Habari Post

Tetra Pak makes its packaging from sustainably harvested wood pulp, and the used packages are recyclable. But in many places they are not recycled but thrown into landfills with un-recyclable trash. This causes the unnecessary generation of greenhouse gases, and wastes a useful resource.

Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, recently spoke in Dubai Maritime City to urge continued focus on energy-efficient building and other climate-friendly investment. "I’d like to see the Middle East investing for the post-petroleum future," he said.

United Arab Emirates is known for its oil. Can it also be known as a green country? This is a story about the UAE's most recent effort to build a city that, once built, will be run entirely by renewable energy. So, what is the motivation?

There is often talk about using nuclear power to desalinate seawater in the Middle East (http://www.arabenvironment.net/archive/2007/10/341216.html). Desalination may be necessary, but nuclear plants may not be.

This fascinating story is about how Zabaleens ("garbage collectors" in Arabic), along with some forward-thinking environmentalists, are bringing about a positive change in this age of global warming.

According to this item http://www.dubaicityguide.com/geninfo/news_dtls.asp?newsid=12330 renewable energy technologies will be one of the topics to be discussed at the 5th WTA Techno-Mart in Dubai from 14th to16th April.

"Earth Hour" is a rolling global voluntary one-hour blackout on March 29 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Hour). In some places people participated but didn't really affect electricity use (http://www.stuff.co.nz/4457620a11.html). But in Dubai there was a significant reduction in electricity demand.

Kyocera, one of the world's largest producers and suppliers of solar energy products, will supply and install its solar power generating systems in Tunisia under a yen-loan project by the Japanese government through Itochu Corporation. This will be the first case where Japanese loans will be applied to the delivery and installation of photovoltaic power systems in Tunisia.

Seven million trees are to be planted in Israel in 2008.

Professor Geoffrey Boulton of the University of Edinburgh has developed a study of the affect global warming will have on the Middle East.

The study found the four largest carbon emitters per capita in the Gulf to be the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, with the UAE leading the way.