Posts
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A Whole New Way of Seeing…Mantis Shrimp
Mantis shrimp are marine crustaceans inhabiting the shallow sunlit waters of tropical seas, where they make a living as voracious ambush predators. This week in Science, new research sheds light on their fascinating visual system, and reveals a novel form of color vision, previously unknown in the animal kingdom.
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Hundreds of Ways to Measure Sustainability
Private companies and organizations in the public and non-profit sectors have begun to embrace the idea of sustainability: How to operate in ways that reduce consumption of water, energy and other resources, and help keep from depleting the planet’s natural resources. But how do we measure progress? Reliable metrics are needed – to understand what…
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Latest Environmental Performance Index Introduces New Indicators
Innovations in the 2014 EPI include a new wastewater treatment indicator; a new approach to climate change indicators; and two new satellite-derived indicators for air quality and forests.
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Earth’s Climate History, Written in Dust
Dust blowing onto the oceans can help algae grow and pull CO2 out of the atmosphere. It influences the radiative balance of the planet by reflecting sunlight away. Scientists want to know what role this plays in the coming and going of the ice ages, and how it affects our climate.
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The Noble Worm
A poem, first in a series based on what’s been in the news in science, from Katherine Allen, a researcher in geochemistry and paleoclimate at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
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ESP Alum Leads Sandy Relief Efforts
MPA in Environmental Science and Policy (MPA-ESP) alumnus Todd Miner (’10) has always been heavily involved in work at post-conflict and disaster areas, both abroad and in the United States. He puts the management and planning skills he acquired from the MPA-ESP program to good use in his current role as director of Friends of…
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Student Profile: Erin Stahmer
During my time at Columbia, the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development has challenged me to take courses that have sharpened my philosophical, mathematical, and scientific modes of thinking. I have learned to organize and manipulate large databases using spatial mapping software, and have developed quantitative methods to analyze data in the context of international development.…
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2013 Ranks in Top 10 Warmest Years
Last year was one of the warmest on record, according to analyses of global temperature data by NASA and NOAA. Both federal agencies placed 2013 among the top 10 warmest years since records began in 1880, continuing a longer-term trend of global warming.
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Student Profile: Richard Sun
The Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development has given me the opportunity to connect a broad range of subjects, from environmental science to urban economics, and to learn about the fundamentals of environmental valuation. Using skills gained in the program, I researched the impact that energy efficiency technology and policy will have on the US Electricity…
