By Hana Namrouqa http://www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=26060 AMMAN – The government is currently evaluating proposals from companies interested in serving as the master developer of the Jordan Red Sea Project (JRSP), a water official said on Monday. According to Adnan Zu’bi, Ministry of Water and Irrigation assistant secretary general and spokesperson, “scores” of prominent international companies have sent […]

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By Taylor Luck http://www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=26043 AMMAN – The results of a geological feasibility study show that a proposed site in southern Aqaba is suitable for the construction of the Kingdom’s first nuclear reactor, officials announced on Monday. During a workshop on nuclear power financing with Japanese and French officials yesterday, attended by Prime Minister Samir Rifai, […]

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By Omar Obeidat http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=26093 AMMAN –– The government will not delay the implementation of its recent decision to cancel part of the tax exemption on hybrid vehicles, Finance Minister Mohammad Abu Hammour said Tuesday. Car dealers had been pushing for postponing the imposition of a 55 per cent special tax on green cars to May […]

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By Dalila Mahdawi Daily Star staff Wednesday, April 28, 2010 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=114285#axzz0mOmF3o9T BEIRUT: With the summer approaching, 26-year-old Rayya is keen to hit the beach with friends. But for many, the joy of a day by the sea is marred by the long hours spent in traffic trying to get there. Despite government promises to improve […]

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Coast was clean just 60% of the time in 2009, Environmental Protection Ministry says. Jerusalem Post By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 15/04/2010 http://www.jpost.com/HealthAndSci-Tech/ScienceAndEnvironment/Article.aspx?id=173167 As the swimming season opens today, those planning to hit the beach must ask themselves: How clean are the beaches? How many times will the beaches be closed this summer because of pollution? […]

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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1164326.html By Oren Majar A while ago, I took part in a seminar hosted by urban ecology center City Tree. I wanted to learn how to turn my trash into compost. Brimming with good intentions I came to the home of Tami Zori, City Tree’s founder, on lovely Bialik Street in Tel Aviv. The house […]

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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1164615.html By Zafrir Rinat More than 50 years after people first began developing solar energy to address energy and environmental problems, Israeli scientist Dr. Zvi Tavor has managed to turn solar energy into a widely available electricity-saving product. Today, when Earth Day is being marked all over the world, the 93-year-old Tavor will receive a […]

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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1164588.html By Zafrir Rinat The Environmental Protection Ministry lacks necessary authority and professional training and is largely dependent on outside lawyers in pursuing criminal charges on the ministry’s behalf, according to a study by Adam Teva V’Din (the Israel Union for Environmental Defense). The findings were released to coincide with today’s commemoration of Earth Day […]

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http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=173652 By D. BLOOMFIELD 22/04/2010 10:53 Israel’s 62 years have been marked by some 30 military clashes over this natural resource. Talkbacks (3) If the last two decades have been marked by wars over oil, the coming decades could see conflict over a much more precious commodity, water. By mid-century more than half of humanity […]

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http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=25962 By Laila Azzeh AMMAN –– Public sector representatives on Thursday drew up action plans to implement long-term comprehensive water conservation programmes in their respective institutions. In a workshop organised by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in cooperation with the USAID-funded IDARA Project yesterday, participants were acquainted with the recommendations of the national Water […]

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http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3877958,00.html Israel bans fishermen from trawling waters for two years, plans to restock Sea of Galilee with fish brought from outside Reuters Published: 04.19.10, 14:49 / Israel Business Israel hopes to fill the Sea of Galilee with a great multitude of fishes. Responding to a decline in the number of fish in the Biblical lake […]

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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1164823.html By Zafrir Rinat Earth Day was marked around the world yesterday with a series of events that in Israel included “Earth Hour” – turning off the lights in several cities. Environmental groups in Israel also used the day to harshly criticize the government’s planning and building reforms. A chief critic of the reforms is […]

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http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=278490 Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli settlers opened a sewage pipe running toward the Hebron-area town of Beit Ummar on Wednesday night, flooding a Palestinian vineyard with wastewater, local officials said. By opening the sewage pipe, residents of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc destroyed some 70,000 square meters of the vineyard belonging to the Sabarneh […]

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http://www.jpost.com/HealthAndSci-Tech/ScienceAndEnvironment/Article.aspx?id=173634 By EHUD ZION WALDOKS 22/04/2010 07:52 Israeli Umbrella organization awards prizes for most and least environmentally friendly conduct. For the seventh year in a row, the Green Globes will be awarded by Life and Environment, the umbrella organization of environmental organizations in Israel, to activists, groups and companies for environmental action. A Black Globe […]

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The Middle East entries taken from the World Nuclear Association Report on Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf102.html Turkey In 2007 Turkey produced 191 billion kWh/yr gross from 40.6 GWe of plant. In 2007 49% of electricity came from gas (two thirds of this from Russia, most of the rest from Iran), 28% from coal and […]

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18/04/2010 RIYADH (AFP) – Oil giant Saudi Arabia on Saturday gave its strongest signal yet that it wants to develop atomic power by announcing a new centre for nuclear and alternative energy technologies. Former commerce minister Hashem bin Abdullah Yamani was named to head the King Abdullah City for Nuclear and Renewable Energies, to be […]

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By Taylor Luck AMMAN – Jordan is determined to pursue renewable energy despite difficulties posed by the international market, a top energy official said on Thursday. Addressing a seminar on wind energy hosted by the Danish embassy in Amman and Vestas yesterday, Minister of Energy Khalid Irani said attracting investments for renewable energy projects in […]

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The Greater Amman Municipality has uprooted 55,000 trees from sidewalks across the city over the past four years under a campaign to make the capital’s pavements pedestrian friendly (Photo courtesy of GAM) The Greater Amman Municipality has uprooted 55,000 trees from sidewalks across the city over the past four years under a campaign to make […]

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By Mohammad Ben Hussein AMMAN – Dozens of Fuheis residents demonstrated at the town square on Thursday demanding the relocation of a cement factory owned by the Jordan Lafarge Cement Factories Company. A small town of 25,000 residents situated 10 kilometres west of Amman, Fuheis is known for its olive groves and pleasant weather. But […]

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By Zafrir Rinat Beaches were officially opened to the public for bathing yesterday with data suggesting a certain drop in pollution levels and rise in cleanliness of beaches, but not near Haifa Bay, where industrialization and urbanization still present a problem. Two other issues facing public beaches are plans to build near or on them, […]

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