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Urban forests for a moderate climate
Heat waves sweeping across the globe have bigger effect in cities. Buildings of concrete and steel trap hot air and block circulation, while dark asphalt streets and stone pavements retain heat and cover natural soil, wiping trees and plant cover. Car engines also contribute to rising temperatures, alongside air conditioners, which cool on the inside while expelling hot air outside. All this causes hot air to be retained and "thermal islands" to develop in specific spots within cities. The temperature in these areas may exceed 10 degrees of what it is outside the city limits, or even in open and green spaces inside the city itself. ...more |
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Save the earth before your beautiful hair
Najib Saab, 1/9/2020
Less than a week after the publication of figures on the unprecedented rise in global temperatures, a thermometer in Southern California’s Death Valley soared to almost 55 degrees Celsius, according to the U.S. National Weather Service, the highest temperature recorded anywhere in the world in the past 100 years. Temperatures in Europe were also at their highest for several consecutive days, not only in the south of the continent, but also in the center and north of it. In parts of Europe, the temperature exceeded 37 degrees for a full week, and last year the Netherlands witnessed a temperature of over 40 degrees for the first time in history. While the temperature in Baghdad exceeded 51 degrees, in some areas of the Arctic the temperature even reached 38 degrees last June, leading to acceleration in the melting of ice. The detailed figures, published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US, showed that every decade in the past sixty years has witnessed a higher average temperature compared to the previous decade. ...more |
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UNEP: what’s in a name?
Preventing the Next Pandemic is the title of a timely report about breaking the chain of diseases transmitted between animals and humans. It warns of further outbreaks unless governments take active measures to tackle the source of the problem – which can largely be traced back to unsustainable farming and food production practices. It was surprising that some media outlets attributed this significant report to the United Nations Environment Department, a non-existent entity. After further scrutiny, it turned out that the body behind it was the United Nations Environment Programme, commonly known as UNEP. So why was UNEP, the longstanding international agency with its autonomous governing assembly that had been leading global environmental action for almost a decade, dropped from news stories? ...more |
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Since the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment released its Stockholm Declaration in 1972, more than a thousand international agreements dealing with specific environmental issues have emerged. The question is: To what extent have these agreements led to environmental action, and do we need more of them? ...more |
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The age of bicycles and internet ...more |
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http://afedmag.com/web/mountada-albia-details.aspx?id=7552 ...more |
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http://afedmag.com/web/ala3dadAlSabiaSections-details.aspx?id=6445&issue=&type=1&cat= ...more |
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