Environment and Climate in the Middle East

news, conferences, policy discussions and academic publications on environmental issues and climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean

Environment and Climate in the Middle East

Archives for June, 2010

Africa’s biggest wind farm opens in Morocco Jordan Times

http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=27862 TANGIERS, Morocco (AFP) – Morocco’s King Mohammad VI inaugurated Monday a 250-million-euro ($300 million) wind farm near Tangiers, which an official source said was the biggest in Africa. The new wind, farm, which cost some $300 million, is located in Melloussa, 34 kilometres from Tangiers in northern Morocco and has 165 turbines, with a […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Lebanon steps up efforts to bring in new energy law – officials Daily Star

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=116504#axzz0sF4pgfST BEIRUT: Lebanon is accelerating efforts to introduce a new energy law, Lebanese officials said on Monday, in response to Israeli plans to drill for gas in Mediterranean waters. The discovery of major gas reserves by a US-Israeli consortium off the coast of Israel has raised fears in Lebanon that its […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Is the sun setting on the solar energy boom? Jerusalem Post

By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 06/25/2010 18:34 Israel’s solar energy industry faces ruin. http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Features/Article.aspx?id=179386 Given the amount of sunshine this country gets, it was not surprising that when the government decided that 10 percent of electricity must come from renewable resources by 2020, solar power became the main method to achieve that goal. However, solar power […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Analysis: New technologies are not ‘bankable’ Jerusalem Post

By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 06/25/2010 18:33 No new Israeli photovoltaic (PV) technology is ready for deployment yet. http://www.jpost.com/HealthAndSci-Tech/ScienceAndEnvironment/Article.aspx?id=179388 Being an alternative energy technology company is rough going these days. Renewable energy power plants, especially solar ones, are extremely capital intensive. Without government support for extended periods of R&D, some companies are scrambling for funds to […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Something’s going to blow Jerusalem Post

By RON FRIEDMAN 06/25/2010 22:55 The residents of Zichron Ya’acov and its environs – vowing to use any means necessary and showing lots of chutzpa – have joined forces to battle the government and the newly empowered energy sector. http://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?id=179445 Looking to the west from the top of a hill in Zichron Ya’acov, all you […]

Read the rest of this entry »

New sewage pipeline to protect public health in Jerash Jordan Times

By Hana Namrouqa http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=27878 AMMAN – Health and environmental conditions in the northern village of Souf, home to several freshwater springs, will be improved under a project to revamp sewage services, a government official said on Monday. Under an agreement signed yesterday by the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) and USAID, an 8.5-kilometre sewage pipeline […]

Read the rest of this entry »

UN raps Palestinians over electricity crisis in Gaza Haaretz/ Reuters

Gaza’s sole power plant, which provides 25 percent of its electricity, was forced to shut down over the weekend as a result of a payment dispute between Hamas and PA. http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/un-raps-palestinians-over-electricity-crisis-in-gaza-1.298584 The United Nations Relief Works Agency on Sunday urged Palestinians to stop in-fighting and resolve a deepening electricity “crisis” in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Minister upbeat after trip to raise awareness, funds for Red Sea project Jordan Times

By Hana Namrouqa http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=27885 AMMAN – Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohammad Najjar on Monday expressed optimism over the results of a recent trip to build international support for the Jordan Red Sea Project (JRSP). During his visit to the US last week, Najjar met with representatives from funding agencies, including the Overseas Private Investment […]

Read the rest of this entry »

OPEC urges US to reconsider offshore drilling ban Daily Star

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=116508#axzz0sF3gkZ8J BRUSSELS: OPEC called Monday on the United States to reconsider a ban on new deep-water drilling that could hold back oil supplies – despite safety concerns in the wake of the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Abdalla Salem El Badri, secretary general of the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Nature guides may be hiding facts to avoid offending religious hikers Haaretz

The Knesset is expected to look into the possibility that Israel Nature and Parks Authority guides at the Soreq Cave Nature Reserve are concealing the true age of the cavern’s stalactites, stalagmites. By Jonathan Lis http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/nature-guides-may-be-hiding-facts-to-avoid-offending-religious-hikers-1.298848 The Knesset is expected to look into the possibility that Israel Nature and Parks Authority guides at the Soreq […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Red Sea oil spill nothing new [BikyaMasr]

Red Sea oil spill nothing new – Bikya Masr June 22nd, 2010 http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=13992 CAIRO: Watching the news pour out of Egypt over the oil slick that has already hit some 100 kilometers of beaches on the Eastern Red Sea coast is shocking. Where were they last summer when oil spilled out of an offshore oil […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Arava Power leasing land from Bedouin for solar fields [Haaretz]

Published: 22.6.2010 By Avi Bar-Eli Source: Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/arava-power-leasing-land-from-bedouin-for-solar-fields-1.297570 Arava Power Company has signed deals leasing land from Bedouin in the Negev for the construction of three giant solar-power fields. The company has earmarked NIS 400 million for the photovoltaic projects, which are supposed to produce 20 megawatts. The company signed agreements with the Tarabin and […]

Read the rest of this entry »

ECOWEEK 2010: Young architects forum in the Middle East

http://ecoweek.netfirms.com/ecoweek.gr/ecoweek2010_BJ/index.html International Conference and Interdisciplinary Workshops for Young Architects, Designers and Planners gives young professionals and graduate students the opportunity to learn from and cooperate with expert professionals through discussing, planning, and even constructing “green” projects for communities in Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Negev Desert, and the Biennale of Bat Yam. Participants work side […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Water apocalypse now on the Nile – Daily Star

Najib Saab http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=115857#axzz0r9NC5ADh Taking advantage of astounding Arab apathy, African countries of the Nile Basin met in the absence of Egypt and Sudan to agree on a plan for sharing the Nile water. Ethiopia, which is the source of 85 percent of the Blue Nile, is only able to utilize a small portion of this […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Studies on ‘green’ behavioural trends to be released this week Jordan Times

By Hana Namrouqa http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=27618 AMMAN – The results of 11 surveys measuring Jordanians’ behaviours, practices and consumption patterns in the water, energy and solid waste sectors will be announced this week. The studies, carried out by the USAID-funded Public Action in Water, Energy and Environment Project, aim to analyse people’s behaviour in order to encourage […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Jordanians least likely to make sacrifices to preserve environment – poll Jordan Times / Pew Research Cener

By Taylor Luck http://www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=27574 AMMAN – Jordanians think the Kingdom is generally liked abroad and are the least likely to make sacrifices to preserve the environment, according to a global public opinion survey released on Thursday. The Pew Research Centre Global Attitudes Survey, which polled 22 nations in subjects ranging from the economy and extremism […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Activists ‘liberate’ 800 bluefin tuna off Libya coast Daily Star /AFP

By Agence France Presse (AFP) Saturday, June 19, 2010 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=116159#axzz0rQ7rboPS PARIS: Environmental activists from the Sea Shepherd group said Friday they had “liberated” some 800 bluefin tuna that had been caught by what they described as poachers and were being towed by two fishing vessels off the coast of Libya. Five scuba divers on Thursday […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Going to bat for nature Haaretz

Environmentalists hope that a recent, unprecedented survey of Jerusalem’s plant and animal populations will serve as a basis for future planning and construction in the city By Zafrir Rinat http://www.haaretz.com/magazine/week-s-end/going-to-bat-for-nature-1.296970 At night, when the human residents of Jerusalem hunker down at home or are sleeping, the city comes alive. A family of porcupines, long-time residents […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Eden halts mineral water bottling over microbe contamination Haaretz

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/eden-halts-mineral-water-bottling-over-microbe-contamination-1.296527 Eden, an Israeli mineral water supplier, said on Wednesday it had suspended bottling because of contamination at its Golan Heights spring. Eden mineral water on sale in Israel, May 15, 2009 Bottling was halted after tests showed bacteria levels exceeded limits set by state regulators. The company said it was carrying out tests in […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Israeli-developed boiled potato batteries may provide cheap power Haaretz

Study: Boiling potatoes increases electric power 10-fold; Potato battery 6 times more economical than kerosene lamp. http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/israeli-developed-boiled-potato-batteries-may-provide-cheap-power-1.296799 by Reuters An electric battery based on boiled potatoes could provide a cheap source of electricity in the developing world, according to the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The treated potato battery generates energy […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Page 1 of 4:1 2 3 4 »