Wars for Heaven Destroy Earth NAJIB SAAB 9/9/2014 Reports of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) have repeatedly warned that demand on resources and nature services by Arab countries is double what the region’s natural systems can provide. Key challenges include food security, water and energy. Arab countries today import more than half […]

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In this holiday season of retrospection, we would do well to consider the wisdom of Israel’s mad race forward, where development and population growth are paramount social objectives. By Alon Tal     | Sep. 24, 2014 | Source: http://www.haaretz.com/life/nature-environment/.premium-1.617233 Tradition holds that our planet was fashioned on Rosh Hashanah. This period, as we prepare to […]

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23-9-2014. Source: EU Neighbourhood Info Centre The issue of water scarcity has been at the centre of the EU-Egypt Water Talk co-hosted by the Delegation of the European Union to Egypt and the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation in Alexandria. In all, 150 experts, academics, senior civil officials and project managers from donor […]

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Published: 22.9.2014 // Source: EU Neighbourhood Info Center The European Commission has published a guidebook on ‘How to develop a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) in South Mediterranean Cities’. The purpose of this guidebook is to make energy efficiency and climate change mitigation measures relevant, achievable and compelling to local authorities in the southern Mediterranean […]

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EcoSpirit Middle East Initiative – interview with Ilana Meallem recently posted https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gOTvyZfDXwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gOTvyZfDXw for more Arava Institute youtube vidoes:

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We have been asked by the editor of Afaq-el-Bee’a wa El-Tanmiya to advise our readers of the e-magaine. The editor writes as follows: “Afaq-el-Bee’a wa El-Tanmiya is a leading Palestinian environmental e-magazine that discusses important environmental and developmental issues in the oPt. The magazine addresses environmental issues and phenomena within Palestinian and the Middle East, […]

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Aquatic ecosystem near Mount Meron headed toward recovery from 30 years of contamination. By Eli Ashkenazi | Aug. 26, 2014 For three decades, the Galilee’s Nahal Kziv has been contaminated by sewage from a village on Mount Meron. But now the effluent from Beit Jann is being directed toward a recently built sewage-treatment plant, giving […]

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Green groups argue that further construction would mar the view at the tourist attraction. By Zafrir Rinat | Aug. 25, 2014 The Housing and Construction Ministry is pushing plans to build more housing on a hill in Mitzpeh Ramon despite its pledges to preserve the landscape. The hill, known as Har Gamal, overlooks the Ramon […]

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According to the Global Footprint Network, the UAE consumes 12.3 times its resources. The UAE has one of the world’s highest per capita ecological footprints on the entire planet. While the nation has a multitude of reasons to be proud of its achievements, this is certainly not one of them. Residents and citizens of the […]

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Rob Bailey The era of cheap food is over. International food prices have spiked repeatedly in recent years – first during the 2008 global food price crisis which saw prices of key agricultural commodities more than double, then again in 2011 following a heat wave in the Black Sea breadbasket, and once more in 2012 […]

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Szilvia Bartalos and Dr Edith M Szivas, SeaStar Consultancy Sustainability is on everybody’s mind and tourism professionals are searching for ways to develop their business in a way that is both competitive and sustainable. One of the questions often asked is whether to subscribe to a green certification scheme and if so which scheme to […]

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Jumeirah at Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi has become the latest luxury hotel in the UAE to be accredited with the internationally renowned Green Globe Certification (GGC) in recognition of its efforts toward achieving sustainability. The hotel was awarded 85% in the initial GGC audit, which also praised the property for having a good sustainability […]

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By SHARON UDASIN \ 04/09/2014 Pilot rejected because fundamentally flawed; no answers to uncertainties that required improved knowledge, understanding. A day after blueprints for an oil shale pilot project crumbled in the hands of a district planning committee, environmentalists celebrated a sweeping victory, while developers expressed uncertainty about their future steps. On Tuesday, after 10 […]

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Emergency Appeal for Abasan Municipality, Gaza Water and Sanitation Needs The tragic events of this past month have led to a horrific loss of life and destruction throughout parts of Gaza and southern Israel. EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) staff and communities have been directly affected at all levels including two communities that […]

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By advancing Israel’s development and production of energy in a safe and responsible manner, the Israeli government will stimulate economic growth. The conflict in Gaza is estimated to have cost Israel’s economy nearly $3 billion in damaged property, diminished manufacturing, loss of tourism, and a drop in consumer spending. And while Israel’s economy has fared […]

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The pilot site inside the Green Line will produce the oil, which involves heating to 350 degrees Centigrade the layer of rock containing the shale 200-300 meters underground. By Zafrir Rinat | Sep. 2, 2014 The plan to produce oil from shale in the Judean lowlands is missing important information about the environmental impact of […]

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Overseeing committee says exploratory drilling would not involve any fracking, production of oil that is not in liquid form. Adam Teva V’Din (Israel Union for Environmental Defense) and a group of Golan Heights residents submitted a petition to the High Court of Justice on Monday morning, demanding the repeal of exploratory oil drilling plans for […]

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Jerusalem District Committee for Planning and Building to reconvene to determine program’s future. At long last and after many delays, the fate of the Shfela basin oil shale pilot drilling project will likely be decided next Tuesday, when the Jerusalem District Committee for Planning and Building reconvenes to determine the program’s future. The project in […]

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