Marda Permaculture Farm shows that traditional and modern sustainable farming practices can go hand in hand. Amidst the conflict and destruction that plagues Palestine, the Marda Permaculture Farm stands out as a model of sustainability and greenery. Founded in 2006 by permaculturist Murad Alkhufash (pictured above) who is a tenth generation farmer, the working farm […]
Twenty families own most of the “free” economy in Israel: a recent report points to disturbing trends concerning class and society. Dr. Gotlieb sees fault in the free market policies that injure people and the environment. In his comments on Israel’s invitation join to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last May, Prime Minister […]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3xqfNNYjl8&feature=player_embedded[/youtube] A group of Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian environmentalists have put politics aside to fight a $15 billion World Bank plan to revive the Dead Sea, which is dropping by about three feet a year. The bank’s plan proposes building a canal or tunnel to link the salt-laden sea to the Red Sea in the […]
America gives more than half a million dollars to Israeli and Palestinian water researchers to clean water in the West Bank. Ben Gurion University researcher Dr. Moshe Herzberg (above) and Prof. Mohammed Saleem Ali-Shtayeh of the Biodiversity & Environmental Research Center in Nablus, have received an American USAID-MERC grant of $659,410 to increase the clean water […]
Policy makers, water experts and peace lovers might be interested in the Strategic Foresight Group’s research on water as a means to resolve conflict in the Middle East. Read about their latest efforts in Jordan. WANA, a North Africa and West Asia forum convened not long ago in Jordan to discuss the environment, a green […]
Copenhagen’s negotiations went up in smoke, and too many governments are seduced by the comforts of oil. Since we can’t trust the good ol’ boys to do what’s right, we look instead to a new generation of industrious citizens with the pluck to go it alone. Khaled Al Sabawi is one them. The son of […]
Following a site visit conducted as part of a meeting of geographers at Ben-Gurion University last week, Dr. Gotlieb reflects on how appropriate technology, bottom-up planning and goodwill are prerequisites to resolving conflict. For an international group of geographers, a visit to what is known variously as Judea and Samaria, the West Bank – of […]
The Palestinian electric car isn’t much to look at, and it couldn’t carry a large Arab family, but it is solar powered! Just when we all thought Shai Agassi’s Better Place electric car company had the electric car technology field sewed up in this part of the world, some university students in the Palestinian West […]
Ira wrote about the Palestinian-Israeli wind power cooperation deal last week. Karin updates us with details on how Brothers Engineering Group plans on rolling out new business with Israel Wind Energy. A path toward peace may be blowing in the wind, if a new wind energy project between a Palestinian and an Israeli company succeeds. […]
Barn owls as biological control. Arab farmers in the Levant use nesting boxes to encourage the owls to move in. This means much less pesticide to control rodents.
Representatives of Israeli and Palestinian partner companies pose after reaching agreement on joint venture for wind power. (Courtesy photo) Cynics might say that diplomatic attempts to foster Palestinian-Israeli relations are too often “full of hot air.” But a new green Israeli-Palestinian initiative aims to put politics aside and harness the winds blowing across the Green […]
With a burgeoning population and no natural resources to provide energy, Palestine has found a hero in MENA Geothermal. In a world where natural gas is diminishing and oil spills spoil our oceans, we would think there is no better means to generate energy. Because if there were, surely we, intelligent beings that we are, […]
Better control of sewage inflow could make the Alexander River even more attractive. The Jordan River (which is dying) is not the only waterway in Israel, the PA, and Jordan, that has been in the center of environmental controversy. Virtually all of the region’s streams and rivers have their share of ecological problems, more notably […]
Want to tour Israel, Palestine and Jordan in the ultimate eco trip? [image via: Marcelo Ruiz] Now that the spring holidays are mostly behind us, you may be looking ahead to plan your winter holiday. If you’re an eco tourist, interested in becoming an eco tourist, a fan of cross cultural activity or just a […]
Projects like Dubai’s “The World” will cause untold damage of shoreline erosion and habitat loss. So do modern ports, threatening endangered species. But there are solutions, says US expert. Coastal waters are evolutionary hotspots, says Jerry Berne, a shoreline expert from the NGO Sustainable Shorelines in the US. Based in Charlotte, NC, USA, Berne is […]