Energy44
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The Abatement Gap
Results of a recent modeling exercise by the Columbia Climate Center in a collaborative project with Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors indicate that the combined impact of more than 350 energy and emissions policies in place across the world fails to reach, by 2020, an emission trajectory consistent with stabilizing atmospheric levels of CO2 at…
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Cooling the Former Frontier: Using Water to Save Energy
AC units have become more efficient over the years, but energy consumption during hot summer months can increase significantly, boosting both the amount of money spent on electricity and the volume of greenhouse gasses emitted in the energy production process.
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Synthetic Biology: Creating New Forms of Life
When leading genomic scientist, J. Craig Venter announced in May 2010 that he’d created the first self-replicating organism with a totally synthetic genome (the genetic material of an organism), it was the first time many people had heard of synthetic biology. Venter did not actually create a synthetic living organism—rather his research team created a…
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Water Scarcity: A Shared Problem With a World of Solutions
Columbia scientists and affiliates from four continents came together for the first time last week to discuss global water scarcity, present solutions from their own countries, transfer knowledge and present next steps to scale up current projects.
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Yes, We Can Afford to Remove Carbon from Air
Recently, the American Physical Society (APS) released a report on the direct capture of carbon dioxide from air. The report concludes that air capture could be a powerful tool for mopping up carbon dioxide emissions that otherwise would escape to the air, for providing carbon dioxide for synthetic liquid fuels in the transportation sector, and…
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The Push to Dam China’s Rivers
China already has half the world’s large hydroelectric dams (25,800), but along the Yangtze River and its tributaries, 100 large dams are either being planned or built and 43 additional dams are in the works.
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Clean Water vs. Cheap Energy: Can We Have Both?
The social fabric of a water quality debate: Anti-fracking protesters converge on Albany… again. A battle of wills between advocates of clean water and cheap energy ensues.
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Reusing Dirty Water
Columbia Water Center guest lecturer Raymond Farinato talks about increasing water supply by reusing wastewater in industrial applications.
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British Royals’ Green Wedding
The Royal wedding used up a lot of resources, but Will and Kate did their best to keep it green.
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
