Water60
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Chlorine: What Are Your Kids Swimming In?
It turns out that using chlorine to purify water has an interesting and controversial history that raises many questions about the price we pay for safety and public health, because in spite of it’s apparent benefits, the widespread use of the chemical carries substantial risks as well.
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Does temperature control atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations?
A record of temperature and atmospheric CO2 from Antarctic ice cores shows the tight relationship between the two over the past 800,000 years (see figure). It is frequently asserted that changes in Earth’s temperature or, more specifically, the temperature of the ocean, caused atmospheric CO2 concentrations to vary over that time period. The underlying principle…
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Jamaica Bay, a refuge for wildlife in New York City, gets protection
The good news is that the migratory birds and resident marine life of Jamaica Bay may be getting a reprieve. In February, Mayor Bloomberg, the State Environmental Council and the Natural Resources Defense Council announced an agreement that would improve water quality and preserve the wetlands of Jamaica Bay. The Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan…
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Zombies and Water: What’s the Connection?
Erik Assadourian of the Worldwatch Institute recently suggested that what with all the zombie books and movies coming out recently, Worldwatch’s next book should focus on zombies and sustainability, because it would draw more attention to the institute’s work than even the best written State of the World report could.
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The PlayPump: What Went Wrong?
Earlier this week, PBS’s Frontline ran a story about the PlayPump, a technology that was supposed to bring drinking water to thousands of African communities by harnessing the power of children at play. Now dozens of PlayPumps in Mozambique sit idle, and in many villages PlayPumps have been removed, and hand pumps reinstalled.
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How to Clean up the Gulf Coastline after the Oil Spill – EPA Workshop
On June 5th, Columbia Water Center collaborator Ponisseril Somasundaran, an Engineering professor at Columbia University, participated in a workshop organized by the EPA on how to best address the environmental recovery of the Gulf Coast shoreline after the disastrous oil spill. At a later date we will post a conversation with Prof. Somasundaran about the…
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Who owns the Nile?
Who owns the Nile? Nine countries want to have a say in answering that question, and they don’t agree. The great river moves through Burundi, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, so they all may claim her as at least partly their own.
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Why Women Matter
Megatons of carbon dioxide, radiative forcing, technology deployment, cap-and-trade systems: this is the common vocabulary of climate change. Concepts of equality, justice and ethics are relative latecomers to this highly specialized and technical world. Where they have emerged, terms like ‘climate justice’ usually refer to the interests of developing nations as a whole, reflecting the deep…
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Applied Climate Research: A Conversation with Stefan Sobolowski (Part 2)
In part 1 of this interview, I talked with Columbia Water Center hydroclimatologist Stefan Sobolowski about the effects of continental snowcover on climate, and the implications of his research on climate change. In part 2, we talk about the problem of uncertainty in climate prediction models, extreme weather events, the regional variation of climate change…
AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More