Jerusalem News (11 September 2015, 27 Elul 5775)
Contents:
1. The actions of ISIS and Turkey cover Israel and the Middle East with thick dust making breathing difficult!
2. Descendants of Europeans who Used to Mark Jews now vote to Mark Jewish Products!
European Parliament Votes 525 to 70 to Label Jewish Products from Territories
3. Is Iran Facing Ecological Disaster?
(a) Iran struggling with ecological problems By Sara Rajabova
(b) Ecological disaster looms in Iran's dying wetlands by Najmeh Bozorgmehr, Zabol
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1. ISIS and Turkey cover Israel and the Middle East with thick dust!
All of Israel for the last 2 days has been covered by a thick dust cloud, visibility is diminished , breathing difficult.
The cause suggests Professor Dani Rosenfeld:
is that on the Syrian -northern border farmers fleeing ISIS have been forced to abandon their fields. Also Turkey stopped allocating Euphrates water to the Syrian fields. This was followed by dessication (drying up of the ground), then the movement of vehicles and manpower etc over the area destroyed the topsoil veneer that usually keeps the dry soil in place.
Even the light Winds that followed were enough to blow the resulting dust all over the Middle East.
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2. Descendants of Europeans who Used to Mark Jews now vote to Mark Jewish Products!
European Parliament Votes 525 to 70 to Label Jewish Products from Territories
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/european-parliament-votes-525-to-70-to-label-jewish-products-from-territories/2015/09/10/
By:JNi.Media
Extracts:
(JNi.media) The European Parliament on Thursday supported labeling products made by Jews in Judea and Samaria, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights settlements. The vote was 525 in favor, 70 against, and 31 abstained.
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3. Is Iran Facing ecological Disaster?
(a) Iran struggling with ecological problems
http://www.azernews.az/analysis/71485.html
3 OCTOBER 2014, 10:09 (GMT+05:00)
By Sara Rajabova
Extracts:
At a time when the world is challenged by climate changes Iran is experiencing a range of drastic ecological and environmental problems that need to be urgently addressed.
The most troubling ecological problems in the country is the water crisis, air pollution, land degradation, and desertification. Finding a proper solution to Iran's ecological problems and prevention of the environmental disaster are as important as removing the international sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear energy program.
Along with the climate characteristics, the major reasons behind Iran's ecological problems are negligence towards these problems, mismanagement, usage of the low-quality equipment in the production and outdated methods in the agriculture and other fields.
Water scarcity and the air pollution are the most important problems that need to be addressed. Water resources are dwindling as Iran's major lakes, such as Lake Urmia and also small rivers have dried up and the groundwater levels have dropped. Air pollution has caused severe health problems and causes to the deaths of thousands of people annually.
Unless, decisive measures are taken, the ecological problems could turn into a greater disaster for the country in the near future.
Kamran Dadkhah, a professor of economics at U.S. Northeastern University told AzerNews that Iran is currently facing serious and damaging ecological and environmental problems.
"Air pollution in cities like Tehran has reached a dangerous level. Indeed, based on domestic and international data and reports, Iran ranks among the worst air polluted countries in the world. On the other hand, Iran has a shortage of water. Lakes and rivers have gone dry and there has been constant warning by government officials of impending water rationing," Dadkhah said.
He blamed the mismanagement of country's leadership for the ecological crisis in the country.
"In great part, this disastrous situation is the result of wrong policies adopted over the past 35 years. Although we should add that the drought in recent years has aggravated the water shortage," he said.
The expert noted that one reason for water shortage has been Iranian government's agricultural policies.
"From day one of the Islamic Republic, individuals who had no knowledge of economics or agriculture promoted the idea of 'self-sufficiency." After many years of false celebrations, Iran still imports grain and other basic food ingredients from abroad. But the policy combined with antiquated agricultural methods has resulted in excessive water consumption in agriculture and the drainage of ground water. Those who promoted "self-sufficiency" were the same people advocating the so-called Islamic economics," Dadkhah said.
Gary Lewis, the UN Resident Coordinator in Iran told Al-Monitor last year that domestic use of water resources in Iran is about 70 percent more than the global average. Lewis said official statistics show that there is only 30 percent water-use efficiency in agriculture, a sector which accounts for over 90 percent of water use in Iran.
One of the issues of concern is that the ecological problems in Iran could have negative impact on the country's economy. These problems could affect Iran's exports of agricultural products while the country intends to raise its export to the foreign countries.
Iran is determined to take Europe's place in Russian food market, after Moscow's ban on food imports from the European Union, United States, Norway, Canada and Australia.
(b) Ecological disaster looms in Iran's dying wetlands
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8c555072-ac6e-11e4-9d32-00144feab7de.html#slide0
Najmeh Bozorgmehr, Zabol
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Extracts:
State mismanagement, 15 years of drought and the building of dams in neighbouring Afghanistan are blamed for the disappearance of the waters, leaving the local population, who for generations lived on fishing, cattle breeding and hunting, with no source of income.
The dying wetland is just one sign of a growing water crisis in Iran that political leaders say is likely to become the country's biggest challenge in the future.
Over the past four decades the country's population has doubled to 78m while rainfall has declined 16 per cent. Annual rainfall is about 200mm, about a third of the global average, and 75 per cent of it falls on just 25 per cent of the country. Wasteful irrigation practices and the growth of industry in arid regions have added to the pressure on water resources.
The dried up wetlands are not only harming the local economy but are also creating dust storms and a choking haze in many parts of the country, contributing to respiratory disease, cancer and even depression.