Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz should seize the opportunity to reevaluate a decision to turn an unimpressive area in East Jerusalem into a national park – which is aimed at preventing the expansion of adjacent Palestinian neighborhoods. Haaretz Editorial | Oct. 2, 2013 Walking through the area designated for the Mount Scopus Slopes National Park […]

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Liat Colllins 10/9/2014 Environmentalists say that searching for fossil fuels, such as the recently nixed oil-shale drilling project in the Elah Valley area, belongs to the past. In an area where tradition holds that David fought Goliath, it is easy to use words like “epic” and “historic” when describing a battle, but this particular clash […]

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Amir Peretz overcame naysayers who mocked the Iron Dome, and now he hopes to do the same with his plans for ‘environmental justice.’ Amir Peretz and Mayor of Sderot Eli Moyal attend a tree planting ceremony in Sderot in February 2007.. (photo credit:AMIR COHEN – REUTERS) The headline in the newspaper could not have been […]

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introduction to special issue By: Ahmad Damen Habitat is not your usual word. A look at the English dictionary definition reveals a number of meanings: The natural environment of an organism; a place that is natural for its life and growth. For example, a desert habitat and all the wildlife thriving there. A place where […]

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by: Roubina Bassous Ghattas A habitat, or biome, is the type of environment in which plants and animals live. Habitat is dictated by climate, geography, and the kinds of plants that grow in that particular environment. Palestinian territory is a unique element of the Mediterranean eco-region. It displays a wide variation in elevation, geology, and […]

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Issue: 198, Oct 2014 tavble of contents of special issue Personality of the Month – Adnan Budieri Al-Bariyah-a Unique Habitat Zone | By: Hamdan Taha Cultures of Habitat | By: Sami Backleh Eyes of a Thief Floral Diversity in Palestine | By: Mutaz Ali AlQutob Habitat | By: Ahmad Damen Habitat and Solid Waste Management […]

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Better energy: A missed opportunity for Israel at the UN Climate Summit By YOSEF I. ABRAMOWITZ || 09/16/2014 || Jerusalem Post / JTA This Jewish New Year is different than all past ones, for it is the last observance of shmita – the sabbatical year for the environment. The largest climate march in history will […]

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Green Economy – Regional Consultants Meeting & Tours for Tour Guides A second regional meeting of the “Green Economy Initiatives” (GEI) project was held with the 3 hired business consultants – Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian – in late August. Consultants reviewed the list of the local “green economy” businesses that each one identified in their […]

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Central worry is foreign species invading from the Red Sea. By Zafrir Rinat 06.10.14 A group of 18 scientists specializing in marine ecosystems have published a warning about the ecological consequences of the Egyptian government’s plan to expand the Suez Canal by building a new, larger and deeper waterway parallel to the present one. The […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 10/05/2014 Umm Batin residents recently recieved machines that convert kitchen waste and animal manure into usable cooking gas and liquid fertilizer. Beduin residents of Umm Batin, a village just northeast of Beersheba, are transforming their trash into usable cooking gas in their homes, as part of an Environmental Protection Ministry initiative to […]

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Morocco has secured a $519 million loan from the World Bank to partly finance two solar power plants with a combined capacity of up to 350 megawatts (MW), the second phase of the 500 MW Ouarzazate project, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday. Results of tenders for construction of the two plants near […]

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Osama Habib| The Daily Star BEIRUT: The first airborne oil and gas surveillance operation over parts of Lebanon began Friday in another bid by the authorities to assess the quantities of oil and gas present in the country. The U.S. Company NEOS Geo Solutions, which signed a contract with the ministry of energy in January, […]

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BEIRUT: Lebanon launched its first control room to better monitor the country’s natural resources with support from the National Council for Scientific Research, which described the venture as essential for the economy. “With the impact of climate change and the rise in incidents of drought, forest fire, land degradation, flooding and random construction proliferating, the […]

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MOHAMED EL-ASHRY 4/10/2014 On September 23, at the invitation of the UN Secretary-General, 100 Heads of State and Government, including 9 from Arab countries, were joined by more than 800 leaders from business, finance, and civil society, at the Climate Summit in New York. The purpose of the Summit was to raise political momentum for […]

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Pollutant levels in major cities gradually decreasing as more stringent bylaws are enacted. By Zafrir Rinat Oct. 5, 2014 Air pollution levels this past Yom Kippur, when Israelis customarily stay off the roads, proved once again the decisive role that motor vehicles play in the air pollution problem in Israel’s urban areas. According to data […]

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For non-observant Jews, who may choose not to fast or pray, and even for those who do, why not meditate upon the environmental significance of Yom Kippur and how we might change our destructive habits for more than just one day? By Josie Glausiusz | Oct. 2, 2014 I stood on the bima on Yom […]

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Rabbitfish spread across eastern Mediterranean, cause extensive damage to flora and to ecosystem, researchers say. By Zafrir Rinat Sep. 23, 2014 Two species of tropical fish that have made their way through the Suez Canal to the eastern Mediterranean are devastating the ecosystem there, according to a new study that says these fish pose a […]

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Outpost will expand, even though it restricts some Palestinian farmers. By Chaim Levinson and Zafrir Rinat Oct. 2, 2014 The Civil Administration recently approved a plan under which an unauthorized outpost in the West Bank will appropriate part of an adjacent nature reserve, even as it restricts the activities of Palestinian farmers in the area. […]

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This paper explores the rationale for the creation of a proposed water-renewable energy community based on interdependence among Israel, Jordan, and Palestine, where much needed water is produced through desalination on the Israeli and Palestinian Mediterranean coasts and the additional electricity needs are met by extensive investment in solar renewable energy in Jordan’s eastern deserts. […]

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The tragic events of this past month have led to a horrific loss of life and destruction throughout parts of Gaza and southern Israel. EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) staff and communities have been directly affected at all levels including two communities that are part of our Good Water Neighbours project, the Eshkol […]

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