According to plan riverbed will be dried, cleaned and made available for use as land in an area slated for a public park. By Zafrir Rinat The Kishon River Authority and Environmental Protection Ministry are moving ahead with a major initiative to clean up the Haifa area waterway despite the lack of guaranteed funding sources. […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Jan 17,2012 | 23:06 AMMAN — Blueprints for the four-million-cubic-metre (mcm) Ibn Hammad Dam in Karak Governorate are ready, with construction expected to start this year, according to a government official. “Studies and blueprints for the Ibn Hammad Dam are completed and construction will commence once funding of the project is […]

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Better on shore than near our homes, say some local residents. By Zafrir Rinat Ashdod residents may soon find themselves swimming in the shadow of a cellular antenna soaring 40 meters above the Riviera Beach’s small locker room, if Cellcom gets its way. The cellular provider’s request to erect the antenna, which the Ashdod Planning […]

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By Zafrir Rinat Renewable energy has found itself an unexpected enemy: one of Israel’s largest environmental groups. Though wind turbines may be helping the environment by providing a clean energy source, they also endanger birds and bats, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel said in a report released yesterday on 110 threats […]

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Construction Minister says regions are in areas of high demand for housing, and that making them suitable for construction could go a long way toward meeting these demands. By Zafrir Rinat Large-scale pollution, much of it caused by government agencies, is delaying the construction of some 40,000 homes in central Israel and could also delay […]

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School of Sustainability at the IDC Herzliya received major start-up donations from Israel Chemicals, the cause of major environmental hazards in Israel. By Zafrir Rinat Israel Chemicals, which has caused major environmental hazards in the country, is one of the founding funders of the School of Sustainability at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. The school, […]

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AMMAN — Minister of Water and Irrigation Mousa Jamani on Thursday said he supports increasing water tariffs and returning to quarterly water bills. During a visit to Irbid Governorate, he explained that the increase in the bill will be proportionate to water consumption and will not impact the low-income bracket whose consumption does not exceed […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/12/2012 03:16 Project would connect the Mediterranean and Dead seas through a canal, could improve environment, tourism and agriculture. Talkbacks (12) In light of the looming energy crisis and dwindling condition of the Dead Sea, Israel Chamber of Commerce President Uriel Lynn recently appealed to relevant ministers that they reexamine the idea […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/10/2012 04:54 For second time, cabinet rejects bill that would provide for the comprehensive rehabilitation of the Dead Sea region. Talkbacks (3) The cabinet rejected a bill for the second time that would provide for the comprehensive rehabilitation of the Dead Sea region, during a meeting on Monday. “The Israeli government continues […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/10/2012 23:10 Erdan appeals to PM to create public committee on natural resources. Talkbacks (3) Environmental and tourism proponents on Tuesday slammed the Dead Sea deal that the Finance Ministry made with Israel Chemicals last week. The criticism came during a Knesset Finance Committee session being held on the issue a week […]

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Parks authority wants dozens of Jordan Valley outposts, which house one-third of all bat species found in Israel, to be turned into nature reserves. By Zafrir Rinat What do you do with a bunch of abandoned army outposts? Turn them into nature reserves for bats, of course. Or at least, that’s what will happen if […]

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Interior Ministry committee examining relocation of current maintenance site reportedly put the Yarkon River site high on its short list of candidates. By Zafrir Rinat Residents of the southern Sharon region had expected that after surviving the heightened construction activity in the area they would be rewarded, in a decade or so, with a lovely […]

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Director of Union for Environmental Defense says, ‘Today the struggle for the dunes ends with a legal and environmental achievement.’ By Zafrir Rinat The state has promised to restrict sand quarrying to only a small part of the ecologically sensitive Samar dunes in the Arava, the state told the Be’er Sheva District Court last week. […]

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Our VIP list of 11 environment heroes for the Middle East 2011. If you don’t know these people already, now is the time to start. Top heroes are from Israel, Turkey and Iraq. The year 2011 has been a year like no other in the Middle East. We’ve seen protests against corruption, people have taken […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/06/2012 05:37 Green groups rally public to save sea ahead of cabinet vote on MK Dov Henin’s comprehensive Dead Sea rehabilitation bill. Talkbacks (9) Ahead of the cabinet’s vote on Sunday about MK Dov Henin’s comprehensive Dead Sea rehabilitation bill, activist groups are banding together to promote an online petition that aims […]

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01.01.12 The cabinet is set to approve an agreement today in which the Dead Sea Works will pay for most of the salt-harvesting project that aims to protect hotels at the southern end of the Dead Sea from flooding. The agreement between the state and the Israel Chemicals-owned company also doubles the royalties that the […]

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BEIRUT: Lebanon aims to invite tenders to explore for offshore gas within three months, the energy minister said on Sunday, downplaying the risk of conflict with Israel despite a dispute over the maritime border. “Our target is to begin within three months,” Energy Minister Jibran Bassil told AFP. “We now have everything required for an […]

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Transnational oil and gas pipelines form the contour lines of the geopolitics of the 21st century. In the coming months, Jordan is likely to make irreversible decisions regarding its energy future. By Gal Luft Jordan is facing a full-blown energy crisis. Its electricity demand is expected to double by 2020, yet, being heavily dependent on […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/08/2012 04:37 Gov’t here needs to re-examine its solar policies’ so innovators won’t need to seek markets abroad, says company’s CEO. Talkbacks (10) Israeli technology will soon begin harnessing the light of southern Spain at a research and development park located on the country’s sun-drenched Mediterranean coast. AORA Solar, an Israeli developer […]

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January 09, 2012 By Mohammed Zaatari The Daily Star JIYEH, Lebanon: Experts have warned that catfish which have recently begun migrating to Lebanese waters could be fatal to humans in certain circumstances. Recent diving operations carried out by divers from the Professional Divers Association in Lebanon and the Civil Defense Marine Rescue Team in the […]

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