MIDEASTENVIRONET - The Middle East Environmental Network

Jerusalem Post

Aug. 2, 2007

meredith price

Every night before Ron Shani's father dropped him off at the children's house in
Kibbutz Amiad, he would ask whether he wanted to hear a story about an inventive
patent or world news. "It didn't matter which one I picked, he always told me a
story about water," says Shani, 39, an engineer. "This is where my knowledge of
water originated. I grew up learning about water filters and solutions from my
father."

Continue reading "Innovations: Personalized purification" »

Posted by MEEF at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jordan Times

August 3, 2007

By Hana Namrouqa

AMMAN -- The Cabinet last week approved awarding a tender for the sale of carbon
dioxide generated from the Rihab electricity generating plant in Mafraq to a US
company.

Continue reading "Carbon dioxide sale tender awarded to US firm" »

Posted by MEEF at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jordan Times

Aug. 5, 2007

Hani Hazaimeh

AMMAN -- The emergence of 11 diarrhoea cases over the weekend in the Rihab District of Mafraq does not constitute another water pollution crisis in the governorate, a district official said on Saturday.

Continue reading "'Rihab diarrhoea cases do not signal new water crisis' -- district official" »

Posted by MEEF at 07:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jordan Times

July 30, 2007

By Dalya Dajani

AMMAN --The Ayla Oasis Development Company is on track with its plans for the
mega-lagoon resort project in Aqaba, with evaluation underway of seven
international contractors who have submitted their tenders for the project.

Continue reading "Ayla Oasis project on track" »

Posted by MEEF at 06:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jordan Times

July 30, 2007

King urges speedy work on "King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz Al Saud Residential
City" designed to ensure citizens reasonably-priced housing

By Mohammad Ghazal

AMMAN -- King Abdullah on Monday issued instructions to the government to
accelerate efforts to build the King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Residential City In Zarqa.

Continue reading "Zarqa residential city project to start in August" »

Posted by MEEF at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jordan Times

July 30, 2007

King urges speedy work on "King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz Al Saud Residential
City" designed to ensure citizens reasonably-priced housing

By Mohammad Ghazal

AMMAN -- King Abdullah on Monday issued instructions to the government to
accelerate efforts to build the King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Residential City In Zarqa.

Continue reading "Zarqa residential city project to start in August" »

Posted by MEEF at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

July 31, 2007

By Zafrir Rinat

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has asked to put off the removal of the fish cages from the Eilat Gulf by two years, despite a cabinet decision two years ago stating that they must go within three years.

Continue reading "Ministry blasts delays in removing Eilat fish farms" »

Posted by MEEF at 06:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Jerusalem Post

Aug. 1, 2007

rory kress

The Kinneret Basin Authority was established this week to protect the soil in the region surrounding Israel's largest freshwater source.

Lake Kinneret has long been an environmental concern due to its receding water level, and most recently, last week's forced closing of its public beaches due to sewage contamination of the water.

Continue reading "Kinneret Basin Authority formed to revive area" »

Posted by MEEF at 06:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Daily Star

July 25, 2007

By John Ehab
Special to The Daily Star

BEIRUT: The non-governmental organization Bahr Loubnan urged the Environment Ministry on Tuesday to remove polluted sand accumulated along Lebanon's shores during efforts to clean up an oil spill cause by an Israeli attack in 2006. An Israeli air strike on the Jiyyeh power plant during last summer's war spilled over 15,000 tons of crude oil into the Mediterranean, polluting much of Lebanon's coast.

Continue reading "Environmental group presses ministry to clear coastline of polluted sand" »

Posted by MEEF at 01:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Jerusalem Post

Jul. 19, 2007

MATTHEW KRIEGER

The long awaited multi-billion dollar deal with the British energy company BG Group will be signed "imminently," a high-ranking official in the National Infrastructure Ministry told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

Continue reading "Exclusive: Israel-BG deal 'imminent,' official says" »

Posted by MEEF at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jordan Times

Jul. 17, 2007

Hana Namrouqa

AMMAN -- The government will introduce new regulations this month to regulate the practice of sandblasting to clean buildings, a government official said on Monday.

Continue reading " Sandblasting harmful to citizens' health, says government" »

Posted by MEEF at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

July 19, 2007

By Zafrir Rinat

The Water Commission warns of possible exposure to poisonous fumes that could spread from polluted land and water sources on sites planned for construction projects in the Dan region, which includes Tel Aviv and Givatayim. Such plans include the "City Project," located in a major commercial and industrial area in the Givatayim municipality, just south of the diamond exchange. The Water Commission has been running tests of the ground water and land pollution levels in the Dan region for the past three years.

Continue reading "Poisonous fumes threaten building plans in Dan region" »

Posted by MEEF at 02:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

July 12, 2007

By Zafrir Rinat

The Civil Administration and the Water and Sewage Authority recently approved the construction of a pipe to channel purified sewage to irrigate agriculture in the Jordan Valley.

But environmental experts say the move will prevent an overall solution to the problem of the flow of sewage from Jerusalem and Bethlehem into the Kidron Stream toward the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea.

Continue reading "Pipe to channel purified sewage for farming, but problems abound" »

Posted by MEEF at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

July 11, 2007

By Zafrir Rinat

Two years ago, the Elcon Recycling Center wastewater treatment plant in Haifa Bay received the approval of the Environmental Protection Ministry to transfer hypersaline waste (fluids that contain unusually high concentrations of salt) to treatment pools in an industrial zone in the Galilee region. The ministry later received data that indicated that Elcon's purification process had failed to rid these brine-like substances of dangerous pollutants. Transport of the hypersaline waste to the Galilee was halted. The ministry now maintains it is taking action to remove this environmental hazard.

Continue reading "Environmental protection's gray market" »

Posted by MEEF at 01:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jordan Times

July 7, 2007

By Mohammad Ghazal

AMMAN — A total of 2,591 environmental violations have been registered since the beginning of 2007, including littering, cutting trees, gas emissions and violations of public health safety, according to the Environment Ministry.

Continue reading "2,591 environmental violations registered this year" »

Posted by MEEF at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

June 27, 2007

By Tahal Frosh

The failure to rehabilitate land once used by a military factory is costing the state $1 billion in revenues. A seriously polluted 450-dunam (110-acre) plot in Herzliya's Nof Yam neighborhood used to be the site of an Israel Military Industries plant, and the Israeli Union for Environmental Defense is sponsoring legislation to get it cleaned up. The "green" advocacy organization says the state could make about $1 billion in betterment tax on the land if it were to be cleared for construction, based on the local norm of $5 million per dunam. The organization also estimates Herzliya's lost tax revenues at NIS 21 million annually. Developers could see net profits of $900 million from construction at the site.

Continue reading "State delays rehab of severly polluted land, loses $1 billion tax revenue" »

Posted by MEEF at 07:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

June 27, 2007

By Yigal Hai, Haaretz Correspondent

Four fires blazed Wednesday in Petah Tikva and the surrounding area, three in open fields and one in an apartment building. There were no reported injuries.

Continue reading "Asbestos fumes rise over Petah Tikva in indutrial zone fire" »

Posted by MEEF at 07:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

June 27, 2007

By Uri Blau

Last December, as part of the lesson-learning process in the wake of the Second Lebanon War, the Environment Ministry established a public committee chaired by Major General (Res.) Herzl Shafir to examine the preparedness of facilities containing hazardous substances in the north of the country for emergency situations. Initial and partial conclusions of the committee were made public, and seemed to be quite innocuous. Now it turns out that the true dynamite that turned up in the Shafir Committee's hearings remained classified. Haaretz has obtained the complete data about the dangers of the industrial plants in Haifa Bay, as it appears in the committee's internal documents.

Continue reading "Radius of destruction" »

Posted by MEEF at 07:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jordan Times

June 17, 2007

Hana Namrouqa

AMMAN -- The Ministry of Environment will set up special task forces to address Zarqa Governorate's environmental problems.

"Zarqa Governorate poses major environmental challenges as it is home to several environmental hotspots, which require exceptional efforts to improve the situation there," Minister of Environment Khalid Irani said during a recent meeting of the ministry's planning committee.

Continue reading " Environmental task forces to tackle Zarqa pollution" »

Posted by MEEF at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Jerusalem Post

Jun. 15, 2007

PINCHAS LANDAU

The fear stalking financial markets this week was that the weakness in the bond markets presaged a drying up of liquidity. After all, as noted here so often, the whole global financial boom is predicated on the easy and plentiful availability of money - which in market jargon is called "liquidity."

But in the real world, a much greater and more substantive fear is that real liquidity will dry up. Unlike financial liquidity, which is make-believe stuff created by central and commercial banks - i.e. fallible humans playing God - real liquidity is water and it can't be "created," it has to exist first somewhere in the physical world. But, as is well known, there isn't enough of it, hence the concern that parts of the world will dry up, causing great hardship to vast numbers of people.

Continue reading "Global Agenda: Water way to wealth" »

Posted by MEEF at 05:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

June 14, 2007

By Yoram Gavison

Aggressive buying by a foreign investment firm that operates in Israel spurred shares in Ormat Industries (TASE: ORMT) to a 12% gain on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, on enormous turnover of NIS 358 million. That's ten times its average daily volume of trade in the last three months. No less than 6.3% of the company's stock changed hands yesterday alone, and TheMarker has learned that the buyer is none other than Gazit Inc., which belongs to real estate developer Chaim Katzman.

Continue reading "Gazit Inc buys 12% of Ormat Industries" »

Posted by MEEF at 05:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

June 9, 2007

By Eli Ashkenazi and Fadi Eyadat

A couple of hungry cormorants circled last week above a school of fish at the mouth of the Kishon Stream running through Haifa. Several fishermen on the banks were also waiting for fish, which were tough to spot. In the past month, the water has grown murky from the booming algae growth that resulted from high concentrations of chemicals in the stream. Despite the cleanup efforts, the Kishon remains polluted.

Continue reading "'Rehabilitated' Kishon Stream still filthy" »

Posted by MEEF at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

June 13, 2007

By Ora Coren

Central Israel is studded with companies that store hazardous materials on site. Yet practically none have prepared for missile attack.

Continue reading "Companies with hazardous materials unprepared for missile attacks" »

Posted by MEEF at 05:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

June7, 2007

By Avi Bar-Eli

Hagihon, the largest water and sewage company in Israel, is preparing to issue 20 percent of its shares at a company valuation of NIS 1 billion, TheMarker has learned. The company, which serves Jerusalem and the surrounding area, intends to raise NIS 200 million, in order to finance infrastructure development.

Continue reading "Jerusalem water firm going public" »

Posted by MEEF at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Jerusalem Post

Jun. 6, 2007

SAUL ELBEIN

Outsourcing, global warming and terrorism are very different problems, but "green power" could wean the West and the developing world off cheap oil and its accompanying problems, New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Thomas L. Friedman said Wednesday.

Continue reading "'Green power' could help solve many problems" »

Posted by MEEF at 06:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

YNET

March 30, 2007

Joint venture could help save the environment while forging stronger collaborative ties in Middle East
IEICI
Published: 05.30.07, 18:07 / Israel Money

An Israeli-Jordanian automotive project is taking a big leap forward. Executives from Renault and Toyota have been speaking to officials from both sides, in an attempt to launch a joint venture for a factory specializing in
environmentally-friendly electric cars. According to the plan, the location of this factory would be near the border between Israel and Jordan, in an area called Peace Valley.

Continue reading "Israel, Jordan to build cars together" »

Posted by MEEF at 02:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Daily Star

May 28, 2007

An israeli attack caused the disaster, but environmentalists say Lebanese inaction made it worse
By Dona Challita
Special to The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Several forms of pollutants have fouled the sea off Lebanon for decades, including industrial effluents, untreated sewage and runoff from coastal garbage dumps. As though this were not enough, an Israeli attack during the war last summer added another hazardous element to the mix when the destruction of the storage tanks at the jiyyeh power plant south of Beirut released an estimated 15,000 tons of fuel oil into the Mediterranean.

Continue reading "Critics flay official response to Jiyyeh spill" »

Posted by MEEF at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

May 27, 2007

Sources: Management preferred its offer to Netafim's over concern about their positions
By Amiram Cohen

The Indian agriculture conglomerate Jain Irrigation Systems is buying 50% of Israel's Na'an Dan Irrigation at a company valuation of NIS 140 million.

The two firms will be entering a memorandum of understanding on the transaction next week.

Continue reading "Jain Irrigation of India buying 50% of Na'an Dan" »

Posted by MEEF at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

YNET

May 28, 2007

Sampling by Environmental Protection Ministry show 46 percent of Israeli factories emit more air-pollutants than allowed, sanctions taken against 22. Over all improvement shown in most factories
David Hacohen

Forty-six percent of Israeli factories emit more air-pollutants than allowed in the Environmental Protection Ministry's guidelines, according to a samplings taken by the Environmental Protection Ministry in 2006.

Continue reading "Nearly half of Israel's factories pollute air" »

Posted by MEEF at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

May 28, 2007

By Tzafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent

The Environment Ministry published on Sunday its annual report which revealed that 46 percent of factories tested in 2006 exceeded air pollution standards.

The figure represents a 20 percent decrease from the previous year.

Continue reading "2006 report: 46% of factories exceed pollution standards" »

Posted by MEEF at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

YNET

May 25, 2007

New geothermal plant to be constructed by Israeli company at geothermal site
in rural Nevada

Israel Money
Ormat Technologies, Inc announced Thursday that one of its subsidiaries had
signed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Nevada Power Company, a
subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources, for the sale of energy produced from
the Grass Valley Geothermal Power Plant to be built in Lander County in
northern Nevada.

Continue reading "Ormat Technologies signs 20-year contract in US" »

Posted by MEEF at 04:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Middle East Times

May 26, 2007

Marian Houk

JERUSALEM -- Movement was reported this week on an Israeli government decision to authorize a long-term agreement to purchase gas from Gaza's offshore wells at market price from the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli cabinet made the decision to go ahead with negotiations to buy Palestinian gas on April 29.

The exploitation of the offshore gas field is expected to generate much-needed revenue for the Palestinians. Some analysts argue, however, that the main advantages of the deal are not only financial - it is hoped that the mutual dependency that will be created by the deal will help create an atmosphere more conducive to peace.

Continue reading "Analysis: Six months of negotiations may open way to long-term Israeli deal to buy Gaza gas" »

Posted by MEEF at 04:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ynet

May 24, 2007

London Times reports British Gas close to signing deal to supply Israel with gas from off-shore field near Gaza. Hamas says will block deal

The BG group, former owner of British Gas is about to sign a four billion dollar deal to supply Israel with gas found in an off-shore field near Gaza, the London Times reported Thursday.

Continue reading "British Gas to sign $4 billion deal with Israel" »

Posted by MEEF at 04:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ma'an

May 23, 2007

Bethlehem - Ma'an - British newspaper The Sunday Times has reported that
British Gas (now BG Group) is about to close a deal worth $4 billion, to supply
Palestinian gas to Israel.

Continue reading " British gas company about to sign $4 billion deal to supply Palestinian gas to Israel" »

Posted by MEEF at 04:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Jerusalem Post

Mar. 5, 2007

Sheera Claire Frenke

Despite Israel's carcinogenic waterways, local companies lead the world in clean-water know-how, and 2007 is set to be a banner year for foreign sales of the blue-and-white technology.

Dozens of groups from across the globe are planning trips to Israel this year with an eye toward purchasing some of the environmentally friendly technology being developed by Israeli scientists. The industry brought approximately one billion dollars last year, but Avraham Israeli, head of Water and Environmental Technology at the Israel Export Institute, said Israel's slice of the international pie could be $10 billion.

Continue reading "Israel's green technology leads world, but not at home" »

Posted by MEEF at 06:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

YNET

March 5, 2007

Pollution costs as mush as Israel's defense budget; new bill proposed to deal with air pollution, cut costs

Amir Ben-David
Israel Money

Air pollution in Israel places a financial burden of NIS 11 billion ($2.7 billion) on the country, equal to 2.26 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This figure is the amount the state pays on such expenses as sick leave and medical treatments for those who suffer from severe illness and early death fueled by pollution.

Continue reading "Israel loses up to NIS 11 billion a year on air pollution" »

Posted by MEEF at 05:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jordan Times

March 9, 2007

Khalid Neimat

AMMAN -- The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Jordan has called on the private sector to support the Amman Master Plan, announced by the Greater Amman Municipality's (GAM) last month.

"We will prop up the plan internally and globally to attract foreign investments," AmCham-Jordan Chairman Azzam Shweihat said.

Continue reading "AmCham to support Amman Master Plan" »

Posted by MEEF at 05:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Jerusalem Post

Mar. 1, 2007

shelly paz

Dozens of Greenpeace activists demonstrated in front of the Rabin Lights power station near Hadera on Wednesday under the slogan, "Pollution is returned to the polluter."

The protesters used pipes to blow thick, gray but harmless smoke toward the facility, and later spoke with Hadera residents.

Continue reading "Greenpeace protests at Hadera power plant" »

Posted by MEEF at 06:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Daily Star

February 26, 2007

State inaction allows industry to imperil water resources and depress property values
By Hani M. Bathish
Special to The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Some of Lebanon's most picturesque areas bear the unsightly scars of quarrying, a frequent visual reminder of what can happen when the state consistently fails to regulate an industry whose work has so much potential for far-reaching side-effects. But the damage is more than skin-deep: The quarry industry's de facto freedom to act as it sees fit also contributes to a variety of economic, environmental and public-health problems whose impacts are no less damaging for their lower visibility.

Continue reading "Quarries do damage you can see - and some you can't" »

Posted by MEEF at 07:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

February 26, 2007

By Zafrir Rinat

The government of Israel lined its pockets with plenty of cash last week through the privatization of the Haifa-based Oil Refineries and also ensured handsome revenues for the new controlling shareholders. The calculation of monetary profit has already been made, but another calculation - environmental and health - remains unresolved.

Continue reading "Only the pollution was not privatized" »

Posted by MEEF at 07:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

February 14, 2007

By Avi Issacharoff and Aluf Benn

A group of Palestinian entrepreneurs yesterday presented plans to create a new Palestinian city in the West Bank, located between Ramallah and Nablus.

The group, headed by businessman Abd al-Malik Jabbar, presented its plan to Israeli, Palestinian and U.S. officials during an economic conference at the home of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Richard Jones.

Continue reading "Palestinian Authority proposes building new city in West Bank" »

Posted by MEEF at 06:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

February 22, 2007
22.2.07 | 10:31 By Sharon Kedmi

After years of delays and procrastination, a tender for building Israel's first solar-power plant is to be issued this year.

The 250-megawatt plant will be built on 4,000 dunams (1,000 acres) in the Ashalim complex in the Negev.

Continue reading "Israel to get its first solar plant, at last" »

Posted by MEEF at 06:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

February 18, 2007

By Ronny Linder-Ganz

The green Star of David stamped on products to indicate that the product is environmentally friendly does not appear to be backed up by any environmental criteria, testing or supervision, an investigation by TheMarker, in conjunction with consumer law expert Dr. Shmuel Becher, has found.

Continue reading "Green Star of David isn't backed by solid criteria" »

Posted by MEEF at 05:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

February 7, 2007

By Ronny Linder-Ganz

The green Star of David stamped on products to indicate that the product is environmentally friendly does not appear to be backed up by any environmental criteria, testing or supervision, an investigation by TheMarker, in conjunction with consumer law expert Dr. Shmuel Becher, has found.

Continue reading "Green Star of David isn't backed by solid criteria" »

Posted by MEEF at 05:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Daily Star

February 20, 2007

Conflict wiped out ambitious plans of growing industry
By Assem Abi Ali
Special to The Daily Star

RAMLIEH, Aley: Eco-tourism suffered greatly during the summer 2006 war with Israel, and one of the main victims was the Aley village of Ramlieh, where local investors and other stakeholders had been planning an extensive program before hostilities broke out on July 12.

Continue reading "Eco-tourism sector struggles to recover from wounds of war" »

Posted by MEEF at 05:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Daily Star

February 20, 2007

Conflict wiped out ambitious plans of growing industry
By Assem Abi Ali
Special to The Daily Star

RAMLIEH, Aley: Eco-tourism suffered greatly during the summer 2006 war with Israel, and one of the main victims was the Aley village of Ramlieh, where local investors and other stakeholders had been planning an extensive program before hostilities broke out on July 12.

Continue reading "Eco-tourism sector struggles to recover from wounds of war" »

Posted by MEEF at 05:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

February 15, 2007

By Ora Coren and Amiram Cohen
The Netafim irrigation systems company means to start manufacturing via a
chain of plants outside Israel.

Continue reading "Netafim opening irrigation systems plant in Mexico" »

Posted by MEEF at 05:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

YNET

February 18, 2007

Government slated to okay proposal for privatization of Israel Electric Corp and its division into several subsidiaries
Tani Goldstein

Continue reading "Cabinet to approve Electric Corp. reform" »

Posted by MEEF at 04:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz / Jordan Times

February 15, 2007

By Margaret Beckett

[listserve note: published in both Jordan Times and Haaretz, unusual for the region]

All too often the news is dominated by conflict and disagreement. Then a threat of such magnitude comes along that it forcefully reminds us of our common humanity - in other words just how much all of us, whatever our background, creed or colour hold in common. For our generation that threat is climate change.

Continue reading "The threat that unites us all" »

Posted by MEEF at 08:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haaretz

February 16, 2007

By Ora Coren

A car travels from Hadera to Ashdod on Road No. 6. The driver should pay for every section of toll road used during the trip. How much will the driver pay at the end of the journey? Don't rush to answer. Sometimes the answer is: Nothing.

Continue reading "Toll-busting trick provides car leasers with a free ride" »

Posted by MEEF at 07:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)