A new irrigation product by Israeli company Tal-Ya is the best kind of design—unobtrusive, perfectly functional, and wonderfully simple. Tal-Ya’s plastic trays are placed atop nascent plants or trees, collecting dew and condensation in their grooves and funneling them directly to the seedlings below. The trays also serve additional functions by virtue of their very form: blocking sunlight from the plant’s immediate radius—preventing the growth of weeds— and protecting plants from frost damage.

The environmental benefit of the trays should be substantial when implemented on a large scale: they are fabricated from recycled plastic and are themselves fully recyclable, their weed-prevention [...]

For many people, this years economic woes have caused would-be vacationers to seek out alternative retreats. However, for those in New York City, this Sunday the Israeli Ministry of Tourism in cooperation with the Tel Aviv Yafo Centennial Administration and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be bringing Israel to New York by turning the area of Central Park near the Naumberg Bandshell into an artificial Tel Aviv beachfront, complete with a 1,300 square foot sand section featuring chairs and parasols- allowing visitors to soak up a faux-authentic Mediterranean tan.
In addition to live music and entertainment, visitors will be [...]