September 20092
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Water Reflections: Crisis of water supplies in New Delhi, India
Written in collaboration with Meghna Bhattacharjee. Failed monsoon rains put a cloud over the Columbia Water Center’s journey to India this summer. Soaring temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius with 100% humidity made for a hazy sweltering experience which begged for some precipitous relief. As we traveled around New Delhi from air-conditioned cars to air-conditioned rooms,…
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Klaus S. Lackner – Director of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy
To address the exponential rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations since the Industrial Revolution, Professor Klaus S. Lackner, director of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy at the Earth Institute, is working on ambitious carbon capture and sequestration strategies. “Our goal is to take a process that takes 100,000 years and compress it into 30…
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Climate News Roundup – Week of 9/12
Schwarzenegger Boosts Clean Energy Plan, Reuters Governor Schwarzenegger issues executive order S-21-09, directing the California Air Resources Board to adopt regulations that would increase California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to 33% of its power from renewable resources by 2020. Although the 33% standard was first established last year, S-21-09 aims to streamline the regulatory process and…
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Visit to Millennium Villages in Mali and Senegal
Thursday, June 25, 2008, six intrepid Earth Institute supporters – Joy Tartar of the Lenfest Foundation and her husband George Hall, Nancy Best, Diane Troderman and Harold Grinspoon, and Bonnie Potter – joined Earth Institute Funding Initiatives staff and 200 project staff for the third annual Millennium Villages retreat in Bamako, Mali. The group participated…
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Ruth DeFries – Denning Professor of Sustainable Development; Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology
What can satellite imagery tell us about the impact of humanity’s transformation of the landscape on climate and ecosystems? A lot, according to Ruth DeFries, ecosystems expert, Denning Professor of Sustainable Development, and professor of ecology, evolution, and environmental biology at Columbia University and the Earth Institute’s Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC). DeFries…
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Water/commodity series (4)Corn feed consumption: China, US, and India
Among various uses of corn, the three major uses—food, animal feed, and biofuel production—compete in demand. Here we analyzed the percentage of corn for animal feed compared to total domestic consumption of corn (including feed, food, seed, and industrial uses) in US, China, and India.
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Water/commodity series (3)Wheat import/export
We found top three importers and exporters of wheat in 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2008.
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Water/commodity series (2)Per capita wheat production: China, US, and India
Using wheat production and population data for China, US, and India since 1960, we analyzed per capita wheat production. Because per capita wheat consumption is fairly stable over time (though it can change a little bit by changing lifestyle, diet, economic status, etc), from per capita wheat production, it can be shown whether a country…
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Water/commodity series (1)Wheat yield: China,US, and India
China shows the biggest improvement in yield over last 50 years; it improved almost by six times, while United States only doubled and India tripled. Although China and India showed very similar yield level in 1960s, China started to take off around early 1970. United States shows a relatively little change in yield and China…
AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More