Arab countries are responsible for 70 percent of the untreated wastewater flow into the Sea of Oman and the Persian Gulf, the coordinator at the Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment (ROPME) said. “Iran accounts for 30 percent of the wastewater flow into the Sea of Oman and the Persian Gulf,” Hassan […]

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Civil society activists from the ‘We Want Accountability’ campaign held a sit-in near the Central Inspection Bureau in Beirut demanding further details from the government on a deal that was signed with two firms to export Lebanon’s trash. Some of the activists tried to storm into the building shouting ‘peaceful, peaceful’ but the security forces […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/06/2016 “We turn to you, as the minister of finance of the State of Israel, in an appeal concerning the entire public, to take the actions necessary to save Palmahim Beach.” With the issue of Palmahim Beach’s status as a national park versus a resort complex about to resurface in the country’s […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/04/2016 The river is receiving 1.1 million cubic meters of standard drinking water annually to boost its flow. As part of the ongoing rehabilitation efforts of the once highly polluted Kishon River, about 1.1 million cubic meters of water is being pumped annually into the basin to restore its flow, the Kishon […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/06/2016 Ministry officials gathered in the northern coastal city to present the first quarterly report of the National Action Plan for the Haifa Bay Area. The Haifa Bay region has experienced an 11-percent drop in air pollution levels resulting from the industrial sector over the past year, the Environmental Protection Ministry announced […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/30/2015 By restructuring the municipality’s transportation flow, the city hopes to achieve an 84% reduction in nitrogen oxides and 83% drop in PM2.5 emissions. Aiming to significantly improve the quality of air its residents breathe, the Tel Aviv-Jaffa city council has approved a pollution-reduction plan for the city’s transportation sector. By restructuring […]

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A new light trapping technique has enabled more than 30% power enhancement of an ultrathin solar cell, according to BGU and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology researchers. The method was developed for hematite (iron-oxide, Fe2O3) cells meant for hydrogen production via water splitting, but could achieve its goal for other types of cells as well. In […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/29/2015 The decision impacts the country’s two power plants that still operate predominantly on coal. The Israel Electric Corporation must immediately slash the amount of coal used for electricity generation by 15 percent at all power plants, National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Minister Yuval Steinitz ordered on Tuesday. In practice, the decision […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/29/2015 Hope is that expected weekend storm will boost the basin above the lower red line. Three months into the country’s rainy season, but with little rain at all in the North, Lake Kinneret’s water level has dropped to a dramatic 4 cm. below the basin’s “lower red line,” the Water Authority […]

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Climate change, illicit dumping, and a two year drought are gravely affecting Tunisia’s landscape. ST McNeil, Radhouane Addala | 27 Nov 2013 The island of Djerba – an important tourist location – is now covered in garbage dumps [ST McNeil/Al Jazeera] Tunis, Tunisia – Arifet Mohammed stands in the rolling dunes of the Jaffara Plains […]

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A team of 52 divers and 22 volunteers removed six tonnes of rubbish in Fujairah on Friday. They did so under the Fujairah marine life conservation initiative, which was organized by the Fujairah International Marine Club, the Barracuda Diving Centre, the UAE Divers’ Centre and the UAE Falcons Diving Centre. “Organizing such initiatives is part […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/23/2015 Just two weeks ago, the David Unit stopped and confiscated seven vehicles carrying smuggled waste. Men unload trash from a pick-up truck as scavengers sift through garbage at a temporary dump/ During its first two years of operation, the Environmental Protection Ministry’s David Unit has thwarted some 300 attempts to illegally […]

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Published: 18:25 December 22, 2015 Gulf News Joseph A. Kechichian, Senior Writer Beirut: The latest joke in Lebanon concentrates on accumulating garbage that probably broke every single Guinness Book of World Record. It goes something like this: “It’s not the politicians who want to export the trash, but the trash has had enough of this […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/29/2015 The area, which is largely under the ownership of KKL-JNF, contains ecologically sensitive and serves as a green lung for the region. Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee called upon the Housing Cabinet to put an end to building plans that they say will threaten the sanctity of the Jerusalem region’s […]

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Jordan is making good on its policy to increase reliance on renewable sources of energy, basically solar and wind, by embarking on projects designed for that purpose. It recently signed deals with the Greece-based Sunrise Photovoltaic Systems and Saudi Oger Ltd. whereby each will build a 50-megawatt solar plant in the country. The Ministry of […]

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Is a 40 to 70 per cent decrease in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission by 2050, which would help limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, possible? Yes, but it is not simply about calculating numbers and waiting, wishing, that they actualise. Action ought to be taken quickly and collectively, […]

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The cabinet held Monday a long-awaited session dedicated to the thorny issue of garbage exportation. “The atmosphere is negative in the cabinet session and (Prime Minister Tammam) Salam will likely make a statement about the garbage file after the meeting,” MTV said. “During the cabinet debate, Salam intervened several times, demanding decisiveness and criticizing the […]

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AFP, Tehran Saturday, 19 December 2015 Iran is to close schools for two days in Tehran, state media said Saturday, following air pollution three times the acceptable level that has blanketed the city in smog. Air quality in Iran’s capital was the worst in at least nine months this week, media said, and floating particles […]

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University scraps plans for $200 million ‘peace university’ in Nazareth, and is launching Haifa research center instead. Dec 14, 2015 AP – Texas A&M University has scrapped plans for a $200 million campus in the Israeli city of Nazareth and instead is launching a $6 million marine research center that’s expected to contribute to critical […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 12/15/2015 The Red Sea dive will be the first in a series of such protests around the world. About 100 Israeli and international divers will plunge into the Red Sea on Friday as part of a mass underwater demonstration to save sharks around the globe. The Red Sea dive will be the […]

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