State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Agriculture21

  • Reduced U.S. Air Pollution Will Boost Rainfall in Africa’s Sahel, Says Study

    Reduced U.S. Air Pollution Will Boost Rainfall in Africa’s Sahel, Says Study

    If U.S. sulfur dioxide emissions are cut to zero by 2100, as some researchers have projected they will be, rainfall over Africa’s Sahel region could increase up to 10 percent from 2000 levels, computer simulations suggest.

  • Study: Overuse of Water Threatens Global Food Supply

    Study: Overuse of Water Threatens Global Food Supply

    In recent years, scientists have revealed that we are depleting our global groundwater reserves at an alarming rate. Now researchers have shown that a significant share of this unsustainable water use fuels the global food trade, which means water exhaustion in supplier nations could ripple outward, causing food crises half way across globe.

  • Forest-Friendly Development Can Bolster Peace in Colombia, Paper Says

    Forest-Friendly Development Can Bolster Peace in Colombia, Paper Says

    As Colombia rebuilds following last year’s historic peace deal with Marxist FARC rebels, it has an opening to advance sustainable land development, a new study contends.

  • Students Compete in Food Security Simulation

    Students Compete in Food Security Simulation

    How do multiple stakeholders compromise their competing needs and develop a global coordinated strategy that is politically palatable, possible and comprehensive enough to have an impact? Students from universities all over the U.S. Northeast gathered at Columbia for the 2017 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition that challenged students to do just this.

  • Trump’s Unifying Opportunity: Food Security

    Trump’s Unifying Opportunity: Food Security

    A sound strategy to secure the nation’s food supply and reduce its vulnerability within and beyond our borders will be a major step towards making America and the world more resilient in the face of increasing uncertainty.

  • The Risks and Impacts of Expropriating Community Lands

    The Risks and Impacts of Expropriating Community Lands

    While a government might consider that a community’s lands can generate greater public benefits if used as the site of a large-scale project, such as for agriculture or forestry, that needs to be balanced with how taking the land will affect the people who lived there and depended on that land.

  • Study Finds Oil Palm Certification Plays Limited Role in Curbing Fires

    Study Finds Oil Palm Certification Plays Limited Role in Curbing Fires

    Oil palm is in everything from food to cosmetics to fuel and is consumed and used by most people without giving it a second thought. Yet oil palm cultivation is a large contributor to environmental and social problems, especially in places like Indonesia, where the business of oil palm cultivation has become the second largest…

  • Earth Institute 2017 Calendar Now Available

    Earth Institute 2017 Calendar Now Available

    To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we asked members of the Earth Institute community to submit photographs for a 2017 wall calendar highlighting our work. Watch a slide show of some of the submissions. Donate $25 or more and we’ll send you the calendar.

  • Sustainable Development Fall 2016 Workshop Briefings

    By Chandler Precht On December 9, 2016, students in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development presented practical solutions to sustainability issues and challenges faced by real world clients. Under the guidance of Professor Stuart Gaffin and Professor Radley Horton, the Capstone Workshop offers students a chance to convey the knowledge and theories gained throughout their time in the…

Colorful banner with city: "MR 2025: Mobility, Adaptation, and Wellbeing in a Changing Climate."
  • Reduced U.S. Air Pollution Will Boost Rainfall in Africa’s Sahel, Says Study

    Reduced U.S. Air Pollution Will Boost Rainfall in Africa’s Sahel, Says Study

    If U.S. sulfur dioxide emissions are cut to zero by 2100, as some researchers have projected they will be, rainfall over Africa’s Sahel region could increase up to 10 percent from 2000 levels, computer simulations suggest.

  • Study: Overuse of Water Threatens Global Food Supply

    Study: Overuse of Water Threatens Global Food Supply

    In recent years, scientists have revealed that we are depleting our global groundwater reserves at an alarming rate. Now researchers have shown that a significant share of this unsustainable water use fuels the global food trade, which means water exhaustion in supplier nations could ripple outward, causing food crises half way across globe.

  • Forest-Friendly Development Can Bolster Peace in Colombia, Paper Says

    Forest-Friendly Development Can Bolster Peace in Colombia, Paper Says

    As Colombia rebuilds following last year’s historic peace deal with Marxist FARC rebels, it has an opening to advance sustainable land development, a new study contends.

  • Students Compete in Food Security Simulation

    Students Compete in Food Security Simulation

    How do multiple stakeholders compromise their competing needs and develop a global coordinated strategy that is politically palatable, possible and comprehensive enough to have an impact? Students from universities all over the U.S. Northeast gathered at Columbia for the 2017 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition that challenged students to do just this.

  • Trump’s Unifying Opportunity: Food Security

    Trump’s Unifying Opportunity: Food Security

    A sound strategy to secure the nation’s food supply and reduce its vulnerability within and beyond our borders will be a major step towards making America and the world more resilient in the face of increasing uncertainty.

  • The Risks and Impacts of Expropriating Community Lands

    The Risks and Impacts of Expropriating Community Lands

    While a government might consider that a community’s lands can generate greater public benefits if used as the site of a large-scale project, such as for agriculture or forestry, that needs to be balanced with how taking the land will affect the people who lived there and depended on that land.

  • Study Finds Oil Palm Certification Plays Limited Role in Curbing Fires

    Study Finds Oil Palm Certification Plays Limited Role in Curbing Fires

    Oil palm is in everything from food to cosmetics to fuel and is consumed and used by most people without giving it a second thought. Yet oil palm cultivation is a large contributor to environmental and social problems, especially in places like Indonesia, where the business of oil palm cultivation has become the second largest…

  • Earth Institute 2017 Calendar Now Available

    Earth Institute 2017 Calendar Now Available

    To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we asked members of the Earth Institute community to submit photographs for a 2017 wall calendar highlighting our work. Watch a slide show of some of the submissions. Donate $25 or more and we’ll send you the calendar.

  • Sustainable Development Fall 2016 Workshop Briefings

    By Chandler Precht On December 9, 2016, students in the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development presented practical solutions to sustainability issues and challenges faced by real world clients. Under the guidance of Professor Stuart Gaffin and Professor Radley Horton, the Capstone Workshop offers students a chance to convey the knowledge and theories gained throughout their time in the…