Skyscrapers (even rotating!) and dreams of vertical farms, but not a greenhouse to be seen. The Gulf is growing more and more dependent on imported food. Many Gulf countries are investing heavily in foreign farmlands that are more fertile, chiefly in Africa, but also India and Pakistan, in a bid to secure a steady food […]
A prototype algae biomass farm. Will it work in the super dry Middle East? Biomass, a renewable energy source based on biological material from living or recently living organisms, is hailed as a possible fuel source to provide power for everything from cars and aircraft to electricity for homes, businesses and factories. Previous articles on […]
Planning is in full swing for ecoQ, an international environmental protection expo taking place in Qatar in September 2011. (From left to right: Haitham Shehab, Dr. Saif Al Hajari, and a member of the ecoQ team) Next September, the Qatar International Environment Protection Expo (ecoQ for short) will be presenting an international showcase of eco-friendly […]
When you’re stuck in the middle of a crowded, noisy city like Cairo, where waste piles up on the side of the street, and you can’t manage to peel back what you hope is a mirage of decrepit buildings to reveal the earth below, let the hawksbill turtle inspire you. Undisturbed by light pollution from […]
Not yet into the organic food craze of America, the thin craze is taking over the Middle East as sedentary women pop pills to make them thin. Image via hamed Obesity is on the rise in the Middle East. Many Arabs in the Gulf are now overweight after oil wealth has fueled a sedentary lifestyle […]
Qatar Wants World Cup Action, but the Environmental Price May be Too High. This relatively obscure Middle Eastern country, slightly smaller than Connecticut, is putting itself on the map. Oil and gas revenue, according to the CIA factbook, comprises 50% of the nation’s GDP, but Qatar is diversifying its portfolio. As part of its National […]
Qatar’s petroleum industry is making efforts to “go green.” Is it speeding ahead in the right, or wrong direction? We all know too well the devastation that the oil industry can cause. This weekend’s oil spill, the Deepwater Horizon Incident in the Gulf of Mexico is surpassing the devastation of the Exxon Valdez spill and […]
Vodaphone teaches the Gulf how to go green. See what they did in 2020.
Yosef explores Paul Klugman’s environmental economics essay in the NY Times. Klugman and Gore’s words, Yosef finds, may influence decision-makers to slow the gallop toward environmental ruin in the Middle East. Above image of Klugman We greens of the Middle East have to take our manna from whence it comes – even if its from […]
The Icelandic volcano has both environmental and economic effects. Some Middle East passengers are stranded in Europe and wonder if it’s time to think about less polluting modes of travel. By ship? As a massive volcanic ash cloud hovers over most of Europe, Gulf-based airlines are increasingly concerned over the potential effects the Icelandic volcano […]
Qatar’s Green Building Council (QGBC) founder and chairman Eng. Issa M. Al Mohannadi will speak at the “Planet and Profit in Partnership” on April 11, 2010, another in a series of conferences that teach Qatari leaders about sustainable building practices. It remains to be seen whether Qataris will pursue development projects like Urjuan that pay […]
The Sphinx and the Great Pyramids of Giza shut off their lights for one hour on Saturday evening in Egypt to mark Earth Hour, a global protest for climate change initiatives. The whole world sat in darkness for one hour as an attempt to bring awareness to the growing concerns facing the planet in terms […]
The end of the line of the bluefin tuna in Japan? A Doha, Qatar conference proposes a ban on fishing. The verdict: defeat for the ban and the tuna. At the recent CITES Agreement conference in Doha Qatar, a proposal to ban commercial fishing for the Atlantic bluefin tuna, a prized delicacy in Japan, was […]
“The New York Times reports the unveiling of the French architect’s latest Middle Eastern project To some, the desert comprises an intimidating plain of dirty barren nothingness; to others, like Lucy, a source of happiness and inspiration. And to others still, like Ilana Meallem, it is a way of life. Ilana graduated from the Arava […]
The Urjuan City Development is a Symbol of Qatar’s Rapid Economic Growth In February we wrote about the memorandum signed by Qatar and Iran, which solidifies their mutual commitment to preserve the environment. We also wrote about an exciting conservation effort to protect Qatar’s animal and plant populations. With the third highest natural gas reserve […]