Monday, April 27, 2015

'Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project' exhibition arrives in Egypt

The Drosos Foundation and the Darb 1718 Contemporary Art and Culture Centre will celebrate on Wednesday the transferring of the "Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project" exhibition to Egypt.
 
The event, which will take place at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, will begin with tours inside the exhibition, in addition to workshops on recycling, films on the subject and a street performance by Outa Hamra.
 
The event will be hosted by Actor and Goodwill Ambassador Khaled Abul Naga. There will also be performances by bands, such as Masar Egbary and High Dam.
 
The festival aims to raise awareness about the dangers of plastic on health and the environment, as well as encouraging the responsible use of plastic in daily life.
 
The exhibition represents an educational environmental project that started in Zurich in 2012 and is sponsored by the Drosos Foundation. Over the past two years, the exhibition has been held in many places in Europe, including Sweden, Denmark, the UK, Spain and Finland. It’s currently being held in Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Morocco. It tackles the dangerous consequences of plastic waste on seas and oceans.
 
 
 
German sportswear firm Adidas is teaming up with a group trying to clean up the world's oceans with a strategy to develop materials made from marine plastic waste that can be utilised in its solutions.
As the outcome of its partnership with the Parley for the Oceans initiative, Adidas also stated on Monday it would phase out the use of plastic bags at its 2,900 retailers.
Major style brands are jostling to highlight their ethical credentials as protest groups like Greenpeace pressure them to reduce their environmental effect and boost factory circumstances.
Swedish retailer H&M for instance has pledged to triple the quantity of solutions produced of recycled fibres by the finish of 2015.
Plastic employed in the consumer goods business causes marine pollution with a "natural capital price", a measure of environmental damage, of at least $13 billion a year, according to the United Nations Atmosphere Programme (UNEP).
Parley, a group of artists, designers, musicians and scientists, says significantly of the plastic waste ends up in mid-ocean whirlpools, entangling whales, birds and turtles and damaging the internal organs of the fish that ingest it.
Adidas stated it would operate with Parley to create fibres produced from recycled ocean waste for use in its clothing, and potentially shoe uppers, from next year. Dutch retailer G-Star Raw worked with Parley last year to launch a denim line created out of plastic waste.
Adidas made the announcement as it released its annual sustainability report, which detailed other methods the company is taking to strengthen its environmental record, such as utilizing far more sustainably-farmed cotton and recycled polyester.

Researcher: Red Sea 40 million years old

The age of the Red Sea is between 25 and 40 million years old, said general manager of the research and archaeological studies in Sinai and Lower Egypt Abdel Rahim Rihan. 
 
The Red Sea is part of a split or crack in a groove in the surface of the African and Arabian Peninsula called the Afro-Arab Crack, Rihan added. It is a major artery for global navigation and trade crossing between the East and West through the Suez Canal as over 20,000 vessels cross the Red Sea annually, he added.
 
Several Arab and African countries have coastlines on the Red Sea that encompass an incredible amount of sea wealth, such as unique coral reefs and diverse fish, Rihan mentioned. The sea also includes the most beautiful diving areas in the world.
 

Migrating storks cover sky over Red Sea on way to Europe

As spring comes and temperatures start to rise in Africa, flocks of white storks are seen blanketing the sky along the Red Sea coast, coming from southern and central Africa and heading to central and southern Europe.
 
Researchers at natural reserves in the Red Sea area described this as the annual migration from Africa to Europe before summer comes.
 
Swarms of storks were seen in the sky over Hurghada, Gouna and Safaga and tourists, amazed by the migrating birds, took photos of them.
 
Environmental researcher Mohamed Abdel Ghany said the migration of birds from Africa to Europe usually takes place in February and March after their eggs hatch, then they return to Europe with their young. “These birds stop in several areas along the Red Sea to rest, including Marsa Alam, Hurghada, Gouna and the reserves at the northern islands.”
 
Ahmed Ghallab, another researcher, said the Environment Ministry, in collaboration with companies producing wind power north of Hurghada, discussed safe ways to install wind turbines away from the birds' migratory path.
 
The work plan, according to Ghallab, includes environmental monitoring of the whole area during spring, as well as sending researchers to other countries to train in the use of radars at wind farms.
 

Migratory Bird Watching Centre opens in Sharm El Sheikh

The Environment Ministry has opened a birdwatching center to watch migratory birds in the Axada Lakes area in Sharm el-Sheikh, funded by the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Development Program.
 
Osama al-Gibali of the migratory birds conservation project said tourist guides have been trained for ecotourism and informed of different types of migratory birds in order to promote environmental awareness and sustainably reduce threats those birds face during migration. Pamphlets have also been distributed in the area with information on the migrating birds, and the lakes were treated with environment friendly material before the arrival of the birds in autumn to coincide with the announcement of Sharm el-Sheikh as a green city.
 
This manifests Egypt's commitment to the international treaties it has signed, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals.