By SHARON UDASIN 12/04/2011 03:29 Film about Israeli dump’s green transformation scores first place at UN contest. Talkbacks () Israel’s infamous “garbage mountain” shone on the silver screen on Thursday, when a two-minute short film on its transformation from dump to destination took home first place at a ceremony in Durban, South Africa. The film, […]

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Environment: On the road to recovery? By SHARON UDASIN 12/02/2011 17:04 Lack of funding means flammable pine seedlings aren’t being thinned from Carmel forests, risking another blaze. Talkbacks () Pausing atop Mount Carmel a year after a deadly fire engulfed over 5,000 hectares (12,355 acres) of Israel’s largest forest, Dr. Yehoshua Shkedi had no doubts […]

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November 30, 2011 01:45 AM The Daily Star BEIRUT: A prominent environmentalist is warning against road construction works near the Faqra natural stone bridge in Kesrouan. Road construction works, using dynamite to explode portions of the ground, could damage the nearby Roman ruins, as the ground is very rocky and fragile, Mazen Abboud said. “Vibrations […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 11/30/2011 03:10 Jewish National Fund event to focus on adapting forest practices to the effects of climate change in climate summit. Talkbacks () In conjunction with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change currently occurring in Durban, South Africa, the Jewish National Fund will be hosting an official side event on […]

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By Enora Castagne The Daily Star The guide details tree cultivation from seed collection to planting. The guide details tree cultivation from seed collection to planting. BEIRUT: A guide to the cultivation of 30 native tree species in Lebanon was launched Wednesday at the Lebanese University’s Department of Agronomy as part of a major reforestation […]

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By Ahmed Al Azzam Jordan’s presently known exploitable hydrocarbon resources consist of limited quantities of crude oil and natural gas. The Kingdom is facing an alarming energy crisis because it depends entirely on imported crude oil and natural gas to meet its domestic energy demand. Egypt, which supplies Jordan with over 90 per cent of […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/01/2011 05:57 Environmental Protection Ministry, local authorities to invest in waste-treatment plants that generate bio-gas, fertilizer. Talkbacks (2) The Environmental Protection Ministry and local authorities will be collectively investing about NIS 600 million over the next three years in establishing waste-treatment plants that will generate bio-gas, fertilizers and traditional recycled materials, the […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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, […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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