Within the next 100 years, global sea levels are expected to rise by at least 1 meter and swallow up coastal towns and cities – a reality from which the Middle East is not exempt. Already geoscientists from the German University of Technology have noted that in certain parts of the Gulf country Oman – the landmass is sinking and shrinking, Gulf News reports. Using LiDAR (light detection and ranging instruments) technology in a collaborative study with RWTH Aachen University, the scientists found that land losses of a few millimeters occur each year – particularly between Muscat and the beachfront resort Sifah. They also warned that this discovery should influence coastal development policy, but according to the paper, ocean front housing units are currently under construction and an integrated tourism project that will initiate even further construction along the Gulf.
Filed under: Forum | Tags: farming program, farming projects, farming system, soil contamination
A brilliant new online farming system in Egypt allows city dwellers to become reacquainted with their agrarian roots without leaving their urban comfort zone. Egyptian urbanites who have a desire to grow their own food but lack the farming skills now have access to a brilliant new remote farming system that has both an online and real world component. Inspired by FarmVille on Facebook, online gaming, and other remote farming projects around the world, eZra3 (which means grow) allows users to select their own crops and monitor their actual growth via a web interface. And they get to eat the healthy yields! Ashraf Al Shafaki designed this modern, low risk virtual farming program in order to address a variety of environmental and social ills in Egypt, including food insecurity, soil contamination, and global warming.
Nine-year-old Mahmood Ahmed was playing near his home in Zintan, western Libya, when he found a green object he had never seen before. He wanted to know what was inside, so took it into his backyard and began hitting it with a stone. The object was a bullet from an anti-aircraft machine gun and it exploded, taking off his left hand. He is now getting used to life with a plastic hand. Mahmood is one of the accidental child victims of the war that toppled Colonel Moammar Gadhafi in August and he is far from alone. The International charity Mines Advisory Group (MAG), which highlighted his case, has recorded 90 casualties — mostly children — from similar accidents involving mines and unexploded ordinance left over from the war in the region of Zintan and Misrata alone this year. As well as gaining information on contaminated areas and clearing them, MAG is trying to educate communities on the dangers.
Filed under: Forum | Tags: blue shield, coastal pollution, coastal waters, greenpeace, protection treaties
Greenpeace Lebanon unveiled the details of their “Secret Mission: Blue Shield 2011,” which involves samples of coastal waters being taken, with the eventual plan of lobbying government to fully endorse marine protection treaties. After having built up intrigue surrounding the campaign over the last few weeks, Greenpeace sent out the first of a series of short videos detailing the project, which will include testimonies of fishermen and others who are most affected in their daily lives by coastal pollution. The campaign has asked members of the public to join their Secret Mission, which is exclusive to Greenpeace Lebanon, with over 2,500 having signed up so far.
Filed under: Forum
Dubai produces only around 100,000 barrels per day of oil from four existing fields, and is dependent on fossil fuels for electricity production and for water, which must be desalinated. So news that Dubai is planning a gigantic solar farm with a capacity of 1,000 MW (1 GW), would seem like an appropriate response, right? However, the speed of building the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park – named after the ruler of Dubai – is strikingly at odds with Dubai’s world-famous dispatch in speedy project development. The 1,000 MW solar farm will take till 2030 to complete! Solar power will supply just 5% of Dubai electricity by 2030.
Filed under: Forum | Tags: hermopolis, limestone structure, mervat nasser, responsible tourism
The New Hermopolis is an eco-village, created by Mervat Nasser, a physician from Minya who decided to undertake a sustainable project to benefit the community. Located 340km south of Cairo and less than 3km from the antiquities of Tuna al-Gebel, the New Hermopolis is a limestone structure consisting of 16 rooms with a capacity to house 52 visitors. The whole building is run on ecological principles based on preserving water and energy. The building’s heat comes from solar energy. According to Nasser, this project is meant to introduce the concept of responsible tourism to the region. The resort’s revenue will be used for development purposes to implement a sustainable community project to support the growth of civil society and empower local residents.
After coming third in the general standings at Asian qualifiers for the 10m air rifle individuals on Saturday, female shooter Maryam Erzouqi earned Kuwait’s first place at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. Kuwait’s shooting team director Mohammad Al-Ghorba praised the shooter for her efforts in achieving the milestone. He also expressed confidence other members of the shooting team, taking part in the Asian qualifiers in Doha, would follow suit, particularly in the double trap category. Maryam had taken home two gold medals, in the 50m rifle prone and the 10m air rifle, at the recent Arab Games.
Filed under: Forum | Tags: arab culture, gender relations, northwestern university
Stories of gender relations and the struggle between traditional parents and their Westernized children have been taken to the stage by six young screenwriters and five acting students at Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) under the theme “Arab Awakenings.” “The ideas behind these plays were all revolutionary, hence the name Arab Awakenings- they addressed issues that are not often discussed in Arab culture,” Motasem Kalaji, a junior communications student who acted in five of the six plays, said. “Some of these issues include family dynamics, patriotism, and existential dilemmas.”
A brilliant proposal has been made to build a massive 2,400 MW sea water hydro project using the Mediterranean Sea, and the Dead Sea, which is below sea level. The Dead Sea Power Project would use the ocean to make hydro power, in a world first. Sea water has never been used in pumped hydro power, because sea water is all level at sea level, and hydro power requires higher reservoirs to work. A tunnel below sea level from the Mediterranean Sea would funnel sea water through a 10 meter diameter (30 foot) wide concrete tunnel 72 km ( 45 miles) to a very deep indentation in the rocky landscape about half way across land towards the Dead Sea. No energy would be needed to move the Mediterranean water to the inland sea water reservoir, because the water does not need to go uphill the whole distance. The project would help ease power and water shortages in the region as hydro power could be used to power desalination.
