State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Water54

  • Parched for Peace: The Fertile Crescent Might Be Barren

    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.

  • Parched for Peace: A Slight Digression, Just for Kicks

    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.

  • Ceará, Brazil: With Electricity and Water, This Place is Heaven

    Ceará, Brazil: With Electricity and Water, This Place is Heaven

    “With electricity and water, this place is heaven on earth.” That is the opinion of several residents I spoke with last summer during a visit to Milhã, in the center of the state of Ceará, Brazil. In this rural, semi-arid region communities are small and close-knit, and many families have lived there, often in the…

  • Plastic Bottles, Compost Toilets and Rainwater Catchment: Simple Solutions for Haiti’s Clean Water Crisis

    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.

  • California’s Water Rights Controversy:  Should Farmers Be Allowed to Transfer Water to Developers?

    California’s Water Rights Controversy: Should Farmers Be Allowed to Transfer Water to Developers?

    Farmers in San Joaquin Valley, California have recently come under scrutiny for proposing to sell their water rights to developers. The selling of water rights remains a controversial issue especially as industry and home development compete with farmers for limited water supplies.

  • Water to Go: The Tapit Water Network

    Water to Go: The Tapit Water Network

    Many of us are already aware of the negative environmental impacts of bottled water and make a practice of carrying our own refillable water bottles. But what do you do when you’re out and about all day with no access to a tap? Tapit has the solution. The Tapit water network is an ever-expanding group…

  • Geography Awareness Week: Freshwater is Serious Fun

    Geography Awareness Week: Freshwater is Serious Fun

    For adults concerned about environmental issues, particularly the growing water crisis, it can be hard to know where to start to educate and involve the children in their lives, those who will ultimately be facing the consequences of what we do or don’t do now. How do you frame serious, complicated issues in a way…

  • Parched for Peace: The UAE has Oil and Money, but No Water

    Parched for Peace: The UAE has Oil and Money, but No Water

    One of the greatest challenges to sustaining 1.8 million people in an extremely arid locale is water, which in the coastal city of Dubai is abundant but not potable.

  • Direct Seeding of Rice – A Simple Solution to India’s Water Crisis?

    Direct Seeding of Rice – A Simple Solution to India’s Water Crisis?

    In traditional rice cultivation, rice is sprouted in a nursery; sprouted seedlings are then transplanted into standing water. With direct seeding, rice seed is sown and sprouted directly into the field, eliminating the laborious process of planting seedlings by hand and greatly reducing the crop’s water requirements.

Composite banner with modern building at night and portrait of Dean Alexis Abramson that reads "Science for the Planet"

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

  • Parched for Peace: The Fertile Crescent Might Be Barren

    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.

  • Parched for Peace: A Slight Digression, Just for Kicks

    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.

  • Ceará, Brazil: With Electricity and Water, This Place is Heaven

    Ceará, Brazil: With Electricity and Water, This Place is Heaven

    “With electricity and water, this place is heaven on earth.” That is the opinion of several residents I spoke with last summer during a visit to Milhã, in the center of the state of Ceará, Brazil. In this rural, semi-arid region communities are small and close-knit, and many families have lived there, often in the…

  • Plastic Bottles, Compost Toilets and Rainwater Catchment: Simple Solutions for Haiti’s Clean Water Crisis

    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.

  • California’s Water Rights Controversy:  Should Farmers Be Allowed to Transfer Water to Developers?

    California’s Water Rights Controversy: Should Farmers Be Allowed to Transfer Water to Developers?

    Farmers in San Joaquin Valley, California have recently come under scrutiny for proposing to sell their water rights to developers. The selling of water rights remains a controversial issue especially as industry and home development compete with farmers for limited water supplies.

  • Water to Go: The Tapit Water Network

    Water to Go: The Tapit Water Network

    Many of us are already aware of the negative environmental impacts of bottled water and make a practice of carrying our own refillable water bottles. But what do you do when you’re out and about all day with no access to a tap? Tapit has the solution. The Tapit water network is an ever-expanding group…

  • Geography Awareness Week: Freshwater is Serious Fun

    Geography Awareness Week: Freshwater is Serious Fun

    For adults concerned about environmental issues, particularly the growing water crisis, it can be hard to know where to start to educate and involve the children in their lives, those who will ultimately be facing the consequences of what we do or don’t do now. How do you frame serious, complicated issues in a way…

  • Parched for Peace: The UAE has Oil and Money, but No Water

    Parched for Peace: The UAE has Oil and Money, but No Water

    One of the greatest challenges to sustaining 1.8 million people in an extremely arid locale is water, which in the coastal city of Dubai is abundant but not potable.

  • Direct Seeding of Rice – A Simple Solution to India’s Water Crisis?

    Direct Seeding of Rice – A Simple Solution to India’s Water Crisis?

    In traditional rice cultivation, rice is sprouted in a nursery; sprouted seedlings are then transplanted into standing water. With direct seeding, rice seed is sown and sprouted directly into the field, eliminating the laborious process of planting seedlings by hand and greatly reducing the crop’s water requirements.