Agriculture32
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Singing the Blues About Water Scarcity
Otis Redding sang “you don’t miss your water ’til your well runs dry” in 1965 about pining for a lost love. Last week, Climate and Society founder and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientist Mark Cane reprised it with a much different, more literal focus: water scarcity in the 21st century.
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Phosphorus: Essential to Life—Are We Running Out?
Phosphorus is essential to human health and vital for food production. But are we using up phosphorus faster than we can economically extract it?
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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.”
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IRI to develop climate adaptation tools to help farmers in South and Southeast Asia
A new two-year climate change initiative, led by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society aims to help farmers in Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Bangladesh reduce their vulnerability to climate risks.
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Putting Sustainability into Practice- EcoPracticum
Interdisciplinary collaboration, rather than polarized efforts, are needed to promote environmental sustainability.
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Tensiometers in Punjab
So far, tensiometers have been tested in four central districts of Punjab, initially with more than 500 farmers the first year, and then peaking with an additional 4,500 farmers in 2011 before testing was scaled back. Data showed, on average, a 30 percent reduction in the water used in the test plots when compared with…
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Urban Agriculture and the Damage From Storm Sandy
Urban agriculture faces unique growing challenges due to the peculiarities of farming in a densely built environment. Storm Sandy highlighted additional challenges New York City farmers and gardeners must face as a result of increasingly extreme weather.
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Achieving Sustainable Water, Energy and Agriculture in Gujarat, India
Watch a video about the Columbia Water Center’s project to address a looming water crisis in north Gujarat, India.
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Extraordinary Support for Sustainable Development
Visit the interactive digital Earth Institute 2012 Annual Donor Report to see some of the remarkable projects, initiatives and achievements that have been made possible through the support and advocacy of donors, students, faculty and staff in fiscal year 2012.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More
