By SHARON UDASIN 08/28/2013 Secretary-general of the Bonn-based World Wind Energy Association tells companies to reinvest in green energy. As Israel gears up to get its wind energy sector going, it will be crucial for the government to create an investment framework defined by stability and predictability, an international industry expert stressed on Tuesday night. […]

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AL-BIREH, August 19, 2013 (WAFA) – A decision by the Israeli military to close the waste disposal site the municipality of al-Bireh, Ramallah’s twin city, has been using for over 30 years, has caused serious concern among city and state officials who spoke on this subject on Monday. The military ordered the site located near […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Aug 21, 2013 AMMAN — A total of 350,000 cubic metres of water is being lost in the capital each day due to violations on water resources and networks, according to a senior government official. The violators are illegally pumping water from main networks to either fill their private pools or […]

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YNET: Jordan, Israel in advanced talks on water deal Hashemite Kingdom, thirsty for water due to huge influx of Syrian refugees, to get Kinneret water in return for desalinated water from Aqaba plant Roi Kais Published: 08.22.13 Israel and Jordan are holding advanced negotiations over water exchanges between the two sides, Ynet has learned. According […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 08/20/2013 00:21 For a group of Palestinian and Israeli researchers investigating methods to completely purify water from medicinal materials, working together is nothing short of critical. “It is a must,” Dr. Rafik Karaman, of Al-Quds University’s College of Pharmacy in Abu Dis, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. The joint Palestinian-Israeli research […]

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August 20, 2013 12:20 AM By Mohammed Zaatari SIDON, Lebanon: From the way officials in charge of clearing a notorious landfill in Sidon talk about the task ahead of them, the operation sounds like a sick man undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. The landfill, which contains some 2 million cubic meters of waste, […]

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August 22, 2013 12:15 AM By Misbah al-Ali TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Residents of the northern city of Tripoli are opposing a new building project on the city’s public waterfront, saying it would rob locals of access to the free coastal strip. The project, as presented by one of its financiers, Youssef Fattal, seeks to reclaim land […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 08/11/2013 Zalul warns bathers that there is no proper emergency equipment or personnel, and no sufficient insurance for potential disasters. Wearing black bathing suits and covered in black skin paint, a group of activists took to several Tel Aviv beaches on Saturday, in attempt to convince the public that the government is […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 08/21/2013 Even more gas than previously thought is likely lurking in the Levant basin, following a Wednesday announcement of a small but significant additional prospect just next to the Tamar reservoir. The new reservoir, called Tamar Southwest, is expected to contain about 0.7 trillion cubic feet, or about 19 billion cubic meters, […]

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BEIRUT: Lebanon could potentially mitigate the disastrous impacts of climate change on food resources by exploiting the near relatives of crop species that are already cultivated, experts and policymakers said Monday. “We are all in the middle of grappling with a challenge which is going to get harder and harder in the future, as resources […]

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Humeyra Pamuk, Reuters/Ankara Turkey has quietly built up a large presence in Kurdistan’s oil and gas industry, teaming up with U.S. major Exxon Mobil, as Ankara bets on Iraq’s semi-autonomous republic to help wean it off costly Russian and Iranian energy imports. A state-backed Turkish firm was also set up in the second quarter of […]

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An update from WordPress has created problems for our mailings. It will likely take a couple of weeks until we have this fixed. Our main site: http://mideastenvironment.apps01.yorku.ca/ is still up and running. Environment and Climate in the Middle East

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Efforts to save the fish population in the Mediterranean waters off Israel’s coast are gaining momentum with the founding of a new organization called Save the Fish. By Zafrir Rinat | Jul. 30, 2013 Efforts to save the fish population in the Mediterranean waters off Israel’s coast are gaining momentum with the founding of a […]

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by Taylor Luck | Aug 07, 2013 | 23:15 AMMAN — Hospitals across Jordan are preparing to switch to solar power in an attempt to cut down on soaring electricity costs. In an agreement signed earlier this week, the Jordan Private Hospitals Association (JPHA) and the Jordan Renewable Energy Society (JRES) embarked on a project […]

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A nature reserve gives a discount to residents of Jewish settlements, but not to the Palestinian neighbors. By Zafrir Rinat | Aug. 1, 2013 With its desert landscape and cool springs, the Nahal Prat ‏(Wadi Kelt‏) reserve, northeast of Jerusalem, attracts many hikers. Admission to one of the main sites in the reserve, Ein Prat, […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Aug 07, 2013 | 23:23 AMMAN — The number of water-related complaints has dropped by half in Zarqa Governorate after authorities started pumping additional water to the densely populated city, according to a government official and residents. In addition, the number of water complaints dropped by 80 per cent in Ruseifa […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 08/06/2013 Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom took part on Tuesday in inaugurating the country’s largest solar field, a 10-megawatt photovoltaic “oasis” developed by SunPower on land belonging to Moshav Mivtahim in the northern Negev. “Renewable energies are the future of the electricity sector,” Shalom said at the launch ceremony. “The development […]

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Forest fire erupts in north Lebanon August 06, 2013 06:17 PM TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Fire fighters are battling a forest fire which erupted in north Lebanon Tuesday as residence call on authorities for additional assistance. The fire is reportedly raging on a hill between the villages of al-Bira and Sendyaneh and is approaching the village of […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 08/10/2013 Law requires manufacturers and importers to take responsibility for handling all packaging waste that they bring into the market. Twelve companies who did not act in accordance with the stipulations of the Packaging Law and avoided contact with the Tamir recycling firm each received a fine of around NIS 155,000 from […]

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Untreated industrial waste that was channeled into ground compromised water wells in Israel’s north; three-year-old cleanup appears to be delayed due to funding difficulties. By Zafrir Rinat | Jul. 31, 2013 Cleanup and containment of contamination discovered three years ago at a Rafael Advanced Defense Systems facility in the Haifa Bay area may be hampered […]

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