State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Energy48

  • Desalination: Yesterdayʼs Solution (part 2)

    Desalination: Yesterdayʼs Solution (part 2)

    Everyone has skeletons in their closets, desalination is no exception. Burying them does a disservice to the millions of public dollars that have been invested. Letʼs celebrate their weaknesses so that we may never repeat their mistakes. There may be many dozens of such projects, but here are a few that have experienced their share…

  • The Worsening Water Crisis in Gujarat, India

    The Worsening Water Crisis in Gujarat, India

    For more than three decades, the farmers in Northern Gujarat State, in India, have produced abundant food crops, and have had a thriving dairy industry. In order to make that happen, they have been using once plentiful underground water resources. Because local aquifers are being replenished more slowly than the water is being withdrawn, groundwater…

  • Desalination: Unlocking Lessons from Yesterday’s Solution (part 1)

    Desalination: Unlocking Lessons from Yesterday’s Solution (part 1)

    There is powerful information waiting to be unleashed in water data. If it were set free it would force us to re-think how we use, develop, sell, transfer, and dispose of water.

  • Could East River Tides Help Power NYC?

    Could East River Tides Help Power NYC?

    Typically, discussions about hydropower center around hydroelectric dams and ocean wind turbines. That could change, however, if Verdant Power – an energy company based out of New York – succeeds in its latest venture.

  • Carbon Capture, Policy Change, and My First Assignment

    Lecture on UK Policy of Carbon Capture Storage with Dr. Tim Fox of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers is happening on February 2, 2011 at 4:00pm in Alfred Lerner Hall, Room 555. This event is free and open to the public with light refreshments.

  • Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Beyond the human toll, the floods in Australia have other repercussions, the most notable being the effect on the global coal market. According to Reuters, “Australia’s $50 billion coal export industry has been brought to a virtual standstill”.

  • At AGU, Earth Institute’s Columbia Water Center Adds to the Abundance of Scientific Riches

    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…

  • Charcoal, Construction and Coffins: Tracing Links from Disasters to Deforestation in Haiti

    Charcoal, Construction and Coffins: Tracing Links from Disasters to Deforestation in Haiti

    Reliance on fuel wood in the Port-à-Piment watershed area of Haiti—a contributing factor to deforestation there—may be exacerbated by natural disasters.

  • 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,…

Composite banner with modern building at night and portrait of Dean Alexis Abramson that reads "Science for the Planet"

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

  • Desalination: Yesterdayʼs Solution (part 2)

    Desalination: Yesterdayʼs Solution (part 2)

    Everyone has skeletons in their closets, desalination is no exception. Burying them does a disservice to the millions of public dollars that have been invested. Letʼs celebrate their weaknesses so that we may never repeat their mistakes. There may be many dozens of such projects, but here are a few that have experienced their share…

  • The Worsening Water Crisis in Gujarat, India

    The Worsening Water Crisis in Gujarat, India

    For more than three decades, the farmers in Northern Gujarat State, in India, have produced abundant food crops, and have had a thriving dairy industry. In order to make that happen, they have been using once plentiful underground water resources. Because local aquifers are being replenished more slowly than the water is being withdrawn, groundwater…

  • Desalination: Unlocking Lessons from Yesterday’s Solution (part 1)

    Desalination: Unlocking Lessons from Yesterday’s Solution (part 1)

    There is powerful information waiting to be unleashed in water data. If it were set free it would force us to re-think how we use, develop, sell, transfer, and dispose of water.

  • Could East River Tides Help Power NYC?

    Could East River Tides Help Power NYC?

    Typically, discussions about hydropower center around hydroelectric dams and ocean wind turbines. That could change, however, if Verdant Power – an energy company based out of New York – succeeds in its latest venture.

  • Carbon Capture, Policy Change, and My First Assignment

    Lecture on UK Policy of Carbon Capture Storage with Dr. Tim Fox of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers is happening on February 2, 2011 at 4:00pm in Alfred Lerner Hall, Room 555. This event is free and open to the public with light refreshments.

  • Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Floods and Coal – The Water-Energy Nexus Redux

    Beyond the human toll, the floods in Australia have other repercussions, the most notable being the effect on the global coal market. According to Reuters, “Australia’s $50 billion coal export industry has been brought to a virtual standstill”.

  • At AGU, Earth Institute’s Columbia Water Center Adds to the Abundance of Scientific Riches

    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…

  • Charcoal, Construction and Coffins: Tracing Links from Disasters to Deforestation in Haiti

    Charcoal, Construction and Coffins: Tracing Links from Disasters to Deforestation in Haiti

    Reliance on fuel wood in the Port-à-Piment watershed area of Haiti—a contributing factor to deforestation there—may be exacerbated by natural disasters.

  • 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,…