“Energy from the Ground Up” is from GlobalPost’s new video series Energy Entrepreneurs.  Here’s a snippet from the background article on the series:

Al Gore isn’t going to save the world from climate change. (He may not even save his own reputation if salacious allegations about his groping a massage therapist in Portland, Ore. prove true; Gore denies the charges).

But the world doesn’t need Gore, or any other global warming “guru.”

That’s because it already has Khaled Al Sabawi in Ramallah, who’s heating and cooling homes in the West Bank with geothermal energy…

Story published March 18, 2010 by GlobalPost:

BAWATI, Egypt — The windswept peak of Black Mountain could be the perfect place to watch a sunset. Normally quiet and isolated from the rest of the world, the narrow ridge overlooks Bahariya Oasis, a lush depression of palm trees in the middle of Egypt’s remote Western Desert.

But everyday, minutes before the sun dips below the horizon, buses and SUVs packed with foreign tourists climb the barren rocks of the mountain. The tranquility is disrupted into a loud jumble of languages, as tourists snap photos and toss rocks off the cliff, before hurtling off to the next stop on their guided oasis tour.

Ecotourism is taking off throughout Egypt, boosting an economy already heavily dependent on tourism revenue. Bahariya is among those destinations increasingly popular for their pristine natural environment.

However, Egypt is quickly learning the need for balance between environment and  development, amid concerns that tourism is stressing the country’s fragile ecosystems to the point of collapse.

And the debate on ecotourism is even being had here, on the dusty streets of Bahariya’s largest village.

Ali Abdel Salem, 58, has lived in Bawati all his life. He has fond memories of the days before an asphalt highway was built linking the oasis to Cairo. Read the rest of this entry »