Sustainability99
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Removing Toxic Electronics From NYC’s Waste
We need to develop the public policies and standard operating procedures to make certain that discarded electronics are either recycled or carefully discarded. This requires that we abandon the idea that “out of sight is out of mind.”
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Don’t Worry About Doomsday, Botanists Have a Plan
A new initiative of the Smithsonian Institution is building a frozen library cataloging snippets of plant tissue from every species on the planet.
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Embracing a New Environmental Era in China
As China incorporates environmental considerations into its economic planning process, its government appears to be carefully examining the relationship between sustainability and broader development goals.
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Sustainability Policy Is Taking Hold in China
I left China encouraged by the widespread receptivity to the theory and practice of sustainability, but aware of the huge challenge that lies ahead. As we flew from Guiyang to Beijing for the return flight home, I looked down and saw a countryside dotted with scores of windmills. The transition from a coal-based economy to…
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In China, Establishing Indicators for Global Sustainable Development
Last weekend, Earth Institute executive director Steven Cohen and post-doctoral research scholar Dong Guo participated in the Fourth Global Think Tank Summit in Beijing, hosted by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE). CCIEE, the preeminent think tank in China headed by the former vice premier, hosted hundreds of politicians, scholars, business leaders, and…
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Revising the Toxic Substances Out-of-Control Act
An unregulated chemical industry is an invitation for disaster. Fortunately, there is at least one place in America where regulation of toxic chemicals is taken seriously—California (of course).
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The Centrality of Sustainability
The most powerful political argument for protecting the planet is that to retain what we have, we must gradually change how we deliver the goods and services that people enjoy. The argument that people must give up what they enjoy does not win elections.
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Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs Awarded Blue Planet Prize
Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, has been awarded the 2015 Blue Planet Prize. The prize is presented each year to two individuals or organizations worldwide to recognize major efforts to solve global environmental problems. Many consider it to be the world’s highest such honor. The other recipient this year is Cambridge University…
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The Environmental Paradox: Escalating Conflict and Bringing Peace in the Middle East
Throughout history, land has been a source of conflict between different stakeholders who want to control it. Increasingly, environmental issues surrounding land are playing a role in conflict discourse in the Middle East.
By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings“