By SHARON UDASIN 01/02/2017 On December 25, a fire overtook a 12,000-cubic meter benzene storage container at an Israel Oil Refineries – Bazan (ORL) facility. The blaze that engulfed a Haifa Bay factory nearly all of last Sunday may have been the result of foul play, a special investigative team has concluded. On December 25, […]

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Ministry summons Israel Railways for hearing after unusual levels of respirable particles and nitrogen dioxide measured at Tel Aviv HaShalom and Bat Yam Yoseftal train stations; rail company: ‘Ministry trying to shut down train movement to and from Tel Aviv.’ Ilana Curiel, Itay Blumenthal|Published: 03.01.17 The Environmental Protection Ministry warned on Tuesday of a growing […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/03/2017 Tel Aviv Hashalom, Bat Yam Yoseftal station platforms plagued by air pollution. After the Environmental Protection Ministry called upon Israel Railways to curb air pollution at its Gush Dan area stations on Tuesday, the company has threatened to stop train movement altogether in the region. “Because the railway does not intend […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/25/2016 “This is a significant breakthrough in the field that caused severe environmental pollution that influenced both Israeli residents and Palestinian residents.” In order to minimize the enormous amount of air pollution generated by unregulated West Bank charcoal kilns, Israeli and Palestinian authorities are establishing a modern production factory in the northern […]

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By STEWART WEISS 01/05/2017 Work began in 2007 to change garbage into a ‘green lung.’ As prime minister Menachem Begin greeted Egyptian president Anwar Sadat on his historic visit to Jerusalem in 1977, he warmly took his hand and proclaimed, “In Jewish tradition, there is no greater achievement than turning an enemy into a friend.” […]

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According to experts, half of the per-capita water consumption in the UAE could be a result of residents’ insistence on having lawned gardens. To keep grass healthy in desert environments requires 1,600 litres of water each year for every square metre, which equates to enough water used on one square metre of grass to give […]

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The Water Ministry/Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) and the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) on Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding to provide the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project (Red-Dead) with power for water desalination and pumping. JVA Secretary General Saad Abu Hammour and NEPCO Director General Abdel Fattah Daradkeh signed the memo, the Jordan […]

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The higher steering committee for the green economy, headed by Environment Minister Yaseen Khayyat, on Wednesday endorsed the national plan for green growth. Khayyat said the plan, designed by the Global Green Growth Institute in cooperation with stakeholders from public and private sectors, will help Jordan face economic and environmental challenges, as well as institutionalise […]

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Hana Namrouqa – Jan 03,2017 Forestry land amount to 1.5 million dunums, of which 250,000 dunums are bare, 400,000 dunums are natural forests, 500,000 dunums are planted forests and 350,000 dunums are nature reserves, according to official figures AMMAN — Violations on the Kingdom’s forests during the last third of 2016 dropped by more than […]

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Hana Namrouqa – Dec 26,2016 AMMAN — Implementation of the Wadi Al Arab Water Conveyance Project has commenced, with the goal of supplying the northern region with 45 million cubic metres of water annually by the year 2018, according to officials. The project seeks to address an acute shortage of water in Irbid, Ajloun, Jerash […]

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AMMAN — Jordan on Wednesday signed a set of loan and grant agreements worth 45 million euros with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Half of the agreements are in the form of grants, and the other half will be extended as loans. All will finance the implementation of the Ain Ghazal Wastewater […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/25/2016 Owners of the refinery will not be hoping for a repeat of the Hanukkah miracle. An orange blaze raged at a Haifa Bay factory nearly all day Sunday, as pillars of black smoke engulfed the area. By late afternoon, firefighters quashed the flames. The fire overtook a benzene storage container at […]

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Large dumpsters are to be replaced by bins for segregated waste to ensure that the target of reducing landfill by 85 per cent is met. Tadweer, the waste management company for Abu Dhabi, said it would introduce black bins for general waste and green bins for recyclables for all residential buildings in city. It will […]

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AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) will next year finish lighting the city’s streets with LED units, making it “the first capital in the world to switch to this technology”, Mohammad Rahahleh, the director of GAM’s traffic operations department, said on Monday. More than 150,000 LED units will be installed under the scheme, as […]

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AMMAN — Public transport fares are to be hiked by 10 per cent as of January 5, under a decision taken by Land Transport Regulatory Commission (LTRC) Director General Salah Lozi, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Wednesday. The decision covers medium and heavy transport buses and all taxis, Petra reported, quoting Lozi as […]

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AMMAN — The Cabinet on Wednesday extended the deadline for scrapping old fuel-run cars and exchanging them for hybrid vehicles until the end of 2017, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. The decision also entails maintaining the reduction of the special tax rate on vehicles that partially operate on electricity with an engine size […]

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Mosul Battle Leaving Legacy of Environmental Damage by Naharnet Newsdesk The battle to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group is leaving a legacy of environmental damage and health risks that will pose dangers to people for years to come. Iraqis have already paid the initial price from burning oil wells and a sulphur factory […]

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Warnings by scientists and environmentalists about an imminent collapse are dismissed by Iraqi officials as far-fetched. By Barbara Bibbo As Iraqi forces continue their military operation to take Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), another equally important battle to save the Mosul Dam, located 60km north […]

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Ministers of the three countries met in Jerusalem today and agreed to push for a pipeline to Europe, which wants to reduce dependence on Russian gas. At a meeting today in Jerusalem, government ministers from Israel, Greece, and Cyprus today agreed to continue their promotion of a natural gas pipeline from Israel to Europe. Senior […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/18/2016 After an initial appraisal stage, the $77 million well will be used to produce gas – which is slated to serve both the Israeli local market and potential export outlets. As Israel’s long frozen natural gas sector begins to move forward slowly but surely, the Leviathan reservoir partners announced on Sunday […]

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