Water46
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Toxic Waters in the Gilded State
To those who have never been, the Golden State is known for luxurious palm tree-lined avenues, sun-drenched beaches, and picturesque mountains. But not all parts of California were created equal. The state’s San Joaquin Valley hosts a scene entirely different from the images of Malibu beaches depicted in travel brochures. It is the non-glittering core…
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Climate Change Threatens Fragile Ecosystem in the Andes
A new audio slideshow about the páramo ecosystem in the Andes, at risk of becoming drier because of changing climate conditions
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Can Water Scarcity Bring Down a Government? Yemen Spirals Out of Control
According to The New York Times, Yemen, a nation of 24 million people that sits at the southern and southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is “on the brink of an economic collapse so dire it could take years to recover.”
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Making Room for Rivers: A Different Approach to Flood Control
Over time, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal engineering and construction agency, has spent over $123 billion on flood control infrastructure that hasn’t always adequately protected us. Now, with the devastation of the spring floods in the Midwest, some are calling for a new approach to flood control that makes room for our…
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A Right, a Need, or an Economic Good? Debating our Relationship to Water
Debates about the human right to water, and the role of the state or private companies in ensuring access, illustrate that water provision is anything but apolitical.
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The Uncertainties of Groundwater and Climate in India: An Interview with Chandra Kiran Krishnamurthy
Since he arrived at the Columbia Water Center at its founding in 2008, Chandra Kiran Krishnamurthy has been unswervingly focused on two questions. First, how will groundwater depletion and climate change affect agriculture in India? And given the dire nature of the crisis, what can we do to help people adapt?
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Hitting the Green in Cuba–Again
In a somewhat distressing development, the New York Times reports that the Cuban golf industry will soon be back in business after a 50-year hiatus that started when Fidel Castro first came to power.
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Squeezing the Last Drops out of Sicily
If you were to drive south from Palermo, Sicily toward Monreale, you would be ringed in by green mountains, the sparkling white of ancient and modern buildings and the azure Mediterranean Sea receding behind you. Continuing south through the island’s mountainous interior, you would pass verdant agricultural fields on your way past Corleone, the namesake…
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Water-Saving Project in Punjab, India Reaches Out to Farmers Through Cooperatives
After working with over 500 farmers last year to conduct a field experiment on the use of tensiometers to reduce irrigation in rice fields, this year they will be working with about 5,000. As part of this expansion, our program partners at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) are working with Cooperative Societies, a network of…
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“
