201121
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Wondrous Wildlife of The Week – The Pebble Toad
Organisms in the natural world are constantly striving to avoid predation. Some prey depend on morphological characters to outsmart a worthy predator, utilizing camouflage or mimicry to avoid detection; others must engage in battle, relying on agility or strength. The Venezuela pebble toad, however, has an extremely peculiar defense mechanism: it rolls itself into the…
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Crossing Sectors, Growing Economies
Coordinating the resources of academia, government, non-profits and the private sector can promote industrial innovation and create jobs; it also can improve education, limit the spread of diseases and increase access to food.
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Critter Corner: News Roundup on Biodiversity – Week of 9/5
Read more about White Nose Syndrome Bats, Hen Sex Strategy, Circadian Clocks in Blind Fish, The Discovery of an Ancient Woolly Rhino, a New Shark Species in this week’s edition of The Critter Corner.
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Apply for *NEW* Executive Course in Energy and Sustainability
Learn more about CERC’s new course, Energy and Sustainability, which examines the evolution of issues, attitudes, and policies surrounding energy production and use through time, and its relationship to sustainable living.
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Western Water Woes – Is Big Infrastructure the Way to Go?
Guest Blog by Michael Clark Pat Mulroy, the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, spoke on July 20 at a US Chamber of Commerce conference, as part of its Invest in Water Initiative, and proposed a bold idea: build a pipeline to divert Mississippi River flood waters to the West. This, she said,…
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Population Map Shows How Close Irene Came to Being Even Bigger Disaster
A stark picture of how close Hurricane Irene came to being an even more serious disaster than it was emerges by overlaying a map of the storm track with a population distribution map. What made the storm as bad as it was had a lot to do with the fact that its trajectory took it…
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Climate News Roundup: Week of 8/28
Seeing Irene as Harbinger of Change in Climate, New York Times, Aug. 27 As the East Coast recovers from the impacts of Hurricane Irene, the storm has revived a debate on the impacts of human-induced climate change on the strength and frequency of hurricanes. While there is widespread consensus that a warmer world will lead…
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Insuring Against Drought
Research economist Dan Osgood discusses index insurance and how it is helping some poor rural communities reduce hardships caused by drought in East Africa.
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Humans Shaped Stone Axes 1.8 Million Years Ago, Study Says
Evidence Pushes Advanced Tool-Making Methods Back in Time
October 28, 2026 is Columbia Giving Day! Your gift to Columbia Climate School helps advance interdisciplinary research, educate the next generation of leaders, and transform bold ideas into real-world solutions for climate, Earth, and society.
