Climate and Weather – They Are Not The Same Thing

We can predict the climate but we are not so good at predicting the weather. Why is this? First, let us clarify the difference between weather and climate. Weather is what happens in the atmosphere here and now. The weather may seem chaotic, even random. Weather tends to be what many of us focus on especially before weekends and holiday, and very special events. As community-based people, we need to know what the weather will be in the very near future. We have an immediate need to know whether the weather conditions with be sunny and fine, wet and windy, … Continue reading

Energy and the Climate: Perspectives for Middle East

Since energy is an absolute necessity for life on Earth, we have utilized many sources of energy to maintain and improve the lives of people around the globe. The ultimate source of energy is the Sun of course, since all living things on Earth such as plants, trees, animals and humans need the Sun’s energy. In addition to the Sun, we have utilized other sources of energy such as oil, coal and nuclear fission.  However, energy has many different forms and we use different forms of energy for different applications. For example, nuclear energy is mostly used to generate electricity, … Continue reading