State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Water15

  • Does El Salvador’s Metal Mining Ban Suggest a Global Trend?

    Does El Salvador’s Metal Mining Ban Suggest a Global Trend?

    A number of national and local governments are tightening environmental regulations and shutting down specific mining projects, or in some cases the entire industry, due to environmental risks, including those related to water use and pollution.

  • To Ease Mexico City’s Water Woes, Look up, Study Suggests

    To Ease Mexico City’s Water Woes, Look up, Study Suggests

    For Mexico City’s biggest businesses and its poorest neighborhoods, rainwater harvesting could help address an enormous water crisis plaguing the city, a recent Columbia Water Center study found.

  • Michelle Ho: In a Land of Plenty, Big Water Problems

    Michelle Ho: In a Land of Plenty, Big Water Problems

    Michelle Ho grew up in Australia, the driest inhabited continent, with an appreciation for the value of having a clean glass of water to drink. Now, she conducts research for the Columbia Water Center on America’s water systems.

  • An Ancient Tool Holds Promise for Modern Water Problems

    An Ancient Tool Holds Promise for Modern Water Problems

    The potential effectiveness of harvesting rainwater to bolster water supply and reduce potentially polluting runoff varies greatly from place to place, even within a particular city or neighborhood. Now researchers at the Columbia Water Center have developed a tool to assess the potential of rainwater harvesting throughout the United States.

  • Oroville Dam Crisis is a Call to Action on U.S. Water Infrastructure

    Oroville Dam Crisis is a Call to Action on U.S. Water Infrastructure

    Columbia Water Center director Upmanu Lall suggests that we see the Oroville crisis as a call to action to evaluate and address the challenges facing the nation’s dam infrastructure.

  • The Importance of Regulating Lead in Drinking Water

    The Importance of Regulating Lead in Drinking Water

    Many schools are being tested for lead in their water. But what about the libraries, hospitals, offices and old apartment buildings? As I observe the new president and his EPA designee, I worry about the adverse effect deregulating environmental protection would have on our families. There is more work to do if we are to…

  • Why Are Mines Still Polluting? The Money’s Not There

    Why Are Mines Still Polluting? The Money’s Not There

    Across the nation, abandoned mine sites continue to pollute the environment for decades as acid mine drainage flows into rivers and streams. A 1980 law was supposed to fix that, but lack of funding and enforcement have left the public stuck with the bill.

  • Earth Institute 2017 Calendar Now Available

    Earth Institute 2017 Calendar Now Available

    To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we asked members of the Earth Institute community to submit photographs for a 2017 wall calendar highlighting our work. Watch a slide show of some of the submissions. Donate $25 or more and we’ll send you the calendar.

  • Spy Satellites Reveal the Himalayas’ Changing Glaciers – in 3D

    Spy Satellites Reveal the Himalayas’ Changing Glaciers – in 3D

    Declassified spy satellite images are beginning to provide the first consistent look at how glaciers across the Himalayas are changing and what future water supplies might look like for millions of people.

  • Does El Salvador’s Metal Mining Ban Suggest a Global Trend?

    Does El Salvador’s Metal Mining Ban Suggest a Global Trend?

    A number of national and local governments are tightening environmental regulations and shutting down specific mining projects, or in some cases the entire industry, due to environmental risks, including those related to water use and pollution.

  • To Ease Mexico City’s Water Woes, Look up, Study Suggests

    To Ease Mexico City’s Water Woes, Look up, Study Suggests

    For Mexico City’s biggest businesses and its poorest neighborhoods, rainwater harvesting could help address an enormous water crisis plaguing the city, a recent Columbia Water Center study found.

  • Michelle Ho: In a Land of Plenty, Big Water Problems

    Michelle Ho: In a Land of Plenty, Big Water Problems

    Michelle Ho grew up in Australia, the driest inhabited continent, with an appreciation for the value of having a clean glass of water to drink. Now, she conducts research for the Columbia Water Center on America’s water systems.

  • An Ancient Tool Holds Promise for Modern Water Problems

    An Ancient Tool Holds Promise for Modern Water Problems

    The potential effectiveness of harvesting rainwater to bolster water supply and reduce potentially polluting runoff varies greatly from place to place, even within a particular city or neighborhood. Now researchers at the Columbia Water Center have developed a tool to assess the potential of rainwater harvesting throughout the United States.

  • Oroville Dam Crisis is a Call to Action on U.S. Water Infrastructure

    Oroville Dam Crisis is a Call to Action on U.S. Water Infrastructure

    Columbia Water Center director Upmanu Lall suggests that we see the Oroville crisis as a call to action to evaluate and address the challenges facing the nation’s dam infrastructure.

  • The Importance of Regulating Lead in Drinking Water

    The Importance of Regulating Lead in Drinking Water

    Many schools are being tested for lead in their water. But what about the libraries, hospitals, offices and old apartment buildings? As I observe the new president and his EPA designee, I worry about the adverse effect deregulating environmental protection would have on our families. There is more work to do if we are to…

  • Why Are Mines Still Polluting? The Money’s Not There

    Why Are Mines Still Polluting? The Money’s Not There

    Across the nation, abandoned mine sites continue to pollute the environment for decades as acid mine drainage flows into rivers and streams. A 1980 law was supposed to fix that, but lack of funding and enforcement have left the public stuck with the bill.

  • Earth Institute 2017 Calendar Now Available

    Earth Institute 2017 Calendar Now Available

    To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we asked members of the Earth Institute community to submit photographs for a 2017 wall calendar highlighting our work. Watch a slide show of some of the submissions. Donate $25 or more and we’ll send you the calendar.

  • Spy Satellites Reveal the Himalayas’ Changing Glaciers – in 3D

    Spy Satellites Reveal the Himalayas’ Changing Glaciers – in 3D

    Declassified spy satellite images are beginning to provide the first consistent look at how glaciers across the Himalayas are changing and what future water supplies might look like for millions of people.