Agriculture47
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At AGU, Earth Institute’s Columbia Water Center Adds to the Abundance of Scientific Riches
The annual American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting is an all-you-can-eat buffet of the most current scientific knowledge available on the planet. Name your pleasure: space, climate change, geomagnetism, nonlinear geophysics, volcanology, biogeosciences, etc. You have to be careful to indulge in moderation over the five-day event, or risk unseemly bloating. The Columbia Water Center contributed…
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Finding Sustainable Solutions As Water Crisis in India’s Food Bowl Grows
The rapidly declining groundwater table in Punjab–one of the most agriculturally productive states and the heart of green revolution belt in northern India–is a disturbing trend.
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The Columbia Water Center’s New Projects Section
The Columbia Water Center is pleased to announce the release of a greatly expanded and updated research projects section of its website. The new section includes an interactive map along with updated content on the Water Center’s projects around the world. Find out about our how we’re helping farmers save water with tensiometers in India,…
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India’s Water Is Running Out
India is running “the largest water-mining project in the world”–and it cannot be sustained much longer, Columbia Water Center researcher Shama Perveen told an audience on Monday. That is mainly because farmers, who depend heavily on irrigation water drawn from underground aquifers, are using far more water than rainfall can replenish. Perveen’s talk, “Quantifying the…
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Parched for Peace: The Fertile Crescent Might Be Barren
This past October, the Levant Desalination Association and Nosstia, an organization of expat Syrian scientists, arranged a conference in the capital city of Damascus to discuss Syria’s water crisis.
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California’s Water Rights Controversy: Should Farmers Be Allowed to Transfer Water to Developers?
Farmers in San Joaquin Valley, California have recently come under scrutiny for proposing to sell their water rights to developers. The selling of water rights remains a controversial issue especially as industry and home development compete with farmers for limited water supplies.
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COP16 event on Climate Services & Disaster Risk
December 3: COP16 event in Cancún on Climate Services and Disaster Risk Management.
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Strengthening U.S.-India Agricultural Research
Earlier this month, U.S. President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a new era of collaboration on agricultural research in the face of climate change.
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Direct Seeding of Rice – A Simple Solution to India’s Water Crisis?
In traditional rice cultivation, rice is sprouted in a nursery; sprouted seedlings are then transplanted into standing water. With direct seeding, rice seed is sown and sprouted directly into the field, eliminating the laborious process of planting seedlings by hand and greatly reducing the crop’s water requirements.
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“
