State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Poverty / Development45

  • Everywhere a Hammer on a Nail

    When holding a hammer in your hand, every problem can look like a nail. Dambisa Moyo’s book Dead Aid gives fresh meaning to this old adage, applying the perspective of a top-tier investment banker to the plight of the poorest people in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Economist recently panned the book by likening it to caricature.…

  • Next G-20 Meeting is a Chance to Help Three Billion Living in Poverty

    The G-20 meeting in London, England, on April 2 will be watched by the entire world with urgency and with a yearning for hope, vision and programmatic clarity. The preparatory work is not adequate. The G-20 discussions do not move sufficiently beyond financial regulation. I would like to suggest the following main points for G-20…

  • Laptops and MTV in Rural Kenyan School

    Flashback for a second. Though it may seem like long time ago, it’s been a mere 2 months since Obama took the oath. A lot has changed since. On the evening of January 20, the President and the First Lady whirled through his new backyard stopping off at several different parties, one of which was…

  • Financier Bill Gross Selling More of His Celebrated Stamp Collection for Millennium Villages

    NEW YORK – Wall Street money manager, Bill Gross, will offer another portion of his extensive, international stamp collection in a public auction conservatively estimated to bring over $1.25 million. All proceeds from the sale of his British Empire stamps will be donated by Sue and Bill Gross to the Millennium Villages project at the…

  • Rare Stamps Auctioned for $1.6 million for Projects in Africa by PIMCO’s Bill Gross

    posted: June 18, 2008 NEW YORK, June 19 —Proceeds from the sale of a rare collection of Scandinavian stamps were donated in order to expand development projects in Africa that will reach more than a half million people. Bill Gross, one of the world’s most successful money managers, who has also made a name for…

  • India Honors Earth Institute Economist Nirupam Bajpai for Development Work

    India has conferred the high Padma Shri award on senior Earth Institute economist Nirupam Bajpai for his service to the nation in literature and education. The president of India, the Honorable Pratibha Devisingh Patil, will give the award to Bajpai in March, in New Delhi. Padma Shri is given to Indian and foreign nationals to…

  • Mapping Poverty for Better Development Planning

    This remarkable map of Latin America portrays infant mortality rates, a widely used proxy measure of poverty. It demonstrates clearly that although Latin America has generally low infant mortality rates, overall poverty is very unevenly distributed throughout the region. Moreover, the relationship between this pattern of human well-being and broader geographic constraints is also clear.…

  • Gates Foundation Awards $15 Million to Support Science-Based Effort to End Poverty in Africa

    Grant helps fund bold strategy developed by The Earth Institute, Columbia University

  • Where the Poor Are

    New ‘Poverty Atlas’ reveals critical insights into relationship between geography and poverty

Colorful banner with city: "MR 2025: Mobility, Adaptation, and Wellbeing in a Changing Climate."

  • Everywhere a Hammer on a Nail

    When holding a hammer in your hand, every problem can look like a nail. Dambisa Moyo’s book Dead Aid gives fresh meaning to this old adage, applying the perspective of a top-tier investment banker to the plight of the poorest people in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Economist recently panned the book by likening it to caricature.…

  • Next G-20 Meeting is a Chance to Help Three Billion Living in Poverty

    The G-20 meeting in London, England, on April 2 will be watched by the entire world with urgency and with a yearning for hope, vision and programmatic clarity. The preparatory work is not adequate. The G-20 discussions do not move sufficiently beyond financial regulation. I would like to suggest the following main points for G-20…

  • Laptops and MTV in Rural Kenyan School

    Flashback for a second. Though it may seem like long time ago, it’s been a mere 2 months since Obama took the oath. A lot has changed since. On the evening of January 20, the President and the First Lady whirled through his new backyard stopping off at several different parties, one of which was…

  • Financier Bill Gross Selling More of His Celebrated Stamp Collection for Millennium Villages

    NEW YORK – Wall Street money manager, Bill Gross, will offer another portion of his extensive, international stamp collection in a public auction conservatively estimated to bring over $1.25 million. All proceeds from the sale of his British Empire stamps will be donated by Sue and Bill Gross to the Millennium Villages project at the…

  • Rare Stamps Auctioned for $1.6 million for Projects in Africa by PIMCO’s Bill Gross

    posted: June 18, 2008 NEW YORK, June 19 —Proceeds from the sale of a rare collection of Scandinavian stamps were donated in order to expand development projects in Africa that will reach more than a half million people. Bill Gross, one of the world’s most successful money managers, who has also made a name for…

  • India Honors Earth Institute Economist Nirupam Bajpai for Development Work

    India has conferred the high Padma Shri award on senior Earth Institute economist Nirupam Bajpai for his service to the nation in literature and education. The president of India, the Honorable Pratibha Devisingh Patil, will give the award to Bajpai in March, in New Delhi. Padma Shri is given to Indian and foreign nationals to…

  • Mapping Poverty for Better Development Planning

    This remarkable map of Latin America portrays infant mortality rates, a widely used proxy measure of poverty. It demonstrates clearly that although Latin America has generally low infant mortality rates, overall poverty is very unevenly distributed throughout the region. Moreover, the relationship between this pattern of human well-being and broader geographic constraints is also clear.…

  • Gates Foundation Awards $15 Million to Support Science-Based Effort to End Poverty in Africa

    Grant helps fund bold strategy developed by The Earth Institute, Columbia University

  • Where the Poor Are

    New ‘Poverty Atlas’ reveals critical insights into relationship between geography and poverty