Growing Trees in the desert, with the aid of " Waterboxx "

Photo : groasis.com

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Pieter Hoff used to export lilies and tulips from the Netherlands. He retired from the flower export business seven years ago. Now, he is trying to help people grow trees and plants in the desert -- and save water.
In many places, much of the freshwater supply is used for irrigation. Yet most of that water may be lost through evaporation into the air. So Pieter Hoff has invented a simple plastic device called the Groasis Waterboxx. He says he got the idea from nature.

PIETER HOFF: "If you look at nature, and I give an example in your own country, if you look to the Rocky Mountains of the Sierra Nevada, you find trees all over the mountains. So trees are actually able to grow on rocks. They have very strong roots."
Mr. Hoff says the trick is that nature does not dig a hole like we humans do to plant seeds. Nature plants the seeds through birds or animals on top of the soil. Their waste then acts as a cover. It prevents the humidity in the soil from evaporating.

Trio shares Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Scientists Imitate Life, Melding Carbon Atoms for Uses From Cutting-Edge Drugs to Electronics

more in Health »

By GAUTAM NAIK

United Press International

Nobel winner Ei-ichi Negishi.

The Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to a trio of scientists who came up with an elegant way to mesh together stubborn carbon atoms, an approach vital for the development of novel medicines, materials and electronics.

Trying Move & Stop

I want to make a picture move & stop if I point to it & move and so on