth, and added water to release the blue.

They then applied modern testing techniques to identify what it was made from and found it came from a hermidin alkaloid which they named chrozophoridin. If they know more about this dye, the researchers say they can be better equipped to preserve medieval work that uses folium.

A perfect forgery?

And what about this dye being connected to the biblical blue?  I contacted Mois Navon from the Ptil Tekhelet, an organization that manufactures blue dye from the Murex trunculus to make the biblical fringes, and he explained that the Talmud actually discusses a perfect forgery dye made from a plant called “kela ilan”.  This plant is known by its latin name Indgoferra tinctorial. 

The Talmud goes on, Navon explains, to forbid any blue dye not sourced in the hillazon.  So while plants have been a wonderful source of blue in ancient times, they have never been accepted for ritual use.

The post Ancient blue recreated by botanists in Portugal appeared first on Green Prophet.

You might meet snake charmers in the square of Marrakech and also storytellers who tell a good tale. But there is one thing always true about Morocco: the sun always shines.

Foreign firms are eager to bank on Morocco’s attractive feed-in tariffs and catch some healthy profits from our sun.

Solar energy companies like Martifer Solar (www.martifersolar.com) from Portugal already has business in the United Arab Emirates. It’s common for European companies to go to European banks for financing then establish themselves in the Middle East and MENA region. This seems to be the only way forward to advance solar energy in the Middle East, always rife with conflict and instability.

The recent break up of the solar power consortium Desertec has been a huge disappointment to the renewable energy community. The idea was to create a pan-European North African, even Middle East energy grid with solar energy collected in the MENA region which could then be shipped via cables to Europe.

Despite the Desertec collapse (too many industrial cooks spoiled the broth), Europeans are still seeing green opportunities in the MENA region.

The Swiss company Sola Terra has recently announced its plan to set up no less than 16 photovoltaic (PV) plants in the super sunny area of southern Morocco.

The sites, totalling 25 megawatts of energy will be in the areas of Ourzazate, Ain Bni Mathar, Foum Al Oued, Boujdour, and Sebkat Tah. More locations will be announced soon.

Sola Terra has a thing for the Middle East and already operates in similarly shiny places like Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, Turkey, and Morocco.

“The sun, unlike oil energy, is not part of the economic culture of the Middle East, but that will change,” said an insistent David Heimhofer, Terra Sola’s president.

The post Morocco heats up with 16 new solar energy plants worth 25 gigawatts appeared first on Green Prophet.

The three winners from the Middle East/MENA region are Tunisia, Bahrain and Qatar in new survey on tourism trends.

The recently released 2011 “Travel and Tourism Competitiveness”report by the World Economic Forum, in co-operation with Booz & Company, reveals some interesting dynamics in the global tourism industry, including a shift to the East, with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Asia rising in rank, while sustainability continues to establish itself as a  key tourism trend. Political reality may be overshadowing any wide discourse on tourism in the Middle East. But the potential role of this industry is more relevant than ever for a region struggling with issues of heritage, identity, and community development. Here’s a brief overview of the report:

Western Europe still leads, but new travel choices emerging

The international ranking is based on detailed analysis of key attributes such as health and safety, infrastructure, price levels, the cultural offer, environmental protection and legislative regulation. A total of 139 countries are studied, including 16 from the Middle East.

As the industry witnesses a gradual recovery, established Western European countries, including Germany, Switzerland, France, continue to occupy the top positions. However, according to the report, overall, the dynamic in the tourism sector is moving away from established regions such as Europe and North America, and towards the East. In the Asia-Pacific Region, international tourist arrivals from 2000 to 2010 increased nearly twice as fast (85 percent) as the global average (39%).

Within Europe, not surprisingly, Greece and Portugal are the biggest losers, reflecting to a large extent the impact of the economic and debt crisis, which hit both destinations particularly hard. One the other hand, Montenegro’s “while beauty” has earned it recognition as a real winner in this year’s survey. The Balkan state has identified environmental protection as a key constitutional objective and is actively supporting sustainable eco-development projects to meet growing global interest for new exotic destinations.

The rise of the GCC destinations in the Middle East

Only three MENA countries are included in the top 50 rankings of leading tourism destinations  and surprisingly none from the historically and culturally rich Levant region: Bahrain (2011 ranking: 40), Qatar (2011 ranking: 42), and Tunisia (2011 ranking: 47).

Although the survey was conducted before the regional unrest, already the North African destinations such as Tunisia and Egypt were falling back in the rankings, as Arab countries in the Gulf continue to invest heavily in the tourism sector.

A closer look at the survey shows in Bahrain policy rules and regulations are less supportive of the sector’s development (ranked 58th), while environmental sustainability remains a particular area of concern (123rd).

Qatar is ranked 3rd in the region and 42nd overall. It is also seen as in need of improving its policy environment and focusing on environmental sustainability (67th).

Although the Gulf countries’ heavy investment in good transport and tourism infrastructure is paying off, environmental protection sustainability still lag behind.

Significance of rankings with environment in mind

Global rankings are sometimes seen as PR tools,  oversimplified and at times politicized, but they still provide indicators on key trends and “smart growth” opportunities.

One clear winning trend is long-term and continuous investments in sustainable tourism concepts and environmental protection initiatives. Sweden, Switzerland, and Denmark—three countries holding the top three spots in the environmental sustainability pillar- are characterized by strong environmental legislation and a focus on developing the tourism sector in a sustainable way.

Also in the top 10 among countries are Austria, Finland, Germany, and Norway, all with significant policies on protecting the environment.

The potential of the Middle East

Compared to the these countries, the Middle East continues to be an economically strong growth market and is not lacking in cultural and landscape-related resources to position it in a more favorable position in these rankings. The region is also not lacking in strong affinity to tourism, particularly in places like Lebanon and Jordan.

In addition, like Turkey, these countries have the potential (provided security and safety issues are settled) to provide low-cost alternatives to traditional destinations within the reach of Western Europe.

Although eco tourism projects have started appearing in some parts of the region, including Jordan, Morocco, Egypt and Lebanon, mass tourism dominated by luxury hotels operated by mostly non-indigenous population is still the predominant model.

Compared to other emerging destinations in Africa and South America, eco tourism concept is still niche and often driven by “green washing” marketing practices. With no official certification bodies, absence of local government policies in favor of eco-tourism and a more general lack of a full understanding of concepts behind eco tourism, the potential of this sector remains largely untapped.

Meanwhile, biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, and a lack of understanding the value of our natural resources continues on a wide scale resulting in limited unspoiled sites. Some governments are doing more than others in terms of environmental protection and sustainability, creating new protectorates to safeguard their natural heritage. Egypt reportedly has 27 protectorates covering 15% of the country, with each preserving indigenous populations and wildlife, including mangrove trees, wetlands and whale sharks. But for many countries in MENA, it may be too late as the fragile desert and marine life continue to be exploited.

Beyond the environmental and tourism benefits of green tourism,  the WEF report stresses the “huge indirect opportunities…uncovered in the general push for sustainable low carbon cities, green building design, and green transport. Further opportunities will be found specifically in the energy efficiency retrofitting of accommodation establishments and other hospitality infrastructure, the scaling up of renewable energy sources, and improved waste management.”

Green tourism can therefore have a multiplier effect and be an important trigger for green growth across the economy, raising income and employment.

But perhaps most important of all, far from being a passing fad, smart tourism that is green, ethical, and socially inclusive touches on issues of national identity and authenticity – issues that can no longer be ignored in the Middle East.

Read more on eco tourism in Middle East:
Eco tourism in the Middle East: Lebanon
Eco tourism in the Middle East: Egypt
Eco tourism in the Middle East: Syria
Climbing God’s Mountain for Eco tourism in Egypt

:: image via flicker

The post Tourists Not Terrorists: The Middle East Can Capitalize on World Eco-Travel Trends appeared first on Green Prophet.