General191
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Crisis in Japan: Earth Institute Reactions
The largest ever recorded earthquake in Japan’s history has triggered a sequence of events that have killed thousands, crushed and submerged cities and towns and left a financial toll that will take years for an already struggling economy to recover. Videos and stories slowly began to emerge as the sun rose in Japan the day…
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Finishing up in Khulna
The last two days have been a little different as I spent much of them in Khulna rather than at the site. Since the Islam family does not have electricity, Hafizul would have to carry the expensive EDM (Electronic Distance Meter) and laptop back and forth to Khulna University to charge. However, we have an…
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Finally getting it right
We are driving back to Khulna at 10:30 after our third excellent day in a row. However, there were still a lot of hiccups along the way. Yesterday, we were set to install the deep well, but when we arrived they were just starting to pull the pipe from the deep well. We had hoped…
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South Korean Delegates Visit Earth Institute, Look at Collaborative Efforts in Global Health
On February 18, 2011, the Earth Institute hosted about 20 South Korean delegates for a presentation given by the health team at the Center for Global Health and Economic Development. Their trip was an extension of their participation in a Health Emergencies in Large Populations (HELP) course that was developed through a joint effort of…
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Frustration and Progress, again
Days here seem to be coming in pairs. In the morning, we redid the 40m well, remeasuring, doing a dry run with no cement, mixing and putting in cement, lowering the fiber and everything went as planned. Then came the 60m well. It already had a history. It caved in twice when they pulled the…
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At Bhandarkote, Khulna, the second site
Today we started working on the new site. Bhandarkote is a small village outside of Khulna, the third largest city in Bangladesh. The site is on a dirt road at the family home of a student from Khulna University. It a pretty remote rural place about 25 minutes off the main road through small country…
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Climate News Roundup: Week of 2/27
Fact-Free Science, New York Times, Feb. 25 President Obama, advocating science as the means to a better future, requested increases in his budget proposal for scientific research and education, especially for developing alternative energy. According to research completed by the Center for American Progress, a majority of Republicans in Congress do not consider climate change…
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Disaster and moving on
It looks like we lost the deep well. The morning started off as planned. We would finish the calibration of the strainmeters, installing the GPS and training Shaheen for the weekly measurements. Should be out by noon for the 8-hour drive to Dhaka followed b the 5 hour ride to Khulna the next day. Then…
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CGHED’s Patricia Mechael featured on PBS NewsHour
With the surge of cell phone technology in developing countries and the increased use of mobile phones for banking, the global health field is finding new ways to capitalize on these converging sectors to benefit the health of the poor. PBS NewsHour released a piece last week highlighting the opportunity and describing how mobile baking…
COP31, the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, aims to advance dialogue, strengthen consensus, and accelerate climate action on a global scale. From November 9–20, 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye, heads of state, ministers, scientists, business leaders, and civil society will gather to advance efforts in emission targets, climate finance, and adaptation and resilience. Once again, our experts, students, and global thought leaders from Columbia Climate School and across Columbia University are contributing to key events, sharing insights, and helping shape the dialogue toward ambitious, science-based solutions. Learn More