General209
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Why Copenhagen Will, and Should, Fail
One of the main scientists who convinced world leaders to take note of climate change says that the Copenhagen talks are so flawed, it would be better if they collapse so the process can resume from scratch. James Hansen, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (an Earth Institute affiliate) told The Guardian newspaper,…
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End the Politics. Let Scientists and Engineers Lead.
We can only marvel at the disarray. Here we are, 17 years after the signing of the UN framework convention on climate change, two years after the decision in Bali to agree a new climate policy, one year after Barack Obama’s election, and days out from the Copenhagen conference. Yet a real global strategy to…
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Adapting Is the Key
By Clare Oh Stephen Zebiak, director general of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), is in the business of helping societies adapt to changing climate: adjusting farming methods and crops, tackling climate-sensitive diseases such as malaria, and protecting low-lying areas from sea-level rise. Clare Oh of the Columbia University Record talked with…
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Cities Can Lead Nations
By Cynthia Rosenzweig At the Copenhagen climate summit, nations must answer a call for action—but local governments may help show the way. Climate change is no longer predicted; it has arrived. A plethora of studies shows that global changes in physical and biological systems are being caused by human-induced warming. Building on the 2007 Intergovernmental…
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Our Leaders Can Run, But They Can’t Hide
As the nations of the world prepare to meet in Denmark, there is some well publicized noise being emitted to lower expectations for a climate treaty. The United States and China—the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases, with over 40% of the world’s pollutant load–appear to be at the center of this effort at political…
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In the spirit of Thanksgiving….
The Columbia Water Center has spent the last two years pursuing its commitment to research on global water scarcity, in 15 countries on 5 continents across the world. In this age of extensive social media networks, it seems a daunting task to reach all those who have helped and supported us…. So we offer this…
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Alissa Park – Lenfest Junior Professor in Applied Climate Science
When rising star Ah-Hyung Alissa Park was invited to come to Columbia University to give a seminar on her work in sustainable energy and the mineral sequestration of carbon dioxide, she knew she was being interviewed, but she did not know about the offer she would soon receive to be the Lenfest Junior Professor in…
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Columbia Climate Center Partners With Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank Asset Management (DeAM) continues to partner with the Earth Institute in our work to understand, predict, and respond to climate variability and change. DeAM has been a leader in cutting-edge climate change activities through financial support, research collaboration and becoming a founding member of the Earth Institute’s Corporate Circle. Most recently, DeAM released…
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MacArthur Foundation Supports Pilot to Reduce Maternal Deaths in Rural Ghana
With support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Earth Institute, Columbia University has launched a new pilot project aimed at decreasing maternal deaths by evaluating the feasibility, accessibility and acceptability of a package of proven interventions for postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) in the Millennium Village in Bonsaaso, Ghana. As a supplement to…