Tag Archives: Global Warming

The Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources in MENA

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Freshwater shortage in the MENA region is posing a serious threat to economic growth, social cohesion, peace and political stability. Furthermore, today’s freshwater usage does not account for its present and future availability but rather is based on sectoral and geographical competing consumption needs. To make matters worse, this already dire situation is being exacerbated by the rapidly changing climate. Climate change affects water resources by its profound impact on water quantity, variability, timing, form, and intensity of precipitation. The MENA region, in particular, is highly vulnerable to the disruptive climate change effects because countries within this region are unarguably … Continue reading →

4 Common Misconceptions About Climate Change

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From an individual level, climate change can seem as a difficult issue to connect with, often leaving people with emotions of helplessness as they struggle to understand this phenomenon. While most people can identify practices to reduce their carbon footprint, very few of them actually engage in such activities. One of the main reasons for such inertia from the public may lie in the image of climate change, portrayed by media as being distant, remote and affecting future generations. Here are some of the most common myths and misconceptions about climate change: 1. There is still no global scientific consensus … Continue reading →

Why We Need to Stop Using Fossil Fuels? Understanding the True Impact

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Fossil fuels have a wide range of applications including generation of electricity, transport fuels, making products like plastics, cosmetics, and even certain medicines. But why scientists and environmentalist are fighting to end the use of fossil fuels and promoting solar and wind energy instead? The damage that fossil fuel cause to the environment is affecting the entire ecosystem. The impact is disastrous and haunting for the health of our planet. These damages are in some cases easy to see and evaluate such as pollution and land degradation. However, the damage can take various forms and be hidden and difficult to measure such … Continue reading →

Things You Should Know About Oceans and Marine Biodiversity

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Seventy per cent of the Earth’s surface is covered by the oceans. Its coral reefs are its rainforests and they teem with life, from minute plankton at the bottom of the food chain to giant whales, the largest animals that have ever lived. The biodiversity of the oceans is greater than that found on land and estimated to be between 50–80 per cent of the total. This rich marine biodiversity is suffering the same fate as its land-based cousins. Oceans play a major part in maintaining the CO2 balance, but like terrestrial ecosystems they suffer when this balance is disrupted. … Continue reading →

Qatar’s Fight Against Climate Change

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Qatar’s environmental records have always been in news, of course for the negative ones, but it has always strived to work towards reduction of GHGs emissions. Qatar is already doing plenty to help poor countries with financing and it seems unfair to focus on per capita emissions for a country with estimated population of 2.6 million making it the 143th most populous country on earth. (For climate talks, that is heresy). This may sound harsh, especially since Qatar’s contribution to global warming is tiny compared with the United States, China or India. In recent years, Qatar is making itself a … Continue reading →

4 Negative Environmental Impacts Of Air Conditioners

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In most seasons, air conditioners are extremely sought after. They can either cooled up a place or warm it up, but we have all heard of its side effects on our health. Air conditioners have detrimental health effects on our bodies, though that is not the only problem with air conditioners. It also has many negative impacts on the environment itself. Read on to know more about the negative environmental impacts of air conditioners:   1. CFCs/ HFCs Air conditioners are complex machines that are made up of many different parts which work in several ways. CFCs and HFCs are … Continue reading →

Paper Bag Boy’s Message to the World

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Abdul Muqeet, also known as the Paper Bag Boy, has risen from being just another ordinary student to an extra-ordinary environmentalist. Ten-year old Abdul Muqeet has demonstrated remarkable commitment to saving the environment in the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere, and has been a poster-boy for environmental campaigns in the Middle East. Here he shares his views on environment, recycling and public awareness. It is said that you should break your goals down into small steps which you can accomplish each day. Set a goal, and approach it in a simple and basic manner. When I started my environmental campaign couple of years … Continue reading →

Rationale for Solar Energy in MENA

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The world is rife with news snippets concerning the development of solar power. The sun provides an infinite source of energy that takes off the burden on the renewable sources for power generation. In doing so, there are increased chances of conserving the limited energy reserves. Already about 50% of the earth’s natural resources are in use. If this usage rate continues, we will run out of finite sources in no time. For instance, there is only enough oil left for the coming 46.2 years. Luckily, the development of solar energy serves as the light at the end of the tunnel. … Continue reading →

Why You Should Go for Green Electricity This 2024

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Carbon dioxide and other global warming pollutants are flooding our atmosphere. These pollutants form a blanket that traps the sun’s heat energy in the atmosphere, warming the earth and putting marine life in jeopardy. With these alarming updates, people can take some simple steps to help mitigate the effects of climate change. For example, we should invest in technological breakthroughs that enable the use of renewable energy. What is Green Electricity? The term “green electricity” refers to energy derived from natural sources such as the sun. Green electricity does not emit contaminants into the atmosphere, whereas renewable energy comes from … Continue reading →

The Islamic Discourse on Climate Change

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Global ecological trends show that we face the risk of tipping points and irreversible changes in the environment and in its capacity to support and sustain human life in all its dimensions.  This state of imbalance and pollution is referred to as “fassad” in Islam which is attributed to human-made actions. Transforming society and the world’s economy to a sustainable basis presents the most significant challenge to the 21st century. It is inspiring to harness local knowledge and culture to inform sustainability. Islam as a worldview and a way of life can provide a fresh outlook to human-environmental in a … Continue reading →

What is Climate Change Disinformation?

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For decades, the oil and coal industries and some of their largest industrial customers have conducted a sophisticated and wildly successful multi-million dollar campaign to convince the public that climate change is not a serious threat. The impetus for the climate change disinformation campaign has been to protect industry profits by blocking any action designed to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and other global heating gases produced in burning fossil fuels. Policies such as carbon taxes and carbon caps are intended to limit the release of carbon dioxide by restraining demand for fossil fuels. Fossil fuel companies, however, have … Continue reading →

A Green Message for the World

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These are strange times indeed. Children today are bombarded with phrases such as global warming, carbon footprint and deforestation. These scary terms were totally alien a hundred years ago, but we only have ourselves to blame for their importance now. I ask you a simple question “What kind of future are you leaving for children and youth like me?” Every day, every minute we are writing an epitaph for a lake, or a wetland or a forest. The mighty river Ganges which once flowed, pristine and pure, from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, is now a cesspool of filth. … Continue reading →