Tag Archives: Food

Ramadan: A Catalyst for Green Living

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The true meaning of Ramadan is to take care of our body, soul, people, surrounding and ecosystems. The month of Ramadan is a golden opportunity to make a real shift towards ‘green living’ that is environmental friendly, non-polluting, non-wasteful and aim towards conservation of natural resources. During Ramadan, let us create awareness on use of resources, think and act positively towards our environment and change our unfriendly habits which are impacting our ecosystem. Let us seize this opportunity to adopt a model for a green and environmentally responsible behavior that addresses urgent environmental issues. Ramadan witnesses an over-consumption of meat, … Continue reading →

10 Ways Seniors Can Save Money by Green Living

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Anyone could save money by adopting green living practices. Seniors have an even higher chance of leading a more economical and fulfilling life in their retirement. Leading an eco-friendly lifestyle can help seniors to save a significant amount of precious money. The lifestyle options suggested for a green living will not suffocate you. They will still allow you to lead your life usually. Your life will significantly improve. Here are 10 easy green living tips for seniors to save money, conserve natural resources and thus lead a more satisfying life: 1. Save Energy Keep your crawl spaces and attics insulated … Continue reading →

Solar Water Disinfection For Times of Crisis

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One of the most critical health problems during natural and human induced disasters is finding safe drinking water. Disease and illnesses result from contaminated water supplies, poor hygiene, lack of safe water for washing, and/or environmental conditions that support water borne diseases. What is Solar Water Disinfection There is no simple solution for these problems in the midst of crisis; but there is a little known but effective water treatment process that has enormous potential. Solar disinfection (SODIS) is economical, requires no exotic or expensive chemicals, and does not require expensive and limited fuels for boiling water (Lawand et al., … Continue reading →

Islamic Principles on Waste Minimization

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Since the beginning of time, waste has been an environmental issue for humans. Waste is often equated with trash, but even before the existence of trash, there was waste. Understanding the various forms of waste can help us identify ways to avoid and reduce it. Muslims have had lessons on avoiding and reducing waste for over 1,400 years and we can all benefit from the guidance offered in Islam through Quranic injunctions and Prophet’s Sunnah. The Holy Quran says: It is He Who has brought into being gardens, the cultivated and the wild, and date-palms, and fields with produce of … Continue reading →

Towards a Waste-Free Ramadan Iftar

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In the holy month of Ramadan, Iftar or breaking of fast becomes our main attention. The Iftars are either taken at home alone or with the family and relatives or at Iftar buffets at hotels and restaurants. The other option usually for the bachelors and less privileged people are to open the fast at mosques and at community centers whereby the iftar and dinner is provided for free organized by the rich, philanthropists, charitable organizations and mosque committees. Disrespect to Food It is a common sight that at Iftar, people do not respect the food and drinks that are provided … Continue reading →

The Role of Big Data in Environmental Sustainability

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Over the past few years, big data has gained significantly in popularity. Big data is being used for a wide array of applications. Businesses rely on big data to gain more insight into their customers. In return, this allowed them to market more effectively. Nowadays, it is possible to use big data, alongwith IoT and AI, for many other purposes, including achieving and maintaining optimum environmental sustainability. What is big data all about? How can it help achieve environmental sustainability? You’ll find out in the guide below. What is Big Data First and foremost, you should familiarize yourself with the … Continue reading →

Microbial Biodiversity and Sustainable Development

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Biodiversity is one of the Earth’s greatest treasures. Microbes despite their small size have a huge impact on our lives, therefore understanding their role in the environment is important to the maintenance of our planet and preserving the diversity of plants and animals. Microorganisms have the largest genetic diversity on Earth; billions of species of bacteria are suspected to exist, however only 1-5% or so species are characterized. Microorganisms, being the pioneer colonizers of this planet and the masters of the biosphere as they considered by some, they are ubiquitous, can exist in most inhospitable habitats with extreme temperature, pH, … Continue reading →

Breathing Life into Sand

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Dake Rechsand’s innovative and transformative solutions are proactively contributing to the creation of a more sustainable and abundant world. The company’s breakthrough breathable sand technology utilizes low-value desert aeolian sand, to create a constantly evolving portfolio of high value products. The solutions offered by Dake Rechsand include applications in water purification, desert farming, water harvesting, construction, sand casting, sand oil and more. The company is transforming food and water security in water stressed regions and is currently engaged in an ambitious plan to enable farming and greenery for at least 10,000 acres across UAE or for half a million trees … Continue reading →

Water-Food Linkage in the Arab World

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The water-food linkage represents an important and vital nexus in the Arab countries. Under the current unstable food security situation (fluctuating energy prices, poor harvests, rising demand from a growing population, the use of biofuels and export bans have all increased prices), the ability for the Arab countries to feed their growing population is severely challenged by competition over increasingly limited water resources. Agriculture is currently challenged by competition among sectors on available water resources. While the majority of water in the Arab region is used inefficiently in the agricultural sector (about 85% with less than 40% efficiency), which is … Continue reading →

Popular Sources of Biofuels

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As the world seeks more and more ways to create eco-friendly energy sources, biofuels seem to be the only answer. Over the last few years, biofuels have been praised as being the best alternative to our fossil fuel crazy world. This is because they do not pollute the environment as much as the current fuel sources. Further, they are much cheaper. Biofuels are produced from the following major sources. Used cooking oil This is one of the most popular sources of biofuels. Why? Cooking oil is much easier to find. This is because it is used in a large number … Continue reading →

Food Waste Woes in Qatar

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Food waste is a huge issue in Qatar. In 2012, a massive 1.4 million metric tonnes of food was consumed and wasted in Qatar. This figure, divided by the then population of 2.05 million, equates to an average of 636 kilograms (kg) of food per person for the year, or 1.74 kg per day. Given the benchmark of two kg per person per day (preferably nutritious fare that does not contain too many kilojoules), that does not sound too excessive. But if you remove the young, elderly, short-term visitors/workers and people who consume less than two kg per day from the … Continue reading →

Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Arab Countries

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Addressing water scarcity, both natural and human-induced, in the Arab region is considered one of the major and most critical challenges facing the Arab countries. This challenge is expected to grow with time due to many pressing driving forces, including population growth, food demand, unsettled and politicized shared water resources, climate change, and many others, forcing more countries into more expensive water sources, such as desalination, to augment their limited freshwater supplies. The heavy financial, economic, environmental, as well as social costs and burden to be borne cannot be overemphasized. Furthermore, the water scarcity challenge in the Arab world is being … Continue reading →