Natural Disasters60
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17th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference
“We have in the world today two dangerously different views of the future,” the view of natural scientists and the view of economists, says Lester Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute and a keynote speaker at the 17th annual International Sustainable Development Conference.
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Rising Seas Pushing Island Nations to the Brink
Rising sea levels caused by global warming could displace millions of people worldwide who are living on low-lying coastlines, and it may prove fatal to some small island nations. At a conference at Columbia Law School, legal experts explored the implications for the people whose homelands could become uninhabitable within a matter of decades.
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The Confounding Economics of Natural Disaster Shocks
Something seems to be amiss with the way standard economics views the outcomes of natural disasters. This post i placed in OECD Insights and in Earth Magazine discusses some of the puzzles posed by the interaction between extreme events and different societies.
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Ohio and Mississippi River Floods in Photos
Heavy rains over the American South and Midwest have deluged the region, causing unprecedented flood damage. View photos of the event from around the web.
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How to reduce weather risk (and make a little green)
People understand that weather can affect certain markets — especially energy prices and other commodities — but its impact on portfolios more broadly might surprise. Just last week, a new study was released that estimated $485 billion of annual weather-related economic impact in the United States alone. Another calculated the effect at nearly 10 times that amount…
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Professor Jeffrey Sachs Extends Term as Director of the Earth Institute
The Earth Institute, Columbia University announced that Professor Jeffrey Sachs has agreed to extend his term as its director. Since his tenure began in 2002, Sachs has led the Earth Institute to become a leading scientific authority on sustainable development while simultaneously expanding its reach worldwide. Through his guidance, the Earth Institute and its scientists…
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Can Big Earthquakes Disrupt World Weather?
The recent earthquake in Japan shifted the earth’s axis by half a foot. You may be wondering if that’s enough to change earth’s weather. No, not really, says Jerry McManus, a climate scientist at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Earthquakes unleash a tremendous amount of energy, but not enough to upset the energy balance of earth’s…
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“You are Misinformed”–Planning for Flood Regime Change
Lately a lot of people are wondering just how helpful the 100-year flood benchmark really is, as places seem to be getting hit by 100-year floods all the time.
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Southern Louisiana’s Vanishing Act
Louisiana’s wetlands — the largest system in the United States — are shrinking at an alarming rate.
By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings“
