Morocco

Devastating Earthquake showed Resiliency of Morocco’s Solar and Wind Farms, as it Meets its Paris Commitments

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – One advantage of solar and wind as renewable sources of energy is that they appear to be especially resilient in the face of natural disasters. A paradox of the battle against human-caused climate change is that some of our best tools, such as low-carbon hydroelectric power, are also the most […]

Displaced and Refugees

Marrakech Artisans – who have helped rebuild the Moroccan City before – are among those hit hard in the Earthquake’s Devastation

The Conversation

By Abbey Stockstill, Southern Methodist University | – A powerful earthquake that hit close to the medieval city of Marrakech in Morocco on Sept. 8, 2023, has killed thousands and injured many more. It has also put at risk buildings and monuments of major historic importance, among them the minaret of the Kutubiyya mosque, a […]

Algeria

France’s Double Uprising: Will the Earth be Habitable; Will France be Habitable for People of Color?

Waging Nonviolence

By Nicolas Haeringer | – ( Waging Nonviolence) – On June 27, Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old French boy of North African descent was murdered by a white police officer in a Parisian suburb. Since then, anger has erupted almost everywhere in the country, especially in poor neighborhoods. Young people are taking to the streets to […]

Food Security

How Morocco Could use its Solar Energy and abundant Phosphorous to Feed the World and Offset Russia

The Conversation

By Michaël Tanchum, Universidad de Navarra | – Morocco has a large fertiliser industry with huge production capacity and international reach. It is one of the world’s top four fertiliser exporters following Russia, China and Canada. Fertilisers tend to divide into three main categories; nitrogen fertilisers, phosphorus fertilisers, potassium fertilisers. In 2020 the fertiliser market […]

Batteries

Developing Morocco, which already gets twice as much of its Electricity from Renewables as US, plans new 800 MW Hybrid Solar Facility

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Morocco hosted a big energy conference with 19,000 attendees recently, at which it celebrated its partnership with Masdar, the green energy company based in the UAE, which is committed to a new solar farm that will generate 800 megawatts of electricity. Attendee Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE minister […]

Climate Crisis

COP26: Climate Disaster Stalks Morocco even as it Strives for Wind, Solar

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Since the UN Conference of Parties (COP) 26 is meeting in Glasgow this week, we will be looking at climate and energy issues in the Middle East. Today I want to make some remarks about Morocco, which has one of the most ambitious green energy programs in the region, but […]

Featured

Morocco beats U.S. in Green Energy Future Index with Massive Saharan Solar Plant

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The MIT Technology Review has released its Green Future Index. Among Middle Eastern countries, Morocco ranks number one, and it also leads Africa. I have a big problem with the index, though. One of its criteria is technological innovation in the area of green energy. These are the bases for […]

Donald Trump

I guess “Islam” doesn’t Hate us After All: Trump pins hopes for Vaccine on Muslim-American Slaoui

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump became president in part by playing on fears, resentments and outright hatred among some segments of the American public, especially of a racial and religious sort. He bashed Mexican-Americans as drug dealers and rapists, and recently blamed Chinese-Americans for the coronavirus. But no group came in for so fierce […]

Morocco

Why do Protests Keep Happening in North Africa? It’s “al-Hogra”

Hsain Ilahiane

It is used as a vehicle for social mobilization around overlapping rights such as the right to work, to education, to health, to housing