Despite its impressive shoreline, Alexandria – the self-proclaimed “Capital of Arab Tourism” – seems to be a city in decline. (Hint: watch out pedestrians).

When the Green Prophet’s editor heard I’d be stopping in Alexandria en route to the MENASOL solar energy conference in Cairo next week, she asked (implored) me to write a post from there. So, after my first day in Egypt’s second largest city, here are a few first impressions. (I’ll let some pictures do the talking too.) Any Alexandrians or others familiar with the city are invited to comment and tell me what I missed and where these first impressions are mistaken.

I arrived in Alexandria on a bus that raced down the narrow Cairo-Alexandria desert highway, with the driver blasting his horn every few seconds to warn anyone else on the road to get out of his way. I was later to discover that Alexandria is also the most treacherous place I’ve ever experienced as a pedestrian. However, I seemed to be one of the only tourists strolling around the city. (A souvenir peddler later explained to me that most foreign tourists get bused straight to and from their cruise ships to the various museums and sites.)

Anyway, approaching Alexandria from the desert road is not very pretty. A large industrial complex, belching smoke, reminded me of the ugly stretch of New Jersey you pass after exiting lower Manhattan.

The industrial complex on the outskirts of Alexandria reminded me of this scene from New Jersey.

I was prepared to encounter a city that had lost the cosmopolitan vigor and romance depicted, for example, in Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet, but I did not expect to find such a thick layer of neglect and litter. (I am writing this now after arriving in Cairo a few hours ago and I was surprised to find Cairo much cleaner and somehow less manic.)

Here’s a picture of Alexandria’s most famous mosque.

Just adjacent to the mosque is a dilapidated market with piles of garbage and an awful stench. I did meet one local beauty there, however.

The kids below also seem undeterred by the trash floating in the sea and piled up on the beach – just across the street from one of Alexandria’s top attractions, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

The impressive library, completed in 2002, is sparkling clean and state-of-the-art. The library includes skylights to illuminate the expansive reading areas without allowing direct sunshine to reach the books. Part of the complex (pictured below) is designed to represent the rising sun.

Are these solar panels? Nope. And the library tour guide noted that I was not the first person to ask this question.

To be fair, I did find some tidy corners of the city, and people making an effort to clean up.

My first impressions of Alexandria might suggest that the sun is setting – or has already set on the once grand city. But perhaps I’ll come away from the MENASOL conference later this week convinced that the sun is indeed rising for Egypt, including its famous port city.

Read more about MENASOL:
Have Sun to Spare? Meet DESERTEC at MENASOL
Tap Into Solar Energy Potential of the Middle East at MENASOL
An Interview With MENASOL Organizers

In retreat from its seven-month occupation of Kuwait that triggered the Gulf War of 1991, Saddam Hussein’s forces carried out a scorched-earth policy, exploding nearly 800 oil wells.

The crude oil leaking from these wells, together with the billions of gallons of seawater used to extinguish the fires, resulted in sludge-filled lakes that eradicated desert fauna and flora, and polluted aquifers.  Over 100 square kilometers of land will need to be cleansed of these oily lakes.

The Kuwait National Focal Point (KNFP) is the agency responsible for rehabilitating the devastation. Under pressure from the United Nations, it convened a forum this week to address this long-standing problem. As reported in the Abu Dhabi-based The National,  Redha al-Hasan, KNFP’s program manager, said the three-day forum held in Ahmadi this week was intended to discuss the feasibility of the approach recommended by the UN, as well as “to present alternative restoration approaches to independent reviewers and to seek input from experts.”

Why has it taken so long to tackle this problem?

Al-Hasan attributes the long delay to the fact that Kuwait was the first country to submit a claim to the UN for environmental damage resulting from an invasion. He explains that Kuwait was required to scientifically prove that Iraq had caused the damage and to monitor the situation for five years.

Kurt Pennell of Tufts University, who serves as a UN independent reviewer, suggests that the two-decade delay might not be so bad: “Everyone would probably be happier if it was moving forward more quickly, but I don’t think it’s a horrible thing that it’s taking more time.

“In some cases, it might be better to go slow and wait for the technology to speed up and come down in cost, rather than rush in when you don’t really know what you’re doing,” Pennell says. “It’s not as if the contamination is in the city or an area where people have exposure, so from that perspective, it’s not quite as imperative that the action is really quick.”

According to al-Hasan, Kuwait has been awarded some $3 billion in clean-up funds and plans to issue tenders next year.

(Image via msn.com)

The newly completed tower is certainly impressive; with 158 usable stories, more than 50 super fast elevators, and a ground floor foyer that will house the world’s largest indoor fountain. The tower is expected to attract visitors from around the world as well as host a variety of high profile conventions and conferences.

Taking all of this into account, we must also consider the environmental ramifications of this structure which took six years to build, at a cost of more than 4 billion USD, The project’s designers claim that the building and its planned botanical gardens and series of man-made lakes were designed to be as environmentally sustainable as possible, when one takes into account that Dubai is located in a part of the world that has very scanty rainfall and some of the hottest summers on the planet.

It was constructed to withstand the extreme temperature ranges of this Persian Gulf city-state, where external temperatures during the summer can average more than 50 degrees C (122 degrees F).

Another possibly favorable ecological “by-product” of the massive edifice is the large amount of water produced by condensation and so far collected from the air conditioning systems used to keep the entire structure pleasantly cool (estimated at around 15,000 liters), and will be used to provide water for the garden complex that will eventually surround the tower.

The question many may have, however, is what fuel sources are being used to provide the electricity that powers the AC system as well as all the lighting and elevators needed therein?

Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties,  the development company behind this project was quoted recently as saying:

“Burj Khalifa is the Arab World’s tribute to the art and science of modern engineering and design. Burj Khalifa symbolizes the aesthetic union of many cultures – from Arabia and the rest of the world.”

For  years now, Dubai has been trying to show the world that this little UAE sheikhdom of less than 4 million people (including guest workers) has the world’s most impressive city from an architectural standpoint. Judging from past projects in this showcase Persian Gulf city-state, such as the ultra luxurious Atlantis Hotel Complex, the largest indoor ski slope in the world, and a series of off-shore island projects, including Palm Island and The World (whose ultra high debt crises is the basis for Dubai’s current financial morass), the completed tower could not have been finished at a more problematic time; both environmentally as well as from a financial standpoint.

Photo via www.burjdubai.com

Articles dealing with Burj Dubai, and other questionable development projects:

Burj Tower in Dubai a Steep Investment in Tough Economic and Environmental Times
a href=”http://www.greenprophet.com/2009/03/07/7379/gulf-urban-islands-disaster/” target=”_self”> Mega Developments in Gulf Region a Natural Disaster Waiting to Happen
Dubai’s Artificial The World Island’s Killing Corals and Pushing Nature Out to Sea

The year 2009 was bleak for Lebanon’s environmental track record, according to the country’s Daily Star.

Despite the impressive action of IndyACT, Lebanon’s delegation brought little effect at December’s COP 15 climate change summit; they were not able to accomplish much of anything insofar as solving the many serious environmental issues that now plague the country.

These issues include ones like serious forest fires, the destruction of Lebanon’s remaining cedar groves and forests, some of which date back to biblical times; and serious damage to Lebanon’s coastline due to pollution and eroding beaches which could become worse if a planned Dubai-type island project is undertaken Pollution to the country’s fresh water supplies. This adds to the already seriously polluted coastline was noted recently in our article dealing with a huge garbage dump near the city of Sidon, that can be “smelled before you see it” according to local fishermen.

The Daily Star article notes that although lawmakers met last May in order to establish “environmental police, courts, a prosecutor’s office … and trained environmental prosecutors,” little has been done concerning these as the country now enters 2010.

An example of inaction concerning combating forest fires, deals with the purchase of three helicopters to be used to combat frequent blazes, but that no qualified pilots are available to fly them. These fires threaten the country’s cedar trees, Lebanon’s national symbol, that are mentioned in the Bible and were said to have been used in the construction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.

Lebanon’s coastal environmental problem is also due to oil spills that occurred during the 2006 war, when Israeli war planes and naval vessels bombed Beirut’s Jeyyeh oil-powered station that resulted in an oil spill that threatened the country’s entire coast line with more than 15,000 tons of fuel “pouring into the Mediterranean.” Many environmentalists wondered why Lebanon didn’t have any back up plan to contain emergency and accidental spills.

Although Israel has been ordered by the UN to compensate Lebanon for this environmental damage, the Lebanese government itself seems incapable of doing much to deal with these many environmental problems. It seems that more is being done by environmental activists, including a group of young men who ran scantily clad through the streets of Beirut to draw attention to their country’s environmental problems.

It might be noted, however, that due to extensive environmental and property damage inflicted on northern Israel by more than 4,000 Hezbollah launched rockets during the 34 day war, it’s not likely that the Israeli government will be very receptive towards paying much or any compensation.

Some light may be seen at the end of Lebanon’s “environmental tunnel,” however, as more attention is being given to the use of  alternative energy for generating power. The country’s Environment Minister, Mohammad Rahal, said that Lebanon should be getting at least 12% of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2012. But that amount is not a lot for a country that still suffers greatly from energy shortages and power cuts.

Receiving assistance from other Arab countries is not likely as it was noted that delegates from Arab countries attending the summit in Copenhagen were not able to agree on any major issues.  “Arab countries are so divided and there is not one [single] position that could be taken. The Gulf countries had their own agenda and they pursued it. Other countries could have done better had there been a common position,” said Nadim Farajalla, Associate Professor of Water Resources at American University Beirut.

Photo via The Daily Star.

::The Daily Star

More on Lebanese environmental issues:
Lebanon’s Garbage Dump More Serious Than Just the Smell
UNESCO Conference in Lebanon Stresses Media’s Role in Climate Change
Is Dubai Style “Disneyland” Coming to Lebanon?

We’ve written about Israel’s infamous garbage (sh*t) mountain and national “landmark” Hirira outside of Tel Aviv.

We learn that another large regional garbage mound, the Sidon Rubbish Dump is attracting a lot of “attention” off Lebanon’s sea coast these days – and the “attention” is all bad. Or smelly, rather, reports the BBC.

“It’s horrible isn’t it? You smell it before you can see it,” Mohammad, a fisherman, as his fishing boat nears it. It takes another 10 minutes for the source of the stench to appear- a giant mountain of rubbish, as tall as a four floor building. It seems to rise out of the sea outside one of Lebanon’s most ancient cities.

The dump has been there since the 1982 war with Israel, when remains of buildings and other property destroyed during the war were dumped there. Later, personal garbage and other rubbish was dumped there as well, including items thrown out from local hospitals.

Mohammad, who blames the dump on his thinning fish catches, says the eyesore is also very dangerous from an ecological standpoint. Last year 150 tons from the mound ripped off and sank into the sea. Today some brave the stench and use it as a means to scrape together a living. But be careful, swimming near the Sidon dump can put you in the hospital; and avoid the medical syringes washing out with the tide.

In addition to construction wastes, medical trash, and garbage, all kinds of toxic materials get dumped there too. But according to people such as Mohammad Hamdan, a Palestinian refugee who makes a bare living by scavenging for bottles metals, and plastic materials in the dump the hospital wastes are the worst as “it full of syringes, blood, human flesh – even kidneys,” he claims.

Although solutions to this ecological nightmare are available, including moving the dump inland to another location (where it will pollute the ground water in the new location) the Sidon dump is now partially in the sea and could contaminate large sections of the Mediterranean coastline.

As noted in another article, at the environmental website Spacedaily.com Lebanon looses as much as $500 million or EU 350 million annually to pollution, much of it due to losses in the health, tourism and agricultural industries. Garbage mounds like the one outside Sidon create their share of this pollution, and contribute to global warming in Lebanon, which may cause temperatures to rise by as much as 2 degrees C in the next 40 years and by as much as 5 degrees C by the end of the century.

As to the future of the Sidon garbage mound, a lack of “political will,” due to the country’s divisive political system and weakness in the central government, there is no way of knowing if the mound will ever be moved. The plan (to move it) is in place, and money is there; the only thing that’s missing is a political decision. But until these politicians start thinking about the benefit of people and the ecosystem, this issue will not be solved,” says Mr Garabed Kazanjian, a campaigner for Green Peace.

Photo via the BBC
::www.news.bbc.co.uk

More on garbage and pollution:
Pollution Costs Lebanon $500 Million a Year
Arrow Ecology Sorts Through Garbage for Gold
Going on a Picnic at Tel Aviv’s Garbage Mountain

Every blog and news site does it as a way to gain perspective: Whether you’ve celebrated the Muslim New Year more than a week ago, or the Jewish New Year a couple of months ago, our global calendar is about to tack on another year. 2010 is around the corner. Before we get there, Green Prophet looks back at the top 10 most popular stories concerning the Middle East in the year 2009. We’ve chosen these stories based on the number of hits they’ve registered on our site.

Read on to enjoy!

1. Is the Z5 retrofit for your car, claiming to save gas and emissions the real deal? The jury’s not out on this one, but thousands of people are curious.

2. Dubai’s wind-powered building in motion has sparked a lot of interest this year. Even though this story was written in 2008.

3. For some reason, people keep coming back for more of this Middle East classic, making our Baba Ganoush recipe a best-seller!

4. EWA from Israel says it can squeeze water from thin air. We can’t get enough of these kinds of stories.

5. Dubious Dubai reports that it will constructing a refrigerated beach. Is this one excess too much? Readers think so.

6. The Gulf’s artificial islands are a disaster waiting to happen. When faced with a tsunami, or another natural disaster, it could be bye-bye to people and the mega-construction project.

7. Readers want to know what kind of clean technologies from Israel could make our world cleaner and greener. Read our big broad-brush overview.

8. Saudi Arabia claims that it’s built the world’s biggest desalination plant. Read all about it at spot #8.

9. Okay, seriously. Green Prophet readers love to eat. Spot #9 is filled by something yummy: a Middle East delight – a recipe for kibbeh.

10. David de Rothschild, a billionaire heir, hopes to draw attention to the world’s polluted marine ecosystems by creating a sailboat made from plastic bottles, Green Prophet reports.