Posts
-
From Climate Science to Climate Service
What makes for good climate services? A new commentary in the journal Science outlines three considerations.
-
Rhino Number 100 and World Rhino Day
The sound of a chainsaw rises discordantly above all natural sounds, disrupting the quiet of a warm African winters’ day, a destructive sound at odds with the African wilderness. But it is not a tree that is being felled. It is the horn of a rhino.
-
Exploring Obama’s Seafloor Canyons by Mini Submarine
Only a few people have ever explored deep inside the seafloor canyons that President Obama just designated a national marine monument. Bill Ryan is one of them. In this podcast he describes what his team saw and learned.
-
Harnessing Soil to Rebuild Rural Nepal
Within weeks of a devastating earthquake in Nepal, governments and private groups pledged $4 billion in aid. And something else emerged from the rubble: a grassroots movement to rebuild rural Nepal safely and sustainably.
-
Opening Up Land Contracts and Land Data … With Caution
Transparency isn’t an end goal, but greater transparency over certain types of land-related information can lead to better outcomes: for example, more informed decision-making and improved accountability.
-
New York City’s Sustainable Dream
New York City is always in the global media and the images of this place are the inescapable backdrop of the emerging global culture. And that culture does not require the luxury consumer goods that are now available in all of the world’s major cities. Its core culture values a place that is safe to…
-
2015 Indonesia Fires Killed 100,000 People, Says Study
In fall 2015, smoke from agricultural fires in Indonesia blanketed much of equatorial Asia. Schools and businesses closed, planes were grounded and tens of thousands of people sought treatment for respiratory illnesses. In a new study, researchers estimate that the smoke caused upward of 100,000 deaths across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
-
Flaring Gas: How Not to Waste a Valuable Resource
Every year, oil fields around the globe burn, or “flare,” an estimated 3.5 percent of the world’s natural gas supply. The gas is produced alongside oil and must be disposed of during the production process. Eliminating flaring would reduce CO2 emissions by as much as removing 77 million cars from the road. Moreover, the flaring…
-
MPA ESP Student Profile: Savannah’s Story
Savannah Miller, a student in the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, has witnessed the impact of climate change on three different continents. Prior to attending Columbia, Savannah completed fieldwork in Antarctica and sub-Saharan Africa. Last year, she attended the climate negotiations at COP21, in Paris, France, as a student delegate.
