Environment

A new cheaper method for producing drinking water from sea water has been unveiled in Israel. IDE Technologies' transportable desalination system uses traditional reverse osmosis technology but without the need for chemicals.

Israel's national water company signed a financing agreement to build a desalination plant, which officials said could allow drought-ridden Israel to export water to its neighbors upon completion in 2013.

Solar cells that use inorganic nanocrystals or "quantum dots" could be a cheaper alternative, but they are generally less efficient at turning solar energy into electricity. Technion researchers have now found a new way to generate an electrical field inside quantum dots, making them more suitable for building an energy-efficient solar cell.

Israeli startup GRPL discovered a way to utilize sludge and turn it into electricity. This innovative process will save money and will significantly help clean up the environment.

The company Bio[pack] has developed innovative packaging for food products that keeps the bugs out by giving them a taste of nature. They use naturally-occurring bug repellents in fruits, vegetables, grains and spices.

Environmental scientists are planting hardy trees in the Arava Desert, an non-fertile area, in order to improve air quality and provide renewable fuels. The team is hopeful that the project will not only help reduce humanity's carbon footprint but will also demonstrate how countries can establish a local plant species on land thought unusable.

Israeli start-up Sol-Chip develops disposable, solar-powered batteries designed for specific products and are being integrated as part of the device. It's a green, low-cost solution that takes the burden off managers, and puts it on the sun, which is “responsible” for powering and recharging the batteries that make these devices work.

Israeli researchers have developed, during a 48-hour competition, a technology that will warn in "real time" about drastic weather and floods, using text messages and social network scans.

New computer software developed by Israeli researchers will help improve and test the impact of parking policies before being implemented on the roads. The computer stimulator, 'Parkagent,' will aid in overcoming parking complications and offer a more proficient way to park.

In a new innovative process, Israeli engineers have come up with a way to reduce harmful substances found in factories' waste, and yet keep it at a low cost.

Caesarea-based wastewater treatment company Emefcy was named Early Stage Company of the Year and selected to the Global Cleantech 100 list for the second year in a row at the Global Cleantech 100 Summit and Gala held in Washington, DC, on Monday and Tuesday, the company announced at the conference’s conclusion.

An Israeli company is helping African countries become self-sufficient by teaching them agricultural techniques they say can significantly increase food production. Africa is a very rich continent with extremely poor people and we want to help change it by developing the rural areas," Green 2000 told NoCamels.

An Israeli film depicting the advantages of using barn owls and kestrels in place of pesticides won first prize in an international film competition that concluded on Friday. The movie, less than 11 minutes long, examines the benefits of natural pest control - the barn owl and kestrel raptor.

Is it time to change the name of the Dead Sea? Two parallel studies carried out in the Dead Sea brought unexpected findings: Fresh water springs were found at the bottom of the sea as well as new micro-organisms.

Eighty-two ex-militants from the Niger Delta area in Nigeria departed for Israel and the Philippines under the Post Amnesty Reintegration Program for vocational training in agriculture, pipeline and under-water welding. The Nigerian government is hoping the participants will return to Nigeria with much-needed expertise.