Poverty / Development37
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Timor-Leste: Sustainable Development Initiative Launched by the Vale Columbia Center in Partnership with the Revenue Watch Institute and the Open Society Foundations
The Open Society Foundations have awarded $800,000 to the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment to promote integrated development in Timor-Leste in collaboration with the Revenue Watch Institute (RWI). Though rich in oil and gas, the island nation of Timor-Leste remains one of the least developed countries in the world. To use its revenues…
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E.P.A. Sued for Trying to Protect the Environment
Early last month, Florida sued the US Environmental Protection Agency in an effort to block new clean water regulations that the agency announced last month and which it plans to begin enforcing in 2012.
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Eni Joins the Earth Institute’s Corporate Circle as a Strategic Partner
Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni and Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs announced that the two partners would work together on key projects promoting sustainable development in Africa. The announcement was made at this year’s UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in the presence of Georg Kell, the Global Compact’s executive director. The collaboration is part of the…
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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…
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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.
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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,…
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Parched for Peace: The Fertile Crescent Might Be Barren
This past October, the Levant Desalination Association and Nosstia, an organization of expat Syrian scientists, arranged a conference in the capital city of Damascus to discuss Syria’s water crisis.
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Parched for Peace: A Slight Digression, Just for Kicks
Yesterday, FIFA announced that the 2022 World Cup would be held in Qatar, the first Middle Eastern country ever chosen to host the tournament.
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Plastic Bottles, Compost Toilets and Rainwater Catchment: Simple Solutions for Haiti’s Clean Water Crisis
There are many other low-cost, high-impact approaches to alleviating the clean water crises in places like Haiti, so it’s worth mentioning a few.
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
