Category Archives: Technology

How Science Helped our Homes be Energy-Efficient

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Technology is advancing every day and the need for more energy is also increasing. The linear progression of energy consumption is going to be bad for us all if not handled correctly, so energy efficiency has become a priority for every industry. The more advanced technology gets, the more energy sources are utilized. Homes nowadays use about double the energy homes in the 80s needed. Trying to conserve energy has been the sensible course of action; for the environment is mostly polluted by non-environmentally-friendly energy sources. Conserving energy also means conserving money, it may be expensive to get all the … Continue reading →

Mobile Agriculture in Egypt: Food for Thought

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The phenomenal spread of smartphones and the fact that they are practically hand-sized computers, have opened way to the creation of countless ‘mobile applications’ or simply ‘apps’. The first apps that came to light were as expected, for social media and different entertainment channels. They were followed by ‘modern life’ apps in the areas of health, education, agriculture and many more. Almost every area imaginable in our life now has a mobile app that caters to it. Mobile Agriculture in Africa During the course of my work at Orange Egypt, I’ve seen a great amount of interest in mobile agriculture … Continue reading →

E-Waste Management: Perspectives from Egypt

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As the person in charge of reducing my company’s environmental impact and maintaining our ISO 14K certification, I had to find a solution for the ever growing number of discarded mobile phones from our employees, partners and 30+ million customers! I explored almost every initiative related to e-waste management in Egypt. I participated in forums addressing the problem, attended meetings full of great ideas and intentions, met local and expat experts, participated in student competitions offering solutions and contacted overseas entities with great track record like Close The Gap, Umicore and Greencyc. Despite all of these resources, I couldn’t find … Continue reading →

Environmental Impacts of Industrialization

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Everything we do, from the food we eat to the electricity we use, affects the world around us — but it wasn’t always that way. The Industrial Revolution changed the way that we created everything, from food and energy to sanitation and manufacturing technologies. How has industrialization impacted the environment, and what can we do in the future to reduce these environmental impacts? The Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution started sometime in the middle of the 1700s, when the world’s population had finally started recovering from the deaths of the Black Plague in the 1300s that wiped out more than … Continue reading →

10 Basic Things Every Car Owner Should Know

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Owning a car is so exciting. The first days are just so thrilling when the car is still new. Wait until you run into mechanical issues and you will know that maintaining a car and owning one are two very different things. In fact, buying a car is cheaper than maintaining one when you do not arm yourself with knowledge on how to maintaining it. Read through these 10 basic things that every car owner should know. It will save you lots of cash, time and give you peace of mind. Regular Car Maintenance For a first-time car owner, you … Continue reading →

CSP-Powered Desalination: Prospects in MENA

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Conventional large-scale desalination is cost-prohibitive and energy-intensive, and not viable for poor countries in the MENA region due to increasing costs of fossil fuels. In addition, the environmental impacts of desalination are considered critical on account of GHG emissions from energy consumption and discharge of brine into the sea. The negative effects of desalination can be minimized, to some extent, by using renewable energy to power the plants. What is Concentrated Solar Power The core element of Concentrated Solar Power Plant is a field of large mirrors reflecting captured rays of sun to a small receiver element, thus concentrating the … Continue reading →

All About Carbon Monoxide and How it can be Reused

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Carbon Monoxide is a chemical compound made up of 2 elements which are carbon and oxygen. The proportion of each element is equal which means for every 1 part of carbon, it has an equal part of oxygen. Carbon Monoxide is formed through a lot of processes. One of the most common processes is through the burning of wood or coal or other substances that occur naturally. Vehicles and exhausts also contribute to the creation of this chemical through combustion engines, which means every day, there are a lot of people contributing to the creation of carbon monoxide. However, there … Continue reading →

Role of Agricultural Sector in Harnessing Renewable Energy

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The continuous rise in fossil energy prices, combined with climate change concerns and progress in renewable energy sector, has catalyzed interest in clean energy systems across the MENA region, especially in the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean region has abundant renewable resources, such as wind, solar, and biomass, which makes it a fertile zone for renewable energy developments. The agricultural sector has played a key role in the progress of renewable energy sector around the world as it provides large areas where renewable energy projects are built and is also the predominant feedstock source for biomass energy projects. For example, agricultural sector … Continue reading →

Hydrogen Economy for Arab Countries: Perspectives

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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 →

Algae-Powered Buildings: A Futuristic Invention

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In an environment where the carbon footprint is becoming increasingly large, we need to start developing sustainable solutions which can keep greenhouse gases at bay. It is estimated that the building industry contributes to almost 40% of all of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions! To put this into perspective, this consists to a whopping 90 megatons of emissions that are emitted annually in constructing new buildings and maintaining the infrastructure of pre-developed ones. It is time for us to take action! At Certified Energy, we believe in creating a sustainable future so that the building industry can thrive and support our … 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 … Continue reading →

Drilling Waste Management and Cement Industry

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During the exploration and production of oil, huge amounts of drilling wastes are produced in the form of mud and cuttings.  As per conservative estimates, around 0.37 kg of drilling wastes is generated for every barrel of oil produced. The American Petroleum Institute (API) has estimated that approximately 1.21 barrels of total drilling wastes are generated for every foot drilled. The Middle East oil and gas industry has made a lot of effort in order to reduce the environmental impact of their activities; modern drilling methods such as horizontal drilling, navigating the drill bits three dimensionally through the earth, contacting … Continue reading →

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