26/06/2013 01:05 BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestinian youths burned tires and briefly stopped traffic on a main Bethlehem road Tuesday, as they protested against water shortages in the occupied West Bank. Several dozen residents of Bethlehem’s al-Azza refugee camp joined the demonstration in which participants set fire to tires and blocked traffic with a dumpster they […]

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Detractors say the project providing clean cold water free of charge to registered users constitutes an invasion of privacy and excludes the poor. By Ido Kenan and Jonny Silver | Jun.23, 2013 Seven new water fountains that will provide pedestrians with chilled filtered water were installed last week around Tel Aviv as part of a […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Jun 25, 2013 | 22:57 Updated: Jun 25, 2013 | 22:57 AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation is studying and evaluating the country’s surface and groundwater resources to prevent violations and detect pollution, a government official said on Tuesday. The 1.7-million-euro study, to be implemented by a German consultation […]

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By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, June 15, 2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/opinion/sunday/friedman-egypts-perilous-drift.html?smid=fb-share&_r=1& MARSA ALAM, Egypt — ON Tuesday, I visited a bakery in Cairo’s dirt-poor Imbaba neighborhood, where I watched a scrum of men, women and children jostling to get bread. You have to get there early, because the baker makes only so many subsidized pita loaves; he sells […]

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By: Hila Sagie, Avigail Morris, Yodan Rofè, Daniel E. Orenstein & Elli Groner Source: Journal of Arid Environments, Volume 97, October 2013, Pages 38–48 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140196313000967 Abstract: This research explores local resident perspectives on ecosystem services (ES) in the hyper-arid Arava Valley/Wadi Araba, which spans across both Israel and Jordan. Identifying and characterizing ES, an increasingly […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 06/10/2013 19:38 With Jordanians suffering electricity shortages due to the ongoing influx of Syrian refugees and Lebanon’s capital city facing occasional 24- hour power outages, the natural gas finds in the Eastern Mediterranean must be used to leverage regional cooperation on energy sources, experts stressed at a conference last week. “If the […]

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Yacimovich slams ‘robbery’ of resource that belongs to public. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday that 40 percent of Israel’s natural gas reserves would be exported, 13% less than the the Zemach Committee, tasked with exploring the issue, recommended. Netanyahu said that the 60% of natural gas preserved for domestic use would serve Israel’s needs […]

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June 18, 2013 BEIRUT: The Parliament’s Justice and Administration Committee Monday approved the establishment of a new geology faculty at the Lebanese University. Committee head MP Robert Ghanem said the proposal, made by MP Nawwaf Moussawi, had been approved, allowing the Lebanese University to inaugurate a new faculty specialized in the geological sciences. The intended […]

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Cautious board members of the Jewish National Fund opposed a proposal to drill for shale oil on part of their land, south of Beit Shemesh. The energy company pushing the efforts dispute JNF’s concerns. By Zafrir Rinat | Jun.19, 2013 The board of directors of the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund decided last week to […]

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RAMALLAH, June 19, 2013 (WAFA) –The amount of carbon dioxide emitted from energy, agriculture and solid waste sectors during 2011 was estimated at around 3.1 million tons, up from 1.6 million tons in 2001, said the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on Wednesday. The carbon dioxide emission was distributed into 2.7 million tons from […]

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Haifa District Court judge rules there is no causal link between Kishon pollution, illness of Kishon divers, despite expert claims that ‘exposure to one molecule’ could lead to illness Ahiya Raved Published: 06.17.13 The Haifa District Court ruled Monday that there is no causal link between the pollution in the Kishon River and the illness […]

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June 15, 2013 09:22 PM (Last updated: June 16, 2013 12:09 PM) By Brooke Anderson BEIRUT: In a city where green spaces are scarce, some people fear that a planned parking garage at a public garden will destroy one of the few public parks in the Lebanese capital. On Saturday afternoon, hundreds of neighbors, environmentalists, […]

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by Hana Namrouqa | Jun 18, 2013 | 23:17 AMMAN — The Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) on Tuesday sealed three wells in west Amman’s Al Kursi neighbourhood whose owners were selling the water, which doesn’t meet local standards, according to an official. The three wells are illegal and were drilled for pumping water and […]

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JT | Jun 18, 2013 | 23:25 AMMAN — US Ambassador to Jordan Stuart E. Jones joined more than 100 young volunteers for a tree planting community service project in Wadi Qatar earlier this week, according to an AMIDEAST statement. The event marked the launch of the “10,000 Trees Campaign” in celebration of the 10th […]

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Persecuted ethnic Oromo demand UN protection amid xenophobic attacks and government hostility over the Blue Nile dam. Leyland Cecco, 19 Jun 2013 Cairo, Egypt – For months, Gutama Gallatobati, a proud farmer and mechanic of Oromo descent languished in an Ethiopian prison over accusations he burned an Ethiopian flag. While inside, guards physically abused him. […]

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Refutrees is a new, grass-roots organization working in Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank and Lebanon to build sustainable, eco-friendly projects that respond to community needs. Muftah  caught up with the organization’s  project coodinator, Pauline Le Rolland, to learn more about the group’s work by Pauline Le Rolland Source: Muftah, Apr 17, 2013 Can […]

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contributing to the transfer and implementation of good practices to facilitate the take up of solar energy Source: ENPI CBCMED, Notwithstanding the shared political commitment and a common recognition of the huge solar potential of the Mediterranean region, some obstacles to solar energy deployment and diffusion still persist. With a view to achieving tangible results […]

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12-06-2013. Source: EU Neighbourhood Info Centre An EU-funded Twinning project, aiming to advance the establishment in Israel of a system of integrated environmental licensing for industry, was officially launched yesterday in Jaffa Port. A new Israeli law, to be based on the European Union directive on integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) would streamline existing […]

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Recycling in Jerusalem: right or privilege? by Tanhum Yoreh & Ron Horne in: Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13549839.2013.788486#.UbzA–sUuwY DOI: 10.1080/13549839.2013.788486 Abstract: This study analyses disparities in the provision of environmental services in Jerusalem, specifically through the distribution of recycling bins. The allocation of recycling bins in Jerusalem is uneven. Some […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 06/03/2013 According to Oslo II Accords, both sides must agree on water infrastructure projects. About 13 percent of wastewater generated by the settlements of Judea and Samaria flow in the form of raw sewage directly into the ground or into insecure outdoor cesspits, a new state-commissioned report has revealed. This percentage, however, […]

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