(c) Zeina al-Hajj
The Ramlet al-Baida ("white sand") beech in Beirut, polluted by oil from the Jieh power plant that was hit by Israeli war planes in the summer of 2006.

Environmental protection

A teacher in the German School Beirut introduced me in 1977 to "green" thinking and behavior. Later, during my studies at Hamburg University, I was active in the anti-nuclear movement and took part in peaceful demonstrations against nuclear energy, including the Brockdorf plant in northern Germany.

After university, I became a journalist and correspondent for the German Press Agency (DPA), but environmental protection remained a "hobby". I then joined Greenpeace Germany and learnt there how to campaign, lobby, communicate and fundraise. Greenpeace was Rock'n Roll till 2004. Later, I lobbied for Friends of the Earth Europe in the capital of the European Union, Brussels.  

Check under "publications" papers, articles, interviews, reports and position papers on the following issues:

- the green movement in the 21st Century
- the environmental impact of the Israel-Hizbollah war in 2006
- impact of climate change on the Arab world and solutions
- EU environmental policies
- the impact of wars on the environment
- toxic waste imports to Lebanon
- waste management in the EU and Lebanon
- industrial pollution in Lebanon
- climate change
- genetically-modified organisms (GMOs)
- the impact of world trade on the environment
- asbestos