Photo via the New Republic It's a widely held notion that politicians have long been in the pocket of Big Oil. And there's good reason for that perception: oil companies' huge campaign donations, vast lobbying power, and close ties to politicians have ensured that their taxes remain low , that hidden subsidies are around to provide extra funding, and that they receive preferential treatment in US energy policy. But there could be a new, ... View original post here: The Next Big Oil: Big Smart Grid?
So there really isn't anything that deep to this image. It's just a (more or less) life-sized blue whale eye. And on the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society site you can educate yourself/be mesmerized/ waste some time for a while staring at it while the entire life-sized animal scrolls across your browser window. Believe me, it's way cooler than you might think:... Read more from the original source: Ever See a Blue Whale Life-Sized on Your Computer? Now You Can
published June 4, 2010 and has No Comments
Doesn't look like much from the top; ESAB building, from Construtionweekonline One of the reasons we have been so dubious about Dubai is the energy consumption required to keep people cool there; they even air condition the beaches. But if there is one thing they have lots of, it is sunlight; that's why we have always considered solar powered ...
Read more...published March 19, 2010 and has No Comments
Sammy shares that aquarium with some 65,000 other fish. Photo: Lori Greig via flickr. Dubai's aquariums can't catch a break. First one in a mall cracks at the seams and now the one at the Atlantis The Palm hotel has come under fire for continuing to keep a four-year old female whale shark, dubbed Sammy.... Read the full story ...
Read more...published March 6, 2010 and has No Comments
A dugong in an aquarium in Sydney, Australia. Photo by jo3hug via Flickr. It must have required many lonely months out to sea to mistake this face only a mother could love for that of a fair maiden, but encounters with dugongs are indeed said to have been the inspiration for the myth of the mermaid. While the fictional ...
Read more...published February 7, 2010 and has No Comments
Ready for some art. The end of Dubai Creek is site #1 for the Land Art Generator Initiative competition. The United Arab Emirates have made their wealth from oil , a fossil fuel environmentalists are trying to consign to the past, but if two American artists have their way, these Persian Gulf states will become pioneers of a new ...
Read more...published January 6, 2010 and has No Comments
Genesis 11:4 : 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves" And they certainly have made a name for themselves in Dubai, with the opening of the Burj Dubai Monday. They put on the most spectacular fireworks display; it seems like a miracle ...
Read more...published December 13, 2009 and has No Comments
"The World" with Dubai's skyline in the background. So far, only the project's model island has been developed. (photo via Time ) It's hard to believe that anyone was really that shocked last month when Dubai's real estate bonanza finally collapsed. For those who could see beyond the glitz, the writing had been on the wall for quite some ...
Read more...published November 13, 2009 and has No Comments
Some 86 percent of Saudis have cars. Photo of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, via Ar-Riyadh Development Authority . From instituting traffic calming measures to building metrobus systems, there are plenty of ways to ease congestion on the roads. But radio listeners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, think they have a better idea: Keep foreigners and th... Read the full story on ...
Read more...published November 12, 2009 and has No Comments
Photo via Inhabitat Can you figure out which former world's tallest building lost its title to the Burj Dubai, but has now found a way to stay afloat in the battle of the superlatives by revamping itself as the world's tallest green building ? The world's tallest treehouse is 10 floors and has spiral staircases, a sanctuary, a choir ...
Read more...published August 8, 2009 and has No Comments
A boat trip on the Euphrates River in Turkey brings you closer to ancient civilizations -- and to modern environmental conflicts. From historic rivers to the world's largest desalination plant, from a futuristic city to a 100-year-old tree-planting project, some fascinating environmentally-themed sights await the intrepid traveler in a region not exactly known for eco-tourism : the Middle East.... ...
Read more...published June 1, 2009 and has No Comments
images via the Independent Finally, a green project in Dubai; as these construction photos attest, it is working its way up to the sky. But it consumes no resources, no concrete or fossil fuels or electricity. That's because it doesn't exist. ... Go here to read the rest: Dubai Vaporware: Buildings "Under Construction" Don't Exist
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The office building, going for LEED Platinum, is built on top of a brick factory from another era. It rises to the challenge. Go here to read the rest: The Centre For Green Cities At Evergreen Brickworks Demonstrates How To ...
"The stakes are very high and scientists are not the best people to deal with the social, ethical or political issues that geoengineering raises." View original here: Geoengineering is a Technical Fix for a Political Problem
