Author: David Funkhouser11

I’m a writer and former content manager and science writer for the Earth Institute and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. I worked for 35 years at newspapers around New England, including The MetroWest News in Framingham, Mass.; The New Haven Register and The Hartford Courant in Connecticut. Visit website »

Getting Beyond the Climate Change Echo Chamber

Columbia’s Sustainability Media Lab will present a panel discussion Nov. 20 on the current state of climate communications. Climate communicators from a diverse range of organizations will share their insights on how to push this critical issue into the mainstream.
What Comes After 2015? The Next Set of Goals

“The gains in fighting poverty, and indeed generations of economic gains, are at serious threat of reversal unless deep structural crises of rising social inequality and rapid environmental degradation are finally addressed.”
Riding for Climate with Mom and Mr. Shark

Katy Mixter will ride with “Mr. Shark” on her handlebars, the result of a $75 donation from her boss. Pamela Quinlan is joining the 300-mile Climate Ride to mark her 30th birthday. Jennifer Hurford will ride beside her mother.
In Courts, Not Much Debate Over Climate Science

When it comes to climate science, state and federal courts have found little to argue with, according to a New York Law Journal article written by Michael B. Gerrard, director of the Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law.
Tides Play a Role in Triggering Undersea Earthquakes

Can shifting tides trigger earthquakes? Research done by Maya Tolstoy, a geophysicist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, suggests they do.
‘Chasing Ice’: Watching History Unfold, and Disappear

Near the end of “Chasing Ice,” a hunk of glacier the size of lower Manhattan explodes, rolls and crashes into the sea. If that sounds like a spoiler, well, go see the movie and you’ll know you would have known it was coming anyway. And the beauty of the movie is that it will still…
Human Geography, Volcanoes, Microgrids and More…

Interested in Human geography, undersea volcanoes, microgrids, climate change and melting ice sheets, technology and sustainability? The coming week’s lineup of Earth Institute events has you covered.
Water Security: Finding Solutions for a World at Risk

“This is a mess, and it is a mess that we have not attended to yet,” Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs said at a conference on water security held today at Columbia University. “Humanity is the driver, but we don’t have our hands on the steering wheel very much.”
Keeping Track: the State of the Planet

Watch highlights of last October’s “State of the Planet” summit, which brought experts together to discuss the challenges of sustainable development, climate change and the environment, as well as some of the solutions.

Getting Beyond the Climate Change Echo Chamber

Columbia’s Sustainability Media Lab will present a panel discussion Nov. 20 on the current state of climate communications. Climate communicators from a diverse range of organizations will share their insights on how to push this critical issue into the mainstream.
What Comes After 2015? The Next Set of Goals

“The gains in fighting poverty, and indeed generations of economic gains, are at serious threat of reversal unless deep structural crises of rising social inequality and rapid environmental degradation are finally addressed.”
Riding for Climate with Mom and Mr. Shark

Katy Mixter will ride with “Mr. Shark” on her handlebars, the result of a $75 donation from her boss. Pamela Quinlan is joining the 300-mile Climate Ride to mark her 30th birthday. Jennifer Hurford will ride beside her mother.
In Courts, Not Much Debate Over Climate Science

When it comes to climate science, state and federal courts have found little to argue with, according to a New York Law Journal article written by Michael B. Gerrard, director of the Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law.
Tides Play a Role in Triggering Undersea Earthquakes

Can shifting tides trigger earthquakes? Research done by Maya Tolstoy, a geophysicist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, suggests they do.
‘Chasing Ice’: Watching History Unfold, and Disappear

Near the end of “Chasing Ice,” a hunk of glacier the size of lower Manhattan explodes, rolls and crashes into the sea. If that sounds like a spoiler, well, go see the movie and you’ll know you would have known it was coming anyway. And the beauty of the movie is that it will still…
Human Geography, Volcanoes, Microgrids and More…

Interested in Human geography, undersea volcanoes, microgrids, climate change and melting ice sheets, technology and sustainability? The coming week’s lineup of Earth Institute events has you covered.
Water Security: Finding Solutions for a World at Risk

“This is a mess, and it is a mess that we have not attended to yet,” Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs said at a conference on water security held today at Columbia University. “Humanity is the driver, but we don’t have our hands on the steering wheel very much.”
Keeping Track: the State of the Planet

Watch highlights of last October’s “State of the Planet” summit, which brought experts together to discuss the challenges of sustainable development, climate change and the environment, as well as some of the solutions.