By SHARON UDASIN 06/22/2011 11:58 Expensive gas, high mileage, lack of popular fuel efficient vehicles make Fluence Z.E. a good deal for Australia. Talkbacks (2) Better Place and Renault announced Monday that the French car company will import its electric car with switchable battery, the Fluence Z.E., into Australia, where the Israeli group will be […]

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Summer is upon us and with it, thousands of tourists who come to visit, especially from the Gulf countries, and thousands of expatriates, mostly from the same part of the world. With them, according to official figures, we also get about a million or so extra cars on the roads. Apart from the family reunions, […]

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editor’s note: follow the link to a mutlipart video and text feature. Al Jazeera introduces it this way : It is the world’s longest river. A 7,000km life-line for almost 400 million people. It runs through 11 countries, including South Sudan, from the highlands in the heart of Africa to the shores of the Mediterranean […]

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Friday oil spill in Eilat port from leak in docked Turkish ship brought under control yesterday; ministry now investigating cause of the leak. By Zafrir Rinat Though a weekend oil spill in Eilat port apparently did not damage the coral reefs, it did provide a warning of the potential risks posed by the movement of […]

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The raw blackwater emanating from security services’ facilities is imperiling the environment as well Palestinian foodstuffs. By Zafrir Rinat The olive grove next to the fence abutting the Israel Defense Forces base near the ancient palace and fortress Herodium, south of Jerusalem, is one of the primary sources of income for the Jardal family. But […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – The Madaba Wastewater Treatment Plant will witness a 40 per cent reduction in energy consumption and improved environmental conditions as part of a pilot project finalised on Sunday. Under an agreement signed yesterday, the treatment of wastewater at the plant will be improved by using technologies that will be applied […]

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Arava Power building more than 40 new plants, which will begin providing electricity to some 1,000 residents this summer Associated Press Published: 06.26.11, 07:29 / Israel Activism Share on TwitterShare on Facebook share Israel is planning an expansion of its solar-generated electricity with preparations to bring the first of more than 40 new solar plants […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 06/24/2011 04:03 Israel’s tremendous oil shale could lead to energy independence, scientist says. Talkbacks (8) In an auditorium filled to capacity with those interested in solving the world’s power needs, Dr. Harold Vinegar pulled out a cylindrical lob of stone and a narrow test-tube filled with rosé liquid and proposed the two […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 06/27/2011 01:47 Organics could be cheap alternative to silicon in solar panels, says expert. Talkbacks (1) While far less absorptive then the inorganic silicon panels currently used across the globe to transform the sun’s rays into useable energy, organic materials are extremely inexpensive and might provide an effective alternative to silicon in […]

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EDDAH, June 22, 2011 (WAFA) – The water situation in the Gaza Strip is severely deteriorating due to the infrastructure destruction caused by continuous Israeli attacks on Gaza and the establishment of wastewater treatment plants over fresh water reservoirs, said a report by the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The report called for the establishment […]

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A report issued by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has revealed that the Gaza Strip is currently facing a “severe water crisis which constitutes a cause for concern”; particularly in light of the rising temperatures during the summer months. According to the report issued on Wednesday, June 22, the water situation in Gaza […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Mosques and schools, categorised as large water consumers, will be equipped with water-saving devices to reduce their consumption of the scarce resource by 30 per cent, officials said on Wednesday. Water fixtures will be installed in 20 public schools and 20 mosques in different governorates to raise awareness on the […]

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The previously posted commentary by Hadi Tabbara from Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia on the Strategic Foresight report, “The Blue Peace” also appears on the website of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED). The two versions are almost identical, but there is one notable difference – a strong political statement in the Al-Bia Wal- Tanmia version. […]

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editor’s note: Two remarkably different reports on the demolition of coal workshops in the West Bank are presented below. Read both for the contrasts! 10 wood-coal workshops demolished near Jenin – Ma’an ENIN (Ma’an) — Israeli bulldozers began to remove Wednesday several wood-coal workshops in the Jenin-area town of Barta’a Ash-Sharqiya, located inside the Green […]

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Huffington Post Rabbi Michael M. Cohen osted: 06/ 8/11 12:55 PM ET Like a sand dune slithering across the desert landscape covering and swallowing anything in its way, the Arab Revolutions have tenaciously spread across the Middle East. In the midst of that dramatic change I found myself earlier this spring in Dubai. I had […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 06/22/2011 07:22 Friends of the Earth Middle East delegation, green group leaders, lawmakers discuss country’s most pressing environmental challenges. Talkbacks (1) A delegation including 11 Palestinians and 11 Jordanians from Friends of the Earth Middle East took part on Tuesday in the Knesset’s environment day. They attended the afternoon environmental caucus and […]

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By Taylor Luck AMMAN – The Kingdom is set to invite international firms to take part in its peaceful nuclear programme as protests heat up over the proposed site of the country’s first reactor. According to Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Khaled Toukan, the government will float a tender in July for a strategic […]

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Radiation rates measured for the group, called We Want to Live Without Mines, found radioactivity at an abandoned mine in the area and in the phosphate-rich Sde Barir site to be between two and eight times higher than the permissible rate of exposure to the population. By Zafrir Rinat and Jonathan Lis A phosphate mine […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 06/20/2011 02:43 Knesset panel rejects two other green bills; National Registry Act will require establishment of databases to detail which substances being discharged. The Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday approved an environmental law that will require factories to publicize their hazardous chemical emissions. But it also rejected two other green bills, […]

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RAFAH, June 20, 2011 (WAFA) – The French Consul-General in Jerusalem, Frederic Desagneaux, Monday inaugurated a project for the extension of the sewage network in Rafah, a city south of the Gaza Strip, according to a press release from the Consulate. The release said that the project, launched by the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) and […]

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