Israel needs to see the Palestinians — including the Gazans — as an asset as they strive to join the regional power grid, the Quartet’s energy adviser tells Haaretz. By Avi Bar-Eli | Nov. 21, 2014 Ariel Ezrahi, the energy adviser to Quartet representative Tony Blair, is no politician, but he can’t help but provide […]

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Additional tension at the Al-Aqsa mosque could sink agreement, Jordanian minister tells the Financial Times. By Haaretz | Nov. 20, 2014 Increasing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians could scuttle a planned $15 billion gas deal between Israel and Jordan, according to a report in the Financial Times. The two countries signed a memorandum of […]

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Israeli gas deal would be largest collaboration between two countries since a 1994 peace treaty, has faced opposition from some senior lawmakers who say Israel should first deliver on peace. Reuters 10.27.14 Jordan expects to finalize a deal next month with Noble Energy Inc to supply the kingdom with natural gas from Israel’s Leviathan field, […]

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Israel signs deal with Egyptian company to supply a minimum of 5 million cubic meters of natural gas over the next three years. Avital Lahav 10.19.14 A deal signed between the Israeli Tamar gas reservoir and Egyptian company Dolphinus Holdings will soon bring to the resumption of natural gas flow Israel and Egypt. The gas […]

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Government says channel, slated to pass through farmland of four Jordan Valley kibbutzim, will not harm land. By Noa Shpigel | Nov. 26, 2014 About 100 Jordan Valley residents held a demonstration on Tuesday to protest a planned pipeline that would convey water from Lake Kinneret to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, claiming that the […]

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Editor’s note: The following article from the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University begins with economic policy but then pivots to the analysis of two central issues of regional environmental sustainability: water (and the associated overpumping of groundwater) and demands on environment resources from high population growth. SS IQTISADI: “Egypt’s Economy: Sisi’s Herculean Task” […]

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Tel Aviv University researchers study how to get Israelis to stop littering public spaces. By Dafna Maor | Nov. 19, 2014 Dirt in the streets, debris left in yards, mounds of garbage in national parks and along hiking trails. Why aren’t public spaces in Israel cleaner and what can be done about it? New research […]

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SHARON UDASIN, LIDAR GRAVÉ-LAZI 11/26/2014 A bill to eliminate the distribution of free plastic bags in supermarkets is unlikely to advance in its current form, MK Miri Regev (Likud) announced on Wednesday. “The important proposal seeks to change consumption habits and our behavior, thus reducing the environmental impact caused by the use of a lot […]

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The municipality and residents of Sidon celebrated the long-awaited removal of the city’s notorious mountain of garbage Monday, in a high-profile event attended by prominent politicians and international officials alike. The idea of transforming the dump into a modern landfill and, eventually, a public park has been much anticipated by locals; after more than 40 […]

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Interior Ministry panel recommends adding half a million tons to annual quota; health minister objects because of pollution fears. By Zafrir Rinat | Nov. 24, 2014 A panel of experts commissioned by the Interior Ministry has recommended earmarking large areas in the Arad Valley for phosphate mining, including an area where both local residents and […]

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Editor’s note: highly recommended. About half of the articles below are available on line at http://www.pij.org/current.php?id=82 Thematic articles: Natural Resources and the Arab-Israeli Conflict Environment, Society and Security: Interrelated Challenges in the Middle East by Erzsebet Rozsa Israel’s Obligations Concerning Natural Resources According to the International Law by Nida Kamhawi-Bitar Israeli Gas Exports as a […]

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BEIRUT: Lebanon is facing an environmental emergency which is being compounded by the presence of over one million Syrian refugees, Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk said Sunday. “We are living in a state of environmental emergency… because of the Syrian refugees who have exceeded 1.5 million over the past years,” Machnouk said at the Conference for […]

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Ghinwa Obeid| The Daily Star BEIRUT: There was a time when Lebanon was well-known for its green spaces, but over time, high-rises have taken the place of gardens at an alarming rate, according to the Agriculture Ministry, which launched a project Monday to reverse the disappearance of the country’s forests. The ministry announced its revival […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 11/11/2014 “The seashore is a resource that should be sustainable even in the winter,” Zandberg said. More coordination among authorities and access to government weather forecasts are critical to maintaining cleaner beaches in the winter season, Meretz MK Tamar Zandberg said on Tuesday. Zandberg, who chairs the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee’s […]

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Not every environmentalist sees GM as Satan incarnate. Prof. Pat Heslop-Harrison of the University of Leicester says modern agrotechnology can help feed the world. By Zafrir Rinat | Nov. 14, 2014 Supplying food to a growing population without destroying the world’s ecological systems is one of humanity’s great challenges. Israel is helping deal with this […]

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BEIRUT: A long stretch of stock-still cars crowding the streets is not just a pain for the driver, Lebanon’s notorious traffic jams are also having a detrimental effect on the environment, experts said Thursday. “The average increase in the number of vehicles has surpassed 6 percent, which is also accompanied with an increase in gasoline […]

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But the cake goes to New Delhi, which boasts a small-particulate count of 580 micrograms per cubic meter of air today. By Ruth Schuster | Nov. 11, 2014 | Tel Aviv’s air is four times filthier than Beijing’s this morning, according to a Chinese organization called Air Quality Index, which monitors smog levels in cities […]

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By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH 11/09/2014 Expert says study stresses the need to reduce the amount of air pollution to minimize morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases. Tel Aviv traffic. Pollution from vehicles — and not only from factories — triggers the develpment of cardiovascular diseases, according to new research conducted at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center that […]

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Odeh Al-Meshan 10/11/2014 The Badia is part of the Arab regions (defined as the semi-arid region of Jordan) and constitutes a significant part of Jordan and includes vast hyper-arid areas. As a result, the Badia has been defined based on aridity indices and is classified as a land for communal pastoral use (rangeland). It is […]

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by Mohammad Ghazal | Nov 05, 2014 AMMAN — The government will sign a memorandum of understanding within a week for the production of up to 40,000 barrels per day of oil from oil shale, Energy Minister Mohammad Hamed said Wednesday. The Cabinet approved signing the memorandum with Al Qamar for Energy & Infrastructure Ltd., […]

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