BEIRUT: Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk is prepared to sue all private hospitals who fail to recycle their medical waste, the hospitals union head announced Tuesday. After meeting with Machnouk at the ministry Tuesday morning, the head of the Association of Private Hospitals Sleiman Haroun said he could not convince the minister to refrain from suing […]

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Avoid strenuous outdoor activities, environment ministry advises. By Haaretz | Feb. 11, 2015 The fierce dust storm that has swept Israel over the past 24 hours has resulted in air pollution levels that are the highest recorded in the past five years, the Environmental Protection Ministry reported on Wednesday morning. The pollution consists of tiny […]

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RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Environment Quality Authority on Saturday said that any individual found responsible for exporting hazardous waste from Israel to Palestinian lands will be sentenced to lifetime imprisonment and hard labor. The statement comes amid increasing concern over Israeli companies dumping toxic materials in Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank, with implicit […]

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HEBRON (Ma’an) — An annual campaign to plant one million trees on land facing annexation in the occupied West Bank kicked off Tuesday in Hebron. Dozens of Palestinian activists planted olive trees near the Qurtuba school in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron. The campaign was organized by the Arab Group for the Protection of […]

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TUBAS (Ma’an) – Israeli forces on Thursday destroyed a water network which feeds Palestinian villages and Bedouin dwellings in the northern Jordan Valley, the head of the village council of al-Maleh and its surrounding Bedouin dwellings said. Arif Daraghmah told Ma’an that Israeli troops escorted excavators which destroyed a 2,000-meter-long water pipeline near the village […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 02/06/2015 RWAMAGANA – Just a few degrees south of the equator on Thursday, sunlight bathed rows of pristine solar panels as delegates from around the world arrived to celebrate the inauguration of East Africa’s first solar field. “What we can see up here today for Rwanda, Africa and the world is hope,” […]

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Officials from American energy firm visit Cairo to discuss option of using Israel’s offshore gas fields to power energy-starved nation. A delegation from American oil firm Noble Energy is in Egypt for talks with the state gas company about importing Israeli gas to energy-starved Egypt, sources at the airport and the oil ministry said on […]

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Osama Habib| The Daily Star BEIRUT: To drill or not to drill. This question is on the lips of energy officials and international oil companies as they watch with frustration Lebanon’s more than decade-long delay in issuing licenses to drill for oil and gas. All energy officials interviewed by The Daily Star said they were […]

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BEIRUT: Lebanon and Norway signed a three-year agreement Tuesday under which Oslo will support the Lebanese government’s efforts to develop its infant oil and gas sector. A statement from Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry said the deal was signed between Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, Energy Minister Arthur Nazarian and Norway’s Foreign Ministry State Secretary Bard Pederson. The […]

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Sarah Weatherbee| The Daily Star BEIRUT: From the ground, it’s hard to envision how tiny, day-to-day changes add up to big impact. Viewing Earth from space can help broaden perspectives, completing the stories that quantitative data cannot. Further, images of Earth’s surface can be worth a thousand possibilities for progress. The recently released book, Space […]

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Dana Halawi| The Daily Star BEIRUT: The World Bank’s country director for the Middle East has urged the Lebanese Parliament to speed up the approval of the construction of the Bisri dam, a $612 million project financed by the World Bank and the Islamic Bank. “Lebanese officials have already expressed a great interest and willingness […]

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Government decision to use the recycled material in building projects is not being enforced. By Zafrir Rinat | Feb. 6, 2015 Recycling construction waste is becoming virtually impossible because the industries that should use it are not buying it from recycling sites. Manufacturers who process the waste products have appealed to the government to enforce […]

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Crops are blooming on Gaza City rooftops, thanks to an aquaponic gardening method that saves water and space. Ala Qandil | 24 Jan 2015 Gaza City – Abu Ahmed’s rooftop was once only a space to store garbage. Today, in the densely populated centre of Gaza City, it is a green oasis. In winter, it […]

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Vakur SÜMER Advisor, Water Research Program ORSAM (CENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STRATEGIC STUDIES) Water problem is a grave concern in Gaza Strip. In addition to long-lasting difficulties associated with various aspects of water, including limited resources, demographic pressures, pollution, and wasteful use; the region is now increasingly threatened by water infrastructure damage caused by continued […]

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Assist. Prof. Vakur Sümer, ORSAM Advisor, Selçuk University The countries of the Middle East, most of which rank among the world’s most water-scarce ones, should focus more on reusing existing water resources. Reusing the treated sewage effluent (TSE) is one of possible routes to water efficiency, something gravely needed in the region as a whole. […]

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When it comes to the coastline, Israel’s environmental movement has racked up some impressive achievements. By Zafrir Rinat | Jan. 22, 2015 Not long ago, a group of activists from the Green Course (Megamah Yerukah) organization made their way to a building site along the Bat Yam coast. The members protested the plan to eliminate […]

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RAMALLAH, January 13, 2015 (WAFA) – Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority (EQA) said, in a statement Tuesday, that following the Palestinian Authority’s recent move of signing on to four international conventions on environment, Israel will be held accountable for committing crimes against the environment in Palestine. Ahead of the United Nations Security Council’s failure to adopt […]

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Jan 13, 2015 AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan has called for galvanising “efforts to ensure that policies are put in place that ensure and promote the role of communities and end users in natural resources management”. “Anthropolitics, or a politics of humanity, must take centre stage in the Middle East to restore respect for human […]

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Israeli company AORA to provide solar-biogas hybrid power solutions for rural communities in Ethiopia. Anav Silverman, Tazpit 01.17.15 Ethiopia is aiming to enhance access to affordable and environmentally-friendly renewable energy for its population, with the country’s Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy announcing last month that it had signed an agreement with an Israeli solar-hybrid […]

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Egypt considers gas imports from Israel Oil minister says Cairo continues to mull decision to enter arrangement with Jerusalem in order to end post-Mubarak energy woes. 01.14.15 Egypt is open to importing gas from Israel, its oil minister said in state-owned media on Wednesday, another sign that Cairo may lean on its Jewish neighbor to […]

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