Chinese Delegation Tours Negev Agriculture and Forestry

By KKL-JNF for Jpost

A delegation from China visiting Israel toured the Negev with KKL-JNF personnel to learn from KKL-JNF's experience in agriculture in arid regions, combating desertification and soil and water technology.

On their tour in Israel, the Chinese delegation got acquainted with KKL-JNF's diverse projects in these fields and encountered landscapes and people all over the country.

 “I have no doubt that we can learn a lot from Israeli know-how,” said Mr. Wang Shuwen, the head of delegation and the Deputy Secretary General of the Society of Entrepreneurs & Ecology (SEE).

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Israeli Solar Warms Up

The country has embraced technological innovation—except in renewable energy. Is that finally changing?

By Daniel Gross for Slate

In late July, workers flipped the switch on a large-scale solar field—a 40-megawatt plant covering 134 acres. They hooked it up to the grid in the desert and began delivering emission-free power. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about this event. Given the rampant growth of solar around the world, this kind of thing happens almost daily, and large solar arrays can now be planned and built in a matter of months.

But this one took six years to come to fruition. And its location is unique. The field, a joint venture of Arava Power and a subsidiary of Électricité de France, is the first utility-scale solar plant to be built in Israel.

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Champions of Change: People of Faith Acting on Climate, Honored by White House

Posted by Angela Barranco on July 22, 2015 - whitehouse.gov/blog

On Monday, I was pleased to be able to welcome twelve people of faith as they were honored as White House “Champions of Change” for their efforts in protecting our environment and communities from the effects of climate change. These Champions have demonstrated clear leadership across the United States and around the world through their grassroots efforts to green their communities and educate others on the moral and social justice implications of climate change.

The Champions shared personal reflections on their efforts in advance of the event:

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Israeli Startup Breeds Protein-Rich Edible Insects To End World Hunger

By Luke Tress, The Times of Israel, on nocamels.com

Millions of people suffer from lack of protein, which is especially dangerous for children – and with the world population set to grow significantly in the coming years, mankind needs more, and cheaper, sources of protein.

Problem solved, believes Dror Tamir. According to Tamir, his company can provide a healthy, cheap alternative source of protein to the millions of children who lack other sources. His plan, he believes, will improve their health, give their families food security and jobs, and help the environment. How? With bugs. “We are growing edible insects for humans,” Tamir said.

His company, Steak TzarTzar – the word means cricket — which he founded with Ben Friedman and Chanan Aviv, aims to be the first to farm edible insects, using high-tech methods to quickly grow them in an organized manner, under sanitary conditions.

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Thank This Jew For Inventing Drip Irrigation

By Abby Sher for Jewniverse

On these hottest days of summer – especially when parts of our country are rationing water – we should thank late Israeli engineer Simcha Blass for helping farmers figure out how to best harness the water they do have.

Blass revolutionized drip irrigation in the early 1930’s, pretty haphazardly. As the story goes, Blass saw a big tree growing seemingly without water. When he dug into the soil, he found an onion-shaped pocket of underground water feeding the tree’s roots. Each drop of water was being stored and sucked out as needed.

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