This man is paddling trash out of a polluted water body in the Jordanian city Azraq, which is believed to have one million barrels of oil. All signs show that Jordan is firmly caught in the clutches of a resource curse. Since it takes a whopping 80% of its energy from Egypt, which has not […]
We speak to Gidon Bromberg (left) about the challenges of working with the first and only regionally focused environmental organisation in the Middle East Gidon Bromberg has been working with Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), an environmental organisation which focuses on trans-boundary issues, since it was established seventeen years ago. As the first […]
The Israeli High Court recently ordered an Israeli sewage treatment plant built illegally in the West Bank to stop its work. So should Israel be thinking of building solar fields there? A couple of days ago, the Israeli High Court of Justice banned the operation of a sewage treatment plant built illegally on Palestinian land […]
Ford offers up another $100,000 to get green initiatives in the Gulf and Levant rolling. Applications are due 10 September, 2011. After writing a visceral post about environmental organizations that accept money from large corporations, in protest of greenwashing, Arwa interviewed the Emirates Diving Association, who explained their decision to accept $10,000 from Ford. One […]
Lebanon could get a lot cleaner thanks to a brilliant plan devised jointly by Nestle Pure, Spinneys, and Servicorp. That’s right. Nestle Pure, Spinneys, and Servicorp are planning to save Lebanon from the plastic waste that kills tens of thousands of Mediterranean creatures each year by introducing reverse vending machines to certain Spinneys locations throughout […]
Turkey imports more than three-quarters of its primary energy supply, primarily from Russia and Iran. The country’s energy ministry says it wants to become less dependent on foreign sources — but how sensible are its methods? As Turkey faces a 10 percent growth rate in energy demand and unrest in the Middle East pushes oil […]
Right in the middle of a crowded tourist destination, a sewage drain overflowed and no one rushed to the scene to clean it up! Last night, hundreds of tourists that descended upon the popular La place Jemâa el Fna in Marrakech were greeted with a stinking treat. Right next to the open air restaurant that […]
Turkey is ahead of most European countries in its commitment to biodegradable plastics, says the CEO of Cereplast, an international biobased and compostable plastic manufacturer. With over one thousand kilometers of coastline along the Mediterranean Sea, Turkey sees plenty of evidence of the environmental harm wreaked by plastic bags. The amount of plastic discarded into […]
Israel’s newly declared northern maritime boundary: note the slanted line that skirts the northern edge of the northernmost gas fields As a result of a series of Egyptian natural gas pipeline sabotages by terrorists in the Sinai, the third blast occurring just a few days ago, Israel is putting more efforts into developing the undersea […]
The Dead Sea Works would have the public believe that it is saving – not destroying – the Dead Sea. Greenwashing campaigns have become abundant in recent years as the green trend has been growing in popularity. With greater environmental awareness among the public over the past decade or so, businesses attempt to attract positive […]
A mental health hospital in Bethlehem is completely without water, and the mayor has been buying his own. Can Israel, Jordan and the PA make hydro peace? A Palestinian water and environmental engineer from Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), Nader al-Khateeb recently discovered that the mayor is among many in Bethlehem who have […]
An oil shale trial plant in Colorado. Does Israel want its Negev and Galilee regions torn up for “black gold”? Until recently, Israel has been an energy poor country, with nearly all its energy needs having to be supplied by importing both petroleum – bought mainly on the international Spot Market – and coal. Previous […]
The Black Sea province of Rize is synonymous with tea production in Turkey. After the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown, the Turkish government tried to avoid testing the area for radioactivity, and encouraged Turks to continue drinking Rize tea. As the news from Japan gets worse and worse — only one month ago it was announced that […]
Third act of sabotage in 5 months may spell the end of Egyptian natural gas shipments of both Israel and Jordan. Egypt’s natural gas pipeline to both Israel and Jordan suffered still another setback during the night when a third act of sabotage caused an explosion. This is three attacks since the beginning of the […]
There’s no stopping Jordan: it will build a nuclear reactor outside of Amman despite risks. In an unstable situation in good times, it’s surprising to learn that Jordan (with its plentiful sun) is intent on building its first nuclear reactor, for what it believes to be a source of nonpolluting, sustainable energy. In the wake […]