State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Water81

  • EPA Water Quality Video Contest- Win $2,500!

    For those creative types out there, here is your chance to have some fun while spreading the word about water quality and environmental stewardship. The EPA is offering a cash prize for a 30 or 60 second video that is usable as a TV public service announcement, or a 1-3 minute instructional video Full details…

  • Falling Demand = Rising Prices?

    Out west, the economic and real estate downturn have helped alleviate many of the water shortage problems; however, in Detroit the decrease in water demand has had the opposite affect – decreased usage is resulting in revenue shortfalls, making it harder to fund system maintenance – as a result, rate increases are in the works.…

  • What Do You Pay for Water?

    In the US we spend on average $3.75 for every 1,000 gallons. However, averages are misleading –  prices range from $1.30 in Phoenix to over $7.70 in Columbus Ohio. This map below shows relative pricing for the 30 largest US municipalities. Take a look at Florida (Miami $1.60) compared to the relatively water rich east…

  • Water Pyramid

    A Dutch company has created the Water Pyramid to help create safe, clean drinking water in tropical and developing countries. While traditional reverse osmosis systems are expensive to build and use a considerable amount of energy, the Water Pyramid uses the sun as its primary energy source and has low operational and maintenance costs. The…

  • Engineered Osmosis

    Researchers at Yale have developed a water purification system that uses one-tenth the electric energy of conventional desalination systems.

  • As Economy Falters, Everglades May Lose Out

    In the past months, the headlines have been dominated by news of yet another bad day for the stock market. But, there is another casualty of the recession that probably isn’t getting as much press. While stocks continue to plummet, the Everglades of South Florida may also be falling on hard times as a result…

  • Water, Water everywhere, nor any drop for China?

    Last summer I found myself writing a Water Center Report on China’s massive South-to-North Water transfer project in lieu of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  While the world had its eyes fixed on the struggle between freedom-seeking Tibetans and the Chinese authority, the rumbling of a mammoth water crisis was underway.  The Northern provinces (where Beijing…

  • Drought in China

    Currently, in Northern China, they are experiencing the worst drought they have had in at least 50 years, according to the New York Times. This is extremely problematic for the people because 3/5 of the country’s wheat is grown in this area.  

  • Water Footprinting

    Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an article about how companies are starting to calculate their “water footprint” as well as their carbon footprint to institute more water friendly policies. Commercial companies have discovered that it takes “20 gallons of water to make a pint of beer, as much as 132 gallons of water to make a…

Rainforest and Columbia campus collage banner with text "UN COP30, Belem, Brazil, Nov 10-21, 2025"

During COP30—the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference taking place November 10–21 in Belém, Brazil—experts from Columbia Climate School and Columbia University will be contributing to key events, sharing insights, and helping shape the dialogue toward ambitious, science-based solutions. Learn More

  • EPA Water Quality Video Contest- Win $2,500!

    For those creative types out there, here is your chance to have some fun while spreading the word about water quality and environmental stewardship. The EPA is offering a cash prize for a 30 or 60 second video that is usable as a TV public service announcement, or a 1-3 minute instructional video Full details…

  • Falling Demand = Rising Prices?

    Out west, the economic and real estate downturn have helped alleviate many of the water shortage problems; however, in Detroit the decrease in water demand has had the opposite affect – decreased usage is resulting in revenue shortfalls, making it harder to fund system maintenance – as a result, rate increases are in the works.…

  • What Do You Pay for Water?

    In the US we spend on average $3.75 for every 1,000 gallons. However, averages are misleading –  prices range from $1.30 in Phoenix to over $7.70 in Columbus Ohio. This map below shows relative pricing for the 30 largest US municipalities. Take a look at Florida (Miami $1.60) compared to the relatively water rich east…

  • Water Pyramid

    A Dutch company has created the Water Pyramid to help create safe, clean drinking water in tropical and developing countries. While traditional reverse osmosis systems are expensive to build and use a considerable amount of energy, the Water Pyramid uses the sun as its primary energy source and has low operational and maintenance costs. The…

  • Engineered Osmosis

    Researchers at Yale have developed a water purification system that uses one-tenth the electric energy of conventional desalination systems.

  • As Economy Falters, Everglades May Lose Out

    In the past months, the headlines have been dominated by news of yet another bad day for the stock market. But, there is another casualty of the recession that probably isn’t getting as much press. While stocks continue to plummet, the Everglades of South Florida may also be falling on hard times as a result…

  • Water, Water everywhere, nor any drop for China?

    Last summer I found myself writing a Water Center Report on China’s massive South-to-North Water transfer project in lieu of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  While the world had its eyes fixed on the struggle between freedom-seeking Tibetans and the Chinese authority, the rumbling of a mammoth water crisis was underway.  The Northern provinces (where Beijing…

  • Drought in China

    Currently, in Northern China, they are experiencing the worst drought they have had in at least 50 years, according to the New York Times. This is extremely problematic for the people because 3/5 of the country’s wheat is grown in this area.  

  • Water Footprinting

    Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an article about how companies are starting to calculate their “water footprint” as well as their carbon footprint to institute more water friendly policies. Commercial companies have discovered that it takes “20 gallons of water to make a pint of beer, as much as 132 gallons of water to make a…