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Things You Should Know About the Energy Mix in the UK

We take fuel in our home for granted, rarely contemplating how the energy that lights our rooms, charges our smartphones, and heats our dinners arrives at those switches, sockets, and hobs. But with the world facing a climate crisis, the sources of our power are moving from the coal-smoky shadows into the sunlight, and into the centre of politics. The energy infrastructure in UK is rapidly evolving to use more renewable resources and emit fewer pollutants, a transformation that is impacting every sector of our economy and that some have compared in its scale to the Industrial Revolution that first … Continue reading

Everything You Should Know About Landfill Gas

Landfill gas is generated during the natural process of bacterial decomposition of organic material contained in municipal solid waste landfills or garbage dumps. The waste is covered and compressed mechanically as well as by the weight of the material that is deposited above. This material prevents oxygen from accessing the waste thus producing ideal conditions for anaerobic microorganism to flourish. This gas builds up and is slowly released into the atmosphere if the landfill site has not been engineered to capture the gas. The rate of production is affected by waste composition and landfill geometry, which in turn influence the … Continue reading

8 Indoor Plants That Improve Air Quality And Health

Indoor plants are wonderful for beautifying homes, offices, and other indoor settings. Furthermore, many can enhance air quality by removing harmful chemicals. In turn, people’s health can be improved. In this article, we’ll look at eight plants that can turn your indoor space into a haven of cleaner air and optimal well-being. But first, let’s briefly explore the impact of poor air quality on health. The Impact of Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality on Health Indoor and outdoor air quality significantly affects health. Poor indoor air, often from dust, mold, toxins, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), can lead to respiratory … Continue reading

Hydrogen Economy for Arab Countries: Perspectives

Arab world is facing major sustainability challenges in achieving social, economic and environmental goals. Hydrogen economy can help Arab governments, companies, and citizens to save billions of dollars each year from reduced energy bills and sustainable waste management, while at the same time reducing carbon footprints – a win-win solution. Extremely arid climate, acute water scarcity, high energy consumption and polluting oil and gas industry present a unique challenge in Arab countries. Almost one-fifth of the Arab population is dependent on non-commercial fuels for different energy uses. All sectors of the economy — residential, commercial, transport, service and agriculture — demands … Continue reading

Water-Energy Nexus in the Arab Countries

Amongst the most important inter-dependencies in the Arab countries is the water-energy nexus, where all the socio-economic development sectors rely on the sustainable provision of these two resources. In addition to their central and strategic importance to the region, these two resources are strongly interrelated and becoming increasingly inextricably linked as the water scarcity in the region increases. In the water value chain, energy is required in all segments; energy is used in almost every stage of the water cycle: extracting groundwater, feeding desalination plants with its raw sea/brackish waters and producing freshwater, pumping, conveying, and distributing freshwater, collecting wastewater … Continue reading

High Efficiency Irrigation Systems for Home Gardens, Shrubs and Trees

Climate change is bringing longer and more severe droughts and floods. Water supplies are limited in many areas and water costs are rising. Many families, communities and even countries are at risk. More efficient irrigation systems can make the most of limited water supplies. Over the last 40 years I have been testing and refining strategies for plant establishment in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of North America with rainfall as low as 7.5 cm in a good year. Many of these systems can prove useful for home gardens, and growing shrubs and trees in arid lands. My quest began … Continue reading

السلامة الإحيائية في تونس .. في انتظار صدور القانون

تخطط وزارة الزراعة الأمريكية، وفق تقرير صدر في نهاية فبراير 2017، إلى زيادة صادراتها من فول الصويا إلى تونس “لتلبية الطلب المتزايد منه في قطاع الصناعة”، وهو منتج في غالبيته العظمى معدل وراثيا. ونظرا لافتقاد تونس في الوقت الحالي لأي تشريع وطني بشأن الكائنات المعدلة وراثيا، فمن المتوقع أن تزداد واردات هذا المحصول حتى أفق عام 2025. وفي خضم النقاش الحاصل حول الهندسة الجينية لا يعلم التونسيون الكثير حولها، فقد كشفت دراسة شملت عينة من 2000 شخص من بينهم 16 شركة صناعية و94 فلاحا و100 شخصية فاعلة في عدة قطاعات و18 جمعية، وعرضت نتائجها خلال أيام التنوع البيولوجي سنة 2015 … Continue reading

Go Big! The Challenge of Large Scale Restoration of the Badiya

The badiya[i] is a region of desert, semi-desert and steppe covering 500,000 square kilometers (200,000 square miles) of the Middle East, including parts of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.[ii] It accounts for 85% of the land area of Jordan[iii] and 55% of Syria.[iv] To the south it borders and merges into the Arabian Desert.[v] Much of the Badiya has become severely degraded by historic misuse over hundreds of years.[vi] Trees were cut and used for buildings, but more intensively for firewood and making charcoal. This pressure and centuries of overgrazing by herds of thousands of camels, goats, and sheep … Continue reading

Working Towards a Greener Eid Al-Adha Qurbani

In Islam, there are many basic acts that are expected by devout Muslims, also known as the Five Pillars of Islam. These include declaring your faith (Shahadah), performing daily ritual prayers (Salat), paying forward charity to those in need (Zakat), fasting during the month of Ramadan (Sawm) and undertaking the pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj). With each of these responsibilities, Muslims can feel closer to Allah and feel satisfied that they are living a responsible and good life according to the expectations of Islam. By taking part in these acts and showing their generosity, there are certain special occasions that Muslims … Continue reading

Biofuels in Jordan: Perspectives

Jordan has good biofuels production potential in the form of crop residues, agro-industrial wastes and urban wastes. Biomass energy sector in Jordan is slowly, but steadily, developing. As per a recent World Bank report, the country is currently generating 3.5MW of power from biomass resources which represent 0.1% of the total energy demand in the country. However there is no available data on the amount of biofuels produced in Jordan. Jordan produces significant amount of biofuel feedstock in the form of lignocellulosic biomass, used cooking oil, animal tallow, agro-industrial wastes, industrial effluents etc.  In Jordan, transportation sector alone is responsible of 51% of final … Continue reading

أهم 7 فوائد لإعادة تدوير بقايا القهوة

نحن كعشاق للقهوة نقوم باستخدام أجهزة ووسائل متعددة حتى نحصل على القهوة التي نرغب و نستلذ بها، هذه الأجهزة والأدوات مثل آلة صنع القهوة أو وعاء الموكا وصولاً للكوب أو حتى ماكينة الباريستا، كلها تؤدي بالمحصلة إلى إنتاج كميات كبيرة من بقايا القهوة والتي بالعادة تكون نهايتها القمامة. وبالرغم من ذلك، يمكننا الاستفادة من بقايا القهوة المطحونة بطرق متعددة، مثلاً كاستخدامها كسماد طبيعي أو مُنّظف، وهنالك عدة خيارات أخرى أيضاً. لذلك، فيمايلي وددنا أن نشارك بعض الطرق الرائعة والسهلة لإعادة تدوير بقايا القهوة لنحافظ على البيئة. سماد ذو نوعية جيدة للحديقة للعلم فإن القهوة المطحونة تعتبر من مصادر النيتروجين المفيد … Continue reading

The Role of Indigenous Knowledge and Innovations in Water Management

Our ancestors have created astounding water management systems and applications that helped them combat the harsh climate and scarce natural resources in many parts of this universe. Read on to know how ancient civilizations used indigenous knowledge in water management, and how innovation and entrepreneurship can ward off the water crisis facing the entire MENA region. The Golden Past Within MENA and since the 4th century BCE, the strongest civilizations made it through arid and semis arid conditions mainly due to their robust water technologies and hydraulic engineering. In the 14th century, the deliberations of the great Tunis-born social scientist … Continue reading