editor’s note: Also in other news services. But not a lead story. SS By BLOOMBERG 05/11/2013 Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere exceeds 400 parts per million for first time since researchers began tracking the data in 1958. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere surpassed a threshold not seen for 3 million years, exceeding […]
Archives for May, 2013
Greenhouse gases hit threshold unseen in 3m. years – Jerusalem Post (Bloomberg)
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Water Authority: ‘Severe drought’ from 2015-2035 – Jerusalem Post
By SHARON UDASIN 05/07/2013 Despite dire predictions, country not expected to suffer water shortage. Israel must prepare for the possibility of a severe drought period that is expected to begin within a few years, the Water Authority warned on Monday. Models from the authority’s Hydrological Services have predicted that Israel will face a long and […]
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Peretz: Peres must stop greenhouse program cuts – Jerusalem Post
By SHARON UDASIN 05/13/2013 Environmentalists respond to what may be a dangerous decision on part of Lapid to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions program from budget. Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz and heads of Israeli environmental organizations called for President Shimon Peres to block the Finance Ministry’s intention to pull the plug on the national greenhouse […]
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Environmentalists decry Israeli treasury’s plan to freeze greenhouse-gas mitigation plan – Haaretz
Project’s supporters cite harm to energy-conservation targets, Israel’s international reputation. By Zafrir Rinat | May.08, 2013 The proposed suspension of the government’s national greenhouse-gas mitigation plan is a harsh blow to Israel’s energy conservation policy and its international status with regard to environmental protection, environmentalists say. Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz and environmental groups responded […]
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Knesset panel: Reduce water prices in new budget – Jerusalem Post
By SHARON UDASIN 05/07/2013 MK Amnon Cohen demands drop in water prices be included in state’s future budget due to its “significance to the cost of living.” Stressing that water is a basic human need, Knesset State Control Committee chairman MK Amnon Cohen (Shas) demanded on Monday that a drop in water prices be included […]
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Israeli green group faces closure due to funding woes – Haaretz
Around four years after the worst of the global economic crisis, foundations are still not opening their wallets. By Zafrir Rinat | May.06, 2013 One of the most important environmental organizations in northern Israel says it faces imminent closure after failing to raise enough money to continue operations. The Public Health Coalition has been active […]
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Land of King David gets a new lease on life – Haaretz
The Housing Ministry plan to build some 30,000 residential units on land that extends to the edges of the Elah Valley to the south, the place where the Bible says David fought and killed Goliath. By Zafrir Rinat | May.10, 2013 Residents of Beit Shemesh and nearby communities have been trying for years, with no […]
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Israeli government plan aims to replace green spaces with high-density housing = Haaretz
Plan aims to reduce construction costs, but environmentalists fear it will lead to the destruction of natural landscape and prevent the implementation of advanced building standards that ensure safety. By Zafrir Rinat | May.09, 2013 The government is advancing a nationwide housing plan which will enable construction in green areas, endanger trees in areas earmarked […]
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‘Lands Authority must protect coastal environment’ – Jerusalem Post
By SHARON UDASIN 05/08/2013 The State Comptroller Report slams the Israel Lands Authority’s lack of policy implemented to protect the coast. The Israel Lands Authority must create a more comprehensive vision for protecting the nation’s remaining open beaches and reexamine outdated construction plans that threaten to harm the coastal environment, the State Comptroller’s Report indicated. […]
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Weapons plant still polluting Tel Aviv soil 30 years after closure – Haaretz
The site in question is located at the end of the Arvei Nahal Street in Tel Aviv and was home to an IMI factory from 1948 until 1980. By Zafrir Rinat | May.07, 2013 Recent groundwater and soil tests carried out in the Tel Aviv area by Israel’s Water Authority prove that more than 30 […]
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Egypt Independent, leader in environmental news, banned
The previous postings, April 29, 2013, included as the top story the report from “Egypt Independent”: “Final Issue: In Egypt, environmental journalists are endangered species”. “Egypt Independent” has been an outstanding source of environmental news. As the story in the previous posting relates, the newspaper made an editorial decision that environmental issues were under-reported and […]
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Cairo Climate Talks: Climate change hits nation’s poor the hardest – Egypt Independent
18/04/2013 Steven Viney Cairo Climate Talks held its 15th panel discussion on Wednesday night, focusing on how Egypt should address the consequences of climate change, particularly in regards to poor urban populations and those living in informal housing. The inconvenient truth is that approximately 60 percent of Egyptians live in informal and unregistered housing without […]
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Air pollution indoors and outdoors high, threaten health and environment – Egypt Independent
21/04/2013 Rana Khaled The average Cairene inhales more than 20 times the acceptable level of air pollution every day, according to the World Health Organization. That means that every Cairo resident’s daily air pollution intake is akin to smoking a pack of cigarettes. Industrial plants — especially factories that burn mazut, a heavy, low-quality fuel […]
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Irrigation Ministry: Prevent rice cultivation in deserts – Egypt Independent
24/04/2013 MENA Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Bahaa Eddin has called for the prohibition of rice cultivation in desert lands, which is already forbidden by law, so as to reduce overdraft of water from aquifers. “The groundwater went down 2.5 meters,” he warned in a statement Wednesday. “Future generations may not find water.” His […]
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Amid political instability, farmers’ plight goes from bad to worse – Egypt Independent
07/04/2013 Steven Viney As government politics continues to remain in a state of turbulent and violent uncertainty and instability — clashes abound, parliamentary election dates are announced and soon canceled, farmer loan forgiveness is promised with no follow-through — the lives of Egypt’s farmers are going from bad to worse. When, in 2009, the World […]
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Farmers say Egypt’s wheat crop hopes are ‘a dream’ – Egypt Independent
16/04/2013 Reuters Egypt’s Islamist-led government must be dreaming if it expects a bumper wheat harvest over the next six weeks that will save the country billions of dollars in imports, says farmer Farid Boshra Abdel Malek. “How can they expect any increase in wheat production when they are not providing us with water, fuel for […]
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Climate change forcing Egypt to change agriculture practices – Egypt Independent
12/04/2013 Al-Masry Al-Youm Agriculture Minister Salah Abdel Momen commissioned the Agricultural Research Center to review their recommendations for harvesting wheat, corn, cotton and rice following the release of new information regarding the impact of climate change on crop cycles. “The current year witnessed climate changes that ordinary citizens noticed, including underground fluctuations and sharp rises […]
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OpenOil archive to promote oil and gas industry transparency – Egypt Independent
14/04/2013 Steven Viney Researching the oil and gas industry and the details of its practices in Egypt can be an extremely exhausting task. Reasons for this range from institutional corruption to scattered information that is difficult to locate and unclear responsibilities among ministries and personnel, to name but a few. Even within a single governing […]
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Ministry: Hot weather, giant sponges cleaned up Lake Nasser diesel spill – Egypt Independent
11/04/2013 Al-Masry Al-Youm Ninety percent of the diesel that spilled into Lake Nasser on Sunday has already evaporated due to high temperatures in Aswan, the Environment Ministry claimed on Thursday. The rest of the spill was mopped up by the Armed Forces with huge sponges, the ministry alleged. Preliminary investigations suggested that the spillage came […]
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When sharks are prey – Egypt Independent
12/04/2013 Rana Khaled News about the slaughtering of three whale sharks in Suez in the past weeks triggered a wave of anger among marine biologists and environmental organizations across Egypt. The Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) condemned the recurring slaughter of this peaceful and endangered species, describing it as a “serious environmental crime.” […]
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