Posts
-
Improving Access to Safe Water and Sanitation in Kisumu, Kenya
Many families in developing countries, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, do not have access to clean, safe drinking water. Proper sanitation facilities are also rare, particularly in informal settlements and peri-urban areas. Despite the valiant efforts by local and national governments, international NGOs, foundations and corporations to bring clean water and sanitation facilities to sub-Saharan…
-
Like Fireflies, Earthquakes May Fire in Synchrony
Small Stresses Might Bring Big Results, Says Study
-
Dust and its Impact on Earth’s Climate System
Last month, Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory hosted a conference on dust in the climate system as part of the NOAA funded Abrupt Climate Change in a Warming World (ACCWW) project. Most often, we think of dust simply as the stuff that accumulates on our windowsills, but those fine particles floating in the air play an…
-
Water, Another Crisis for Iraq
In a place like Iraq, our attention is on the big issues, and we might forget that life also goes on for regular people. They need to grow crops and wash dishes and make tea. For many people in the country, those mundane things can be every bit as big an issue. If you don’t…
-
Earth Democracy: A Lecture by Vandana Shiva
“We need to reinvent our eating and drinking, our moving and working, in our local ecosystems and local cultures. Enriching our lives by lowering our consumption, without impoverishing others. And above all, we need to subject the laws that govern production and consumption to the laws of Gaia; the laws of the planet.” On July…
-
The Landscape We Are Up Against
We have drilled a second core through the ice to bedrock, and are done at our first site. Unfortunately, the helicopter that we need to move the heavy pieces to our second planned spot is down for regular maintenance until next Monday, June 21. That means the team must wait it out at the relatively sheltered “saddle…
-
When High Hopes Make Little Sense: Why the Hartwell Paper Fails to Deliver
Earlier this year, 14 energy academics, analysts and advocates gathered with hopes of reinventing the way the international community treats climate policy. The result, The Hartwell Paper: A new direction for climate policy after the crash of 2009, aims to examine “all aspects of the crisis which enveloped global climate policy” last December during the…
-
Obama’s Oil Speech: What Wasn’t Said
I was eagerly anticipating President Obama’s speech last night and very much hoping it would mark a true turning point in the administration’s handling of the crisis. However, like many others, I was sorely disappointed. While the speech used plenty of combative terms (“battle plan”, “siege”) it was completely absent of specifics, both for responding…
-
Student Researchers Past and Present Share their Work on Sustainable Development
On Friday, April 23, 2010, the Earth Institute hosted its annual Student Research Showcase. More than 25 students shared their cutting-edge research on environmental and sustainable development through short presentations, followed by a poster session that gave participants the chance for more detailed discussions with the presenters. The student researchers represented a wide range of…
