By Taylor Luck AMMAN – Competition is on for the construction of the Kingdom’s first nuclear reactor as energy officials launch the programme’s technology selection phase. According to Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Khaled Toukan, energy officials are slated to receive financial bids from three shortlisted firms in mid-August as part of an ongoing […]

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By Taylor Luck AMMAN – The Kingdom’s first oil field may lie near the eastern city of Azraq, according to experts as geologists urged the government to step up exploration activities in the area. According to the Jordan Geologists Association (JGA), the concession field east of Azraq is promising for the presence of fossil fuels. […]

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By Lahav Harkov 07/28/2011 MK slams rising water prices, says gov’t agreed to subsidize more water for disabled people months ago, but has yet to act upon the decision. A bill allowing the Knesset Finance Committee to regulate water prices passed in its preliminary reading on Wednesday, after the coalition withdrew its opposition to the […]

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Bottle recycling up 26% in May – YNET Israeli public throws 15.2 million plastic beverage bottles into recycling bins throughout month. ELA recycling corporation says public awareness improved due to extensive PR efforts, increase in number of bins across country – including in Arab towns Yael Darel Published: 07.21.11, 14:24 / Israel Activism The Israeli […]

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ERUSALEM (AFP) — Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders in the Holy Land joined forces Monday to launch a multi-faith environmental campaign, citing religious injunctions to protect the Earth across their three faiths. Among their plans are the convening of an international conference of religious leaders in New York ahead of the 2012 UN General Assembly, […]

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By Omar Obeidat AMMAN –– In light of the energy, water and economic challenges facing the country, a national campaign was launched Saturday to urge Jordanians rationalise their consumption of several commodities and services. Launched for the fifth consecutive year by the Consumer Protection Society (CPS) ahead of Ramadan, when food consumption increases by 35 […]

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by SHARON UDASIN 07/25/2011 04:07 Officials aim to create exchange for research on maintaining water quality, availability on Lake Michigan, Kinneret Talkbacks (1) Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and National Infrastructures Minister Dr. Uzi Landau signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Jerusalem on Sunday establishing a “Sister Lakes” relationship between Lake Michigan and the Kinneret, to […]

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Despite being under occupation, Ramallah grows and thrives. Part of this progress includes caring for the environment. The city’s mission states: “We want the city of Ramallah to be beautiful, green, safe, clean, and environmentally friendly for the sake of all its residents, a city with a distinguished architectural style that preserves its cultural heritage […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – Long faced by hurdles and local community rejection, Qatar and Ghor Fifa in Wadi Araba have joined Jordan’s protected areas network to preserve unique ecosystems and locally and globally endangered species. In the meantime, negotiations between the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and the local community in […]

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A Tel Aviv University study has determined antibiotics added to fishponds in northern coastal plain have been seeping into groundwater sources used for drinking water. By Zafrir Rinat A number of water sources used for drinking and irrigation contain trace amounts of potentially hazardous medicines, according to an ongoing Tel Aviv University study. They have […]

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By ALEX JOFFE 07/24/2011 22:29 In light of recent gas finds, the country must navigate its energy policy wisely. Talkbacks (2) The writer is a research scholar with the Institute for Jewish and Community Research. This article was first published by Jewish Ideas Daily (www.jewishideasdaily.com), and is reprinted with permission. Are abundant natural resources a […]

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By GLOBES / AMIRAM BARKAT 07/24/2011 23:32 The discovery that Tamar’s gas potential is larger than thought could also prove significant for the Myra, Sarah and other fields. The discovery that an additional strata in the Tamar gas field contains natural gas has broad implications for the other gas fields in the region, sources in […]

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The Union for Environmental Defense and The Movement for Quality Government claim Binat Schwartz’s appointment to the sensitive position is flawed because of her involvement in plans for the Holyland project. By Zafrir Rinat Two watchdog agencies asked State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss last week to investigate the pending appointment of a leading candidate as the […]

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CNN’s Rima Maktabi meets the man trying to steer the Middle East down a more sustainable path. see http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2011/07/21/maktabi.green.saab.lebanon.cnn?hpt=hp_mid

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By SHARON UDASIN 07/19/2011 19:59 Showing maritime transparency will improve global perception, Ports Authority dir.-gen. says; Israel, Turkey first non-EU countries to sign deal. Talkbacks (1) Israel has agreed to undertake a voluntary audit from the International Maritime Organization at the end of 2012, and in doing so, will join Turkey as the first non- […]

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In our country, beauty is something else – primarily, ownership. Loving the country, in Israel, means loving the process of uglifying it. By Yitzhak Laor Five years ago, a huge disaster was averted, apparently by chance, when a missile fired at the Haifa Bay industrial area almost hit one of the sensitive facilities located there. […]

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By Hana Namrouqa AMMAN – A nation-wide campaign to reduce air pollution found that 5.5 per cent of some 84,000 vehicles tested for emissions over the past two months were discharging excessive fumes and were in need of maintenance, officials said on Wednesday. Under the campaign, launched in May, 3,509 of the 83,852 vehicles tested […]

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By SHARON UDASIN 07/19/2011 03:34 Timna runway would replace current “environmental hazard”; Green Movement co-chairman says airport move is “good thing.” Talkbacks () The cabinet will vote this Sunday on building the proposed international airport just north of Eilat in the Timna Valley, the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Monday. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made […]

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Let’s not care about rules or pollution. It’s kind of catching. By Roy Arad The Bat Galim beach in Haifa, which has been closed to swimmers for eight days, stands next to the barb-wired backside of an army base. Across the way, housing projects bake slowly in the sun. Three years ago, I came here […]

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Israel Nature and Parks Authority hopes to create four large marine nature reserves, and to annex areas of the sea to existing national parks along the coast. By Zafrir Rinat The public is deprived of free access to nearly one-tenth of Israel’s Mediterranean beachfront, and of this, at least half is entirely off-limits to the […]

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