Israel Archives - State of the Planet

In Biblical Land, Searching for Droughts Past and Future

Human-influenced climate warming has already reduced rainfall and increased evaporation in the Mideast, worsening water shortages. Up to now, climate scientists had projected that rainfall could decline another 20 percent by 2100. But the Dead Sea cores suggest that things could become much worse, much faster.

by |October 31, 2017

Photo Essay: The Dead Sea, Living Waters and Megadrought

Thousands of years before Biblical times, during a period when temperatures were unusually high, the lands around the Dead Sea now occupied by Israel, Jordan and surrounding nations suffered megadroughts far worse than any recorded by humans. Warming climate now threatens to return such conditions to this already hard-pressed region.

by |October 31, 2017

Natural Parks as a Form of Oppression?

Natural parks are good for people and the environment. However, what if they came at a cost such as taking someone’s land without permission? Would it be worth it?

by |September 11, 2017

The Power of the Common Person: Can They Do What Governments Can’t?

Traveling to Jordan and Israel, I expected to eat great food, see great sites, and learn more about one of the most significant conflicts in the world. But I did not expect to learn about the power that individuals can have in resolving a crisis.

by |August 31, 2017
Qasr Al Yehud Jordan River Baptismal Site

Nature Has No Boundaries

Rivers, deserts, and species don’t stop at borders or fences. They are not participating in the conflict in the Middle East, but they are affected by it.

by |August 30, 2017

Environmental Peace-Building in the Middle East

The next part of our tour provided an excellent example of the challenges people working toward environmental peace-building in Israel, Jordan and Palestine face: a site that we were unable to visit.

by |June 24, 2016

Dead Pool: the Depletion of a Shared Natural Resource

The Dead Sea could soon enough become a dead “pool” of sea. But perhaps there’s another alternative.

by |June 23, 2016

Land and Conflict in East Jerusalem: the Role of Urban Planning

Without an urban civil culture, it is impossible to promote political and economic participation, and a non-unified Jerusalem will remain.

by |June 22, 2016

Crossing Boundaries for the Environment

It is not the concept of a borderless nature that should serve as a model to facilitate cross-border dialogue and cooperation. Rather, it is that nature’s systems are interconnected and their borders are open to exchange.

by |June 21, 2016

In an Environmental and Political Conflict Zone, Hope for Peace

The Middle East is the only place on earth where the neighbors are so close and so far at the same time.

by |June 14, 2016