Thursday, May 27, 2010

Sustainable agriculture is big business and What's on the roof?

This blog focuses on the phenomenon of solar panels to heat water in Israel and the increasing interest from venture capital firms in sustainable argiculture...

Its nice to see Israel get some credit worldwide for its technological innovations, let alone environmentally friendly ones as well. This interesting article points out how South Africa can adopt Israel's use of solar panel technology to heat water to save on energy costs. The "dud" or solar panel driven water heaters is becoming something of an iconic image for Israel. Almost every building is littered with solar panels and water tanks on the roof, and its a source of pride for the country.


The state of almost every roof in Israel

How can Israel help export the adoption of solar panel heated water heaters elsewhere in the world, especially places that are not connected to electricity grids or are not sufficiently connected to the grid? Its a project LeadEarth can potentially invest in the Sadhanna Forest location in Tamil Nadu, India.

“Sustainable agriculture is a space that looks as big or bigger than clean tech"

That's quite a statement, yet that's what one venture capitalist thinks and many are starting to take notice. The New York Times profiled one such venture that is is linking those in the sustainable agriculture field to venture capitalists. NewSeed Advisors is scouring the market trying to help those with ideas for products to advance sustainable agriculture find the funding they need.

Israel is actually a pioneeer in sustainable agriculture technologies with companies such as Netafim creating some of the first irrigation systems and fertilizer propogration systems that enable proper irrigation and enable the farmer to save water in the process. These technologies, that are relatively inexpensive, can have a huge impact on developing world farmers and agriculture. Another thing for the LeadEarth participants to think about when they build their projects.

A Netafim irrigation tube helps this vineyard properly get water and save water at the same time


Finally, remember check out the new Masa LeadEarth website!
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