By JOANNA PARASZCZUK 08/07/2012 There are fires all over the world and no investigative committees, prime minister says at comptroller’s hearing Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu lashed out against the ongoing investigation into his government’s response to the 2010 Carmel Forest fire at the State Controller’s Knesset hearing on the issue Tuesday. Speaking at a special […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Aug 06, 2012 AMMAN — The Rangers will increase patrols in heavily wooded areas to put an end to deliberate forest fires, Minister of Environment Yaseen Khayyat said on Monday. Monitoring of the country’s limited forest areas will be intensified in cooperation with the Rangers and the agriculture ministry to curb […]

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Megan Detrie Fri, 27/07/2012 Egypt might have to look beyond the world’s biggest wheat exporter to feed its hungry nation, after the worst drought in more than a decade has wilted US grain crops. “Wheat is the biggest problem for food security. There’s a lot of vulnerability, given supply and demand sources,” said Magda Kandil, […]

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Rana Khaled Sun, 29/07/2012 Old books describe Helwan, a southern suburb of Cairo, as “the sacred healing city” — one of Egypt’s main centers of therapeutic tourism since the pharaonic era. Any book that mentions the medical healing value of Helwan has a description of Ain Helwan or Kabrittaj Helwan as marvelous places containing several […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 08/06/2012 Environmentalists call for assessment by outside body, say ‘city cannot be the one giving itself permission to build.’ By extending its existing beachside promenade, Herzliya intends to make larger portions of its coastline accessible to more people in an environmentally sound manner, officials said on Monday. In response to burgeoning pressure […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 08/06/2012 Ammonia from Acre’s Unilever Strauss plant poses too much of a risk to those inside Azrieli mall, ministry determines. The Unilever Strauss ice cream factory and the Azrieli Mall in Acre should no longer continue to operate side-by-side, as the ammonia from the plant poses too much of a risk to […]

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Friday, August 3 2012 Cross-border environmental cooperation cannot wait until a final peace agreement is signed. But it also cannot completely disregard political realities: The recent Cross-Border Environmental Conference held by Israel in the settlement of Ariel meant that no Palestinian could dare attend, leaving Israelis to discuss cooperation among themselves. By David Lehrer and […]

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By Reem Haddad In 2009, BankMed came out with a supposedly short term idea: to support some environmental projects. But the demand for projects rained on them and they found themselves adopting a challenging Corporate Social Responsibly cause: encouraging Lebanon to go ‘green’. Today and through a heavy unprecedented campaign dubbed ‘A Happy Planet’, BankMed […]

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Bloomberg news agency says explorations under Mediterranean Sea have uncovered $240 billion worth of gas, which is far more than can ever be used in Israel 08.05.12 Gas exploration companies Noble Energy Inc., Delek Group Ltd. and others have discovered enough natural gas to supply Israel’s domestic needs for the next 150 years, an investigative […]

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Government approves independent energy production ahead of foreseen summer’s ‘electricity drought’ but only fraction used so far 08.05.12 The recent Renewable Energy Summit, held earlier in July, revealed that independent electricity producers may not be as keen to sell solar power-based electricity to the State, saying that their incentive fees are “unrealistic.” Ahead of foreseen […]

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GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The power authority in Gaza announced Thursday it is capable of operating the sole generator in the enclave at full capacity for the first time in six years. The generator is only operating at full power — 100 megawatts — at night. During the day it is working at 60 megawatts […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 08/02/2012 TAU’s Porter School for environmental studies is getting a green campus that it hopes will lead the way in sustainable construction Overlooking the Ayalon Highway and the expansive Gush Dan region rolling into the distant Jerusalem hills, a brand new green oasis will soon bedeck the highest peak of Tel Aviv […]

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A conference was held in Ariel this week to discuss the West Bank’s environment. No Palestinians attended. By Zafrir Rinat | Aug.02, 2012 In the last two years, Jewish settlers in the West Bank have made a concerted PR effort to showcase their commitment to the environment. At the heart of this campaign, headed by […]

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Two Israeli filmmakers went to the Hebron Hills to document Palestinians eking out a living from scavenging in a dump, and fell in love with their subjects. By Yitzhak Laor | Aug.03, 2012 Initially, I was afraid that “Zevel Tov” (“Good Garbage” ), a documentary produced and directed by Ada Ushpiz and Shosh Shlam, would […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Aug 01, 2012 AMMAN — The amount of garbage generated in Amman each day has nearly doubled during Ramadan, leaving trash containers overflowing on the capital’s streets, officials and residents said. “Waste has increased during Ramadan by about twofold. Our teams usually collect around 1,800 tonnes of garbage per day; now […]

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District S: Green Neighborhood Development – Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia Nader Al-Nakib District S is a neighborhood development project located in Beirut, Lebanon, that employs green planning and design principles in architecture, materials, mobility, and energy and water consumption. The development of the neighborhood adopts the premise that environmentally sustainable communities will offer residents and visitors a […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Aug 02, 2012 AMMAN — Security forces will soon implement a campaign to protect the Kingdom’s water resources from recurring vandalism, violations and theft, officials said on Thursday. The campaign will target areas categorised as “hotspots”, where theft of water and equipment recur, such as south Amman, the Jordan Valley, Mafraq […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 08/02/2012 Government committee approved plan to expand Habonim nature reserve, preserving natural resources and landscape. Nixing plans to build a resort village and other tourism infrastructure on Nahsholim and Habonim beaches, a government committee has approved a plan that expands and preserves a nature reserve at Habonim. The Subcommittee for Objections under […]

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Despite the efforts of social activists and environmental organizations to maintain the seaside as a resource open to the public, the beaches’ commercialization is continuing. Haaretz Editorial | Jul.31, 2012 The beach is meant to be a public resort that is accessible and available to all. This is especially important in a small, crowded country […]

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