The Elah Valley, which IEI hopes to use as testing grounds for oil shale extraction. The annual Israeli “Green Globe” award ceremony, hosted by the environmental umbrella organization Life and Environment, took place last Thursday where recipients included Minister of the Environment Gilad Arden. That award ceremony is not all pats-on-the-back and positive recognition, however. […]
A bombing attempt of the natural gas line that runs between Egypt, Israel and Jordan was averted today, according to the Associated Press. In Sinai, six gunmen targeted the natural gas pipeline that carries natural gas from Egypt to Israel and to Jordan. They overpowered a guard and planted a bomb, and then fled. Failing […]
This image is of a former oil spill in Lebanon Despite the best-laid laws, lack of enforcement is a leading cause of preventable environmental hazards in the Middle East. Egypt regularly has oil spills in the Nile and the Red Sea because of lax regulations. This week’s kerosene spill off Lebanon’s eastern Mediterranean (already an […]
Garbage dumps roll into the sea? Rola suggests ways for energy intensive Lebanon to help ease its waste and energy problems. As Lebanon enters another waste crisis in the cities of Sidon and Tyre, with reportedly thousands of tons of waste piled up on the streets, the country finds itself once again looking for an […]
And the Green Globe goes to… Minister of the Environment, Gilad Arden. This Thursday will be a very environmentally conscious day in Israel, between the Earth Hour light outages taking place in almost 20 cities, the “Carmel Repair” event to rehabilitate the burned-down Carmel Forest, and the Green Globe environmental award ceremony celebrating the past […]
To coincide with World Water Day, we take a look at a wastewater project planned for Palestine’s green city The Arab region is believed to be one of the driest in the world– 70% of the land is dry and rainfall is sparse and the effects of climate change will only exacerbate the situation. As today […]
After four decades of power, Gaddafi continues to drool over Libya’s oil. Unlike the former presidents of Egypt and Tunisia, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi has no intention of relinquishing control of his country. Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) responded to his defiance over the weekend with a fractured Operation Odyssey Dawn, which resulted […]
This pipe was slated for use on Libya’s ambitious Man Made River project. The Omar Mukhtar Reservoir in Libya’s southern desert is the second largest in the world, and an integral component of the $20 billion Great Man-Made River project (GMMR). Begun in 1984, the mammoth pipeline designed to transport water from the south to […]
Turkey has a critical role to play in a clean energy future, says former vice president Al Gore. But when is it going to start taking that role seriously? The unusual political identity of Turkey — a stable, democratic, Islamic country — serves as inspiration for democratic reformers in the Arab world. Its government is […]
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, VP for UAE & ruler of Dubai, presented South Korean President Lee Myung-bak with the Zayed Environmental Prize. Named after the late UAE President Sheikh Zayed, the $1 million Zayed Environmental prize is awarded biannually to political leaders, scientists, and activists who are leading the way in sustainable initiatives. Najib Saab, the […]
The Arab region holds the densest concentration on earth of countries seeking to generate nuclear electricity for the first time. Rola points out the dangers. Over the last few years, while talk of a nuclear power ‘renaissance’ was spreading globally, Middle Eastern and North African countries have been rushing to jump on the commercial nuclear […]
IBM builds a solar power desalination pilot plant in Saudi Arabia. News that Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest market for desalination plants, is planning future solar-powered reverse and osmosis projects has been met with general enthusiasm by environmentalists and non-environmentalists alike. However, while politicians in the region play up the significant advantages of modern desalination, […]
Saudi Arabia is investing huge sums to diversify its water supply, while at the same time fanning a booming construction industry. Will the latter negate the former? Desertification, depletion of underground water sources, and lack of perennial rivers or permanent water bodies are among Saudia Arabia’s greatest environmental challenges. In part, these are being met […]
Not in my backyard: groups across Turkey unite against pollution from fossil fuel power plants. Over the past few decades, dozens of local environmental groups have sprouted across Turkey, united by a single goal: dissuading the government from allowing energy companies to build fossil-fuel-fired power plants near their homes. In the Marmara Sea resort region […]
Israel Chemicals Ltd. has plans to replace its Mishor Rotem oil shale plant with more viable natural gas. Initially installed in 1978 as a pilot project, the Mishor Rotem oil shale plant will soon be shut down. Globes reports that Israel Chemicals Ltd. – which purchases the energy generated by approximately half a million tons […]