General180
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Climate News Roundup – Cancun Summit
Baird to Flaunt Climate Cash at Cancun Talks Toronto Star, Dec 6. Canada has committed a $400 million package to assist developing nations reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. Canada’s environment minister John Baird highlighted the fact that while Canada is responsible for 2% of global emissions, it is paying for 4% of the…
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Playing for the Planet
Scott Barrett, the Lenfest-Earth Institute Professor of Natural Resource Economics and an expert in complex international negotiations, teaches game theory in his Global Collective Action class. Using a simple card game, Barrett helps his students understand the consequences of decision making in complex negotiations, like those involved in climate treaties, where each country’s actions depend…
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Climate News Roundup – Week of 11/21 and 11/28
Siberia’s Climate Bomb: Thawing Permafrost Could Spell Disaster: Associate Press, Nov. 21 Methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent per molecule than carbon dioxide, is seeping from Sibera’s frozen soil and lakes at an accelerated rate due to global warming. While the 1.5 trillion tons of carbon trapped under the permafrost may be a “ticking…
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Ceará, Brazil: With Electricity and Water, This Place is Heaven
“With electricity and water, this place is heaven on earth.” That is the opinion of several residents I spoke with last summer during a visit to Milhã, in the center of the state of Ceará, Brazil. In this rural, semi-arid region communities are small and close-knit, and many families have lived there, often in the…
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Climate News Roundup – Week of 11/8 and 11/15
World Should Eradicate Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Reuters, Nov. 9 The International Energy Agency (IEA) has issued its annual World Energy Outlook, which highlights the need for countries to completely abolish fossil fuel subsidies. While fossil fuel subsidies are projected to reach $500 billion by 2015, renewable energy subsidies are projected to be no more than…
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Migration – A Movement of Marvel
From Monarch Butterflies that journey from Eastern North America to the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico to Atlantic Salmon that travel between the freshwater and the salty ocean, moving long distances in search of a new habitat is truly a remarkable behavior.
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Making Sense of Earth Data: A Guide
Charts, graphs and maps representing natural phenomena can be a challenge to anyone trying to extract something meaningful from them. A new book, Earth Science Puzzles: Making Meaning From Data, aims to help students of earth and environmental sciences decode images by presenting practice puzzles consisting of real-world scientific data. The authors are Kim A. Kastens and Margie Turrin of…
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How Bloodthirsty Creatures of The Night See
Beyond their eerie exterior and misunderstood persona, bats play complex, diverse and vital roles in the functioning of the world’s ecosystems.
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Sachs Student Lecture: America’s Economic Crisis – Where Do We Go From Here?
Jeffrey D. Sachs will give his fifth annual student lecture on Tuesday, November 23 on Columbia University’s Morningside campus.
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