Summary

Chapter 4, "Father of Invention," begins by describing the problems experienced by the Pitztal Valley of Austria, where ski resorts are suffering from lack of snow as the glaciers that feed them continue to melt. Like many such areas, Pitztal is resorting to snow-making technology. The irony in that situation is that its $2 million device, which is capable of shooting out 35,000 cubic feet of snow every 24 hours all year long, is made by the desert country of Israel. The author describes meeting with Avraham Ophir, an Israeli who is technology chief of IDE, the company that makes the machinery. He recalls hearing Ophir's story of how his father developed technology for desalinating water while in a Russian gulag during World War II. That was the beginning of IDE. The company has now translated its knowledge into making equipment that supplies snow to...