(Christian Science Monitor) Christa Case Bryant - At Ein Yahav in Israel's Arava desert, they grew roses when others said it was impossible. They created naturally air-conditioned greenhouses by setting up "wet curtains" - honeycombed walls that allowed water to seep through slowly. They planted flowers in trenches of volcanic ash instead of the sandy soil. Later they switched to dates and peppers. Today the former moonscape has become an agricultural Eden, with rows of greenhouses This narrow strip of land along the Jordanian border produces 65% of Israel's vegetable exports. Driven by a combination of necessity and inventiveness, Israel has become one of the world's leaders in how to wring the most out of parsimonious amounts of rainfall and turn a parched landscape into a productive garden. The Israelis are turning seawater into tap water, pioneering new types of irrigation, and reusing wastewater at the highest rate of any country in the world.
2015-07-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive