Category Archives: Sustainable Development

A Message on International Youth Day 2016

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The theme of International Youth Day 2016 is ‘The Road to 2030: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Consumption and Production’. Globally the governments and organizations are making efforts in involving the youth in environmental conservation and preservation and assisting them in improving the environmental situation and public health in their own areas, cities and countries. The International Youth Day is also meant to recognize efforts of the world’s youth in enhancing global society. It also aims to promote ways to engage them in becoming more actively involved in making positive contributions to their communities. The involvement in environmental conservation and … Continue reading →

How Clean Cooking Could Prevent Premature Deaths Across Africa and Middle East

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Every evening across Africa and the Middle East, millions of families gather around open fires and inefficient stoves to prepare their meals. The smoke that fills their homes poses a deadly threat, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives every year. This daily exposure to toxic fumes represents one of the largest overlooked public health crises in both regions. Expanding access to clean cooking solutions could prevent these deaths while transforming lives in ways that extend far beyond health. The Daily Danger Facing Billions of People The numbers tell a sobering story. Globally, around 2.1 billion people cook with polluting fuels … Continue reading →

Starvation in Poor Countries – A Pandemic Deadlier than Covid-19

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The world has been propelled on a fast track journey of dealing with Covid-19 across the developed world where the pandemic has created chaos and mayhem of astounding proportions. The faint light that gave hope was the fact that this was happening in the developed regions of the globe where people do have access to health services, adequate housing, well stocked warehouses, communications networks, financial assets and funds (even if diminishing under economic stress), and so forth. The Onslaught on Vulnerable Masses Let us be real, just as Covid-19 is real. The virus seeks out human beings regardless of their … Continue reading →

How to Make Sustainable Commercial Choices and Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

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The importance of reducing a company’s carbon footprint has increased as environmental sustainability has gained popularity. The total emissions, expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) units, produced by a company’s operations, directly and indirectly, are referred to as the carbon footprint. It has been demonstrated that carbon pricing does not impede economic growth but instead sends a loud and clear message to firms, industries, and consumers to switch to greener energy sources. This conclusion is based on data from 70 national and subnational governments that have previously implemented carbon pricing. Establish Carbon Reduction Goals A crucial first step in reducing … Continue reading →

Future of Urban Transportation in Saudi Arabia

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Transportation sector has played a prominent role in the socio-economic development of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. However, there are a wide range of current and future issues which should be tackled to ensure sustainable development in the country. More than 75% of the total population of Saudi Arabia lives in urban areas. Given the worldwide trends and statistics on urban population growth, many have regarded the 21st century as the urban century, understanding the prominence and importance urban areas have played and will continue to play in the future. Therefore, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia must focus its attention in … Continue reading →

Home Solar Made Easy: Plug and Play Balcony Solar Systems

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One of the most promising solar electric options is gaining support around the world. These plug-in solar systems are often called “balcony” solar systems. They are small photovoltaic systems that have built in control systems and an inverter that takes the power up to grid voltage (110-120V in the US). Installation is simple, place or mount panel in the sun and then plug in to an electric outlet. These systems provide low cost solar that is personal and can be unplugged and moved to a new apartment or home. A renter can invest in solar! Permission from the landlord may … Continue reading →

Rethinking Desalination through Digital Twins: From Energy-Intensive Processes to Intelligent Water Systems

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The increasing global water scarcity driven by climate change, population growth, and industrial expansion has positioned desalination, particularly seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO), as a strategic solution for ensuring water security. However, desalination processes remain energy-intensive, operationally complex, and sensitive to variations in feedwater quality and membrane performance. In this context, the emergence of the Digital Twin represents a paradigm shift in the management and optimization of desalination systems. What is Digital Twin? A digital twin is generally defined as a dynamic virtual replica of a physical system that integrates real-time data, physics-based models, and advanced analytics to simulate, predict, and … Continue reading →

كورونا – درس مطلوب فهم بعده البيئي

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العالم يحتفل بيوم الأرض العالمي للعام 2020م في ظروف إستثنائية بالغة التعقيد تعيش واقعها الصعب البشرية بسبب جائحة الوباء كورونا وما رافقها من منعطفات خطيرة أكدت على مؤشرات العلاقة غير الموزونة مع النظام البيئي لكوكب الأرض وبعدها الكارثي على الأمن الصحي والبيئي للإنسانية، وبعثت المنعطفات الكارثية رسائل تدعو البشرية للإستفاقة من غفوتها وتبدأ في إعادة حساباتها ومراجعة مواقفها وعنادها التي كانت حتى مرحلة قريبة ترفض التراجع عن خططها الاقتصادية والصناعية المدمرة لكوكب الأرض. جائحة الوباء كورونا سجلت رسائل مهمة في منظومة الأمن الإنساني المرتبطة بمتطلبات الأمن البيئي والاقتصادي والغذائي للبشرية، وتلك الرسائل تؤكد على الضرورة الإستراتيجية في مراجعة مناهج الاستغلال … Continue reading →

Impact of COVID-19 on Slums and Informal Settlements

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An estimated one billion people across the globe live in slums or informal settlements. As much of the world is already braced and battling with coronavirus crisis, there are others perplexed as to how this one billion people can possibly deal with the current pandemic. The general recommendations to global population are to wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, if sick to self-isolate, and when out and about to practice social distancing of keeping 2 meters away from other persons. Three simple directives or are they? How feasible are these recommendations for people living in informal … Continue reading →

The Impact of School Closure on Marginalized Children

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We are seeing schools close as a protective measure of reducing the potential exposure to the coronavirus across the globe. This is due to the fact that schools could be a major source of transmission from one child to another child within a classroom, from one classroom to the whole school, to within the families and the greater community. And all at a very speedy rate of transmission of Covid-19. The action of closing schools is an acceptable move in the more developed sectors of the global community as children tend to all have access to the internet, and in … Continue reading →

Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystems Nexus in MENA: Role of Startups and Entrepreneurship

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The MENA region stands at the intersection of some of the most acute resource challenges globally. Water scarcity, energy dependency, food insecurity, and ecosystem degradation are not isolated crises; they are deeply interconnected, reinforcing one another in complex and often unpredictable ways. The Water–Energy–Food–Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus has emerged as a conceptual and operational framework to address these interdependencies, promoting integrated resource management and cross-sectoral coordination. Yet, despite its conceptual maturity and policy recognition, the WEFE Nexus in MENA remains largely under-implemented. The missing link is not knowledge, nor policy ambition, it is execution. Increasingly, startups and entrepreneurship are emerging as … Continue reading →

Decentralized Brackish Water Desalination as a Catalyst for Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture

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Water scarcity has emerged as one of the most pressing challenges facing the Mediterranean basin, a region characterized by sharp climatic gradients, demographic pressures, and structural inequalities in resource distribution. Agriculture alone accounts for between 64% and 79% of freshwater withdrawals in many Mediterranean countries, particularly in the southern and eastern shores, where irrigation is essential for food security and rural livelihoods [1]. Climate change is intensifying these pressures through increased frequency of droughts, rising temperatures, and declining precipitation, thereby exacerbating groundwater depletion and salinization [2]. In this context, decentralized brackish water desalination is gaining recognition as a promising pathway … Continue reading →