January 06, 2012 02:06 AM By Osama Habib The Daily Star ?BEIRUT: Lebanon is sitting on one of the biggest gas reserves in the region and drilling is likely to start as early as this year, a leading expert said Thursday. “I am very happy that [the] Lebanese government passed the law to administer the […]

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Lebanon will issue international tenders for drilling in its potentially gas-rich Mediterranean waters and aims to have contracts signed with the winning firms within a year, its Minister of Energy said on Thursday. Interest in drilling off Mediterranean coasts has grown since two natural gas fields were discovered off the coast of Israel, Lebanon’s southern […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/04/2012 05:52 Advocacy groups filed a petition against a government deal on upcoming salt harvest and royalties paid to Dead Sea Works. Talkbacks (1) Environmental advocacy group Adam Teva V’Din (Israel Union for Environmental Defense) and the Movement for Quality Government submitted a petition to the High Court on Tuesday morning, calling […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/04/2012 05:35 Eilat Magistrate’s Court imposes fine for harming the coral in the Red Sea bay by crushing the organisms with rocks and dirt. Talkbacks () The Eilat Magistrate’s Court charged the administrators of the city’s “Dolphin Reef” with a fine of NIS 100,000 on Sunday for harming the coral in the […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/04/2012 23:25 Erdan made decision after touring Nahariya, where he witnessed firsthand the process of removing dangerous substance. Talkbacks () Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) has doubled his ministry’s budget for asbestos removal to NIS 40 million per year in an attempt to eradicate within the next two years the material […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/04/2012 05:31 The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee plans to establish treatment facility in Jerusalem industrial area. Talkbacks () To solve a growing garbage problem, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee has adopted a master plan for transforming solid waste “from nuisance to resource” by establishing a treatment facility in […]

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Report recommends legislation for treating the tens of thousands of tons of dangerous household waste. By Zafrir Rinat Dangerous waste materials that accumulate in households due to the use of various products constitute an environmental hazard that is almost totally overlooked, according to a report compiled by the government company for environmental services that operates […]

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By Mohammed Zaatari The Daily Star TYRE, Lebanon: The Italian contingent serving as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon organized Monday a day of environmental activism in the area surrounding the village of Shamaa, near the southern coastal city of Tyre to mark New Year. According to the NNA, the commander of […]

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AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation will decide next month on which water billing system to apply after giving citizens an opportunity to weigh in, an official said on Saturday. The ministry’s decision whether to maintain the current monthly billing system or return to a quarterly system will be primarily based on what […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 01/03/2012 05:04 Private initiative releases its final assessment on environmental impact to pave way for pilot drilling and production. Talkbacks (22) After completing operations at its six oil shale experimental drilling sites, Israel Energy Initiatives has submitted a final assessment of its project’s environmental impacts to the Environmental Protection Ministry. IEI hopes […]

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by Taylor Luck | Jan 04,2012 | 23:51 AMMAN — Jordan and Qatar formed a joint technical committee on Tuesday as the Kingdom moved one step closer towards easing its reliance on Egyptian gas. A “positive” meeting was held between Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Qutaiba Abu Qura and his Qatari counterpart Mohammed Ben […]

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Company will pay for most of the salt-harvesting project that aims to protect hotels at the southern end of the Dead Sea from flooding, a project whose cost is estimated at NIS 3.8 billion. By Zafrir Rinat The cabinet is set to approve an agreement today in which the Dead Sea Works will pay for […]

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Tel Aviv’s many boulevards are among the city’s most prized spaces, providing oases of green among the asphalt, dotted with 24-hour kiosks and room for no less than the very incubation of democracy itself. By Noam Dvir       Published: 03.01.12 Just under two weeks ago, the metal fences were removed from around the last unrenovated site […]

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Tel Aviv may be gaga for its bike rental program, but one man is out to document the system’s many failings, from computers on the fritz to missing pedals. By Ilan Lior Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai cycled last week to the Jaffa promenade on one of the bikes available through the city’s bike rental […]

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COMET-ME was established to help some of the dozens of Palestinian villages that aren’t hooked up to any electric grid. By setting up solar panels and wind turbines, the company provides power to villages that previously had none. Source: Public Radio International. Published 26 December, 2011 In remote regions of the West Bank, running water […]

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Food Security in the 21st Century: Agricultural, health, economic, judicial and political perspectives. February 29 and March 1, 2012, Tel Aviv University. Source & More info: here PARTICIPATION IN THE MEETING IS FREE OF CHARGE, BUT AS SPACE IS LIMITED, REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Guest speakers: Mr. Harris Sherman, Undersecretary of Agriculture (USA) for Natural Resources […]

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One of the mysteries of this millennium has been why bee populations, which are crucial not only to the honey industry but to modern agriculture, are being decimated worldwide. By Amiram Cohen Cellular technology has been suspected of causing cancer – the jury’s out on that, but now European scientists suspect it’s causing the great […]

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Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz threatened to convene a public committee to discuss company’s responsibilities if ICL didn’t accept proposal for cost-sharing, royalties. By Ora Coren Spooked by a last-ditch ultimatum that followed long negotiations, Israel Chemicals yesterday accepted the state’s position on sharing the cost of rescuing the Dead Sea hotels from inundation, and on […]

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By NADAV SHEMER AND SHARON UDASIN 12/29/2011 05:15 Finance Ministry and Israel Chemicals end standoff over salt harvesting project. Talkbacks () The Finance Ministry and Israel Chemicals ended a standoff over the financing of a Dead Sea salt harvesting project Wednesday, but environmental activists reacted angrily to the deal and demanded a committee examine the […]

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Phosphate discovered in north-east’ Petra | Dec 29,2011 | 23:14 AMMAN — Jordanian Geologists Association (JGA) President Bahjat Odwan on Wednesday said phosphate has been found in the north-eastern parts of the Kingdom with initial figures on reserves estimated at around 200 million tonnes, worth around $30 billion. The findings are from a study conducted […]

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