AFP   The United Arab Emirates is still sitting on huge reserves of oil and natural gas, but now the Gulf federation plans to harness yet another of its abundant natural resources - the year-round sunshine. In the vast desert surrounding the capital, Abu Dhabi, the authorities are planning to spread arrays of solar panels to transform the blazing sun into energy. The plan may be expensive, but... [read more]

Arab News April 13th 2007   Official research has revealed that private investors own around 96 percent of the Kingdom’s coastal areas, leaving only four percent for public use. The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Metrological and Environmental Protection Administration and the Coast Guards jointly conducted the study of the Kingdom’s coast. A recent... [read more]

Al Ahram Weekly 5-11 April 2007 Issue 839   Mohamed El-Hebeishy   Forty million years ago a vast area of the northern part of the Egyptian Western Desert was nothing but a sea. The whole of Fayoum was submerged; it was part of the Tethys Sea. In reality, Tethys Sea was so enormously big that some scholars call it Tethys Ocean rather than sea. When it finally receded, it formed what... [read more]

Jordan Times Monday April 16 - 2007 By Mohammad Ben Hussein   Water experts on Sunday said the need for better management of water resources has become increasingly important, as the Kingdom continues to suffer from a chronic water shortage. “Jordan still has a long way to go before it can be considered a model for water management,” Regional Monitoring and Support Unit (RMSU) team... [read more]

It is interesting to see the editorial of a Saudi newspapers engaging in advocacy for the IPCC report and global efforts to curb greenhouse gases. The editorial published on April 7th by Arab News provides adequate criticism for China and India in their pursuiy to water down the IPCC report. However the editorial falls short of mentioning official Saudi efforts in confronting the original IPCC text... [read more]

The long awaited and highly controversial IPCC report on Climate Change entitled "Climate Change 2007: Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: summary for Policy Makers" was released Friday in Brussels. The 23 pages summary exjausted the mental powers of author scientists and governmental representatives who gathered in Brussels to discuss every word and figure and engage in heated debates... [read more]

Dr Mohammad Al Assoumi, Special to Gulf News    Scientific developments in the field of solar energy emerged more than twenty years ago, leading to many questions about the future of the oil era and the emergence of a solar energy era. Views concerning oil exporting countries benefiting from the new solar energy and its relation to hydrocarbon energy varied. The answer came from Abu Dhabi,... [read more]

Source: Jordan Business   By: James Bennet   The UAE should introduce a population-wide green tax to combat its dramatically rising waste mountain, the head of the region's first recycling park has exclusively revealed to Arabian Business. Musaed Al-Saleh, vice chairman and CEO of the National Projects Holding Company (NPHC), told Arabian Business that in five years time Dubai would produce... [read more]

The majestic Nile River is among the world's most threatened 10 rivers according to a recent publication from the World Wide Fund (WWF).   The report, World's Top Rivers at Risk, released ahead of World Water Day (22 March), lists the top ten rivers that are fast dying as a result of climate change, pollution and dams. “All the rivers in the report symbolize the current freshwater crisis, which... [read more]

In the past few years the Jordanians, Palestinians and Israelis did not have much common thinking to invite any kind of normalization or cooperation in a political mode of tension and violence. However, a recent emerging threat has managed to unite them in a crusade to save their agricultural production system. This is a story from UN news center    April 2007 – United Nations agencies are helping... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times   By Hana Namrouqa   AMMAN —  The country will reduce the use of leaded petrol by 70 per cent this year, in preparation for a complete shift by the beginning of next year, Ministry of Environment officials said this week. The Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) will gradually increase the production of unleaded petrol and stop producing regular and super petrol... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times   By Linda Hindi AMMAN —  The Royal Botanic Garden, under development in the Tel Al Rumman area, will not only give Jordanians a beautiful place to visit but also serve as an inheritance gift for future generations. “Our aim through the establishment of the Royal Botanic Garden in Jordan is to make it a centre to enhance public education, scientific research, tourist... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times   By Mohammad Ben Hussein  AMMAN – The World Bank on Wednesday invited international companies to bid for a $15.5 million feasibility study to examine the environmental and social impacts of the Red-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project on the surrounding countries. “The overall objective of the study is to evaluate the conveyance of water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea... [read more]