BEIRUT: Environment Minister Nazem Khoury discussed means to organize the “many” illegal stone and sand quarries throughout Lebanon during a meeting for the National Council of Quarries which he chaired Thursday. Khoury told The Daily Star that the Environment Ministry had specified new standards which owners of sand and stone quarries should adhere to in […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 10/11/2011 07:22 New program will shorten procedures necessary for acquiring waste treatment facility building permits in industrial zones. Talkbacks (3) The Ministerial Committee for Interior and Service Affairs approved on Sunday a new version of the Environmental Protection Ministry’s National Master Plan, that will grant priority to waste treatment and recycling over […]

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Activists, alternative planners in southern neighborhoods of Neveh Tzedek and Florentin are working to introduce changes in the municipality’s plan. By Zafrir Rinat Is the Tel Aviv Municipality neglecting its southern neighborhoods in favor of luxury high-rises; and is it abandoning public transportation in favor of construction of a major road through the area? Or […]

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By Antoine Amrieh The Daily Star BATROUN, Lebanon: Environment Minister Nazim Khoury urged the government and municipalities to join efforts to find the best measures for waste management in the country, which currently has more than 680 waste dumps. Khoury’s made his comments during a tour of the northern district of Batroun Friday, during which […]

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The Daily Star Sabounjian, right, says Lebanon is not burdened with heavy polluting industries. Sabounjian, right, says Lebanon is not burdened with heavy polluting industries. BEIRUT: Industry Minister Vrej Sabounjian declared at an ESCWA conference in Beirut Wednesday that sustainable development and green industry was integral to combating pollution, poverty and industrial waste. Sabounjian spoke […]

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By Mohamad El Amin The Daily Star BEIRUT: A power conservation draft law, part of a package to bring renewable energy production to 12 percent, is up for discussion by Cabinet, Energy and Water Minister Jibran Bassil announced Thursday. The government is also set to launch a 14-item national energy efficiency plan at the next […]

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By Alex Taylor The Daily Star BEIRUT: Can you imagine a building that can reduce your energy and maintenance costs while helping the future of Lebanon’s environment? Well, such buildings are not just a product of an active imagination. Greenstone Real Estate Developers, the real estate arm of Johnny R. Saadé Holdings, is pioneering the […]

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Dr. Harold Vinegar believes there is just as much oil in Israel’s oil-shale deposits as in Saudi Arabia – and that he can get it out. ‘Within a few years, Israel will become one the largest producers of oil and gas in the world,” according to Dr. Harold Vinegar, who until three years ago was […]

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After an obstinate battle against the quarrying of the Samar dune, spearheaded by local action group ‘Sababa,’ the moment of truth is near. By Zafrir Rinat In the middle of the night, when the people of the southern Arava are fast asleep, Yael Olek goes out to the Samar dune. Armed with a flashlight and […]

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By Laila Azzeh AMMAN – Jordan has enormous potential to be part of the Mediterranean Solar Plan, which seeks to connect solar power plants across the Mediterranean countries, projected to generate 20 gigawatts of electricity by 2020, according to experts. “The Kingdom can benefit from solar energy generated from the southern region exactly like some […]

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Head of the Yarkon River Authority says impact of pollutants more pronounced because the season’s first rainfall had been particularly heavy. By Zafrir Rinat Walkers yesterday in the Seven Mills area of the Yarkon River, on the border between Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan, came across a large number of floating dead fish and white […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Water and health experts on Sunday called for adopting a safety plan to monitor water quality and ensure the sustainability of resources. They urged policy makers in the water and health sectors to change the management of drinking water quality from the current “reactive” to the “preventive” approach. The experts […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Authorities are questioning the owners of a warehouse in east Amman, where a large amount of molten lead was stored, a government official said on Saturday. Late last week, the Ministry of Environment and the Rangers seized 400 tonnes of molten lead in a warehouse in Musherfeh, according to the […]

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Jewish National Park reports that over 100,000 people hiked through different forests across Israel during holiday weekend. By Zafrir Rinat Approximately 350,000 people hiked in nature sites and preserves across Israel during the Rosh Hashanah holiday weekend, according to estimates by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Jewish National Fund. On Saturday, over […]

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By Anders Berntell and Anders Jägerskog This September, when the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, presents the Palestinian bid for UN membership at the UN headquarters in New York, many Palestinians worry as much about issues closer to their daily lives, such as access to water. The shortage of water is evident in […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 09/08/2011 04:54 Proposal would allow desalinated water to account for 85 percent of domestic consumption by the year 2013. Talkbacks (6) The Palmahim desalination plant has submitted a proposal to the Interministerial Tenders Committee for Water Desalination to increase its output by 45 million cubic meters per year. That would allow desalinated […]

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By Taylor Luck THE KINGDOM is on track to spend over $4 billion on its national energy bill in 2011 in what is to be the most expensive year on record. According to Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Khaled Toukan, Jordan will have spent 22 per cent of its gross domestic product on energy […]

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By Wassim Mroueh The Daily Star BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Parliament approved the electricity bill at a legislative session Thursday following the consensus reached between rival politicians over the draft law a day earlier. Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, who had originally proposed the draft law, met with Berri prior to the session. This was the […]

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Approval expected despite objections from green groups and housing, environment ministries. By Zafrir Rinat The government is expected to approve a proposal calling for the creation of 10 new communities in the desert area around the town of Arad. The project is a new settlement program that is opposed by both the Environmental Protection Ministry […]

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Establishing new communities in the Negev stands in stark contradiction to Israel’s long-term planning principles. Haaretz Editorial The cabinet is expected to approve the establishment of 10 new communities in the Arad area, in the framework of a project described as part of “the Zionist vision to make the Negev bloom,” and in keeping with […]

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