November 26, 2011 01:03 AM By Rakan al-Fakih HERMEL, Lebanon: With the beginning of winter, residents of villages and towns in northern Bekaa, many of whom are unable to afford fuel, are turning to wood from the area’s forests. While burning firewood is the only option for many to stay warm, the practice is driving […]

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By Taylor Luck AMMAN – Jordan’s supply of Egyptian gas was cut off by a blast in Sinai early Monday, as ongoing instability in Egypt threatened to plunge the Kingdom into what experts are calling an emerging “energy crisis”. The blast was the ninth act of sabotage on the Arab Gas Pipeline this month and […]

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OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel warned on Saturday that it would cut the supply of water and electricity to the Gaza Strip if rival Palestinian movements Fateh and Hamas form a unity government. “The foreign ministry is examining the possibility of Israel pulling out of the Gaza Strip in terms of infrastructure,” Deputy Foreign Minister […]

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By Taylor Luck AMMAN – While casting doubt over stability in Egypt, ongoing attacks on the Arab Gas Pipeline have put Jordan’s drive for alternative energy sources at the front and centre of the public debate. By severing gas supplies earlier this month, the seventh act of sabotage this year on the Arab Gas Pipeline […]

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By WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY 11/23/2011 11:17 Study finds that in areas where people are losing access to wildlife, children are 30 percent more likely to develop anemia and other diseases related to poor nutrition. Talkbacks (8) For the first time, researchers have uncovered a powerful connection between loss of access to wildlife and micro-nutrient deficiencies […]

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The Hula Valley is one of the most important stops on any bird-watcher’s list, with thousands of migrant birds, of all varieties, stopping in for the winter. By Moshe Gilad About 100 million bird watchers wander the globe with binoculars hanging round their necks, trying to add another rare specimen to their lists. Dan Elon […]

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A bitter dispute breaks out between two environmentally oriented groups over tree cutting and clearing work by the Jewish National Fund in Netanya’s Sergeants’ Grove. By Zafrir Rinat The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel filed a complaint with Netanya police on Monday against the Jewish National Fund over what it calls “harming […]

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Environmental Protection Ministry has fewer than 40 inspectors, and very few of these deal exclusively with construction waste. By Zafrir Rinat The amount of construction waste reaching legal dumping sites has dropped by almost 50 percent in recent months, say the dumps’ operators. The illegal dumping of construction waste is arguably Israel’s most widespread environmental […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – The Ministry of Environment is embarking on a waste sorting and recycling project at public agencies, a senior government official said on Sunday. Work is under way on an integrated plan for sorting and recycling solid waste generated at ministries and government institutions to spread the culture of recycling in […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 11/24/2011 03:16 Israeli, German experts to work with Kenyans to upgrade fishery system, waste water treatment. Talkbacks () A team of Israeli and German experts will be working with Kenyan agricultural and water professionals to upgrade the commercial fishery system and waste water treatment mechanisms within the central African country’s Lake Victoria, […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 11/24/2011 03:10 Landau likens plan to affirmative action, but Palestinians critical of “Israeli-only” program. Talkbacks (2) The National Infrastructure Ministry has completed its process of adopting regulations for medium-sized solar fields in Judea and Samaria, and residents will be able to begin submitting applications to build fields shortly, the ministry said Tuesday. […]

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By Taylor Luck AMMAN – Jordan is three years away from its first operational wind farm as officials field interest in the country’s emerging renewable energy sector. Energy officials expect a wind farm in Fujeij, the Kingdom’s first large-scale renewable energy project, to be operational by 2014, according to Ziyad Jibril, head of the Ministry […]

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Incident marks 8th attack on pipeline which carries gas through Sinai and on to Jordan and Israel. By Reuters Saboteurs blew up a gas pipeline 60 km (37 miles) west of the Egyptian town of al-Arish in northern Sinai on Friday, the latest in series of attacks, state news agency MENA reported. The blast caused […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 11/23/2011 05:21 Authorities that provide licenses and oversee surveillance of offshore sites must be separated, experts tell Knesset. Talkbacks (1) Greater supervision must occur in offshore oil and natural gas drilling sites in order to prevent environmental crises, experts agreed at a special Knesset session held on Monday. The forum occurred at […]

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By Yoram Gabison The Bronickis have reached an agreement to share control over the Ormat geothermal energy group, which the family founded, with the First Israel Mezzanine Fund. The Bronickis own 35.3% of Ormat Industries, parent of Ormat Technologies, while FIMI has built up a 10.5% stake. Ormat Technologies is the operational arm that builds […]

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The cost of the cleanup is estimated at between NIS 3.8 billion (says the company) and NIS 5 billion (says the government). By Ora Coren and Rina Rozenberg Dead Sea Works should cover 90% of the cost of clearing out the salt from its evaporation pools, which are threatening to flood hotels at the Dead […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 11/25/2011 04:07 Adam Teva V’Din: Legislation for contaminated sites must be approved, Clean Air Law must be implemented properly. Talkbacks () For green advocacy giant Adam Teva V’Din (the Israel Union for Environmental Defense), the most pressing environmental issues of 2012 will be cleaning up contaminated waste sites and minimizing air pollution, […]

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Red tape holding back the pumps as pollution flows into Ein Bokek reserve. By Zafrir Rinat Bureaucratic delays that have dragged on for four years now are preventing the construction of an installation to pump contaminated water from the Rotem Plain area of the Negev. This means that pollution is spreading to groundwater and to […]

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Drivers report short hops within the city took an hour or longer with the pain rippling out from Tel Aviv into the suburbs of Ramat Gan and Givatayim. By Zafrir Rinat and Ilan Lior The bursting of a water main on Derekh Namir and the resulting blocking of the north-south road between Arlosoroff and Shaul […]

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Jewish American businessman, controlling shareholder of RWL Water, says Israel a global hub in water technology. ‘Unfortunately it is also a world champion in bureaucracy,’ he adds Lior Gutman, Calcalist Published: 11.18.11, 10:46 / Israel Business “A decade ago I realized that the future of the 21st century lies not in oil but in water. […]

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