
Republicans Gut EPA Climate Rules, Slash Deeply into Climate Research, Aid and Technology Programs, NY Times, Feb. 14 On Friday, Feb. 11, House Republicans introduced a continuing resolution (CR) on spending legislation which would fund government operations through Sept. 30. Aiming to trim $100 billion from the Obama administration’s 2011 fiscal budget, the bill proposes cuts…

With the global population increasing by 80 million each year, a third of the planet will likely face water shortages by 2025. This looming water crisis is inextricably linked to food production…

The current moderate-strength La Niña is now weakening and is expected to dissipate by late spring, said Tony Barnston, the lead forecaster at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, which holds a monthly climate briefing. Early February showed the first easing in strength of the cool sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern…

We are excited to introduce the Earth Institute’s newest project in India, the Model Districts. This is a 5-year initiative focused on maternal and child health, and will serve as a roadmap of progress towards MDGs 1, 4, and 5.

It is the end of a highly successful field season for our ‘Antarctica’s Secrets’ team – a mix of sadness and joy

Forests, particularly tropical forests, are economically valuable for their biodiversity and, especially relevant for climate change, their ability to store carbon within their vegetation and soil. Alternately, destruction of forests releases carbon into the atmosphere. Deforestation and forest degradation account for 12-20% of GHG emissions. REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) is a…

Collecting data is difficult. Collecting data in low resource settings is even more difficult. In my epidemiology courses, I have the luxury of generating correlation coefficients and p-values with cleaned, robust data sets. I was oblivious, however, to the process of getting information into this organized and beautifully coded package. That is until I was…

On March 1st, 2011, CERC will host Sustaining Life, Securing Our Future, a day-long symposium that brings together leaders in biodiversity research, conservation, and education to present on the extraordinary diversity of the natural world and its role in securing a sustainable future. The day’s panels will discuss the range of efforts to study, conserve,…

On Monday, January 31st, the Columbia Maison Française and the Columbia Climate Center co-hosted the American pre-screening of “HOME”, a film directed by world-renowned photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, well known from his “Earth from Above” series. A panel discussion, moderated by science journalist and author David Berreby, followed the film. The panelists included Mr. Arthus-Bertrand, Olivier…