State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Agriculture48

  • Scaling Up The Right Nutrition Solutions In Emergencies…But Is There Enough?

    Scaling Up The Right Nutrition Solutions In Emergencies…But Is There Enough?

    Ready-to-use supplementary foods (RUSF), fortified with necessary micro- and macronutrients, are central in WFP’s nutrition response in Pakistan– with upwards of 850,000 households receiving these life-saving foods over the coming months. Though other food-based nutrition solutions exist, these specialised nutrition products do not require the addition of water — decreasing the risk of infections due…

  • Over $1m in New Commitments to Support Earth Institute Work

    Over $1m in New Commitments to Support Earth Institute Work

    Today, two of the world’s leading companies announce grants and technical support totaling more than $1,000,000 aimed at ending global poverty by 2015.

  • Nestlé Supports Earth Institute Food and Nutrition Systems Within the Millennium Villages Project

    Nestlé Supports Earth Institute Food and Nutrition Systems Within the Millennium Villages Project

    New York, September 21 – Today, Nestlé pledged a two-year, $400,000 grant to support food and nutrition system initiatives led by the Earth Institute, Columbia University, within the Millennium Villages project. Funds will be used to advance progress towards eliminating hunger, increasing food security, and achieving the nutrition-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the 14…

  • The Challenge of the Half-Acre Plot

    The Challenge of the Half-Acre Plot

    Ask most who have worked in this region, “what characterizes small holder farming in sub-Saharan Africa ?”, and the answer, which sadly, has remained unchanged for the past ten years, will go something like this: mono-cropping, reuse of seeds season after season, no fertilizer, and ever diminishing land holding sizes. Add to that the fluctuations…

  • The Sustenance in Achieving Global Nutrition Security

    The Sustenance in Achieving Global Nutrition Security

    As the world focuses on the ten-year progress made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the MDG Summit in New York City, it is with great hope that nutrition is front and center in the discussions and decision making at the luminous building that sits on the East River at 42nd Street.

  • The Pearl of Africa

    My cell phone rang in the middle of the night. “Are you in Kampala?” On the other line was my husband informing me that two bombs went off in Uganda’s capital city just several hours before, killing scores of people gathered at public spots to watch the final game of the World Cup. I was…

  • Climate and the Border: Why Rising Temperatures Will Add Immigration Challenges

    Climate and the Border: Why Rising Temperatures Will Add Immigration Challenges

    When experts warn of the consequences of global climate change, they usually cite impacts on natural systems. They tell us that ice caps will melt, sea levels will rise, extreme weather will become more common, droughts will increase in frequency, oceans will become more acidic and so on. In recent years, we have also come…

  • Sime Darby Supports Sustainable Agriculture and China 2049

    Sime Darby Supports Sustainable Agriculture and China 2049

    The Sime Darby Group, a Malaysian-based multinational company with core businesses in plantation, property, motors, industrial, energy and utilities, has committed $500,000 in support of the Earth Institute’s Tropical Agriculture and China 2049 programs, making the company the newest Earth Institute Corporate Circle Strategic Partner. The Earth Institute also serves on Sime Darby’s International Advisory…

  • Agriculture in Ruhiira MVP (Uganda)

    Agriculture in Ruhiira MVP (Uganda)

    Partnering up with Millennium Promise MVP has provided larger South African Boa goats to 150 farmers who meet certain criteria. This improved variety of goats is larger, grow faster and sell for more; a local goat for slaughter sells at USH 80 000 to 150 000 while the improved variety sells at USH 300 000…

Earth Month Graphic Collage: "Our Power, Our Planet - April 2025"

The first Earth Day in 1970 ignited a movement to stop polluting our planet. This Earth Month, join us in our commitment to realizing a just and sustainable future for our planet. Visit our Earth Day website for ideas, resources, and inspiration.

  • Scaling Up The Right Nutrition Solutions In Emergencies…But Is There Enough?

    Scaling Up The Right Nutrition Solutions In Emergencies…But Is There Enough?

    Ready-to-use supplementary foods (RUSF), fortified with necessary micro- and macronutrients, are central in WFP’s nutrition response in Pakistan– with upwards of 850,000 households receiving these life-saving foods over the coming months. Though other food-based nutrition solutions exist, these specialised nutrition products do not require the addition of water — decreasing the risk of infections due…

  • Over $1m in New Commitments to Support Earth Institute Work

    Over $1m in New Commitments to Support Earth Institute Work

    Today, two of the world’s leading companies announce grants and technical support totaling more than $1,000,000 aimed at ending global poverty by 2015.

  • Nestlé Supports Earth Institute Food and Nutrition Systems Within the Millennium Villages Project

    Nestlé Supports Earth Institute Food and Nutrition Systems Within the Millennium Villages Project

    New York, September 21 – Today, Nestlé pledged a two-year, $400,000 grant to support food and nutrition system initiatives led by the Earth Institute, Columbia University, within the Millennium Villages project. Funds will be used to advance progress towards eliminating hunger, increasing food security, and achieving the nutrition-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the 14…

  • The Challenge of the Half-Acre Plot

    The Challenge of the Half-Acre Plot

    Ask most who have worked in this region, “what characterizes small holder farming in sub-Saharan Africa ?”, and the answer, which sadly, has remained unchanged for the past ten years, will go something like this: mono-cropping, reuse of seeds season after season, no fertilizer, and ever diminishing land holding sizes. Add to that the fluctuations…

  • The Sustenance in Achieving Global Nutrition Security

    The Sustenance in Achieving Global Nutrition Security

    As the world focuses on the ten-year progress made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the MDG Summit in New York City, it is with great hope that nutrition is front and center in the discussions and decision making at the luminous building that sits on the East River at 42nd Street.

  • The Pearl of Africa

    My cell phone rang in the middle of the night. “Are you in Kampala?” On the other line was my husband informing me that two bombs went off in Uganda’s capital city just several hours before, killing scores of people gathered at public spots to watch the final game of the World Cup. I was…

  • Climate and the Border: Why Rising Temperatures Will Add Immigration Challenges

    Climate and the Border: Why Rising Temperatures Will Add Immigration Challenges

    When experts warn of the consequences of global climate change, they usually cite impacts on natural systems. They tell us that ice caps will melt, sea levels will rise, extreme weather will become more common, droughts will increase in frequency, oceans will become more acidic and so on. In recent years, we have also come…

  • Sime Darby Supports Sustainable Agriculture and China 2049

    Sime Darby Supports Sustainable Agriculture and China 2049

    The Sime Darby Group, a Malaysian-based multinational company with core businesses in plantation, property, motors, industrial, energy and utilities, has committed $500,000 in support of the Earth Institute’s Tropical Agriculture and China 2049 programs, making the company the newest Earth Institute Corporate Circle Strategic Partner. The Earth Institute also serves on Sime Darby’s International Advisory…

  • Agriculture in Ruhiira MVP (Uganda)

    Agriculture in Ruhiira MVP (Uganda)

    Partnering up with Millennium Promise MVP has provided larger South African Boa goats to 150 farmers who meet certain criteria. This improved variety of goats is larger, grow faster and sell for more; a local goat for slaughter sells at USH 80 000 to 150 000 while the improved variety sells at USH 300 000…