Author: Benjamin Preston3

Benjamin Preston was a communications intern for the Columbia Water Center. A graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, he also serves as an editorial intern at OnEarth Magazine. Before coming to New York, he covered water resource issues as a staff reporter, first for the Santa Barbara Independent and then Noozhawk.com — both are Santa Barbara, Calif.-based local news publications. He has also had work published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Miller-McCune Magazine, the Brooklyn Eagle, and the now-defunct Terrain Magazine, among others.

British Royals’ Green Wedding

The Royal wedding used up a lot of resources, but Will and Kate did their best to keep it green.
Paulie, Jimmy and Vinny on NYC’s Water Future

New York City’s trio of water and sewer czars, explain the reasons behind rising rates.
Pennsylvania’s Gasland Spill

Pennsylvania well spills tens of thousands of gallons of fracking fluid into a nearby creek; Gasland director Josh Fox talks to Columbia University about renewable energy.
Southern Louisiana’s Vanishing Act

Louisiana’s wetlands — the largest system in the United States — are shrinking at an alarming rate.
Growing Up: Water Efficiency and Sunless Farming

As Earth’s population continues to grow and a dynamic global climate shifts our expectations of where and when food can be grown, scientists are trying to find new ways to get more from less.
Fracking Panel Comes to NYC

In an effort to present various views on hydraulic fracturing, a panel of experts spoke to the public at Barnard College in New York City last Tuesday night. Known colloquially as fracking or hydrofracking, hydraulic fracturing has been regarded by many as a potential threat to New York City’s drinking water supply. The mere possibility…
Of Earthquakes and Nuclear Reactors

As Japan’s nuclear meltdown catastrophe continues in the wake of the March 11 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, Japanese power company executives and officials face an increasingly challenging situation. Tuesday morning, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) — the company operating the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant — dumped more than 11,000 gallons of radioactive seawater into…
Colonel Qaddafi and the Great Man-made River

Behind the political impetus at work determining the fate of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi and the future of Libya lurks another issue: water.
Fracking: What Lies Beneath?

Disclaimer: Although this blog post has been researched like any other news piece I would write, it represents my personal perspective about natural gas drilling. For a journalist, it feels strange to begin with a disclaimer, but that’s what I’ll do here. The reason is simple: This blog post is skewed. Why? because, if the…

British Royals’ Green Wedding

The Royal wedding used up a lot of resources, but Will and Kate did their best to keep it green.
Paulie, Jimmy and Vinny on NYC’s Water Future

New York City’s trio of water and sewer czars, explain the reasons behind rising rates.
Pennsylvania’s Gasland Spill

Pennsylvania well spills tens of thousands of gallons of fracking fluid into a nearby creek; Gasland director Josh Fox talks to Columbia University about renewable energy.
Southern Louisiana’s Vanishing Act

Louisiana’s wetlands — the largest system in the United States — are shrinking at an alarming rate.
Growing Up: Water Efficiency and Sunless Farming

As Earth’s population continues to grow and a dynamic global climate shifts our expectations of where and when food can be grown, scientists are trying to find new ways to get more from less.
Fracking Panel Comes to NYC

In an effort to present various views on hydraulic fracturing, a panel of experts spoke to the public at Barnard College in New York City last Tuesday night. Known colloquially as fracking or hydrofracking, hydraulic fracturing has been regarded by many as a potential threat to New York City’s drinking water supply. The mere possibility…
Of Earthquakes and Nuclear Reactors

As Japan’s nuclear meltdown catastrophe continues in the wake of the March 11 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, Japanese power company executives and officials face an increasingly challenging situation. Tuesday morning, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) — the company operating the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant — dumped more than 11,000 gallons of radioactive seawater into…
Colonel Qaddafi and the Great Man-made River

Behind the political impetus at work determining the fate of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi and the future of Libya lurks another issue: water.
Fracking: What Lies Beneath?

Disclaimer: Although this blog post has been researched like any other news piece I would write, it represents my personal perspective about natural gas drilling. For a journalist, it feels strange to begin with a disclaimer, but that’s what I’ll do here. The reason is simple: This blog post is skewed. Why? because, if the…