Posts
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Triaging the Behindedness
Last fall, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, honored my former advisor and boss, Bill Ryan. As my small contribution, I offered this essay that ends with a story about Bill. “Triage” is a term originating with medical personnel in the military. Its original meaning was the process of dividing wounded on the battlefield into three groups: those…
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Earthquake Chasers in Upstate New York
Following a series of small, mysterious earthquakes in the rural town of Berne, southwest of Albany, N.Y., seismologists from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory have placed three temporary seismometers in the area, in an attempt to understand what is driving the tremors and assess whether there is a risk of larger events. Occasional small quakes have been recorded…
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Racing to Save the Planet: Conservation Efforts in the Gulf Region
The April 20th explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the coast of Louisiana continues to pour thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day. The spill—which is being heralded as the worst oil disaster in US history—is quickly encroaching upon the habitats of hundreds of species in the Gulf…
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Seeing the Big Picture of Climate Change
L. Douglas James, a former Hydrologist for the National Science Foundation (retired), is a Big Picture guy. Concerned that scientific research and public policy are both too focused on isolated bits of the climate change issue, he had a go at inspiring attendees of a Columbia Water Center Seminar to branch out, make connections, and…
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Hydraulic Fracturing – Potential for Contamination of Drinking Water Sources
Hydraulic fracturing is a technique used by the oil and gas industry to facilitate natural gas recovery in underground low permeability coalbed methane wells. This operation improves the extraction efficiency of methane by creating fissions or fractures in underground rock formations, generally 5,000 – 20,000 feet below the ground surface. Highly pressurized hydraulic fracturing fluids,…
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Vote for the Earth Institute in the eBay Fundraising Tournament for the Environment
Do you share our belief that the world has the know-how and resources to solve our environmental challenges in a sustainable manner? Do you support efforts by the scientific community to help understand the effects of climate change, reduce environmental degradation, and advance renewable energy technologies? Then please vote for the Columbia Water Center’s parent…
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Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer Foundation Renews Support of Ethiopia Water, Educational Initiatives
The Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer Foundation renewed its commitment to water and educational initiatives in Ethiopia with a $354,050 gift. The foundation’s continued support will benefit the last phase of the Water Capture System in Koraro, Ethiopia, fellowships in Earth Institute Masters programs and Millennium Villages project interns. Students whose internships were supported by…
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Seismologists Gather for “Discourse over Materials”
Every Friday afternoon, for as long as anyone can remember, the seismologists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory have gathered for a lively session of discourse over materials. “Discourse over materials” is a phrase coined by scholars who use ethnographic techniques to study the behavior of scientists and science students as though they (we) were a recently-contacted…
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Earth Institute Partners Support Work of Matt Berg, a 2010 TIME 100 Most Influential Person
We are thrilled to announce that Matt Berg, ICT Director for the Millennium Villages project and Earth Institute researcher was named to the 2010 TIME 100 Most Influential People list. Through groundbreaking initiatives like the new mobile phone platform ChildCount+, Matt is pioneering the use of mobile technology to revolutionize public health systems and greatly…
