Agriculture51
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Packard Foundation Supports Sustainable Food Production
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation continued to support the Earth Institute, Columbia University and the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI), with grants totaling over a half million dollars, to further progress on optimizing nitrogen’s beneficial role in sustainable food production while minimizing nitrogen’s negative effects on human health and the environment resulting from food and…
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Creating More Useful Forecasts
Seasonal forecasts can be effective tools for agricultural planners, water resources managers and other decision makers. For example, after torrential rains and floods wreaked havoc in the West African nation of Ghana in 2007, displacing some 400,000 people there, the regional office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies started using…
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The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Principality of Monaco Support Sustainable Development in Mali
NEW YORK, April 11 – The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Principality of Monaco have launched a new partnership with the Earth Institute, Columbia University that stands to make important new strides in protecting biodiversity and addressing the urgent needs of the rural poor in Mali. With a $1.5 million grant, this…
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Punjab Farmers Adapt to Shrinking Water Supply
Often referred to as the granary of India, Punjab is now slowly drying out. And though many farmers are deeply worried over the prospects of producing enough food, some of the more entrepreneurial ones are adopting new ways to conserve water while bracing for what will be a drier future. Back in the 1970s India…
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New Program Tackles Climate Threats to Food Security
A new multimillion dollar research program by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research aims to alleviate climate-related threats to the food security, livelihoods and environment of people living in the developing world. One of the key intellectual forces behind this initiative has been the IRI‘s Jim Hansen. He’ll be leading efforts within the program…
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Initiatives to Help Haiti Recover
A new set of web pages describes the Earth Institute’s wide-ranging involvement in helping bring relief to quake-battered Haiti, as well as plans for long-term recovery, and associated environmental and economic issues. One major program, the Haiti Regeneration Initiative involves the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Center for Research on Environmental Decisions, Tropical Agriculture…
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India: Seminar on Increasing Water Efficiency in Agriculture Sector
Government and Industry leaders in India met last week at a national forum on water use in agriculture, organized by the Confederacy of Indian Industry. According to the press release, they were in agreement on the need to link water efficiency with agricultural production.
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Punjab Farmers Adapt to Shrinking Water Supply
Often referred to as the granary of India, Punjab is now slowly drying out. And though many farmers are deeply worried over the prospects of producing enough food, some of the more entrepreneurial ones are adopting new ways to conserve water while bracing for what will be a drier future. Back in the 1970s India…
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Getting Back on Track: Ending Global Hunger and Undernutrition
One of the targets of the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) is to reduce the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by half between 1990 and 2015, with hunger measured as the proportion of the population who are undernourished and the prevalence of children under five who are underweight.
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“