Vienna,16-17 November 2011 AFED in Energy Poverty Symposium Global initiatives and regional cooperation to eradicate energy poverty were the subject of a symposium held at the Headquarters of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) in Vienna on 16-17 November. Organized by OFID and the International Energy Forum (IEF), the meeting discussed ways to secure […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 11/29/2011 06:45 Exclusive: Energy Minister Papakonstantinou first member of new Athens gov’t to visit. Talkbacks (5) The new government in Athens could open a pipeline to export natural gas from countries including Israel to destinations in northern Europe, as Greece seeks to become a regional center for the transit of this energy […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Taylor Luck AMMAN – Amidst increased interest among international energy utilities in Jordan’s nuclear programme, energy officials are extending their search for a strategic investor to help build the country’s first nuclear reactor. Energy officials have pushed back proposal deadlines to February to field further expressions of interest from international operators, according to Jordan […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 11/28/2011 05:53 Designer campaigning to fund wind-powered urban lighting. Talkbacks () For sustainable designer Adital Ela, lighting up a park at night is as simple as playing with a child’s pinwheel toy out in the wind. Ela, founder and CEO of SSENSE DESIGN, has launched a Kickstarter online fund-raising campaign to finance […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK AND SHARON UDASIN 12/01/2011 04:04 Eilat, Atlit salt-drying flats won’t be rezoned for private construction. Talkbacks (1) Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein announced Wednesday the state intends to annul a controversial agreement between the Israel Lands Authority and the Dankner family-controlled company Israel Salt Industries Ltd regarding use of plots of land in Atlit […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Look before you leap – a tale of two frogs By NATAN SLIFKIN 11/29/2011 23:25 Why did the painted frog disappear? Because its habitat was thought to be nothing more than a malaria-breeding “wasteland.” But there are no wastelands in nature. Talkbacks (5) This November, two individuals, both thought to have been consigned to history, […]

Read the rest of this entry »

November 26, 2011 01:03 AM By Rakan al-Fakih HERMEL, Lebanon: With the beginning of winter, residents of villages and towns in northern Bekaa, many of whom are unable to afford fuel, are turning to wood from the area’s forests. While burning firewood is the only option for many to stay warm, the practice is driving […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Taylor Luck AMMAN – Jordan’s supply of Egyptian gas was cut off by a blast in Sinai early Monday, as ongoing instability in Egypt threatened to plunge the Kingdom into what experts are calling an emerging “energy crisis”. The blast was the ninth act of sabotage on the Arab Gas Pipeline this month and […]

Read the rest of this entry »

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel warned on Saturday that it would cut the supply of water and electricity to the Gaza Strip if rival Palestinian movements Fateh and Hamas form a unity government. “The foreign ministry is examining the possibility of Israel pulling out of the Gaza Strip in terms of infrastructure,” Deputy Foreign Minister […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Taylor Luck AMMAN – While casting doubt over stability in Egypt, ongoing attacks on the Arab Gas Pipeline have put Jordan’s drive for alternative energy sources at the front and centre of the public debate. By severing gas supplies earlier this month, the seventh act of sabotage this year on the Arab Gas Pipeline […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY 11/23/2011 11:17 Study finds that in areas where people are losing access to wildlife, children are 30 percent more likely to develop anemia and other diseases related to poor nutrition. Talkbacks (8) For the first time, researchers have uncovered a powerful connection between loss of access to wildlife and micro-nutrient deficiencies […]

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hula Valley is one of the most important stops on any bird-watcher’s list, with thousands of migrant birds, of all varieties, stopping in for the winter. By Moshe Gilad About 100 million bird watchers wander the globe with binoculars hanging round their necks, trying to add another rare specimen to their lists. Dan Elon […]

Read the rest of this entry »

A bitter dispute breaks out between two environmentally oriented groups over tree cutting and clearing work by the Jewish National Fund in Netanya’s Sergeants’ Grove. By Zafrir Rinat The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel filed a complaint with Netanya police on Monday against the Jewish National Fund over what it calls “harming […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Environmental Protection Ministry has fewer than 40 inspectors, and very few of these deal exclusively with construction waste. By Zafrir Rinat The amount of construction waste reaching legal dumping sites has dropped by almost 50 percent in recent months, say the dumps’ operators. The illegal dumping of construction waste is arguably Israel’s most widespread environmental […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – The Ministry of Environment is embarking on a waste sorting and recycling project at public agencies, a senior government official said on Sunday. Work is under way on an integrated plan for sorting and recycling solid waste generated at ministries and government institutions to spread the culture of recycling in […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 11/24/2011 03:16 Israeli, German experts to work with Kenyans to upgrade fishery system, waste water treatment. Talkbacks () A team of Israeli and German experts will be working with Kenyan agricultural and water professionals to upgrade the commercial fishery system and waste water treatment mechanisms within the central African country’s Lake Victoria, […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 11/24/2011 03:10 Landau likens plan to affirmative action, but Palestinians critical of “Israeli-only” program. Talkbacks (2) The National Infrastructure Ministry has completed its process of adopting regulations for medium-sized solar fields in Judea and Samaria, and residents will be able to begin submitting applications to build fields shortly, the ministry said Tuesday. […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By Taylor Luck AMMAN – Jordan is three years away from its first operational wind farm as officials field interest in the country’s emerging renewable energy sector. Energy officials expect a wind farm in Fujeij, the Kingdom’s first large-scale renewable energy project, to be operational by 2014, according to Ziyad Jibril, head of the Ministry […]

Read the rest of this entry »

Incident marks 8th attack on pipeline which carries gas through Sinai and on to Jordan and Israel. By Reuters Saboteurs blew up a gas pipeline 60 km (37 miles) west of the Egyptian town of al-Arish in northern Sinai on Friday, the latest in series of attacks, state news agency MENA reported. The blast caused […]

Read the rest of this entry »

By SHARON UDASIN 11/23/2011 05:21 Authorities that provide licenses and oversee surveillance of offshore sites must be separated, experts tell Knesset. Talkbacks (1) Greater supervision must occur in offshore oil and natural gas drilling sites in order to prevent environmental crises, experts agreed at a special Knesset session held on Monday. The forum occurred at […]

Read the rest of this entry »