RAMALLAH, December 4, 2011 (WAFA) – Upon the directives of President Mahmoud Abbas, the Land Authority informed the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) Sunday of allocating 30 dunums (1 Dunum=1000 Square Meters) of Al Mawasi land in Khan Yunis, a city south of Gaza, to build a regional desalination plant. Abbas formed a higher committee, whose […]

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City’s ambitious vision to promote local sustainability, including reduction of municipality’s water and electricity use and building a ‘green’ neighborhood. By Zafrir Rinat A program to separate household waste at source will be on display for Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan when he visits Kfar Sava next week to observe the city’s efforts to turn […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – The government is currently developing the Kingdom’s first industrial knowledge centre, a platform for industrialists to share experiences in water conservation and environment protection, according to a senior official. Being developed in cooperation with the USAID-funded Water Reuse and Environmental Conservation Project, the centre seeks to raise industries’ awareness on […]

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Conclusions emerge from presentations by Israeli and foreign scientists at a conference on the relationship between pollution and children’s health problems. By Zafrir Rinat Growing evidence suggests pollution plays a significant role in developmental problems among children, including autism, attention deficit disorder and even dyslexia, it was revealed at a conference on the subject in […]

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November 30, 2011 01:45 AM The Daily Star BEIRUT: Local officials and environmental groups have thanked the authorities for closing an illegal quarry in the village of Mazraat Sayyad in Jbeil. The Green Party, the Environment and Development Association and the town’s municipality said the move would halt the damage to the area’s environment and […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/04/2011 03:29 Film about Israeli dump’s green transformation scores first place at UN contest. Talkbacks () Israel’s infamous “garbage mountain” shone on the silver screen on Thursday, when a two-minute short film on its transformation from dump to destination took home first place at a ceremony in Durban, South Africa. The film, […]

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Environment: On the road to recovery? By SHARON UDASIN 12/02/2011 17:04 Lack of funding means flammable pine seedlings aren’t being thinned from Carmel forests, risking another blaze. Talkbacks () Pausing atop Mount Carmel a year after a deadly fire engulfed over 5,000 hectares (12,355 acres) of Israel’s largest forest, Dr. Yehoshua Shkedi had no doubts […]

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November 30, 2011 01:45 AM The Daily Star BEIRUT: A prominent environmentalist is warning against road construction works near the Faqra natural stone bridge in Kesrouan. Road construction works, using dynamite to explode portions of the ground, could damage the nearby Roman ruins, as the ground is very rocky and fragile, Mazen Abboud said. “Vibrations […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 11/30/2011 03:10 Jewish National Fund event to focus on adapting forest practices to the effects of climate change in climate summit. Talkbacks () In conjunction with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change currently occurring in Durban, South Africa, the Jewish National Fund will be hosting an official side event on […]

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By Enora Castagne The Daily Star The guide details tree cultivation from seed collection to planting. The guide details tree cultivation from seed collection to planting. BEIRUT: A guide to the cultivation of 30 native tree species in Lebanon was launched Wednesday at the Lebanese University’s Department of Agronomy as part of a major reforestation […]

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By Ahmed Al Azzam Jordan’s presently known exploitable hydrocarbon resources consist of limited quantities of crude oil and natural gas. The Kingdom is facing an alarming energy crisis because it depends entirely on imported crude oil and natural gas to meet its domestic energy demand. Egypt, which supplies Jordan with over 90 per cent of […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/01/2011 05:57 Environmental Protection Ministry, local authorities to invest in waste-treatment plants that generate bio-gas, fertilizer. Talkbacks (2) The Environmental Protection Ministry and local authorities will be collectively investing about NIS 600 million over the next three years in establishing waste-treatment plants that will generate bio-gas, fertilizers and traditional recycled materials, the […]

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Vienna,16-17 November 2011 AFED in Energy Poverty Symposium Global initiatives and regional cooperation to eradicate energy poverty were the subject of a symposium held at the Headquarters of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) in Vienna on 16-17 November. Organized by OFID and the International Energy Forum (IEF), the meeting discussed ways to secure […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 11/29/2011 06:45 Exclusive: Energy Minister Papakonstantinou first member of new Athens gov’t to visit. Talkbacks (5) The new government in Athens could open a pipeline to export natural gas from countries including Israel to destinations in northern Europe, as Greece seeks to become a regional center for the transit of this energy […]

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By Taylor Luck AMMAN – Amidst increased interest among international energy utilities in Jordan’s nuclear programme, energy officials are extending their search for a strategic investor to help build the country’s first nuclear reactor. Energy officials have pushed back proposal deadlines to February to field further expressions of interest from international operators, according to Jordan […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 11/28/2011 05:53 Designer campaigning to fund wind-powered urban lighting. Talkbacks () For sustainable designer Adital Ela, lighting up a park at night is as simple as playing with a child’s pinwheel toy out in the wind. Ela, founder and CEO of SSENSE DESIGN, has launched a Kickstarter online fund-raising campaign to finance […]

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By JOANNA PARASZCZUK AND SHARON UDASIN 12/01/2011 04:04 Eilat, Atlit salt-drying flats won’t be rezoned for private construction. Talkbacks (1) Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein announced Wednesday the state intends to annul a controversial agreement between the Israel Lands Authority and the Dankner family-controlled company Israel Salt Industries Ltd regarding use of plots of land in Atlit […]

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Look before you leap – a tale of two frogs By NATAN SLIFKIN 11/29/2011 23:25 Why did the painted frog disappear? Because its habitat was thought to be nothing more than a malaria-breeding “wasteland.” But there are no wastelands in nature. Talkbacks (5) This November, two individuals, both thought to have been consigned to history, […]

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30 November 2011 –The United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees said today it has formed a partnership with a renowned architect to build 20 environmentally-friendly schools in the Gaza Strip. Source: UN News Center The blueprint for the “environmental zero impact” schools to be built by UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees […]

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