Afghan farmers get “burned out” as government tows to US pressure. But for poppy farmers, it’s poppies or starvation. Wheat crops, or biofuel crops cannot compare in value. Molar (not his real name) is an Afghan farmer living in the central Hazzrajat Province of Afghanistan. His 60 hectare farm along the Helmand River has been […]
(Tal Ya Water technologies, featured at the Agritech expo in Tel Aviv next week, could provide the world’s best – possibly first – effective dew drop collector for watering crops.) Growing tomatoes and raising dairy cows in 113 degrees Fahrenheit is no easy feat, but over the last 30 years or so, Israeli agriculture technologies […]
It is illogical and immoral to dry up the urban parks, gardens and green areas, while exporting flowers grown with subsidized drinking water to Europe.
There is only one nation in the world that has a net gain of trees over the past 100 years. While other countries, developing and developed, have been actively harvesting and lobbing trees down in the name of progress, Israel’s national organization the KKL-JNF (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund) has made it a […]
It sounds like a fantasy of Audrey II, the colorful man-eating plant from the Little Shop of Horrors movie: Israeli scientists have developed a new device that taps into the stem of a tree and when water levels are low, the tree can text a message, email the farmer, or turn on the irrigation tap […]
Last week, Israeli company Netafim, a pioneer in drip irrigation technology, signed a $22 million deal to supply irrigation for a large-scale sugar cane project in Peru. In conjunction with Maple Energy, a Peruvian company that produces energy for industrial clients, the project will cultivate 20,000 acres of sugar cane for the creation of ethanol, […]
Imagine being able to place an entire farm, complete with crops and livestock, in the same space as is required for one of today’s modern urban skyscrapers. A Columbia University professor, Dickson Despommier, has been involved in such a project that could turn a 30 story glass faced building into a vertical agricultural enterprise capable […]
Last year’s Eco-Israel group on a trip to the North. Photo courtesy Naomi Katz. Although winter has come to Israel belatedly in the season’s heaviest rainfalls this weekend, the ecological farm Hava Ve’Adam outside of Modi’in is now accepting applications for the fall term of its Eco-Israel program. For the uninitiated, Eco-Israel is a chance to get […]
(Does this guy look worried about the frost? A smokin’ vegetable vendor in a Petach Tikva market, Israel. Credit anyalogic) While North Americans in the higher latitudes are sipping hot cocoa, and have Jack Frost nipping at their noses, farmers in the Middle East pray that the frost won’t come. Last year, sub-zero temperatures wiped […]
Vandana Shiva isn’t a writer to pull punches. By the twelfth page of 'Stolen Harvest' (2000), she announces a damning verdict on Western food production:
The chemical pesticides used in modern agriculture and in the home are poisoning our planets’ animal life, waterways and ecosystems. They enter our bodies, and can even affect unborn children. Helping humanity break from this nasty cycle of destruction is an Israeli company, BotanoCap. The company envisions a future where organic produce will be the […]
We’ve already written about Israel’s eco tourism industry and even about new eco study abroad options in Israel for overseas college students who want to make their positive green mark here. And for the tourists Israelis who want to explore their home in an environmentally friendly way, or bring green living to their everyday lives? […]
Green Prophet loves to find potential everywhere – so how about desert seawater greenhouse construction in Qatar? They are also doing this in Abu Dhabi. What exactly is a desert seawater greenhouse, you might ask? According to the Seawater Greenhouse website: “Seawater Greenhouse is a unique concept which combines natural processes, simple construction techniques and […]
We’ve seen that environmentally conscious tourism is becoming more than a buzz word, what with government initiatives stepping in, and the various alternatives in eco-tourism that Israel now offers–including Kazakh yurts! Australian-born tour guide Zel Lederman customizes personal tours for groups and families with Israel Travel Company: Israel Off the Beaten Track, including tours with […]
Ernst & Young has announced Clean Tech investment is at record levels as a new investment fund is looking to focus on Israel’s clean tech. International accounting firm Ernst & Young estimates fully 11% of global venture capital funding will go to clean technology in 2008, up from just 1.6% of VC investments five years […]