Pollution in Lebanon is rife and obvious, from its sea to it rivers and quarries, and this despite the dozens of organizations, NGOs, and committees in the country that purport to protect the environment for current and future generations of Lebanese. Over the years these entities have failed to make any significant impact on the […]

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22-02-2012 Representatives of international financial institutions (IFIs), the European Commission and the Norwegian government gathered last week at the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) headquarters in Barcelona to discuss a technical update for the Gaza Strip Desalination Facility project, as well as progress towards financial commitments. A press release said that the preliminary technical and […]

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22-02-2012 The first of 8 decentralized waste water treatment plants was inaugurated in the town of Baakline, Lebanon. The first results of collection and purification of “grey” water carried out by the EU-funded Urban Water Management project (WADI) in the Mount Lebanon governorate were presented at the meeting of project partners held in Baakine from […]

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By Brooke Anderson The Daily Star BEIRUT: At his goat farm in the remote Bekaa Valley town of Qaa near the Syrian border, Hasan Istaytiyyah is enjoying a rare luxury in Lebanon: 24-hour electricity.For the past seven months, the house on his farm has been running on a solar-powered system that has replaced unreliable state-run […]

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by Taylor Luck | Feb 21,2012 | 23:38 AMMAN — Jordan has reached an understanding with a South Korean firm to resume oil exploration in a Dead Sea region some claim to be home to the country’s only commercially viable oil deposits. The Natural Resources Authority (NRA) and Korean firm, Korea Global Petroleum Corporation, signed […]

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One of Israel’s most overcrowded cities, Bnei Brak, is about to get a green lung transplant with plans to expand Yarkon Park. By Zafrir Rinat Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park is to be expanded into Bnei Brak. The area’s regional planning committee will officially confirm the plans in coming weeks, paving the way for work to […]

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Eagles are one of the many bird populations in Israel that are under threat, according to a new study. By Zafrir Rinat What do members of the bustard family, the cream-colored courser and the Nubian nightjar have in common? These birds are becoming extinct in Israel, because their nests are being destroyed. According to a […]

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By Juliane von Mittelstaedt Photo Gallery: Solar Power for the West Bank Photos AP Several small Palestinian villages in the West Bank had been without electricity for decades — before an Israeli foundation with funding from Europe recently installed solar panels and wind turbines. Now, though, Israel wants to remove the facilities because they are […]

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If approved, the new policy would substantially expand the ability of Jewish settlers in the West Bank to take control of additional land. By Chaim Levinson The Israel Defense Force’s Civil Administration in the West Bank is promoting legislation that would allow Jewish settlers to build new dirt roads without planning approval if their purpose […]

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On the same festive day when Netanyahu was planting a tree, Aisha and Salma Abu Keif from Umm Batin, the ancient village to the east, could see the mixture of waste known as Nahal Hebron. By Tal Niv Benjamin Netanyahu planting a tree is the most positive image the prime minister could aspire to. In […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 02/08/2012 02:38 Contract to develop solar field was first signed a year-and-a-half ago, will be funded by US gov’t agency. Beduin leaders and Arava Power Company president By Hannah Schafer The Public Utility Authority on Monday night issued the first license for a solar power facility on Beduin land, approving the Tarabin […]

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Local government officials warn that the move is improperly funded, and may require hikes in municipal taxes to pay for them. By Zafrir Rinat The Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Monday approved a government-sponsored bill mandating that electronic scrap be recycled, paving the way for a Knesset vote on the issue. The bill joins several […]

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Recycling programs in new ecology push By JTA/JESSICA STEINBERG 02/11/2012 00:50 Proponents of recycling say that little by little, Israelis are learning to become more conscious of their environment. recycling in Jerusalem By Yossi Zamir/JTA The still-new recycling center in the Givat Shaul neighborhood of Jerusalem is fairly quiet on a crisp winter afternoon. Several […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 02/15/2012 23:17 Bill proposed by Environmental Protection Ministry staff would curb soil pollution and rehabilitate contaminated lands. Polluted stream – illustrative photo By Zalul The Knesset’s Internal Affairs and Environment Committee began on Tuesday to prepare a bill that would curb soil pollution and rehabilitate contaminated lands for its second and third […]

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February 18, 2012 02:09 AM By Van Meguerditchian The Daily Star The waterway of Nahr Beirut turned red after a sewage pipe expelled an unidentifiable stream of effluvium into it, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. (The Daily Star/Mohammad Azakir) The waterway of Nahr Beirut turned red after a sewage pipe expelled an unidentifiable stream of effluvium […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 02/16/2012 04:32 With an investment of roughly NIS 25.4m., the ministry now partially subsidizing 1.5m. 20-watt fluorescent bulbs. compact flourescent light bulb By Jupiter Images As a young woman slurps a chocolate milkshake, the incandescent light bulb hanging above her simultaneously gulps down and swallows a heap of energy. The woman and […]

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Magnesium will not be added to desalinated water, despite being recommended by experts. By Zafrir Rinat Despite the recommendations of experts, the government has opted not to add magnesium to desalinated water after balking at the prohibitive costs. The treatment had been estimated at a few hundred million shekels. The decision was made following a […]

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Telling the truth about climate change would require pulling away the biggest punchbowl in history, says Bill McKibben. Middlebury, Vermont – If we could see the world with a particularly illuminating set of spectacles, one of its most prominent features at the moment would be a giant carbon bubble, whose bursting someday will make the […]

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By Jay Michaelson February 7, 2012 1. It’s getting hot in here Israel has a lot to worry about. Nuclear threats from Iran, a seemingly intractable stalemate with the Palestinians, the uncertainties of the year-old Arab Spring. But according to a small but growing consensus of scientists and environmentalists, there’s another looming crisis to add […]

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RAMALLAH, February 9, 2012 (WAFA) – The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Thursday celebrated, in an official ceremony in Ramallah, the launching of the National Strategy to Combat Desertification in the occupied Palestinian Territory (oPT). The Palestinian Ministry of agricultural in cooperation and full coordination with all relevant parties prepared the agricultural sector strategy; the […]

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