by Hana Namrouqa | Aug 01, 2012 AMMAN — The amount of garbage generated in Amman each day has nearly doubled during Ramadan, leaving trash containers overflowing on the capital’s streets, officials and residents said. “Waste has increased during Ramadan by about twofold. Our teams usually collect around 1,800 tonnes of garbage per day; now […]

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District S: Green Neighborhood Development – Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia Nader Al-Nakib District S is a neighborhood development project located in Beirut, Lebanon, that employs green planning and design principles in architecture, materials, mobility, and energy and water consumption. The development of the neighborhood adopts the premise that environmentally sustainable communities will offer residents and visitors a […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Aug 02, 2012 AMMAN — Security forces will soon implement a campaign to protect the Kingdom’s water resources from recurring vandalism, violations and theft, officials said on Thursday. The campaign will target areas categorised as “hotspots”, where theft of water and equipment recur, such as south Amman, the Jordan Valley, Mafraq […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 08/02/2012 Government committee approved plan to expand Habonim nature reserve, preserving natural resources and landscape. Nixing plans to build a resort village and other tourism infrastructure on Nahsholim and Habonim beaches, a government committee has approved a plan that expands and preserves a nature reserve at Habonim. The Subcommittee for Objections under […]

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Despite the efforts of social activists and environmental organizations to maintain the seaside as a resource open to the public, the beaches’ commercialization is continuing. Haaretz Editorial | Jul.31, 2012 The beach is meant to be a public resort that is accessible and available to all. This is especially important in a small, crowded country […]

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Environmental Protection Ministry launches criminal inquiry into ORL operations after measurements indicate gross emission irregularities Amir Ben-David Published: 08.03.12 Israel’s Oil Refineries Ltd. (ORL) has been trying to escape the public image of major environmental polluter but may now have a hard time doing so. The Environmental Protection Ministry recently launched a new criminal inquiry […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 08/02/2012 Project aims to strengthen cross-border relations with Jordan as well as act as an instigator for regional development. A new NIS 10 million regional cooperation project on renewable energy in the Eilat- Eilot region aims to strengthen cross-border relations with Jordan as well as act as an instigator for regional development. […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 08/02/2012 Energy Minister Landau demonstrates “cost-effective great light” in new initiative on Reading Power Station’s prominent chimney. The habitually loathed chimney that juts out of north Tel Aviv’s Reading Power Station will now decorate the sky with green, orange and red illumination. The Energy and Water Ministry launched this visual power meter […]

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The Civil Administration is protecting a law that its title in contemporary Hebrew is ‘keeping most of the West Bank Palestinian-free.’ By Amira Hass | Aug.01, 2012 Events in Area C are a burning issue for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Eitan Dangot. More correctly, he is infuriated by what […]

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By DANIEL MERON 07/30/2012 Israelis tend to think the United Nations preoccupies itself with classic political issues, but the reality is different “We do not rejoice in victories. We rejoice when a new kind of cotton is grown and when strawberries bloom in Israel” – Golda Meir Israelis tend to think the United Nations preoccupies […]

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AFED 2012 Annual Report The 2012 AFED report will analyze sustainability options in Arab countries, based on a survey of available renewable resources (biocapacity) and consumption (footprint). As basis for the analysis, AFED has commissioned the Global Footprint Network (GFN), who are world leaders in this field, to produce an Ecological Footprint Atlas exploring resource […]

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August 01, 2012 In the two decades since Lebanon’s civil war ended the country’s electricity has proven such an enduring problem it now appears to be as intractable as most difficult international conflicts. It seems as likely to be solved as the Palestinian problem, or the conflict over Kashmir. But it’s not a problem the […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Jul 31, 2012 | 23:54 AMMAN — The Ministry of Environment has referred an industrial company to the South Amman Court of First Instance for breaching environmental regulations, according to government officials. The company manufactures aluminium and is located in Zizya, a town in Amman Governorate 35 kilometres to the south […]

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Unknown virus is killing Tilapia population in Sea of Galilee; experts say future impact on lake’s eco-system unknown Published: 07.30.12 An unknown virus is threatening the population of St. Peter’s fish (Tilapia) in Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). The virus, which has yet to be identified, is causing the fish to go blind, therefore inhibiting […]

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By JOANNA PARASZCZUK, SHARON UDASIN 07/30/2012 Move a response to calls by Erdan, animal rights groups regarding export of animals to overseas labs. Animal rights groups on Sunday praised a decision by Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein to implement legal guidelines and tougher policies on the trade of wild animals. The announcement came in response to a […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 08/01/2012 Israeli cliffs lose 40-50 centimeters a year due to erosion, with some in danger of complete collapse. The Socioeconomic Cabinet approved a plan on Tuesday to establish a governmental company for coastal cliff protection, the Environmental Protection Ministry reported. The new company will design, launch and maintain defense structures to prevent […]

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By Waltraud Frommherz-Hassib While a number of countries slid into a deep recession in 2008, Lebanon witnessed spectacular economic growth. Over the last few years, not only trendy downtown Beirut but other parts of the country, too, have seen a major construction boom. In 2009, tourism too broke all records. In the real estate business […]

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links go to on-line articles from this issue 4 Regional cooperation to bridge food deficit (editorial by Najib Saab) 16 Construction chaos in Lebanon (cover story) http://www.mectat.com.lb/metopics/lebconstruction/lebconstruction.htm 22 The future we don’t want highlights on Rio+20 summit 24 Rio, the states, the people commentary by Cynthia Fleury http://www.mectat.com.lb/metopics/fleuri/fleuri.htm 26 People’s summit versus leaders’ summit photo […]

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