By SHARON UDASIN 04/04/2013 Bank Hapoalim lends Arava 80% of project’s cost; other partner is French energy giant Electricite de France. Arava Power Company has ratified financial agreements to build its 40- megawatt solar field on 60 hectares of Kibbutz Ketura land, the company announced on Wednesday. Slated to begin construction in a few months, […]

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April 04, 2013 BEIRUT: The American energy exploration firmhttp://mideastenvironment.apps01.yorku.ca/wp-admin/post-new.php ION Geophysical was awarded a contract to conduct a seismic survey of an additional 1,650 kilometers off Lebanon’s coast, Energy and Water Minister Gebran Bassil announced Wednesday. ION will delve 40 km below Lebanon’s seabed, Bassil said, compared to the last 3-D seismic surveys which was […]

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April 03, 2013 Israel began its long-anticipated foray into natural gas production last weekend, and the move is expected to have two central benefits: a reduction in electricity costs for consumers and increased hard currency revenues from the natural gas that is exported. As Israel’s gas production sector swung into action, a news report that […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 04/04/2013 Government to vote on Zemach Committee conclusions that recommended limiting gas exports to under 500 billion cubic meters. As natural gas from the Tamar reservoir continues to flow into the Ashdod reception facility, representatives of green groups are calling for Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom to ensure that Israel maintains […]

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By GREER FAY CASHMAN 04/01/2013 President congratulates mega tycoon Tshuva whose company was part of conglomerate that developed Tamar gas reservoir. President Shimon Peres telephoned mega tycoon Yitzhak Tshuva – whose Delek Group was part of the conglomerate that drilled and developed the Tamar gas reservoir – to congratulate him on the start of the […]

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Petitioners say placing facility near them will expose residents to environmental and safety hazards; ask Israeli High Court to order planning stopped until court hands down final decision on matter. By Zafrir Rinat | Mar.28, 2013 Several towns in the Carmel foothills petitioned the High Court of Justice earlier this week against the decision to […]

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April 03, 2013 BEIRUT: Environmental issues should top the agenda of any future Cabinet, caretaker Environment Minister Nazem Khoury said Tuesday. “Today more than ever, environmental issues should be a priority on the agenda of any future Cabinet, despite the tense political situation and economic uncertainties in the country,” Khoury said during a reception to […]

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Petra | Apr 03, 2013 | 22:18 Updated: Apr 03, 2013 | 22:18 AMMAN — The Ministry of Environment shut down 50 factories and issued 3,820 tickets to other establishments that did not conform to environmental regulations in March. The ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that it dealt with more than 5,500 complaints […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Mar 30, 2013 AMMAN — The implementation of a JD5.5-million project to construct and rehabilitate water infrastructure in the southern Karak Governorate is under way, a government official said on Saturday. The project entails installing new water networks and rehabilitating deteriorated ones to improve water management and supply in Karak, the […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Mar 31, 2013 AMMAN — The Millennium Challenge Account-Jordan (MCA-Jordan) on Sunday said it will float the first of six tenders to restructure and rehabilitate the water network in the heavily populated and industrialised Zarqa Governorate on Monday. The $108-million (around JD76.5 million) water network project is designed to decrease water […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 03/24/2013 Israel Water Authority says Israel is supplying above and beyond international requirements. Palestinian government bodies slammed Israel for restricting access to water resources and denying them new water wells, in addition to allegedly reneging on an international water agreement. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the Palestinian Water Authority […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Mar 23, 2013 ISTANBUL — Water experts and policy makers from five regional countries are in the process of setting up a new council to regulate sharing of trans-boundary water resources. The council, comprising high-level members from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey, will draft policies for regional water and for […]

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Scientists argue that destruction of biodiversity and depletion of water resources jeopardize UN efforts to improve living condition for world’s population. By Zafrir Rinat | Mar.28, 2013 One of the most important and influential UN initiatives during the past few years is its millennium development goals, which include halving extreme poverty rates, providing universal primary […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 03/20/2013 New Environmental Protection Minister Peretz promises to integrate principles of environmental and social justice into office. While the new Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz promised to integrate the principles of environmental and social justice in his office, new Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom pledged to improve the quality of life […]

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New study refutes claim made by fishermen, Agriculture Ministry that the great cormorant is responsible for the disappearance of fish in Israel’s Kinneret. By Zafrir Rinat | Mar.27, 2013 A new study by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority is debunking a long-held theory by fishermen and Agriculture Ministry fishery experts that a bird known […]

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Rotem Amfert has decided to rehabilitate the landscape during actual phosphate mining, under the watchful eye of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority; to be sure, the company is also being forced by regulation. By Zafrir Rinat | Mar.27, 2013 The large area known as Hatzeva B is located close to a phosphate factory in […]

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Thursday, 28 March 2013 Randa Takieddine The first solar power plant in the Arab world “Shams 1” was launched in Abu Dhabi by the Emirati company “Masdr.” Launching the plant was an occasion to look into the future of this renewable energy to produce electricity in the Arab world. It is undoubted that Middle Eastern […]

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JT | Mar 26, 2013 | 21:10 AMMAN — The Jordan Biogas Company on Tuesday signed an agreement with Finland’s government to purchase carbon credit from the Ruseifa Landfill under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). As defined in the Kyoto Protocol, the CDM allows a country with an emission reduction or limitation commitment to implement […]

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Israel becomes world’s largest Jewish center, with six million Jews; United States in second place, France third. ‘World’s Jews on decline,’ expert says Gad Lior Published: 03.28.13 Israel’s population has crossed the eight million threshold over Passover, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Thursday. With six million Jews, Israel has become the world’s largest Jewish center. […]

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Family health survey says 95% of women know about HIV/AIDS by Khetam Malkawi | Mar 27, 2013 AMMAN — The fertility rate saw a 50 per cent drop in Jordan between the years 1976 and 2012, according to a nationwide survey announced on Wednesday. The Jordan Population and Family Health Survey (JPFHS) for the year […]

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