Government appoints Eyal Rosner as head of national initiative to reduce dependency on oil. Minister Landau: Natural gas fuels are on way Calcalist Published: 06.02.12 The government approved Sunday the appointment of Eyal Rosner as director of a national initiative to develop technologies that reduce the global use of oil in transportation. Prime Minister Benjamin […]

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May 31, 2012 01:28 AM The Daily Star KOURA, Lebanon: Despite rain earlier in the week, the summer fire season was off to an early start with three fires reported Wednesday. One fire erupted at 8 a.m. in an abandoned plot of land facing the Saint Joseph University campus in the village of Ras Masqa […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 06/01/2012 06:01 Environmentalist group calls on Erdan to make declaration, forcing cities in Haifa Bay region to take action. Representatives of the Green Movement demanded, in a letter sent to Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan on Thursday morning, that he immediately declare the Haifa Bay region as an area afflicted with air […]

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Al Salam Canal project was planned to be the main artery for development in the Sinai Peninsula, representing Egypt’s strategic extension and historical link to its Arab neighbors. Met with obstacles, the project was halted, but steps are currently being taken toward its revival. The project, first launched in 1997 under Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri, […]

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If you discern a giant crystal lake looming in the horizon of Sharm el-Sheikh’s sizzling desert, don’t think it is a mirage — it is indeed the world’s largest crystal lagoon, officially recognized last month by Guinness World Records. Designed by the renowned Chilean architect Fernando Fischmann and still under construction, the 12-hectare Sharm el-Sheikh […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 06/01/2012 06:43 Service station will be an economic stimulus for the region, providing 800 jobs, Interior Ministry says. A large plot of arid desert land in the country’s Arava region will soon become a service and dismantling hub to about 500 aircraft. The Committee for Principal Planning under the Interior Ministry’s National […]

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By ARIEH O’SULLIVAN / THE MEDIA LINE 05/31/2012 16:58 European oil giants dumping stocks below costs could prove catastrophic. ‘ The price for olive oil has dropped to its lowest level in a decade and farmers in the Middle East are bearing the brunt as Spain and Italy dump their government-subsidized stocks at below cost. […]

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The first meeting of the Gouv’Airnance project (Governance of air quality in Mediterranean cities), funded under the Cross Border Cooperation in the Mediterranean (CBCMed) programme, took place in Tripoli, Lebanon on 17, 18 and 19 April 2012. The event kicked off a series of concrete exchanges of information as to the current state of both […]

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AFED is jointly organizing, together with the League of Arab States and ESCWA, a round table at the Rio+20 conference on the subject of Food Security. The event is scheduled on 19 June, 15:30 – 17:00 pm, in room P3-F at the conference venue RioCentro . AFED’s Secretary General Najib Saab will present the latest […]

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Palestinian Authority said to be vying for recognition by United Nations’ environmental body; will motion for ‘observer state’ status during June’s Rio+20 meet Ynetnews Published: 05.29.12 The United Nations’ environmental summit in Rio in mid June will undoubtedly discuss various urgent issues, such as global warming, carbon emissions and the growing need to find viable […]

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resolution by Hana Namrouqa | May 30,2012 | 23:23 AMMAN — The Hima global initiative was launched on Wednesday to promote sustainable livelihoods, resource conservation and environmental protection for human well-being. Hima, which stands for Human Integrated Management Approach and also means “protected area” in Arabic, is a community-based natural resources management system that seeks […]

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The Sixth Jordanian Environmental Conference Organized by Jordanian Geologists Association In Cooperation with German Jordanian University Al-Hussein Cultural Center, Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) Amman-Jordan 5-6 June, 2012 Jordanian Geologists Association in Cooperation with German Jordanian University is pleased to announce that the 6th Jordanian Environmental Conference will be held from Tuesday June 5th to Wednesday […]

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1. Deputies vote to suspend nuclear project by Raed Omari | May 30,2012 | 23:32 AMMAN — Deputies on Wednesday approved a recommendation by a parliamentary committee to suspend Jordan’s projected nuclear programme, invoking hazardous consequences of the energy generating project. During a Lower House session, 36 out of the 63 MPs present voted in […]

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By Ramzi Sansur According to many sources, environmental security is defined as “the relation between the environment and the security of humans and nature.” This sounds a little abstract to many people but on close analysis, we find a number of issues that address this vague definition of environmental security. One of the more import […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 05/30/2012 23:38 ‘What really drives the seed of innovation is the mentality of constantly being unsatisfied,’ says Chinese student at TAU. Israeli clean-tech and agricultural firms should prioritize partnerships with colleagues in Asian nations, where their innovative expertise can be exported to a wider market, several Asian graduate students pursuing degrees in […]

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Fourteen companies featured in Agritech 2012’s side event raise vast interest for foreign investors Ynetnews Published: 05.31.12 The forecast of food and water scarcity was the focus of Agritech 2012, a summit gathering for Agro-technology companies and investors, held in mid May. According to projections, the world’s population is expected to grow from seven billion […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 05/30/2012 02:48 Environmentalists slamm Public Utility Authority’sdecision to slash solar equity returns from 14% to 7%. Although pleased with the recent government decision to increase the quota of solar rooftop panels for the coming summer, environmentalists slammed the Public Utility Authority’s Monday night decision to slash solar equity returns from 14 percent […]

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GAZA, May 28, 2012 (WAFA) – The Palestinian Contractors Union Monday called on its members not to participate in any tender by UNICEF for projects in the Gaza Strip if Israeli companies are allowed to take part in them, according to a statement issued following a meeting between the union and UNICEF representative to the […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 05/29/2012 High Court officially dismisses petition from green groups against gov’t decision about Dead Sea royalty requirements. The High Court has officially dismissed a petition from green groups against a January government decision about Dead Sea royalty requirements, Israel Chemicals announced on Monday. After a long-time standoff between the Finance Ministry and […]

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May 28, 2012 12:40 AM By Van Meguerditchian BEIRUT: Known for its stunning beaches, the Batroun town of Shekka has a less pristine past that might still be killing its residents. Until 2000, Shekka housed the Eternit Company, the country’s biggest importer of the carcinogen asbestos. In 1998, Lebanon banned imports of most types of […]

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