Sunday, March 17, 2013

The Saida Trash Mountain Saga

This catastrophe has been on going since 1982.  Needless to say when incomptence coupled with corruption & greed can't lead but to such disastrous results.  In this video, one is to notice the huge divide between the official stance: "no worries, we have this issue solved and very soon all will be rosy and good", and the civil society & professionals: "This has been dragging for so long and the results to show for are way way below par, and we highly doubt that this solution will ever be workable in the long run". 
Well watch this video and judge for yourselves.

تستمر كارثة مكب جبل صيدا منذ 1982. لا شك إن عدم الكفاءة، والفساد والطمع لا يمكن أن يؤدوا إلا لهذه النتائج الكارثية. في هذا التقرير، على المشاهد أن يلحظ الهوة العميقة بين خطاب الجهات الرسمية وجهات المجتمع الأهلي والخبراء. فيما تصرّ الجهات الرسمية أن معضلة الجبل والمعمل الجديد قد حُلت وأن النتائج ستظهر قريباً وستجري الأمور على ما يرام، يصرّ المجتمع الأهلي وبعض الخبراء على أن الحل تأخر كثيراً وما هو مطروح من تقنيات لا تبعث بالإطمئنان على إستادمة العمل على المدى الطويل.ـ
 
شاهدوا هذا التقرير وإحكموا بأنفسكم.ـ (صُوّر هذا التقرير في كانون الأول 2011 ولتاريخ عرضه لم يبدأ أي عمل فعلي على أرض المكب أو المعمل)ـ
 


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Moving Beyond Business as Usual: Next Frontiers for CSR in the MENA region


The Suliman S. Olayan School of Business (OSB) at the American University of Beirut held the first CSR Practitioner's Conference at AUB on May 4 & 5, 2012. The conference is intended as a platform for regional business leaders to address the emerging challenges and opportunities presented by the ascendancy of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Through the gathering of renowned speakers, panels and interactive discussion forums, the conference will offer a regional platform for practitioners to network and exchange best practices in relation to effective sustainability and CSR management. Sustainable business is no longer a luxury, but a necessity in a fast-­paced and changing global context. Empowered citizens, consumers, and social movements across the globe are demanding that governments and businesses behave more responsibly. There is also a worldwide call to learn from the current failings of the global industrial economy and move towards more creative forms of capitalism, in which companies embrace responsible attitudes and orientations and engage in practices that expand the pie and contribute to social justice and social progress.

 

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Trash Talk: The Possibility of Recycling Lebanon's Garbage

Via the outpost
 
 
In this episode we look at how to improve Lebanon's waste management cycle. First, we get insight on how garbage disposal In Lebanon works from Ziad Abi Chaker who is pioneering ways of turning municipal trash into treasure.

Then, we talk to the co-founder of F.E.R.N. International, Meredith Danberg-Ficarelli, an organization that is working with restaurants to improve their environmental impact by introducing a recycling system in their kitchens.
  

Music
Floyd the Locsmif - Welcome
Sesame Street - I Love Trash
The Simpsons - The Garbage Man Can
Ayo - Help Is Coming

Friday, November 16, 2012

EARTHRISE: Trashing Lebanon (Al Jazeera English)

The following documentary was aired on Al Jazeera english as part of the EARTHRISE environmental show.

 

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It's All About PASSION - Bichaghaf Documentary



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Live Debris: A Trash Art Exhibition (circa 2008)

The show's slogan made from recuperated Poly-Styrene foam
 
 
Live Debris is an exhibition of art pieces made entirely from recuperated or recycled materials.  It aims to sensibilize citizens on the potential of trash as a renewable resource which should by all means never be burned or landfilled.
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Friday, September 7, 2012

Le Plastique C'est Chic


In July 2012, internet articles and blogs talked about a house exhibited in Beirut made out of what was called Eco-Board panels. It was mentioned these boards were made in Lebanon out of 100% recycled plastic. But no other background information was available, neither on the internet nor on Cedar Environmental’s website – the company who manufactures these boards.
So ELHUB decided to take a closer look and headed to the mountains to meet a certain Ziad Abichaker, the contact person for Cedar Environmental.
Driving past Bickfaya towards Abou Mizane on a hot summer morning, we weren’t expecting anything much. What could Cedar Environmental be after all? Probably a group of self-righteous golden boys who quit banking in order to save the world. Or maybe some sort of public/private consortium spending away tax money on make-believe initiatives for a better future.
We could not have been further from the truth. [read more]