Litani River: A Sorry State of the Affairs

The Litani River, the largest river in Lebanon, faces a multitude of environmental problems. Due to decades of neglect and mismanagement, the river has become heavily polluted. The main contributors to the degradation of Litani River are industrial pollution from factories and slaughterhouse, untreated sewage, chemicals from agriculture runoffs and disposal of municipal waste. The pollution has reached such a level where it is obvious to the human eye and causing serious health issues for people drinking its contaminated water. The Litani River is a source of income for many families who use it in summer for many recreational activities; … Continue reading

New and Larger Wave of Locusts Threaten East Africa and Beyond

Before the current pandemic that the world is battling, East Africa and neighbouring regions of the globe experienced the biggest locust infestation in the past 70 years. That event was devastating. Then the Covid-19 pandemic started to move across the globe. And just as a viral plague can resurface if adequate measures are not taken and sustained for a long enough period of time to interrupt the spread of the virus, the locusts have returned. The locust plague has reappeared in East Africa and is said to be 20 times the strength of the earlier infestations. The Fight for Food … Continue reading

Bioremediation: Fighting Pollution with Bacterial Assistance

Bioremediation is an engineering process which uses microorganisms to degrade a material. It can be used to treat contaminated media such as water, air and soil, by altering the environmental conditions to stimulate growth of microorganisms and degrade the target pollutant and enhance the quality of the media. In this age of rapid industrialization and depleting natural resources, there is an alarming need for a much effective sustainable development model and new ways to decontaminate and re-energize our surrounding land, water and air. Bioremediation provides an efficient and environment-friendly treatment compared to various other remediation technologies involving chemicals and radiation. … Continue reading

Green Ways to Prevent Pests from Entering Our Homes

Pests are universally considered as undesirable and unwanted housemates. This is rightfully so because not only do pests partake in your food uninvited, they also leave destruction in their wake and they are dangerous vectors of diseases. Termites leave the most significant amount of destruction among household pests. Termites can wreck entire rooms if left uncontrolled. Some pests like mosquitoes, ants, bed bugs and ticks just hang around in your house to cause pain and discomfort. Rats, mice, flies and cockroaches not only steal or freeload on your food items, they spoil food or leave undesirable traces of their bad … Continue reading

The Rapid Degradation of Wadi Gaza

In recent years, environmental crisis has worsened in the Palestine, Gaza Strip in particular, with solid waste, sewage and air pollution being the major issues. The key reason for environmental degradation in the Gaza Strip has been the difficult economic situation and an unending Israeli blockade. Wadi Gaza (or the Gaza Valley) which is located in the middle of Gaza Strip has been transformed from being the most substantial natural ecosystems in Palestine to the most deteriorated regions. Wadi Gaza can be described as one of the largest natural wetlands in Palestine with a length of 105 km. This area has … Continue reading